Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Here is the translation:

Then it is told that the First Lord raised an army for an eastern expedition. Zhao Yun remonstrated, saying, "The traitor to our nation is Cao Cao, not Sun Quan. Now Cao Pi has usurped the Han throne, and both gods and men are enraged. Your Majesty should plan for Guanzhong soon, station troops upstream along the Wei River, and march against the wicked rebels. Then the righteous warriors east of the Pass will surely wrap grain and ride horses to welcome the royal army. But if you abandon Wei to attack Wu, once the armies engage, how can the conflict be resolved quickly? I hope Your Majesty will consider this." The First Lord said, "Sun Quan slew my brother. Moreover, Fu Shiren, Mi Fang, Pan Zhang, and Ma Zhong are all objects of my bitter hatred. I must devour their flesh and exterminate their clans to wipe away this shame. Why do you obstruct me?" Zhao Yun said, "The hatred for the Han traitor is a public matter; the hatred for your brother is a private one. I hope you will put the empire first." The First Lord replied, "If I cannot avenge my brother, even if I possessed a realm ten thousand leagues wide, what value would it have?" He therefore would not heed Zhao Yun's counsel and issued orders to raise an army against Wu. He also sent an envoy to the Wuxi region to borrow fifty thousand barbarian troops for coordinated support. At the same time, he dispatched a messenger to Langzhong to promote Zhang Fei to the rank of General of Chariot and Cavalry, with the title of Director of the Imperial Inspectors, Lord of Xixiang, and Governor of Langzhong. The envoy departed bearing the imperial edict.

It is told that Zhang Fei was in Langzhong when he learned that Guan Yu had been slain by Eastern Wu. He wept day and night until his garments were soaked with blood. His officers tried to console him with wine, but when he was drunk, his fury only grew worse. In his tent and beneath it, anyone who offended him was flogged; many died from the beatings. Every day he glared southward with gnashing teeth, weeping aloud without cease. Suddenly a report came that an envoy had arrived. Zhang Fei hastily received him and opened the imperial decree. Having received the title, Zhang Fei bowed toward the north and then set out wine to entertain the envoy. Zhang Fei said, "My elder brother has been murdered, and my hatred runs as deep as the sea. Why have the ministers at court not memorialized for an early campaign?" The envoy said, "Many have advised the First Lord to destroy Wei first and then attack Wu." Zhang Fei said angrily, "What kind of talk is that! In the past, the three of us swore an oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden, vowing to live and die together. Now unfortunately my second brother has perished before our goal was achieved. How could I enjoy wealth and rank alone! I shall go before the Son of Heaven in person and serve as the vanguard. I will don mourning garments and march against Wu, capture the traitors alive, and make offerings before my two brothers to fulfill our former oath!" With these words, he set out with the envoy toward Chengdu.

It is told that the First Lord drilled his troops daily in the training grounds, setting a date for the campaign, and intended to lead the expedition himself. Thereupon the assembled ministers went to the Prime Minister's office and said to Zhuge Liang: "The Son of Heaven has just ascended the throne and now personally commands the army—this is not the way to show proper regard for the altars of state. The Prime Minister holds the balance of power; why do you not admonish him?" Zhuge Liang said, "I have remonstrated bitterly many times, but he simply will not listen. Today, all of you come with me to the training grounds to remonstrate." Zhuge Liang then led the officials to present themselves before the First Lord, saying: "Your Majesty has just ascended the Dragon Throne. If you wish to march north against the Han traitor and proclaim great righteousness to the world, then you may personally lead the six armies. But if you merely wish to attack Wu, you need only appoint a senior general to command the army. Why must Your Sacred Person toil in person?" The First Lord saw that Zhuge Liang remonstrated earnestly and his resolve wavered slightly. Suddenly a report came that Zhang Fei had arrived. The First Lord hastily summoned him in. Zhang Fei came to the military hall, prostrated himself on the ground, and embraced the First Lord's feet, weeping. The First Lord also wept. Zhang Fei said: "Your Majesty is now the Son of Heaven, but you have already forgotten the oath of the Peach Garden! How can you not avenge my second brother?" The First Lord said: "Many officials have remonstrated against it; I dare not act rashly." Zhang Fei said: "How could others know the oath we swore in those days? If Your Majesty will not go, this body of mine will avenge my two brothers! And if I cannot avenge them, I would rather die than ever see Your Majesty again!" The First Lord said: "I shall go with you. You shall lead your own troops out from Langzhou. I will assemble elite forces and meet you at Jiangzhou. Together we will attack Eastern Wu to wash away this shame." Before Zhang Fei departed, the First Lord admonished him: "I have long known that when you drink, you become violently angry and flog your strong warriors, yet you still keep them close at hand—this is the way to invite disaster. In the future, you must be more tolerant and not act as before." Zhang Fei bowed and took his leave.

The next day, the First Lord was preparing his army to depart. The scholar Qin Mi presented a memorial, saying: "Your Majesty is abandoning the dignity of the imperial person to pursue a private vendetta—this is not what the ancients would approve. I hope Your Majesty will reconsider." The First Lord said: "Yun Chang and I are as one body. The great righteousness still binds us—how could I forget it?" Qin Mi prostrated himself and would not rise, saying: "If Your Majesty does not heed my words, I truly fear there will be disaster." The First Lord said in great anger: "I wish to raise an army—why do you utter such ill-omened words?" He ordered guards to drag Qin Mi out and behead him. Qin Mi's expression did not change; he looked back at the First Lord and smiled, saying: "I die without regret, but I only regret that the newly founded enterprise will be overturned again!" All the officials interceded on Qin Mi's behalf. The First Lord said: "Let him be imprisoned for now; I will deal with him when I return from avenging this wrong." When Zhuge Liang learned of this, he immediately submitted a memorial to save Qin Mi. It read, in brief:

We, your ministers Liang and others, humbly observe that the Wu traitors employed treacherous schemes, bringing about the destruction of Jingzhou. They caused the fall of a great star in the Dipper and Ox constellations, and broke the pillar of heaven in the land of Chu. This grief and anguish truly must not be forgotten. But we reflect that the one who moved the Han sacred tripod was Cao Cao, whose guilt is the cause; and the one who shifted the Liu fortune was not Sun Quan, whose fault is secondary. We humbly believe that if the Wei traitors are eliminated, then Wu will naturally submit. We hope Your Majesty will accept Qin Mi's words, firm as metal and stone, to nurture the strength of your soldiers, devise another wise plan, and then the altars of state will be most fortunate! The world will be most fortunate!

When the First Lord had finished reading, he threw the memorial to the ground and said: "My mind is made up; let no one remonstrate further!" He then commanded Prime Minister Zhuge Liang to guard the heir apparent and hold the Two Chuan regions; General of Swift Cavalry Ma Chao and his cousin Ma Dai, to assist General Who Guards the North Wei Yan in holding Hanzhong to resist the Wei forces; Tiger-Valor General Zhao Yun to serve as rear support and oversee military supplies; Huang Quan and Cheng Ji as strategic advisors; Ma Liang and Chen Zhen to manage documents; Huang Zhong as the vanguard commander; Feng Xi and Zhang Nan as deputy generals; Fu Tong and Zhang Yi as commanders of the central army's guard; Zhao Rong and Liao Chun as rear guard commanders. Several hundred commanders from the Sichuan region, together with the Wuxi barbarian generals, made a total force of seven hundred and fifty thousand. They set the date of departure for the seventh month, the bingyin day, of the first year of the Zhangwu reign.

Here is the translation:

Zhang Fei returned to Langzhong and issued orders to his troops: within three days, white flags and white armor were to be prepared, so that the entire army might go to war against Wu in mourning dress. The following day, two subordinate officers under his command, Fan Jiang and Zhang Da, entered his tent and reported: "White flags and white armor cannot be procured at a moment's notice. We must beg you to extend the deadline." Zhang Fei flew into a rage. "I am burning to avenge my brother, and I wish I could reach the enemy's territory tomorrow. How dare you defy my orders!" He ordered his guards to bind them to trees and gave each fifty strokes of the whip. When the flogging was done, he pointed at them and said: "By tomorrow, everything must be ready! If the deadline is missed, I will have you both killed as an example!" The beating left both men bleeding from the mouth. They returned to their camp and conferred. Fan Jiang said: "We have been punished today—how are we to fulfill the order tomorrow? The man's temper is fierce as fire. If the work is not done by tomorrow, we shall both be put to death!" Zhang Da said: "Rather than let him kill us, we should kill him first." Fan Jiang said: "But we can never get close to him." Zhang Da said: "If we are not fated to die, then he will be drunk on his bed. If we are fated to die, then he will not be drunk." The two settled on their plan.

Now, in his tent, Zhang Fei was deeply troubled in spirit, restless and distracted. He asked one of his officers: "My heart pounds and my flesh trembles; I cannot sit or lie in peace. What does this mean?" The officer replied: "This is because Your Lordship is consumed with thoughts of Lord Guan, and it has brought you to this state." Zhang Fei ordered wine to be brought, and he drank with his officers. Before long he was dead drunk and lay in his tent. The two villains, Fan and Zhang, learned of this. At the first watch of the night, each concealed a short dagger and slipped secretly into the tent, pretending they had urgent confidential matters to report, and went straight to the bed. Now Zhang Fei had the peculiar habit of sleeping with his eyes open. That night, as he lay in his tent, the two villains saw his bristling mustache and glaring eyes and did not dare make a move. But then they heard his breathing rumble like thunder, and only then did they venture forward and plunge the short daggers into his belly. Zhang Fei let out a single great cry and died. He was fifty-five years of age. A later poet lamented:

At Anxi once the postmaster felt his whip,

He swept the Yellow Turbans to aid the House of Liu.

At Hulao Pass his voice struck terror first,

At Changban Bridge his wrath reversed the river's flow.

In righteousness he freed Yan Yan, securing the land of Shu,

In cunning he outwitted Zhang He, pacifying the central realm.

Yet ere the campaign against Wu could succeed, he perished first—

Autumn grasses forever bring sorrow to Langzhong's earth.

That same night, the two villains cut off Zhang Fei's head and led several dozen men in flight to the Eastern Wu. The next day, word reached the army, but when troops were raised to pursue them, it was too late. Among Zhang Fei's officers was Wu Ban, who had come from Jing Province to join the First Ruler and had been appointed as a Commandant of the Palace Guard to assist Zhang Fei in the defense of Langzhong. Wu Ban now dispatched a memorial to inform the Emperor, then ordered Zhang Fei's eldest son, Zhang Bao, to prepare a coffin for the remains. He directed Zhang Fei's younger brother, Zhang Shao, to hold Langzhong, while Zhang Bao himself went to report to the First Ruler. By this time, the First Ruler had already chosen a date to set forth with his army. All the officials, high and low, accompanied Zhuge Liang to see him off for ten li before turning back. When Zhuge Liang returned to Chengdu, he was heavy-hearted and said to the assembled officials: "If Fa Xiaozhi were still alive, he could certainly have restrained His Majesty from marching east."

That night, the First Ruler too felt his heart pound and his flesh tremble, and he could find no rest. He came out of his tent and gazed at the heavens to the northwest, where he saw a star as large as a bushel measure suddenly fall to the ground. Deeply troubled, he sent at once to inquire of Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang replied: "It portends the loss of a great general. Within three days, certain news will come." The First Ruler therefore held his army in place. Then an attendant reported: "An envoy bearing a dispatch has arrived from Wu Ban, officer of the Chariot-Cavalry General Zhang Fei in Langzhong." The First Ruler stamped his foot and cried: "Ah! My third brother is no more!" When he opened the dispatch, it confirmed the report of Zhang Fei's death. The First Ruler broke into loud weeping and fell to the ground in a swoon. The officials revived him. The next day, word came that a body of troops was approaching with the speed of the wind. The First Ruler went out of camp to observe. After a long while, he saw a young general in white robes and silver armor slide from his horse, fall to the ground, and weep. It was Zhang Bao. Zhang Bao said: "Fan Jiang and Zhang Da have slain my father and carried his head off to Eastern Wu!" The First Ruler's grief was so extreme that he could neither eat nor drink. The ministers pleaded earnestly: "Your Majesty is about to avenge your two brothers—how can you allow yourself to destroy the Dragon Body first?" Only then did the First Ruler take food. He said to Zhang Bao: "Will you and Wu Ban lead your own troops as the vanguard to avenge your father?" Zhang Bao replied: "For the state and for my father, I would not shrink from ten thousand deaths!" The First Ruler was about to send Zhang Bao forth when another report came that a force was rushing toward them like the wind. The First Ruler ordered his attendants to find out who it was. In a moment, the attendants led in a young general in white robes and silver armor, who entered the camp, fell to the ground, and wept. The First Ruler looked and saw that it was Guan Xing. At the sight of Guan Xing, the First Ruler thought of Lord Guan and broke into loud weeping once more. The ministers remonstrated with difficulty. The First Ruler said: "When I was a commoner, I swore brotherhood with Guan and Zhang, vowing to live and die together. Now that I am Emperor, I had hoped to share honor and wealth with my two brothers—but alas, they have both met untimely deaths! When I see these two nephews, how can my heart not break!"

With that he wept again. The officials said: "Let the two young generals withdraw. Allow His Majesty to rest the Dragon Body." An attendant reported: "Your Majesty is past sixty; you should not give way to excessive grief." The First Ruler said: "Both my brothers are dead—how can I bear to live on alone?" So saying, he dashed his head against the ground and wept. The ministers conferred among themselves: "The Son of Heaven is consumed with sorrow—how are we to console him?" Ma Liang said: "His Majesty personally leads the great army against Wu, yet he weeps all day long—this is not good for the troops." Chen Zhen said: "I have heard that west of Mount Qingcheng in Chengdu there lives a recluse surnamed Li, named Yi. It is said among the people that this old man is already over three hundred years old and can foretell men's life and death, fortune and misfortune—he is a living immortal of our age. Why not inform the Son of Heaven and summon this old man to ask him about our fortunes? His words would carry more weight than ours." They went in and reported this to the First Ruler, who approved. He at once dispatched Chen Zhen with an imperial edict to Mount Qingcheng to summon the recluse.

Chen Zhen arrived at Qingcheng by night and had a local guide him deep into the mountain valleys. In the distance he glimpsed the immortal's retreat—its blue clouds faintly stirring, its auspicious aura beyond the ordinary. Suddenly a young page came forth to greet him. "Could you be Chen Xiaoxi?" he asked. Chen Zhen was greatly startled. "How does this immortal boy know my name?" The lad replied, "Our master said last night: 'Today an imperial decree shall arrive; the envoy will be Chen Xiaoxi.'" Chen Zhen exclaimed, "A true immortal indeed! The reports about him are no exaggeration!" He followed the boy into the immortal's retreat, paid his respects to Li Yi, and delivered the Son of Heaven's decree. Li Yi pleaded old age and declined to go. Chen Zhen urged, "The Son of Heaven is most anxious to see the Immortal Master even once. I pray you do not withhold your noble presence." After repeated entreaties, Li Yi at last agreed to come. He arrived at the imperial camp and was brought before the First Ruler. The First Ruler observed Li Yi's crane-white hair and youthful face, his emerald eyes with square pupils gleaming with light, his body like an ancient cypress—and knew he was no ordinary man, treating him with the highest courtesy. Li Yi said, "This old man is but a rustic from a wild mountain village, unlearned and ignorant. I am honored beyond measure by Your Majesty's summons. May I ask what instructions you wish to impart?" The First Ruler said, "I and my two brothers, Guan and Zhang, swore a bond of life and death over thirty years ago. Now my two brothers have been slain, and I have personally led the great army to avenge them. I do not know what fortune or misfortune awaits. I have long heard that the Immortal Master comprehends the profound mysteries of Heaven. I humbly beg your guidance." Li Yi replied, "This is a matter of Heaven's decree—beyond this old man's knowledge." The First Ruler pressed him repeatedly, whereupon Li Yi asked for brush and paper and drew over forty pictures of soldiers, horses, and weapons. When he had finished, he tore each one to pieces. Then he drew a large man lying on his back upon the ground, with another man beside him digging earth to bury him, and above it wrote the character "White." He then bowed and departed. The First Ruler was displeased. "A mad old man!" he said to his ministers. "Not worth heeding!" He had the drawings burned at once and ordered the army to press forward.

Zhang Bao came to report: "Wu Ban's forces have already arrived. Your humble servant begs to serve as vanguard." The First Ruler, moved by his spirit, took the seal of the vanguard and bestowed it upon Zhang Bao. As Zhang Bao was about to accept the seal, another young general stepped forward resolutely. "Leave that seal for me!" It was Guan Xing. Zhang Bao said, "I have already received the imperial decree." Guan Xing demanded, "What ability do you possess that qualifies you for this post?" Zhang Bao replied, "I have studied martial arts since childhood, and my arrows never miss." The First Ruler said, "I was just wishing to observe the martial skills of my worthy nephews to determine the better man." Zhang Bao ordered his soldiers to set up a flag a hundred paces away, with a red target painted upon it. Zhang Bao nocked an arrow and shot three in succession—all struck the red target. The assembly praised his skill. Guan Xing drew his bow and said, "Hitting a stationary target is nothing remarkable." Even as he spoke, a flock of wild geese flew overhead. Guan Xing pointed and said, "I shall shoot the third goose in that flying flock." One arrow sped forth, and the goose fell at the sound of the bowstring. The civil and military officers all cheered. Zhang Bao, enraged, leaped onto his horse, seized his father's eighteen-foot steel-pointed spear, and shouted, "Dare you match arms with me?" Guan Xing also mounted, took up his family's great cleaver, and rode forth crying, "You think only you can wield a spear! Shall I not be able to use a blade?"

The two generals were just about to engage when the First Ruler shouted, "You two, have done with this discourtesy!" Guan Xing and Zhang Bao hastily dismounted, cast aside their weapons, and prostrated themselves to beg forgiveness. The First Ruler said: "I have been bound in sworn brotherhood with your fathers since Zhuojun, as close as flesh and blood. Now you two are also brothers. You should unite your strength and together avenge your fathers. How can you contend against each other and abandon what is right? Your fathers have not been dead long and already you behave thus—what will you be like in days to come?" The two bowed again and confessed their fault. The First Ruler asked, "Which of you is the elder?" Zhang Bao said, "I am one year older than Guan Xing." The First Ruler thereupon ordered Guan Xing to bow to Zhang Bao as his elder brother. The two broke arrows before the tent as a solemn oath, pledging to protect each other for life. The First Ruler issued a decree appointing Wu Ban as vanguard, with Zhang Bao and Guan Xing to guard his person. Advancing by both land and water, with boats and cavalry side by side, the mighty host swept forward in a torrent toward the land of Wu.

Now Fan Jiang and Zhang Da had presented Zhang Fei's head to the Marquis of Wu and related in detail all that had happened. Sun Quan received them and then addressed his assembled ministers: "Liu Bei has now assumed the imperial title and commands a seasoned army of over seven hundred thousand, leading it in person. His power is immense. What shall we do?" The ministers all turned pale and looked at one another in dismay. Zhuge Jin stepped forward and said, "I have long enjoyed Your Lordship's patronage. I have nothing with which to repay it. I am willing to offer my humble life to go before the Ruler of Shu and persuade him with arguments of gain and loss, so that the two states may make peace and together punish Cao Pi's crimes." Sun Quan was greatly pleased and at once dispatched Zhuge Jin as envoy to persuade the First Ruler to cease hostilities.

And so:

Two states at war exchange their missions;

One speech resolves the crisis—thanks to the envoy.

What befell Zhuge Jin on this mission will be told in the next chapter.