The Three Kingdoms, Volume 3: Welcome the Tiger: The Epic Chinese Tale of Loyalty and War in a Dynamic New Translation by Luo Guanzhong Read Free Book Online Page A

ropes. Entangled in these, Guan Yu’s horse fell, throwing him reeling out of the saddle, and he was swiftly taken prisoner. Guan Ping, hearing of his father’s capture, flew to his rescue, but the two Wu forces came up and surrounded him on all sides. Alone, he fought them all to the last of his strength, then he, too, was captured. So father and son were both captives.
    With great joy Sun Quan heard of the success of his plans the next morning. He assembled all his officers in his tent to await the arrival of the prisoners. Before long, Ma Zhong, who had actually caught Guan Yu, came hustling his prisoner before him.
    “I had long admired you for your great virtue,” said Sun Quan to Guan Yu, “so I offered you an alliance through marriage. Why did you refuse? You always regarded yourself invincible—how come you are my prisoner today? Are you going to submit to me now?”
    Guan Yu answered, cursing indignantly at his enemy: “You blue-eyed brat! You red-bearded rat! I pledged in the Peach Garden with my sworn brothers to uphold the Hans. Do you think I will ever associate with a rebel like you? I am beguiled into your vile schemes, and I am ready to die. There is no need to waste time with words.”
    “He is a real hero, and I do admire him,” said Sun Quan to his officials. “I will treat him well and endeavor to win him over. What do you say to this?”
    One of them objected, “Remember how Cao Cao tried in vain to win him to his side. When Cao Cao held him he treated him lavishly. He made him a marquis; entertained him every three days with a small banquet and every five days with a big banquet; gave him gold and silver as presents. But in spite of all this, he failed to retain him at his side. Eventually he broke through his passes, slew his officers, and went away. Today Cao Cao is in such dread of him that he almost moved the capital to avoid him. Now he is in your power, destroy him at once, or you will be sorry. Evil will come if you spare him.”
    Sun Quan reflected upon this advice for some time.
    “You are right,” he said at last and gave the order for execution.
    So Guan Yu and his son were both killed. It was the winter of the last month of the twenty-fourth year of Jian An ( A.D. 219). Guan Yu was fifty-eight when he met his death.
    A poem says:
    Peerless indeed was Guan Yu of the latter days of Han,
Head and shoulders stood he out among the best;
Godlike and terrible he was in the arts of war,
Elegant and refined he was also well-versed in learning.
Resplendent as the noonday sun in the heavens,
Haloed as are the noblest of those early days,
He stands, the brightest model for all ages,
And not only for the strenuous days of his time.
    And another poem says:
    To seek a true hero, go to the ancient town of Jieliang,
See how all men revere Yun-chang.
By the Peach Garden oath he swore brotherhood with his prince,
And they enjoy offerings through all ages.
Incomparable, their aura spreads across the land;
Resplendent as the great lights of the firmament.
Temples to the noble warrior abound even today,
How many sunsets their venerable trees and birds have seen!
    So the great warrior ended his life. His famous steed, also captured with his master, was sent to Sun Quan, who gave it as a reward to its captor, Ma Zhong. But Red Hare survived its master only a short time. The faithful steed refused to feed and died a few days later.
    Foreboding of misfortune came to Wang Fu in Maicheng. His bones felt cold; his flesh crept; and nightmares visited him in his sleep. He told Zhou Cang of a terrible dream he had in the night. “I saw our lord standing before me, drenched in blood. I hastened to question him, but suddenly I woke up in fright. What could it mean?”
    Just then soldiers came to report the horrible news that the men of Wu had come to the city wall with the heads of their general and his son to call them to surrender. Wang Fu and Zhou Cang, terrified, hurried up to the wall to see for themselves.