Romance, Chapter 77

Chapter 77. On Mount Yuquan Guan Yu Manifests His Spirit; In Luoyang Cao Cao Is Awed by the God

Now Sun Quan asked Lü Meng for a plan. Lü Meng said, “I reckon that Guan, having few troops, will not flee by the main road. Due north of Maicheng there is a steep, narrow path, and he is sure to take it. Have Zhu Ran lead five thousand picked troops and lie in ambush twenty li north of Maicheng. When the enemy come, he must not engage them, but only fall on them from behind. They will surely have no heart for fighting and will make for Linju.

卻說孫權求計於呂蒙。蒙曰：“吾料關某兵少，必不從大路而逃，麥城正北有險峻小路，必從此路而去。可令朱然引精兵五千，伏於麥城之北二十里；彼軍至，不可與敵，只可隨後掩殺。彼軍定無戰心，必奔臨沮。

Then have Pan Zhang lead five hundred picked troops and lie in ambush on the remote mountain path at Linju, and Guan can be taken. Now send officers and men to attack every gate but leave the north gate open, and wait for him to break out.” Having heard the plan, Sun Quan had Lü Fan divine once more. When the hexagram was formed, Lü Fan reported, “This hexagram means that the enemy will flee to the northwest, and tonight at the hour of hai he will certainly be taken.” Sun Quan was delighted, and ordered Zhu Ran and Pan Zhang to lead two bodies of picked troops and go to their ambushes as ordered.

卻令潘璋引精兵五百，伏於臨沮山僻小路，關某可擒矣。今遣將士各門攻打，只空北門，待其出走。”權聞計，令呂範再卜之。卦成，範告曰：“此卦主敵人投西北而走，今夜亥時必然就擒。”權大喜，遂令朱然、潘璋領兩枝精兵，各依軍令埋伏去訖。

Meanwhile at Maicheng, Guan Yu mustered his horse and foot and found only some three hundred men left; and his grain and fodder were exhausted. That night the Wu troops outside the city called out the names of the soldiers in each unit, and a great many climbed over the wall and went off. Still no relief came. At his wits’ end, Guan Yu said to Wang Fu, “I regret that I did not take your advice before! Now we are in desperate straits. What is to be done?” Wang Fu wept and said, “In a plight like today’s, even if Ziya came back to life he could find no plan to use.”

且說關公在麥城，計點馬步軍兵，止剩三百餘人；糧草又盡。是夜，城外吳兵招喚各軍姓名，越城而去者甚多。救兵又不見到。心中無計，謂王甫曰：“吾悔昔日不用公言！今日危急，將復何如？”甫哭告曰：“今日之事，雖子牙復生，亦無計可施也。”

Zhao Lei said, “The relief from Shangyong has not come because Liu Feng and Meng Da are holding their troops back and will not move. Why not abandon this isolated city, hurry into Xichuan, and then come back with a new army to win back what was lost?” “That is just what I wish to do,” said Guan Yu. He went up on the wall to look. Seeing that there were not many enemy troops outside the north gate, he asked the people of the city, “What is the country like going north from here?” They answered, “From here on it is all remote mountain paths, but they lead through to Xichuan.”

趙累曰：“上庸救兵不至，乃劉封、孟達按兵不動之故。何不棄此孤城，奔入西川，再整兵來，以圖恢復？”公曰：“吾亦欲如此。”遂上城觀之。見北門外敵軍不多，因問本城居民：“此去往北，地勢若何？”答曰：“此去皆是山僻小路，可通西川。”

“Tonight we will take this road,” said Guan Yu. Wang Fu remonstrated, “There will be ambushes on the narrow path. You should take the main road.” Guan Yu said, “Ambushes or no, what have I to fear?” At once he ordered his officers and men, horse and foot, to make themselves strictly ready and prepare to leave the city. Wang Fu wept and said, “Take good care of yourself on the road, Your Lordship! I and my hundred or so men will hold this city to the death. Though the city may fall, I will never surrender! My only hope is that Your Lordship will come quickly to our rescue!”

公曰：“今夜可走此路。”王甫諫曰：“小路有埋伏，可走大路。”公曰：“雖有埋伏，吾何懼哉！”即下令馬步官軍：嚴整裝束，準備出城。甫哭曰：“君侯於路，小心保重！某與部卒百餘人，死據此城；城雖破，身不降也！專望君侯速來救援！”

Guan Yu too wept as he took his leave. He left Zhou Cang to hold Maicheng together with Wang Fu, and he himself, with Guan Ping and Zhao Lei, led the two hundred or so men who remained and broke out through the north gate. Guan Yu went ahead with his blade held crosswise. After the first watch, when they had gone some twenty li, gongs and drums sounded together from a fold in the hills, a great shout went up, and a body of troops appeared. At its head was the general Zhu Ran, who galloped forward, spear levelled, and cried, “Stop, Yunchang!

公亦與泣別。遂留周倉與王甫同守麥城，關公自與關平、趙累引殘卒二百餘人，突出北門。關公橫刀前進，行至初更以後，約走二十餘里，只見山凹處，金鼓齊鳴，喊聲大震，一彪軍到，爲首大將朱然，驟馬挺槍叫曰：“雲長休走！

Surrender now and save your life!” Guan Yu, in a fury, whipped up his horse and whirled his blade to fight. Zhu Ran at once fled, and Guan Yu pressed after him. A roll of drums sounded, and ambushers rose up on every side. Guan Yu dared not fight, and fled toward the narrow path to Linju, while Zhu Ran and his troops fell on his rear. The men following Guan Yu grew fewer and fewer. They had gone barely four or five li when shouting broke out ahead of them again, fires blazed up, and Pan Zhang came galloping at them, whirling his blade.

趁早投降，免得一死！”公大怒，拍馬輪刀來戰。朱然便走，公乘勢追殺。一棒鼓響，四下伏兵皆起。公不敢戰，望臨沮小路而走，朱然率兵掩殺。關公所隨之兵，漸漸稀少。走不得四五里，前面喊聲又震，火光大起，潘璋驟馬舞刀殺來。

Guan Yu, in a fury, met him with whirling blade, and after only three bouts Pan Zhang fled beaten. Guan Yu dared not linger in the fight and hurried off toward the mountain road. Guan Ping came up from behind to report that Zhao Lei had been killed in the melee. Guan Yu was overcome with grief and dismay. He ordered Guan Ping to hold the rear while he himself went in front to open the way; only ten or so men were left to follow him. They came to Jueshi, where there were hills on both sides, and along the hillsides grew reeds and withered grass and a dense tangle of trees.

公大怒，輪刀相迎，只三合，潘璋敗走。公不敢戀戰，急望山路而走。背後關平趕來，報說趙累已死於亂軍中。關公不勝悲惶，遂令關平斷後，公自在前開路，隨行止剩得十餘人。行至決石，兩下是山，山邊皆蘆葦敗草，樹木叢雜。

By now the fifth watch was nearly over. As they pressed on, a shout went up and ambushers poured out on both sides. Long hooks and lassos were thrust out all together, and first they tripped and brought down the horse Guan Yu was riding. Guan Yu was flung from the saddle and taken by Ma Zhong, a lieutenant of Pan Zhang. When Guan Ping learned that his father had been captured, he rushed to the rescue, but Pan Zhang and Zhu Ran came up behind with their troops and surrounded him on all sides. Guan Ping fought on alone until his strength gave out, and he too was taken.

時已五更將盡。正走之間，一聲喊起，兩下伏兵盡出，長鉤套索，一齊並舉，先把關公坐下馬絆倒。關公翻身落馬，被潘璋部將馬忠所獲。關平知父被擒，火速來救；背後潘璋、朱然率兵齊至，把關平四下圍住。平孤身獨戰，力盡亦被執。

At daybreak Sun Quan heard that Guan Yu and his son had been captured. Delighted, he gathered his generals in his tent.

至天明，孫權聞關公父子已被擒獲，大喜，聚衆將於帳中。

Before long Ma Zhong brought Guan Yu in under close guard. Sun Quan said, “I have long admired your great virtue, General, and wished to join our houses by marriage, as Qin and Jin once did. Why did you spurn me? You always thought yourself unmatched in all the world. How is it, then, that today you have been taken by me? Will you submit to Sun Quan now, General?” Guan Yu cursed him in a harsh voice: “Green-eyed brat! Purple-bearded rat! The Imperial Uncle Liu and I swore brotherhood in the Peach Garden and vowed to uphold the House of Han. How could I side with traitors to Han like you?

少時，馬忠簇擁關公至前。權曰：“孤久慕將軍盛德，欲結秦晉之好，何相棄耶？公平昔自以爲天下無敵，今日何由被吾所擒？將軍今日還服孫權否？”關公厲聲罵曰：“碧眼小兒，紫髯鼠輩！吾與劉皇叔桃園結義，誓扶漢室，豈與汝叛漢之賊爲伍耶！

I have fallen into your treacherous trap by mischance, and there is nothing left for me but death. What need for more words?” Sun Quan looked round at his officials and said, “Yunchang is a hero of his age, and I have a deep regard for him. I would treat him with courtesy and urge him to come over to us. What do you think?” His Recorder, Zuo Xian, said, “No. When Cao Cao had this man, he made him a marquis and granted him rank, gave a small banquet for him every three days and a great one every five, and presented him with gold when he mounted and silver when he dismounted. Yet for all such favour and courtesy, he could not keep him in the end. He let him go, slaying the guards of the passes and killing their generals as he went; and now Cao Cao has been hard pressed by him in turn, so that he all but moved the capital to escape his onslaught.

我今誤中奸計，有死而已，何必多言！”權回顧衆官曰：“雲長世之豪傑，孤深愛之。今欲以禮相待，勸使歸降，何如？”主簿左咸曰：“不可。昔曹操得此人時，封侯賜爵，三日一小宴，五日一大宴，上馬一提金，下馬一提銀：如此恩禮，畢竟留之不住，聽其斬關殺將而去，致使今日反爲所逼，幾欲遷都以避其鋒。

Now that you have captured him, my lord, if you do not do away with him at once, I fear you will be laying up trouble for the future.” Sun Quan pondered for a long while and then said, “You are right.” He ordered Guan Yu taken out, and so Guan Yu and his son were both put to death. It was the twelfth month, in the winter of the twenty-fourth year of Jian’an. Guan Yu was fifty-eight years old when he died.

今主公既已擒之，若不即除，恐貽後患。”孫權沉吟半晌，曰：“斯言是也。”遂命推出。於是關公父子皆遇害。時建安二十四年冬十二月也。關公亡年五十八歲。

A later poet lamented him thus:
At the close of Han no talent was his match;
Yunchang alone stood out above the crowd.
His godlike might could rouse the arts of war;
Refined as a scholar, he knew letters too.

後人有詩嘆曰：“漢末才無敵，雲長獨出羣：神威能奮武，儒雅更知文。

His heart was clear as a mirror beneath the sun in heaven;
His devotion to the Spring and Autumn Annals reached the clouds.
Shining, he stands as an example for all ages,
And not merely as the first of the Three Kingdoms.
Another poem says:
Among great men, all look back to the man of Xieliang of old;
Scholars and commoners vie to bow to Yunchang of Han.
In the Peach Garden, a single day made them elder and younger brothers;
For a thousand autumns he has received offerings as emperor and king.
His spirit, borne on wind and thunder, knew no equal;
His resolve hangs with sun and moon, shedding its rays.
To this day his temples fill the empire,
Where winter crows in ancient trees have watched how many sunsets?

天日心如鏡，《春秋》義薄雲。昭然垂萬古，不止冠三分。”又有詩曰：“人傑惟追古解良，士民爭拜漢雲長。桃園一日兄和弟，俎豆千秋帝與王。氣挾風雷無匹敵，志垂日月有光芒。至今廟貌盈天下，古木寒鴉幾夕陽。”

After Guan Yu’s death, his horse Red Hare was taken by Ma Zhong, who presented it to Sun Quan. Sun Quan at once gave it to Ma Zhong to ride. But the horse would not eat for several days, and died.

關公既歿，坐下赤兔馬被馬忠所獲，獻與孫權。權即賜馬忠騎坐。其馬數日不食草料而死。

Meanwhile in Maicheng Wang Fu was trembling in every bone and limb. He said to Zhou Cang, “Last night I dreamed that our lord stood before me covered in blood. I hastened to ask him what had happened, and suddenly I woke with a start. What can it portend, good or ill?” As they were speaking, word came that Wu troops were below the wall, holding up the heads of Guan Yu and his son and calling on the defenders to surrender. Wang Fu and Zhou Cang, horrified, hurried up onto the wall to look, and they were indeed the heads of Guan Yu and his son.

卻說王甫在麥城中，骨顫肉驚，乃問周倉曰：“昨夜夢見主公渾身血污，立於前；急問之，忽然驚覺。不知主何吉凶？”正說間，忽報吳兵在城下，將關公父子首級招安。王甫、周倉大驚，急登城視之，果關公父子首級也。

Wang Fu gave a great cry and threw himself from the wall to his death. Zhou Cang cut his own throat. So Maicheng too passed into the hands of Eastern Wu.

王甫大叫一聲，墮城而死。周倉自刎而亡。於是麥城亦屬東吳。

Now Guan Yu’s spirit did not disperse. Drifting and floating, it came straight to a certain place: a mountain in Dangyang County of Jingmen Prefecture, called Mount Yuquan. On the mountain lived an old monk whose name in religion was Pujing. He had formerly been the abbot of Zhenguo Temple at Sishui Pass; later, wandering the world like a cloud, he had come here, and seeing how bright the hills and fair the waters were, he had bound grass into a hermitage and settled. Every day he sat in meditation and pondered the Way, with only a young novice beside him, and they lived by begging their food.

卻說關公一魂不散，盪盪悠悠，直至一處，乃荊門州當陽縣一座山，名爲玉泉山。山上有一老僧，法名普淨，原是汜水關鎮國寺中長老；後因雲遊天下，來到此處，見山明水秀，就此結草爲庵，每日坐禪參道，身邊只有一小行者，化飯度日。

That night the moon was bright and the breeze was fresh. After the third watch, as Pujing sat silently in his hermitage, he suddenly heard someone in the sky crying out, “Give me back my head!” Pujing looked up intently and saw a man in the air riding Red Hare and carrying the Green Dragon Blade, followed on the left by a pale-faced general and on the right by a dark-faced man with a curling beard. Together they brought their cloud down to the summit of Mount Yuquan.

是夜月白風清，三更已後，普淨正在庵中默坐，忽聞空中有人大呼曰：“還我頭來！”普淨仰面諦視，只見空中一人，騎赤兔馬，提青龍刀，左有一白麪將軍、右有一黑臉虯髯之人相隨，一齊按落雲頭，至玉泉山頂。

Pujing recognized Guan Yu, and struck the door with the whisk in his hand, saying, “Where is Yunchang?” At once Guan Yu’s heroic spirit understood. He dismounted, rode the wind down before the hermitage, and folding his hands in salute he asked, “Who are you, master? Tell me your name in religion, I pray.” Pujing said, “I, the old monk, am Pujing. Once, long ago, I met Your Lordship at Zhenguo Temple before Sishui Pass. Have you forgotten me already?” Guan Yu said, “You saved me then, and I have never forgotten it.

普淨認得是關公，遂以手中麈尾擊其戶曰：“雲長安在？”關公英魂頓悟，即下馬乘風落於庵前，叉手問曰：“吾師何人？願求法號。”普淨曰：“老僧普淨，昔日汜水關前鎮國寺中，曾與君侯相會，今日豈遂忘之耶？”公曰：“向蒙相救，銘感不忘。

Now I have met with disaster and died. I beg you to give me your pure teaching and show me the way out of my confusion.” Pujing said, “Past wrongs and present rights, let none of it be argued. What comes after is the fruit of what went before, and the one never fails the other. Now, General, you have been killed by Lü Meng, and you cry aloud, ‘Give me back my head!’ But then, from whom shall Yan Liang, Wen Chou, the six generals of the five passes and all the others seek their heads?” At this Guan Yu was suddenly enlightened. He bowed his head to the ground, took refuge in the Buddha’s teaching, and departed.

今某已遇禍而死，願求清誨，指點迷途。”普淨曰：“昔非今是，一切休論；後果前因，彼此不爽。今將軍爲呂蒙所害，大呼還我頭來，然則顏良、文醜，五關六將等衆人之頭，又將向誰索耶？”於是關公恍然大悟，稽首皈依而去。

After that he often manifested himself on Mount Yuquan to protect the people, and the local folk, moved by his goodness, built a temple on the summit and offered sacrifices in all four seasons. A later hand inscribed a couplet in his temple:
Red of face, he kept a heart of red; riding Red Hare, swift as the wind,
In all his galloping he never forgot the Red Emperor.
By a green lamp he read the green-bamboo annals; leaning on the Green Dragon Crescent Blade,
Even in hidden places he had nothing to be ashamed of before the blue-green heaven.

後往往於玉泉山顯聖護民，鄉人感其德，就於山頂上建廟，四時致祭。後人題一聯於其廟雲：“赤面秉赤心、騎赤兔追風，馳驅時無忘赤帝，青燈觀青史、仗青龍偃月，隱微處不愧青天。”

Now having killed Guan Yu, Sun Quan took over all the land of Jingxiang. He rewarded and feasted the three armies and gave a great banquet for his generals to celebrate their success. Seating Lü Meng in the place of honour, he looked round at his generals and said, “For a long time I could not get Jingzhou, and now I have had it as easily as spitting on my palm. It is all Ziming’s doing.” Lü Meng declined the praise again and again. Sun Quan said, “Zhou Yu in his day surpassed all men in bold strategy and crushed Cao Cao at the Red Cliffs, but by misfortune he died young, and Lu Zijing took his place.

卻說孫權既害了關公，遂盡收荊襄之地，賞犒三軍，設宴大會諸將慶功；置呂蒙於上位，顧謂衆將曰：“孤久不得荊州，今唾手而得，皆子明之功也。”蒙再三遜謝。權曰：“昔周郎雄略過人，破曹操於赤壁，不幸早夭，魯子敬代之。

When Zijing first met me, he spoke at once of the grand strategy of an emperor; that was his first stroke of brilliance. When Cao Cao came east, everyone urged me to surrender, and Zijing alone urged me to summon Gongjin and strike back; that was his second. His one shortcoming was that he urged me to lend Jingzhou to Liu Bei. Now Ziming has laid his plans and settled his schemes and taken Jingzhou at a stroke. He far surpasses Zijing and Zhou Yu!” Then with his own hands he poured a cup of wine and presented it to Lü Meng.

子敬初見孤時，便及帝王大略，此一快也；曹操東下，諸人皆勸孤降，子敬獨勸孤召公瑾逆而擊之，此二快也；惟勸吾借荊州與劉備，是其一短。今子明設計定謀，立取荊州，勝子敬、周郎多矣！”於是親酌酒賜呂蒙。

Lü Meng took the cup and was about to drink when he suddenly flung it to the ground, seized Sun Quan with one hand, and cursed him in a terrible voice: “Green-eyed brat! Purple-bearded rat! Do you know me now?” The generals were aghast. As they rushed to help, Lü Meng thrust Sun Quan down, strode forward and sat in Sun Quan’s seat. His eyebrows bristled upward and his eyes glared wide as he roared, “Since I crushed the Yellow Scarves I have ranged across the empire for more than thirty years, and now in a single morning you have brought me down with your treacherous scheme. I could not devour your flesh while I lived, but in death I shall hunt down the soul of that villain Lü!

呂蒙接酒欲飲，忽然擲杯於地，一手揪住孫權，厲聲大罵曰：“碧眼小兒！紫髯鼠輩！還識我否？”衆將大驚，急救時，蒙推倒孫權，大步前進，坐於孫權位上，兩眉倒豎，雙眼圓睜，大喝曰：“我自破黃巾以來，縱橫天下三十餘年，今被汝一旦以奸計圖我，我生不能啖汝之肉，死當追呂賊之魂！

I am Guan Yunchang, Marquis of Hanshouting!” Sun Quan, terrified, hastily led all his officers and men, high and low, in bowing to the ground. Then Lü Meng fell to the floor with blood streaming from the seven openings of his head, and died. Not one of the generals who saw it was not struck with fear. Sun Quan had Lü Meng’s body laid in a coffin and buried, conferred on him posthumously the titles of Prefect of Nan Commandery and Marquis of Chanling, and ordered his son Lü Ba to inherit his rank. From then on Sun Quan was deeply shaken by what had happened with Guan Yu, and could not get over his astonishment.

我乃漢壽亭侯關雲長也。”權大驚，慌忙率大小將士，皆下拜。只見呂蒙倒於地上，七竅流血而死。衆將見之，無不恐懼。權將呂蒙屍首，具棺安葬，贈南郡太守、孱陵侯；命其子呂霸襲爵。孫權自此感關公之事，驚訝不已。

Suddenly it was announced that Zhang Zhao had come from Jianye. Sun Quan called him in and asked his views. Zhang Zhao said, “Now that you have destroyed Guan Yu and his son, my lord, disaster is not far off for Jiangdong! When this man swore brotherhood with Liu Bei in the Peach Garden, they vowed to live and die together. Liu Bei now has the armies of Dongchuan and Xichuan, and besides that the counsel of Zhuge Liang and the valour of Zhang, Huang, Ma and Zhao. If Liu Bei learns that Yunchang and his son have been killed, he is sure to raise every soldier in his realm and throw all his strength into avenging them. I fear Eastern Wu will be hard put to withstand him.”

忽報張昭自建業而來。權召入問之。昭曰：“今主公損了關公父子，江東禍不遠矣！此人與劉備桃園結義之時，誓同生死。今劉備已有兩川之兵；更兼諸葛亮之謀，張、黃、馬、趙之勇。備若知雲長父子遇害，必起傾國之兵，奮力報仇，恐東吳難與敵也。”

When Sun Quan heard this he was greatly alarmed. Stamping his foot, he said, “I have miscalculated! What is to be done now?” Zhang Zhao said, “Do not be anxious, my lord. I have a plan that will keep the armies of Western Shu from attacking Eastern Wu and make Jingzhou as secure as a rock.” Sun Quan asked what the plan was. Zhang Zhao said, “Cao Cao now commands a host of a million and glares like a tiger over the whole Middle Kingdom. Liu Bei, in his haste for vengeance, is sure to make peace with Cao Cao. If the two of them join forces and come against us, Eastern Wu will be in peril.

權聞之大驚，跌足曰：“孤失計較也！似此如之奈何？”昭曰：“主公勿憂。某有一計，令西蜀之兵不犯東吳，荊州如磐石之安。”權問何計。昭曰：“今曹操擁百萬之衆，虎視華夏，劉備急欲報仇，必與操約和。若二處連兵而來，東吳危矣。

Better to send someone first to pass Guan Yu’s head on to Cao Cao, and let Liu Bei plainly understand that it was Cao Cao who put us up to it. Then Liu Bei will hate Cao Cao bitterly, and the armies of Western Shu will turn not against Wu but against Wei. We can watch who wins and loses, and take our chance in between. This is the best plan.”

不如先遣人將關公首級，轉送與曹操，明教劉備知是操之所使，必痛恨於操，西蜀之兵，不向吳而向魏矣。吾乃觀其勝負，於中取事。此爲上策。”

Sun Quan followed this advice. He at once sent an envoy with Guan Yu’s head in a wooden box, travelling day and night to deliver it to Cao Cao. Cao Cao had by then withdrawn his army from Mopi and returned to Luoyang. When he heard that Eastern Wu had sent Guan Yu’s head, he said with delight, “Now that Yunchang is dead, I can sleep soundly at night.” A man stepped forward from below the steps and said, “This is a scheme of Eastern Wu to shift the disaster onto you.” Cao Cao looked and saw that it was his Recorder, Sima Yi. When Cao Cao asked what he meant, Sima Yi said, “When Liu, Guan and Zhang swore brotherhood in the Peach Garden, they vowed to live and die together.

權從其言，隨遣使者以木匣盛關公首級，星夜送與曹操。時操從摩陂班師回洛陽，聞東吳送關公首級至，喜曰：“雲長已死，吾夜眠貼席矣。”階下一人出曰：“此乃東吳移禍之計也。”操視之，乃主簿司馬懿也。操問其故，懿曰：“昔劉、關、張三人桃園結義之時，誓同生死。

Now Eastern Wu has killed Guan Yu and, fearing revenge, has presented his head to Your Highness to make Liu Bei turn his anger on you and attack Wei instead of Wu, while they take their chance to work their own ends in between.” “Zhongda is right,” said Cao Cao. “What plan shall I use to get out of this?” Sima Yi said, “It is very easy. Have a body carved from fragrant wood to go with Guan Yu’s head, Your Highness, and bury him with the rites due to a great minister. When Liu Bei learns of it he will hate Sun Quan deeply and throw all his strength into a campaign against the south.

今東吳害了關公，懼其復仇，故將首級獻與大王，使劉備遷怒大王，不攻吳而攻魏，他卻於中乘便而圖事耳。”操曰：“仲達之言是也。孤以何策解之？”懿曰：“此事極易。大王可將關公首級，刻一香木之軀以配之，葬以大臣之禮；劉備知之，必深恨孫權，盡力南征。

Then we can watch who wins and who loses! If Shu wins, we strike Wu; if Wu wins, we strike Shu. Once we have one of the two, the other will not last long either.” Cao Cao was delighted and adopted the plan. He summoned the Wu envoy, who presented the wooden box. Cao Cao opened it and looked: Guan Yu’s face was just as it had been in life. Cao Cao laughed and said, “Lord Yunchang, I trust you have been well since we parted!” Before he had finished speaking, Guan Yu’s mouth opened and his eyes moved, and his beard and hair all bristled. Cao Cao fell down in terror.

我卻觀其勝負！蜀勝則擊吳，吳勝則擊蜀。二處若得一處，那一處亦不久也。”操大喜，從其計，遂召吳使入。呈上木匣，操開匣視之，見關公面如平日。操笑曰：“雲長公別來無恙！”言未訖，只見關公口開目動，鬚髮皆張，操驚倒。

His officials hurried to revive him, and only after a long while did he come to. He looked round at them and said, “General Guan is truly a god of heaven!” The Wu envoy then told Cao Cao how Guan Yu had manifested himself, taken possession of a man’s body, cursed Sun Quan and hunted down Lü Meng’s soul. Cao Cao was more frightened than ever. He set out sacrificial animals and wine and made offerings, had a body carved of aloeswood, and buried Guan Yu outside the south gate of Luoyang with the rites of a prince. He had all his officials, high and low, attend the funeral, himself bowed and made offerings, conferred on Guan Yu the posthumous title King of Jing, and appointed officials to guard the tomb. Then he sent the Wu envoy back to Jiangdong.

衆官急救，良久方醒，顧謂衆官曰：“關將軍真天神也！”吳使又將關公顯聖附體、罵孫權追呂蒙之事告操。操愈加恐懼，遂設牲醴祭祀，刻沉香木爲軀，以王侯之禮，葬於洛陽南門外，令大小官員送殯，操自拜祭，贈爲荊王，差官守墓；即遣吳使回江東去訖。

Now when the King of Hanzhong returned from Dongchuan to Chengdu, Fa Zheng submitted, “Your Highness’s first lady has passed away, and Lady Sun has gone back to the south and may never return. The bonds of human relations must not be neglected. You must take a royal consort to help you manage the inner household.” The King of Hanzhong agreed, and Fa Zheng submitted further, “Wu Yi has a younger sister who is both beautiful and wise. I once heard that a physiognomist read her face and said she would one day attain great honour. She was betrothed to Liu Mao, son of Liu Yan, but Liu Mao died young.

卻說漢中王自東川回成都，法正奏曰：“王上先夫人去世；孫夫人又南歸。未必再來。人倫之道，不可廢也，必納王妃，以襄內政。”漢中王從之，法正復奏曰：“吳懿有一妹，美而且賢。嘗聞有相者，相此女後必大貴。先曾許劉焉之子劉瑁，瑁早夭。

She has lived as a widow ever since, and Your Highness might take her as your consort.” The King of Hanzhong said, “Liu Mao was of the same clan as I. It would not be right.” Fa Zheng said, “As to closeness of kinship, how is this any different from Duke Wen of Jin and Huai Ying?” So the King of Hanzhong consented and took the Lady Wu as his queen. She later bore him two sons: the elder, Liu Yong, styled Gongshou, and the younger, Liu Li, styled Fengxiao.

其女至今寡居，大王可納之爲妃。”漢中王曰：“劉瑁與我同宗，於理不可。”法正曰：“論其親疏，何異晉文之與懷嬴乎？”漢中王乃依允，遂納吳氏爲王妃。後生二子：長劉永，字公壽；次劉理，字奉孝。

Meanwhile in both Dongchuan and Xichuan the people were at peace, the state prospered and the crops were abundant. Then someone came from Jingzhou saying that Eastern Wu had sought a marriage alliance with Guan Yu and that Guan Yu had flatly refused. Kongming said, “Jingzhou is in danger! We should send someone to relieve Guan Yu and bring him back.” While they were discussing this, messengers bearing news of victories in Jingzhou arrived one after another. Within a day Guan Xing came and gave a full account of how the seven armies had been drowned. Then a courier galloped in to report that Guan Yu had set up many beacon towers along the river bank and was keeping a very close watch, so that nothing could possibly go wrong. So Xuande set his mind at rest.

且說東西兩川，民安國富，田禾大成。忽有人自荊州來，言東吳求婚於關公，關公力拒之。孔明曰：“荊州危矣！可使人替關公回。”正商議間，荊州捷報使命，絡繹而至。不一日，關興到，具言水淹七軍之事。忽又報馬到來，報說關公於江邊多設墩臺，提防甚密，萬無一失。因此玄德放心。

Then one day Xuande felt his whole body trembling and could not be at ease whether he walked or sat. When night came he could not sleep peacefully, so he rose and sat in his inner chamber, reading by candlelight. His mind grew clouded, and he leaned on the table and fell asleep. Then a cold wind rose in the room; the lamp went out and flared up again, and raising his head he saw a man standing beneath it. Xuande asked, “Who are you, that you come to my inner chamber in the dead of night?” The man did not answer. Puzzled, Xuande rose to look for himself, and saw that it was Guan Yu, shrinking this way and that in the shadow of the lamp to avoid him.

忽一日，玄德自覺渾身肉顫，行坐不安；至夜，不能寧睡，起坐內室，秉燭看書，覺神思昏迷，伏几而臥；就室中起一陣冷風，燈滅復明，抬頭見一人立於燈下。玄德問曰：“汝何人，夤夜至吾內室？”其人不答。玄德疑怪，自起視之，乃是關公，於燈影下往來躲避。

Xuande said, “Worthy brother, I trust you have been well since we parted! You would not come here so late at night without some grave cause. You and I are as close as flesh and blood. Why do you avoid me?” Guan Yu said, weeping, “I beg you, brother, raise an army and avenge my wrongs!” With these words a cold wind blew up suddenly, and Guan Yu vanished. Xuande woke with a start; it had been a dream. It was just the third watch. Deeply troubled, Xuande hurried out to the front hall and sent for Kongming. When Kongming came in, Xuande told him in detail about the warning in his dream.

玄德曰：“賢弟別來無恙！夜深至此，必有大故。吾與汝情同骨肉，因何迴避？”關公泣告曰：“願兄起兵，以雪弟恨！”言訖，冷風驟起，關公不見。玄德忽然驚覺，乃是一夢。時正三鼓。玄德大疑，急出前殿，使人請孔明來。孔明入見，玄德細言夢警。

Kongming said, “Your Highness has been thinking of Guan Yu, and that is why you had this dream. Why be so troubled by it?” Xuande remained uneasy and full of doubts, and Kongming soothed him with kind words. Kongming took his leave and had just come outside the middle gate when he met Xu Jing. Xu Jing said, “I have just been to the Director of Strategy’s residence to report a secret matter, and hearing that you had gone into the palace, I came here on purpose.” “What secret matter?” asked Kongming. Xu Jing said, “I have just heard people outside saying that Lü Meng of Eastern Wu has already taken Jingzhou by surprise and that Guan Yu has been killed!

孔明曰：“此乃王上心思關公，故有此夢。何必多疑？”玄德再三疑慮，孔明以善言解之。孔明辭出，至中門外，迎見許靖。靖曰：“某才赴軍師府下報一機密，聽知軍師入宮，特來至此。”孔明曰：“有何機密？”靖曰：“某適聞外人傳說，東吳呂蒙已襲荊州，關公已遇害！

So I came especially to tell you in secret, Director of Strategy.” Kongming said, “When I observed the heavens at night, I saw a general’s star fall over the land of Jing and Chu. I knew then that Yunchang must have met with disaster, but I was afraid of distressing His Highness, so I did not dare to speak.”

故特來密報軍師。”孔明曰：“吾夜觀天象，見將星落於荊楚之地，已知雲長必然被禍，但恐王上憂慮，故未敢言。”

While the two were talking, a man suddenly came round from inside the hall and caught hold of Kongming’s sleeve, saying, “Such dreadful news, and you would hide it from me!” Kongming looked and saw that it was Xuande. Kongming and Xu Jing submitted, “What we were saying just now is only hearsay and not to be relied on. We beg Your Highness to take heart and not give way to anxiety.” Xuande said, “Yunchang and I swore to live and die together. If anything has happened to him, how could I go on living alone?”

二人正說之間，忽然殿內轉出一人，扯住孔明衣袖而言曰：“如此凶信，公何瞞我！”孔明視之，乃玄德也。孔明、許靖奏曰：“適來所言，皆傳聞之事，未足深信。願王上寬懷，勿生憂慮。”玄德曰：“孤與雲長，誓同生死；彼若有失，孤豈能獨生耶！”

While Kongming and Xu Jing were trying to console him, an attendant suddenly announced, “Ma Liang and Yi Ji have arrived.” Xuande hastily called them in and questioned them. The two told him fully how Jingzhou had been lost and how Guan Yu, defeated, was asking for help, and they presented his memorial. Before Xuande could break it open, an attendant announced that Liao Hua had come from Jingzhou. Xuande hastily called him in. Liao Hua threw himself to the ground weeping, and gave a detailed account of how Liu Feng and Meng Da had refused to send relief troops. Xuande cried in alarm, “If that is so, my brother is lost!”

孔明、許靖正勸解之間，忽近侍奏曰：“馬良、伊籍至。”玄德急召入問之。二人具說荊州已失，關公兵敗求救，呈上表章。未及拆觀，侍臣又奏荊州廖化至。玄德急召入。化哭拜於地，細奏劉封、孟達不發救兵之事。玄德大驚曰：“若如此，吾弟休矣！”

Kongming said, “Liu Feng and Meng Da have behaved so disgracefully that even death would be too light a punishment for their crime! Set your mind at ease, Your Highness. I, Liang, will lead a brigade myself and go to relieve the crisis in Jingxiang.” Xuande wept and said, “If anything has happened to Yunchang, I will certainly not live on alone! Tomorrow I will lead an army myself and go to save him!” He sent men to Langzhong to inform Yide, and at the same time sent others to muster troops and horses.

孔明曰：“劉封、孟達如此無禮，罪不容誅！王上寬心，亮親提一旅之師，去救荊襄之急。”玄德泣曰：“雲長有失，孤斷不獨生！孤來日自提一軍去救雲長！”遂一面差人赴閬中報知翼德，一面差人會集人馬。

Before daybreak, report after report came in: Guan Yu had fled by night toward Linju and had been captured by Wu generals; true to his honour, he had refused to bend, and father and son had passed from this world. When Xuande heard this he gave a great cry and fell senseless to the ground.

未及天明，一連數次，報說關公夜走臨沮，爲吳將所獲，義不屈節，父子歸神。玄德聽罷，大叫一聲，昏絕於地。

Indeed:
Remembering how they once swore to die together,
How could he bear that one should give his life alone today?
What became of Xuande will be told in the next chapter.

正是：爲念當年同誓死，忍教今日獨捐生！
未知玄德性命如何，且看下文分解。