The young Emperor was of an ingenious turn of mind, as can be seen from the following story. One day in the west garden, he told a eunuch to go and get some honey, since he wanted to try some green plums. The honey was brought, but there were bits of mouse droppings in it. The young Emperor called the storekeeper and blamed him for carelessness.
The storekeeper bowed to the ground and said in protest, “I kept the honey sealed air tight. How could there be such dirt in it?”
“Has the eunuch asked you for honey lately?” asked the Emperor.
“He did ask me for some a few days ago, but I refused him.”
The Emperor pointed at the eunuch and said, “You must have defiled the honey intentionally to incriminate him because you were angry that he earlier refused you the honey.”
The eunuch denied the charge.
“It is very easy to tell,” said the Emperor. “If the dirt has been in the honey for some time it will be soft all through, but if it is newly planted it will be dry inside.”
He ordered an attendant to break off a lump and it was quite dry inside. The eunuch had to plead guilty.
This episode showed that the Emperor was quick-witted. But clever as he was, he had no control over his country, for Sun Chen dominated the government and had placed his brothers in command of all the garrisons and armies.
One day the young Emperor sat musing over his sorrows. Standing at his side was Quan Ji, brother of the Empress.
Weeping, the Emperor said to his brother-in-law: “Sun Chen holds all real power and kills people as he wishes. He has humiliated me too much. Something must be done or else he will do even greater harm in future.”
Quan Ji said, “I will suffer any sacrifices to do whatever Your Majesty commands me to do.”
“Muster the Imperial Guards without delay and hold all the city gates with General Liu Cheng. I myself will go out to slay that ruffian. But remember, you must not let your mother know about this, for she is Sun Chen’s elder sister. Any leaking of our plan and I would be ruined.”
“Will Your Majesty give me an edict that I may show it to all when the moment of action comes?” requested Quan Ji. “That will hold back Sun Chen’s supporters.”
Then the secret edict was drafted and given to Quan Ji, who went home and confided the plan to his father, Quan Shang. His father told his wife that Sun Chen would surely be eliminated in three days.
“Serves him right,” she said.
However, although she approved with her tongue, she sent a secret messenger with a letter to tell her brother, Sun Chen, about it. In wrath Sun Chen called in his four brothers that very night and surrounded the palace with his best troops. At the same time he seized Liu Cheng and Quan Shang and all the members of their families. At daybreak the young Emperor was disturbed by a commotion outside the palace. Then attendants hurried in and told him that the palace was surrounded by Sun Chen’s troops.
The Emperor knew that he had been betrayed. He angrily turned on the Empress, who was daughter of Quan Shang, and reproached her. “Your father and brother have upset my plan.”
Drawing his sword, he wanted to go out and face his foe but the Empress and the attendants clung to his robe, weeping, and held him back.
After putting to death Liu Cheng, Quan Shang and the others, Sun Chen assembled all the courtiers, civil and military, and said to them: “The Emperor is given to lust and weak in health. He is unfit to inherit the throne and therefore he must be deposed. Anyone of you who dares to oppose me will be punished for treason.”
Intimidated, all complied except one man, Huan Yi, who cried indignantly, “How dare you utter such nonsense? Our Emperor is very intelligent—I would rather die than accept your order.”
Sun Chen drew his sword and killed the bold official. Then he went into the palace and reviled at the Emperor, “Depraved and stupid king! Death would be the only fitting punishment for you to appease the whole country, but out of consideration for the late Emperor you are to be degraded to the rank of Prince of Kuaiji. I will select a worthy person to succeed you on the throne.”
So saying, he ordered an official to snatch the imperial seal from the young Emperor, which was then kept in Deng Cheng’s care. The deposed Emperor wept bitterly as he departed.
The sage example of the wise Yi Yin
Perverted now to traitor’s use we see;
And Huo Guang’s faithful services are made
A cloak to cover vilest treachery.
Oh pity this clever young prince,
Who was stripped of his throne.
Then Sun Chen sent Sun Kai, who was of the imperial house, and Dong Chao to Hulin to request Sun Xiu, sixth son of Sun Quan and Prince of Langya, to ascend the throne.
Sun Xiu had had some premonition of the supreme honor he was going to receive. On the previous night he dreamed of ascending the skies seated on a dragon, but when he glanced back he could not see the dragon’s tail. He woke up in a fright, and the next day the messengers came to call him to the capital. So he set out.
At Qua his carriage was stopped by a venerable old man, who gave his name as Gan Xiu. The man bowed to him and said, “Delay will cause trouble, and I pray Your Highness will make haste.”
Sun Xiu thanked the old man. Then he arrived at Busai Pavilion, where an official awaited him with a royal chariot, but Sun Xiu’s modesty would not allow him to mount. He remained in his own simple carriage and traveled thus to the capital. Officials lined the road to bow to him, and he hastily dismounted to return their salutes. Then Sun Chen stood forth and ordered his men to help the newly-elected Emperor to his feet and lead him into the Audience Hall, where, he was asked to take the seat of the throne and assume the supreme honor of the Son of Heaven. After thrice modestly declining the honor, Sun Xiu at last took his seat and received the jade seal of the Emperor.
When all the officials had made their obeisance, there followed the usual amnesty to all offenders, promotions, honors, and the change of reign title. Yong An, or Eternal Peace, was the name of the new reign. Sun Chen was confirmed as prime minister, with the governorship of Jingzhou. Moreover, Sun Hao, the son of his elder brother, was created Marquis of Wucheng.
Sun Chen, with five marquisettes in his family and the whole Imperial Guard under his command, was the most powerful man in the kingdom. The new Emperor, sensing trouble, showed him great favor outwardly, yet inwardly kept a careful watch over him—the prime minister’s arrogance knew no bounds.
In winter, in the twelfth month of the year, Sun Chen sent beef and wine to the Emperor, who declined them. Annoyed, he took these to General Zhang Bu’s residence, where they drank the wine together. When he was quite intoxicated, Sun Chen blurted out, “When I deposed the present Prince of Kuaiji many people urged me to take the throne myself. But I thought this present Emperor was a man of virtue and so I set him up. Now he tries to mortify me by rejecting my presents. Sooner or later, you will see what I will do about this slight!”
Zhang Bu said nothing but nodded submissively. The next day he secretly went to the palace and told the Emperor, who was so terrified that he could not rest day and night. Several days later, Sun Chen appointed Meng Zong in command of 15,000 veterans and sent him to camp at Wu-chang. He emptied the state armory of all its weapons, which he also left in Meng Zong’s care. Two generals, who learned about these moves, secretly warned the Emperor that a rebellion was in the making.
The Emperor, extremely alarmed, called in Zhang Bu for advice, who said, “The veteran general Ding Feng is a superior strategist and able to make decisions on matters of importance. Your Majesty should consult him.”
So Ding Feng was summoned before the Emperor and confided Sun Chen’s threatened revolt.
“Have no anxiety, Your Majesty,” comforted Ding Feng. “I have a plan to rid the state of this evil.”
The Emperor asked him what his plan was.
“Tomorrow is the day of winter sacrificial offerings, a good opportunity to assemble all the official
s and so get Sun Chen to come to the banquet. I know what to do then.”
The Emperor was delighted to hear this. It was decided that Ding Feng and two other officers were responsible for matters outside the palace, and Zhang Be saw to arrangements inside.
That night the wind roared furiously, sending sand and stone whirling in the air and uprooting old trees by the roots. By daylight the wind had abated. Then the Emperor’s envoys arrived at Sun Chen’s house to invite him to a banquet in the palace. Sun Chen rose from his couch, and, as he did so, fell flat to the ground as though he had been pushed from behind. This incident annoyed him. Dozens of envoys came crowding around to escort him to the palace. As he was leaving home his family members begged him not to go to the banquet, reminding him of the ill omens of the wind in the night and his fall that morning.
Sun Chen said, “My brothers and I have full control of the palace guards. Who dares to come near me? If anything should go amiss, light a fire as a signal.”
So he mounted the carriage and left for the palace. Seeing him, the Emperor hastened to rise from his place to welcome him to the seat of honor.
After several rounds of wine, some of the officials suddenly cried out in alarm, “There is a fire outside the palace!”
Sun Chen rose to go out, but the Emperor stopped him. “Do not be alarmed, sir. There are a lot of soldiers outside. What is there to fear?”
Hardly had he finished these words than Zhang Bu, his sword drawn, rushed into the banquet hall at the head of some thirty armed guards, shouting, “I hold an edict to slay the rebel Sun Chen.”
Sun Chen made a desperate effort to flee but he was instantly seized by the armed guards. He fell prostrate before the Emperor, bowing his head to the ground, pleading, “I desire to be exiled to my home village in Jiaozhou.”
“Did you exile any of your victims?” retorted the Emperor angrily.
So the order was given to execute him and Sun Chen was hustled to the east corner of the hall and put to death. All his former followers dared not stir. Then Zhang Bu proclaimed the Emperor’s edict that Sun Chen was the only culprit and no one else would be punished. This set their hearts at ease.
Zhang Bu requested the Emperor to ascend the Tower of the Five Phoenixes. Soon, Ding Feng and his two comrades brought forth Sun Chen’s four brothers and the Emperor condemned them all to death. After this their families were also slain, the total number of those killed being several hundred. Moreover, the tomb of his cousin Sun Jun was broken open and his corpse beheaded.
For the victims of the Sun brothers, including Zhuge Ke, Teng Yin, Lu Ju, Wang Chun, and their families, tombs were built to commend their loyalty. And those that had been exiled to distant lands were permitted to return home fully pardoned. Ding Feng and the others were handsomely rewarded.
News of this change of power was dispatched to Chengdu, and the Second Ruler of Shu sent an envoy to congratulate his ally on his success. In return Wu also sent an envoy, named Xue Xu, to the west. On his return the Emperor asked him about affairs in the west.
“These days the most powerful man in Shu is a eunuch named Huang Hao and most courtiers try to please him. Truthful words are not heard at their court, and the country people look sallow and starved. It is just as the saying goes, ‘Swallows and sparrows in the eaves know not that the building is about to be in flames.’”
“Alas! If only Prime Minister Zhuge were still alive—how different it all would be!” said the ruler of Wu, with a sigh.
Then he had another state letter drafted and sent to Shu, in which he pointed out that Sima Zhao undoubtedly intended usurpation, and when that happened he would invade both Wu and Shu to demonstrate his strength, so he urged his ally to be prepared against this.
On hearing about this, Jiang Wei again sought permission for another expedition against Wei. Consent being given, he took leave of the Second Ruler and marched his army of 200,000 men into Hanzhong, with Liao Hua and Zhang Yi as van leaders. Four officers commanded the two wings with another one in the rear, while Jiang Wei and Xiahou Ba led the center column.
Asked what he thought should be their first objective, Xiahou Ba replied, “We can advance from Qishan, which is an ideal battleground. The late prime minister launched six expeditions from there because it is the only good exit.”
Jiang Wei approved and so the army marched to the Qishan Mountains, where they camped at the entrance to the valley.
At this time Deng Ai was also at his camp in the Qishan Mountains training the Longyou troops. Suddenly mounted scouts came to report of the coming of the western men and their establishment of three encampments at the mouth of the valley. Deng Ai ascended a hill to observe the enemy camps. What he saw pleased him greatly and he said to his men after returning, “They have done exactly as I foresaw.”
Now Deng Ai had carefully examined the “pulse” of the terrain and so had intentionally left some ground open for the Shu army to encamp, for he had excavated a tunnel from his camp to where he had anticipated his enemy would halt. He had been waiting for the Shu army to arrive so that he could put his plan to action. Jiang Wei had unwittingly placed his three camps at the entrance of the valley and the left camp had been pitched on the very tunnel. Wang Han and Jiang Bin were in command of the camp.
Deng Ai ordered his son and Shi Zuan, each with 10,000 men, to batter the Shu lefthand camp from two sides. He also sent another officer to take five hundred sappers to set out for the camp at the second watch by the secret tunnel, and emerge from under the ground behind the tent.
Meanwhile, the two commanders of the Shu left camp, wary of a surprise from their enemy, dared not take off their armor when they went to sleep as the newly-made camp was not yet well fortified. Suddenly, they were told of the turmoil in the center of the camp. They seized their weapons and rode forth. At that moment, however, Deng Zhong and his colleague had also arrived to attack from the front. The two Shu officers fought desperately to defend their position but were unable to resist the enemy’s raid from both within and without. They abandoned the left camp and fled.
From his tent Jiang Wei heard the commotion in the lefthand camp and quickly grasped the real situation. He mounted and deployed in front of the center camp.
“Whoever dares to stir without permission will die!” he shouted. “If the enemy comes, just shoot them down and say nothing.”
The right camp was also ordered to hold its position. The defense proved effective. More than a dozen times the men of Wei charged forward, only to be driven back by arrows and bolts. Daylight found the Shu camps still firm, and Deng Ai drew off.
“Jiang Wei has indeed learned Zhuge Liang’s art,” said Deng Ai. “His men held out through the night without flinching, and his officers met the attack with composure. He is a real commander.”
The next day the two commanders of the left camp collected together their defeated men. Then they went to the main camp, where they knelt down and admitted their fault, but Jiang Wei said, “It was not your fault but mine. I failed to understand the nature of the terrain.”
He assigned to them more troops and told them to establish a camp. The bodies of the slain were buried in the underground passage. After that, a challenge to battle for the following day was sent to Deng Ai, who accepted it joyfully.
The next day the two armies were drawn up in front of the Qishan Mountains. Jiang Wei deployed his men in the “Eight Arrays” formation designed by Zhuge Liang, which are called Heaven, Earth, Wind, Cloud, Bird, Serpent, Dragon, and Tiger. While the maneuver was in progress, Deng Ai recognized the special formation and set his men accordingly.
Gripping his spear Jiang Wei rode out and cried out, “You have made a good imitation of my formation, but can you work the variations?”
“Do you think you alone hold the secret? Of course I know the variations.”
Deng Ai re-entered his ranks, ordered the signal officers to wave the flags to the right and left, and there evolved sixty-four variations of the original arra
y in rapid succession. This done, Deng Ai rode out to the front and asked, “What do you think of that?”
“Not too bad. Still, do you dare to attack my formation?”
“Why not?”
The two armies moved closer in orderly ranks. Deng Ai commanded from the center of his army. Then the clash came, but each army still maintained its own formation. Presently Jiang Wei waved his flag and all of a sudden his formation changed into one of “Serpent Coiling on the Ground.” Deng Ai was trapped in the center. Shouts arose all about him. Not knowing what this new formation was, Deng Ai panicked. Step by step the men of Shu closed in upon him, and he and his officers saw no way of escape.
“Surrender, Deng Ai!” cried the Shu soldiers in chorus.
Lifting his face to Heaven, Deng Ai heaved a long sigh. “I was tempted by an impulse to demonstrate my skill and I have fallen into Jiang Wei’s trap.”
Suddenly, from the northwest a cohort dashed in. To Deng Ai’s great joy they were soldiers of Wei, and he took the opportunity to fight his way out. The officer who saved him was Sima Wang.
But although Deng Ai had been rescued, his nine camps in Qishan were all seized by the Shu army and he had to retreat to the south of the River Wei to pitch a new camp.
“How did you come to know that formation and help me out of it?” asked Deng Ai of his rescuer.
Sima Wang replied, “In my youth I traveled to the south of Jingzhou and was friendly with Cui Zhou-ping and Shi Guang-yuan.* They explained that formation to me. Today, Jiang Wei used what is known as “Serpent Coiling on the Ground,” and the only way to break it is to attack its head, which I saw was in the northwest section of his army. So I struck from there and the formation was broken.”
Deng Ai admitted, “Although I have studied this formation, I don’t really know the variations. But since you know about these we may be able to use them to recover our camps.”
“I fear the little I have learned won’t be enough to throw dust in Jiang Wei’s eyes.”
The Three Kingdoms, Volume 3: Welcome the Tiger: An Epic Chinese Tale of Loyalty and War in a Dynamic New Translation Page 56