第dì五wǔ十shí回huí 诸zhū葛gé亮liàng智zhì算suàn华huá容róng　　　关guān云yún长zhǎng义yì释shì曹cáo操cāo

The last chapter closed with Huang Kai in the water wounded, Ts‘ao Ts‘ao rescued from immediate danger and confusion rampant among the soldiers. Pressing forward to attack the naval camp Han Tang was told by his soldiers that some one was clinging to the rudder of his boat and shouting to him by his familiar name. Han Tang listened carefully and in the voice at once he recognised that Huang Kai was calling to him for help.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

“That is my friend Huang Kai,” cried he and they quickly pulled the wounded leader out of the water. Then they saw Huang Kai was wounded for the arrow still stuck. Han bit out the shaft of the arrow but the point was deeply buried in the flesh. They hastily pulled off his wet garments and cut out the metal arrowhead with a dagger, tore up one of the flags and bound up the wound. Then Han Tang gave his friend his own fighting robe to put on and sent him off in a small boat back to camp. Huang Kai’s escape from drowning must be taken as proof of his natural affinity for, or sympathy with, water. Although it was the period of great cold and he was heavy with armour when he fell into the river yet he escaped with life.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

In this great battle at the junction of the rivers, when fire seemed to spread wide over all the wide surface of the water, when the earth quaked with the roar of battle, when land forces closed in on both wings and four battle squadrons advanced on the front, when the ferocity of fire answered the clash of weapons and weapons were aided by fire, under the thrusts of spears and the flights of arrows, burnt by fire and drowned by water, Ts‘ao Ts‘ao lost an incalculable number of men. And a poet wrote:— When Wei and Wu together strove For the mastery, In Red Cliff fight the towering ships Vanished from the sea, For there the fierce flames, leaping high, Burned them utterly. So Chou Yü for his liege lord Got the victory. And another Poem runs:— The hills are high, the moon shines faint, The waters stretch afar; I sigh to think how oft this land Has suffered stress of war; And I recall how southerners Shrank from the northmen’s might, And how a favouring eastern gale Helped them to win the fight.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

Wei and Wu fought to prove which was the stronger; the towered ships at Red Cliffs were swept clean away.

GLM · 2026 · machine-generated

The fierce blaze first flared, lighting the sea of clouds; here Zhou Yu broke Lord Cao.

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Another quatrain says:

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The mountains are high, the moon is small, the waters vast; I look back and sigh at the frantic carving of realms in the former age.

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The southern men had no wish to welcome the Martial Emperor of Wei; the east wind was kindly to Zhou Yu.

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Leaving for a while the story of the slaughter on the river it is time to follow Kan Ning. He made Ts‘ao Chung guide him into the innermost recesses of Ts‘ao Ts‘ao’s camp. Then he slew him with one slash of his sword. After this he set fire to the jungle, and at this signal Lu Mêng put fire to the grass in half a score places near to each other. Then other fires were started, and the noise of battle was on all sides.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

Ts‘ao Ts‘ao and the faithful Chang 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 Chieh and Wên P‘ing, with a few more horsemen, joined them. Ts‘ao Ts‘ao bade the soldiers seek a way through. Chang Liao pointed out that the only suitable road was through the “Black” Forest and they took it.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

They had gone but a short distance when they were overtaken by a small party of the enemy and a voice cried, “Ts‘ao Ts‘ao, stop!” It was Lü Mêng, whose ensign soon appeared against the fiery background. Ts‘ao Ts‘ao urged his small party of fugitives forward bidding Chang Liao defend him from Lü Mêng. Soon after he saw the light of torches in front and from a gorge there rushed out another force. And the leader cried “Ling T‘ung is here!” Ts‘ao Ts‘ao was scared; his liver and gall both seemed torn from within. But just then on his half right he saw another company approach and heard a friendly cry “Fear not, O Minister, I am here to rescue you.”

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

The speaker was Hsü Huang and he attacked the pursuers. A move to the north seemed to promise escape, but soon they saw a camp on a hill top. Hsü Huang went ahead to reconnoitre and found the officers in command were Ma Yen and Chang I, who had once been in the service of Yüan Shao. They had three companies of northern men in camp. They had seen the sky redden with the flames, but knew not what was afoot so dared make no move. This turned out lucky for Ts‘ao Ts‘ao who now found himself with a fresh force. He sent these two, with a company, to clear the road ahead while the others remained as guard. And he felt much more secure.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

The two went forward, but before they had gone very far they heard a shouting and a party of soldiers came out, the leader of them shouting, “I am Kan Hsing-pa of the land of ​ Wu.” Nothing daunted the two leaders would engage, but the redoubtable Kan Ning cut down Ma Yen, and when his brother warrior Chang I set his spear and dashed forward, he too fell beneath a stroke from the fearsome sword. Both leaders dead, the soldiers fled to give Ts‘ao Ts‘ao the bad news.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

At this time Ts‘ao Ts‘ao expected aid from Hofei for he knew not that Sun Ch'üan was barring the road. But when Sun saw the fires and so knew that his men had won the day he ordered Lu Hsün to give the answering signal. T‘aishih Tzŭ seeing this came down and his force joined up with that of Lu Hsun and they went against Ts‘ao.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

He had scarcely finished his explanation when from both sides came a deafening roll of drums and flames sprang up to heaven. Ts‘ao Ts‘ao nearly fell off his horse, he was so startled. And from the side dashed in a troop, with Chao Yün leading, who cried, “I am Chao Tzŭ-lung and long have I been waiting here.”

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

As for Ts‘ao Ts‘ao he could only get away toward Iling. On the road he fell in with Chang Ho and ordered him to protect the retreat. He pressed on as quickly as possible. At the fifth watch he was a long way from the glare and he felt safer. He asked the name of the place where they were. They told him it was west of the “Black” Forest and north of Itu. Seeing the thickly crowded trees all about him, and the steep hills and narrow passes, he threw up his head and laughed. Those about him asked why he was merry and he said he was only laughing at the stupidity of Chou Yü and the ignorance of Chuko Liang. If they had only set an ambush there, as he would have done, why, there was no escape.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

He had scarcely finished his explanation when from both sides came a deafening roll of drums and flames sprang up to heaven. Ts‘ao Ts‘ao nearly fell off his horse, he was so startled. And from the side dashed in a troop, with Chao Yün leading, who cried, “I am Chao Tzŭ-lung and long have I been waiting here.” Ts‘ao Ts‘ao ordered Hsü Huang and Chang Ho to engage this new opponent and he himself rode off into the smoke and fire. Chao Yün did not pursue; he only captured his banners and Ts‘ao Ts‘ao escaped.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

The faint light of dawn showed a great black cloud all around, for the south-east wind had not ceased. Suddenly began a heavy down-pour of rain, wetting every one to the skin, but still Ts‘ao Ts‘ao maintained his headlong flight till the starved faces of the men made a halt imperative. He told the men to forage in the villages about for grain and the means of making a fire. But when these had been found and they began to cook a meal another pursuing party came along and Ts‘ao Ts‘ao again was terrified. However, these proved to be friends escorting some of his advisers whom he saw with joy.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

When giving the order to advance again he asked what places lay ahead, and they told him there were two roads; one was the highway to South Iling and the other a mountain road to the north of Iling. “Which is the shorter way to Chiangling?” asked Ts‘ao Ts‘ao. ​ “The best way is to take the south road through Huluk‘ou,” was the reply.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

So he gave orders to march that way. By the time Huluk‘ou was reached the men were almost starving and could march no more; horses too were worn out. Many had fallen by the roadside. A halt was then made, food was taken by force from the villagers, and as there were still some boilers left they found a dry spot 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 to dry. The beasts, too, were unsaddled and turned out to graze.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

Seated confortably in a somewhat open spot Ts‘ao Ts‘ao suddenly looked up and began to laugh loud and long. His companions, remembering the sequel of his last laugh, said, “Not long since, Sir, you laughed at Chou Yü and Chuko Liang; that resulted in the arrival of Chao Yün and great loss of men to us. Why do you now laugh?”

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

“I am laughing again at the ignorance of the same two men. If I was in their place, and conducting their campaign, I should have had an ambush here, just to meet us when we were tired out. Then, even if we escaped with our lives, we should suffer very severely. They did not see this and therefore I am laughing at them.”

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

Even at that moment behind them rose a great yell. Thoroughly startled, Ts‘ao Ts‘ao threw aside his breastplate and leaped upon his horse. Most of the soldiers failed to catch theirs and then fires sprang up on every side and filled the mouth of the valley. A force was arrayed before them and at the head was the man of Yen, Chang Fei, seated on his steed with his great spear levelled. “Whither wouldst thou flee, O rebel?” shouted he.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

The soldiers grew cold within at the sight of the terrible warrior. Hsü Ch‘u, mounted on a barebacked horse, rode up to engage him and two comrades galloped up to his aid. The three gathered about Chang Fei and a mêlée began, while Ts‘ao Ts‘ao made off at top speed. The other leaders set off after him and Chang Fei pursued. However, Ts‘ao Ts‘ao by dint of hard riding got away and gradually the pursuers were out-distanced.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

But many had received wounds. As they were going the soldiers said, “There are two roads before us; which shall we take?” “Which is the shorter?' asked Ts‘ao Ts‘ao. “The high road is the more level, but it is fifty li longer than the bye road which goes to Huayungtao. Only the latter road is narrow and dangerous, full of pits and difficult.” Ts‘ao Ts‘ao sent men up to the hill tops to look around. They returned saying there were several columns of smoke ​ rising from the hills along the road. The high road seemed quiet.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

Then Ts‘ao Ts‘ao bade them lead the way along the bye-road. “Where smoke arises there are surely soldiers,” remarked the officers. “Why go this way?” “Because the Book of War says that the hollow is to be regarded as solid and the solid as hollow. That fellow Chuko Liang is very subtle and has sent men to make those fires so that we should not go that way. He has laid an ambush on the high road. I have made up my mind and I will not fall a victim to his wiles.”

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

“O Minister, your conclusions are most admirable. None other can equal you,” said the officers.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

And the soldiers were sent along the highway. They were very hungry and many almost too weak to travel. The horses too were spent. Some had been scorched by the flames and they rode forward resting their heads on their whips; the wounded struggled on to the last of their strength. All were soaking wet and all were feeble. Their arms and accoutrements were in a deplorable state, and more than half had been left upon the road they had traversed. Few of the horses had saddles or bridles, for in the confusion of pursuit they had been left behind. It was the time of greatest winter cold and the suffering was indescribable.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

Noticing that the leading party had stopped Ts‘ao Ts‘ao sent to ask the reason. The messenger returned to report that by reason of the rain water collected in the pits and the mire the horses could not move. Ts‘ao Ts‘ao raged. He said, “When soldiers come to hills they cut a road, when they happen upon streams they bridge them; such a thing as mud cannot stay an army.”

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

So he ordered the weak and wounded to go to the rear and come on as they could, while the robust and able were to cut down trees, and gather herbage and reeds to fill up the holes. And it was to be done without delay, or death would be the punishment of the disobedient or remiss.

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

So the men dismounted and felled trees and cut bamboos, and they levelled the road. And because of the imminence and fear of pursuit a party was told off to hasten the workers and slay any that idled. The soldiers made their way along the shallower parts, but many fell, and cries of misery were heard the whole length of the way. “What are you howling for?” cried Ts‘ao Ts‘ao. “The number of your days is fixed. Any one who howls shall be put to death.”

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

The remnant of the army, now divided into three, one to march slowly, a second to fill up the waterways and hollows and a third to escort Ts‘ao Ts‘ao, gradually made its way over ​ the precipitous road. When the going improved a little and the path was moderately level, Ts‘ao Ts‘ao turned to look at his following and saw he had barely three hundred men. And these lacked clothing and armour and were tattered and disordered. But he pressed on, and when the officers told him the horses were quite spent and must rest, he replied, “Press on to Chingchou and there we shall find repose.” So they pressed on. But they had gone only a few li when Ts‘ao Ts‘ao flourished his whip and broke once again into loud laughter. “What is there to laugh at?” asked the officers. “People say those two are able and crafty; I do not see it. They are a couple of incapables. If an ambush had been placed here we should all be prisoners.”

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

He had not finished this speech when the explosion of a bomb broke the silence and a half company of men with swords in their hands appeared and barred the way. The leader was Kuan Yü holding the famous Black Dragon sword, bestriding the “Red Hare” steed. At this sight the spirits of the soldiers left them and they gazed into each others' faces in panic. “Now we have but one course;” said Ts‘ao Ts‘ao, “we must fight to the death.” “How can we?” said the officers. “The men are scared, the horses are spent.”

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

Ch'êng Yü said, “I have always heard that Kuan Yü is haughty to the proud but kindly to the humble; he despises the strong, but is gentle with the weak. He discriminates between love and hate and is always righteous and true. You, O Minister, have shown him kindness, and if you will remind him of that we shall escape this evil.”

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

Ts‘ao Ts‘ao agreed to try. He rode out to the front, bowed low and said, “General, I trust you have enjoyed good health.” “I had orders to await you, O Minister,” replied he, bowing in return,” and I have been expecting you these many days.” “You see before you Ts‘ao Ts‘ao, defeated and weak. I have reached a sad pass and I trust you, O General, will not forget the kindness of former days.” “Though indeed you were kind to me in those days, yet I slew your enemies for you and relieved the siege of Paima. As to the business of to-day, I cannot allow private feelings to outweigh public duty.”

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

“Do you remember my generals, slain at the five passes? The noble man values righteousness. You are well versed in the histories and must recall the action of Yu-kung, the archer, when he found his master Tzu-cho in his power. ”

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain

Kuan Yü was indeed a very mountain of goodness and could not forget the great kindness he had received at Ts‘ao Ts‘ao’s hands, and the magnanimity he had shown over the deeds at ​ the five passes. He saw the desperate straits to which his benefactor was reduced and tears were very near to the eyes of both. He could not press him hard. He pulled at the bridle of his steed and turned away saying to his followers, “Break up the formation.”

Brewitt-Taylor · 1925 · public domain