Sun Quan was making arrangements with his troops at Ruxu Ford when he heard that Cao Cao had led four hundred thousand men from Hanzhong in person to come to the relief of Hefei. Sun Quan met with his strategists. Zhang Zhao said, “Cao Cao has come far; he must first be checked before he can deploy his sharpest force.” Sun Quan then asked the captains, “Cao Cao has come from far away. Who dares strike first and break the enemy’s spirit?” Ling Tong came forward and said, “I volunteer.”

Sun Quan asked, “How many men should you take?” Ling Tong said, “Three thousand will be enough.” Gan Ning said, “Only one hundred riders are needed. Why send three thousand?” The two men at once argued before Sun Quan.

Sun Quan said, “The Wei force is vast; we must not take it lightly.” So he ordered Ling Tong to lead three thousand out to Rusu and scout ahead, and if they met Cao’s men, to fight.

Obeying orders, Ling Tong led three thousand horsemen away from the Rusu encampment. When dust rose ahead, Cao’s troops were already there. Zhang Liao of the vanguard met Ling Tong in combat, and the two fought fifty exchanges without decisive advantage. Sun Quan, fearing for Ling Tong, sent Lü Meng to reinforce.

Gan Ning saw Ling Tong return and said to Sun Quan, “Tonight I only need a hundred horsemen to strike the Wei camp. If we kill only a single man and horse, it is still no real merit.” Sun Quan admired the nerve in him and ordered one hundred picked cavalry sent from the camp to Gan Ning, plus fifty jars of wine and fifty jin of lamb for the soldiers.

Gan Ning returned to the palisade. He had one hundred men sit and take their places. He first poured out wine in silver bowls and drank two bowls himself. Then he told the men, “Tonight we are ordered to raid the camp. I ask each of you to drain your cup and push on with all your strength.” The men looked at each other in doubt. Gan Ning drew his sword and shouted angrily, “I, as your senior commander, do not care to hold back my life. Why do you hesitate?” The men, seeing Gan Ning’s expression, all rose and knelt, saying, “We are ready to die with you.”

Gan Ning and the one hundred shared the wine and meat together. After they had finished, it was around the second watch. He handed out one hundred white-goose plumes and fixed one on each helmet as a signal. All donned armor and mounted. They galloped to the edge of Cao Cao’s camp, tore open the horned barrier, and shouted together before riding in. They drove straight into the center of the camp, trying to strike Cao Cao.

In the center, the Wei troops had laid out chariot gear across the road and formed an interlocked barrier like iron tubs, so they could not be pierced at first. Gan Ning drove the hundred riders in sudden charges and swift turns. Cao’s men panicked, and not knowing how many enemies they faced, they were thrown into confusion. Gan Ning’s hundred in the camp wheeled and charged, killing whoever they met. Every camp sent out drums and shouting; fires rose like stars; their screams shook the air.

Gan Ning broke out through the southern gate of the camp; no one dared oppose him. Sun Quan ordered Zhou Tai to bring a unit forward in support. Gan Ning brought the hundred riders back to Rusu. Cao’s troops, fearing an ambush, dared not pursue.

A later poem praised the assault:

Drum and gong thundered and shook the earth; wherever Wu’s army moved, ghosts and spirits wailed. The hundred plumes cleaved the Wei camp at once; all of it proclaimed Gan Ning’s tiger-hearted generalship.

Gan Ning returned to camp without killing or losing a man or horse. At the gate he ordered the hundred to strike drums and play flutes, crying, “Long live!” Their cheers shook the air. Sun Quan himself came out to receive him. Gan Ning dismounted and knelt in submission. Sun Quan raised him and took his hand. “General, this trip alone made the old brigand quake,” he said. “I did not set you aside for fear of losing you. I only wanted to test your courage.”

He then rewarded him with one thousand bolts of silk and one hundred sharp blades. Gan Ning accepted and then divided rewards among the one hundred riders. Sun Quan told the generals, “Mengde has Zhang Liao, and I have Gan Xingba; that is enough to meet him.”

The next day Zhang Liao came out to strike.

Seeing Gan Ning’s success, Ling Tong said resolutely, “I wish to face Zhang Liao.” Sun Quan granted the request. Ling Tong then led five thousand men out of Rusu. Sun Quan brought Gan Ning with him to observe from the field.

At the line of battle, Zhang Liao came out on horseback, with Li Dian on his left and Yue Jin on his right. Ling Tong charged forward, horse and saber in hand, into the front line. Zhang Liao sent Yue Jin to meet him. The two fought for fifty rounds without a clear winner.

Cao Cao heard of it and rode himself to the banner line to watch. Seeing the two locked in fierce combat, he ordered Cao Xiu to fire a concealed arrow. Cao Xiu slipped behind Zhang Liao, drew his bow, and loosed one arrow that struck Ling Tong under him as he sat in the saddle. The horse reared and threw Ling Tong to the ground. Yue Jin came on with a spear to stab.

Before the spear landed, a bowstring snapped from the opposite side—a single arrow struck Yue Jin in the face, and he turned and came off his horse. Both armies came out together and each side rushed to rescue its own commander and withdrew, and the ringing of bells ended the fight.

Ling Tong returned to camp and thanked Sun Quan. Sun Quan said, “The one who shot to save you was Gan Ning.” Ling Tong knelt and saluted Gan Ning, saying, “I had not imagined the General would show such grace.” From then on they became friends for life and death, and never turned to evil again.

Later, when Cao Cao saw that Yue Jin had been hit, he returned to his tent to attend to him. The next day he divided his forces into five routes to strike Rusu: he led the center himself, the left one by Zhang Liao and the second left by Li Dian, the right one by Xu Huang and the second right by Pang De. Each route had ten thousand men and riders and ran to the riverbank.

At that time Dong Xi and Xu Sheng were on boats. When the five columns arrived, all ranks showed fear in their faces. Xu Sheng said, “To eat the ruler’s grain is to serve loyally. Why should we fear?” He led several hundred fierce men across in small boats and charged into Li Dian’s force.

Dong Xi stayed aboard the ship and ordered drums and shouts to raise the men’s spirits. Suddenly a fierce wind rose on the river; white waves lifted into the sky and the surge became violent. The soldiers saw their big boats might overturn, and they rushed down to smaller craft to flee.

Sword in hand, Dong Xi shouted, “You were ordered to hold the enemy. How dare you leave your ship?” He beheaded more than ten men who tried to disembark. Soon the wind grew and his boat turned over. Dong Xi died in the river mouth.

Xu Sheng fought amid the melee inside Li Dian’s line.

Chen Wu heard the river battle and brought out a unit. He met Pang De directly, and the two armies became a mixed melee. At Rusu, Sun Quan heard Cao’s troops had reached the riverbank and rode out with Zhou Tai to help.

It happened just as he saw Xu Sheng in Li Dian’s melee making a complete tangle of fighting. He waved troops in to reinforce. Then Zhang Liao and Xu Huang with two detached forces trapped Sun Quan at the center of the formation. From a high rise Cao Cao saw Sun Quan surrounded and urgently ordered Xu Chu to ride with sword and cut into the army, splitting Sun’s force into two so that they could not rescue each other.

Zhou Tai cut his way out and reached the riverbank. When he saw Sun Quan was not there, he pulled back and then reentered the circle, asking his unit, “Where is the lord?” They pointed toward where the fighting was densest and said, “The lord is in a close encirclement, in great danger.” Zhou Tai pushed forward and found Sun Quan. He said, “My lord, come with me and break out.”

Then Zhou Tai went ahead and Sun followed behind, fighting hard through the press. Zhou Tai reached the riverbank, looked back, and still saw no sign of Sun Quan, so he turned and again plunged into the encirclement and found him again.

Sun said, “With bow and crossbow firing together, we cannot get out. What can we do?” Zhou Tai replied, “My lord is in front, and I am behind. We can break through together.”

Sun charged forward. Zhou Tai shielded him on both sides. Spears struck him repeatedly; arrows pierced his heavy armor, yet he saved Sun. They reached the riverbank, where Lü Meng brought a branch of the water force to help them board.

Sun said, “By three times cutting in, Zhou Tai, I escaped this heavy encirclement. But Xu Sheng remains in the middle of it. How will he get out?” Zhou Tai answered, “I will go back again.” He turned and drove through once more, then entered the heavy encirclement and rescued Xu Sheng. Both men were heavily wounded. Lü Meng ordered the men to fire arrows in all directions at the troops on the bank and then pull the two commanders down to the boats.

Chen Wu fought against Pang De again. With no troops left behind him to reinforce, Pang De pressed him to a narrow pass by a dense wood. Chen Wu tried to turn and fight again, but a tree trunk caught his robe sleeve and he could not answer the charge. Pang De killed him.

When Cao Cao saw that Sun Quan had escaped, he drove his horse and pressed forward to the river edge to shoot and exchange missiles. Lü Meng had run out of arrows.

In the moment of panic, suddenly a group of ships arrived on the river. At their head was Lu Xun, Sun Ce’s son-in-law, bringing one hundred thousand troops. He led a heavy volley that drove Wei back. Then he took the chance to land, pursue, and recover several thousand warhorses. The Wei losses were innumerable, and they fled in a major rout. In the confusion they found Chen Wu’s body.

Sun learned that Chen Wu was dead and Dong Xi had also sunk into the river. He was struck with great grief and sent men to search the water for Dong Xi’s body, then buried the two together.

He also owed a deep debt to Zhou Tai for saving him. Sun held a banquet and honored him. Sun himself offered him a cup and patted his back, tears flowing, saying,

“Twice you rode in to rescue me and did not spare your life. You were pierced by dozens of spears, and your skin is marked like carved wood. Can a lord like me not return your bone-and-blood kindness by trusting you with soldiers and cavalry? You are my meritorious officer; I will share honor and ruin, joy and grief with you.”

When he had finished, Sun ordered Zhou Tai’s armor removed before the assembled officers. The skin and flesh were gouged with scars like knife marks, all through the body and deep to the roots. Sun pointed to each wound and asked about it. Zhou Tai told him where each had been struck in battle. The more wounds he named, the more cups he drank.

That day Zhou Tai was drunk from start to end. Sun awarded him a blue silk umbrella and ordered him to go in and out under a canopy so that his service would be made known.

Sun and Cao remained facing each other at Rusu for more than a month, and neither could win. Zhang Zhao and Gu Yong spoke up: “Cao Cao’s force is huge. We cannot force him. If the war drags on, too many soldiers will die. It is better to seek peace and keep the people safe.” Sun followed their counsel and sent Bu Zhi to Cao’s camp to ask for peace and promise yearly tribute.

Cao Cao saw that crossing into the south bank was not yet feasible, so he agreed and ordered, “Sun Quan should withdraw his troops first. I will then return home.” Bu Zhi returned. Sun left only Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai to hold Rusu and sent the main army aboard ships back to Moling.

Cao left Cao Ren and Zhang Liao to garrison Hefei and then withdrew to Xuchang. The civil and military officials all proposed that Cao Cao be made King of Wei. Cui Yan, the Prefect of the Masters of Writing, argued vehemently against it.

The others said, “Do you alone not see Xun Yu, then?” Cui Yan became furious. “Now! now! there will be a change! Do what you choose!” he cried. A man who had quarreled with Cui Yan reported him to Cao. Cao flew into rage, seized Cui Yan, and imprisoned him for questioning.

Cui Yan, with eyes like a tiger and beard curled like a dragon, still shouted out, “Cao Cao is a rogue who betrays the Son of Heaven.” The censor informed Cao, and Cao ordered him beaten to death with the penal staff in prison.

A later verse praised him:

Cui Yan of Qinghe—nature hard and unbending. Tiger eyes and whiskered muzzle, a heart of iron and stone. The evil and crooked give way before him; his upright voice rings high. Loyal to the Han lord, his name shines through ten thousand ages.

In the twenty-first year of Jian’an, in the fifth month, the ministers submitted memorials to the Son of Heaven praising Wei Lord Cao Cao’s achievements and merits, saying they reached the height of Heaven and Earth and outstripped even Yi and Zhou. They asked that his rank be advanced to king.

Emperor Xian ordered Zhong Yao to draft the decree, and Cao Cao was proclaimed King of Wei. Cao Cao submitted three memorials declining the honor. The decree refused him all three times. Then he accepted the grant of the Wei kingly title, receiving a crown with twelve tassels, riding in a gold-fitted carriage drawn by six horses, using the Son of Heaven’s carriage and ceremonial gear. He moved in and out at court with official process, and in Ye he established the Wei king’s palace and deliberated over the name of his designated heir.

Cao Cao’s principal wife, Lady Ding, did not attend. His concubine Liu gave birth to Cao Ang, who died at Wan City during the campaign against Zhang Xiu.

Lady Bian bore four sons: first, Cao Pi; then Cao Zhang; third, Cao Zhi; fourth, Cao Xiong. Thus Lady Ding was deposed, and Lady Bian was made principal consort of the King of Wei.

The third son was Cao Zhi, style name Zijian. He was exceptionally brilliant, and whenever he put brush to paper he wrote complete prose in one line. Cao Cao wanted to make him heir. As the eldest, Cao Pi feared he would not be chosen and consulted Jia Xu.

Jia Xu gave detailed advice. From then on, whenever Cao Cao went on campaign, all his sons accompanied him in farewell, but Cao Zhi would speak in polished phrases, praising merit and offering carefully formed words, while Cao Pi would only weep and kneel in silence before their father. All the onlookers were moved.

Cao Cao therefore began to suspect that Cao Zhi was artful but insincere compared with Cao Pi. Cao Pi then sent men to buy the confidence of close attendants, and they all praised Cao Pi’s virtue. Cao Cao still hesitated about naming an heir. He asked Jia Xu, “If I am to name a successor, whom should I choose?”

Jia Xu did not answer at once. When Cao Cao asked why, he said, “I have something weighing on my mind and cannot answer immediately.”

Cao Cao asked, “What do you mean?” Jia Xu replied, “I am thinking of Yuan Shao and Liu Biao, father and son.” Cao Cao laughed and then installed his eldest son Cao Pi as crown prince.

In the tenth month of winter, the Wei king’s palace in Ye was complete. People were sent out to collect rare flowers and fruits and set them in the rear garden. An envoy reached Wu and told Sun Quan that King Cao had ordered him to return once more to Wenzhou for mandarins.

At that time Sun Quan was already treating King Wei with respect and was making the required arrangements. He selected more than forty great loads of mandarins and sent them overnight to Ye. Midway, when the porters carrying the loads were exhausted and rested at the foot of a mountain, they met a strange man with one eye and one bad leg, wearing a white rattan crown and blue indigo robe. He bowed with his hand to the bearers and said, “You labors are hard. If you wish, I can carry one shoulder for you.”

The men rejoiced. The old man carried each load for five li, though every load he had carried before seemed lighter than the others, and the men grew uneasy with wonder and doubt. Before leaving he said to the officer in charge of the fruit, “I am an old acquaintance from the King’s countryside. My surname is Zuo, my given name is Ci, my courtesy name is Yuanfang, and my Daoist sobriquet is Master Wujiao. If you come to Ye, say that this is what Zuo Ci requests.” He then swept away his sleeve and vanished.

The bearers arrived at Ye with the fruit and presented the mandarins to Cao Cao. Cao Cao cut one open himself. It was only the shell, and there was no flesh inside.

“Find out where these loads came from,” he said. The bearers told him what had happened with Zuo Ci. Cao Cao still did not believe them. A gate guard then announced that a master calling himself Zuo Ci sought an audience with the King.

Cao Cao summoned him in. The bearers confirmed, “This is the same man we met on the road.” Cao Cao shouted, “By what sorcery did you seize my fine fruit?”

Zuo Ci smiled. “How could that be?” he said.

When he cut a mandarin, there was flesh, and it was sweet in taste. But the ones Cao Cao himself had opened had only shells.

Cao Cao was astonished, and he seated Zuo Ci. “What art do you have to make this happen?” he asked.

Zuo Ci asked for wine and meat. Cao Cao ordered it given to him. He drank five dou of wine and ate the entire sheep, yet still was not full.

Cao Cao asked, “How can you do this?”

Zuo Ci said, “I studied the Way for thirty years in Mount Emei of Jialing. One day I heard my name called from inside a rock wall and looked out, but I saw nothing. After this happened for several days, thunder split the rock wall and three volumes of the Book of Evasion appeared.

The upper volume was called Heavenly Evasion, the middle Earthly Evasion, and the lower Human Evasion. Heavenly Evasion can leap through clouds and cross wind to rise into the high emptiness. Earthly Evasion can pass through mountains and rock. Human Evasion can roam over the four seas, change one’s form, throw swords and knives, and take a person’s head. You sit above your ministers and below the Son of Heaven. Why not step down and follow me to Mount Emei to cultivate?

Here, take these three books as your ties.”

Cao Cao said, “I have long wished to retire in sudden haste, but the court has no suitable man ready.”

Zuo Ci laughed. “Liu Bei of Yizhou, courtesy name Xuande, is an heir to the imperial line. Why do you not leave this office to him? If not, I will throw my sword and take your head.”

Cao Cao exploded with anger. “So you are Liu Bei’s secret agent!” he said, and ordered men to seize him.

Zuo Ci kept laughing. Cao Cao ordered a dozen prison guards to take him and beat him. They strained and kicked him, but he seemed to be in deep sleep and felt no pain. Cao Cao ordered a heavy iron collar with iron nails and iron chains to be fixed to him and put him under close jail confinement.

At once the shackles and chains fell away and he lay on the ground without injury. After seven days in solitary jail without food or drink, he still sat upright when checked. His face had turned red.

A guard reported this to Cao Cao, who brought him out and asked him why.

Zuo Ci said, “I have not eaten for many decades. I can also eat a thousand sheep.”

That day, the officials all came for a great banquet at the royal palace. During the drinking, Zuo Ci, his wooden sandals sounding on the floor, stood near the edge of the table. All were startled.

Zuo Ci said, “The King has water and land banquets together today and gathered strange things from every quarter. Still, something is lacking. If Your Majesty permits, I will fetch it.”

Cao Cao said, “I want dragon liver soup. Can you take it?”

Zuo Ci replied, “What is difficult?”

He took up an ink brush and drew a dragon on the white wall, then gave the robe sleeve one sweep. The belly of the painted dragon opened. From its belly Zuo Ci withdrew two pieces of dragon liver, with blood still running.

Cao Cao did not believe it. He shouted, “You hid this in your sleeve beforehand.”

Zuo Ci said, “Today I can even make the grass and trees wither at the camp and in the grounds. If His Majesty wants certain flowers, he may choose.”

Cao Cao said, “I only want peonies.”

Zuo Ci said, “It is easy.” He had a large flowerpot brought to the front of the table and water poured over it.

In a moment a peony rose and bloomed with two blossoms. The officials were shocked, and Cao invited him to sit and share the meal.

After a short time, the cook brought fish slices.

Zuo Ci said, “Only Songjiang perch are worthy for this.”

Cao Cao said, “The distance is over a thousand li. How can you get it?”

Zuo Ci said, “What difficulty is there?” He had a fishing rod brought and ordered it used in the fish pool beneath the hall. In a moment he caught dozens of large perch and set them before the hall.

Cao Cao said, “These were already in my pool.”

Zuo Ci said, “Would Your Majesty trick me so? All perch in this world have two gills. Only Songjiang perch have four; this is how you can tell.” The officials examined them, and indeed they were four-gilled.

Zuo Ci said, “To cook a Songjiang perch, one must use the purple-sprout ginger.”

Cao Cao asked, “Can you bring that too?”

“It is easy,” Zuo Ci replied.

He ordered a gold basin placed and covered it with his robe. In a short time it was filled with purple-sprout ginger and presented before Cao Cao.

Cao Cao reached for some, and inside was a book titled Mengde’s New Book with every character exactly as in the text.

Cao asked, “Are these things genuine?”

Zuo Ci took the jade hairpin from the table and drew a line through the wine in the cup, dividing it into two halves. He drank one half and offered the other to Cao Cao, saying, “Drink this, and the King may live for a thousand years.”

Cao said, “You drink first.”

Cao shouted. Zuo Ci threw the cup into the air, and it turned into a white dove, circling the hall. All eyes looked upward. Zuo Ci was nowhere to be seen.

A guard then reported, “Zuo Ci has left through the palace gate.”

Cao Cao said, “If this is a demonic trickster, he must be eliminated, or he will bring harm.” He ordered Xu Chu to lead three hundred iron-armored troops to pursue him.

Xu Chu mounted and rode out with troops. When he saw Zuo Ci in front, walking slowly in wooden sandals, he urged mounted riders to pursue, but none could catch him.

He chased him right to a mountain where a shepherd boy came driving a flock of sheep. Zuo Ci walked into the flock.

Xu Chu shot arrows. Zuo Ci vanished.

The shepherd boy stood guard and wept over the sheep.

Then he saw one of the sheep heads on the ground speaking like a person, telling him, “You can gather all the sheep heads and stack them into the belly of the dead sheep.” The boy was terrified and covered his face and ran.

At once he heard someone call from behind, “Do not run in fear. I will give you back your living sheep.”

He looked back and saw Zuo Ci had placed the dead sheep together with life again and was driving the flock toward him.

The boy hurried forward, but by then Zuo Ci had already swept away his sleeve and gone. He moved like flying; suddenly he was gone.

The boy told his master, who did not dare conceal the matter and reported it to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao drew up shadowy portraits, and three to four hundred people appeared in town and in the countryside who had one eye, one lame foot, white rattan crown, blue indigo robe, and wooden sandals. All resembled him.

The whole city roiled. Cao Cao ordered several generals to douse them with pig and sheep blood and escort them to the southern city arena.

Cao Cao himself pulled in five hundred soldiers and had them all beheaded. From each severed throat rose a single streak of green vapour that climbed halfway to the sky. The vapours gathered into one Zuo Ci. He rode a white crane in the air and clapped his hands, then laughed loudly:

The rat of the earth follows a golden tiger; the treacherous tyrant will be cut down at once!

Cao Cao ordered everyone to shoot at him with bow and arrow. A sudden wild wind rose, hurling stones and sand.

Every severed corpse jumped up and picked up its own head in hand, running to the Martial Hall to strike at Cao Cao.

Civil and military officials covered their faces in shock and knocked down in confusion.

A saying closed the chapter:

A tyrant’s power and force can tilt a kingdom, and the Daoist’s immortal arts are stranger than any man. How this turned out will be told in the next chapter.