Later that day, Cao Cao saw the heads of many corpses rise up amid a black wind and was shocked to the ground. After a short while, the wind quieted and all the corpses vanished. His attendants supported him back to the palace, and in his fright he fell sick. Later, people recited this verse praising Zuo Ci:

He strode through the clouds and crossed the Nine Provinces, Alone he roamed by hidden arts of Dunjia calculation. At leisure he set up the arts of immortals, Yet by a single flash of awakening he could not turn Cao Man back.

Cao Cao’s illness did not improve with medicine. In due time Assistant Astronomer Xu Zhi came from Xuchang to see him. Cao Cao told Xu Zhi to perform zhou yi divination.

“Have you heard of the divine diviner Guan Lu?” Xu Zhi asked. "I have heard somewhat of his reputation, but not his method. Speak fully," said Cao.

"Guan Lu, whose courtesy name was Gongming, was a man of Pingyuan. His appearance was rough and unattractive; he liked wine and often seemed wild. His father had once been a local official, the district-chief of Langye. As a boy, Guan Lu liked to look up at the stars and could not sleep at night. His parents could not prevent him. He would say, ‘A house chicken and even a wild goose can sense the time; how much more should someone living among men know it?’

When he played with children from neighboring households he would draw the heavens on the ground and assign the sun, moon, and stars their places. As he grew older he came to master the zhou yi, studied wind and omen and direction, could calculate numbers with divine precision, and also mastered physiognomy.

"At that time, Dan Zichun, the Administrator of Langye, heard of him and asked Guan Lu to an audience. There were a hundred scholars there and all could speak with learning. Guan Lu told Zichun, ‘My courage is still unsteady because I am young. First get me three sheng of fine wine, and then I shall speak.’ Zichun marveled at this and ordered him three sheng of wine.

After he drank, Guan Lu asked Zichun, ‘Who here wishes to debate with me—are they men of your four-sided hall?’ Zichun said, ‘I stand at least equal to you.’ So they talked about the doctrines of the changes. Guan Lu spoke plainly and steadily, his words deep and subtle. Zichun raised objections, and Guan Lu answered as if he were on a stream. From dawn till dusk they did not stop for food. Zichun and every guest marveled and submitted themselves in admiration. From then on, people across the realm called him a ‘divine youth.’"

"Later, three brothers from one village, among them a man named Guo En, all stricken with lameness, asked Guan Lu to divine for them. Guan Lu said, ‘In your clan’s ancestral tomb there is the spirit of a dead woman: either your paternal aunt or your maternal aunt. In a year of famine they conspired over several sheng of grain, drew the profit into a well, and crushed her head with a large stone. In pain she cried to Heaven, and this is why your brothers suffer this reprisal. It cannot be exorcised.’ Guo En and the others wept and knelt in apology.

"The Administrator of Anping, Wang Ji, knew of Guan Lu’s divine divination and invited him home. By then Wang’s wife had long suffered from a wind sickness of the head, and his son had pain in the chest. He asked Guan Lu to divine. Guan said, ‘In the west corner of this hall there are two dead bodies, a man holding a spear and a man holding bow and arrows. The head is inside the wall and the feet are outside. The one with the spear strikes from the front—so this is the cause of the headache. The one with the bow and arrows strikes the chest and belly—so this is the cause of your son’s pain.’

He ordered a grave to be dug. Eight chi down, there were indeed two coffins. In one coffin lay a spear; in the other a horned bow and arrows. The wood had long since rotted. Guan told them to move the bones and bury them ten li outside the city walls, and the wife and son thereafter were unharmed.

"Zhuge Yuan, the Administrator of Guantao and newly transferred to Xinxing, summoned Guan Lu to see him off. Some guests did not believe Guan Lu could do shefu divination. Zhuge Yuan secretly took three things—a swallow egg, a wasp comb, and a spider—set them in three boxes, and had Guan divinate. Each time an oracle came up, Guan wrote four lines on the box.

The first read, ‘The vital breath must change. Depend on the hall and chamber. Male and female are distinguished by form; wings spread wide. This is the swallow egg.’ The second read, ‘House and home hang upside down; there are many doors. Essence is hidden, venom is nurtured, and only in autumn it is transformed. This is the wasp comb.’ The third read, ‘Long-legged and wary, it spits silk into a web. It roams for food in every net; it profits in the dark of night. This is the spider.’ The whole assembly was astonished.

"In a village an old woman had lost a cow and asked Guan to divine. He said, ‘On the north bank of the stream, seven men have been slaughtered for cooking. Go quickly and look for them; the flesh is still on the hide.’ She rushed out and found seven men behind a thatched hut boiling meat, with flesh still on the skin.

She reported this to the county magistrate Liu Bin, who had them arrested. When he asked how she knew, she said it was by Guan Lu’s divine divination. Liu Bin did not believe her and summoned Guan, putting a seal packet and junglefowl feather in a box for him to divine.

Guan divined once more. ‘Interior square, exterior round, five colors make pattern. It holds treasure and keeps faith; when it is brought out it bears seal marks. This is the seal packet.’ Then he said, ‘A high looming ridge, a bird with red body; black and yellow wings, and it never misses its dawn cry. This is the junglefowl feather.’ Liu Bin was shocked and then received him as an honored guest.

"One day Guan took a leisurely walk outside the city and saw a youth plowing in a field. He stood by the road to watch him. After a while he asked, ‘Young man, what is your surname and age?’ The youth answered, ‘I am Zhao Yan. I am nineteen years old. Who is the master?' Guan said, ‘I am Guan Lu. I see a death aura between your brows; within three days you must die. You are handsome, but your life is short.’

Zhao Yan hurried home and told his father. The father came in panic and knelt to the ground before Guan: ‘Please, save my son!’ Guan said, ‘This is fate. How can it be averted?’ The father replied, ‘I have this only son. I beg you, show mercy.’ Zhao Yan also wept and begged. Seeing how deeply father and son were attached, Guan said, ‘You may prepare one bottle of clean wine and a slice of deer dried meat. Tomorrow go into Mount Nanshan. Beneath a great tree there is a broad rock where two men are playing yì. One sits facing south in a white robe and has a hideous face. One sits facing north in a red robe and has a beautiful face.

At the height of their game, kneel and offer them the wine and deer meat. When they have finished eating and drinking, kneel on the ground and beg for an extension of years. Your fortune will improve. But do not in any way tell anyone that I told you.'"

The old father kept Guan in his house for the night. The next day, Zhao Yan took cup, tray, and meat up into Mount Nanshan. After five or six li of walking, he found two men indeed playing chess beneath a great pine tree on a large rock. Neither of them paid attention. Zhao Yan knelt and offered the wine and meat. The two men were so absorbed they did not notice they had emptied both vessels.

Zhao Yan knelt and wept, imploring a longer life. The two men were startled. "You must have come from Guan’s instruction," said the man in red. "We have both accepted your bribe, so we must take pity on you." The white-robed man took records from his side and examined them and said to Zhao Yan, "You are nineteen this year and should die. I will add the character for nine to your character for ten, and your life will be extended to ninety-nine years. Return to Guan Lu and tell him you must not reveal this heavenly matter. If you do, Heaven will punish you." The red-robed man wrote with a brush, and then a fragrant wind passed by. Both men transformed into white cranes and rose into the sky.

Zhao Yan returned to Guan and asked what they had been. Guan said, "The red-robed one was the Southern Dipper. The white-robed one was the Northern Dipper." Zhao Yan asked, "I know the Northern Dipper has nine stars. How could there be but one person?" Guan said, "Scattered they are nine; gathered they are one. The Northern Dipper governs death, the Southern Dipper governs life. I have already added years to your tally. Why should you still worry?" The father and son thanked him.

After that, Guan Lu feared exposing such heavenly matters and no longer readily divined for common people. He now lived in Pingyuan. The Great King asked, ‘If you have all this, why does he not summon him now to ask our fortunes?’

Cao Cao rejoiced, so he sent men to summon Guan Lu. Guan Lu came and after kowtowing, Cao had him divine. Guan said, “These are magician’s illusions. Why should you be anxious?” Cao felt relieved and slowly became healthier. Then he asked Guan to divine the state of the realm.

Guan divined: “A pattern of threes and eights runs across the board, a yellow boar meets a tiger; to the south of Dingjun camp, one major force will be broken.” He then read the length and brevity of the ruling house’s fate and added, “In the Lion’s Palace, set your spirit-place in peace. The Kingly Way will renew and your descendants will be greatly honored.” Cao asked him for details. Guan said, “The vast numbers of Heaven cannot be known in advance. We will see by what follows."

Cao Cao asked to appoint Guan Lu as a senior clerk, but Guan refused. “My fate is meager. I am not fit for this post and dare not accept.” Cao asked why. Guan replied, “My forehead has no leading bone, my eyes no watchful pupils, my nose no pillar, my feet no heavenly root. My back has no three Jia and my belly no three Ren. I can handle ghosts in Mount Tai style, but not govern living men.”

Cao Cao asked, “How do you assess me?” Guan said only, “You are already at the highest rank among ministers. Why must I assess further?” After repeating the question many times, Guan only smiled and did not answer.

Cao ordered him to assess his civil and military ministers and officials. Guan said, “They are ministers for a stable age.” Cao asked about their fortunes; he refused to elaborate.

Later, people composed this verse in praise of Guan Lu:

At daybreak the divine diviner Guan Gongming could reckon the stars, from the southern and northern stars with the patterns of heaven, Mastering the hidden lines of the eight trigrams and the oracular depth, He probed the mystery of the six lines in heaven’s court. He foresaw his own craft and expected no ordinary lifespan, and he himself sensed a heart-source of rare responsiveness. Yet these wondrous arts of that earlier age, no later generation has inherited and passed down.

Cao Cao ordered Guan to cast for East Wu and West Shu as well. Guan arranged an oracle that said, “In East Wu, one major commander of Lu-kou will die; in West Shu, troops are violating the border.” Cao did not believe him. Soon a messenger came in haste: the governor of Lu-kou in East Wu, Lu Su, had died.

Soon after came a report that Liu Xuanbei had sent Zhang Fei and Ma Chao to hold troops at Xiabian. Cao Cao became furious and was about to personally lead troops back into Hanzhong. He ordered Guan to divine, and Guan said, “My lord, do not act recklessly. In the coming spring, fire will break out in Xu.”

Because Guan’s words had already proved true before, Cao Cao did not dare to act lightly. He stayed in Bei County and had Cao Hong lead fifty thousand men to assist Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He in jointly defending Dongchuan. He also sent Xiahou Dun with thirty thousand men to patrol to and from Xu, in case of emergency, and ordered his Chief Clerk Wang Bi to command the Palace Cavalry and horse guards.

The clerk Sima Yi said, “Wang Bi likes wine and is broad in temper; I fear he cannot bear this role.” Cao Cao said, “Wang Bi has followed me through thorns and hardships. He is loyal and diligent, hard of heart as iron and stone. He alone is fit to hold this position.” Thus he made Wang Bi command the palace guard forces, stationing them outside Xuchang’s Donghua Gate.

At that time there was a man surnamed Geng and called Ji, style Jixing, from Luoyang. He had once been an assistant in the Chancellery, then appointed to palace attendant of the Office of Master of the Household, and he was very close with Wei Huang, an officer in the Secretariat. After Cao Cao received kingly enfeoffment and moved with imperial carriage and robes, Geng was inwardly angry.

In the spring of the twenty-third year of Jian’an, in the first month, Geng Ji and Wei Huang discussed together: “Cao’s treachery and villainy are worse day by day. He will surely perform usurpation. We are ministers of Han. How can we join hands with evil?” Wei Huang said, “I have a trusted man named Jin He. He is a descendant of Grand Minister Jin Ridi and has long nursed a desire to strike at Cao. He is also close with Wang Bi. If we can cooperate, this major task will be accomplished.”

Geng said, “Since he is so close with Wang Bi, why would he conspire with me?” Wei Huang said, “Let us go tell him first and see what comes of it.”

So the two went together to Jin He’s residence. Jin He received them in the hall. They sat.

Wei said, “I, Wei Huang, and Wang Bi’s chief clerk are close. We three have come to ask.” He asked, “What do you ask for?” Wei said, “We have heard that King Cao will soon receive abdication and mount the Great Throne; the two of you and Wang Bi will both rise in rank. We hope he does not cast us off and that his grace will lift us up; your favor is no shallow thing.”

Jin He swept his sleeve and stood. At that moment a servant came with tea, and he poured it upon the ground. Wei, feigning surprise, cried, “Why, friend so dear, why such coldness?” Jin He said, “I shared fortune and misfortune with you as a near friend. Because we are descendants of Han ministers, do you ask me now to aid one who rebels? What face do I keep to call us friends?”

Geng Ji said, “When Heaven’s numbers are thus, one must follow.” Jin He became furious. Geng Ji and Wei Huang saw that he did have loyal righteousness, and they then told their real intent: they had come to recruit him; their earlier words were only a test.

Jin He said, “I have been a Han minister for generations. How can I join a bandit? You say you would support the Han house. What high plan do you have?” Wei Huang said, “We have loyalty to the state but not a plan yet.” Jin He replied, “I will combine inner aid with outer alliance. Kill Wang Bi, seize command, and support the Son of Heaven; at the same time ally with Liu, the Imperial Uncle, as outside support. Then Cao the bandit will be annihilated.” The two men heard this and praised him.

Jin He said, “I have two men in my heart, living outside the city, who share Cao’s slays with fathers murdered by him. They can be our wings.” Geng Ji asked who they were. He answered, “The sons of imperial physician Ji Ping: the elder is Ji Miao, courtesy name Wenzan; the younger, Ji Mu, courtesy name Siran. Cao once served the secret memorial of Dongcheng in his waist-rope mission and once killed their father. The two fled to distant districts and escaped danger. They have now returned secretly to Xu. If we can use them to strike at the brigand, they will not fail us.”

Geng Ji and Wei Huang rejoiced greatly. Jin He then secretly called the two men. Soon they came. He explained the situation. The brothers, moved to tears, were filled with resentment and swore to kill the traitor of the state.

Jin He said, "On the fifteenth night of the first month, the whole city will hang great lanterns and celebrate the Lantern Festival. Geng Shaofu and Wei Siji, each of you take your household retainers and strike to Wang Bi’s camp. When fires rise in his camp, strike in through two routes. After killing Wang Bi, go straight with me into the inner city and ask the Son of Heaven to climb the Wufeng Tower and summon the officials to issue commands to eliminate the bandit.

The Ji brothers will enter from outside the city and set fires as signal. Each of them should then raise shouting, call on the citizens to kill the national bandit, and block the rescue army inside the city. When the Son of Heaven issues an edict announcing the pardoning and settling, then ride out to advance on Yecheng and capture Cao Cao, and send a royal edict to call Liu the Imperial Uncle. Our meeting is fixed. At the hour of the second watch we rise together. Do not repeat Dong Cheng’s self-brought ruin."

The five men swore to heaven and sealed their covenant with blood and returned to prepare horse and gear.

And so Geng Ji and Wei Huang each gathered three or four hundred household retainers as prepared men and gear. Ji Miao and Ji Mu also gathered three to four hundred people and arranged a hunt for the day. Jin He came early to the City Guard command and said, “The realm is for now a little calm. The King of Wei has awe over all under Heaven. On this Lantern Festival should not pass by without lanterns; let it show peace and order.” Wang Bi accepted his words and ordered the residents to hang lanterns and revel in the feast.

On the fifteenth night the sky was clear and the moon and stars shone together. In six streets and three markets, flower lanterns competed in brilliance. The watch was truly relaxed, and the night bell failed to chime. Wang Bi and the Palace-guard generals feasted in camp.

After the second watch there came a cry from the camp and men reported that fire had broken out behind it. Wang Bi hurried out of his tent to see and found wild rolling flames. He heard continuous shouts and knew there had been treachery in camp. He hurriedly mounted his horse, then met Geng Ji by chance. An arrow struck his shoulder and he nearly fell from the horse. He then ran toward the west gate. A cart came running from behind.

Wang Bi in panic abandoned his horse and went on foot to the main door of Jin He’s house, where he pounded in fear. In the meantime Jin He had set fire to the camp and personally led household retainers to join the fighting, leaving only the women at home. When those in the house heard Wang Bi’s knocking, they assumed Jin He had returned home. Jin He’s wife called through the door, “Has that rogue Wang Bi been killed?” Wang Bi was shocked. He suddenly understood that Jin He was co-conspirator. He went straight to the house of Cao Xiu and told him that Jin He, Geng Ji, and their confederates had plotted rebellion.

Cao Xiu hurriedly donned armor and went up on horseback, bringing more than a thousand men to resist within the city. Fires now burned in all directions, the Wufeng Tower caught fire, and the Emperor withdrew to the inner palace. The Cao house’s trusted inner retainers held the palace gates to the death, and all that the city heard was the cry, “Kill all Cao the brigand and restore the Han house!”

Unbeknownst to them, Xiahou Dun, under Cao Cao’s command, had been patrolling at Xu with three divisions and had camped five li from the city. That night, from afar, he saw the city in flames and immediately led his troops forward, surrounding Xu, and sending one branch of the army inside for reinforcement.

Cao Xiu fought straight through to dawn. No one came to aid Geng Ji or Wei Huang. Reports came that Jin He and the two Ji brothers had been reported dead. Geng Ji and Wei Huang broke out by force through the gates, only to meet Xiahou Dun’s encircling army. They were captured alive; over a hundred of their men were all killed. Xiahou Dun entered the city, quelled the remaining fires, and seized the old and young of the five households. He then sent a fast report to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao ordered that Geng Ji and Wei Huang and the five households of close families, old and young, all be beheaded in the market, and that all high and low officials in court be arrested and carried to Ye Commandery to await judgment.

When Xiahou Dun brought Geng Ji and Wei Huang to the market before Cao, Geng Ji shouted loudly, “Cao Aman, I could not kill you while alive. I will become a fierce ghost when I die and strike the brigand from the dead!” Executioners prodded their blades through his mouth and he bled all over the ground, cursing until he died. Wei Huang struck his cheek down to the ground and said, “How hateful! How hateful!” and as he bit his own teeth, they shattered and he died.

Later, people praised them in verse:

Geng Ji was upright and faithful; Wei Huang was wise. Each held empty hands and sought to uphold Heaven. How could they know Han fortune was nearly gone? Resentment filled their chests as they sank to the Nine Springs.

Xiahou Dun beheaded the five families of all their close households and sent the captured officials to Ye Commandery. Cao Cao set one red flag on his left and one white on his right in the military yard and ordered:

Geng Ji, Wei Huang, and those who rebelled with them set Xu afire. Among you, some rescued the fires, others shut their doors and went out. Stand under the red flag if you ever put out the fire; stand under the white flag if you did not.

All officials thought: surely those who rescued fire would be without fault, and they therefore ran under the red flag in multitudes. In all three divisions, only one line stood beneath the white.

Cao ordered all who had stood under red to be arrested. Every one of the officials said they were blameless. Cao said, “The heart you had at the time was not to rescue the fire; it was truly to aid the bandit.” He then ordered all of them dragged to the banks of the Zhang River and beheaded, three hundred and more dead.

Those who had stood beneath the white were all rewarded and sent back to Xu. By then Wang Bi had already died of infection from the arrow wound. Cao ordered that he be buried with honor. He made Cao Xiu oversee the Palace guards and horse troops, made Zhong Yao Chancellor, and Hua Xin Great Censor. He then formalized the peerage grades: eighteen levels of six ranks of marquisates, seventeen levels of Guanzhong marquisates—both with gold seals and violet sashes; then sixteen levels of inner-and-outer-Guanzhong marquises with silver seals, black turtle-knotted ribbons; and fifteen levels of five grand officers with bronze seals and linked-bronze cords.

He reformed the appointments in court and replaced another set of men with new ones. Cao Cao now grasped the truth of Guan Lu’s warning about the fire and therefore showered him with honors. Guan Lu accepted none.

Now Cao Hong reached Hanzhong, ordering Zhang He and Xiahou Yuan to hold all the key passes. Cao Hong himself advanced with troops to resist the enemy.

At that time Zhang Fei together with Lei Tong held Bashi. The cavalry reached Xiaobian, and he ordered Wu Lan to lead the vanguard, with a scouting column forward. Wu Lan met Cao Hong’s army and wanted to retreat. Yan General Ren Kui said, “The enemy cavalry has just arrived. If we do not first break its sharp edge, how can we look at Mengqi?”

So he spurred his horse and grabbed his spear and charged against Cao Hong. Cao Hong himself drew his knife and leapt on horseback. After three rounds of engagement he cut Ren Kui down beneath the horse and, with momentum, swept in with killing. Wu Lan was greatly defeated and returned to Ma Chao. Ma Chao rebuked him, "Why disobey my command and lightly meet them with such easy spirit?" Wu Lan said, “Ren Kui did not listen to my orders, and this is why we were defeated.” Ma Chao said, "Guard the pass closely and do not strike out in open engagement." He at once reported to Chengdu and waited for orders.

Cao Hong saw Ma Chao not advancing for days and feared some hidden design, so he withdrew his army back to Nanzheng. Zhang He came and asked him, "General, you already slew a commander. Why should we retreat?” Cao Hong replied, “Since he does not come out, I fear there is another design. I am in Ye Commandery, and I have heard Guan Lu, the divine diviner, say that at this place one major commander will be broken. I doubted it, and so I dare not advance lightly.”

Zhang He laughed and said, "I have lived half my life campaigning. Why now do you believe a diviner and let him cloud your mind? Though He is unfit, I, Zhang He, offer to take my own division and seize Bashi. If we take Bashi, the prefecture of Shu will fall easily." Cao Hong asked, “If we err, what then?” Zhang He answered, “I gladly accept the army’s order.” Cao Hong approved the written plan and Zhang He advanced.

As it was said:

Since ancient times, arrogant armies have often lost through pride. Those who underestimate the enemy rarely find success. How this turned out will be told in the next chapter.