The Chain Stratagem

From the original

The Road Out of Chang’an

When Dong Zhuo in Chang’an heard that Sun Jian was dead, he grew more arrogant than ever. He styled himself Exalted Father and came and went with the regalia of the Son of Heaven. He made his younger brother Dong Min General of the Left and Marquis of Hu, and his nephew Dong Huang Palace Attendant in command of the imperial guards. Everyone of the Dong clan, young or old, was made a marquis.

Two hundred and fifty li from Chang’an he built a separate fortress, Meiwu, and set two hundred and fifty thousand labourers to work on it. Its walls stood as high and as thick as those of the capital. Inside rose palaces and storehouses, with grain laid up for twenty years. Eight hundred young women chosen from among the common people were put inside, and gold, jade, coloured silks and pearls were heaped there past counting. His family lived there too. He travelled back and forth to Chang’an every fortnight or every month, and the high officials had to wait outside the Heng Gate to see him off.

Dong Zhuo often set up tents by the road and drank with the officials. One day, when the whole court had come out to the Heng Gate to see him off, he kept them for a feast, and several hundred surrendered soldiers from the northern frontier happened to arrive. He ordered them maimed and killed there before his seat. Their cries shook the sky. The officials trembled and dropped their chopsticks, while Dong Zhuo went on eating, drinking, talking and laughing as before.

On another day he gathered the officials at the Secretariat, seated in two rows. After the wine had gone round a few times, Lü Bu walked straight in and spoke a few words in his ear. Dong Zhuo smiled. “So that is how it is.” He told Lü Bu to drag the Minister of Works, Zhang Wen, from the banquet. The officials went pale. Before long an attendant carried in a red tray with Zhang Wen’s head upon it, and they were out of their wits with fear.

Dong Zhuo smiled. “Do not be alarmed, gentlemen. Zhang Wen was in league with Yuan Shu and meant to do me harm. The letter sent to him was delivered by mistake to my son, so I had him beheaded. You have done nothing, and you have nothing to fear.” The officials murmured their assent and left.

From the original

The Sigh in the Garden

Wang Yun, the Minister of the Masses, went home and turned over what he had seen that day, and he could not sit still. Deep in the night, under a bright moon, he took his staff and walked into the back garden. He stood beside the rose trellis, looked up at the sky and wept. Then he heard someone by the peony pavilion, sighing long and deep.

He crept close to look. It was Diaochan, a singer of his household. She had been brought into the house as a child and taught song and dance, and she was as gifted as she was lovely. Wang Yun treated her as his own daughter. He listened for a long time, then called out sharply, “Insolent creature, have you some secret affair?”

Diaochan fell to her knees in alarm. “How would I dare?”

“Then why do you sigh so late at night?”

“Let me tell you what is in my heart.”

“Hide nothing. Tell me the truth.”

“You raised me, my lord, had me taught song and dance and treated me with every kindness. If I were ground to powder I could not repay a ten-thousandth part. Lately I have seen your brows locked with sorrow. I knew it must be some great matter of the state, and I dared not ask. Tonight again I saw you unable to sit or stand in peace, and so I sighed, never thinking you would see me. If there is any use you can make of me, I will not refuse, though it cost me ten thousand deaths.”

Wang Yun struck the ground with his staff. “Who would have thought the empire of the Han lay in your hands! Come with me to the painted chamber.”

From the original

A Chain of Schemes

She followed him in. Wang Yun sent every maid and concubine out of the room, seated Diaochan, and knocked his head to the floor before her. Diaochan, startled, threw herself down. “My lord, why do this?”

“Have pity on the people of the Han!” he said, and his tears ran like a spring.

“I told you just now,” she said. “Whatever you command, I will not refuse, though it cost me ten thousand deaths.”

Wang Yun knelt and spoke. “The people hang head down in their peril, and the court is a stack of eggs about to fall. No one but you can save them. The traitor Dong Zhuo means to seize the throne, and no one at court, civil or military, has any answer. He has an adopted son named Lü Bu, who is brave beyond the ordinary. I see that both of them are men who cannot resist beauty. So I mean to use a chain of schemes. First I will promise you in marriage to Lü Bu, and afterward I will present you to Dong Zhuo. Between them you will find your moment to set father and son against each other, and bring Lü Bu to kill Dong Zhuo and end this great evil. If the dynasty is raised up again, it will all be by your strength. What do you say?”

“I promised you, my lord, not to refuse, though it cost me ten thousand deaths. Offer me to them at once. I have my own way of doing it.”

“If this leaks out, my whole family dies.”

“Do not fear, my lord. If I fail the great cause, let me die under ten thousand blades.”

Wang Yun bowed and thanked her.

From the original

The Golden Crown

The next day he took several bright pearls from his family’s store, had a fine craftsman set them in a golden crown, and sent it to Lü Bu in secret. Lü Bu was delighted and came in person to give thanks. Wang Yun had the finest dishes ready. He met Lü Bu at the gate, led him to the inner hall and seated him in the place of honour.

“I am one officer in the Grand Tutor’s house,” said Lü Bu, “and you are a great minister of the court. Why pay me such respect?”

“In all the world today there is no hero but you, General. I honour not your rank but your talent.”

Lü Bu was delighted. Wang Yun kept filling his cup and praised the virtue of Dong Zhuo and of Lü Bu without end, and Lü Bu laughed and drank freely. Then Wang Yun sent the attendants away, keeping only a few maids to pour. When the wine was half gone he said, “Send for my child.” Soon two maids in blue led Diaochan out in her finest. Lü Bu asked in surprise who she was.

“My daughter Diaochan. You have honoured me with your regard, General, as if we were kin, so I have asked her to meet you.” He told her to serve Lü Bu’s cup, and as she offered it their eyes met and met again.

Wang Yun pretended to be drunk. “My child, press the general to drink a few cups. Our whole family depends on him.” Lü Bu asked her to sit. She made as if to go in. “The general is my dearest friend,” said Wang Yun. “What harm is there in sitting?” So she sat at Wang Yun’s side, and Lü Bu could not take his eyes off her.

After a few more cups Wang Yun pointed to her and said, “I wish to send this daughter of mine to you, General, as your concubine. Would you accept her?”

Lü Bu rose from his seat to thank him. “If it could be so, I would repay you like a dog or a horse.”

“I will choose a lucky day soon and send her to your house.”

Lü Bu’s joy knew no limit. He kept glancing at Diaochan, and she answered with a look as clear as autumn water. When the feast ended Wang Yun said, “I would ask you to stay the night, but the Grand Tutor might grow suspicious.” Lü Bu bowed his thanks again and again and left.

From the original

The Second Promise

Some days later, at court, Wang Yun found Dong Zhuo without Lü Bu at his side, and bowed to the ground. “I would beg the Grand Tutor’s carriage to my poor house for a banquet, if you would consent.”

“If you invite me, Minister, I will come at once.”

Wang Yun went home and laid out every delicacy of land and water. He set a seat at the centre of the front hall, spread the floor with brocade and hung curtains inside and out. At noon the next day Dong Zhuo arrived. Wang Yun came out in court dress to meet him and bowed twice. More than a hundred armoured men with halberds crowded in around Dong Zhuo and lined both sides of the hall. Wang Yun bowed again from below the steps, and Dong Zhuo had him helped up and seated beside him. “The Grand Tutor’s virtue towers so high that even Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou could not match it,” said Wang Yun, and Dong Zhuo was delighted.

Toward evening, with the wine running warm, Wang Yun invited him into the inner hall, and Dong Zhuo dismissed his soldiers. Raising a cup in congratulation, Wang Yun said, “I have studied the heavens since I was young. By night I read the signs above, and the fortune of the Han is spent. The Grand Tutor’s merit shakes the world. As Shun took over from Yao and Yu followed Shun, so this would answer the heart of heaven and the will of the people.”

“How could I hope for that?”

“Since ancient times, those with the Way have replaced those without it, and those without virtue have yielded to those who have it. Would this go beyond what is fitting?”

Dong Zhuo smiled. “If the mandate of heaven really comes to me, you will be first among my ministers.”

Wang Yun bowed his thanks. Painted candles were lit, and only serving women remained. “The music of the court troupe is not worth offering you,” said Wang Yun, “but I happen to have a singer of my household who might serve.”

“Excellent.”

Wang Yun had the blind let down. Reed pipes wound through the air, and Diaochan danced outside the blind. A verse of the time says she turned like a startled wild goose.

When the dance was over Dong Zhuo called her closer. She came inside the blind and bowed low. Seeing how lovely she was, he asked, “Who is this?”

“The singer Diaochan.”

“Can she sing?”

Wang Yun told her to sing softly to a sandalwood clapper. As the verse has it, the tongue behind that song lay like a steel sword, meant to cut down the traitor who wrecks the realm.

Dong Zhuo praised her without end. Wang Yun told her to serve his cup, and Dong Zhuo, cup in hand, laughed. “A true immortal walking among us!”

Wang Yun rose. “I would like to offer her to the Grand Tutor, if you would accept.”

“So great a kindness! How could I repay it?”

“To serve the Grand Tutor is more good fortune than she deserves.”

Dong Zhuo thanked him again and again. Wang Yun ordered a felt-curtained carriage and sent Diaochan ahead to the Grand Tutor’s mansion. Dong Zhuo rose to leave, and Wang Yun saw him all the way home.

From the original

Red Lanterns

Wang Yun took his leave and rode back. He was not halfway home when he saw two rows of red lanterns lighting the road, and Lü Bu riding toward him, halberd in hand. Lü Bu reined in, seized him by the collar and demanded in a harsh voice, “You promised Diaochan to me, Minister, and now you send her to the Grand Tutor. Are you playing with me?”

Wang Yun stopped him quickly. “This is no place to talk. Please come to my poor house.”

They went to his house and into the inner hall. When the greetings were done Wang Yun asked, “Why are you angry with this old man, General?”

“I am told you sent Diaochan to the Grand Tutor’s mansion in a felt carriage. What does it mean?”

“So you do not know! Yesterday at court the Grand Tutor said to me, ‘I have a matter to see you about at your house.’ So I made ready and waited for him. Over the wine he said, ‘I hear you have a daughter named Diaochan, promised to my son. I feared your word might not hold, so I have come to ask in person, and to see her.’ I dared not refuse, and I brought Diaochan out to bow to her father-in-law. The Grand Tutor said, ‘Today is a lucky day. I will take her back with me now, and marry her to my son.’ Think of it, General. When the Grand Tutor comes in person, how could this old man refuse?”

“Forgive me, Minister. I saw it wrongly. Tomorrow I will come with thorns on my back to beg your pardon.”

“My daughter has a small dowry,” said Wang Yun. “When she has moved to your house I will send it on.” Lü Bu thanked him and left.

From the original

The Face in the Pond

The next day Lü Bu listened for news in the Grand Tutor’s mansion and heard nothing. He went straight into the hall and questioned the maids. “The Grand Tutor and his new lady have not yet risen,” one told him. Lü Bu was furious. He crept round behind Dong Zhuo’s rooms to look.

Diaochan had risen and was combing her hair at the window. In the pond outside she saw a reflection, very tall, wearing a warrior’s hair-crown. She stole a glance. It was Lü Bu. So she knitted her brows on purpose, put on a look of misery and dabbed again and again at her eyes with a scented silk cloth. Lü Bu watched for a long while, went out, and soon came back.

Dong Zhuo was now seated in the central hall. “Is all quiet outside?” he asked. “All quiet,” said Lü Bu, and stood at his side. As Dong Zhuo ate, Lü Bu stole a look and saw a woman moving behind the embroidered curtain, showing half her face and sending her eyes toward him. He knew it was Diaochan, and his soul drifted away. Dong Zhuo saw the state he was in, and suspicion rose in him. “If there is nothing else, you may go.” Lü Bu went out sullenly.

Dong Zhuo was so taken with Diaochan that for more than a month he did not attend to business. When he caught a slight illness she stayed at his side without loosening her robes to rest, and did everything to please him, and he grew fonder of her still. Lü Bu came in to ask after him while he slept. From behind the bed Diaochan leaned out and looked at Lü Bu. She pointed to her heart, then to Dong Zhuo, and her tears would not stop. Lü Bu’s heart broke to pieces.

Dong Zhuo, opening his eyes dimly, saw Lü Bu staring fixedly behind the bed. He turned and saw Diaochan standing there. In a great rage he shouted, “You dare toy with my favourite? Guards, throw him out! He is not to enter this hall again.”

Lü Bu went home burning with anger, met Li Ru on the way and told him why. Li Ru hurried in to Dong Zhuo. “You mean to take the empire, Grand Tutor. Why punish Lü Bu over a small fault? If his heart turns, the great work is lost.”

“What can be done?”

“Call him in tomorrow, give him gold and silk, and speak kindly to him. That will settle it.”

Dong Zhuo did as he said. The next day he called Lü Bu in. “I was ill the other day and not in my right mind, and what I said wounded you. Think no more of it.” He gave him ten catties of gold and twenty bolts of brocade. Lü Bu thanked him and went home. But though his body stayed at Dong Zhuo’s side, his heart was tied to Diaochan.

From the original

Phoenix Pavilion

When Dong Zhuo had recovered he went to court, and Lü Bu followed with his halberd. Seeing his master deep in talk with Emperor Xian, Lü Bu seized the moment, carried his halberd out through the inner gate, mounted and rode straight to the mansion. He tied his horse at the front, took his halberd into the inner hall and found Diaochan.

“Wait for me in the back garden, by Phoenix Pavilion,” she said.

He went there at once and stood by the curving rail below the pavilion. After a long while she came, parting the flowers and brushing aside the willows, truly like a fairy from the palace of the moon. Weeping, she said, “I am not Minister Wang’s own daughter, but he treated me as if I were. When I met you, General, and was promised to you, every wish of my life was granted. Who could have thought the Grand Tutor would turn his wicked mind on me and take me for himself? I wished to die at once, and lived on in shame only because I had not said farewell to you. Now I have seen you, and my wish is done. Stained as I am, I cannot serve a hero. Let me die before you, to show what is in my heart.”

With that she gripped the rail and made for the lotus pond. Lü Bu rushed to hold her back. Weeping, he said, “I have known your heart for a long time. My only grief is that we could never speak.”

She would not let him go. “In this life I cannot be your wife. Let us meet in the next.”

“If I cannot make you my wife in this life, I am no hero.”

“Every day is like a year to me. Have pity, and save me.”

“I stole away to come here. The old thief may grow suspicious, so I must go quickly.”

She caught at his robe. “If you fear the old thief this much, I will never see daylight again.”

Lü Bu stood still. “Give me time to find a good plan.” With that he took up his halberd to leave.

“Deep in the women’s rooms I heard your name like thunder in my ears,” she said, “and I thought you the one man of our age. Who could have thought you would take orders from another?” Her tears fell like rain.

Lü Bu’s face burned with shame. He leaned the halberd on the rail again, turned back and comforted her with gentle words, and neither of them could bear to part.

Now Dong Zhuo, in the palace, looked round and Lü Bu was gone. Uneasy, he quickly took leave of Emperor Xian, climbed into his carriage and went home. He found Lü Bu’s horse tied at his gate. “He has gone into the inner hall,” the gatekeeper said. Dong Zhuo sent his attendants away and went straight in, but could not find him. He called for Diaochan, and she was gone too. “Diaochan is in the back garden, looking at the flowers,” a maid told him.

He went into the garden, and there they were, talking below Phoenix Pavilion, with the painted halberd leaning to one side. Dong Zhuo gave a great roar of rage. Lü Bu, terrified, turned and ran. Dong Zhuo snatched up the painted halberd and went after him. Lü Bu was fast, and Dong Zhuo was too fat to catch him, so he hurled the halberd at him. Lü Bu knocked it to the ground. Dong Zhuo picked it up and came on, but Lü Bu was already far off. He chased him out through the garden gate, and a man running the other way struck him chest to chest, and Dong Zhuo went down. As the verse says, his rage soared a thousand spans to the sky, and his fat body fell and lay in a heap.

From the original

A Woman’s Hand

The man who had knocked him down was Li Ru. He helped Dong Zhuo up and sat him in the study. “What brought you here?” Dong Zhuo asked.

“I had just reached your gate when I learned you had gone into the garden in a rage, looking for Lü Bu. I hurried in and met him running out, crying, ‘The Grand Tutor is killing me!’ I rushed into the garden to make peace, and ran into you by mistake. I deserve to die.”

“That traitor! He toyed with my favourite. I swear I will kill him.”

“You are mistaken. Long ago, at the feast of the torn hat-strings, King Zhuang of Chu did not punish Jiang Xiong, who had toyed with his favourite. Later, when Qin soldiers surrounded the king, that same man fought to the death to save him. Diaochan is only a woman, and Lü Bu is your trusted, fierce general. If you seize this chance and give her to him, he will be moved by your great kindness and repay you with his life. Think it over.”

Dong Zhuo pondered a long while. “There is something in what you say. I will think about it.”

Li Ru left. Dong Zhuo went to the inner hall, called for Diaochan and said, “What have you been doing with Lü Bu?”

She wept. “I was looking at the flowers in the back garden when Lü Bu came on me. I tried to get away in alarm. He said, ‘I am the Grand Tutor’s son. Why run from me?’ and he chased me with his halberd all the way to Phoenix Pavilion. I saw what he intended and I was afraid. I was going to throw myself into the lotus pond when that brute seized me. I was between life and death when you came and saved me.”

“Suppose I gave you to Lü Bu?”

She cried out in horror. “I already serve a great lord. Now you would hand me down to a household servant? I would rather die than be so shamed!” She pulled a sword from the wall as if to end her life. Dong Zhuo, alarmed, wrenched it away. “I was only teasing!”

She wept aloud with her face covered. “This must be Li Ru’s scheme. He and Lü Bu are close friends, so he thought of this, with no regard for your honour or my life. I could eat his flesh raw.”

“How could I give you up?”

“Though you love me, I fear this place is not safe for long. Lü Bu will do me harm.”

“Tomorrow you and I will go back to Meiwu and be at ease. Have no fear.” Only then did she dry her tears and bow her thanks.

The next day Li Ru came in. “Today is a lucky day. You could send Diaochan to Lü Bu.”

“Lü Bu and I are father and son. It would not be fitting. I will simply not punish him. Go and tell him so, and speak kindly.”

“Grand Tutor, do not be led astray by a woman.”

Dong Zhuo’s face changed. “Would you give your own wife to Lü Bu? Not another word about Diaochan. One more, and I will have your head.”

Li Ru went out and looked up at the sky. “We will all die by a woman’s hand!”

Later a reader who reached this page wrote a lament. The minister’s clever plan rode on a red skirt, it says. No spears were needed and no soldiers. Three battles at Hulao Pass were labour wasted, and the victory song was played at Phoenix Pavilion.

From the original

Father and Son

That same day Dong Zhuo gave orders to return to Meiwu, and the whole court bowed him on his way. From the carriage Diaochan saw Lü Bu far off in the crowd, gazing at her, and she hid her face as if weeping. When the carriage was far away Lü Bu slackened his reins on a low hill and stared at the dust of the road, sighing with regret and hatred.

A voice behind him said, “General, why did you not go with the Grand Tutor? Why stand here looking after him and sighing?” It was Wang Yun. “I have been unwell and kept to my house,” the minister went on, “and so have not seen you for a long time. Today the Grand Tutor left for Meiwu, so I got up from my sickbed to see him off, and I am glad to meet you. May I ask why you sigh?”

“Because of your daughter.”

Wang Yun pretended surprise. “After all this time, has she still not been given to you?”

“The old thief has kept her for himself long since.”

Wang Yun pretended to be astounded. “I cannot believe it!” Lü Bu told him everything. Wang Yun looked up, stamped his foot and said nothing for a long while. At last he said, “I never thought the Grand Tutor could behave like a beast.” He took Lü Bu’s hand. “Come to my poor house and let us talk.”

He led Lü Bu to a private room and set out wine, and Lü Bu told him again, in detail, what had happened at Phoenix Pavilion. “The Grand Tutor has wronged my daughter and stolen your wife,” said Wang Yun. “The world will laugh, not at him, but at you and me. I am old and useless and need not be spoken of. But what a pity that you, the hero of the age, should suffer this shame!”

Lü Bu’s anger rose to the sky. He struck the table and roared.

“Forgive an old man’s loose words,” Wang Yun said quickly. “Calm yourself.”

“I swear I will kill this old thief and wash away my shame!”

Wang Yun covered his mouth. “Say no such thing, General, or you will drag me down with you.”

“How can a man born between heaven and earth live on forever under another?”

“With your talent, you are no man for the Grand Tutor to hold in check.”

“I want to kill the old thief. But there is the bond of father and son, and I fear what people will say.”

Wang Yun smiled faintly. “Your name is Lü. His is Dong. When he threw that halberd, was there any bond of father and son?”

Lü Bu flared up. “But for your words, Minister, I would have ruined myself.”

Seeing that his mind was made up, Wang Yun pressed on. “Uphold the House of Han, General, and you are a loyal minister, your name passed down in the records for a hundred generations. Help Dong Zhuo, and you are a rebel, and the histories will carry your stink for ten thousand years.”

Lü Bu left his seat and bowed. “I have decided. Have no doubt of me.”

“I fear only that the plan may fail and bring disaster.”

Lü Bu drew his knife, cut his arm and swore on the blood. Wang Yun knelt and thanked him. “That the sacrifices of the Han do not end will be your gift, General. Let nothing leak. When the time comes I will tell you the plan.” Lü Bu gave his word and left.

From the original

Omens on the Road

Wang Yun at once called in Shisun Rui, the Vice Director, and Huang Wan, the Commandant of the Capital Region. Shisun Rui said, “The emperor has just recovered from illness. We could send a persuasive man to Meiwu to invite Dong Zhuo to a council, and give a secret edict to Lü Bu. Then hide armed men inside the court gate, lead Dong Zhuo in and kill him. That is the best plan.”

“Who would dare go?” asked Huang Wan.

“Li Su, the Cavalry Commandant, from Lü Bu’s own commandery. He resents that Dong Zhuo has never promoted him. If he goes, Dong Zhuo will suspect nothing.”

They called in Lü Bu. “This is the man who once talked me into killing Ding Jianyang,” he said. “If he will not go now, I will cut him down first.” They sent for Li Su in secret. “You once talked me into killing Ding Jianyang and going over to Dong Zhuo,” Lü Bu told him. “Now Dong Zhuo cheats the emperor above and torments the people below. His crimes are full, and men and gods alike are outraged. Carry the emperor’s edict to Meiwu and summon him to court. We will hide soldiers and kill him, restore the Han and be loyal ministers together. What do you say?”

“I have wanted this traitor gone for a long time,” said Li Su, “and lacked only men of one mind. This is heaven’s gift. How could I have any second thought?” He snapped an arrow and swore.

The next day Li Su rode to Meiwu with a dozen or so horsemen and was brought in. “What is the emperor’s edict?” asked Dong Zhuo.

“His Majesty is recovered, and wishes to gather the court in the Weiyang Hall to consider yielding the throne to you. Hence this edict.”

“And what does Wang Yun think?”

“Minister Wang has already ordered a Terrace of Abdication built. It waits only for you, my lord.”

Dong Zhuo was overjoyed. “Last night I dreamed a dragon wrapped itself around me, and now comes this happy news. The moment must not be lost.” He left his trusted generals Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji and Fan Chou with three thousand of the Flying Bear army to hold Meiwu, and ordered his carriage for the capital that very day. To Li Su he said, “When I am emperor, you will command the capital guard.” Li Su bowed and called himself his subject.

He went to take leave of his mother, who was past ninety. “My son, where are you going?”

“To receive the throne of the Han, Mother. Soon you will be the empress dowager!”

“Lately my flesh trembles and my heart starts. I fear it is no good sign.”

“A woman about to be mother of the realm is bound to have a few alarms!” He took his leave. At the last he said to Diaochan, “When I am Son of Heaven, I will make you Precious Consort.” Diaochan knew exactly what lay behind all this. She pretended to be delighted and bowed her thanks.

He left the fortress in his carriage, attended before and behind, and set out for Chang’an. Before he had gone thirty li a wheel of the carriage suddenly broke, and he got down and took a horse. Before he had gone ten li more the horse screamed and reared and snapped its bridle. “The carriage breaks a wheel, the horse breaks its bridle,” he said to Li Su. “What does it mean?”

“It means you are to receive the throne of the Han, Grand Tutor. You will cast off the old and take up the new, and ride a jade carriage with a golden saddle.” Dong Zhuo was pleased and believed him.

The next day, on the road, a wild wind rose and a dark mist covered the sky. “What sign is this?” he asked. “When a lord ascends the dragon throne there must be red light and purple mist, to add to heaven’s majesty,” said Li Su, and again Dong Zhuo was pleased and did not doubt. Outside the city all the officials came to greet him, all but Li Ru, who was sick at home. At his mansion Lü Bu came in to congratulate him. “When I take the throne you will command all the armies of the empire.” Lü Bu bowed his thanks and spent the night before the tent.

That night a dozen or so children sang in the fields outside the city, and the wind carried the song into the tent. “A thousand li of grass, so green, so green. Ten days on, it will not live.” The song was full of grief. “What does this rhyme foretell?” Dong Zhuo asked Li Su.

“It means only that the House of Liu falls and the House of Dong rises.”

At first light Dong Zhuo set out his procession for court. Suddenly he saw a Daoist in a blue robe and a white headcloth, holding a long pole hung with a length of cloth, and at each end of the cloth was written a square. “What does this Daoist mean?” Dong Zhuo asked.

“He is a madman,” said Li Su, and called the soldiers to drive him off.

The Teller’s notebook

Two Riddles

The novel leaves both riddles for the reader. Write the children’s song out in Chinese, and the characters of its lines make up the two characters of the name Dong Zhuo. Set one of the Daoist’s squares above the other, and you have written Lü. The man on that road was told twice what was coming, and the only one he asked was Li Su.

From the original

The Palace Gate

Dong Zhuo went on to court. The officials in their robes met him along the road, and Li Su walked beside the carriage with a sword in his hand. At the North Side Gate his soldiers were all stopped outside, and only the twenty or so men with the carriage went in with him. Far ahead he saw Wang Yun and others holding swords at the door of the hall. Alarmed, he asked Li Su, “What are the swords for?” Li Su did not answer, and pushed the carriage straight in.

Wang Yun shouted, “The traitor is here! Where are the guards?”

More than a hundred men sprang out on both sides and stabbed at him with halberds and spears. His armour turned the points, but he was wounded in the arm and fell from the carriage. “Where is my son?” he cried.

Lü Bu came out from behind the carriage. “By imperial edict, death to the traitor!” he shouted. One thrust of the halberd went straight to the throat, and Li Su had already taken the head. With the halberd in his left hand, Lü Bu drew the edict from his robe with his right and cried, “By edict we punish the traitor Dong Zhuo. No one else will be questioned!” The officers and officials all shouted, “Long live the emperor!”

Li Ru’s own slaves brought him in bound, and Wang Yun had him beheaded in the market. Dong Zhuo’s body was laid out on the highway for all to see, and the people who passed struck it and trod on it. Then Wang Yun sent Lü Bu, Huangfu Song and Li Su with fifty thousand soldiers to seize Dong Zhuo’s household and goods at Meiwu.

When they heard that Dong Zhuo was dead and Lü Bu was coming, Li Jue and the other generals fled overnight to Liang Province with the Flying Bear army. Lü Bu reached Meiwu, and the first one he took away was Diaochan. Huangfu Song ordered every young woman of good family held in the fortress set free. All of Dong Zhuo’s kin, young and old, were put to death, his mother among them, and the heads of his brother Dong Min and his nephew Dong Huang were put on show. Gold by the hundred thousand was recorded, with silks, pearls, vessels and grain past counting, and the news was carried back to Wang Yun.