19

WEN YANBO HAPPENS TO MEET ZHUGE SUIZHI;

FISH SOUP LI OFFERS A PLAN TO CAPTURE WANG ZE.

POEM:

He serves by offering plans and strategies;

The demon rebels he must subjugate.

The blessings of the court last forever,

While rogues and villains meet a common fate.

Had Commander Wen not been destined to become prime minister, he might well have lost his life. When the wind sprang up and he was pelted with sand and gravel, he managed to escape from the battlefield, but when he turned and looked back, he saw no one following him—he was utterly alone. In his desolation and despair, he resembled

A phoenix fallen on a barren slope, all its feathers stripped away;

A dragon in a shallow pool bereft of the pearl beneath its chin;

The king of Shu in spring, mournfully crying blood;1

Song Yu in autumn, lamenting the vernal hues;2

Lü Qian without the dagger in his belt;3

Lei Huan after the sword of Fengcheng was lost;4

A flood dragon with neither clouds nor rain;

A boat stranded onshore without a wave.

As he rode along, he came to a hill covered in trees and realized that he didn’t know where he was. Reining in his horse, he rounded an outcropping of the hill and saw a flagpole and heard a bell tolling—he had arrived at a monastery. I have no choice, he thought; before deciding what to do, I shall need to go in and ask someone which road will take me back to camp. He dismounted in front of the monastery and went in. Coming upon a monk, he told him that he would like to see the abbot, and after the monk had gone in and reported the request, the abbot himself came out. He could tell at a glance that Wen’s armor and that of his horse were not those of a junior officer and concluded that he must be a general. Hastily pressing his palms together in greeting, he told a monk to lead the horse away while he invited Wen into his private quarters. He realized that his visitor must be famished and ordered the kitchen to prepare a vegetarian meal, in the meantime serving him tea. When Wen had drunk the tea, the abbot asked, “I wonder if you would tell me your name, General, and what it is that brings you here.”

“My name is Wen Yanbo.”

“Not the Commander Wen who won such distinction in conquering the Xi Xia?”

“The same.”

“I’ve long heard of your reputation, General. Our monastery is greatly honored by your visit. But why haven’t you brought any followers with you?”

“After Wang Ze of Beizhou started a rebellion, the court raised an army of a hundred thousand to subdue the rebels and appointed me as commander. This morning we met them in battle, and to our shock we suffered a major defeat. I fled, and ended up here.”

The abbot was astonished. “But with you as general and an army a hundred thousand strong—Beizhou is such a small place, it cannot have many troops—how did you happen to lose?”

“If it came down to fighting, they could never have gotten the better of us. But Wang Ze has a band of rebels with him who are adept at demonic magic. Whenever we fight them, they let loose weird ghosts and spirits as well as fierce animals from within their ranks, and our horses bolt at the very sight. Deputy Commander Cao Wei devised a plan to squirt the creatures with pig’s and sheep’s blood, horse’s urine and garlic. That enabled us to win one battle, and for several days after that the rebels did not dare come out to fight. Then a day or two ago I was in my command tent discussing tactics with my generals when the demons employed their black magic to bring a millstone crashing down out of the sky—fortunately, Argus-Eyed Spirit saved my life. This morning, while engaged in battle with the rebels, we were taken by surprise; a wicked wind sprang up out of the enemy ranks, with thunder and lightning in rapid succession as well as flying sand and gravel that caused havoc in our lines. I escaped alone and ended up here after losing my way. I hope that you will guide me back to the road I came on. Once I return to camp, I’ll see that you are handsomely rewarded.”

This account brought the abbot to his feet, striking his hands together in fury: “In an idyllic age like ours, with a saintly ruler and wise ministers, that these demons would even dare to cause trouble for the court! But Commander, I urge you not to worry. Let me exert myself on your behalf and smash their black magic, wiping out the whole rebel band.”

Commander Wen was greatly heartened by his declaration. “May I ask your honorable name?” he said.

“Zhuge Suizhi.”

Wen reacted with delight. “Argus-Eyed Spirit wrote these words for me: ‘If you meet up with three Sui, you will be able to take Beizhou.’ We’ve been puzzling over what he could have meant, but today heaven has arranged that I should meet you, Master. If you are willing to go back with me, and if we are able to take Beizhou, I shall memorialize the court, and the government’s response will be far from insignificant.”

“As a Buddhist I have no desire for wealth, honors, rank, or reward, but in a peaceful world like ours there is no place for demons such as these. I shall do my utmost to make a modest contribution by helping you suppress them. Let me invite you to spend the night here, and then tomorrow morning early we’ll go together to your camp.”

Commander Wen took off his armor, ate his supper, and spent half the night in discussion with the abbot. He slept until the fifth watch, then rose, washed, and ate a little breakfast. The abbot had a monk bring a horse from the monastery for himself, and with three monks holding torches they made their way to the camp. When the officers and soldiers saw Commander Wen coming, they were jubilant and welcomed him into the command tent. Deputy Commander Cao and the others asked, “You’ve been away all night, sir, and we’ve been at our wits’ end. We are wondering where you went after the rout, and why you brought this priest back with you.”

“Yesterday, when Wang Ze employed his black arts, an evil wind caused me to lose my way. I came to a monastery, where I met this holy man, and he told me that he is able to overcome the black arts. I believe he fits that prophecy that Argus-Eyed Spirit left us.” Whispering in Cao’s ear, he added, “His name is Zhuge Suizhi.”

Cao was overjoyed. Sending his staff away, he asked the priest, “Master, may I ask what divine art you possess that would overcome the demons’ evil?”

“I once met a person with supernatural powers who taught me the Rectifying Magic of the Five Thunder Gods’ Celestial Heart, and whenever I come across any of the black arts of Diamond Chan or the Heretical Way, I quote a mantra and am able to counter the evil and turn it to good. Should you doubt me, Commander, you will be able to see for yourself on the battlefield tomorrow.”

After inviting the abbot and the monks to stay in the headquarters that night, Commander Wen wrote out a challenge for the following day and gave it to a soldier to deliver. As soon as Wang Ze saw it, he wrote his reply on the document and sent it back by the same messenger. He then consulted with the demons: “In the battle we fought two days ago, we inflicted heavy losses on them, routing them completely, and yet today they have the nerve to come back and issue a challenge to us! We ought to use the same tactics as we used last time, pursuing and cutting them down all the way to the border, leaving not a single man alive out of the whole hundred thousand!”

We need not go into the details. Each side mustered its men and horses and awaited the next day’s battle.

On the following day Wang Ze led his troops out of Beizhou and took up battle formations. The two lines were directly opposite, their banners in full view of each other. Beneath the banners Wang Ze was once more to be seen, with his hair loosened and his feet bare, gripping a sword and leading a white horse. Muttering a formula, he stabbed the horse with his sword, caught some of the blood in his mouth, and spat it out. From his lines an evil wind sprang up full of sand, gravel, rain, and hail and advanced toward Commander Wen’s troops. Zhuge Suizhi saw it coming. He shook his long-handled bell and uttered a mantra, then pointed with the bell. In a flash the evil wind with all its sand, gravel, rain, and hail turned back and moved against Wang Ze’s lines. Wang saw how threatening the situation had become and hastily ordered a retreat. Commander Wen pointed with his whip and the three columns joined together in pursuing and slaughtering the fleeing soldiers. Wang Ze lost most of his force—countless numbers of soldiers were driven into the moat to drown—and he desperately rounded up the remaining men and horses, beaten and injured as they were, and raced into Beizhou, pulling up the drawbridge and locking the gates behind him. He mounted a strict guard on the gates and did not venture forth.

Commander Wen’s army brought its pursuit right up to the city wall, cutting off the heads, ears, and noses of the enemy dead and seizing their drums and banners. Commander Wen then ordered the gongs to be struck for withdrawal and set up camp not far from the wall itself.

After inviting Zhuge Suizhi to take a seat in front of him, he bowed and said, “This victory is entirely due to your efforts, Master. If we continue like this, the rebels will soon be destroyed.”

“I used right to destroy wrong,” said Zhuge, “which is always successful. With me in your ranks, you need hardly fear Wang Ze’s gang of demon magicians.”

Wen was delighted to hear this. “Wang Ze lost a battle today, and he’ll be guarding the walls with particular care,” he said, giving orders for a concerted attack on the city. But black clouds and mist covered the walls completely, and ghostly beings appeared in the sky along with venomous snakes and fierce animals. The army failed to seize the walls, losing many men and horses in the attempt, and after two or three days of fighting was still unable to take Beizhou. Wen ordered his hundred thousand men to surround the city and shout their war cries, but Wang Ze would not come out, and Wen was forced to withdraw his troops and return to camp, where his men once more rang their bells, shouted their commands, and observed the watches of the night. He took counsel with Deputy Commander Cao: “You and I have been given command of these hundred thousand troops, costing the court a vast amount in resources every day, and we’ll soon have spent two months trying without success to take Beizhou. What are we to do?”

“Don’t you worry, sir. Let me think of a plan.” He went back to his own troops, while Wen in his tent continued to fret. Slowly the night wore on.

Brightly shines the Milky Way;

Afar off sounds a water clock.

Moonlight floods the camp with icy brilliance;

A chill wind pierces the tents with night air.

At the honking of a wild goose,

The brilliant youth on his lonely bed is startled from his dream;

At the crickets’ dismal chirp,

The beautiful maiden, sleeping alone, is brokenhearted.

In the army the war drums’ beat goes on hour after hour;

In the distance the pounding on the washing slabs never ceases.

In figured eaves the wind chimes’ tinkling

Shatters the mood of the highborn lady;

Above the banners a flashing blue lamp

Reveals the soldiers’ deepest sighs.

The hearts of the demons and rebels are full of scorpion venom,

While the spirits of the loyal and righteous blaze forth in rainbow splendor.

That night Commander Wen tossed and turned, unable to sleep. At about the third watch, noting the utter silence outside, he got up and left his quarters to listen. Then, as the watch was about to be struck, he saw a soldier shaking a rattle as he came to take his turn; the soldier was singing a song in a low voice and keeping time with the rattle. Hearing this, Wen returned to his tent to sleep.

At dawn the following morning, when the officers presented themselves, Commander Wen took his place in the command tent, and the officers duly greeted him and drew themselves up along both sides. After he had issued his orders about military matters, Wen told his staff to summon the soldier who had sounded the third watch the previous night. The man was soon found and brought into Wen’s presence. “Were you the one who was singing a song while sounding the third watch last night?” he was asked.

“Sir, I was afraid I would fall asleep and miss the watch, and I sang that song to keep myself from nodding off.”

“Nonsense! You broke my army rules and you’ll have to be beheaded!” He gave orders to the executioners: “Take him away! Report back to me after you’ve cut off his head!”

“But sir! If you will forgive my crime, I’ll cut off Wang Ze’s head and present it to you!”

Wen had the man brought before him. “You’re talking rubbish, you knave! Here am I, in command of an army of a hundred thousand, and after two months here I am still unable to take Beizhou! How are you going to cut off his head all on your own?”

“He and I come from the same town, and we’ve been sworn brothers since we were very young.”

“What is your name?”

“Ma Sui.”

Wen was secretly thrilled. He definitely fits Argus-Eyed Spirit’s prophecy, he thought; if he goes there, he’s bound to succeed. “What scheme do you have for killing him?” he asked.

Ma Sui went up and whispered in his ear. “If I go, I’ll do thus and thus, and I’m sure to succeed in cutting off his head.”

At these words, Commander Wen flew into a rage. “Take him away!” he roared. “You knave! By imperial appointment I command an army of a hundred thousand, and I still have no plan for taking Beizhou. Who are you, that you dare to undermine my army’s rules by coming up with this sort of proposal? If I don’t have you beheaded, I shall never be able to maintain discipline in the army!”

As the executioners dragged Ma Sui away, the officers knelt down and pleaded with Wen. “Ma Sui deserves to be executed,” they said, “but executing him now will only hurt morale. We ask that you show leniency and postpone the punishment till later. There will be time enough afterward, when Wang Ze is defeated.”

But Commander Wen’s anger was not to be appeased, and the officers had to plead even more urgently before he relented. “If it were not for the sake of the officers, I would certainly have you beheaded,” Wen said to Ma Sui. “But since you’ve broken my rules, I can’t let you off entirely!” He ordered his men to give Ma Sui a hundred strokes as punishment. His men pulled Ma Sui over and had administered fifty of the strokes before the officers once more began pleading for mercy. Wen rose to his feet shouting, “Oh, leave off the other fifty, then!” and stalked into his tent fuming with rage.

The officers returned to their own quarters. “What bad luck!” said Ma Sui once he was back in his tent. “I was wrong to sing a song and anger Commander Wen. He would have had me beheaded, but the officers twice interceded for me, and I got fifty strokes instead!” He looked at the other men and heaved a deep sigh. That night he slipped out of the tent and went straight to the Beizhou city wall and shouted across the moat, “You up there on the wall! I have a secret matter of the utmost importance to report to your commander! Open the gate and let me in!” The guards reported to the officer in charge, who opened the gate and ferried Ma Sui across the moat in a small skiff. Needless to say, his men searched Ma Sui carefully but found no metal on him. When they saw the injuries he had suffered, they refrained from binding him but kept a close watch over him until dawn, then escorted him into Wang Ze’s presence.

Wang Ze recognized Ma Sui as a sworn brother from the same hometown. “It’s been a long time since we met,” he said. “So you’re in Wen Yanbo’s army? What brings you here to see me?”

“May it please, Your Majesty, I had lost all credit, serving in that army, and I didn’t dare to come and see you. But the night before last I was on duty at the third watch, and for fear of nodding off I was unwise enough to sing a song to myself. Commander Wen said I was undermining army morale and wanted to have me beheaded, but fortunately the officers pleaded for mercy and I received fifty strokes instead. Today I’ve come especially to offer you my allegiance. I hope you will accept me in your army as a common soldier; I’ll serve you with every ounce of my strength!” With that, he stripped off his clothes and showed Wang Ze the extent of his injuries, which were such that Wang could scarcely bear to look at them. He told Ma Sui to dress himself again and then invited him to sit by his side. “But Your Majesty is the ruler of thirty-six prefectures! If you will take me in, it is enough that I serve as your groom. I would never presume to sit beside you!”

“But we come from the same place, and we’ve been brothers from an early age. You’re not the same as other people.” Ma Sui had to take the seat that was offered him. Wang Ze called for wine to be brought and invited Ma Sui to drink while plying him with questions about the true nature of Commander Wen’s forces.

“Commander Wen had only fifty thousand men, which he misrepresented as a hundred thousand. In those defeats the other day he lost over ten thousand, so now he has no more than forty thousand. Yesterday they held an inventory of their supplies, and from what I hear they have only enough left for another ten days. If Your Majesty holds firm, within a dozen days or so his army will withdraw without a fight.” Wang Ze was so delighted with this report that he invited Ma Sui to stay overnight in the yamen. He also brought in a doctor to treat him, and day after day provided him with the best of wine and food, and before long Ma Sui had recovered from his injuries. Wang Ze had no inkling that his guest was employing a “suffer and betray” tactic, but much as Ma Sui wanted to kill Wang Ze, he had so far found no opportunity.

When Commander Wen observed that Ma Sui had been gone a long time and nothing had changed, he issued an order that his troops should approach the walls, beat their drums, yell out their war cries, and try to provoke a fight. Wang Ze came up onto the walls accompanied by a group of demons as well as Ma Sui, and leaning against a parapet and steadying himself on a railing, watched the soldiers below as they moved their scaling equipment close to the walls in order to launch an attack. Lame Priest and the other demons clicked their teeth and employed their magic, Wang Ze uttered his spells, and a host of weird spirits and ghosts, venomous snakes and wild beasts appeared, scaring the soldiers who attacked the walls into withdrawing, afraid to come any closer. Ma Sui was standing at Wang Ze’s side, and the thought occurred to him, if I don’t do it now, when will I? He saw that Wang Ze was guarded on each side by men armed with swords and broadaxes and would have liked to seize a sword and kill Wang, but he was afraid he might not succeed. Instead he made a tight fist, and just as Wang Ze was uttering a spell, he struck him full in the mouth, knocking out two of his front teeth and forcing him to close his mouth and fall down on top of the wall. Ma Sui was going to seize a sword from one of the guards and cut Wang Ze down, but a rebel officer loyal to Wang named Shi Qing drew his sword and severed Ma Sui’s arm with a single sweep of the sword. The other guards came rushing forward and seized him and helped Wang Ze to his feet. Wang was beside himself with rage and ordered his men to behead Ma Sui.

Ma Sui rounded on him: “I had no sword in my hand, and I failed to cut off the demon’s head and rid the people of the curse that plagues them. After my death I’ll turn into an avenging ghost and come and take your life!” The men pushed him away and carried out the beheading, and there we shall leave him.

Wang Ze’s lips had been split open by Ma Sui, and he could neither talk nor eat or drink. His men were greatly concerned about him as well as fearful lest the government troops attack, and they looked at one another in trepidation as they called in doctors to treat him. Wang Ze was in low spirits because of the pain, and nothing could lighten his mood. In the past he had particularly enjoyed one Fish Soup Li, an actor who played the comic role in the drama, and he called him in to raise his spirits. When Fish Soup Li visited, however, he remained silent. “Fish Soup,” said Wang Ze, “why aren’t you saying anything? What’s troubling you?”

“If Your Majesty is troubled, how can I not be troubled? We’re both breaking the law, and today even more troops are massing outside the walls ready to combine and attack the city. One of these days we’ll both be taken prisoner.”

“This odious creature is not merely refusing to entertain me, he’s being deliberately offensive!” shouted Wang Ze. He ordered his men to seize Fish Soup, and then had them bind him hand and foot and hang him over a catapult. He was to be shot over the wall and smashed to pieces when he hit the ground. His men bound Fish Soup up, hung him over the catapult, and pulled the lever on the carriage. There was a loud noise, and he shot out over the wall. By great good fortune, however, he happened to fall right into the river that ran alongside the moat.

From his quarters Commander Wen could see someone catapulted over the wall, and he at once sent men to investigate. When they had dragged the man ashore with the aid of a grappling hook, he was still alive, and they removed his bonds and brought him before the commander. “What sort of person are you?” he asked. “What’s your name? And why did they catapult you over the wall?”

“Commander, I’m a Beizhou actor named Fish Soup Li. I was unwise enough to admonish Wang Ze and urge him to surrender, and he got furious with me and catapulted me over the wall in order to smash me to death. By heavenly good fortune, I did not die. Instead I have been given this chance to meet you.”

“As an actor, how were you in a position to admonish Wang Ze?”

“Wang Ze had his front teeth knocked out by a punch from a man named Ma Sui. His lips were split open, and he could neither recite his spells nor practice his demonic magic, and he called me in to raise his spirits. I got carried away and urged him to surrender; otherwise, I said, he’d soon be taken prisoner. But the rebel refused to see the light and blamed me instead.”

Commander Wen was more than delighted to hear this. “You may be an actor,” he said, “but you certainly know what’s right and proper.” He told his staff to reward Fish Soup with wine and food, and when the man had finished, he asked him, “Since you’re an actor, you must have lived in Beizhou a long time and have an accurate knowledge of conditions inside the city.”

“Commander, ever since Wang Ze, the rebel leader, split his lips, he’s been unable to recite his spells—he’s quite useless. He has a very dangerous strategist with a game leg called Zuo Chu and also a state mentor, Pellet Priest, as well as others called Zhang Luan and Bu Ji, and three more—Zhang Qi, Ren Qian, and Wu Sanlang. And then there’s his wife, Eterna Hu, who’s well versed in demonic magic. Wang Ze depends entirely on this band of demons. Although he has over ten thousand troops under his command, they’re just a disorganized rabble not worth worrying about.”

“What’s the population of the city? What are the different wards, canals, and yamens like?” Fish Soup Li gave a full account of the city, and Commander Wen remarked, “This man has been sent by heaven to reveal these facts. Wang Ze can now be destroyed!”

As he spoke these words, an officer came in. “Commander, I can capture Wang Ze alive and bring him before you,” he said.

Commander Wen was delighted to see this man come forward. He matches what Argus-Eyed Spirit said, he thought: “Meet the three Sui and you can take Beizhou.” The officer in question was named Li Sui. Zhuge Suizhi had overcome the enemy’s magic and inflicted a severe defeat on them; Ma Sui had broken Wang Ze’s lip and rendered him unable to recite his spells and practice his demonic magic; and now the commander had met this third Sui, which was why he was so happy. “What plan do you have for capturing him?” he asked.

“I have five hundred sappers under my command. Now that Fish Soup Li has revealed the true situation inside the city, we’ll draw up a map showing all the wards and streets in their true proportions. Let me question him again as to the details, then use the map to calculate the relevant distances. I shall need only my five hundred sappers to dig a tunnel north of the walls. What’s to prevent us from entering Beizhou, going to Wang Ze’s headquarters, capturing the whole group of demons, and throwing open the gates to the army?”

Commander Wen was beside himself with joy. He rewarded both Fish Soup Li and Li Sui with a suit of clothes and appointed the former as a personal aide. He also ordered Fish Soup to give a detailed account of the situation of the yamen, the streets and the lanes, and told his mapmaker to draw a map to scale and give it to Li Sui. From the map Li Sui calculated distances and directions. “The tunneling has to be kept secret,” he said, “and it can’t be done in short order, either. I hope, sir, that you will see that all our forces are ready at all times so that they can come to our aid at a moment’s notice. I should also like to have Fish Soup Li with me as a guide.”

“You must take great care. If you manage to capture Wang Ze and retake Beizhou, I shall memorialize the court, and the honors you receive will be by no means insignificant.” He summoned the five hundred sappers and issued gifts to them before sending them off to do their work.

Li Sui was just about to set off when Zhuge Suizhi stepped forward. “Commander, even though General Li is able to dig a tunnel into the city, I fear that he will not be able to capture Wang Ze.”

“What makes you think that?”

“The people around Wang Ze in Beizhou are all demons. If General Li tunnels into the city, they’re sure to know and will start employing their demonic arts. Not only will he be unable to capture Wang Ze, he himself will be killed.”

“In that case, when will we ever be able to destroy these rebels?”

“There’s no need to despair, Commander. I shall need to go with him. By using right to destroy wrong, I shall render them incapable of employing their demonic magic, and they will all be captured.”

Commander Wen was overjoyed. “If you are willing to go, our great enterprise will succeed!” Zhuge Suizhi then prepared pig’s and sheep’s blood, horse’s urine, and garlic, and accompanied Li Sui out of the tent.

Li Sui consulted the map with Fish Soup Li, calculated the distance from the city wall, and together with Zhuge Suizhi gave directions to the sappers as they drove a tunnel into Beizhou. When they had tunneled to a point that Li Sui estimated was just beside the prefectural yamen, he told the sappers to come to the surface. As they broke through, he asked Fish Soup, “Where are we now?” Fish Soup took a look and found they were just in front of Wang Ze’s residence. It was the fourth watch, and with Fish Soup Li as their guide, they yelled their war cries and rushed into Wang Ze’s bedroom.

Wang Ze was accustomed to thinking like this: Since I have Zuo Chu, Pellet Priest, Zhang Luan, Bu Ji, and others here to help me, how could Commander Wen, even with his hundred thousand men outside the walls, ever get in here and do me any harm? As a result he had banished all worries from his mind and was making love to Eterna in a relaxed mood when suddenly he heard war cries in the building and was frightened out of his wits. Because a host of men rushed into his room to seize him, certain consequences followed—all the things he had done in the past came back to haunt him. In truth

You may flee as far as the farthest heaven,

But riding on clouds they will track you down.

Did Wang Ze and Eterna Hu survive? Turn to the next chapter to find out.