Guan Yu rides to the summons with a single blade,
Empress Fu gives herself up for the realm.

Sun Quan, whose courtesy name was Zhongmou, sought Jing Province. Zhang Zhao offered counsel.

“Liu Bei relies on Zhuge Liang above all. His elder brother, Zhuge Jin, now serves in Wu. Why not detain Jin and his household and send him to Sichuan to tell his younger brother to hand Jing back? If Liu Bei refuses, surely my old and young people here will be entangled.”
Zhuge Liang, whose courtesy name was Kongming, heard this and thought of his blood tie and knew he would have to comply.

Sun Quan asked, “Zhuge Jin is a sincere and upright man. How can I make him detain a man's household?”
Zhang Zhao replied, “He is a loyal man who trusts us; he will not doubt the plan.”

Sun did as he said. He summoned Zhuge Jin and his household to be held under house guard in the capital, and at once drafted a memorial and sent Jin west to Sichuan.

Soon thereafter he reached Chengdu and had someone report to Liu Bei, whose courtesy name was Xuande.

Xuande asked, “Why did you come?”
Kongming answered, “To ask for Jing Province.”

“How am I to answer him?”
“Just answer exactly as I told you.”

The plan now fixed, Kongming met Zhuge Jin at the city gate. He did not go to the private residence but went straight to a guesthouse. After formal salutes, Jin burst out crying.

Kongming said, “If there is important business, tell me plainly. Why this lament?”
Jin said, “My old and young household has been detained.”
Kongming answered, “Could it be that the return of Jing Province is being delayed? For my brother’s sake you have held your own brother’s old and young. How can I remain at peace? Do not worry. I will have a plan to return Jing Province.”

Jin rejoiced, and he and Kongming went to see Xuande. Jin presented Sun Quan’s letter. Upon reading it, Xuande became furious and said, “Sun married his sister to me, and yet while I was absent from Jing he secretly took her away by stealth. I can hardly bear that. I was about to raise Sichuan troops and sweep Jiangnan to repay this hatred, and he comes asking for Jing now?”

Kongming knelt and wept.

“Wu’s marquis has taken Jin and his household. If Jing is not returned, my whole family will be beheaded. If I survive, can my brother, Guan Yu, live alone? Look upon my face and return Jing to Eastern Wu. Restore the brotherhood between my brothers.”

Xuande refused several times, and Kongming only pleaded, crying.

At last Xuande said slowly, “So be it. Because you asked so hard, I will return half, by ceding three commanderies at once: Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang.”

Kongming said, “If he has given assent, write this letter now and let me send it to Yunzhang (Guan Yu) to hand over the three.”
Xuande said, “Let Ziyu (Zhuge Jin) go, but he must ask my brother with care. My brother is as fierce as fire; even now I fear him. You must be very careful.”

Jin took the letter, left Xuande, and took leave of Kongming. He then returned to Jing Province. Guan Yu invited him into the great hall for host and guest to speak as equals.

Jin presented Xuande’s letter: “The Imperial Uncle has promised first to return the three commanderies to Eastern Wu. I beg you to hand them over at once and allow me to return to my lord.”
Guan Yu’s face changed.
“I swore with my brother in Peach Garden to aid Han’s restoration. Jing Province is the land of Great Han. By what right can we give away even a handspan? ‘A commander in the field does not obey commands that reach him from afar.’ Though my brother has written, I will not return it.”

Jin said, “Wu’s marquis holds my old and young under restraint. If Jing is not returned, they will certainly be executed. I beg the general for compassion.”
Guan said, “This is a deceitful stratagem by Wu’s marquis. How could I be unaware of it?”

Jin asked, “How can you face me if you have no shame?”
Guan, sword already in hand, replied, “Speak no more. There is no room for shame on this blade.”

Guan Ping said, “His face is not fit to behold today, Father. Please calm your anger.”
Guan said, “If you do not look at his face, you will not get back to Eastern Wu!”

Humbled to the roots of his hair, Jin left in disgrace. He returned to Sichuan to see Kongming, who was already out on rounds. He could not see him again and returned once more to Xuande, crying and reporting that Guan Yu had meant to kill him.

Xuande said, “My brother is quick-tempered and hard to reason with. Ziyu, go back for now. Let me take Dongchuan and the Hanzhong commanderies and assign Guan Yu there to hold. Only then can I hand over Jing.”

Jin had no choice but to return to Eastern Wu and report everything to Sun.

Sun was enraged. “Since Ziyu went back and forth and back again, could this all be Kongming’s scheme?”
Jin said, “No. My brother also cried out to Xuande and agreed first to return the three commanderies, but Guan Yu would not yield, so it could not be done.”

Sun replied, “If Liu Bei has promised to return those three commanderies first, then send officials now to Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang to take charge and see what happens.”

Jin said, “Your Highness is perfectly right.”

Sun ordered Jin to recover his household and at once posted officials to the three commanderies.

Within days those officials arrived and were all driven out in turn, reporting that Guan Yu would not accept any arrangement and had chased them off in one night; those delayed were told they would be killed.

Sun raged and sent for Lu Su, whose courtesy name was Zijing.

“You stood surety for Liu Bei once and borrowed Jing Province from him,” Sun said. “Now that he has obtained Sichuan he refuses to return it. How can you sit idle?”

Lu Su said, “I have thought of a way and was just about to report to you.”

“What is it?” Sun asked.

Lu Su said, “Station troops at Luxu and send someone to ask Guan Yu to come to a meeting. If he comes, persuade him with good words. If he refuses, use axe-men waiting in ambush and kill him. If he still refuses to come, then move immediately and settle it in battle; we shall then seize Jing.”

Sun said, “That fits my intention. Do it at once.”

Kan Ze advised, “It should not be done. Guan Yu is a tiger among generals, no ordinary man can match him. I fear this plan will not go smoothly and will rebound upon us.”

Sun, angry, answered, “If we do nothing, when will Jing ever be ours?” He commanded Lu Su to carry out the plan at once.

Lu Su thanked and left, reaching Luxu and summoning Lü Meng and Gan Ning to confer. A banquet was prepared on the riverside pavilion beyond the Luxu camp. He drafted a summons and chose one courtier with sharp speech as messenger, who crossed by boat to Jing.

Guan Ping received the envoy at the river bank and had him brought before Guan Yu, conveying Lu Su’s invitation. After reading the letter, Guan said, “Since Zijing has invited me, I will come tomorrow for the banquet. You may return now.”

The messenger withdrew.

Guan Ping said, “You know as well as I do that Zijing’s invitation is not sincere. Why would Father agree?”
Guan laughed. “Do I not understand? Zhuge Jin has indeed returned to report this to Sun. He told him I would not return three commanderies, so Lu Su gathered troops at Luxu and invited me to this feast in order to demand Jing Province. If I do not go, people will say I am afraid.”

Then he added, “Tomorrow I will go by myself in a small boat with no more than ten men. I will attend with a single sword; let us see how Lu Su dares approach me.”

Guan Ping pleaded, “How can your body, worth ten thousand pieces of gold, go into the lair of tigers and wolves? It may not be right to bear your uncle’s trust so lightly.”

Guan said, “In a hundred spears and ten thousand sabers, amid arrows and stones, I can ride alone like an open plain. Why should I fear a nest of Jiangdong rats?”

Ma Liang also remonstrated. “Lu Su has the manner of an elder, yet this is urgent. It should not be assumed there is no hidden intent. The general should not go lightly.”

Guan replied, “In Warring States times, a man named Xiangru of Zhao, though he lacked even the strength to tie a chicken, faced Qin at a great assembly and treated Qin’s lords and ministers as if they were nothing. What, then, is this compared to a man who has learned to oppose ten thousand? Once I promised, I cannot break my word.”

Ma Liang said, “Even if the general goes, he should prepare.”
Guan said, “Order my son to ready ten fast boats and hide five hundred good river troops on the river to stand ready. When he sees my red flag rise, let him come over.”

Guan Ping carried out the order and departed.

The envoy reported to Lu Su that Guan Yu had accepted eagerly and would come the next day.

Lu Su and Lü Meng conferred: “If he comes with force, let each of us lead one unit to the bank and fire signals, and stand ready to fight. If no force arrives, place fifty axe-men behind the pavilion and kill him there.”

Their arrangement was now fixed. The next day Lu Su had men watch from the bank. After midday he saw a single boat on the river, only a few rowers, showing a single red flag in the wind. The flag itself bore one huge character: 關. As it neared the bank, Guan Yu appeared in a green hood and green robe, seated aboard. At his side Zhou Cang held a huge blade; around him were eight or nine men from the west, each with a waist knife.

Lu Su, startled, invited him in.

After formalities, they sat and drank, cups offered each in turn. No one dared look Guan Yu in the face. Guan talked as if in a calm mood.

When wine was half-drunk, Lu Su said, “I have one matter to present; I beg your indulgence. Formerly the Imperial Uncle, on my lord’s behalf, borrowed Jing Province from you for temporary residence until he gained Sichuan. Now he has taken Sichuan and yet has not returned Jing. Can this be kept in good faith?”

Guan replied, “This is a matter of state; it should not be argued at a banquet.”

Lu Su said, “My lord had only a small tract in Jiangdong, and he dared to lend Jing to you because he pitied your troops and your lack of provisions after your defeat. Now that you hold Yi Province, Jing should of course be returned. Yet he has offered first three commanderies, and your lord still does not obey. It cannot be justified.”

Guan said, “At the battle of Wulin, the Left General himself braved arrows and stones and labored with all his strength to break the enemy. Must he now be denied even a single foot of land for such efforts? You return now and ask for land again?”

Lu Su said, “Not so. Your lord and the Imperial Uncle were broken at Changban and near exhaustion, determined to flee far away. My lord pitied him with no place to go and had no interest in land for himself. But if there is a place to rely on, he can plan future gains. Yet now Xuande has spent virtue and broken trust, gained Yi Province and taken Jing, greedy and unfaithful, and he will be shamed before the world. Look into it carefully.”

Guan replied, “These are my brother’s matters; they are not for me to argue.”

Lu Su said, “I have heard that you and the Imperial Uncle swore an oath of life and death at Peach Garden. The Imperial Uncle is you. How can you refuse?”

Before Guan could answer, Zhou Cang shouted from the steps, “Across all the land, only one with virtue can hold land. Is it only because you are in Wu that you may claim it?”

Guan’s face darkened; he rose, seized the great blade from Zhou Cang, and stood in the courtyard. He fixed Zhou Cang with a hard glance and roared, “This is a state matter. How dare you speak so much! Go away at once!”

Zhou Cang understood. He hurried to the bank and raised the red flag.

Guan Ping’s boat shot across like an arrow and sped back from the eastern bank.

With his right hand on the blade and his left gripping Lu Su’s, he pretended to stagger drunk and said, “You invited me to this feast; do not raise Jing Province now. I am already drunk and fear I will bruise our old friendship. Someday, if you send for me in Jing and invite me again, we can talk further.”

Lu Su could scarcely stand; he looked like a person with no soul. Lü Meng and Gan Ning drew up their own detachments, but seeing the blade in Guan’s hand and Luo (Lu Su) in his grasp, and fearing harm to their lord, they held back.

At the landing, Guan released his hand. He was already up on the bow, already leaving in the wind. Lu Su seemed dazed.

Afterward people made this verse in praise of Guan Yu:

I laughed at the ministers of Wu as if they were children,
yet came to the feast with a single sword; the heroics of that day surpass Xiangru at Mianchi.

Guan Yu returned to Jing Province.

Lu Su and Lü Meng discussed, “This plan failed. What are we to do now?”
Lü Meng said, “Report to the lord, and if need be, raise the army to settle this with Guan Yu.”
Lu Su did so and informed Sun Quan.

Sun, enraged, prepared to raise all state troops to seize Jing Province. Suddenly news came that Cao Cao was marching three hundred thousand more troops.

Sun was startled and ordered Lu Su to stop provoking Jing’s army, and instead shift forces toward Hefei and Ruxu to prepare to resist Cao Cao.

While Cao Cao prepared to march south, his aide Fu Gan, courtesy name Yancai, submitted a memorial:

My lord, I have heard: when war is used, strength must first appear; when culture is used, virtue must first appear. When might and virtue stand together, a kingdom is established.
The realm was once in chaos. Your Grace used force and regained order in nine parts out of ten. Now what face to heaven we meet is not yet secure under full command; there are still Wu and Shu. Wu has the barrier of the Yangtze, Shu the barriers of high mountains. They are hard to force in open battle. I advise therefore increasing civil virtue, repairing the armor and resting the troops, and moving only when the time is right.
If tens of thousands are gathered and posted along the Yangtze bank, and if bandits hide deep in terrain so that my horsemen cannot show their strength and no extraordinary maneuver can be used, then Heaven’s mandate is weakened. Please examine this carefully.

Cao read it and canceled the southern expedition. He opened schools and recruited scholars to ritual court. Then officials Wang Can, Du Xi, Wei Kai, and He Qia gathered and spoke of inviting Cao to take the title of King of Wei.

Xun Yu, Prefect of the Masters of Writing, said, “This should not be done. The Chancellor has already been made Duke of Wei with ninefold honors. His position is already at the limit; to elevate him to king now is not fitting in principle.”

Cao, hearing this, grew angry. “Does this man seek to imitate Xun Yu?” Xun Yu’s worry and anger turned to fever. He lay ill for many days and died at fifty-eight.

Cao gave him an honorable burial and abandoned the plan to make him King.

One day Cao entered the hall with a sword as Emperor Xian sat with Empress Fu.

Seeing Cao approach, the empress leapt to her feet. The emperor trembled at the sight.

Cao said, “Sun Quan and Liu Bei each rule a domain and do not honor court authority. What ought to be done?”

The emperor replied, “All rests with the duke’s management.”

Cao snapped, “If the Son of Heaven speaks so, outsiders will think I only pretend loyalty and deceive you.”

The emperor said, “If you are willing to aid me, that would be good. If not, grant me mercy and withdraw.”

When Cao left in anger, some officers reported, “Recently one hears that the duke intends to make himself king and will soon usurp the throne.” The emperor and empress wept.

The empress said, “My father, Fu Wan, has long wished to kill Cao. I will now draft a letter and send it to my father in secret.”

The emperor said, “When Dong Cheng served without caution he met calamity. Again we fear a leak; then your safety and mine are finished.”

She said, “Each day and night is like sitting on a mattress of needles. A man like this cannot endure; better to die at once. Of the inner attendants, none but Mu Shun can be trusted. Let me send this letter through him.”

She summoned Mu Shun to the rear screen, sent away the chamber attendants, and then she and the emperor wept together.

To Shun she said, “Cao means to raise himself as King of Wei and soon will seize the throne. I wish my father, by your help, to plan this traitor’s fall. Yet those around him are all his men, none trustworthy. You must carry my secret letter to Fu Wan. By your loyalty and righteousness, he cannot fail me.”

Shun wept and answered, “Your servant is deeply in the Emperor’s debt and dare not fail with my life. I will take it.”

The empress wrote out the letter and handed it to Shun. He hid it in his hair and slipped out of the forbidden court to Fu Wan’s house and presented it. Fu Wan saw it was in the empress’s own hand.

Fu Wan said to him, “Cao has many traitorous hearts. We cannot act too hastily. Only if Liu Bei in Shu and Sun Quan in Wu rise together from outside can we force him to move. He must then return here. Only with men in court who are still loyal can we discuss this inside. If we strike from both sides, there may be hope.”

Shun said, “Your Marquis should send back a letter to the emperor and empress, asking for a secret edict and secretly dispatching men to Wu and Shu to arrange revolt and rescue the lord.”

Fu Wan took paper and wrote the return letter, giving it to Shun, who once more hid it in his hair and returned to the capital.

At the gate, Cao was waiting. Shun met him on the way back.

“Where have you come from?” Cao asked.

Shun answered, “The empress is unwell and has sent me to seek a doctor.”

“Did you summon one yet?” Cao asked.

“Not yet.”

Cao ordered his men to search his clothing. Finding nothing, he let him pass. But the wind lifted Shun’s cap, and Cao called him back.

He took the cap and searched it, then found nothing and returned it. Shun put it on upside down.

Cao grew suspicious and ordered a search of Shun’s hair. They found Fu Wan’s letter.

He read it and saw that it spoke of joint action with Sun and Liu as external support. Cao flew into a rage. Shun was arrested and taken to an inner chamber for questioning; he refused to confess.

Cao that very night ordered three thousand soldiers to surround Fu Wan’s house. Old and young were all seized. The empress’s letter was found, and all three branches of the Fu clan were brought to prison.

At first light, Palace Guards Commander Xili entered with the emperor’s order and took the seal and jade-tassel tokens from the empress. Three hundred guards entered at once.

That day the emperor was in the outer hall. Seeing three hundred guards in formation and Xili entering directly, he asked, “What matter is this?”

Xili said, “I bear the duke’s command to collect the empress seal.”

The emperor knew the matter had leaked and his courage broke. Xili entered the rear palace first, where Empress Fu was now awake. He called for the keepers of the seal and jade and ordered them brought out.

Empress, sensing what had happened, hid within a cavity in the rear wall of the Pepper Chamber.

Presently, Chief Clerk Hua Xin entered with five hundred guards and asked the palace maids, “Where is Empress Fu?” They all claimed ignorance.

He told the guards to open the vermilion doors and search. Finding nothing, and suspecting she was in the wall, he shouted for soldiers to break through the wall.

Hua Xin himself pulled back the empress’s hair and dragged her out.

She cried, “Spare my life!”
Hua Xin shouted, “You will answer to the duke now!”

Her hair loose and bare feet, two guards pushed her out.

Hua Xin had once been famous for his literary reputation and was once close with Bing Yuan and Guan Ning. The three were praised as one dragon: Hua Xin as the dragon’s head, Bing Yuan as its belly, and Guan Ning as its tail.

One day he and Guan Ning were weeding a garden. As Guan lifted his hoe, he struck a buried coin. He paid no attention, while Hua picked it up, looked at it, and tossed it aside.

Another day they sat reading together, and heard raised cries of a noble carriage passing outside. Guan sat still and did not move; Hua set down his books and went to watch. From then on Guan despised him and moved their seats apart. He never resumed the friendship.

Later Guan Ning withdrew to Liaodong and was often seen with a white hat, living in one pavilion, never stepping on bare ground, and all his life he refused office in Wei.

Hua Xin, however, first served Sun Quan and later entered Cao’s service; now he came to seize the empress as we have seen.

Later men wrote:

Hua Xin loosed his cruel stratagem that day, broke the wall, and seized the Empress alive,
and for a thousand years he is mocked as the head of the dragon.

And also this verse about Guan Ning:

In Liaodong there is said to be Guan Ning’s pavilion: the owner is gone, the hall is empty, only his name remains.
Laughing at Zi Yu’s greed for rank and riches, how can one match the white-capped man’s free-flowing elegance?

Hua Xin then brought Empress Fu into the outer hall. The emperor saw her and ran down the steps, embraced her and wept.

Hua Xin said, “The duke’s command—go now.”

Empress cried to the emperor, “Can you not let me continue living?”
He said, “I do not even know when my own life is to end!”

Soldiers carried her away, and the emperor struck his breast in grief. Seeing Xili at his side, he said, “Great Excellency Xili, can this exist under heaven?” and fell to the ground in tears. Xili ordered attendants to carry him back.

Hua Xin delivered her to Cao.

Cao shouted, “I treated all of you sincerely, and you sought my harm. If I spare you, you would kill me.”

He ordered the guards to beat her to death. He then entered the hall and had the two sons of the empress poisoned. Before nightfall, more than two hundred members of Fu Wan’s and Mu Shun’s families were beheaded in the market.

Courtiers and commoners alike were stunned. It was the eleventh month of the nineteenth year of Jian’an. In later years people lamented:

Cao Man was cruel as no age has seen;
what became of Fu Wan’s loyal righteousness?
Pity! In separating lord and empress,
he had no pity even equal to common wives and husbands.

Since the empress’s death, Emperor Xian did not eat for days. Cao entered and said, “Your Majesty, do not grieve. I bear no other intent. Let Cao Guiren, your honored consort, be elevated as your principal empress. She is virtuous and filial.”

In the first month of the twentieth year of Jian’an, at the celebration of New Year’s first day, he established Cao Guiren as empress. No one below dared speak.

At this time Cao’s power grew ever greater. He convened ministers to discuss a campaign to finish Wu and then Shu. Jia Xu said, “You should summon Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren at once and confer.”

Cao sent urgent summons through the night. Xiahou Dun had not yet arrived when Cao Ren came first and entered the hall at once in the night. Cao was drunk and resting, and Xu Chu stood with sword at the hall door. Cao Ren tried to enter but was stopped.

Xu Chu said, “General, though you are of the clan, your office guards frontier command. I am only a lesser householder yet now stand in inner service. The lord lies asleep; he may not be disturbed.”

Cao heard this and praised, “Xu Chu is truly a loyal minister.”

Not long after, Xiahou Dun arrived and together they discussed an expedition.

Dun said, “Wu and Shu cannot be taken at once. We should first take Zhang Lu in Hanzhong. With an army fresh from victory we can strike into Shu in one swift effort.”

Cao said, “That exactly matches my thought.” He ordered troops to march west.

So it is written:

He now lays bare his murderous design, bullying a weak ruler and sending hard-fighting troops to sweep aside a border state;
How this turned out will be told in the next chapter.