When Pang Tong heard this he was taken aback; he turned around quickly and saw who it was, and it proved to be Xu Shu. Seeing that he was an old friend, Pang Tong steadied his heart. He looked around and saw no one nearby, and said, “If you should reveal my plan, then all the people of Jiangnan, the eighty-one provinces, will have been delivered into danger through you.”

Xu Shu smiled and said, “There are eighty-three wan—eight hundred and thirty thousand—horse and men in this area. What is to become of their lives?”

Pang Tong said, “Yuanzhi, do you truly mean to spoil my plan?”

Xu Shu said, “I do not forget the deep grace of Imperial Uncle Liu; I have never once forgotten to repay it. Cao Cao drove my mother to death. I have already said that for the rest of my life I would not devise any stratagem. How could I now break your excellent scheme? Yet I am with this army; if the soldiers are defeated and jade and stone are mingled, who can escape danger? You must teach me a way to slip away, and then I will keep my mouth shut and hide myself far away.”

Pang Tong laughed and said, “With the far-sighted understanding you show here, how could there be any real difficulty in this?”

Xu Shu said, “Please, sir, instruct me.”

Pang Tong bent down and whispered several words into Xu Shu’s ear. Xu Shu was overjoyed and bowed to thank him. Pang Tong then let him depart from the boat and Xu Shu returned to the south.

That night Xu Shu secretly sent trusted men to each stockade, spreading rumors in secret. On the next day, in threes and fives, people whispered to each other in the camps. Early a scout reported to Cao Cao: “Rumors run in the army that Han Sui and Ma Teng of Liang Province have plotted rebellion and are fleeing toward Xuchang.” Cao Cao was greatly startled. He quickly gathered many advisers and said, “In leading the army south, my worries have been only Han Sui and Ma Teng. Though the rumor in camp has not yet been judged true or false, it is not something to neglect.”

Before he had finished speaking, Xu Shu stepped forward and said, “I have been taken into the Chancellor’s service yet still feel ashamed that I have rendered not one bit of service. Grant me three thousand horse and men, and I will go at once through the night by way of Sand Pass to hold the chokepoint. If emergency comes, I will report again.”

Cao Cao was pleased: “If I can send Yuanzhi away, I have no worries. There are already troops on Sand Pass, and you shall command them. Right now, dispatch three thousand troops, foot soldiers. Make Zang Ba the vanguard. Go by night without delay.”

Xu Shu withdrew from the audience, and with Zang Ba set out. That was Pang Tong’s rescue plan for Xu Shu.

A later verse says:

Cao Cao’s southern campaign was fretted day after day, Han Sui and Ma Teng raised spears and lances to rebel. Fengchu, with a single phrase, taught Xu Shu to leave; It was like a fish in water breaking loose from a hook.

After sending Xu Shu away, Cao Cao felt a little at ease, and he mounted his horse to inspect first the dry camps along the river, then the river camps. He ordered a single great warship to stand in the center, and raised on it a banner bearing the character “commander.” To both sides he lined up the water stockades. A thousand crossbows were hidden on the ship. Cao Cao took the center.

It was the fifteenth day of the eleventh month of winter in the twelfth year of Jian’an. The sky was clear, the wind mild, and the waves still. Cao Cao ordered, “Set wine and music aboard the great ship. This evening I will hold a banquet with the commanders.”

At dusk, the moon rose over Dongshan, shining as bright as day. All along the Yangtze it lay like a ribbon of white silk. Cao Cao sat aboard the great ship, with several hundred attendants on either side, all in brocaded robes and surcoats, carrying halberds and lances. Civil and military officials sat in order. As he looked around he saw the mountain colors of Nanping painted like a scroll, in the east the lands of Chaisang, in the west the river at Xiakou, to the south Mount Fan, and to the north Wulin. Looking all around over the open expanse, he rejoiced in his heart and said to the assembled officials, “Since I rose in rebellion with armed force, I have served the state in removing villains and dangers. I swore to clear the four seas and level all under heaven; only Jiangnan is not yet mine. Now I have one million-strong army, and with your commands my task will surely succeed. Once Jiangnan is brought under authority, all under heaven will be in order, and I can share wealth and honor with all of you, and we will enjoy peace together.”

All officials and officers stood and said in unison, “May we soon be able to offer triumphant victory songs. We all of us have lived by the Chancellor’s benevolent favor.” Cao Cao was much pleased and ordered his attendants to pass the wine.

By midnight the wine had gone deep; Cao Cao was drunk. He pointed south across the river and said, “Zhou Yu and Lu Su do not understand the times. Now that there has arrived one who has surrendered to us, he has become an inside troublemaker to them. This is Heaven’s help to me.”

Xun Yu replied, “Chancellor, do not speak so. There may be leaks.”

Cao Cao laughed broadly: “All those at my table and all close attendants are men of my heart. Why should there be obstruction to speech?” He pointed again toward Xiakou: “Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang—how could they expect, with the strength of ants, to shake Mount Tai? How foolish!”

Turning to the commanders, he said, “I am fifty-four years old this year. If I gain Jiangnan I would have reason to rejoice. In former days, the Jiaogong and I went as far as Qi, and I knew both of the two Qiao women were beauties of national renown. I did not expect them to be taken as wives by Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. I have just now built the Copper Sparrow Terrace over the Zhang River; if I gain Jiangnan, I will marry both Qiao and place them there for my old age to enjoy. That alone would satisfy me.” He finished and laughed.

Du Mu of the Tang later wrote:

My broken lance lies sunk in the sand, The iron of former days has not worn away. The east wind did not come to aid Zhou-lang; In deep spring the Copper Sparrow Terrace keeps the Two Qiaos chained.

While Cao Cao was still laughing, he suddenly heard crows flying south and crying. He asked, “Why is there cawing at night?” Attendants replied, “Because the moon is bright, the crows think it is dawn, so they leave the trees and cry.” Cao Cao laughed again.

By then he was already deeply drunk. He took up his spear and stood on the ship, poured wine into the river, drank all three cups, laid the spear across his lap, and told the commanders: “With this spear I broke the Yellow Turbans, captured Lü Bu, destroyed Yuan Shu, subdued Yuan Shao, rode deep into the northern frontier, struck as far as Liaodong, and moved freely beneath Heaven. I have not wholly failed my vow of a grand ambition. This scene stirs my spirit in a fine way. I shall sing, and you all should join in.”

He sang:

Sing while we drink: how many days are there in life? Like morning dew, yesterday departs and it is hard to endure its leaving. With heroic feeling, let one be fierce; sorrow and thought refuse to be forgotten. How does one shake off sorrow? Only Dukang can do so. My robe's collar is green and fresh, My heart wanders far and wide. The roe-deer calls—its voice low and tender— Feeding on wild waterside plants in the marsh. I have honored guests—I beat the zither and sound the flute. As bright as the moon, when may this end? The sorrow comes from within and will not cease. Beyond the village gate and past the footpath, What use was it for you and me to remain in memory? Far apart at the feast and in talk, The old favors are what my heart recalls. With scarce a star in the sky and a few moons visible, Magpies fly south, Sweeping around trees three times, No branch to rest upon. A mountain does not refuse height, Water does not refuse depth. When Duke Zhou offered out his bowls, Hearts of all under Heaven followed him to him.

When he had finished, the others sang with him and all laughed together. At that moment someone at the table stepped forward and said, “In this hour when the grand army should stand firm and soldiers should give their lives in obedience, why does the Chancellor speak such unlucky words?”

Cao Cao looked and saw that it was Liu Fu, Inspector of Yang Province, a native of Pei State, surname Liu, name Fu, courtesy name Yuanying. Fu had arrived from Hefei, set up a prefectural seat, gathered people scattered by war, founded schools, expanded state lands, and promoted learning. He had long served Cao Cao and accrued many merits. Cao Cao asked across the spear, “What is unlucky in my words?”

Fu answered, “‘With few stars in the sky and the magpies flying south, Sweeping around trees three times, And finding no branch on which to rest’—these are unlucky words.”

Cao Cao became furious: “How dare you ruin my momentum!” He raised the spear and stabbed Liu Fu to death.

All were aghast, and the banquet was dismissed.

The next day, when Cao Cao sobered, he regretted deeply and could not restrain it. Liu Fu’s son, Liu Xi, petitioned him for permission to return the body for burial. Cao Cao wept: “Yesterday, in my drunkenness, I injured your father by my hand. My remorse cannot be repented in time. You may bury him with honors proper to a funeral for one of the Three Dukes.” He ordered officers to escort the casket back with troops and to bury him that very day.

On the following day, water army commander Mao Jie and Yu Jin came to his tent and asked, “All the large and small boats have already been coupled in chain-link formations. Banners and weapons are all in readiness. Please direct the Chancellor to set marching orders for the appointed day.”

Cao Cao went to the central warship of the water army and took his seat, then called all the commanders together. Each listened to orders. The land and river forces were each assigned five banners by color. In the center of the water army, yellow banners to Mao Jie and Yu Jin; the vanguard red banner to Zhang He; rear black banner to Lü Qian; left blue banner to Wen Pin; right white banner to Lü Tong. For the cavalry-and-infantry vanguard under red banner was Xu Huang, rear under black banner Li Dian, left wing blue banner Yue Jin, right wing white banner Xiahou Yuan.

To connect the land and river routes and provide reinforcement he put Xiahou Dun and Cao Hong in charge. Xu Chu and Zhang Liao, to do the passing of protective watch, were assigned to guard and relay battle signals.

The rest of the brave generals lined up with their units in place.

When the orders were done, drums sounded three times within the water camp, and each team of warships filed out through its own gate.

That day a northwest wind rose suddenly. Each ship hauled up its sails, cleaving the waves into white surges, steady as on level ground. The northern army on the ships sprang forward with eager courage, using spears and swords. Before and behind, left and right, all banners kept cleanly separated by rank. More than fifty small boats moved back and forth, patrolling, urging and checking. Cao Cao stood on the command platform watching the drilling, and in his heart rejoiced greatly, taking it as a sign of certain victory. He ordered the sails and canopies hauled in, and every unit to return in order to the stockades.

When he had returned to his tent he said to the strategists, “If this did not have Heaven’s blessing, how could the trick of Fengchu have served me? With warboats linked by chains, crossing the Yangtze is truly as easy as walking on level ground.”

Cheng Yu said, “The boats are linked by chain and thus stable, yes. But if the enemy uses fire attack, it will be hard to evade. We must not leave room for that.”

Cao Cao laughed: “Cheng Zhongde, though his foresight is long, still he has places he cannot see.”

Xun Yu said, “Cheng Zhongde’s words are true. Why does the Chancellor laugh at him?”

Cao Cao said, “Any fire attack must borrow the force of wind. Now in deep winter there is only west wind and north wind. How could there be easterly or southerly wind? I sit to the northwest and their troops are all on the southern bank. If they should use fire, it is their own troops that burn first. Why should I fear it? If it were the tenth month’s little spring, I would have prepared long ago.”

All the ministers prostrated themselves and said, “The Chancellor has exceptional vision; others do not equal it.”

Cao Cao looked at his generals: “The men of Qing, Xu, Yan, and Dai are not practiced in rowing boats. If not for this plan, how could we cross the dangerous Jiang at all?”

Then from the line, two commanders stepped forward: “Though we are men of You and Yan, we can also row boats. We ask now to borrow twenty patrol boats and go straight to the mouth of North River, seize banner and drums, and return, so they can see that the northern army too can row boats.”

Cao Cao recognized them as Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan, former officers under Yuan Shao. He said, “You both were raised in the north, so I fear rowing may not suit you. Men from Jiangnan ride and train on the water all the time and do so with great skill. Do not treat life lightly.”

Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan shouted, “If we fail, we are willing to endure military law.”

Cao Cao said, “The warships are all linked together; only the small boats remain free. Each small boat holds two dozen men, and I fear it is still difficult for close battle.”

Jiao Chu said, “What wonder is there in using a large ship? Grant us some twenty small boats. I and Zhang Nan will each lead half. Today we go straight to the Jiangnan water stockades and are to seize flags and behead commanders before returning.”

Cao Cao said, “I will assign five hundred picked soldiers with your two groups, all armed with long spears and hard crossbows. By dawn tomorrow when light appears, draw the great stockade ships out to the river face, to form a feint from afar. And assign Wen Pin to lead thirty patrol boats to support your return.”

Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan withdrew joyfully.

The next day before the fourth watch the soldiers were making their meals, and by the fifth watch all was ready and done. At once, from the camps drums resounded, with gongs in reply. All ships left the camps and took their stations on the water. Across the stretch of river the blue and red banners crossed and mingled. Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan, leading twenty patrol boats, cut through the stockades and set out southward toward the river.

On the southern bank, they also heard the roar of drums and boom of gongs the next day. From far off they watched Cao Cao’s training of the navy; a scout reported it to Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu climbed to a ridge and gazed. Cao Cao’s army had already returned.

Then suddenly drums sounded again so loudly as to shake the sky. Soldiers hurried to high ground to watch. Small boats were seen charging through the waves, and they were instantly reported to the central command. Zhou Yu asked which officer in his tent dared to go out first. Han Dang and Zhou Tai both stepped forward and said, “One of us shall go as vanguard to break the enemy.”

Zhou Yu was pleased and ordered every stockade to guard carefully and not move lightly. Han Dang and Zhou Tai each took five patrol boats and moved out, one to the left and one to the right.

Meanwhile Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan, trusting in courage alone, rowed their small boats onward with speed. Han Dang bared his chest and wore a shield over his heart, a long spear in his hand, standing at the bow.

Jiao Chu’s boat arrived first; he ordered his soldiers to fire arrows in a wild volley at Han Dang’s boat. Han Dang blocked with his shield. Jiao Chu lowered his long spear and engaged Han Dang in melee. Han Dang thrust once and speared Jiao Chu dead.

Zhang Nan came shouting and rushed up after. Zhou Tai’s boat came out at an angle.

Zhang Nan held a long spear on his bow while bows and arrows darkened both sides. Zhou Tai held a shield in one arm and a sabre in his hand. The two boats were seven or eight feet apart when Zhou Tai made a single leap, springing directly onto Zhang Nan’s boat. He raised his blade and cut him down into the water, then cut down the rowing men in confusion.

The other boats pulled hard and quickly returned. Han Dang and Zhou Tai ordered their boats in chase. Midway across the river they met the ships of Wen Pin, and combat between the two sides then formed fully.

At that time Zhou Yu had gathered his generals on a mountaintop and looked toward the northern waterfront. He saw in line were the Cao army’s covered warships, flags and standards arranged in order. He looked back and saw Wen Pin struggling with Han Dang and Zhou Tai. Han Dang and Zhou Tai fought with full strength; Wen Pin could not hold and turned his ship away. Zhou Yu and Han Dang urged their boats in pursuit at speed. Fearing that the two had pushed too deep into dangerous water, he raised the white banner and gave the signal, commanding all to beat gongs.

The two men then paddled back.

From the mountaintop Zhou Yu watched the opposing warships across the river pour entirely into the water stockades. He said to the gathered officers, “The northern warships are as dense as a bed of reeds. Cao has many stratagems. By what plan can we break them?” Before anyone could reply, he suddenly saw that the central yellow banner in Cao’s camps had been bent by the wind and had blown into the river.

He laughed: “This is a bad omen.”

Just as he watched, a violent wind rose at once. The waves struck hard on the banks. In a gust, the corner of a banner whipped across Zhou Yu’s face. A single thing flashed through his mind. He cried out once and then staggered backward, falling. He spat fresh blood.

When the generals rushed to treat him, he had already lost awareness.

And indeed:

One moment he laughed, the next he cried out; the southern army could not yet overthrow the north.

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