The Three Kingdoms, Volume 2: The Sleeping Dragon: The Epic Chinese Tale of Loyalty and War in a Dynamic New Translation

by Luo Guanzhong

  Xu Chu rode forth whirling his sword and the duel began. They fought over a hundred bouts and neither could prevail over the other. But then, as their steeds were quite spent with so much galloping to and fro, each withdrew to his own side to obtain a fresh horse. The contest was renewed and a hundred further encounters took place, still without victory to either warrior.

  Suddenly Xu Chu galloped back to his own side, stripped off his armor, showing his bulging muscles and, naked as he was, leaped again into the saddle and rode out to continue the battle.

  Again the champions engaged, while both armies stood aghast. Thirty bouts more, and Xu Chu, summoning up all his force, raised high his sword and then brought it down heavily on his opponent. Ma Chao dodged, set his spear directly at his opponent’s heart, and thrust. Discarding his sword, Xu Chu caught the spear in his hands. Then ensued a struggle for the spear. Xu Chu, being a man of mighty strength, snapped the shaft so that each held one half of the spear. And the duel continued, each belaboring the other with the broken piece of the weapon.

  At this point Cao Cao, for fear lest his champion might suffer, ordered two of his officers to go forth and help. Seeing this, Pang De and Ma Dai led their armored horsemen out to attack. They dashed ferociously into the enemy formation. A melee began in which Cao Cao’s men were worsted and Xu Chu received two arrow wounds in the shoulder. So they retreated to their stockade, Ma Chao following them to the river. In this battle a great majority of Cao Cao’s men were either wounded or killed.

  Cao Cao barred his gates and allowed none to go out. Ma Chao went back and said to Han Sui, “I have seen some terrible fighters, but none to match Xu Chu. He is aptly nicknamed Mad Tiger.”

  Thinking that by strategy he might get the better of Ma Chao, Cao Cao secretly sent a troop led by Xu Huang across the river to take up position on the west bank so that he might attack his foe from both the front and the rear.

  One day from his rampart, Cao Cao saw Ma Chao and several hundred horsemen ride close up to the walls and then gallop to and fro like the wind. After gazing at them for a long time he tore off his helmet and dashed it to the ground, saying, “If that Ma Chao is not killed, I will die without even a burying ground!”

  Xiahou Yuan heard him and his heart burned within him. He cried, “May I die here at once if I do not destroy that rebel!”

  Without more ado he flung open the gates and rode out with his thousand of men. Cao Cao tried to stop this mad rush but without success—so fearing his general might come to grief, he rode out after him. At the sight of Cao Cao’s men, Ma Chao spread his men out in a line. As Xiahou Yuan approached, Ma Chao dashed forward to draw him into the fight. Then noticing Cao Cao himself in the distance, he abandoned Xiahou Yuan and rode straight toward Cao Cao. Panic seized Cao Cao and he fled for his life, while his men were thrown into confusion.

  It was during this pursuit that Ma Chao was told of Xu Huang encamping on the west bank of the river. Realizing the danger this meant for him he gave up the pursuit, called back his men and went to his own camp, there to consult Han Sui.

  “Cao Cao has crossed the river and we can be attacked both in the front and rear,” said Ma Chao. “What are we to do?”

  One of Han Sui’s officers, named Li Kan, said, “It is better to sacrifice some territory and make a peace agreement so that both sides can stop the fighting for the time being. Wait until winter is over. Chances may come with the spring weather.”

  “He is right,” said Han Sui. “I think we should do as he suggested.”

  But Ma Chao hesitated. Two other officers of Han Sui’s also exhorted him to make peace and at length he agreed. So Yang Qiu was sent as messenger of peace to the camp of Cao Cao.

  “You may return—I will send my reply over soon,” said Cao Cao after learning the purport of his mission. And Yang Qiu left.

  The advisor Jia Xu went in to see Cao Cao and asked, “What do you think of this, sir?”

  “What is your opinion?” asked Cao Cao.

  “War allows deceit. I think we can pretend to agree. Then try to sow dissension between Han Sui and Ma Chao and both can be destroyed at one tap of the drum.”

  Cao Cao clapped his hands for joy. “Best minds often agree. I have just been thinking of that.”

  So to Ma Chao’s peace offer was returned an answer which said: “Let me gradually withdraw my soldiers and I will give back the land belonging to you on the west of the river.” At the same time Cao Cao ordered the construction of a floating bridge to put up a show of planning a withdrawal.

  When the reply arrived, Ma Chao said to Han Sui, “Although he agrees to peace, yet it is difficult to know his real intention, for he is evil and crafty. We must remain prepared against his machinations. Uncle, let us take turns in watching Cao Cao and Xu Huang on alternate days. Only thus will we be safe against his treachery.”

  Han Sui agreed and each of them alternated in keeping a close watch on Cao Cao’s camp and on Xu Huang’s position on the west bank of the river. Soon Cao Cao was informed of what his enemies were doing. He turned to Jia Xu and said, “My plan is going to work!”

  Then he asked his guards, “Who keeps the lookout on this side tomorrow?”

  “Han Sui.”

  The next day Cao Cao, at the head of a large party of his officers, rode out of the camp and the officers presently spread out on his right and left, he himself remaining a solitary rider visible in the center. As many of Han Sui’s men did not know Cao Cao by sight they came forth to have a good look of him. Cao Cao called out, “Do any of you soldiers want to see Cao Cao? Here I am. I am also a man like yourselves, not someone with four eyes or a couple of mouths, only I am more resourceful.”

  The soldiers turned pale with fright. Then Cao Cao sent out a man to say to Han Sui, “Sir, the prime minister humbly asks you to come and confer with him.” So Han Sui went out and, seeing Cao Cao wore no armor, he also threw offhis and rode out alone, clad in a light robe. Each rode up to the other till their horse’s heads nearly touched and there they started talking.

  Cao Cao said first, “Your father and I were recommended to be officials at the same time and I used to regard him as an uncle. Later you and I were also colleagues in court. But that was a long time ago. May I ask how old you are now, General?”

  “I am forty already,” replied Han Sui.

  “Why, we were both so young in those days at the capital. How quickly middle age has crept up on us! If we could only restore tranquillity to the country, then we would have a joyful time together.”

  After that he chatted about old times, without mentioning a word on military matters, but laughing heartily. They talked for a couple of hours before they took leave of each other.

  Ma Chao soon heard of this meeting and he hastened over to his ally to ask about the details.

  “What did Cao Cao say to you today?” he asked.

  “He just recalled the old days when we were together in the capital,” replied Han Sui.

  “How could he say nothing about military matters?”

  “Well, he did not breathe a word—and I could not talk about them alone.”

  Ma Chao, full of suspicion, went away without another word.

  When Cao Cao returned to his camp he said to Jia Xu, “Do you know why I talked with him like that publicly?”

  “It may be an excellent idea,” said Jia Xu, “but it is not sufficient to estrange those two people. I can improve on it and we will make them quarrel and even kill each other.”

  “What is your scheme?”

  “Ma Chao is brave but not astute. You can write a letter in your own hand to Han Sui alone. Include some ambiguous statements, blot out the key points, and write something else. Then send it to Han Sui, taking care that Ma Chao will know about it. He will demand to read the letter, and when he sees that the important parts of the letter have been blotted out and changed, he will suspect that it is Han Sui who has made the changes lest his secrets should leak out. This will remind him of the pri
vate talk you had with Han Sui today and his suspicion will grow so intense that it will bring about trouble. I can secretly corrupt some of Han Sui’s subordinates and get them to widen the breach between the two. In this way we can settle Ma Chao.”

  “This is excellent,” said Cao Cao, and he wrote the letter as suggested, with the crossouts and alterations, after which he sealed it securely and deliberately sent quite a few of his attendants to deliver it across to Han Sui.

  Sure enough, someone told Ma Chao about the letter, which increased his doubts, and he came to Han Sui’s quarters to ask to see it. Han Sui gave it to him and the deletions and alterations struck Ma Chao at once.

  “Why are all these alterations here?” he asked.

  “It came like that—I do not know.”

  “Can anyone send a rough draft like this? It seems to me, uncle, that you have changed the wording lest I should know the details.”

  “It must be that Cao Cao has sealed up the rough draft by mistake.”

  “I do not think so. He is a shrewd man and would not make such a mistake. You and I, uncle, have been allies in our effort to slay the rebel—why are you turning against me now?”

  “If you doubt my word I will tell you what you can do. Tomorrow, in front of the two armies, I will get Cao Cao to come out and talk and you can take him by surprise. Just rush out and pierce him to death.”

  “If that is so, I will know that you are true, uncle.”

  Thus arranged, the next day Han Sui with five officers in his train, rode to the front, while Ma Chao concealed himself behind the great standard. Han Sui sent someone over to say that he wished to speak to the prime minister.

  Cao Cao commanded Cao Hong to ride straight to Han Sui. When he was a few paces away from Han Sui, Cao Hong saluted and said, loudly enough to be heard plainly, “Remember what the prime minister wrote to you last night, General. There must be no mistake.” Then without another word he rode away.

  Ma Chao had heard his words. In a fury he gripped his spear and galloped out to slay his ally in arms. But the five officers checked him and persuaded him to go back to camp.

  Han Sui said, “Trust me, good nephew. I really have no evil intentions.”

  But Ma Chao would not be convinced. Burning with rage he went away. Han Sui discussed the matter with his five officers.

  “How can this be cleared up?”

  “Ma Chao trusts too much to his own strength,” said Yang Qiu. “He is often inclined to bully you, sir. Even if we overcome Cao Cao, do you think he will give way to you? To my humble mind you should rather think of your own interests. Go over to Prime Minister Cao’s side and you will surely get a title of honor one day.”

  “His father was my pledged brother and I cannot bear to desert him,” said Han Sui.

  “But as things are now, you simply have to.”

  “Then who will act as go-between?” asked Han Sui.

  “I will,” volunteered Yang Qiu.

  Then Han Sui wrote a secret letter which he confided to Yang Qiu, who soon found his way over to the other camp. Cao Cao was only too pleased, and he promised that Han Sui would be made Lord of Xiliang, Yang Qiu its prefect, and all the others would also be rewarded in certain ways. It was then agreed that a fire was to be raised in Han Sui’s camp as a signal to do away with Ma Chao.

  Yang Qiu went back and related all this to his chief and Han Sui felt elated at this initial success. A lot of wood was collected at the back of his tent ready for the signal blaze, and the five officers stood fully armed, ready for the foul deed. They also discussed if they should try to persuade Ma Chao to come to a banquet at their camp and there slay him, but Han Sui hesitated.

  However, by then news of the plot had already reached Ma Chao. He resolved to act first. Leaving Ma Dai and Pang De in reserve, he chose a few trusted men and stole into Han Sui’s tent, where he found Han Sui and his five confederates deep in conversation. He heard Yang Qiu saying, “We must not delay, now is the time.”

  Then in burst Ma Chao, sword in hand. “You herd of traitors!” he yelled in wrath. “How dare you plot against me?”

  They were startled. Ma Chao sprang at Han Sui and slashed at his face. Han Sui put up his hand to ward off the blow and his left hand was instantly cut off. The five officers all drew their swords to fight against Ma Chao. The young man strode outside, followed by the five, who surrounded him, but were kept at bay by Ma Chao’s wonderful swordsmanship. And as his sword flashed, the blood of his victims flowed. Soon, one of the five was down and a second slain—then the other three fled.

  Ma Chao ran back into the tent to finish Han Sui, but attendants had removed the wounded man. At this moment the signal fire was lit at the back of the tent, and soon there was commotion all through the camp. Ma Chao hastened to mount. He was presently joined by Pang De and Ma Dai, and the real fight began. Cao Cao’s men, in four divisions, poured in from all sides, while the Xiliang men fought with each other.

  Later, losing sight of his two companions, Ma Chao and a hundred others halted at the head of the bridge over the Wei River. At dawn he spotted Li Kan, one of Han Sui’s five officers, coming over the bridge with a troop. Ma Chao set his spear and rode at him full tilt. Li Kan fled, dragging his spear along. At this point one of Cao Cao’s officers came up in pursuit of Ma Chao. But afraid to draw too near to him, he sent an arrow flying instead. Hearing the twang of the bowstring Ma Chao dodged the arrow, which flew on and killed Li Kan. Ma Chao turned to attack his pursuer, who galloped away. Then Ma Chao returned and re-took possession of the bridge.

  Quickly Cao Cao’s four divisions arrived, preceded by the fiercest among them, the Tiger Guards, who shot flights of arrows at Ma Chao. Whirling his spear, Ma Chao warded them all off so that they fell one after another to the ground. Ma Chao ordered his men to ride to and fro to seek a breakthrough, but the enemy lines were too thick to penetrate. At this, Ma Chao, with a loud cry, dashed into the enemy formation himself, but his followers were all held back. Alone he kept on fighting desperately for a way out, till his horse was hit by a crossbow bolt and he fell. As he lay on the ground, his enemies pressed in on him. But at the critical moment a troop came in from the northwest and rescued him. Pang De and Ma Dai had come up in the very nick of time.

  Thus Ma Chao was rescued and they set him on one of the soldiers’ horses and he again took up the fight. Leaving a trail of blood in his wake, he escaped toward the northwest.

  Hearing that his enemy had got away, Cao Cao ordered his officers to pursue him day and night and offered rich rewards for capturing Ma Chao dead or alive. For his head the reward was a thousand taels of gold and the lordship of a fief of many people. If anyone captured Ma Chao, the reward was the rank of a high-level general. Consequently the pursuit was warm as everyone was anxious to win renown and reward. Meanwhile, careless of all but flight Ma Chao galloped on and one by one his followers dropped by the way. The retainers who were unable to keep up were mostly captured. In the end only about thirty riders, Pang De and Ma Dai among them, traveled with him on a westward-bound journey.

  Cao Cao in person joined the pursuit and got as far as Anding, but after learning that Ma Chao was far in advance he gave up and returned. Gradually the officers did the same, all coming back to Chang’an. Han Sui, with the loss of his left hand, was reduced to an invalid, but he was rewarded with the marquisdom and his two remaining officers, the other three being slain, were given rank and office.

  Then orders were given to lead the whole army back to the capital. Yang Fu, a military officer of rank in Liangzhou, came to Chang’an to point out the danger of withdrawal. “Ma Chao has the valor of Lu Bu and the support of the Qiang people. Unless you destroy him this time he will grow stronger, and the whole of this district will be lost for the government. Pray do not withdraw your army, sir.”

  Cao Cao said, “I would be quite willing to stay and hunt him down but there is much to do in the capital and the south is still to conquer. So I cannot remain. I want you,
sir, to secure this country for me.” Yang Fu accepted the order. He then recommended to Cao Cao a man called Wei Kang, who was made Governor of Liangzhou. Both of them were to hold an army in Jicheng against Ma Chao. Just before Yang Fu left, he asked Cao Cao to leave a strong reserve force in Chang’an in case of emergency.

  “That has already been seen to,” replied Cao Cao.

  With this assurance Yang Fu took his leave and went away.

  Although Ma Chao was driven away, the tactics that Cao Cao used to worst him remained a mystery to his officers. They asked him to explain his recent strategy. “Why didn’t you attack him first from the east bank instead of wrestling with him at Tong Pass? Why did you wait for so long before you crossed to the north bank and erected camps?”

  Cao Cao replied, “The rebels first held Tong Pass. Had I at once taken the east the rebels would have divided their forces to defend all the ferries, and I would never have the chance to cross the river from the west bank. So I massed men against Tong Pass to make the rebels concentrate their defense on the south. As a result, the west was left open. Thus Xu Huang could cross over. Later I crossed over to the north, where I ordered the soldiers to build floating bridges, dig tunnels, and erect mud walls. All this was to give our enemy a false impression that I was weak and thus embolden them up to the point of neglecting their defense. Then by using the clever device of sowing dissension among them I was able, in one day, to destroy the combined energy of all their forces. It was as fast as ‘a thunder clap before you could cover your ears’. You see, the variations of the art of war are infinite.”

  “But there is still one more thing that puzzled us,” said the officers. “When you heard the enemy was reinforced you seemed to grow happier. Why was that?”

  “Because the western regions were remote and if all these rebels had taken advantage of defensible points and held them, they could not have been quelled in less than a couple of years. When they assembled together they seemed to make a formidable multitude—but they were not unanimous in their outlook. They easily quarreled and, disunited, were easily overcome. So I had reason to rejoice when they came altogether.”