The Three Kingdoms: The Sacred Oath

by Luo Guanzhong

“Everybody says you are a marvel of trickery and indeed it is true,” said Xu You.

  “But who fails to understand that in war no one objects to deceits?” replied Cao Cao. Then whispering in the other’s ear he said, “Actually I have only supplies for this month’s use.”

  “Oh, do not throw dust in my eyes any more. Your grain is exhausted and I know it.”

  Cao Cao was startled, for he thought no one knew of the straits he was in.

  “How did you find that out?” he asked.

  Xu You produced the letter and said, “Who wrote that?”

  “Where did you get it?”

  Then he told Cao Cao the story of the captured messenger. Cao Cao seized him by the hand and said, “Since our old friendship has brought you here I hope you have some plan to suggest to me.”

  Xu You said, “To oppose a great army with a small one is to walk to destruction unless you resort to a quick victory. I can propose a plan which will defeat the immense army of Yuan Shao in three days without fighting a battle. But will you follow my advice?”

  “I’d like to know your good plan,” answered Cao Cao with great joy.

  “Your enemy’s stores of all kinds are at Wuchao, where the commander is Chunyu Qiong, a very heavy drinker. You can send some of your trusted veterans there, pretending to be his men sent to help guard the depot. Once inside these men can find an opportunity to burn the supplies. In three days Yuan Shao’s army will be thrown into chaos.”

  Cao Cao approved. He treated Xu You very liberally and kept him in his camp. Consequently he chose 5,000 horse and foot soldiers ready for the raid.

  Zhang Liao was opposed to this scheme and said, “Yuan Shao’s grain depot is certainly well guarded. You should not act in such haste. What if Xu You is treacherous?”

  “Xu You is no traitor,” said Cao Cao. “He has been sent by Heaven to defeat Yuan Shao. If we do not get grain it will be hard to hold out and I have either to follow his advice or sit still and be hemmed in. If he was a traitor he would hardly remain in my camp. Moreover, this raid has been my desire for a long time. Have no doubts, the raid will certainly succeed.”

  “Well then, you must look out for an attack here while the camp is un-defended.”

  “That is already taken care of,” said Cao Cao smiling.

  The defenders of the camp were then deployed. The main camp was to be guarded by Cao Hong and several others, including the new advisor, while two forces under the command of four officers were placed in ambush on both sides.

  The plans for the raid on the grain depot were made with extreme care to ensure success. When all was ready they set out, Cao Cao himself in the center. The army showed the ensigns of their opponents. The men carried bundles of grass and twigs to make a blaze. The men were gagged and the horses tied round the muzzles so as to prevent any noise.

  They set out at dusk. The night was fine and the stars shone brightly. Ju Shou, still a prisoner in Yuan Shao’s camp, saw that the stars were brilliant and told his jailers to escort him out to the courtyard where he could study them. While watching he saw the planet Venus invade the quarters of the Bear and Lyra, which startled him greatly.

  “Some misfortune is near,” he said.

  So although it was already night he went to see his master. But Yuan Shao was sleeping after indulging in too much wine and was in a bad humor. However, when they had roused him saying that the prisoner had a secret message to deliver, he ordered him to be brought in.

  “While I happened to be studying the aspect of the heavens,” said the night visitor, “I saw Venus suddenly deviated from its usual course and its reflections shoot into the neighborhood of Bear and Lyra. I fear there is danger of a night raid and special precautions must be taken at the grain depot. Lose no time in sending good soldiers and vigorous officers there and keep a lookout on the byways among the hills so that you may escape the wiles of Cao Cao.”

  “You are a criminal,” said Yuan Shao. “How dare you come with such wild nonsense to upset my army.”

  Then he issued orders to put the jailers to death and appointed others to keep the prisoner in close custody.

  Ju Shou left, wiping his falling tears and sighing deeply. “Our army’s destruction is imminent and I don’t know where my poor corpse may find a resting place.”

  Blunt truth offended Yuan Shao,

  Too stupid any plan to make,

  His stores destroyed ‘tis evident

  That Jizhou also is at stake.

  Cao Cao’s raiding party carried on through the night. Passing one of Yuan Shao’s outposts, they were challenged. Cao Cao sent forward a man to say, “Jiang Qi has orders to go to Wuchao to guard the grain stores.”

  Seeing that the raiders marched under the ensigns of Yuan Shao the guards had no suspicions and let them pass. At every post this trick was effective and they got safely through.

  They reached their objective at the end of the fourth watch. The straw and wood were placed in position without loss of time and the blaze started. Then the officers attacked amid the beating of the drum and loud shouting.

  At the time of the attack the commander of the grain depot was asleep after a heavy drinking bout with his fellow officers. The hubbub, however, awoke him and he sprang up and asked what the matter was. Before he could finish speaking he was caught by hooks and hauled out of his tent.

  Two other officers were just returning from transporting grain to the camp and seeing the flames arise, they hastened to the rescue. Some of his soldiers ran to tell Cao Cao that some enemy forces were coming up in the rear and asked him to send reinforcements, but he only replied by ordering his men to press forward and ignore the forces behind unless they were actually close at hand. So the attackers all hastened forward.

  Very soon the fire gained strength and thick smoke hung all around, filling the sky. When the two officers drew near, Cao Cao turned around and faced them. They could not stand the onslaught and after a while both were killed. Finally the stores of grain and forage were utterly destroyed.

  The commander, Chunyu Qiong, was made prisoner and taken to Cao Cao, who ordered that he be deprived of ears, nose, and hands. Thus horribly mutilated, he was bound on a horse and sent to his master to humiliate him.

  From Yuan Shao’s camp the flames of the burning depot were seen away in the north and he knew what they meant. Hastily he summoned his officers to a council about sending a rescue party. Zhang He offered to go with Gao Lan but the advisor Guo Tu said, “They should not go. It is certain that Cao Cao is there in person, therefore his camp is undefended. Attack the camp and Cao Cao will speedily come back. This is what the ancient military strategist Sun Bin meant by ‘Besieging Wei to Rescue Zhao’.”

  But Zhang He said, “Not so—Cao Cao is too crafty not to have fully prepared against such an attack. If we raid his camp and fail, and Chunyu Qiong should be caught, then all of us would be caught, too.”

  Guo Tu said, “Cao Cao is too intent on the destruction of the grain to think of leaving a guarding force. I entreat you to attack his camp.”

  So Yuan Shao sent 5,000 men under Zhang He and Gao Lan to attack Cao Cao’s camp and Jiang Qi was sent to try to recover the grain store.

  Now after overcoming the remaining forces in the grain depot, Cao Cao’s men dressed themselves in the armor and clothing of the defeated soldiers and put out their emblems, thus posing as defeated men running back to their own headquarters. On the way they came upon Jiang Qi’s rescue force, who they told that they had been beaten at Wuchao and were retreating. So they passed on without raising any suspicions, while Jiang Qi hastened on. But soon he encountered Zhang Liao and Xu Chu, who cried out to him to stop. And before he could make any opposition Zhang Liao had cut him down. Soon his men were killed or dispersed and the victors sent false messengers to Yuan Shao’s camp to say that Jiang Qi had succeeded in driving away the invaders of the granary. So no more reinforcement forces were sent that way, but only to Guandu.

  In due course the two
officers sent to raid Cao Cao’s camp were attacked from three sides by the ambushers at Guandu, so that they were worsted. By the time reinforcements arrived Cao Cao’s army, returning from the granary, had also come and Yuan Shao’s men were further pressed in the rear. So they were quite surrounded. However, Zhang He and Gao Lan managed to force their way out and escape.

  When Yuan Shao finally collected together the defeated men of the grain depot he saw the mutilated state of their leader. Yuan Shao asked how he had come to betray his trust and to suffer thus and the soldiers told their lord that their commander had been intoxicated at the time of the attack. Yuan Shao was enraged and ordered him to be executed at once.

  Guo Tu, fearing lest Zhang He and Gao Lan would return and testify how wrong he had been, began to intrigue against them. First he went to his lord and said, “These two, Zhang He and Gao Lan, were certainly very glad when your armies were defeated.”

  “Why do you say this?” asked Yuan Shao.

  “They have long cherished a desire to go over to Cao Cao, so when you sent them to destroy his camp they did not do their best and so brought about this disaster.”

  Yuan Shao was again furious and accordingly sent someone to recall them to be interrogated. But Guo Tu, the cunning intriguer, was quicker. He sent a messenger in advance to warn them of the adverse fate that awaited them. So when Yuan Shao’s messenger reached them and asked them to return, Gao Lan asked him why they were recalled. The messenger disclaimed all knowledge of the reasons, so Gao Lan drew his sword and killed him.

  Zhang He was dumbfounded at this act but his friend said, “Yuan Shao listens to slanderous tongues around him. I think he’s doomed to be captured by Cao Cao. What’s the sense in our sitting still and awaiting destrection? Rather let’s surrender to Cao Cao.”

  “I’ve been wanting to do this for some time,” replied Zhang He.

  Therefore both of them, with their men, made their way to Cao Cao’s camp to surrender.

  When they arrived, Xiahou Dun said to his master, “These two have come to surrender but I have doubts about them.”

  Cao Cao replied, “I will treat them generously and win them over, even if they have treachery in their hearts.”

  The camp gates were opened to the two officers and they were invited to enter. They laid down their weapons, removed their armor and bowed to the ground before Cao Cao. The prime minister said, “If Yuan Shao had listened to you he would not have suffered defeat. Now your coming to me is like Wei Zi leaving the tyrant king of Shang Dynasty and Han Xin going over to the House of Han.”

  He gave both men the rank of general and the title of a nobleman, which pleased them very much.

  And so Yuan Shao had driven away his wise advisor, Xu You, lost two of his most able officers and was deprived of his food supply at Wuchao. The army was depressed and downhearted.

  At Cao Cao’s camp the new advisor Xu You persuaded him to attack as promptly as he could and the two newly surrendered men volunteered to lead the way. So these two were sent to make a first attack on Yuan Shao’s camp, and they left in the night in three divisions. The fighting went on confusedly all night but ceased at dawn. Yuan Shao again lost heavily.

  Then the advisor Xun You also came up with a plan. “We can spread a false report of our new deployments. Say that an army will go to take Suanzao and attack Yejun, and another will take Liyang and intercept his route of retreat. Yuan Shao, when he hears of this, will be alarmed and set out his men to meet this new turn of affairs, and while he is making these new moves we can have him at great disadvantage.”

  The suggestion was adopted and care was taken that the report was spread far around. It came to the ears of Yuan Shao’s soldiers and they repeated it in camp. Yuan Shao believed it and ordered his eldest son with a big force to rescue Yejun, and another force to seize Liyang. They marched away at once. Hearing that these armies had set forth, Cao Cao dispatched eight divisions to make a simultaneous attack on his enemy’s main camp. Yuan Shao’s men were too dispirited to fight and gave way on all sides.

  Yuan Shao, without even the time to don his armor, mounted and escaped with only a thin coat and an ordinary cap upon his head. His younger son Yuan Shang followed him. Four of Cao Cao’s officers with their men pressed in their rear and Yuan Shao hastened across the river, abandoning all his documents and papers, his carriages and his store of gold and silk. Only eight hundred men followed him over the stream. Cao Cao’s men pursued hard but could not catch up with him; however, they captured all his baggage and equipment. Many thousands of innocent soldiers were killed and their blood filled up gutters and ditches. Many more were drowned, their number too numerous to count. It was a complete victory for Cao Cao and he rewarded his army with the money and silk he had got from his enemy.

  Among the papers of Yuan Shao was found a bundle of letters showing secret correspondence between him and many of Cao Cao’s men in the capital and in his army. Cao Cao’s personal staff suggested that the names of those concerned should be traced and the persons executed, but he said, “Yuan Shao was so strong at that time that even I could not be sure of safety—how much less would the others feel?”

  So he ordered the papers to be burned and nothing more was said.

  Now when Yuan Shao’s men ran away Ju Shou, being a prisoner, could not get away and was captured. Taken before Cao Cao, who knew him, he cried aloud, “I will not surrender.”

  Cao Cao said, “Yuan Shao was foolish and neglected your advice—why still cling to this delusion? If I’d had you to help me I would have been sure to win the empire.”

  The prisoner was well treated in the camp but he stole a horse and tried to get away to Yuan Shao. This angered Cao Cao, who put him to death, which he met with brave composure.

  “I have slain a faithful and righteous man,” said Cao Cao sadly. And the victim was honorably buried at Guandu. His tomb bore the inscription: This is the tomb of Ju the loyal and virtuous.

  Honest and virtuous Ju was,

  The best in Yuan’s train,

  From him the stars no secrets held,

  In tactics all was plain.

  For him no terrors had grim death,

  Too lofty was his spirit,

  His captor slew him, but his tomb

  Bears witness to his merit.

  Cao Cao then gave orders to attack Jizhou.

  A strong army lost a war for lack of good schemes;

  A weak force won the day by better strategies.

  Which side would win the next campaign will be told in the next chapter.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Cao Cao Overcomes Yuan Shao at Changting

  Liu Bei Seeks Shelter with Liu Biao

  Cao Cao lost no time in taking advantage of Yuan Shao’s flight and pressed hard on the retreating men. Yuan Shao, without helmet or proper dress and with only eight hundred followers, hastily crossed the Yellow River to the north bank at Liyang. He was met by one of his generals, who welcomed him into his camp and listened to his tale of misfortunes. The general then called in the scattered remnants of the army. When the soldiers heard that their old lord was alive they swarmed back to him like ants, so that he quickly became strong enough to consider the march back to Jizhou. Soon the army set out. That night they camped among some barren hills.

  That evening, sitting in his tent, Yuan Shao heard lamentations in the distance. He crept out quietly to listen and found it was his own defeated soldiers telling each other tales of woe. This one lamented over an elder brother lost; that one grieved for his younger brother slain; a third mourned a companion missing; a fourth, a relative killed. Each beat his breast and wept. And all said, “Had he but listened to Tian Feng, we would not have met this disaster.”

  And Yuan Shao, very remorseful, said to himself, “I did not listen to Tian Feng and now my men are lost and I am defeated. How can I return and look him in the face?”

  The next day the march was resumed and on the way Feng Ji came to meet him. Yuan Shao said to
him, “I disregarded Tian Feng’s advice and have brought defeat to myself. Now I will be ashamed to look him in the face.”

  Feng Ji, being an enemy of Tian Feng, took this opportunity to slander him. “When he heard the news of your defeat in prison,” said Feng Ji falsely, “he clapped his hands for joy and said, ‘Indeed, just as I have predicted!’”

  “How dare he laugh at me, the blockhead? I will surely kill him,” said Yuan Shao angrily.

  Then he sent a messenger with a sword to slay the prisoner in advance.

  Meanwhile, Tian Feng’s jailer had come to him one day and said: “Congratulations, sir.”

  “What is the joyful occasion?” asked Tian Feng.

  The jailer replied, “General Yuan has been defeated and is on his way back—he will treat you with redoubled respect.”

  “Now my end has come,” said Tian Feng with a smile.

  “Why do you say that, sir, when all men feel glad for you?”

  “General Yuan appears to be liberal but he is jealous and forgetful of honest advice. Had he been victorious he might have pardoned me; now that he has been defeated and put to shame I have no hope of living.”

  But the jailer did not believe him. Before long, the messenger came with the sword and the fatal order. The jailer was dismayed, but the victim said, “I knew all too well that I should have to die.”

  The jailers all wept. Tian Feng said, “He is ignorant who was born into this world but does not recognize a true lord to serve. Today I die, but I do not deserve pity.”

  Ju Shou but yesterday was killed,

  Tian ends his life, his fate fulfilled;

  Hebei’s main beams break one by one,

  Mourn ye that house! its day is done.

  Thus Tian Feng died and all who heard of his fate sighed with grief.

  When Yuan Shao came home he was troubled in mind and could not attend to the business of administration. His wife, Lady Liu, beseeched him to nominate an heir.

  Now three sons had been born to him: Tan, the eldest, was commander at Qingzhou; Xian, the second son, ruled over Yuzhou; and Shang, borne to him by his second wife, Lady Liu, still lived at his father’s side. This youngest son, a very handsome and noble-looking young man, was his father’s favorite, so he was kept at home. After the defeat at Guandu the lad’s mother was constantly urging that her son should be named as successor and Yuan Shao called together four of his counselors to consider this matter. These four happened to be divided in their sympathies, Shen Pei and Feng Ji being in favor of the youngest son, while Xin Ping and Guo Tu supporters of the eldest.