Romance of the Three Kingdoms II (78 page)

Chan had been known as a clever lad and had married a daughter of the king, so that he was a
"Fu-ma."
His father's rank had descended to him, and he had received general's rank in the guards as well. But he had retired when Huang Hao, the eunuch, as first favourite, began to direct state affairs.

As suggested, the king summoned Chuko Chan to court, told him the troubles that threatened the country and asked for some plan to save his throne.

"My father and I owe too much to the late Emperor's kindness for me to think any sacrifice too great to make for Your Majesty. I pray that you give me command of the troops in the capital, and I will fight a decisive battle."

So the soldiers, seven legions, were placed under his command. When he had gathered all together, he called the officers and asked for a volunteer for the vanguard. His son, Shang, then nineteen, offered himself. He had studied military books and made himself an adept in the various exercises.

So he was appointed, and the army marched to find the enemy. In the meantime the traitor, Ma Yao, had given Teng Ai very complete plans of the country showing the whole one hundred and sixty
li
of road he had to traverse. However, Teng was dismayed when he saw the difficulties ahead of him.

"If they defend the hills in front I shall fail, for if I am delayed Chiang Wei will come up, and my army will be in great danger."

"The army must press on." He called his son and Shih Tsuan and said, "Lead one army straight to Mienchu to keep back any Shu soldiers sent to stop our march. I will follow as soon as I can. But hasten; for if you let the enemy forestall you I will put you to death."

They went. Nearing Mienchu they met the army under Chuko Chan. Both sides prepared for battle, the Shu armies adopted the
pa-kua,
or "Eight Diagrams" formation and presently, after the usual triple roll of drums, Shih and Teng saw their opponents' ranks open in the centre, and therefrom emerge a light carriage in which sat a figure looking exactly as K'ung-ming used to look when he appeared on the battlefield. Everybody knew the Taoist robes and the feather fan. The standard bore his name and titles too.

The sight was too much for the two leaders. The cold sweat of terror poured down them, and they stammered out, "If K'ung-ming is still alive, that is the end of us."

They retreated. The men of Shu came on, and the army of Wei was driven away in defeat and chased a distance of twenty
li.
Then the pursuers sighted Teng Ai and they turned and retired.

When Teng Ai had camped, he called the two leaders before him and reproached them for retreating without fighting.

"We saw K'ung-ming leading the enemy," said Teng Chung, "so we ran away."

"Why should we fear, even if they bring K'ung-ming to life again? You ran away without cause, and we have lost. You ought both to be put to death."

However, they did not die. Their fellows pleaded for them, and Teng's wrath was mollified. Then the scouts came in to say that the leader of the army was a son of K'ung-ming, and they had set up on the carriage an image of the great strategist.

Teng Ai, however, said to the two, "This is the critical stage, and if you lose the next battle you will certainly lose your lives with it."

At the head of one legion they went out to battle once more. This time they met the vanguard led by Chuko Shang, who rode out alone, boldly offering to repulse the invaders. At Chuko Chan's signal the two wings advanced and threw themselves against the line of Wei. The centre portion of the line met them and the battle went to and fro many times, till at length the men of Wei, after great losses, had to give way. Both the leaders being badly wounded, they fled and the army of Shu pursued and drove the invaders into their camp.

Shih and Teng had to acknowledge a new defeat, but when Teng Ai saw both were sorely wounded he forbore to blame them or decree any penalty.

To his officers he said, "This Chuko Chan well continues the paternal tradition. Twice they have beaten us and slain great numbers. We must defeat them, and that quickly, or we are lost."

Then Ch'iu Pen said, "Why not persuade their leader with a letter?"

Teng Ai agreed and wrote a letter, which he sent by the hand of a messenger. The warden of the camp gate led the messenger in to see Chuko Chan, who opened the letter and read:—"General Teng, 'Conqueror of the West,' writes to General Chuko of the Guard, leader of the army in the field.

"Now having carefully observed your talent in attack, I see you are not equal to your most honoured father. From the moment of his emergence from his retreat he said that the country was to be in three divisions. He conquered Chiangchou and Yichou and thus established a position. Few have been his equal in all history. He made six expeditions from Ch'ishan, and, if he failed, it was not that he lacked skill; it was the will of Heaven. But now this Latter Ruler is dull and weak, and his kingly aura is already exhausted. I have a command from the Son of Heaven to smite Shu with severity, and I already possess the land. Your capital must quickly fall. Why then do you not bow to the will of Heaven and fall in with the desires of men by acting rightly and coming over to our side? I will obtain the rank of Prince of Langya for you, whereby your ancestors will be rendered illustrious. These are no vain words if happily you will consider them."

The letter made Chuko Chan furiously angry. He tore it to fragments and ordered the bearer thereof to be put to death immediately. He also ordered the escort to bear the head of their chief to the camp of Wei and lay it before Teng Ai.

Teng Ai was very angry at this insult and wished to go forth at once to battle. But Ch'iu Pen dissuaded him.

"Do not go out to battle," said he, "rather overcome him by some unexpected stroke."

So Teng Ai laid his plans. He sent Wang Ch'i, Prefect of T'ienshui, and Ch'ien Hung, Prefect of Shensi, to lie in wait in the rear while he led the main body.

Chuko Chan happened to be close at hand seeking battle, and when he heard the enemy was near he led out his army eagerly and rushed into the midst of the invaders. Then Teng Ai fled as though worsted, so luring on Chuko. But when the pursuit had lasted some time the pursuers were attacked by those who lay in wait and they were defeated. They ran away into Mienchu.

Therefore Teng Ai besieged Mienchu, and the men of Wei shouted about the city and watched the ramparts thus keeping the defenders close shut in as if held in an iron barrel.

Chuko Chan was desperate, seeing no way of escape without help from outside. Wherefore he wrote a letter to East Wu begging for assistance, and he gave this letter to one P'eng Ho to bear through the besiegers.

P'eng fought his way through and reached Wu, where he saw
King Hsiu. And he presented the letter showing the wretched plight of Chuko and his urgent need.

Then the king assembled his officers and said to them, "The land of Shu being in danger, I cannot sit and look on unconcerned."

He therefore decided to send five legions, over whom he set the veteran captain Ting Feng, with two able lieutenants. Having received his edict, the general sent away his lieutenants with two legions to MienChung, and he himself went with three legions toward Shouch'un. The army marched in three divisions.

In the city Chuko Chan waited for the rescue which never came. Weary of the hopeless delay, he said to his captains, "This long defence is useless; I will fight."

Leaving his son and another officer in the city, Chan put on his armour and led out three companies through three gates to fight in the open. Seeing the defenders making a sortie, Teng Ai drew off and Chuko Chan pursued him vigorously, thinking he really fled before his men. But there was an ambush, and falling therein he was quickly surrounded as is the kernel of a nut by the shell. In vain he thrust right and shoved left, he only lost his men. When he halted, the men of Wei poured in flights of arrows, so that his men ran hither and thither to escape. Before long, Chuko Chan was wounded and fell.

"I am done!" cried he. "But in my death I will do my duty."

He drew his sword and slew himself.

From the city walls his son Shang saw the death of his father. Girding on his armour he made to go out to fight. A colleague told him the sacrifice would be vain, but he was obstinate.

Cried he, "My father and I and all our family have received favours from the state. My father has died in battle against our enemies, and can I live?"

He whipped his horse and dashed out into the thick of the fight, where he died. A poem has been written extolling the conduct of both father and son.

In skill he was found wanting, not in loyalty;
But the Lord's word had gone forth,
That the King of Shu was to be cut off.
Vain were the efforts of Chuko's noble descendants,
Though they died at the call of duty.

In commiseration of their loyalty, Teng Ai had both father and son buried fittingly.

Then he seemed as if he relaxed the closeness of the siege, and the defenders made a sortie. However, the numbers being small it availed nothing, and the leaders were slain. This was the end of the defence, and Teng Ai then entered as conqueror. Having rewarded his men, he set out for Ch'engtu.

The closing days of the Latter Ruler were full of pain and sorrow,

As had been those of Liu Chang.

  The next chapter will tell of the defence of Ch'engtu.

CHAPTER CXVIII
A FILIAL PRINCE DIES:
JEALOUSY BETWEEN LEADERS

T
he
news of the fall of Mienchou and the death in battle of the two Chukos, father and son, brought home to King Chan that danger was very near, and he summoned a council. Then he heard that panic had seized upon the people, and they were leaving the city in crowds. Sorely he felt his helplessness. Soon they reported the enemy actually in the city, and many courtiers advised flight.

"Leave the city and flee south to NanChung," said they. "The country is difficult and easily defended. We can get the
Mans
to come and help us."

But Ch'iao Chou opposed. "No, no; that will not do. The
Mans
are old rebels, ungentle; to go to them would be a calamity."

Then some proposed seeking refuge in Wu. "The men of Wu are our sworn allies, and this is a moment of extreme danger; let us go thither."

But Ch'iao Chou also opposed this. "In the whole course of past ages no Emperor has ever gone to another state. So far as I can see, Wei will presently absorb Wu, and certainly Wu will never overcome Wei. Imagine the disgrace of becoming a minister of Wu and then having to style yourself minister of Wei. It would double the mortification. Do neither. Wei will give Your Majesty a strip of land where the ancestral temple can be preserved, and the people will be saved from suffering. I desire Your Majesty to reflect well upon this."

The distracted ruler retired from the council without having come to any decision. Next day confusion had become still worse. Ch'iao Chou saw that matters were very urgent and presented a written memorial. The king accepted it and decided to yield.

But from behind a screen stepped out one of the king's sons, Liu Shen, Prince of Peiti, who shouted at Ch'iao, "You corrupt pedant, unfit to live among men! How dare you offer such mad advice in a matter concerning the existence of a dynasty? Has any Emperor ever yielded to the enemy?"

The Latter Ruler had seven sons in all, but the ablest, and the only one above the common level of men, was this Liu Shen.

The king turned feebly to his son and said, "The ministers have decided otherwise; they advise surrender. You are the only one who thinks that boldness may avail, and would you drench the city in blood?"

The prince said, "While the late Emperor lived, this Ch'iao had no voice in state affairs. Now he gives this wild advice and talks the most subversive language. There is no reason at all in what he says, for we have in the city many legions of soldiers, and Chiang Wei is undefeated. He will come to our rescue as soon as he knows our straits, and we can help him to fight. We shall surely succeed. Why listen to the words of this dryasdust? Why abandon thus lightly the work of our great forerunner?"

The king became angry at this harangue and turned to his son, saying, "Be silent! You are too young to understand."

The prince beat his head upon the ground and implored his father to make an effort. "If we have done our best and defeat yet comes; if father and son, prince and minister have set their backs to the wall and died in one final effort to preserve the dynasty, then in the shades we shall be able to look the Former Ruler in the face, unashamed. But what if we surrender?"

The appeal left the king unmoved. The prince cried, "Is it not shameful in one day to throw down all that our ancestors built up with so great labour? I would rather die."

The king, now very angry, bade the courtiers thrust the young man out of the palace. Then he ordered Ch'iao Chou to prepare the formal Act of Surrender. When it was written, two officers, with Ch'iao Chou, were sent with it and the hereditary seal to the camp of Teng Ai to offer submission.

Every day Teng's horsemen rode to the city to see what was afoot. It was a glad day when they returned reporting the hoisting of the flag of surrender. The general had not long to wait. The three messengers soon arrived and presented the letter announcing surrender and the seal therewith. Teng read the letter with great exultation, and took possession of the seal. He treated the envoys courteously and by their hands sent back a letter to allay any anxiety among the people. In due time they re-entered the city and bore this missive to the king, who read it with much satisfaction. Then he sent Chang Hsien to order Chiang Wei to surrender.

The President Li Hu carried to the victorious general a statistical statement of the resources of the kingdom: 280,000 households, 914,000 souls, 102,000 armed men of all ranks and 40,000 civil employes. Besides, there were granaries with much grain, gold and silver, silks of many qualities and many unenumerated but precious things in the various storehouses. The same officer arranged that the ceremony of surrender should take place on the first day of the twelfth month.

The wrath of Prince Peiti swelled high as heaven when he heard that his father had actually arranged the date of his abdication. Girding on his sword, he was setting out for the palace when his Consort, the Lady Ts'u, stopped him, saying, "My Prince, why does your face bear this look of terrible anger?"

He replied, "The army of Wei is at the gates, and my father has made his Act of Surrender. Tomorrow he and all his ministers are going out of the city to submit formally, and the dynasty will end. But rather than bow the knee to another I will die and go into the presence of the late Emperor in the realms below."

"How worthy; how worthy!" replied she. "And if my lord must die,
I
, thy handmaid, prays that she may die first. Then may my Prince depart."

"But why should you die?"

"The Prince dies for his father and the handmaid for her husband. One eternal principle guides us all. When the husband dies the wife follows without question."

Thereupon she dashed herself against a pillar, and so she died. Then the prince slew his three sons and cut off the head of his Consort that he might sever all ties to life lest he be tempted to live. Bearing the head of the princess in his hand, he went to the Temple of the Former Ruler, where he bowed his head, saying, "Thy servant is ashamed at seeing the kingdom pass to another. Therefore has he slain his Consort and his sons that nothing should induce him to live and forego death."

This announcement recited, he made yet another to his ancestors. "My ancestors, if you have spiritual intelligence yon know the feelings of your descendant."

Then he wept sore till his eyes ran blood, and he committed suicide. The men of Shu grieved deeply for him, and a poet has praised his noble deed.

Both king and courtiers, willing, bowed the knee,
One son alone was grieved and would not live.
The western kingdom fell to rise no more,
A noble prince stood forth, for aye renowned
As one who died to save his forbears' shame.
With grievous mien and falling tears he bowed
His head, declaring his intent to die.
While such a memory lingers none may say
That Han has perished.

When the king knew of the death of his son, he sent men to bury him.

Soon the main body of the Wei army came. The king and all his courtiers to the number of three score went out at the north gate to bow their heads in submission, the king with his face covered as far as the grave, taking a coffin with him. But Teng Ai with his own hands raised Liu Ch'an from the ground and took off the napkin from his face. The coffin was burned. Then the victorious leader and the vanquished king returned into the city side by side.

Wei's legions entered Shu,

And the ruler thereof saved his life

At the price of his honour and his throne.

Huang Hao's vicious counsels had brought disaster

Against which Chiang Wei's efforts were vain.

How bright shone the loyalty of the faithful one!

How noble was the fortitude of the prince, grandson of the First Ruler!

Alas! it led him into the way of sorrow.

And the plans of the Former Ruler,

Excellent and far-reaching,

Whereby he laid the foundations of a mighty state,

Were brought to nought in one day.

The common people rejoiced at the magnanimity of the victor and met the returning cavalcade with burning incense and flowers. The title of General of Cavalry was given to the late king and other ranks were given to the ministers who had surrendered.

Teng Ai requested the king to issue one more proclamation from the palace to reassure the people, and then the conquerors took formal possession of the state and its granaries and storehouses. Two officers were sent into the provinces to explain the new situation and pacify malcontents, and another was sent to exhort Chiang Wei to yield peaceably. A report of the success was sent to Loyang.

Huang Hao, the eunuch whose evil counsels had wrought such ruin to his master, was looked upon as a danger, and Teng decided to put him to death. However, he was rich and by means of bribes he escaped the death penalty.

Thus perished the House of Han. Reflecting on its end a poet recalled the exploits of Chuko Liang, Marquis of War, and he wrote a poem.

The denizens of tree-tops, apes and birds,
Most lawless of created things, yet knew
And feared his mordant pen. The clouds and winds
Conspired to aid him to defend his lord.
But nought awaited the leader's precepts, wise
To save; with base content the erstwhile king
Too soon surrendered, yielding all but life.
In gifts Chuko was peer with Kuan and Yo,
His hapless death compared with Kuan and Chang's;
Sad sight, his temple on the river's brink!
It wrings the heart more than the tearful verse
Of Liang Fu-yin, the poet he most loved.

In due time Chiang Hsien reached Chienko, and gave the general the king's command to surrender to the invaders. Chiang Wei was dumb with amazement at the order; his officers ground their teeth with rage and mortification. Their hair stood on end with anger: they drew their swords and slashed at stones in their wrath, shouting they would rather die than yield thus. The roar of their angry lamentation was heard for miles.

But Chiang Wei soothed them with kindly words, saying, "Captains, grieve not; even yet I can restore the House of Han."

"How?" cried they.

And he whispered low in their ears.

The flag of surrender fluttered over the ramparts of Chienko, and a messenger went to Chung Hui's camp. When Chiang Wei and his captains drew near, Chung Hui went out to meet them. "Why have you been so long in coming?" was his greeting.

Chiang Wei looked him straight in the face and said, without a tremor, but through falling tears, "The whole armies of the state are under me, and I am here far too soon."

Chung wondered what this cryptic remark might mean, but said nothing more. The two saluted each other and took their seats, Chiang being placed in the seat of honour.

Chiang Wei said, "I hear that every detail of your plans, from the time you left Huainan till now, has been accomplished. The good fortune of the Ssuma family is owing to you, and so I am the more content to bow my head and yield to you. Had it been Teng Ai I should have fought to the death, for I would not have surrendered to him."

Then Chung Hui broke an arrow in twain, and they two swore close brotherhood. Their friendship became close-knit. Chiang Wei was continued in command of his own army, at which he secretly rejoiced. Chiang Hsien went back to Ch'engtu.

As conqueror, Teng Ai arranged for the administration of the newly-gained territory. He made Shih Tsuan Governor of Ichou and appointed many others to various posts. He also built a tower in Mienchu in commemoration of his conquest.

At a great banquet, where most of the guests were men of the newly-conquered province, Teng Ai drank too freely and in his cups became garrulous. With a patronising wave of his hand, he said to his guests, "You are lucky in that you have had to do with me. Things might well have been otherwise and you might all have been put to death."

The guests rose in a body and expressed their gratitude. Just at that moment Chiang Hsien arrived from his visit to Chiang Wei to say that he and his army had surrendered to Chung Hui. Teng Ai thereupon conceived a great hatred for Chung, and soon after he wrote to Loyang a letter something like this:—

"I would venture to remark that misleading rumours of war should precede actual attack. Now that Shu has been overcome, the manifest next move is against Wu, and in present circumstances victory would easily follow an attack. But after a great effort, both leaders and led are weary and unfit for immediate service. Therefore of this army two legions should be left west of Shensi and with them two legions of the men of Shu, to be employed in boiling salt so as to improve the finances. Moreover, ships should be built ready for an expedition down the river. When these preparations shall be complete, then send an envoy into Wu to lay before its rulers the truth about its position. It is possible that matters may be settled without any fighting. Further, generous treatment of Liu Ch'an will tend to weaken Sun Hsiu, but if Liu Ch'an be removed to the capital, the men of Wu will be perplexed and doubtful about what may happen to them, and they will not be amenable. Therefore it seems the most fitting to leave the late King of Shu here. Next year, in the winter season, he might be removed to the capital. For the present I would recommend that he be created Prince of Fufeng, and granted a sufficient revenue and suitable attendants. His sons also should receive ducal rank. In this way would be demonstrated that favourable treatment follows upon submission. Such a course would inspire fear of the might of Wei and respect for its virtue, and the result will be all that could be desired."