Earlier, because Guan Yu, whose courtesy name was Yunchang, had released the men upstream, Zhang Fei, whose courtesy name was Yide, pursued with his troops from downstream and slaughtered his way through to cut them off. He soon met Xu Chu, who came to close combat. Xu Chu did not dare to stay and tangle in battle, so he snatched his escape path and got away. Zhang Fei caught up, and then Liu Bei, whose courtesy name was Xuande, and Zhuge Liang, whose courtesy name was Kongming, proceeded together upriver. Liu Feng and Mi Fang had already arranged boats and waited, so they crossed together all at once and headed straight for Fan City. Zhuge Liang ordered the boats and rafts set aflame.

Cao Ren then gathered the shattered troops and set camp at Xinye. He sent Cao Hong to report everything to Cao Cao. The Chancellor flew into a rage and shouted, “That village peasant Zhuge--how dare he act this way?” He ordered all the army to move, sealing mountain and open country, and all arrived to set camp below Xinye. He ordered the soldiers to search the hills on one front and block the Baihe on another; he divided the main force into eight columns and directed them all to take Fan City at once. Liu Ye warned him: “Since the Chancellor has just arrived at Xiangyang, he must first win the people’s hearts. Now Liu Bei has moved all the people of Xinye into Fan City. If our troops advance directly, the two counties will be ground to flour. A better course is to send men first to win Liu Bei over.” If he refuses, then this will also show that we have concern for the people. If he comes over, we can secure Jing Province without a fight.

The Chancellor asked, “Who could serve as envoy?” Liu Ye replied, “Xu Shu is on very good terms with Liu Bei and is right there in camp. Why not have him go?” Cao Cao said, “If he goes, he may not return.” Liu Ye said, “If he does not return, they will mock him forever. Chancellor, do not doubt.” Cao Cao then summoned Xu Shu and said, “I want to take Fan City by force, yet I pity the life of the common people. You can go and tell Liu Bei this: if he comes to surrender, he will be pardoned and ennobled; if he persists in obstinacy, soldiers and civilians will all be put to the sword and all be burned alike. I know your loyalty and rectitude, and therefore send you so directly. Do not let me be disappointed.”

Xu Shu obeyed and went to Fan City. Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang received him and recalled their old friendship. Shu said, “The Chancellor sends me to recruit you as a ruse to buy the people’s heart. He has split his army into eight roads and filled the Baihe while advancing. Fan City will be hard to hold. You should make urgent plans at once.” Liu Bei wished to keep Xu Shu, but he thanked him and said, “If I fail to return, men will laugh at me. My mother is already dead and I have nursed my grievance to the end of my life. Though I stand with him, I will not devise one trick against him. You have the Sleeping Dragon as adviser; why need you fear the great undertaking will fail?” He asked to be excused. Liu Bei did not dare force him to stay.

Xu Shu returned to Cao Cao and reported that Liu Bei had no thoughts of surrender. Cao Cao grew furious and that same day pressed forward. Liu Bei consulted Kongming, who said, “You can abandon Fan City now and go to Xiangyang to rest for a while.” Liu Bei said, “I have had these people following me for such a long time. How can I bear to abandon them?”

Kongming answered, “Order these words proclaimed to the people: those who are willing to follow may go together, those unwilling may remain.” He first sent Yun Chang to the riverbank to organize boats and ordered Sun Qian and Jian Yong to spread the word in the city: “The Chao [Cao] troops are coming and this lone city cannot hold long. If the people are willing to follow, cross the river at once.”

The folk of both counties cried out together, “Though we may die, we will still follow our Lord!” They wept and set out that very day. Old and young were supported over shoulders, sons carried with daughters; they poured across the river in unceasing streams, and both banks rang with grief. Liu Bei on a boat looked on and wept bitterly. “Because of one man’s sake, I have made the people suffer this great calamity. Why should I still be alive?” He tried to cast himself into the river, and his attendants rushed to pull him back. All who heard him wept.

By the time the boats reached the southern bank, when he looked back toward the far side there were still many who had not crossed and now faced south in tears. Liu Bei ordered Yun Chang at once to hasten the boats over, and only then did he mount and ride on. As they came to Xiangyang’s east gate they saw banners flying across the walls everywhere and stakes packed tightly along the moats. Liu Bei reined in and cried out, “Liu Qiong, my worthy nephew, I come only to save the people. I have no other thought. Open the gate.”

When Liu Qiong heard Liu Bei had arrived, he trembled and did not come out. Cai Mao and Zhang Yun rode straight up to the enemy tower and shouted while a shower of arrows burst downward. All the civilians outside the city turned and wept toward the tower. Suddenly one of the officers climbed up with a few hundred men and shouted from the battlement: “Cai Mao, Zhang Yun—traitors who sell the state! Lord Liu is a man of benevolent virtue; he has come now to rescue the people. How can you still refuse him?”

The watching men recognized him as a man eight chi tall, face as full as a ripe jujube, a native of Yiyang named Wei Yan, courtesy name Wenchang.

Wei Yan swung his axe-saber and cut down the gate guards, opened the gate, dropped the hanging bridge, and shouted, “Imperial Uncle Liu, quickly lead your men into the city and strike the traitors who sold the state!” Zhang Fei leapt from his horse to enter. Liu Bei hurriedly stopped him: “Do not alarm the people!” Wei Yan kept calling for Liu Bei’s troops to file into the city.

Then an officer from within rode out and shouted, “What nameless drudge is Wei Yan, who dares to raise rebellion? Do you know General Wenpin?” Wei Yan was incensed. He planted his spear, vaulted into the saddle, and moved to meet him in battle.

At the city edge the two forces mixed in killing confusion, and the cries were deafening. Liu Bei said, “I meant to protect the people and have only harmed them! I do not wish to enter Xiangyang!” Kongming said, “Jiangling is the key of Jing Province; better take Jiangling first and make it your base.” Liu Bei replied, “That agrees exactly with my heart.” So he guided the people out, leaving Xiangyang entirely, and headed for Jiangling. Many civilians of Xiangyang, swept by chaos, fled out the city and followed Liu Bei.

Wei Yan and Wenpin fought from the hour of Si through the hour of Wei, and the men under Wei Yan were all cut down. He turned his horse to flee and later could no longer be found; in the end he went to the hands of Han Xuan, the Administrator of Changsha.

Liu Bei then, in company with more than one hundred thousand soldiers and civilians, with thousands upon thousands of carts and uncounted porters, passed by Liu Biao’s tomb. He ordered his senior commanders to bow before it and cried out, “I, the brother Liu Bei, have no merit and no talent, yet I have failed my brother’s trust; all the guilt is mine alone and the people are guiltless. May my brother’s spirit come to life and save the people of Jing and Xiang!” His cry was so raw that the troops and civilians all wept.

A horseman’s scout then reported, “Cao Cao’s main army has camped at Fan City. Men are already collecting the boats and rafts; today he means to cross and catch up.” All the commanders said, “Jiangling is strategic and can be held if we stand fast. We have now taken tens of thousands. A day’s march is only ten or more li. By the time this is all done, how soon can they reach us? If Cao’s troops arrive, how do we resist? Better to leave the civilians for now and ride out first.”

Liu Bei cried, “When one undertakes great matters, one must put the people first. Now these people have all come to me; how can I abandon them?” The civilians, hearing this, were deeply moved.

Later people praised it in a verse:

In calamity, humane in heart and full of care for the people, he boarded the boat and wept, stirring all three armies. Even now, at the Xiang River mouth they mourn; the elders still remember their Lord.

Liu Bei continued to move slowly with the civilians. Kongming said, “The pursuers will arrive soon. Send Yun Chang to Jiangxia for help from the young lord Liu Qi and tell him to raise troops and meet us at Jiangling.”

Liu Bei agreed, so he wrote a letter and ordered Yun Chang and Sun Qian to lead five hundred soldiers toward Jiangxia. He assigned Zhang Fei to hold the rear, Zhao Yun to protect the old and the children, and the rest to keep the civilians in order as they moved. They rode only ten or so li each day and then rested.

At that same time Cao Cao, encamped at Fan City, had men cross to Xiangyang and summon Liu Qiong to meet him. Qiong trembled and dared not go, so Cai Mao and Zhang Yun made the approach. Wang Wei whispered privately to Qiong, “General, once you have surrendered and Liu Bei has gone, Cao Cao will be lax and unprepared. If you can gather an extraordinary force and set an ambush in rough ground, you may strike and win. If we can capture Cao, the realm will quake, and even Central Plains, wide as it is, can be settled by an edict. This rare opening must not be missed.”

Qiong relayed those words to Cai Mao. Mao shouted at Wang Wei, “How dare you, who do not know Heaven’s decree, speak such nonsense?” Wei replied in fury, “I hate you, traitors who sold out the state—why were you not born for me to eat your flesh!” Mao moved to kill him, and Huai Yue advised restraint. Mao then went with Zhang Yun to Fan City and, with excessive deference, made their report before Cao Cao.

Cao asked, “How many troops, horses, grain, and silver are now in Jing Province?” Cai Mao answered, “Fifty thousand horsemen, one hundred fifty thousand infantry, and eighty thousand river troops: that makes two hundred eighty thousand. Most of the funds and grain are in Jiangling, and what remains in other places can supply a year’s campaign.”

Cao Cao said, “How many warboats are there, and who originally commanded them?” Cai Mao answered, “Including the small craft, there are more than seven thousand. Their command was originally in the hands of the two of us.”

Cao Cao then made Cai Mao Marquis of Zhennan and Naval Commander-in-Chief, and made Zhang Yun Assistant Marquis Zhenshun and Deputy Naval Commander. Both men rejoiced and bowed in thanks. Cao Cao added, “Liu Jingsheng is already dead, and his son Jiangshun is about to surrender. I will memorialize the Son of Heaven and have him kept forever as lord of Jingzhou.” The two rejoiced and withdrew.

Xun You said, “Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are flatterers both. Master, why then grant such open rank and also make them naval commanders?” Cao Cao laughed. “Do I not know people well? I only needed these two for now. The army from northern fields I command is not trained in river war, so I must use them for the time being. When things are complete, I will sort it out another way.”

Cai Mao and Zhang Yun returned to Liu Qiong and told him that Cao Cao would petition that he remain forever lord of Jing and Xiang. Qiong was overjoyed. The next day, with his mother by his side and carrying the seal, token, and military tally, he crossed the river himself to receive Cao Cao. After formal mourning rites, Cao Cao drew him close, then led the conquering troops and camped outside Xiangyang. Cai Mao and Zhang Yun ordered the civilians to burn incense and receive him in ceremony.

Cao Cao used good words to pacify them all, and once he had taken his seat in the official hall, he called Kuai Yue forward and spoke comfortingly: “I do not rejoice merely in obtaining Jing Province; I rejoice in having found Yidu.” He immediately ennobled Kuai Yue as Governor of Jiangling and Marquis of Fan City. Fu Xun and Wang Can were all made Marquises within the Passes, and Liu Qiong was made Inspector of Qing Province, and then ordered to depart.

When Qiong heard that order, he was deeply shocked. He begged off, saying, “I do not wish to hold office; I would rather keep the soil of my parents.” Cao Cao said, “Qing Province is close to the capital and protects you at court; thus you need not be harmed in Jing and Xiang.” Qiong refused again and again, but Cao Cao refused to relent. Qiong could only go with his mother to Qing Province. Only the old officer Wang Wei followed, while all the rest of the staff escorted them to the river mouth and returned. Cao Cao called Yu Jin and entrusted him with instructions: “Lead a light cavalry force at speed and kill Liu Qiong and his mother, so no future trouble can grow.”

Yu Jin obeyed and caught up with his men at speed, then shouted, “I carry the Chancellor’s order. Come submit your heads, mother and son!” Liu Qiong’s mother, Cai Furen, clutched her son and wept loudly. Yu Jin ordered the soldiers to seize the horse. Wang Wei raged and fought fiercely, but he was cut down by the crowd. The soldiers killed Liu Qiong and his mother. Yu Jin returned to Cao Cao, who rewarded him richly. He ordered men sent to search Longzhong for Zhuge Liang’s wife and children, but their whereabouts were unknown. In truth, Liang had already had them moved and hidden among the people of three rivers. Cao Cao’s resentment deepened.

Now that Xiangyang had been secured, Xun You advised, “Jiangling is the strategic center of Jing and Xiang and holds vast grain and coin. If Liu Bei holds it, the situation will be shaken by extreme danger.” Cao Cao replied, “Have I forgotten that?” He then ordered one officer from among the Xiangyang commanders to lead troops and make a path. None noticed Wenpin among the generals, and Cao Cao sent for him, and he only arrived afterward.

Cao Cao said, “Why are you so late?” Wenpin answered, “A servant ought to keep his lord’s land and borders safe; to fail in that is a humiliation that fills me with shame. I have no face to be seen quickly.” His words ended, and tears welled and fell. Cao Cao said, “You are a true loyal minister.” He made him Governor of Jiangxia and ennobled him as a Marquis within the Passes, and had him lead troops to open the route.

A scout then reported, “Liu Bei is bringing the civilians and is moving only ten or so li per day, with only about three hundred li on the road.” Cao Cao selected the finest five thousand horsemen, made them ride through the night, and ordered them to catch up in a day and a night.

Then Liu Bei, leading over ten thousand civilians and three thousand-some cavalry, advanced step by step toward Jiangling. Zhao Yun protected the old and young; Zhang Fei held the rear. Kongming said, “Yun Chang has gone to Jiangxia and there is no answer yet. We do not know what is to come.” Liu Bei said, “Please have the Master himself make a personal ride.” “Liu Qi is deeply grateful for your earlier instruction,” Kongming replied. “If he sees you in person, things will surely be settled.” He agreed, and went with Liu Feng and five hundred soldiers ahead to Jiangxia seeking help.

That very day Liu Bei traveled with Jian Yong, Mi Zhu, and Mi Fang. While they moved, a savage wind suddenly struck before their horses. Dust rose to the sky and screened the red sun. Liu Bei cried, “What omen is this?” Jian Yong, who knew some Yin-Yang, took out his divination slips and said, alarmed, “This is a major omen of disaster. It should occur tonight. The lord should quickly abandon the civilians and run.” Liu Bei said, “These people came from Xinye to follow me here. How can I abandon them?”

Jian Yong replied, “If the lord clings to them and does not abandon them, disaster is not far off.” Liu Bei asked, “What is ahead?” Men replied, “Ahead lies Dangyang County. There is a mountain called Jing Mountain.” Liu Bei ordered the column to halt and entrench there.

It was late autumn turning to winter; a raw cold wind cut through bone and skin. At dusk, cries spread across the fields. By the fourth watch, a roar came from the northwest. Liu Bei was greatly alarmed. He leapt on his horse and brought the core of his troops—just over two thousand warriors—to meet the enemy. Cao’s forces arrived masked in dust and proved impossible to hold. Liu Bei fought to the death. In his desperate extremity, he was saved by Zhang Fei arriving with troops, who opened a bloodway and pulled him eastward in retreat. Wenpin attempted to block him first. Liu Bei shouted, “Even traitor to your lord, how do you still have a face to be seen?” Wenpin, face full of shame, withdrew and rode northeast.

Zhang Fei kept close to Liu Bei, fighting and retreating. As dawn came and enemy cries ebbed, Liu Bei could finally halt. He looked over his accompanying men and found no more than a hundred riders. The civilians and old and young, along with Mi Zhu, Mi Fang, Jian Yong, Zhao Yun, and others were missing.

Liu Bei wailed, “Ten thousand souls are all drawn into disaster because they cling to me. Our generals and old and young alike—I do not know who lives or dies, and they are no less human than I.”

In his desolation, he saw Mi Fang stagger in with several arrows in him, crying, “Zhao Zilong has defected and gone to Cao Cao!” Liu Bei barked, “Zilong was my old companion. How dare he betray?” Zhang Fei said, “He sees us in this hard hour, nearly at the end of strength, and may well have gone to Cao Cao for rank.” Liu Bei said, “Zilong has been with me through hardship; his heart is iron and cannot be swayed by wealth or rank.” Mi Fang said, “I saw him myself turn northwest.” Zhang Fei said, “Let me go and look for him at once; if I run him down, one spear will end him.” Liu Bei said, “Do not jump to this suspicion. Did you not see how your two older brothers judged Yan and Wenchou? Zilong has gone off on purpose; he must have business that way and I believe he will not abandon me.”

Zhang Fei, regardless, gathered twenty-odd riders and rode to Changban Bridge. He saw a stretch of trees to the east of the bridge. He devised a plan: he had twenty riders cut branches and tie them to the tails of their horses, then run in and out of the grove, raising dust and giving the sound of a large force. He himself stood with a halberd planted on horseback on the bridge, looking westward.

Meanwhile, from the fourth watch onward, Zhao Yun fought and fought with Cao’s men, clashing forward and back until dawn. He still could not find Liu Bei, and then the lord and the old and young too were lost from him. He thought, “The lord has entrusted the two wives of the household, Gangu, and the young master A dou to me. If he does not find us in this scattering, how can I face him? Better to cast myself into a death-fight and at least find the lord’s wives and the young lord.”

Turning back, he saw only three or four dozen riders with him. He drove through the mêlée and heard the cries of men and women from two counties rising and shaking the sky. Many who had been struck by arrows and spears, cast down men and women and ran on. As he moved, he found Jian Yong lying in the grass and asked sharply, “Have you seen either lady of the household?” Jian Yong answered, “The two lords’ ladies abandoned their baggage, carrying A dou as they ran. I spurred my horse on, turned at a ridge, and a general struck me with one lance thrust, throwing me from my horse. My horse was taken. I could not fight him off, so I lie here.”

Zhao Yun gave his horse to Jian Yong and had two mounted men escort him first, telling them, “I will go until heaven and earth allow me, and by any means I will find my Lady and my young lord. If I cannot, let me die on this field.”

When he said this, he spurred toward Changban Slope. Someone cried out, “Where is General Zhao?” He reined in and asked, “Who are you?” The man said, “I was an escortman under Lord Liu’s tents, struck down by arrow and left here.” Zhao Yun asked, “Have you seen the two ladies?” He said, “I just saw Madam Gan and saw her barefoot, hair down, running with a few women and many civilians to the south.”

Zhao Yun did not spare the escortman and spurred south at full speed. Soon he saw several hundred civilians—men and women—walking in disorder. He shouted, “Is there Madam Gan among you?” The Lady looked back when she saw Zhao Yun and burst into tears. He dismounted, drove his spear into the earth, and said, with tears, “If I fail in this and my Lady’s household is parted, the fault is mine! Where is Madam Mi and the young lord?”

Madam Gan said, “Mi and I were driven out, leaving all baggage and mingling among the women and children on foot. Another troop burst in and scattered us. I do not know where Madam Mi and A dou have gone. I escaped alone only.”

At that moment the people were crying and another troop emerged from the noise. Zhao Yun planted his spear and rode out. In front of him sat a man with someone bound on horseback. It was Mi Zhu. Behind him rode a general who brandished a great blade and led a thousand men: Chu Yu Dao, a sub-commander of Cao Ren. He seized Mi Zhu and was preparing to dismount him for credit. Zhao Yun shouted, drove his spear, and charged straight for Chu Yu Dao. Chu Yu Dao could not withstand it. Zhao Yun’s single thrust put him off his horse, then he turned and rescued Mi Zhu, taking two good horses.

Zhao Yun bade Madam Gan mount up, tore open a corridor of blood, and sent them quickly toward Changban Slope. As he looked, Zhang Fei stood on horseback on the bridge with his halberd raised and shouted, “Zilong! How could you betray my brother?” Zhao Yun answered, “I did not see my Lady and the young master, so I lagged behind. Why should you call that betrayal?”

Zhang Fei said, “If Jian Yong had not first run to you with that report, I would not have yielded to your coming. Where is the lord now?” Zhao Yun said, “Not far ahead.” He told Mi Zhu, “Brother-in-law Mi, escort Madam Gan ahead first. I must ride back and find Madam Mi and the young lord.” He did so, drawing up several riders and turning back the way they had come.

As they went, they saw a general come charging, carrying a three-pointed spear and a sheathed sword, with a dozen riders. Zhao Yun said nothing and struck him directly. In a single rider-to-rider collision, the general was pinned with a spear and all his riders fled. That general was Xiahou En, a trusted sword-bearing officer of Cao Cao. Cao Cao had two treasured swords: one called Yi Tian and one called Qinggang. He wore Yi Tian himself and ordered Xiahou En to carry Qinggang. The Qinggang blade could shear iron like clay, sharper than any blade.

At that moment Xiahou En relied on his own strength and kept the sword behind him as he drove men to seize and plunder, not noticing Zhao Yun until they met. Zhao Yun killed him with one thrust and took the blade. When he saw the hilt inlaid with gold and the words “Qinggang,” he realized it was a prized sword.

Zhao Yun raised the sword and drove the spear forward again, cutting through the heavy ranks. Looking back, all the riders with him had vanished—he was alone. He had no thought of retreat and kept searching. Whenever he came upon civilians, he asked about Madam Mi.

A man pointed: “The Lady is hurt in the left leg by an arrow and cannot walk. She is seated by the break in the wall up ahead.”

Zhao Yun hurried there. One house had burned down and its clay wall had collapsed. There, by the edge of a dry well, Madam Mi sat holding A dou and weeping. He knelt to the ground in full respect.

She said, “General, I am glad to see you. As for A dou, he is still alive. He can only rely on your compassion. His father has been adrift half his life. He is this last bone and blood of my line. Please protect this child and make sure he sees his father. Then I can die without regret.”

Zhao Yun said, “Lady, you endured this. The fault was mine. Do not delay; please mount. I will march on foot and die by the road if needed, and carry your lady beyond this encirclement.” Madam Mi answered, “No. Could a general move without horse? This child depends on you alone. I am badly wounded and life has no value to me now. I beg you: take this child and hurry forward; do not make me your burden.”

Zhao Yun said, “The shouting is drawing close; the pursuers are near. Lady, mount immediately.” Madam Mi said, “I cannot move. Do not delay me long.” She then put A dou into Zhao Yun’s arms. “This child’s life is in your hands!”

Zhao Yun asked three, then five times for her to mount, but she still would not. As cries rose around all four sides, he shouted in anger, “Lady, if you ignore my words and the chasers arrive, what can be done?” Madam Mi finally dropped A dou on the ground, flipped herself over into the dry well, and died.

Later people praised this in verse:

With war, all he can do depends on horseflesh and speed, how can he bear the young lord on foot? Willing to die for the Liu heir in one final charge, brave and reckless, yet still she was called womanly by men.

When Zhao Yun saw that Madam Mi had died, fearing Cao’s soldiers would steal her body, he pushed down the clay wall and covered the dry well. When he had done so, he unbuckled his breast-plate straps and lowered his shielded heart-mirror, set A dou in his arms, and leapt on horseback.

A mounted officer was already there leading a detachment, Yanming of Cao Hong’s command, wielding a three-pronged double-edged saber. Zhao Yun did not allow three exchanges to pass before he killed him with one spear thrust, broke the pursuing soldiers apart, and broke out along a route.

As he rode, yet another troop of horsemen blocked the way ahead. At its front was a major general, clearly flagged, with a bold banner reading “Hejian Zhang He.” Zhao Yun did not answer but charged with his spear. After more than ten exchanges, he did not linger to trade blows and made off by force.

Zhang He pursued. Zhao Yun spurred on. Suddenly, with a thudding collapse, man and horse pitched together into a pit. Zhang He thrust with his spear. Suddenly a red flash rolled up out of the pit, the horse sprang straight into the air, and leapt out. Later people praised:

A red glow wrapped the body as a trapped dragon flew, the charging horse split open the encirclement on Changban. For forty-two years, this truly is the appointed ruler; by him did the general reveal his divine might.

Zhang He, seeing this, was greatly startled and withdrew. Zhao Yun drove forward still, but two generals behind him shouted, “Zhao Yun, do not run away!” Ahead two more generals rode out with two kinds of military weapons to block the road: Ma Yan and Zhang Yi came from the rear, while Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan blocked ahead—they were former officers who had served Yuan Shao. Zhao Yun fought all four with force. Cao’s army pressed in together.

Zhao Yun pulled out the Qinggang sword and hacked wildly. Wherever he struck, armor and clothing tore through and blood surged like a fountain. He broke back the encircling troops and the officers, cutting straight through.

Cao Cao, on the top of Jing Mountain, watched a general whose path none could withstand. He asked the men nearby who it was. Cao Hong rode down from the ridge and cried out, “In the ranks, give your name!” Zhao Yun answered at once, “I am Zhao Zilong of Changshan!”

Cao Hong reported this to Cao Cao. Cao Cao said, “He is truly a tiger-general! I must keep him alive.” He ordered horsemen to report in all directions: “If Zhao Yun comes, do not fire cold arrows. Only seize him alive.” That is why Zhao Yun escaped this trouble. It was also fortune from his role as guardian of the future lord.

In this slaughter Zhao Yun carried the young lord in his arms and cut through the heavy encirclement, chopping down two great banners and taking three spears. He thrust and stabbed, cut with sword and spear, and killed more than fifty renowned commanders of the Wei camps.

Later people praised in verse:

Blood stains his campaign robe, and through his armor runs red; Who in Dangyang dared contend with his charge? From old times to now, who in the line has rallied the peril-bound lord? Only Changshan’s Zhao Zilong.

When Zhao Yun had already broken entirely through the thick ranks and left the main array, all over with blood on his battle coat, he was descending the hill slope when he met two troops again. They were the Zuo brothers, Zhongjin and Zhongshen, sub-commanders under Xiahou Dun, one with a great axe and one with a halberd. One cried: “Zhao Yun, dismount and submit!”

He had just slipped out of the tiger’s den to live, and yet another dragon-pool of waves rose to meet him. How this turned out will be told in the next chapter.