Three Kingdoms

by Luo Guanzhong (Moss Roberts trans. )

  The bereaved ruler held no court for many days. It was at this point that Wei Yan's petition arrived announcing the revolt of Yang Yi. The startled officials brought the document before the Emperor at a time when the Empress was also in the palace. The Second Emperor, surprised by Wei Yan's petition, ordered an attendant to read it out. It said in essence:

  I, Wei Yan, Chief General Who Conquers the West, lord of Nanzheng, bow before you in a spirit of fear and trembling to offer this statement. Yang Yi, usurping complete military authority, has led the army in rebellion. He has seized the prime minister's sacred coffin and means to bring our enemies into our territory. I have already burned the wooden plank roads and positioned troops to block Yang Yi. With all respect, this petition.

  After reading Wei Yan's statement, the Second Emperor said, "Why would Wei Yan, a commander bold enough to fight off Yang Yi's troops, have to burn the plank roads?" Queen Mother Wu answered, "I often heard the late Emperor say, 'Kongming has recognized the bone of treason at the back of Wei Yan's head and time and again has wanted to put him to death; he spares Wei Yan only out of respect for his courage. ' I would not believe Wei Yan's claims. Yang Yi is a man of the pen. We can safely rely on him if the prime minister employed him as a senior adviser. Give no credence to Wei Yan's uncorroborated petition or Yang Yi will go over to Wei. And do nothing in haste. This matter requires careful study." The officials were still in council when the urgent petition from Senior Adviser Yang Yi arrived. The imperial attendants opened it and read it out:

  I, Yang Yi, senior adviser and general in charge of the retreat, in fear and trembling bow my head to the ground and earnestly petition. When the prime minister was near death, he placed responsibility for the great cause in my hands. I followed faithfully his established practices, making no changes whatsoever. I assigned Wei Yan to protect our retreat by guarding the front; I assigned Jiang Wei to hold the line behind him. Now Wei Yan refuses to honor the late prime minister's final words and without permission has brought his own units prematurely into Hanzhong after burning the wooden plank roads and attempting to seize the late prime minister's coffin. His intentions are most improper, and he has turned against us so suddenly that I respectfully rush this petition to your notice.

  The queen mother, after hearing the contents of the document, asked, "And what do you gentlemen think now?" Jiang Wan said, "In my humble opinion, however intemperate and intolerant Yang Yi may be, he managed supplies and devised strategy under the late prime minister for many years. The prime minister would never have confided his mission to someone he did not trust. Wei Yan is a different sort. Vain over the accomplishments he thinks will put him ahead, he wants everyone else to make way for him. Only Yang Yi refuses to humor him. Wei Yan resents this; he objected strongly when Yang Yi received military authority. That's why he burned the roadway, cut off Yang Yi's retreat, and slandered him in that memorial. I would guarantee with the lives of my whole family that Yang Yi is no rebel. But I would not guarantee Wei Yan!"

  Dong Yun followed with another statement: "Wei Yan is proud of his high merits. Resentment seems to live in his heart, complaints in his mouth. Fear of the prime minister was all that kept him from turning against us. Now that His Excellency has passed on, Wei Yan's revolt should come as no surprise. As for Yang Yi—whom His Excellency employed for his strong talent and aptness in learning—he would never turn against us!"

  The Second Emperor asked, "If this is true, how do we deal with Wei Yan?" Jiang Wan answered, "The late prime minister long mistrusted the man and must have left Yang Yi with a plan. Otherwise, why did he withdraw into the gorge? Wei Yan will fall into the trap, Your Majesty may rest assured."

  It was not long before a new petition from Wei Yan arrived denouncing Yang Yi and, while it was being read, another from Yang Yi denouncing Wei Yan. The two petitions presented their cases. Suddenly, Fei Yi's arrival was announced. The Second Emperor summoned him, and he petitioned, describing Wei Yan's sedition in detail. The Second Emperor said, "In this case let us first see if Dong Yun, acting on my authority, can effect a reconciliation diplomatically." Dong Yun received the edict and left.

  Wei Yan, meanwhile, after burning the roadway, stationing troops in Nangu, and securing the strongpoints, felt sure he had control of the situation.1 It never occurred to him that Yang Yi and Jiang Wei would manage to outflank him behind Nangu. In fact, Yang Yi, fearing trouble in Hanzhong, had sent his vanguard He Ping there first with three thousand men, while he and Jiang Wei followed behind with Kongming's coffin.

  When He Ping got behind Nangu, he beat his drums and raised a clamor. Scouts informed Wei Yan that He Ping had come by way of Chashan Road and was giving the battle challenge. In a fury Wei Yan armed himself and rode forth, weapon bared, to meet the challenge. The two forces assumed battle formation. He Ping raced to the front and shouted wrathfully, "Where is the rebel traitor Wei Yan?" Wei Yan shouted back, "You abet the rebel Yang Yi! How dare you cry me down?" He Ping retorted: "His Excellency is hardly gone from us, his body yet warm. How dare you rebel?" He pointed his whip at the Riverlands soldiers and went on, "All you Riverlands men with parents and families there, brothers and friends—did His Excellency ever do you wrong? How can you aid this rebel? Return home and wait for your just rewards." Hearing this appeal, the soldiers with Wei Yan raised a cheer, and the greater part dispersed.

  In great anger Wei Yan flourished his blade and charged; He Ping raised his lance and met him. They fought several passes-at-arms; then He Ping feigned defeat and fled. Wei Yan gave chase, but massed crossbow shots drove him back. Seeing his army disintegrate, Wei Yan's rage flared anew. He raced forward, killing several runaways; he failed, however, to check the flight of his men. Only the three hundred under Ma Dai made no move to flee. Wei Yan said to Ma Dai, "Stay by me now, and I shall never forget it." Joined by Ma Dai, he gave chase; but He Ping had ridden beyond reach. Wei Yan gathered what remained of his forces and said to Ma Dai, "How about seeking our fortune with the Wei?" "That is not a sensible idea," Ma Dai answered. "Shouldn't a man of honor aim to create his own dominion rather than bend his knee in another's service? I see in you a man of sense and courage, excelling any other in the Riverlands. I would take an oath with you: first to seize Hanzhong, then to attack the western Riverlands!"

  Delighted by this proposal, Wei Yan followed Ma Dai in an attack on Nanzheng.2 Jiang Wei, who had already entered the city, watched Wei Yan and Ma Dai approach swiftly, flaunting their military prowess. Jiang Wei ordered the drawbridge raised at once. Wei Yan and Ma Dai cried out, "Surrender now!" Jiang Wei summoned Yang Yi and said, "Wei Yan is bold and fierce. And with Ma Dai's help, even their small force will be difficult to drive off. Have you a plan?" Yang Yi replied, "On his deathbed the late prime minister left me this brocade bag saying, 'Do not open it until Wei Yan revolts and you face him in the field; it will show you how to kill him. ' The time has come to look inside." He unsealed the bag and read the direction: "To be opened the moment you confront Wei Yan." Jiang Wei said with delight, "Hold on to the warning His Excellency has given you, Senior Adviser, while I take the army beyond the wall and draw it up in formation. Then come out and join me."

  Jiang Wei armed himself and rode forth. Spear in hand, he led three thousand soldiers through the gate, their war cries and war drums resounding as they assumed fighting formation. Jiang Wei poised his mount at the bannered gateway to his line and railed at the top of his voice: "Rebel traitor Wei Yan! His Excellency never did you ill! How dare you turn against him now?" Wei Yan leveled his sword, reined in, and said bitterly, "Jiang Wei, this does not concern you. Let Yang Yi come forth!"

  In the shadow of the bannered gateway Yang Yi tore open the brocade bag and read Kongming's instructions. Well pleased, he rode out unarmed to a point before his line. Pointing to Wei Yan, he laughed and said, "When His Excellency was alive, he predicted you would revolt and warned me to be ready. His words come true today. If you will shout from horseback three times the words 'Who dare
s slay me? ' then you are a true hero and I will deliver the seat of Hanzhong to you." Wei Yan laughed and answered, "Yang Yi, you miserable coward! Listen! I was only three parts in ten afraid of Kongming when he lived, so who dares oppose me now that he's gone? I'll shout it not three but thirty thousand times—what difference could it make to me?"

  Wei Yan raised his sword, held firm his reins, and cried out, "Who dares slay me?" His voice was still echoing in the air when someone directly behind him responded harshly, "I dare slay you!" A hand went up, a sword came down, and Wei Yan fell beneath his horse. The assembly gasped. The man who killed Wei Yan? Ma Dai! Kongming, before he died, had given Ma Dai secret instructions to cut down Wei Yan without warning when he heard Wei Yan shout those words. From the message in the brocade bag Yang Yi knew that Ma Dai had been planted in Wei Yan's ranks to carry out the plan. A poet of later times has left these lines:

  Zhuge knew beforehand Wei Yan's mind,

  That traitor to Shu-Han he'd later prove.

  The artifice no man could have foreknown,

  But by Yan's death its potency was shown.

  Dong Yun had not yet reached Nanzheng with the Second Emperor's edict at the time Ma Dai put Wei Yan to death and joined forces with Jiang Wei; so Yang Yi sent a petition posthaste to inform the Emperor. The sovereign thereupon issued another edict, which read, "Since Wei Yan's crime has been properly dealt with, let us rather remember him by his former merits and grant him the inner and outer coffins requisite for formal interment."

  As Yang Yi and his party approached Chengdu bearing Kongming's bier, the Second Emperor led the entire body of officials, dressed in mourning, twenty li outside the city to welcome them. A great cry broke from the Emperor and from the elder lords and dignitaries; even the commoners in their hills and woodlands, men, women, the old, the young—all wept sorely, and the sounds of their grieving caused the ground to vibrate. The Emperor had the bier transported into the capital to rest at the prime minister's official chambers. His son, Zhuge Zhan, led the mourning and observed the obsequies.

  When the Emperor returned to court, Yang Yi presented himself, in bonds, to beg forgiveness. The Emperor had an imperial attendant remove the cords; then he said, "Because you followed the prime minister's final orders, his bier has come home and Wei Yan has been eliminated. Your effort has preserved our government intact." He appointed Yang Yi director general of the Center. Ma Dai, who had distinguished himself by bringing the renegade to justice, was granted Wei Yan's rank.

  Yang Yi submitted Kongming's final petition. The Emperor read it and wept; he then commanded the diviners to locate a site for the interment. Fei Yi petitioned the throne: "When near death, the prime minister ordered that he be buried on Dingjun Mountain. He wanted no brick wall around the grave and no funerary articles." The Emperor approved the petition, and an auspicious day was selected in the tenth month of the year (a. d. 234) for the Emperor himself to escort the bier to the burial place. At the Emperor's command the sacrificial ceremonies commenced, and Kongming received the posthumous title Loyal and Martial Lord. The Emperor ordered a shrine built at Mianyang and ceremonies performed there each season. Du Fu has left this poem in memory of the loyal dynastic servant:

  "His Excellency's shrine, where would it be found?"

  "Past Damask Town, where cypresses grow dense."

  Its sunlit court, gem-bright greens—a spring unto themselves.

  Leaf-veiled, the orioles—sweet notes to empty air.

  Thrice to him Liu Bei sued, keen to rule the realm:

  Two reigns Kongming served3—steady old heart—

  To die, his host afield, the victory herald yet to come—

  Weep, O heroes! Drench your fronts, now and evermore.

  Du Fu left another poem to celebrate Kongming:

  Zhuge's mighty name hangs proudly on the upper sphere;

  Stern and grand, the royal liege man's likeness claims respect.

  In the tri-part world below he spun deep schemes.

  In the age-old realm of cloud,4 one single plume unites our gaze.

  Who rank his peers? Yi Yin and Jiang Ziya;

  In command he was more sure than Xiao or Cao.5

  But the stars had turned; he could not save Han's reign,

  Toiling to the end, body broken, will unbroken.

  The Second Emperor meanwhile had returned to Chengdu. Suddenly an imperial attendant addressed him: "Border headquarters reports that the Southland, for purposes yet unclear, has ordered Quan Zong to the Baqiu area with tens of thousands of troops." Shocked, the Second Emperor said, "With the prime minister lately decreased, the Southland breaks its covenant and violates our soil. What are we to do?" Jiang Wan said, "I would advise having Wang Ping and Zhang Ni station thirty to fifty thousand troops at Yong'an as a precautionary measure. Your Majesty might then send an envoy to the Southland to announce the funeral and at the same time find out all he can." The Emperor said, "I'll need a smooth talker for such a mission." In response a man stepped forth and said, "This insignificant vassal wishes to volunteer." All eyes turned to Zong Yu (Deyan), of Anzhong in Nanyang, who held the position of army adviser and right Imperial Corps commandant. Well pleased, the Emperor dispatched Zong Yu to the Southland to announce the funeral and to learn what he could.

  Zong Yu went straight to Jianye. The lord of Wu, Sun Quan, received him. Formalities concluded, Zong Yu noted that all attendants were wearing the plain color of mourning. Frowning, Sun Quan said to him, "Our two kingdoms are one family. Why has your lord increased the guard at Baidi?"6 "Your servant's view was that increasing the guard at Baqiu to the east and Baidi to the west were both perfectly responsible measures in the given circumstances, neither worthy of query." Sun Quan smiled and said, "I can see you are the equal of Deng Zhi." Sun Quan addressed Zong Yu again, "Learning that Prime Minister Zhuge has gone home to Heaven, we daily grieve and have required our court to don mourning. Further, fearing some move by Wei at Shu's time of sorrow, we have fortified Baqiu with ten thousand troops, should you need our assistance. We have no other motive." Zong Yu touched his head to the ground in gratitude. "Once we give our word," Sun Quan went on, "we never dishonor it." Zong Yu responded, "The Son of Heaven sends me now, on the occasion of the recent demise of the prime minister, to announce the funeral." Sun Quan took a gold-tipped arrow and broke it in two, speaking an oath: "If we break faith, may our line die out." He then ordered an envoy to the Riverlands with incense, silks, and ceremonial articles to offer in the fallen leader's memory.

  Respectfully taking leave, Zong Yu returned to Chengdu with the southern envoy. Coming into the Emperor's presence, Zong Yu said, "The lord of Wu, much moved by the late minister's demise, had had his vassals dress in mourning. His reinforcement of Baqiu was solely to prevent Wei from using the opportunity to enter the Riverlands. Here is the arrow he broke in solemn oath to honor the covenant." The Second Emperor, greatly pleased, rewarded Zong Yu and treated the southern envoy handsomely before sending him back. In keeping with Kongming's last counsels, the Emperor then made Jiang Wan prime minister and regent-marshal, and director of the Secretariat; he made Fei Yi chief of the Secretariat and executive to the prime minister; he made Wu Yi general of Chariots and Cavalry with imperial authority to administer Hanzhong; he made Jiang Wei General Who Upholds the Han and lord of Pingxiang, with general authority over variously stationed forces, and he ordered him to post himself at Hanzhong, there to join Wu Yi in the defense against Wei. The remaining commanders and officers continued in their previous stations.

  Yang Yi had assumed that his longer years of service would give him priority over Jiang Wan; holding a lesser position now moved him to presume upon his merits and complain freely that he had yet to receive substantial reward. To Fei Yi he said, "Had I gone over to Wei with the entire army when His Excellency first passed away, I would not have suffered such neglect as this." Fei Yi secretly related Yang Yi's words to the Emperor, who, moved to anger, ordered Yang Yi thrown into prison and inter
rogated, his intention being to execute him. Jiang Wan, however, said, "Despite his offense, Yang Yi did great service in the days he followed the late prime minister. He deserves to live, though he should be reduced to commoner status." The Second Emperor agreed and stripped Yang Yi of all rank and office and ordered him to Hanjia district. Unable to endure the humiliation, Yang Yi cut his throat and died.

  By the calendar of Shu-Han it was the thirteenth year of Jian Xing; by the calendar of Wei, the third year of Qing Long; by the calendar of Wu, the fourth of Jia He (a. d. 235). This year none of the three kingdoms had armies in the field. The ruler of Wei enfeoffed Sima Yi as grand commandant with overall military authority in order to secure and control the various borders of the kingdom.7 Afterward, Sima Yi respectfully withdrew to the city of Luoyang.

  The ruler of Wei remained in Xuchang, where he started large-scale construction of palaces and grand halls. He also built the Morning Sun Hall, the Hall of First Principle, and the Complete Pattern Viewing Hall in Luoyang. These buildings towered as high as one hundred spans. Cao Rui also raised the Honoring Culture Grand Hall, the Blue Empyrean Gallery, the Phoenix Tower, and he dug the Nine Dragons Pool. He put Appointed Erudite Ma Jun in charge of the construction, which was the acme of elegance and beauty: the structures used carved beams and painted pillars, jasper tiles and gilded bricks—they rivaled the sun itself in brilliance. More than thirty thousand skilled craftsmen and more than three hundred thousand laborers—recruited by Ma Jun—toiled day and night on these projects, which consumed the strength of the common folk; their complaints were unceasing.