“You are most suspicious, sir,” replied Guan Yu. “It’s true he once treated me well, yet I have repaid him by slaying two of his most dangerous opponents, besides raising a siege. If he happened to come my way this time I certainly wouldn’t let him go.”
“But what if you do?”
“You can punish me by military law.”
“Then put that down in writing.”
So Guan Yu signed a written pledge and gave it to Zhuge Liang.
“But what if Cao Cao doesn’t come that way?” asked Guan Yu.
“I will give you a written pledge that he will,” said Zhuge Liang.
Guan Yu was much pleased.
Then Zhuge Liang continued, “On the hills by the road to Huarong you are to raise a fire with a heap of wood and grass and let the smoke lure Cao Cao into coming.”
“If Cao Cao sees the smoke he will suspect an ambush and will not come,” said Guan Yu.
Zhuge Liang said, smiling, “Don’t you know in a war falsehood may be truth and vice versa? Cao Cao is an able strategist but you can deceive him this time. When he sees the smoke he will take it as a camouflage and risk going that way. But don’t let your kindness of heart rule your conduct.”
Thus Guan Yu left, taking with him his adopted son Guan Ping, Zhou Cang, and 500 swordsman.
Liu Bei said, “My brother has a very high sense of honor. If Cao Cao should really go that way I am afraid he will let him pass.”
“I have consulted the stars and I know Cao Cao is not fated to come to his end yet,” said Zhuge Liang. “It will be good to let Yun-chang perform this kind act.”
“Indeed, no one in the country can be so far-sighted as you are,” said Liu Bei.
The two then went to Fankou, where they could watch Zhou Yu direct the battle. Sun Qian and Jian Yong remained to guard the city.
Cao Cao was in his great camp in conference with his advisors and awaiting news from Huang Gai. The southeast wind was very strong that day and Cheng Yu again asked his master to take precautions. But Cao Cao only laughed, saying, “This is the time of Winter Solstice when a new cycle in the weather pattern begins. In such moments of change there is bound to be an occasional southeast wind. I see nothing to be alarmed about.”
Just then soldiers came to report the arrival of a small boat from the southern shore with a letter from Huang Gai. The messenger was brought in and the letter presented. It said, “Zhou Yu has kept such a strict watch that there has been no chance for me to escape. But now some grain is coming down from Lake Poyang and I have been appointed leader of the convoy, which will give me the opportunity I desire. I will slay some of their best officers and bring their heads as an offering when I come. At about the second watch tonight look for ships with green dragon flags. These will be my grain ships.”
This letter delighted Cao Cao who, with his officers, went to the naval camp and boarded a great ship to watch for the arrival of Huang Gai.
On the southern shore, when evening fell, Zhou Yu sent for Cai He and told soldiers to bind him. The man protested that he had committed no crime but Zhou Yu said, “What sort of a fellow are you that you dare to come and pretend to desert to my side? I need a sacrifice for my flag and your head will serve my purpose.”
Cai He, unable to deny the charge, cried, “Two of your own men, Kan Ze and Gan Ning, are also in the plot!”
“Under my orders,” said Zhou Yu.
It was too late for Cai He to show remorse and he was taken to the riverbank, where the black standard had been set up. After the pouring of a libation and the burning of paper, he was beheaded, his blood being offered as a sacrifice to the flag.
After this ceremony the ships set out and Huang Gai took his place on the third fire ship. He wore breast armor and carried a keen blade. On his flag were written four large characters: Van Leader Huang Gai. With a fair wind his ships sailed toward the Red Cliff.
The easterly wind was strong and the waves rose high. Cao Cao in his central squadron eagerly scanned the opposite shore. When the moon emerged, shedding its light over the river, thousands of silver serpents seemed to play with the waves in innumerable folds. Letting the wind blow full in his face Cao Cao smugly laughed aloud, thinking he was sure to win the battle.
Then a soldier called out, pointing to the river, “There are some sails coming up on the wind.”
Cao Cao went to a higher point and gazed at the sails intently. Soon his men reported to him that the ships all had green dragon flags and among them was a large banner on which was written the name of Huang Gai.
“His coming is really a blessing from Heaven,” he said joyfully.
As the ships drew closer Cheng Yu looked at them very carefully. Suddenly he said, “Those ships are treacherous. Do not let them approach the camp.”
“How do know you that?” asked Cao Cao.
Cheng Yu replied, “If they were laden with grain they would lie deep in the water. But these are light and float easily. The southeast wind is very strong tonight—if they mean treachery, how can we defend ourselves?”
Cao Cao understood at once. Then he asked, “Who will go and stop them?”
Wen Ping volunteered. “I am quite used to fighting on water,” he said. “I will go.”
Then he sprang into a small light craft and sailed out, followed by a dozen scout boats, which came at his call. Standing in the prow of his boat he called out to those advancing toward them, “Don’t approach, you southern ships! Anchor there in midstream. This is the order of the prime minister.”
His soldiers all yelled to the southerners to lower their sails. The shout had not died away when a bowstring twanged and Wen Ping fell down into the boat with an arrow in his left arm. Confusion reigned on his boat and all the other boats fled back to camp.
By then the southern ships were only a couple of li from Cao Cao’s camp. Huang Gai waved his sword and the leading ships were set alight—under the force of the strong wind, this soon gained strength and the ships became as fiery arrows. Soon, the whole twenty ships of fire dashed into Cao Cao’s naval force.
All of Cao Cao’s ships caught fire and as they were firmly chained together not one of them could escape from the calamity. From across the river came the roar of a signal bomb and fire ships came on from all sides at once. The surface of the three rivers was speedily covered with fire, which flew before the wind from one ship to another. The whole sky and earth were lit up with flames.
Cao Cao looked toward his camps on shore and found several of them already ablaze. Huang Gai leaped into a small boat and dashed through the fire to look for Cao Cao. Seeing the immediate danger, Cao Cao was about to make for the land when Zhang Liao came up with a small boat and helped him into it. No sooner had they left the big ship than it, too, was aflame. Zhang Liao and the others got Cao Cao out of the thick of the fire and dashed for the bank.
Huang Gai, seeing a man in a red robe get into a small boat, guessed it must be Cao Cao, so he urged his boat to press on. Sword in hand, he shouted, “Stop fleeing, Cao Cao! Huang Gai is here.”
Cao Cao moaned in distress. At this moment Zhang Liao fitted an arrow to his bow and aimed at Huang Gai, shooting at short range. The roaring of the wind and the flames prevented Huang Gai from hearing the twang of the string and he was wounded in the shoulder. He fell and rolled over into the water.
He fell in peril of water when flames were high;
Ere cudgel bruises had faded, an arrow struck.
Whether Huang Gai would survive or not will be told in the next chapter.
Footnote
* According to Chinese medicine, qi is the driving force that regulates the functioning of various organs in the human body. Notice the pun in Zhuge Liang’s reply—as qi can also mean “air,” Zhuge Liang was seemingly talking about Zhou Yu’s illness, but actually implying his concern for the lack of a southeasterly wind.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Zhuge Liang Foresees the Huarong Episode
Guan Yu Lets Cao Cao Escap
e Out of Friendship
At the end of the last chapter Zhang Liao shot an arrow at Huang Gai, who fell down into the river, wounded in the shoulder. Then he rescued Cao Cao from immediate danger. By the time they found horses to get ashore, confusion had run rampant among his troops.
As Han Dang braved fire and smoke to attack Cao Cao’s naval forces, he was suddenly told by his soldiers that there was a man clinging to the rudder of their boat and shouting to him by his familiar name. Han Dang listened carefully and recognized the voice of his friend Huang Gai, who was calling to him for help.
“That’s Huang Gai!” he cried and quickly pulled him out of the water. He saw that Huang Gai was wounded by an arrow. He bit out the shaft of the arrow but the point was still deeply buried in the flesh. He hastily pulled off his friend’s wet clothes and cut out the metal arrowhead with a dagger, then tore up one of the flags and bound up the wound. Then Han Dang gave his friend his own fighting robe to wear and sent him off in a small boat back to camp for further treatment.
Huang Gai’s narrow escape from drowning was due to his natural affinity for water. Although it was bitterly cold and he was heavy with armor when he fell into the river, he still managed to survive.
It was indeed a great battle at the junction of the three rivers that day! And a fierce fight at the Red Cliff! Flames seemed to spread over all the wide surface of the waters and the earth quaked with the roar of fighting. Three of Zhou Yu’s mighty squadrons attacked at the same time. Han Dang and Jiang Qin closed in from the west of the Red Cliff, Zhou Tai and Chen Wu struck from the east, while Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu assaulted the center with the main fleet.
Fire was reinforced by the efforts of the soldiers and the soldiers were aided by the ferocity of fire. Under the thrusts of spears and the flights of arrows, burnt by fire and drowned by water, an incalculable number of Cao Cao’s men lost their lives.
When Wei and Wu fought the battle at Red Cliff
Vanished from the water were thousands of ships,
For there the fierce flames burned them utterly.
Zhou Yu for his lord gained the victory.
Let us leave for a while the story of the battle on the river and follow Zhou Yu’s troops on the land. Gan Ning, who had taken the spy Cai Zhong with him to Wulin, had penetrated into the recesses of Cao Cao’s camp. Then he slew the spy with one slash of his sword and set fire to the grass. At this signal Lu Meng also put fire to the grass in more than a dozen places to support Gan Ning. They were aided by two other officers who also started a fire and raised a shout. All at once the noise of battle drums was on all sides.
Cao Cao and the faithful Zhang Liao, with a small party of horsemen, fled through the burning forest. They could see no road in front—all seemed on fire. Presently Mao Jie and Wen Ping, with a few more horse-men, joined them. Cao Cao bade the soldiers seek a way through. Zhang Liao pointed out that the only suitable place to escape was through Wulin, so Cao Cao made for it at once.
They had gone but a short distance when they were overtaken by a party of their enemy and a voice cried, “Halt, Cao Cao!” It was Lu Meng, whose ensign soon appeared silhouetted against the fiery background. Cao Cao urged his small party of fugitives forward, bidding Zhang Liao to engage Lu Meng. Soon after, he saw the light of torches in front and from a gorge rushed out another force. The leader cried, “Ling Tong is here!”
Cao Cao was scared—his liver and gall both felt like they were being torn from within. But just then, from his side he saw another troop approach and a voice cried, “Do not be alarmed, my lord! Xu Huang is here to rescue you.”
A confused battle followed and the fugitives managed to break through the enemy forces and flee toward the north. However, soon they saw another troop camped by the side of a hill. Xu Huang went ahead to reconnoiter and found the officers in command were two of their own men who had once been in the service of Yuan Shao. They had 3,000 northern men in their camp. They had seen the sky redden with the flames, but, unaware of the real situation, dared not make any move.
Cao Cao was grateful for this fresh help. Leading a thousand men, he sent these two to clear the road ahead, while the others remained as his guards. He now felt more secure.
The two went forward, but before they had gone ten li they heard a shouting and a party of soldiers came out, whose leader shouted: “Gan Ning is here!”
They tried to put up a fight but the fearsome Gan Ning turned out to be more than they could manage. One of them was killed before he could even engage and the other fell in the first bout. Both of them being dead, the soldiers fled to give Cao Cao the bad news. The only hope for Cao Cao at this time was to get assistance from his troops in Hefei.
However, Sun Quan had already barred the road to Hefei. When he saw the fire on the rivers, Sun Quan knew that his men had won the day, so he ordered Lu Xun to raise torches to give the signal. Seeing this, Taishi Ci came to join forces with Lu Xun and together they assaulted Cao Cao, who had to turn toward Yiling. On the road he fell in with Zhang He and ordered him to stay in the rear to protect the retreat. He pressed on as quickly as possible until the fifth watch when, looking back, he found that the glare of fire was some distance away and he felt safer. He asked his men about the name of this place. They told him it was west of Wulin and north of Yidu. Seeing the thickly crowded trees, the steep hills, and narrow passes, he threw up his head and laughed loudly.
“Why do you laugh?” asked the officers.
“I am laughing at none other than Zhou Yu, who is not crafty enough, and Zhuge Liang, who is not clever enough,” said Cao Cao. “If they had only set an ambush here, as I would have done, why, there would be no escape for Cao Cao’s forces.”
He had scarcely finished his words when from both sides came a deafening roll of drums and flames sprang up to the sky. Cao Cao nearly fell off his horse, he was so startled. And from the side dashed forth a troop, with Zhao Yun as the leader, who cried, “By the order of our military advisor, I have long been waiting here for you!”
Cao Cao ordered Xu Huang and Zhang He to engage this new opponent and he himself rode off into the smoke and fire. Zhao Yun did not pursue but only captured his banners, so Cao Cao was able to escape.
The faint light of dawn showed a great black cloud all around, and the southeast wind had not ceased blowing. Suddenly there was a heavy downpour of rain, wetting everyone to the skin, but still Cao Cao maintained his headlong flight, until the hunger of the men made a halt imperative. He told the men to forage in the villages for grain and find means to make a fire. But when these had been found and they began to cook a meal, another troop came along. Once again Cao Cao was terrified but to his great joy, these proved to be his faithful officers Xu Chu and Li Dian escorting his advisors.
As he gave the order to advance again he asked what place lay ahead, and was told that there were two roads, one leading to the highway to South Yiling and the other, a mountain road to North Yiling.
“Which is the shorter way to Nanjun and Jiangling?” asked Cao Cao.
“Take the road to South Yiling and then through Gourd Pass,” was the reply.
So he gave orders to march that way. By the time they reached Gourd Pass the men were almost starving and could march no further; the horses, too, were worn out. Many had fallen by the roadside. A halt was then called. Some of the soldiers still had cooking pans with them and others had taken food by force from villagers. They found some dry spots beside the hills where they could rest and cook. And there they began to prepare a meal, boiling grain and roasting strips of horse-flesh. Then they took off their wet clothes and spread them out to dry. The beasts, too, were unsaddled and turned out to graze.
Seated under some trees in a wood Cao Cao suddenly looked up and laughed loud and long. His companions, remembering the sequel of his last laugh, said, “Just now, sir, you laughed at Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang— which resulted in the arrival of Zhao Yun and the loss of many men for us. Why do you laugh now?”
“I am la
ughing again at the ignorance of these two. If I were in their place, and conducting their campaign, I should have set an ambush here for us when we were tired. Then, even if we managed to escape, we would suffer severe losses. I am laughing at them for their lack of foresight.”
Even as he spoke there rose a great yell. Thoroughly startled, Cao Cao leaped upon his horse without even putting on his armor. Many of the soldiers failed to catch their horses in their eagerness to flee. In no time fire and smoke sprang up on every side and filled the mouth of the valley. A force was arrayed before them and at the head was Zhang Fei, seated on his steed with his great spear leveled.
“Where do you think you are going, you rebel?” he shouted.
The sight of the terrible warrior sent a chill into them all. Then Xu Chu, mounted on a saddleless horse, rode up to engage him and Zhang Liao and Xu Huang galloped to his aid. The three fought with Zhang Fei and a melee followed. Taking advantage of this, Cao Cao made off at top speed. His officers soon fled after him and Zhang Fei pursued. However, Cao Cao, by dint of hard riding, got away and gradually the pursuers were outdistanced—but many of his officers had received wounds. As they were fleeing some soldiers came up to ask, “There are two roads before us. Which shall we take?”
“Which is the shorter?’ asked Cao Cao.
“The high road is the more level, but it is fifty li longer than the path which leads to Huarong. But the nearer way is narrow and dangerous, full of pits and holes.”
Cao Cao sent men up to the top of a hill to reconnoiter. They returned to report that there were several columns of smoke rising from the hills along the path, while the high road seemed quiet.
Then Cao Cao ordered them to lead the way along the narrow pathway.
“Where smoke arises there are surely soldiers,” remarked the officers. “Why do you want to take that way?”
“Don’t you know what the Book of War says? Falsehood may be the truth and truth, falsehood. That fellow Zhuge Liang is very sly. He has sent men to make a fire there to prevent us from taking that way and yet he has laid an ambush on the high road waiting for us. I have seen through his trick and I will not fall a victim to his wiles.”
The Three Kingdoms, Volume 2: The Sleeping Dragon: The Epic Chinese Tale of Loyalty and War in a Dynamic New Translation Page 21