by Luo Guanzhong
22The following day, it was reported that Ding Yuan had amassed troops outside the city walls and was spoiling for a fight. Zhuo was furious, and led his own army, accompanied by Li Ru, out to meet them. The two armies squared off, and all eyes were on Lü Bu. Lü Bu was wearing a gold and silk braided cap, with long pheasant feathers protruding from each side of the cap. He wore a multi-patterned warrior garment underneath tangni body armor. He wore a belt decorated with prints of lions and barbarian kings. He was galloping around on his horse with his halberd in hand. He accompanied Ding Jianyang out to the front line. Jianyang pointed at Zhuo, and cursed, "The misfortunes of the country were all the result of abuses by the eunuchs. As a consequence, all of the people were made to suffer. And you, who lacks even one ounce of merit, how dare you say such outrageous things about deposing the emperor; do you want to throw the court into chaos?"
23
Before Dong Zhuo could respond, Lü Bu charged at full gallop. Dong Zhuo fled in panic; Jianyang took advantage of the confusion, and led his army in an attack. Zhuo's army suffered a major defeat, and retreated more than 30 li before making camp. He gathered everyone together to discuss the matter. Zhuo said, "I see that Lü Bu is no ordinary man. If I could acquire this person, what need would I have to be concerned about a single thing in the world?" A person appeared at the front of the tent, and said, "Don't worry, Your Excellency. I am a countryman of Lü Bu's. I know that he is brave, but lacks strategy, and is likely to forget about principles if there's something in it for him. I'm good at schmoozing, and can easily convince Lü Bu to fall in line. Will you allow me to try?"
Continued next week. Tomorrow's installment from Lays of Ancient Rome by Macaulay.
This is one of four great novels from China, published when it was the most highly civilization in the world. Map shows China at the time of this story.
Chapter Summary: How Dong Zhuo rebukes Ding Yuan in the Garden of Warmth and Brightness; Li Su wins over Lü Bu with offerings of gold and pearls.
More information here:
| Check the right column | More of This Series |
This translation from Wikipedia. See license CC-BY-SA.
No comments:
Post a Comment