Peng Yang 彭羕

Peng Yang, courtesy name Yongnian, was a native of Guanghan. He stood eight chi tall and was of very imposing appearance. Arrogant by nature, he often made light of others, and the only person he respected was Qin Zichi (Qin Mi) of the same commandery. Recommending Qin Mi to the Administrator Xu Jing, he cited the precedents of Gaozong seeing Fu Yue in a dream and King Wen of Zhou seeking out Lü Shang, and said that if Xu Jing summoned Qin Mi, the recluse scholar of Mianzhu, he would gain a reputation for upright loyalty, achieve great merit, and make his name known to later ages. Records, Shu 10 §19–20

Peng Yang served in the province but was no more than an Assistant Clerk, and later he was slandered by many people before the Governor, Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang had Peng Yang's head shaved and an iron collar put on his neck, and made him a convict laborer. Records, Shu 10 §21

Just then the Former Lord entered Shu and was heading north upriver. Wishing to present his counsel to the Former Lord, Peng Yang went to see Pang Tong. He and Pang Tong were not old acquaintances, and Pang Tong happened to have guests, but Peng Yang went straight up onto Pang Tong's couch, lay down, and said they would have a good talk once the guests had left. When the guests had gone and Pang Tong came to sit with him, Peng Yang first demanded food before they talked together, and he stayed on for two nights, spending several days there. Records, Shu 10 §21

Pang Tong thought very highly of him, and since Fa Zheng had long known Peng Yang, the two together recommended him to the Former Lord. The Former Lord too found him remarkable and repeatedly had him convey military orders and direct the generals; as he carried out his missions to the Former Lord's satisfaction, the recognition and favor shown him grew day by day. Records, Shu 10 §22

In the 19th year of Jian'an (214), when Chengdu had been pacified and the Former Lord again took on the post of Governor of Yi Province, Peng Yang was promoted to Headquarters Officer. The Biography of the Former Lord records that Peng Yang, a man Liu Zhang had cast aside, was placed in a prominent post together with Dong He, Huang Quan, Li Yan and others whom Liu Zhang had employed, so that each could exercise his abilities to the full. Having risen in a single morning from a man who went about on foot to a position above the people of the province, Peng Yang became loud in manner and bearing, and his pride in the favor he received grew ever greater. Records, Shu 2 §33–34Records, Shu 10 §22

Although Zhuge Liang outwardly treated Peng Yang well, inwardly he did not approve of him, and he several times secretly told the Former Lord that Peng Yang's ambitions were large and his aims broad, so that he could hardly be kept safely in place. Since the Former Lord respected and trusted Zhuge Liang, he observed Peng Yang's conduct and gradually came to distance himself, demoting him to Administrator of Jiangyang. Records, Shu 10 §23

Hearing that he was to be sent far away, Peng Yang was privately displeased and went to see Ma Chao. When Ma Chao asked why, when he had been expected to run neck and neck with Kongming, Xiaozhi and the others, he had been given a small commandery, Peng Yang said, 'That old soldier is senile and perverse; what more is there to say!' and also, 'If you take charge outside and I take charge inside, the realm will not be hard to settle.' Ma Chao, who had come over as a wanderer and always lived in fear and insecurity, was greatly alarmed and made no reply, and when Peng Yang withdrew he reported his words in full in a memorial. Peng Yang was thereupon arrested and handed over to the authorities. Records, Shu 10 §24–25

From prison Peng Yang sent a letter to Zhuge Liang. He wrote that he had judged Cao Cao tyrannical, Sun Quan lawless and the General Who Spreads Awe benighted and weak, and that only their lord possessed the capacity of a hegemon-king; that he had put himself forward through Fa Xiaozhi and, with Pang Tong's mediation, met their lord at Jiameng and devised the plan for taking Yi Province. He explained that he had harbored resentment because he regarded himself as one of those who had first launched the great enterprise, and when there was talk of sending him out to Jiangyang his feelings were stirred; moreover, being rather drunk, he had carelessly let slip the word 'old.' Records, Shu 10 §26–28

As for the words about inside and outside, he wrote that he had only meant for Mengqi to win merit in the northern provinces and join forces with their lord to attack Cao Cao together, with no other intention; what Mengqi had reported was true, but he had not distinguished the meaning behind it. The letter recalls the vows he had once made with Pang Tong, urges Zhuge Liang to plan affairs well with their lord and bring the great design to fruition, and ends by asking him to understand clearly where his true heart lay. Records, Shu 10 §29–30

Peng Yang was in the end executed; he was thirty-seven at the time. In his assessment, Chen Shou said that Peng Yang and Liao Li advanced by being promoted for their talent, and that, looking at their conduct together with that of Liu Feng, Li Yan, Wei Yan and others, there was none whose invited misfortune and incurred blame did not come from himself. Records, Shu 10 §31 · 74