Having committed all the atrocities, Dong Zhuo and his stooges left for the new capital, taking with them the Emperor and his household, followed by an extremely long procession of thousands of carts filled with gold and silver, pearls and silk, and all kinds of treasures.
The city of Luoyang being thus abandoned, the commander at Sishui Pass surrendered and Sun Jian at once entered with his army. Liu Bei and his two brothers took Tigertrap Pass and all the other lords also advanced with their armies.
Meanwhile, Sun Jian headed toward the deserted capital in haste. Even from a distance he could see the city lit up in flames and a dense smoke curling over the ground. No living thing, not a fowl or a dog or a human being, could be found for miles and miles around. Sun Jian ordered his men to extinguish the fire and then asked the lords to camp on the barren fields.
Cao Cao went to see Yuan Shao and said, “Dong Zhuo is now on his way to Chang’an. We ought to seize this opportunity to pursue and attack without loss of time. Why do you take no action?”
“The armies are all exhausted. There is nothing to gain by advancing,” answered Yuan Shao.
Cao Cao argued, “The whole country is greatly upset by Dong Zhuo’s atrocities of burning down the palaces and abducting the Emperor. No one knows which way to turn. This is the Heaven-sent moment to destroy him. With one decisive battle we can rule the world. Why are you so hesitant and do not advance?”
But all the lords disagreed with him. Exasperated, he cried out, “You cowards! I have nothing more to say to you!” He left the city that very night with his trusted subordinates and army in pursuit of Dong Zhuo.
Now Dong Zhuo and his cavalcade had reached Yingyang on their way to the newly-chosen capital and the prefect of the city went out to welcome them. Li Ru warned his master of the danger of their being pursued.
“Tell the prefect to lay an ambush beside some hills outside the city,” he said. “If the pursuers come, do not fight with them, but let them proceed. Wait until our army beats them off, then storm out to prevent them from escaping. That will teach the others not to follow us.”
So everything was arranged as Li Ru had planned. With a company of veteran soldiers, Lu Bu was placed at the rear, ready to fight any pursuers. Soon they saw Cao Cao and his troops coming. Lu Bu laughed. “It’s just as Li Ru has predicted.” And he set out his men in fighting order.
Cao Cao rode forth and cried out, “You rebels, where are you taking the Emperor and the people?”
Lu Bu replied, “Traitor and coward, what nonsense are you talking!”
Then from Cao Cao’s side Xiahou Dun came forth to fight against Lu Bu. They had exchanged only a few bouts when another army led by Li Jue came up from the left. Cao Cao hurriedly ordered Xiahou Yuan to oppose him. But almost at once shouts came from the right and still another army led by Guo Si emerged. Cao Ren was sent in a hurry to confront him. The onrush of the three armed forces, however, proved too much to withstand. Very soon, Xiahou Dun could not ward off Lu Bu’s attack and had to flee back to his own army. Lu Bu led his mail-clad veterans and pressed forward, defeating Cao Cao’s men completely. The beaten men turned back toward Yingyang.
At about nine in the evening they got to the foot of a barren hill. The moon was shining brightly, making it almost as light as day. Here they collected together what remained of their army and were about to bury the boilers to prepare a meal when all of a sudden there arose loud shouting on all sides—out came the men waiting in ambush.
Cao Cao, thrown into a flurry, mounted and fled as fast as he could. Unfortunately he ran right into the waiting prefect. He turned and dashed off in another direction but the prefect drew an arrow to his bow and shot him in the shoulder. With the arrow still in the wound, Cao Cao escaped for his life, galloping past the hillside. Two soldiers lying in ambush saw him approaching and suddenly both of them struck his horse with their spears. The horse fell, throwing down Cao Cao, who was seized and made prisoner.
At this critical moment, an officer riding at full speed came to his rescue. Whirling his sword, he killed both his captors and then dismounting, helped Cao Cao up. It was his cousin Cao Hong.
“I’m doomed,” said Cao Cao. “Go and save yourself at once, good brother.”
“Mount my horse quickly. I will go on foot,” said his cousin.
“What if those rogues come up?” asked Cao Cao.
“The world can do without me, but not without you,” was the reply.
“If I live, I owe you my life,” said Cao Cao.
So he mounted. His cousin took off his breastplate and followed the horse on foot, dragging along his heavy sword. They went in this way for several hours, when there appeared before them a broad stream, and behind them the shouts of the pursuers came nearer and nearer.
“This is my fate,” sighed Cao Cao. “I’m really doomed to die here.”
Cao Hong at once helped him down from his horse. Then taking off his fighting robe, he carried Cao Cao on his back and waded across the river. No sooner had they gained the other bank, the pursuers also came up to the river, from where they shot arrows at them.
By daybreak they had walked another thirty li or more. Too exhausted to proceed any further, they took a short rest under a slope. All at once loud shouting was heard and a band of horses and men appeared. It was the Prefect of Yingyang, who had forded the river upstream to chase them. It seemed impossible for Cao Cao to escape this time but just at that moment he saw the Xiahou brothers galloping along with some dozens of horsemen.
“Do not harm my lord!” cried Xiahou Dun to the prefect, who at once rushed at him. After a few exchanges the prefect was pierced to death and his men driven off. Before long, Cao Cao’s other officers arrived. Feelings of sadness and joy were expressed at the reunion. Then they gathered together the remaining five hundred men and returned to their base in Henei.
Dong Zhuo and his followers went their way to Chang’an.
Back in Luoyang all the lords had encamped. Sun Jian, after extinguishing the fire in the palace, camped within the city walls, his tent being set up on the ground of the former Jianzhang Hall of the palace. He ordered his men to clear away the debris and close the tombs that had been robbed by Dong Zhuo and bar the gates to the mausoleum. On the site of the Royal Temple he put up three rooms to serve as the temporary shrine of worship. Here, he invited the lords to replace the sacred tablets and a ceremony was held, with the offer of sacrifices and solemn prayers.
When all the others had left, Sun Jian returned to his own camp. That night, the moon and the stars vied with each other in brightness. So he sat in the open air looking up at the sky, his hand on his sword. There, he noticed a mist spreading over the Emperor’s star.*
“The Emperor’s star is dulled,” he sighed. “No wonder the empire is in such great trouble.” And he lamented over the recent calamity the country and the people had been through.
Then a soldier, pointing to a well in the south, said: “There are colored lights rising from there.”
Sun Jian told his men to light torches and descend into the well to investigate. Soon, they brought up the corpse of a woman not in the least decayed, although the body had been in there many days. She was dressed in palace clothing and from her neck hung an embroidered bag. When they opened it they found a red box with a golden lock. Unlocking the box, they saw a jade seal, square in shape, one inch each way. On it were delicately engraved five intertwining dragons. One corner had been broken off and repaired with gold. There were eight characters in the style of seal writing, which could be interpreted as follows: “I have received the command from Heaven, may longevity and prosperity be always with me.”
Sun Jian showed this to Cheng Pu, who at once recognized it as the hereditary seal of the Emperor.
He said, “This seal has a history. In past days a man called Bian He saw a phoenix sitting on a certain stone at the foot of Jing Hill. He took the stone and offered it at court. Duke Wen of Chu split open the stone and found a piece of
jade inside. Early in the Qin Dynasty it was cut into a seal and Minister Li Si engraved these eight characters. Two years later, when the first Emperor of Qin Dynasty was sailing on Dongting Lake, there suddenly arose a terrible storm. The seal was thrown overboard as a propitiatory offering, and the storm immediately ceased. Ten years later, when the Emperor was in Huayin, a man waiting by the roadside handed a seal to one of the attendants and said, ‘Give this back to Zulong,’* and then disappeared. Thus the seal was returned to Qin. The next year the Emperor died.
“Later, Ziying presented this seal to the founder of the Han Dynasty. During Wang Mang’s usurpation† the Empress Dowager struck two of the rebels with the seal and broke off a corner, which was repaired with gold. Emperor Guangwu got possession of it at Yiyang and it has been regularly bequeathed to later emperors. I heard that during the trouble in the palace when The Ten hurried off the Emperor to Beimong it was found missing on His Majesty’s return. Now Heaven has sent it to you, my lord. You will certainly come to the imperial dignity. But you must not remain here. Return to the east at once where you can make plans for the accomplishment of the great design.”
“That’s just what I think,” said Sun Jian. “Tomorrow I will make an excuse that I’m unwell and get away.”
The soldiers were told to keep the discovery a secret. But who could have guessed that one among them was from the same village as Yuan Shao? He thought this might be a chance for him to get promoted, so he stole out of the camp and betrayed his master. He received a handsome reward and Yuan Shao kept him in his own camp. The next day Sun Jian came to take leave, saying that he was rather unwell and had to return to Changsha.
Yuan Shao laughed and said, “I know what you are suffering from; it is called the Hereditary Seal illness.”
This was a shock to Sun Jian. He turned pale and asked, “What do you mean?”
Yuan Shao said, “We’ve raised the armies to destroy evils for the empire. The seal is imperial property. Since you have got hold of it you should openly hand it over to me as leader of the armed forces. After Dong Zhuo is slain it’ll be handed over to the Emperor. What do you mean by concealing it and going away?”
“How could the seal get into my hands?” asked Sun Jian.
“Where is the thing you got out of the well in Jianzhang Hall?”
“I do not have it; why harass me like this?”
“Give it to me quickly or it will be worse for you.”
Sun Jian, pointing to the sky, vowed: “If I have this seal and am hiding it, may my end be unhappy and my death violent.”
The other lords all said, “After a vow like this, he cannot have it.”
Then Yuan Shao called out his informant. “When you pulled that thing out of the well, was this man there?” he asked.
Sun Jian burst into anger and sprang forward to kill the man. Yuan Shao also drew his sword and said, “You touch that soldier and it is an insult to me.”
In a moment, on both sides swords flew from their scabbards. But the confusion was checked by the efforts of the others and Sun Jian left the assembly. Soon, he broke up his camp and left the city of Luoyang. Yuan Shao was furious. He wrote a letter to Liu Biao, Governor of Jingzhou, and sent a reliable servant to deliver it to him at once. In the letter he told the governor to stop Sun Jian and force him to surrender the seal.
The following day news came of Cao Cao’s return after his disastrous defeat at Yingyang. Yuan Shao sent people to welcome him to his camp. All the lords gathered together and wine was prepared to console him. At the assembly, Cao Cao said, sadly: “It was for the sake of ridding the country of the evil Dong Zhuo that I called upon you to support me. Since you had come for a noble cause I had hoped that Benchu* could lead his Henei force to approach Menjin while the others from Suanzao could hold Chenggao, take possession of Ao Granary, and seize Huanyuan and Taigu, so that the crucial vantage points would be in our hands. In the meantime, Gonglu† could lead his Nanyang force to enter the Wu Pass, in order that the three cities near Chang’an would be under our military threat. It would be better for all of us to fortify our positions and not fight. In this way, the enemy would be kept in apprehension of our military strength. And we could take full advantage of this to show the world that justice would prevail over rebellion. Then victory would be ours at once. But now you hesitate in taking any immediate action, thus failing to meet the expectations of the people. I cannot but feel ashamed.”
Yuan Shao and the others could find no words to reply and presently the guests dispersed. Cao Cao saw that the others all had their own schemes. He realized that nothing could be accomplished, so he led his men off to Yangzhou.
Gongsun Zan said to the three brothers: “This Yuan Shao is incapable of action. If things continue in this way, disaster will come. We’d better go our way, too.” So they broke camp and went north. At Pingyuan the general parted with the three brothers and placed Liu Bei in command of the town while he himself went to his own position to refresh his men.
Among the remaining lords one of them was the Prefect of Yanzhou, who wished to borrow grain from the Prefect of Dongjun. Being refused, he attacked the other’s camp, killed the prefect, and took over all his men. Yuan Shao saw that the confederacy had collapsed, and he, too, struck camp and left Luoyang for Guandong.
Now the Governor of Jingzhou, named Liu Biao, was a scion of the imperial house. As a young man, he had made friends with many famous persons and he and his companions were known as The Fine Eight. He also had three trusty subordinates who helped him in the administration of his district. They were Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, and Cai Mao.
After he received Yuan Shao’s letter detailing the fault of Sun Jian, he sent Kuai Yue and Cai Mao with 10,000 soldiers to stop Sun Jian on the way. When Sun Jian drew near, the waiting Kuai Yue arranged his troops in fighting order and rode to the front.
“Why are you barring my way with armed men?” asked Sun Jian.
“Why do you, a minister of Han, try to hide the Emperor’s seal? Leave it with me at once and I will let you go,” said Kuai Yue.
Sun Jian angrily ordered Huang Gai out, while on the other side came Cai Mao to oppose him. The two of them had exchanged only a few bouts before Huang Gai dealt his opponent a blow right on the breastplate with his iron whip. Cai Mao turned his steed and fled. Following this victory, Sun Jian pushed on with his army and managed to get through. However, from behind the hills came the sound of gongs and drums and there was Liu Biao in person with a large army. Sun Jian bowed to him while still mounted and asked: “Why do you resort to force against your neighboring prefecture based on a mere letter from Yuan Shao?”
“You have concealed the Hereditary Seal of the empire. Do you want to rebel?” replied Liu Biao.
“If I have it, may I die under swords and arrows.”
“If you want me to believe you, let me search your luggage.”
“Do you think you are so powerful that you can humiliate me like this?” said Sun Jian angrily.
They were about to engage in battle when Liu Biao retreated. Sun Jian urged his steed to press on, but all at once the men waiting in ambush emerged from behind the hills on both sides and worse still, Kuai Yue and Cai Mao also came up from the rear, leaving Sun Jian trapped on all sides.
What does it advantage a man to hold the imperial seal
If its possession leads to nothing but strife?
How Sun Jian broke through the encirclement will be told in the next chapter.
Footnotes
* Modern Xian.
* In ancient China people believed that the conditions and movements of the stars were related to important men and events on earth.
* Another name for the first Emperor of Qin.
† A.D. 8–23
* Yuan Shao’s familiar name.
† Yuan Shu’s familiar name.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Yuan Shao Fights with Gongsun Zan at River Pan
Sun Jian Crosses the River to Attack Liu Biao
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At the close of the last chapter Sun Jian was surrounded by Liu Biao’s army. Fortunately, his three best officers battled desperately to rescue him so he eventually fought his way through and returned to the east, although more than half of his men were lost. From then on he and Liu Biao became sworn enemies.
At that time Yuan Shao was stationed in Henei but there were not enough provisions for his army. When Han Fu, Prefect of Jizhou, learned about this, he sent grain to help him.
Feng Ji, one of Yuan Shao’s advisors, said to him: “A powerful man like you is capable of ruling the world. Why do you have to depend on another for food? Jizhou is rich and well-supplied. Why not seize it, General?”
“I don’t have an effective plan,” replied Yuan Shao.
“You can send a letter to Gongsun Zan in secret, asking him to attack Jizhou and promising him your support. He’ll surely do as you suggest. Han Fu, lacking resourcefulness, is certain to invite you to take over the administration of his prefecture and you can get it without having to lift a finger.”
Yuan Shao was very pleased to hear this. So the letter was sent at once. When Gongsun Zan learned about Yuan Shao’s proposal of a joint attack and division of the territory of Jizhou, he, too, was pleased. Very soon he led his army on a march to attack Jizhou. In the meantime, Yuan Shao sent a secret message of warning to Han Fu, who sought advice from two of his advisors.
One of them said: “Gongsun Zan has under his command the veteran soldiers of Yan and Dai regions as well as the help of the three brothers, Liu, Guan, and Zhang. It won’t be possible for us to stand against him. But Yuan Shao is superior to others in wisdom and valor, and has many able and famous warriors under him. If you invite him to assist you in administering the prefecture, he will certainly treat you well. Then you don’t have to fear Gongsun Zan.”
The prefect agreed and immediately sent a message to Yuan Shao. But Geng Wu, a faithful subordinate of his, remonstrated with him and said: “Yuan Shao is a needy man with a hungry army and as dependent on us for life as an infant is on its mother. Stop the flow of milk and the baby dies. Why should you hand the administration of the district over to him? It’s nothing less than letting a tiger into the sheepfold.”
The Three Kingdoms, Volume 1: The Sacred Oath: The Epic Chinese Tale of Loyalty and War in a Dynamic New Translation Page 10