The old gentleman replied, “Sir Minister, I know you well by repute, and am happy to meet you. Many of the Mangs owe their lives to you, and all have been deeply impressed by your kindness.”
Then Zhuge Liang returned to the matter nearest his heart, the mystery of the spring.
The old man told him, “That is the Dumb Spring that your soldiers have drunk, and they will die in a few days. Besides that, there are other three poisonous streams called Spring of Destruction, Black Spring, and Spring of Weak Water. All miasma gathers there in the four streams, and it only vaporizes during the two watch before sunset.”
“In short, the Mangs cannot be conquered,” said Zhuge Liang when the old man had finished. “And Wu cannot be repressed, nor Wei overcome. And the Hans cannot be restored. So, I fail in the task set me by my Prince. Wish that I might die?”
“Be not so cast down, O Minister,” said the aged one. “I can lead you to a place where you may counteract all this.”
“I would ask for your instruction, Venerable One,” said Zhuge Liang. “What exalted advice have you to confer upon me? I hope you will instruct me.”
“West of this, not far off, is a valley, and seven miles from its entrance is a stream called the 'Spring of Eternal Peace,' near which there lives a recluse known as the Hermit of the Stream. He has not left the valley these twenty years. Behind his hut there gushes out a spring of water, called the 'Spring of Peace and Joy.' This is the antidote to your poison. Bathing in its waters is a cure for skin diseases and for malaria. Moreover, near the hut grows an herb called the 'garlic-leaved fragrance.' Chewing a leaf of this safeguards one from malaria. You can do no better than go to the hut of the recluse forthwith and get these remedies.”
Zhuge Liang humbly thanked his aged counselor, and said, “Venerable Sir, I am profoundly affected by your merciful kindness and compassion. May I ask again by what name may call you?”
The old man rose and entered the temple, saying, “I am the Spirit of this mountain, sent by Ma Yuan to guide you.”
As he said this, he shouted at the solid rock behind the temple, and it opened of itself and let him in.
Zhuge Liang's astonishment was beyond words. He made another obeisance to the Spirit of the temple and went down by the way he had come. Then he returned to his camp.
Next day, bearing incense and gifts, Wang Ping and his stricken men went west to the spot which the old man had indicated. They luckily found the valley and followed its narrow road till they came to a small, farm-like enclosure, where tall pines and lofty cypresses, luxuriant bamboos, and gorgeous flowers sheltered a few simple huts. An exquisite perfume pervaded the whole place.
Zhuge Liang rejoiced to recognize the spot and at once knocked at the door. A lad answered his knock, and Zhuge Liang was telling his name when the host came out quickly, saying, “Surely my visitor is the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty?”
Zhuge Liang saw at the door a man with a bamboo comb holding back his hair, grass shoes on his feet, and a robe of white girded in by a black girdle. He had green eyes and yellowed hair.
“Great Scholar, how did you know who I was?” said Zhuge Liang.
“How could I not have heard of your expedition to the south?”
He invited Zhuge Liang to enter, and when they had seated themselves in their relative positions as host and guest, Zhuge Liang said, “My former Prince, the First Ruler, confided to me the care of his son and successor. That son, now Emperor, gave me a command to lead an army to this country, get the Mangs on our side and spread our culture among them. But now to my disappointment Meng Huo, the King, has hidden himself in the Bald Dragon Ravine, and some of my soldiers on the way to seek him drank of a certain fountain and are dumb. But last evening the former leader of an expedition, Ma Yuan, manifested his sacred presence and told me that you, Exalted Sir, had a remedy for this evil, and I pray you of your pity to give me of the potent fluid whereby my soldiers' lives may be saved.”
The recluse replied, “I am only a worthless old man of the wild woods and unworthy of the visit of such as you, O Minister. The water you desire flows out at the back of my cottage and you may take what you will of it.”
The serving lad then showed Wang Ping and his dumb companions to the Spring of Peace and Joy, and he dipped up the waters for them to drink. As soon as they had drunk, they coughed up some poisoned mucus and could speak. The lad also led the soldiers to the Spring of Eternal Peace where they could bathe.
In the cottage the recluse regaled Zhuge Liang with tea made of cypress seeds and a conserve of pine flowers. He also told his guest, saying, “In this region, the lands are full of serpents and scorpions, and the lily flowers blown into the springs by the wind make them unfit to drink. However, if you dig wells, you will find good water.”
Then Zhuge Liang begged some of the garlic-leaved herb as an antidote against malaria. The recluse said the soldiers could pluck as much as they wanted. And so every one put a leaf in his mouth and thus became malaria-proof.
Zhuge Liang, with a low bow then begged to be told the name of his benefactor.
“I am Meng Huo's eldest brother,” said the recluse, smiling. “My name is Meng Jie.”
Zhuge Liang started.
“Do not be afraid,” said the recluse. “Let me explain. We were three brothers of the same parents, the eldest being myself. Our parents are both dead. My brother Meng Huo, being headstrong and vicious, has never been amenable to culture. I have talked to him many times, but he kept his own course. Finally, under an assumed name, I retired to this spot. I am ashamed for my brother's rebellion, which has put you, O Minister, to the trouble of making this expedition into a barren country, but it has given me the privilege of seeing you. For my responsibility in this I deserve to die a thousand times, as I own to your face, and I beg your pardon.”
Zhuge Liang sighed, saying, “Now I believe that story of the robber Liu Zhi and the noble Liu Xiahui; this is the same thing over again. People renowned for villainy and virtue may come from the same stock.” Then he said to his host, “Would you wish me to represent your merits to the Emperor and get you created a king?”
“How can you think I desire honors or wealth when I am here because of my contempt for all such things?”
Zhuge Liang then wished to make him certain presents, but the recluse would have none of them.
So taking leave of his host, Zhuge Liang went back to his camp.
In the southern expedition when the Mangs were subdued,
Zhuge Liang found a high-born recluse in a shady solitude.
Up till then the gloomy forests were thought destitute of men,
That no curling smoke wreath ever floated upwards from the glen.
As soon as Zhuge Liang reached camp, he set the soldiers digging for water. They dug to a great depth but found none; nor were they more successful when they tried other places. They were very discouraged.
Then Zhuge Liang in the depths of the night burned incense and prayed to God: “Unworthy as is thy servant Zhuge Liang, he has received favor from the Great Hans and now has been ordered to subdue the Mangs. Alas! Now our water is spent and my soldiers and animals are parched with thirst. If Thy will be to preserve the line of Han, then give, I beseech Thee, sweet water; but if their course is run, then may Thy servant and those with him die in this place.”
The morning after this prayer the wells were full of sweet water.
The Mangs must be conquered; Zhuge Liang led a great array,
Though his skill was superhuman, yet he held the righteous way;
As the wells gave forth sweet water when Geng Gong's head bowed full low,
So the reverent prayers of Zhuge Liang made the lower springs to flow.
The soldiers' spirits revived with the supply of water, and the army soon advanced by hill paths to the Valley of the Bald Dragon, where they camped. When Meng Huo heard the news, he was greatly taken aback.
“These troops do not appear to have suffered either thirs
t or fever,” said he. “Our springs have lost their power.”
King Duo Si heard it, but doubted. He and Meng Huo ascended into a high hill whence they could see their enemies. They saw no signs of illness or distress; all went on calmly and quietly in the camps, water carrying and cooking, eating and attending to the cattle. Duo Si's hair stood on end as he looked at them.
“These are not human soldiers,” said he, shivering. “They must be sent from Heaven.”
“Our two brothers will fight one fierce battle with these troops of Shu and die therein,” said Meng Huo, “We cannot wait calmly to be put into bonds.”
“But, O King, if your army should be beaten, my whole family will also perish. Let us encourage the people of the ravines. Let us kill bullocks and slaughter horses to feed them, and urge them to go through fire and water to rush right up to the camp of the enemy and seize upon victory.”
So there was great feasting before the Mangs took the field. Just as this was going on, there arrived one Yang Feng, King of twenty-one ravines in the west, and he led thirty thousand troops. Meng Huo rejoiced exceedingly at this unexpected addition to his army and felt sure of victory. So he and Duo Si went out of their own valley to welcome Yang Feng, who said, “I have with me thirty thousand troops in iron mail, brave and intrepid warriors, who can fly over mountains and bound across the peaks; they of themselves are a match for the enemy even if the enemy numbered a hundred legions. And, moreover, my five sons, all trained in arms, are with me, all to help you, O Kings.”
The five sons were brought in and presented. They were handsome young fellows, bold and martial looking. Father and sons were entertained at a banquet. Halfway through the feast Yang Feng proposed a diversion.
“There is but scanty amusement in the field,” said Yang Feng, “and so I have brought along some native singing girls who have been taught fencing and such things. If you care for it, they might give an exhibition.”
The feasters hailed the suggestion with joy, and soon thirty maidens came to the front of the tent. Their hair hung about their shoulders, and they were barefooted. They danced and skipped and went through their performance outside. The guests inside clapped their hands and applauded their skill, and the soldiers joined in the choruses.
Presently, at a signal from their father, two of Yang Feng's sons bore two goblets to Meng Huo and Meng You. Meng Huo and Meng You took the cups and were raising them to their lips when Yang Feng shouted a single word of command, and, instantly, the cupbearers had the two brothers out of their seats and helpless in their hands. At this, Duo Si jumped up to run away, but Yang Feng gripped him, and he was a prisoner too. The Mang maidens ranged themselves in a line along the front of the tent so that none dared approach.
“When the hare dies the fox mourns,” said Meng Huo. “One sympathizes with one's own as a rule. We are both chiefs and have been friends. I know not why you should injure me.”
“I had to repay Zhuge Liang the Minister for his compassion on me and my people, and there was no way till you rebelled. Why should I not offer up a rebel in propitiation?”
Leaving Meng Huo, Meng You, and Duo Si in the hands of Yang Feng, the Mang warriors dispersed, each man returning to his own valley.
Yang Feng then took the prisoners to the camp of Shu, where he bowed at the tent door, saying, “I and my sons and the sons of my brother are grateful to you for much kindness, wherefore we bring to you as an offering the persons of these rebels.”
Zhuge Liang rewarded Yang Feng and bade them bring forward Meng Huo.
“This time are you prepared to yield?” said the Prime Minister.
“It is not your ability, but the treachery of my own people that has brought me to this. If you wish to slay, slay; but I will not yield.”
“You know you were the cause of my army entering into a waterless land, where there were those four evil streams, and yet my soldiers were not poisoned and came to no harm. Does it not seem to you like evidence of a superior protecting power? Why will you follow this misguided road and always be obstinate?”
Meng Huo replied, “My fathers have long held the Silver Pit Hills, and the three rivers and the two forests are their ramparts. If you can take that stronghold, then will I and my heirs for ever acknowledge your power and yield.” “I am going to liberate you once more,” said Zhuge Liang, “and you may put your army in order if you will and fight a decisive battle. But after that, if you are my prisoner and are still refractory and unsubmissive, I shall have to exterminate your whole family.”
Zhuge Liang ordered the lictors to loose the prisoner's bonds and let him go. After he had gone, the other two, Meng You and Duo Si, were led in and they also received their liberty. They were given wine and food. but they were confused and could not look Zhuge Liang in the face. They were given horses to travel on.
The way has been long and now danger is near,
But faith in their leader banishes fear.
The next chapter will tell how Meng Huo reorganized his army and whose the victory was.
CHAPTER 90. Chasing Off Wild Beasts, The Prime Minister Defeats The Mangs For The Sixth Time; Burning Rattan Armors, Zhuge Liang Captures Meng Huo The Seventh Time.
All the prisoners were released; and Yang Feng and his sons were rewarded with ranks, and his people were given presents. They expressed their gratitude and returned to their own, while Meng Huo and his brother hastened home to Silver Pit Hills.
Outside this ravine were three rivers — River Lu, River Gannan, and River Xicheng. These three streams united to form Three Rivers. Close to the ravine on the north was a wide and fruitful plain; on the west were salt wells. The River Lu flowed about seventy miles to the southwest, and due south was a valley called the Liangdu Ravine. There were hills in, as well as surrounding, the ravine, and in these they found silver; whence the name “Silver Pit.”
A palace complex had been built in the ravine, which the Mang kings had made their stronghold, and there was an ancestral temple, which they called “Family Spirits,” where they solemnized sacrifices of bulls and horses at the four seasons. They called these sacrifices “Inquiring of the Spirits.” Human sacrifices were offered also, humans of Shu or of their own people belonging to other villages. The sick swallowed no drugs, but prayed to a chief sorcerer, called “Drug Demon.” There was no legal code, the only punishment for every transgression being death.
When girls are grown and become women, they bathe in a stream. Men and women are kept separate, and they marry whom they will, the parents having no control in that particular. There was no formal vocational training. In good seasons the country produces grain, but if the harvest fails, they make soup out of serpents and eat boiled elephant flesh.
All over the country the head of the family of greatest local consideration is termed “King of the Ravine,” and the next in importance is called a “Notable.” A market is held in the city of Three Rivers, on the first day of every moon, and another on the fifteenth; goods are brought in and bartered.
In his own ravine, Meng Huo gathered his family and clan to the number of a thousand or more and addressed them: “I have been put to shame by the leaders of Shu many times, and I have sworn to take revenge for the insults. Has anyone any proposal to make?”
Thereupon a certain one replied, saying, “I can produce a man able to defeat Zhuge Liang.”
The assembly turned to the speaker, who was a brother of Meng Huo's wife. He was the head of eight tribes of the Southern Mangs, and was named Chief Dai Lai.
“Who is the man?” asked Meng Huo.
Chief Dai Lai replied, “He is Mu Lu, King of the Bana Ravine. He is a master of witchcraft who can call up the wind and invoke the rain. He rides upon an elephant and is attended by tigers, leopards, wolves, venomous snakes, and scorpions. Beside, he has under his hand thirty thousand superhuman soldiers. He is very bold. O King, write him a letter and send him presents, which I will deliver. If he will consent to lend his aid, what fear have we of Shu?”
Meng Huo was pleased with the scheme and ordered Dai Lai to draft a letter. Then he ordered Duo Si to defend Three Rivers and make the first line of defense.
Zhuge Liang led his troops near the city of Three Rivers. Taking a survey of the country, he noted that the city was surrounded by the three rivers and could only be reached by a bank on one face, so he sent Wei Yan and Zhao Yun to march along the road and attack. But when they reached the rampart, they found it well defended by bows and crossbows.
The defenders of the city were adepts in the use of the bow, and they had one sort which discharged ten arrows at once. Furthermore, the arrows were poisoned, and a wound meant certain death. The two generals saw that they could not succeed, and so retired.
When Zhuge Liang heard of the poisoned arrows, he mounted his light chariot and went to see for himself. Having regarded the defenses, he returned to his camp and ordered a retirement of three miles. This move delighted the Mangs, who congratulated each other on their success in driving off the besiegers, who, as they concluded, had been frightened away. So they gave themselves up to rejoicing and kept no watch. Nor did they even send out scouts.
The army of Shu made a strong camp in their new halting place and closed the gates for defense. For five days they gave no sign. One evening, just at sunset, a slight breeze began to blow. Then Zhuge Liang issued an order: “Every man should provide himself with a coat by the first watch. If any one lacks, he will be put to death.”
None of the generals knew what was in the wind, but the order was obeyed. Next, each man was ordered to fill his coat with earth. This order appeared equally strange, but it was carried out. When all were ready, they were told: “You are to carry the earth to the foot of the city wall, and the first arrivals will be rewarded.”
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