Now Sun Ce, whose courtesy name was Bofu and who was known as the Little Conqueror, had come to dominate Jiangdong. His army was well-drilled and his granaries were full. In the fourth year of Jian’an, he raided Lujiang, defeated Liu Xun, and sent Yu Fan to rush proclamations to Yuzhang; the Administrator of Yuzhang, Hua Xin, surrendered. From then on, his prestige surged. He sent Zhang Hong to Xuchang to present a report of victory.

Cao Cao, whose courtesy name was Mengde, realized how formidable Sun Ce had become and sighed, “I will not compete in direct contest with that lion-cub.” He then married his daughter, the daughter of Cao Ren, to Sun Ce’s younger brother Sun Kuang, and the two families formed an alliance. Zhang Hong was left in Xuchang.

Sun Ce asked to become the Grand Marshal, but Cao Cao refused. He resented it and often thought of raiding Xuchang. As a result, Xu Gong, the Administrator of Wu Commandery, secretly sent a messenger there with a memorial to Cao Cao. Its preface read:

Sun Ce is brave and strong, similar to Xiang Yu. The court should bestow him honors from afar and summon him back to the capital. He should not be left out in a frontier command, for he will become a later source of trouble.

The messenger carried the memorial across the river, but he was intercepted by soldiers guarding the river. They brought him to Sun Ce. When Sun Ce read it, he exploded in rage, beheaded the messenger, and sent men to ask Xu Gong to come under the pretext of discussion.

When Xu Gong arrived, Sun Ce presented the document and shouted, “Did you intend to send me to my death?” He then ordered soldiers to strangle him. Xu Gong’s family all scattered. Three retainers in his household wished to avenge him, but they lacked opportunity.

One day Sun Ce led his troops on a hunt in the western hills of Dantu. He chased a large deer at a gallop on horseback. As he was pursuing, he saw three men in the trees, each holding spear and bow. Sun Ce drew up and asked, “Who are you?”

They replied, “We are soldiers of Han Dang, out here to shoot deer.”

Sun Ce was just raising his reins to pass when one lunged a spear at his left leg. He was greatly startled, pulled out his sword from horseback and struck, but the blade came away from the hilt, leaving only the handle in his hand.

One of them swiftly nocked an arrow and shot. It struck Sun Ce squarely in the cheek. He drew out the arrow from his face and grabbed a bow to shoot the archer; the man fell as soon as the bowstring was drawn.

The other two men raised their spears and pressed wild against Sun Ce, shouting that they were retainers of Xu Gong come to avenge their master. Sun Ce had no other weapons. He used his bow to parry and kept retreating while he fought, but both men did not retreat. Sun Ce was pierced by several spears, and his horse was also wounded.

At the dangerous moment Cheng Pu arrived with a few men. Sun Ce shouted, “Kill the bandits!” Cheng Pu urged everyone forward, and the men from Xu Gong’s household were hacked down into scraps.

By then Sun Ce’s face ran with blood. He was badly wounded, so he cut through his own robes with a knife, bound his wounds, and returned to Wukui to recover. Later, a verse praised the three retainers of Xu’s household:

The little hero, brave in wit and courage, leads across the riverbank; while hunting in the mountains he was suddenly trapped in danger. The three retainers of Xu serve loyalty unto death; as for sacrificing themselves like Yu Rang, it is nothing strange.

Sun Ce came back from the hunt in pain, sent for a physician, and asked Huatuo to treat him. Unfortunately Huatuo had already left for Zhongyuan, and only his disciple remained.

The disciple said, “The arrowhead carried drug. The poison has entered the bone. He needs one hundred days of rest to avoid danger. If anger rises in him, the wound will never heal.”

Yet Sun Ce was impatient by nature and wished to recover at once. After only a little over twenty days of rest, he heard that a messenger from Zhang Hong had come back from Xuchang and called him to inquire. The messenger said, “Cao Cao fears the lord here, and all of his subordinate strategists are respectful of him. Only Guo Jia does not defer.”

Sun Ce asked, “What did Guo Jia say?”

The messenger dared not speak. Sun Ce pressed him again. The messenger finally replied honestly: Guo Jia had once told Cao Cao, “The lord has nothing to fear. He is rash and unready, few in strategy and merely brave like a common man. One day he will die at the hands of a petty man.”

Sun Ce grew furious and said, “How dare this commoner presume to appraise me! I swear I will take Xuchang!” Even before he had fully recovered, he began to discuss marching out.

Zhang Zhao advised him, “Your physician ordered a hundred days of rest; why move now over a sudden fury and risk this precious body worth ten thousand pieces of gold?”

As they were still discussing, word came that Chen Zhen had arrived, sent by Yuan Shao. Sun Ce summoned him. Chen Zhen reported that Yuan Shao wished to form an alliance with Eastern Wu as an external support and strike Cao Cao together.

Sun Ce was delighted and that same day summoned his officers to the city tower for a banquet to receive Chen Zhen. After many cups, he noticed his commanders exchanging whispers and dropping down from the tower in crowds. He asked what was wrong. They said, “A Daoist named Yu has just passed below the tower. The officers all want to go and pay respects.”

Sun Ce stood at the railing and saw an old man in a crane-feathered gown, carrying a staff of li bamboo, standing in the road. All the commoners were burning incense and prostrating themselves before him.

Sun Ce shouted, “What sort of demon is this? Bring him to me at once!”

His attendants said, “His surname is Yu, given name Ji. He lives in the east and comes and goes through Wukui. He offers talisman-water that cures all manner of illness, and people say it never fails. They call him a true immortal today. You should not offend him.”

Sun Ce’s anger rose further. He shouted, “Seize him at once. If anyone disobeys, execute them.”

With no choice, the men brought Yu Ji upstairs. Sun Ce shouted, “How dare you sorcerer incite the people!”

Yu Ji said, “I am a Daoist from the Langye Palace. In the reign of Emperor Shun (Shun-di), I entered the mountains to gather herbs and found a scripture on the waters of Quyang Spring. It was called The Way of Peaceful Blue-Grey Dao, hundreds of volumes, with methods for treating illness. I received it only to spread Heaven’s compassion and save the many people. I have never taken even a pin from anyone. How could I inflame the people, then?”

Sun Ce replied, “If you do not take money, then how do you sustain your clothes and food? You are among those followers of Zhang Jiao and the Yellow Turbans. If you are not punished now, you will bring disaster later.”

He shouted, “Cut him down!”

Zhang Zhao pleaded, “Yu Ji has practiced here in Jiangdong for decades with no misconduct. He should not be killed.”

Sun Ce said, “Such a charlatan—I strike him, and it is no different from butchering swine and dogs.” All the officials urged him to spare Yu Ji. Even Chen Zhen spoke. But Sun Ce did not relent and ordered Yu Ji confined.

The officials withdrew. Chen Zhen returned to his guest pavilion and rested.

When Sun Ce returned to the residence, his mother, the Lady Wu, had already been informed. She called him to the inner hall and said, “I have heard you have put Yu Ji under chains. He has treated many illnesses before; soldiers and commoners alike venerate him. Do not harm him.”

Sun Ce answered, “He is a demon. He can cloud men’s minds with sorcery. He must be removed.” The mother urged him again and again, but he said, “Do not heed other men’s words. My lord’s own judgment stands.”

He ordered the jailer to bring Yu Ji. Unknown to him, the jail staff revered Yu Ji. While in prison, they had taken off all his fetters, but when Sun Ce called for him, he came in shackled.

Sun Ce raged still more, blamed the jailer, and bound Yu Ji again for execution. Zhang Zhao and some thirty officials submitted a joint petition urging him to spare the Daoist. Sun Ce said,

You are all men of letters and can still not understand. In former times, the Inspector of Jiaozhou, Zhang Jin, believed in heterodox teachings, played qin and burned incense, and always wrapped his head in a red sash, claiming he could support troops in war. In the end he was killed by enemy armies. Such practices do nothing. You have yet to understand it. My intention in killing Yu Ji is to shut down demonic delusion.

Lu Fan added, “I have always known this Daoist can pray for wind and rain. At this drought, why not order him to pray for rain to atone?”

Sun Ce said, “I will watch this sorcerer now.”

He then commanded the prison staff to bring Yu Ji out, remove his shackles, and set him upon an altar to seek rain.

Yu Ji followed orders, bathed, changed clothes, and tied a rope around himself in the fierce noon sun. Crowds filled the streets and lanes. Yu Ji told them, “I can summon three chi of fine rain to save the ten thousand, but I know I cannot escape death.”

The crowd said, “If he proves efficacious, the lord will certainly trust him.” Yu Ji said, “My destiny is near, and I fear I cannot escape.”

Not long after, Sun Ce personally came to the altar and issued his command: if it were noon and still no rain, he would burn Yu Ji. Men were ordered to stack dry timber in readiness.

As noon neared, a violent wind rose. Dark clouds gathered all around. Sun Ce said, “The hour is near noon, only clouds and no sweet rain—this is exactly a demon.” He shouted for men to carry Yu Ji to the pyre and build flame on all four sides. The flames rose with the wind.

Then a single black column of smoke shot upward. A sharp crack sounded, lightning and thunder split together, and torrential rain poured. In moments, streets turned to streams and every gully filled; the rain ran three chi deep. Yu Ji lay supine on the pyre, let out a great cry, and at once the wind died, the rain stopped, and the sun reappeared.

Officials and commoners together carried Yu Ji down from the pyre, removed his cords, and bowed again in thanks. Seeing soldiers and officials kneeling in standing water, bareheaded and unconcerned for their clothes, Sun Ce flared in anger. He shouted, “Rain is ordained by Heaven; a sorcerer took the moment for show. How could you all be so bewitched?” He drew his treasure sword and ordered the nearest men, “Kill Yu Ji at once.”

The officials tried to intercede repeatedly, but Sun Ce said, “You all would join Yu Ji in rebellion, then?” none dared to speak.

He shouted for soldiers to behead Yu Ji. As the executioner’s blade fell, a line of green vapor rose and shot off to the northeast. Sun Ce ordered Yu Ji’s corpse publicly exposed in the market to establish the crime of sorcery.

That night rain and wind mixed. At dawn, Yu Ji’s severed head was gone.

A guard reported this to Sun Ce. Sun Ce began to order the guard executed, when a man quietly entered from the front hall. It was Yu Ji.

Sun Ce roared, drawing his sword to cut him down, but suddenly he collapsed in a faint.

He recovered after some time, and Mother Wu came to see him. “By killing your own holy man, you invited this disaster,” she said.

Sun Ce laughed, “Since childhood I followed my father in campaign and killed as with chaff. Why would I ever bring a ruin upon myself? By killing this demon now, I have eliminated a great ruin; how can this become ruin for me?”

His mother replied, “The sages say, ‘The virtue of ghosts and spirits is truly magnificent.’ They also said, ‘Pray to the deities above and below.’ Matters of ghosts and spirits cannot be ignored. To kill Master Yu unjustly—how can there be no retribution? I have already arranged for a ritual to be prepared at the Yuching Hall of this commandery. You may go there yourself and offer prayers; then all will be set right.”

Sun Ce said, “My life is in Heaven’s hand; this demon cannot bring calamity. Why waste on appeasement?”

She realized he would not listen and secretly ordered good works to avert evil.

In the middle watch of that night, Sun Ce lay in the inner court when a sudden gust blew, the lamps went out and flared on again. In the lamp light he saw Yu Ji standing before him. Sun Ce shouted, “I have sworn to punish demons and sorcery to pacify the realm. Since you are now a ghost, how dare you come near me?”

He threw the sword from the bedside, but Yu Ji vanished at once.

Wu Mother heard this and grew deeply anxious. Sun Ce forced himself back up and went out to the Yuxing Palace at her command. The Daoist there took him in and asked him to burn incense. Sun Ce burned incense but offered no thanks.

From the incense burner rose a single column of smoke that would not dissipate, then formed a canopy beneath which Yu Ji sat. Sun Ce cursed him and left the hall. At the hall gate he saw Yu Ji again, glaring at him.

He told his attendants, “Do you all see this ghost?” All said they did not.

Sun Ce became even more furious. He drew his belt sword and hurled it at Yu Ji, but one soldier was struck and collapsed, his brain cleft and blood pouring from the seven openings. He had been one of the young soldiers who had killed Yu Ji. Sun Ce ordered that man buried.

As Sun Ce left the hall, Yu Ji again appeared at the gate and entered the monastery. Sun Ce said, “This monastery also harbors a demon’s place.” He sat before the temple entrance and ordered five hundred soldiers to tear it down.

The soldiers had just begun to lift roof tiles when Yu Ji appeared on the eaves and hurled tiles down. Sun Ce was infuriated and ordered all resident Daoists expelled and the buildings burned.

As flames rose, Yu Ji stood out in the firelight once more. Sun Ce returned to the residence and saw Yu Ji waiting by the gate. He did not return indoors; he called up three military camps, had everyone ride out beyond the city, and convened his commanders to discuss. He wanted to march immediately with Yuan Shao against Cao Cao.

The commanders said in one voice, “My lord’s body is out of balance; it is not time to move. Wait until you are fully recovered. A campaign can wait.”

That night Sun Ce slept at the camp and again saw Yu Ji, hair loose, coming toward him. He shouted in his tent without rest.

The next day, his mother summoned him home. Sun Ce returned and saw his mother. She cried, “My son, you have lost your bearing.” Sun Ce took a mirror and saw his own face was terribly gaunt. He looked at those around him and said, “How have I become so emaciated?”

Before he could finish, Yu Ji appeared within the mirror. He pounded the frame and shouted. The scar on his face split apart, and he fainted.

His mother had him carried indoors. He soon recovered, then summoned Zhang Zhao and the others and his younger brother Sun Quan to his bed, and spoke his charge:

“If you can gather the men of Jiangdong, decide your move between the two opposing ranks, and contend with all under Heaven, then you are not inferior to me. Appoint worthy and capable men and have each give his full strength to preserve Jiangdong. As for this, I am not as capable as you. My dear one, be mindful of the hardship my father and brothers endured to found this house.”

Sun Quan wept and accepted the insignia and silk credentials.

Sun Ce then said, “My years are fulfilled. I cannot serve our mother any longer. I now hand her the insignia and command seals to you. Guide her each day. Do not neglect your old companions and officers.”

His mother wept, “I fear your younger brother is still young and cannot shoulder great affairs. What then?”

Sun Ce replied, “My brother surpasses me tenfold and is fit for great burden. If domestic matters trouble you, ask Zhang Zhao. If matters of war trouble you, ask Zhou Yu. I regret that Zhou Yu is not here to hear my last words.”

He called his brothers and continued,

“After I die, all of you must assist Zhongmou [Sun Quan]. If any in our clan gives way to disloyal thought, execute him together. Bone and flesh that turn traitor shall not enter ancestral tombs.”

His brothers wept and accepted.

He called his wife, Lady Qiao, and said, “Though we were not destined to stay together, you must now honor and support our mother-in-law. In time, when my younger sister comes to see you, send her to Zhou Lang [Zhou Yu] and ask him to uphold what we have shared.”

After he finished, he lay still and passed away, saying nothing. He was twenty-six.

Later people spoke this poem of lament:

He alone fought in the southeast, and men called him the Small Conqueror. He planned operations like a crouching tiger, and his decisions flew like a soaring eagle. He pacified the three rivers, and his name was fragrant across the four seas. In death he left heavy state matters, yet his final trust was on Zhou Yu.

When Sun Ce died, Sun Quan fell across the bed and wept. Zhang Zhao said, “This is no time for only tears. You must manage mourning and at once the affairs of the state.” Sun Quan restrained himself.

Zhang Zhao ordered Sun Jing to oversee the funeral rites and then asked Sun Quan to appear in the hall and receive the formal greetings of the civil and military officials.

Sun Quan had a square jaw, wide mouth, blue eyes, and purple beard. In earlier times a Han envoy named Liu Wan visited the Sun clan and saw all the brothers. He said to someone, “I have observed all of the Sun brothers: each has keen talent and brilliance, and all of them are short-lived in blessing. Only Zhongmou has an uncommon countenance and extraordinary bearing, and he carries the marks of future eminence. He will enjoy long life. None of the others compare.”

At that time Sun Quan followed his brother’s charge and assumed charge in Jiangdong, but the realm was still unsettled. News came that Zhou Yu returned from Baqiu with troops. Sun Quan said, “Gongjin has returned; I have no more cause for fear.”

Zhou Yu had been stationed to guard Baqiu and heard Sun Ce had been wounded by arrow. He returned to inquire, but when he reached Wu Commandery he heard Sun Ce was dead, so he rode through the night to attend the mourning.

As he entered before Sun Ce’s coffin, he wept and kowtowed. Lady Wu came forth and recited Sun Ce’s dying instruction to him. Zhou Yu knelt at the ground and said, “I will do what a loyal horse and dog can do and follow it through with my life!”

Shortly after, Sun Quan entered. After Zhou Yu had paid his respects, Sun Quan said, “Do not forget your elder brother’s command.” Zhou Yu knelt and said, “I will bathe in my own blood and blood and flesh and repay his kindness to the core.”

Sun Quan asked, “What plan would you set so I can keep what my father and elder brother have built?”

Zhou Yu said, “As the old saying goes, one gains a ruler and loses one too. For now we need a counselor with great and far-seeing vision. Only then can Jiangdong be steadied.”

Sun Quan replied, “My elder brother’s final words place internal affairs under the charge of Zi Bu, and external affairs wholly on Gongjin.”

Zhou Yu said, “Zi Bu is a sensible and gifted officer; he can carry great responsibilities. I am not enough for that trust, and I am ashamed at the weight of it. I should recommend one man.”

Sun Quan asked who it was. Zhou Yu said,

He is Lu Su of the surname Lu, courtesy name Zijing, and native to Dongchuan of the Linhuai region. He has strategic depth in his chest and stratagems hidden in his heart. His father died young, and he served his mother with filial devotion. Their family is very wealthy; once he gave away two granaries of grain, each holding three thousand hu, to help people in poverty. When I, Zhou, governed Chao as a prefect, I marched with several hundred men through Linhuai. When our provisions ran short, I heard Su’s family had two granaries of rice, each of three thousand hu. I asked Su for aid. He indicated one and granted it. He was so generous.

He loves horse and bow so deeply and had long lived in Quya. When his grandmother died, he buried her in East City. His friend Liu Ziyang invited him to Chao Lake to meet and seek out Cheng Bao, but Su had been hesitant. Now, summon him quickly.”

Sun Quan was pleased and ordered Zhou Yu to invite him at once. Zhou Yu obeyed, met Lu Su, completed formal rites, and explained Sun Quan’s esteem. Lu Su replied, “Liu Ziyang has asked me to go to Chao Lake; I am due to go.”

Zhou Yu said, “In former times, in response to Emperor Guangwu, Ma Yuan said: ‘Today, the ruler chooses ministers no less than ministers choose ruler.’ My Sun Jiangjun honors worth and welcomes scholars; he treasures rare and strange people. This is rarer than one can find in these lands. You need not make your own plan. Come with me and offer yourself to Eastern Wu.’”

Lu Su followed this counsel and came with Zhou Yu to see Sun Quan. Sun Quan received him with great respect and spoke all night; he would talk until exhaustion.

One day, after everyone else had left, Sun Quan and Lu Su remained drinking together and lay side by side to rest. At midnight Sun Quan said, “Now the Han court totters and the four corners of the world are in disorder. As a son inheriting the enterprises of my father and brother, I wish to act like Huan and Wen. What can you teach me?”

Lu Su replied, “In the past, when Emperor Gaozu sought to honor Emperor Yi, he failed because of Xiang Yu. Today Cao Cao may be compared to Xiang Yu. How can a general become a Huan or a Wen? I suspect under Heaven that the Han court cannot be revived and Cao Cao cannot be removed in a day. For your benefit, General, there is only this path: establish a tripod balance with Jiangdong and observe the fractures under Heaven. Now, while the northern front is burdened with many tasks, you should first eliminate Huang Zu, then advance south to drive forth against Liu Biao until you hold the reaches at the end of the Yangtze. Thereafter take on a dynastic title and contend for the world. That is the Great Ancestor’s enterprise.”

When Sun Quan heard this, he sat up and thanked him. The next day he rewarded Lu Su richly and gave robe, canopies, and tenting goods, and sent gifts to Su’s mother as well.

Lu Su then recommended another man to Sun Quan: Zhuge Jin, whose surname was Zhuge, name was Jin, courtesy name Ziyu, and from Longzhong in Nanyang.

Sun Quan honored him as a distinguished guest. Zhuge Jin advised Sun Quan not to ally with Yuan Shao; follow Cao Cao first, then take advantage to strike. Sun Quan agreed and sent Chen Zhen away with a letter, severing ties with Yuan Shao.

Cao Cao, on hearing of Sun Ce’s death, intended to raise troops and descend to Jiangnan. Court censor Zhang Hong advised him, “To attack while they mourn is neither righteous nor wise. If he cannot be subdued, you will only turn good ties into enmity. Better to treat him well and gain him.”

Cao Cao accepted the counsel. He immediately proposed granting Sun Quan a military title and also the office of Administrator of Kuaiji Commandery. He further appointed Zhang Hong as Chief Commandant of Kuaiji and sent him with the seals to Jiangdong.

Sun Quan rejoiced and, when Zhang Hong returned, assigned him to work with Zhang Zhao on governing affairs.

Zhang Hong then recommended another man: one surnamed Gu, given name Yong, courtesy name Yuan-tan, a student of Cai Yong, formerly a gentleman of the zhonglang bureau.

He spoke little, drank no wine, and was strict and upright. Sun Quan made him his deputy and had him carry out the Administrator’s duties for the commandery. From then on, Sun Quan’s authority prevailed through Jiangdong, and he won deep loyalty among the people.

Chen Zhen then returned to Yuan Shao and reported that Sun Ce was dead and Sun Quan had succeeded him. Cao Cao had conferred the military title and made an external alliance, and Yuan Shao was furious. He raised more than seven hundred thousand men from Ji, Qing, You, and Bing commanderies and returned to take Xuchang once more.

The chapter closed with this verse:

In Jiangnan, military gear had just begun to rest; in Ji Province, the clash of war had risen again. No one yet knows how victory and defeat will turn.

How this turned out will be told in the next chapter.