Romance of the Three Kingdoms (High School Part)

Author: Luo Guanzhong / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-06-01
Features: Represents a character with a hair on the left and an ear knife on the right. Represents a sun above and a character below. Represents a single-person side on the left and a push without the handle on the right. The next day. Li Su led a dozen riders to Wu, and it was reported that the Son of Heaven had an edict. Dou Zuo ordered him to be called in. Li Su entered and bowed. Dou Zuo said, "What is the edict of the Son of Heaven?" Su said, "The Son of Heaven has recently recovered from his illness and wants to meet the civil and military officials at Weiyang Palace to discuss transferring the throne to the Grand Tutor, so there is this edict." Dou said, "What is Wang Yun's intention?" Su said, "Wang Simu has already ordered people to build a throne acceptance platform, and he is only waiting for your arrival." Dou was very happy and said, "I dreamed of a dragon covering me last night, and today I really get this good news. The time is not to be missed!" He then ordered his trusted men, Li Chui, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou, to lead the Flying Bear Army with three thousand men to guard Wu; he himself returned to the capital the next day. Looking at Li Su, he said, "If I become the emperor, you will be the Chief Guardian of the Imperial Body." Su bowed and thanked him. Dou said goodbye to his mother. His mother was over ninety years old at the time. She asked, "Where is my son going?" Dou said, "My son is going to receive the Han throne, and mother will soon be the Empress." His mother said, "I have been trembling and frightened recently, and I'm afraid it's not a good omen." Dou said, "Since I am to be the mother of the country, how could there not be a premonition?" He then bid farewell to his mother and left. On the way, he said to Diaochan, "If I become the emperor, I will make you the Imperial Concubine." Diaochan had already understood the situation and feigned joy and thanked him. Dou left Wu and got into a carriage, with people in front and behind. He looked towards Chang'an. After traveling less than thirty miles, the wheel of his carriage suddenly broke. Dou got off and rode a horse. After another ten miles, the horse roared and neighed, breaking its reins. Dou asked Su, "The wheel of the carriage broke, and the horse's reins were broken. What does this omen mean?" Su said, "It means that the Grand Tutor should inherit the Han throne, abandon the old and embrace the new, and ride a jade carriage with gold saddles." Dou was happy and believed his words. The next day, while they were traveling, a sudden storm arose, and dark fog covered the sky. Dou asked Su, "What does this omen mean?" Su said, "When your majesty ascends the throne, there will be red light and purple mist to enhance the majesty of heaven." Dou was happy again and no longer doubted. When they arrived outside the city, all the officials came out to welcome them. Only Li Ju was sick at home and could not come out to welcome them. Dou went into the Prime Minister's Office, and Lü Bu came to offer congratulations. Dou said, "Now that I am on the throne, you should be the Chief Commander of the Imperial Army." Bu bowed and thanked him. He stayed overnight in front of the tent. That night, dozens of children sang songs in the suburbs, and the wind carried their songs into the tent. The song said: "A thousand grasses, how green they are. Ten days of divination, no life!" The song was sad. Dou asked Su, "What does this children's song mean, good or bad?" Su said, "It just means that the Liu family will perish and the Dong family will rise." The next day at dawn, Dou arranged his entourage and entered the court. Suddenly, he saw a man in green robes and a white headband, holding a long rod with a cloth of ten feet tied to it, each end inscribed with an "" character. Dou asked Su, "What does this man mean?" Su said, "He is a person with a heart ailment." Dou ordered him to be driven away. Dou entered the court. All the officials wore court robes and greeted them on the road. Li Su held a treasure sword and supported the carriage. When they reached the North Gate, the soldiers blocked the gate, and only twenty or so imperial guards entered with them. Dou saw Wang Yun and others holding swords at the gate and asked Su in shock, "Why are they holding swords?" Su did not answer and pushed the carriage straight in. Wang Yun shouted, "Rebel! Where are the guards?" Over a hundred people turned out from both sides, holding pikes and spears to attack him. Dou's armor could not stop the blows, and he fell off the carriage, shouting, "Where is my son Lü Bu?" Lü Bu rushed out from behind the carriage and shouted, "There is an edict to suppress the rebel!" His spear went straight through Dou's throat. Li Su quickly beheaded him. Lü Bu held his spear in his left hand and took the edict from his right, shouting, "Following the edict, I suppress the rebel Dou Zuo! All others will not be spared." The officials all shouted, "Long live the emperor!" Later, a poem was written to lament Dou Zuo: "When his was complete, he became an emperor. If not, he would have been a rich man. Who knew that heaven's will is just, and his Wu was built just to be destroyed."
Then, Lü Bu shouted, "Those who helped Dou Zuo were all Li Ju. Who can capture him?" Li Su responded and volunteered to go. Suddenly, a shout came from outside the court gate, and it was reported that Li Ju's servants had bound Li Ju and brought him to offer him. Wang Yun ordered him to be bound and taken to the public market to be executed. He also ordered the corpse of Dou Zuo to be displayed in the streets. Dou Zuo's corpse was fat, and the soldiers placed fire in his navel to use as a lamp, with grease flowing all over the ground. Passersby threw his head and trampled his body. Wang Yun also ordered Lü Bu, together with Huangfu Cheng and Li Su, to lead an army of fifty thousand to raid Dou Zuo's property and family in Wu.
Li Chui, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou heard that Dou Zuo was dead and Lü Bu was coming, so they led the Flying Bear Army and fled to Liangzhou at night. Lü Bu arrived at Wu first and took Diaochan. Huangfu Cheng ordered all the good families and women held in the Wu to be released. But all relatives of Dou Zuo, whether old or young, were beheaded and displayed. They collected the gold, silver, silks, jewels, utensils, and grain stored in the Wu, amounting to hundreds of thousands of taels of gold and silver, as well as countless silks, jewels, utensils, and grain. They reported to Wang Yun, who then greatly rewarded the soldiers and held a banquet in the main hall, gathering all the officials to drink and celebrate.
Just as they were drinking, someone reported, "Dou Zuo's corpse is displayed in the market, and someone is kneeling beside it and crying." Wang Yun was furious, "Dou Zuo has been executed, and the people are all celebrating. Why is this person daring to cry?" He ordered the guards, "Seize him!" Soon, the man was brought before the officials, and none were shocked to see that he was none other than Cai Yong, the Attendant Minister. Wang Yun scolded, "Dou Zuo, the rebel, has been executed, which is a great fortune for the country. You are also a Han official, yet you do not celebrate his execution but instead cry for him. Why?" Cai Yong knelt and said, "Although I am not talented, I understand the greater cause. How could I betray the country to support Dou Zuo? It was just a sense of gratitude for being recognized that made me cry involuntarily. I know my crime is great, and I beg you to forgive me. If I can be crippled and continue to write the history of the Han dynasty to atone for my sins, it would be my fortune." The officials pitied Cai Yong's talent and all tried to save him. Ma Ribei, the Grand Tutor, also whispered to Wang Yun, "Bojiao is an extraordinary talent of his generation. If he continues to write the history of the Han dynasty, it would be a great event. Moreover, his filial piety is well-known. If we kill him now, we may lose the people's support." Wang Yun said, "In the past, Emperor Wu did not kill Sima Qian, and later he wrote the history, which led to slanderous books spreading in the world. Now the country is declining, and the court is in chaos. We cannot allow treacherous officials to write beside the young emperor, so that they may slander us." Ma Ribei had no choice but to leave and privately told the officials, "Is there no heir to the Wang family? Good people are the pillars of the country, and rituals are the standards of the country. Destroying the pillars and discarding the standards will not last long."
That day, Wang Yun did not listen to Ma Ribei's words and ordered Cai Yong to be hanged in prison. When the officials heard this, they all shed tears. Later, people discussed that crying for Dou Zuo was indeed wrong, but Wang Yun's execution of him was also excessive. A poem was written to lament: "Dou Zuo held power and acted unrighteously, why did the Attendant Minister dare to die for him? If Zhuge Liang had been in Longzhong, would he have dared to serve a rebel?"
Meanwhile, Li Chui, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou fled to Shaanxi and sent a messenger to Chang'an to ask for amnesty. Wang Yun said, "Dou Zuo's tyranny was all helped by these four. Now that the world is pardoned, only these four will not be forgiven." The messenger reported this to Li Chui. Li Chui said, "If we cannot ask for amnesty, we should each escape separately." The strategist Jia Xu said, "If you abandon your army and travel alone, even a village head can capture you. It is better to lure the people of Western Liang and join your own troops to attack Chang'an and avenge Dou Zuo. If successful, we can restore the court and govern the world. If not, we can escape." Li Chui and the others agreed. They spread the rumor in Western Liang that "Wang Yun wants to eliminate all the people here!" Everyone was frightened. Then they declared, "Dying uselessly is no use. Can you follow me in rebellion?" Everyone wanted to follow. They gathered an army of over a hundred thousand and divided into four routes to attack Chang'an. Along the way, they met Niu Fu, Dou Zuo's son-in-law, leading an army of five thousand to avenge his father. Li Chui joined forces with him and made him lead the vanguard. The four of them advanced one after another. Wang Yun heard that the Western Liang army was coming and discussed with Lü Bu. Lü Bu said, "The Grand Tutor need not worry. Such rats are not worth mentioning." He led Li Su to fight. Su led the charge and met Niu Fu. They fought fiercely, and Niu Fu was defeated and fled.
That night at two o'clock, Niu Fu took advantage of Li Su's unpreparedness and raided the camp. The soldiers scattered in chaos, and they fled over thirty miles, losing half their army. When they saw Lü Bu, he was furious and said, "How could you weaken my morale!" He had Li Su beheaded and displayed his head at the camp gate. The next day, Lü Bu marched to fight Niu Fu. Niu Fu could not stand up to Lü Bu and was defeated again. That night, Niu Fu called his trusted man Hu Chiren for advice. "Lü Bu is brave and cannot be defeated. It is better to hide the gold and jewels from the others and escape with a few trusted followers." Hu Chiren agreed. That night, they gathered the gold and jewels and abandoned the camp, with only three or four followers. When they crossed a river, Hu Chiren tried to take the gold and jewels and killed Niu Fu, presenting his head to Lü Bu. Lü Bu asked about the situation, and the followers reported, "Hu Chiren murdered Niu Fu and took his treasures." Lü Bu was furious and executed Hu Chiren. Leading the army forward, they met Li Chui's troops. Lü Bu did not wait for them to form a line and charged straight ahead with his spear. Li Chui's army could not resist and fled over fifty miles, setting up camp in the mountains. They asked Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou for advice. They said, "Lü Bu is brave but lacks strategy. It is not a concern. We can hold the valley mouth and fight him daily. Guo General can lead an army to attack from behind, like Peng Yue's strategy to harass Chu. Sound the horn to advance and beat the drum to retreat. Zhang and Fan can divide the army into two routes and directly attack Chang'an. They will be unable to save each other and will surely be defeated." They followed the plan.
When Lü Bu arrived at the mountain, Li Chui led his army to fight. Lü Bu was furious and charged, forcing Li Chui to retreat to the mountain. From the mountain, arrows and stones rained down, and Lü Bu's army could not advance. Suddenly, they reported that Guo Si was attacking from behind. Lü Bu quickly turned to fight.