The plan at Longzhong sets the threefold division.\ War on the Yangtze brings retribution against the Sun house.

Later, Liu Bei, whose courtesy name was Xuande, did not meet Zhuge Liang, whose courtesy name was Kongming, on two visits and wished to visit him again. Guan Yu, whose courtesy name was Yunchang, said, “Your elder brother has gone in person twice now to pay him his respects, and the ceremony is excessive. I suspect this Zhuge is all reputation and little learning, so he avoids seeing you. Why are you so utterly deceived by this man?”

Liu Bei said, “No. In the time of Duke Huan of Qi, when he wished to meet a recluse in Dongguo, he had to ask and ask five times before they met once. How can I not seek out such a worthy man?”

Zhang Fei, whose courtesy name was Yide, said, “Brother, you are mistaken. A mere villager—what sort of worthiness could he have? This time you need not go yourself. If he will not come, I will bind him with a single hemp rope and drag him here!”

Liu Bei rebuked him. “Have you never heard of King Wen of Zhou visiting Jiang Ziya? The king showed such reverence to talent. Why are you so rude? Do not go this time. I and Yunchang will go together.”

Zhang Fei said, “If both elder brothers go, how can I be left behind?”

Liu Bei said, “If you go with us, do not lose your manners.”

Zhang Fei assented. The three then rode out with retainers and reached Longzhong. Half a li from the thatched hut, Liu Bei got down and walked. As he arrived, he happened to meet Zhuge Jun. Liu Bei hurriedly paid respects and asked, “Is the elder brother in the cottage?”

Zhuge Jun replied, “He only came home last evening. General, today you may meet him.” He then drifted away.

Liu Bei said, “By good fortune, we are to see the Master this time!”

Zhang Fei said, “This man is insolent. He could have brought us to his dwelling anyway. Why did he leave us and go?”

Liu Bei replied, “He each had his own duties; how can we compel him?”

The three came to the gate and knocked. A page boy came out to ask. Liu Bei said, “Please tell the gentleman with all honor that Liu Bei has come to bow before him.”

The page boy said, “The Master is at home, but he still sleeps late in the thatched hall.”

Liu Bei said, “In that case, do not announce it.” He ordered Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to wait at the gate. He walked slowly in and saw the Master lying propped on a couch in the thatched hall. Liu Bei stood with hands folded on the lower steps.

After some time the Master still had not awakened. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had been waiting outside and had not moved for a long while. They re-entered to report to Liu Bei but still remained standing. Zhang Fei, in great anger, said to Yunchang, “How proud this gentleman is! My brother stands waiting by the stair and he lies there propped up and ignores him. He has not even stirred from sleep! Let me go behind the house and set a fire to see if he wakes!”

Yunchang restrained him repeatedly. Liu Bei still ordered the two to stand outside and wait.

When he looked toward the hall, he saw the Master roll over as if to rise, then at once turn back toward the inner wall and fall asleep again. The page boy wished to report. Liu Bei said, “Do not startle him.” He waited another hour. At last Kongming awakened and chanted:

Who first awakens from the great dream? All my life, I alone have known.
Spring sleep is ample in the thatched hall; beyond the window, the sun moves slowly on.

When the poem was done, he turned over and asked the page, “Have any visitors come?”

The page boy said, “Liu the Imperial Uncle is here, waiting long.”

Kongming said, “Why did you not report him earlier? Let me change my clothing first.” He went into the rear hall. After some time, he properly dressed and came out to receive him.

Liu Bei saw him and thought him almost six feet tall, with a face like polished jade, a black cloth cap, and a white-feathered cloak, floating with an air as though he belonged among immortals. Liu Bei knelt and said, “I am an unworthy fool from Zhuo Commandery, a last sprigling of the Han line. I have long heard your great name as if thunder had passed through my ears. Twice before I made respectful approach and was not granted a single audience. I wrote my unworthy name at the writing table. I do not yet dare to hope you might read it.”

Kongming said, “I am a rustic from Nanyang whose nature is spare and lazy. General has ridden here many times in vain; this is shame enough.”

The two observed the rites of protocol and sat as host and guest. The page served tea. When the tea was finished, Kongming said, “By yesterday’s letters, your concern for the people and the state is clear. My regret is only that Kongming is young and his abilities are shallow, yet he dares still to ask.”

Liu Bei said, “Did not the words of Sima De-cao and Xun Yu mean something? I beg the Master not to abandon a humble and poor man, but grant your teaching.”

Kongming replied, “De-cao and Xun are eminent men of the age. I am only a man of the plow, how could I dare to speak of world affairs? The two gentlemen miss my nature. Why does the General cast away jade and seek a rough stone?”

Liu Bei said, “A true man carrying extraordinary talent for governing age is not meant to waste himself old and idle under groves and springs. Please, Master, have the world’s people in mind and open my dullness so I may be instructed.”

Kongming smiled and said, “I will hear the General’s ambition.”

Liu Bei motioned others back and said, “The Han house is collapsing. Treacherous ministers have usurped life itself. I am not up to this work; I wish to act on great righteousness in the realm, yet my schemes and calculations are shallow and short. Only if the Master lifts my ignorance and relieves this distress would be my great good fortune.”

Kongming said, “Since Dong Zhuo raised rebellion, all the great men of the realm have risen. Cao Cao did not originally surpass Yuan Shao, yet he defeated him not only through time and circumstance but also through counsel and design. Now Cao Cao already commands a hundred thousand men, holds the Son of Heaven to order the lords; this cannot truly be met head-on.

Sun Quan holds Jiangdong, already in three generations. The land is defensible and the people are attached; this can be used as an ally, but never as a target. Jing Province holds the Han and Mian to the north, and all its benefits reach to the South Sea. Its eastern reaches join to Wu Hui, and its western roads run to Ba and Shu. It is a place of arms and cannot be held by one who is not its rightful lord. Heaven has therefore supplied this to the General. Can he cast it aside?

Yi Province is rugged and guarded; its rich plains run for a thousand li, the realm of abundance. Through it, Gaozu established an imperial legacy. Now Liu Zhang is dull and weak, with a populous and wealthy land but no care to preserve it. Talented men wait for a clear ruler.

The General is a descendant of the imperial household; his trust and loyalty are known in all four seas. He gathers heroes and hungers for men of worth. If you first secure Jing and Yi, guard their mountain barriers, pacify the frontier tribes in the west, comfort the Yi and Yue in the south, make alliance with Sun Quan outside, and repair governance within; when upheaval touches the realm, send one foremost commander with Jing’s army toward Wan and Luo. Let the General lead Yi’s forces out toward Qinchuan. Will there be no common folk who would greet him with plain grain and jarred wine? If all this comes to pass, your great undertaking can be accomplished and the Han house raised again. That is my counsel for the General. The general should choose it.”

After he spoke, he told the page boy to bring out a scroll and hang it in the center hall. Pointing to it, he said to Liu Bei, “This is the map of the five-and-forty provinces of western Sichuan. If the General wishes to accomplish dominion, he must ignore the tides that favor Cao Cao in the north and the terrain advantage Sun Quan has in the south, then rely instead on human accord. First take Jing as your home, then take western Sichuan and set your foundations, forming the threefold tripod, and only then attempt Zhongyuan.”

When Liu Bei heard this, he rose from his seat, joined his palms, and said, “The Master’s words have ripped the straw mat from my ear and opened my view. I now see as if cloud and mist had been pushed aside. Yet Jing under Liu Biao and Yi under Liu Zhang are both kin of the Han house. How could I bear to wrest them from them?”

Kongming said, “By night I read the signs of heaven. Liu Biao will not live long. Liu Zhang is no lord fit to found an enduring order; eventually he will yield to the General.”

Liu Bei then knelt and thanked him. In that one exchange, Kongming, though he had not yet left the thatched hut, already knew the threefold division of the empire. Truly, no man in all ages could match him.

A later commentator praised the scene in verse:

That day Lord Yuzhou lamented his lonely straits—how fortunate that Nanyang held the Sleeping Dragon!
To see where the realm would one day divide like a tripod, the Master smiled and pointed within the map.

Liu Bei begged Kongming, “Though my name is small and my virtue thin, please do not refuse the poor and humble, but come down from the mountain and help. Liu Bei will listen in full to your wise instruction.”

Kongming said, “Kongming has long delighted in plow and hoe and has been lazy in answering the world. I cannot obey an order.”

Liu Bei wept and said, “If the Master does not come forth, what hope do the common people have?” When he finished, tears soaked his sleeves and collar.

Seeing the depth of his sincerity, Kongming said, “Since the General does not reject me, I am willing to labor like a dog and a horse.”

Liu Bei rejoiced and ordered Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to present gifts of gold and silk in proper ceremony.

Kongming refused firmly. Liu Bei said, “This is not a payment for a great worth, only a sign of Liu Bei’s sincerity.” Kongming then accepted.

That night Liu Bei and the others stayed in the manor together. On the next day, Zhuge Jun departed. Before leaving, Kongming instructed, “I have received from Liu the Imperial Uncle three visits of favor; I cannot decline to go. You should till here in person and never let the fields lie waste. When I finish my work and win success, then I shall return to retirement.”

A later poet wrote:

Before he had risen, he already thought of retreat; once merit was won, he should have recalled his words on leaving.
Only because the Former Lord entrusted him with his last charge, his star fell in the autumn wind at Wuzhang Plains.

There was also a piece in the Old Style:

The High Emperor raised a three-foot blade of snow; at Mangdang, the white serpent bled by night.
He pacified Qin, destroyed Chu, and entered Xianyang; two hundred years later, the line nearly broke.
Great Guangwu revived it at Luoyang; passed down to Huan and Ling, it split apart again.
Emperor Xian moved his court to Xuchang; throughout the four seas, heroes rose in throngs.
Cao Cao seized power and gained Heaven’s season; the Sun house in Jiangdong opened a mighty enterprise.
Lonely and poor, Xuande wandered the realm; dwelling alone at Xinye, he grieved for the people in peril.
Nanyang’s Sleeping Dragon cherished vast designs; within his breast, mighty armies divided orthodox and surprise.
Because of Xu Shu’s words as he departed, three visits to the thatched hut joined their hearts.
The Master was then twenty-seven years old; he gathered zither and books and left the furrowed fields.
First he would take Jing Province, then Sichuan, unfolding statecraft with hands that could mend Heaven.
On his tongue, the game roused wind and thunder; in easy talk, the stars themselves changed place.
Dragon-soaring and tiger-gazing, he settled earth and sky; through ten thousand ages, his name will never die.

Liu Bei and the others left Zhuge Jun and returned with Kongming to Xinye. Liu Bei treated him as his teacher; they ate at the same table and slept on the same couch, discussing affairs of the world all day long.

Kongming said, “Cao Cao is digging out an Xuanwu reservoir in Ji Province to train a fleet; he surely intends to move against the Jiangnan region. Send people quietly across the river to gather intelligence.”

Liu Bei followed this and sent men toward Jiangdong.

After Sun Ce died, Sun Quan held Jiangdong. Inheriting the legacy of his father and elder brother, he welcomed worthy scholars in great numbers. He opened a guest hall at Wuhui and appointed Gu Yong and Zhang Hong to receive guests from every quarter. Year after year men recommended one another. At that time these men came to Jiangdong: Kan Ze from Kuaiji, whose courtesy name was Derun; Yan Jun from Pengcheng, courtesy name Mancai; Xue Zong from Pei County, courtesy name Jingwen; Cheng Bing from Runan, courtesy name Dezhu; Zhu Huan of Wu Commandery, courtesy name Xiumu; Lu Ji, courtesy name Gongji; Zhang Wen, a man of Wu, courtesy name Huishu; Luo Tong from Kuaiji, courtesy name Gongxu; and Wu Can from Wucheng, courtesy name Kongxiu. Sun Quan honored all of them highly.

He also gained a number of formidable generals: Lu Meng of Ruyang, courtesy name Ziming; Lu Xun of Wu Commandery, courtesy name Boyan; Xu Sheng of Langye, courtesy name Wenxiang; Pan Zhang of Dongjing, courtesy name Wengui; and Ding Feng of Lujiang, courtesy name Chengyuan. Civil and military men together assisted him on all matters. From this, Jiangdong came to be praised for its abundance of talent.

In the seventh year of Jian’an, Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and sent envoys to Jiangdong ordering Sun Quan to send his son to court with the ruler. Sun Quan hesitated.

The Lady Wu of Jiangdong had Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao deliberate together. Zhang Zhao said, “By sending our son to court, Cao Cao seeks to constrain the lords. If we refuse, he may gather troops and come against Jiangdong; then all is danger.”

Zhou Yu said, “You inherited six commanderies and all their men, with disciplined troops and full grain stores. With loyal soldiers so willing to obey you, what compulsion could make you surrender your hostages to him? If the son goes in, he must then be bound to Cao’s alliance and cannot disobey that summons. Better not to send him now, watch developments, and prepare separate counsels in good time.”

The Lady Wu said, “Gongjin’s words are right.” Sun Quan followed her counsel, apologized to the envoys, and did not send his son. From then onward Cao Cao fed thoughts of coming to the south, but the north was still unsettled and he had no time for a southern campaign.

In the eighth year of Jian’an, in the eleventh month, Sun Quan marched against Huang Zu and fought on the Great River. The Huang forces were broken. At the fore was his marshal Ling Cao in light boats; he cut through to Xiakou and was shot dead by one arrow from Gan Ning, a commander under Huang Zu. Ling Cao’s son, Ling Tong, only fifteen years of age, dashed out and retrieved his father’s body.

When the wind turned ill, Sun Quan withdrew and brought the army back to Dong Wu.

Now Sun Yi, Sun Quan’s brother, was the prefect of Danyang. Sun Yi was hard and hot-tempered, and after drink he sometimes whipped the soldiers. The Danyang commander Gei Lan and the county chief Daiyuan had long wished to kill Sun Yi. They conspired with one from Sun Yi’s staff, Bi Hong, and plotted murder.

At that time all county officers and magistrates were gathered at Danyang. Sun Yi held a large banquet.

Xu Shi, his wife, was beautiful and intelligent and excellent at divination. That day she drew a chart and found a figure of great misfortune. She urged Sun Yi not to attend. He would not listen and held a larger feast with everyone.

By evening, after the revelers dispersed, Bi Hong drew his sword and followed Sun Yi outside the gate. He immediately drew his blade and killed Sun Yi. Gei Lan and Daiyuan then blamed Bi Hong and had him beheaded in the market.

Those two then seized Sun Yi’s household goods and his concubines. Gei Lan saw Xu Shi’s beauty and said to her, “I avenged your husband. You must come with me. If you do not, you die.”

Xu Shi replied, “My husband has only just died. I cannot suddenly join you. Let me wait until the dark day of mourning and perform the rites of removal of mourning; marriage need not be delayed.”

Gei Lan agreed.

Xu Shi then secretly summoned Sun Gao, an old general loyal to Sun Yi, and Fu Ying, his trusted aide, into the residence. She knelt and wept. “While my husband lived, he spoke of the two lords’ loyalty and righteousness. Now these two villains, Gei Lan and Daiyuan, plotted to kill my husband, and then blamed only Bi Hong and beheaded him. They have divided all my household retainers and concubines among themselves. Gei Lan also seeks to seize me by force. I promised him only to keep him from immediate rage. Generals, please send one at once to the Son of Wu and arrange in secret a plan to punish these two villains, wash away this disgrace, and settle this enmity.”

After finishing, she bowed twice. Sun Gao and Fu Ying both wept and said, “While we were alive we survived only by the Lady’s kindness, waiting for this day to repay her. We dare not fail your command.”

So they sent a trusted messenger to Sun Quan in secret.

On the dark mourning day, Xu Shi first summoned Sun Gao and Fu Ying and hid them behind curtains in a side chamber. She then set up a memorial ceremony in the hall. After the rites, she removed the mourning garments, bathed, perfumed herself, and dressed in vivid ornaments, speaking and laughing as though nothing had happened.

When Gei Lan heard, he rejoiced. At night, Xu Shi sent a maid to invite him to the residence. She set a seat in the hall and served wine. Once he was drunk, Xu Shi invited Gei Lan into the inner chamber.

Gei Lan entered with pleasure and staggered in from intoxication. Xu Shi suddenly cried out, “Where are Sun Gao and Fu Ying?” The two men leapt out from behind the curtains, knives in hand.

Gei Lan was at a loss and was cut down by one stroke from Fu Ying. Sun Gao struck again, and he was killed at once.

Xu Shi then had Daiyuan invited again to another feast. He came into the mansion and was also killed in the hall by the two generals.

She then had guards execute the two villains’ households and their remaining accomplices.

Xu Shi changed back into mourning garb and presented the severed heads of Gei Lan and Daiyuan before Sun Yi’s spirit tablet. Not long after, Sun Quan rode out with his command in person to Danyang. Seeing what Xu Shi had done, he made Sun Gao and Fu Ying Gate Commanders to guard Danyang and ordered Xu Shi to return home and live in retirement.

The people of Jiangdong all praised her virtue. A later verse praised her:

No other age has seen such virtue joined with talent; in one stroke she rooted out the treacherous.
Craven ministers followed rebels while loyal ones died—not one could match this heroic woman of Eastern Wu.

Elsewhere in Jiangdong, mountain bandits had all been pacified. In the Great River there were more than seven thousand war junks.

Sun Quan appointed Zhou Yu as Chief Commander and made him direct all Jiangdong land-and-water forces and cavalry. In the twelfth year of Jian’an, in the winter month of ten, Sun Quan’s mother, the Lady Wu, fell gravely ill and summoned Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao to her side.

She said, “I am of Wu. My father and mother died when I was young, and with my younger brother, I moved to the land of Yue. Later I married into the Sun house and bore four sons. When my eldest, Sun Ce, was born, I dreamt the moon entered my womb. Then I bore the second son, Sun Quan, and dreamt the sun entered my womb. The diviners said, ‘A child whose womb receives moon and sun will be made high and honored.’ Alas, Sun Ce died early. I now entrust Jiangdong’s foundation to Quan. Help him with one heart. I will not be forgotten when I die.”

She then instructed Sun Quan, “Treat Zibu and Gongjin as teachers and do not neglect them. My younger sister shared this husband of ours before your father, and she is also your mother after I am gone. Treat my sister as you would treat me. Your sister likewise should grant her good marriage and fosterage of a worthy husband.”

When she had finished, she died. Sun Quan wept and performed the funeral rites in full; no further telling is needed.

The next spring Sun Quan considered attacking Huang Zu. Zhang Zhao said, “You have not yet completed the mourning period, and cannot lead troops.”

Zhou Yu said, “To avenge grievances and reclaim honor, why wait for the mourning period?”

Sun Quan still hesitated.

Just then Lü Meng came and reported, saying, “Master, at Longqiu water gate there has suddenly come down to us Gan Ning of Huang Zu’s forces. I have spoken with him closely. His name is Xingba, and he is from Linjiang of Bajan. He is fairly learned in records and history, strong in body, and fond of the way of roaming heroes. He has at times gathered outlaws and roamed this world by river and lake. He hangs a bronze bell at his waist; when its sound is heard, all avoid him. He once used Sichuan brocade as a sail-cloth; therefore people called him the ‘Brocade-Sail Brigand.’

“After regretting his past wrongs, he turned to good conduct, moved his men, and came to serve Liu Biao. But seeing that Liu Biao could not complete anything, he then wished to come to Jiangdong but was held at Xiakou by Huang Zu.

“In the earlier fight when Jiangdong broke Huang’s force, Huang gained strength from Gan Ning and recovered Xiakou. Yet he treated Ning very harshly. General Sui Fei kept recommending him, and Huang replied, ‘Ning robbed this river; how can I dare employ him again?’ Ning bore that grudge. Sui Fei saw this and invited him home for a feast, saying, ‘Though I have recommended you many times, your lord would not use you. Time and the sun move on and life is short; one should chart for oneself a farther road. I will secure you as magistrate of E County, and then you may decide your own path.’

“Ning was therefore allowed through Xiakou and sought to cross into Jiangdong, but he feared that Jiangdong would remember that he had once rescued Huang and killed Ling Cao.”

“I spoke plainly to my lord, saying he thirsts for worthy men and does not keep old enmities. Each of us already serves our own sovereign, so why should resentment remain? Ning gladly brought his men across the river and came to see my lord. I beg you to command him as you see fit.”

Sun Quan said, “I welcome Xingba and from this time Huang Zu cannot stand. This is a jewel-and-gold argument indeed.” He ordered Lü Meng to bring Gan Ning before him.

When the formal greeting was complete, Sun Quan said, “Xingba, your coming has won my heart at once. There is no reason for old grievances to stand between us. Ask no one to doubt you. Teach me how to break Huang Zu.”

Ning said, “Heavenly mandate is weakening under the Han. Cao Cao will in the end seize it outright. The lands south of the Han are among those he must claim. Liu Biao has no far-sightedness; his son is foolish and cannot inherit and hold the state. The Master should prepare now. If he delays, Cao will plan first.

“Now it is best to strike Huang first. He is elderly and senile, caring only for profit. He exploits officials and peasants; all are resentful. His equipment is neglected and no discipline in the army. If you attack him, he will surely be broken. Once Huang is defeated, you can advance west, occupy Chuguan, and then set your eyes on Ba and Shu. The realm will be stabilized.”

Sun Quan said, “These are words of gold and jade!” He therefore named Zhou Yu Chief Commander of water-and-land armies. Lü Meng was made advance commander of the vanguard. Dong Xi and Gan Ning became deputies. Sun Quan himself led the main force of one hundred thousand men to subdue Huang Zu.

A scout returned with report that Huang was quickly gathering troops and summoning Sui Fei as commander, while Chen Jiu and Deng Long led the vanguard. They raised all soldiers of Jiangxia to receive the attack.

Chen Jiu and Deng Long each brought a group of mengchong to block Mian mouth, each of those towers fixed a thousand or more heavy bows and crossbows to the sides and anchored the boats with thick cables to the surface. When Jiangdong troops came up to the river, drums sounded from the mengchong and the bows and crossbows fired together. The soldiers could not advance and drew back several li over open water.

Gan Ning told Dong Xi, “Now matters have come to this. We must go forward.” He selected more than a hundred small boats, fifty men on each: twenty paddled and thirty wore armor with iron blades. Ignoring arrows and slingstones, they ran to the mengchong edge and cut the great cables. The anchored warboats then drifted loose.

Gan Ning leaped onto one mengchong and cut down Deng Long. Chen Jiu abandoned ship and fled.

When Lü Meng saw this, he sprang from his skiff, took up the paddle and paddle-hand himself, and rowed straight into the fleet, setting fire to the ships. As Chen Jiu hurried to shore, Lü Meng risked life and caught him, then with one chest stroke of the blade he felled him.

By the time Sui Fei brought troops to the bank to connect, Jiangdong soldiers surged all at once onto shore and the clash became impossible to withstand. Huang’s force was decisively defeated.

Sui Fei fled in disorder and happened to meet the Jiangdong great general Pan Zhang. Their horses collided and they fought for several exchanges, whereupon Pan Zhang took him alive and brought him straight to the fleet, where he presented him before Sun Quan.

Sun Quan ordered him put in a cage cart, to be kept alive until Huang was captured and then all be punished together. He drove the three armies on without pause by night or day to press the fight toward Xiakou.

It was thus:

Because he would not employ the Brocade-Sail fighter, his great cable-linked ships were broken through.
Whether Huang Zu would win or lose remained unknown.

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