by Luo Guanzhong
24Zhuo was overjoyed. He looked at the person; it was captain of the guard Li Su. Zhuo said, "How will you persuade him?" Su responded, "I have heard that Your Excellency owns a famous horse, named 'Red Hare,' which can travel one thousand li in a single day. I must have this horse, along with gold and pearls, in order to help me to win over his heart. After that, I will present our proposition to him. If we do all of this, Lü Bu will definitely betray Ding Yuan, and switch allegiance to Your Excellency." Zhuo asked Li Ru, "Is his idea acceptable?" Ru responded, "If Your Excellency wants to conquer the world, why quibble over one horse?" Zhuo happily gave the horse, along with one thousand taels of gold, 10 shiny pearls, and one jade belt.
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Carrying the presents, Li Su set out towards Lü Bu's camp. The soldiers hiding at the sides of the road came out and surrounded him. Su said, "Inform General Lü at once that an old friend has come to see him." The soldiers relayed the message, and Bu ordered the soldiers to have Su come in and see him. Su looked at Bu, and said, "My esteemed young friend, you look well!" Bu saluted, and replied, "Long time, no see; where are you living nowadays?" Su said, "I currently am serving as captain of the imperial guard. When I heard that you had come to the aid of the nation, I was extremely happy. I have a fine horse, capable of running one thousand li in a single day. It can cross rivers and climb mountains as if it were on a piece of flat ground. Its name is 'Red Hare;' I came especially to give him to you, to help give you the aura of a general." Bu ordered it to be lead over so that he could look at it. Sure enough, the entire horse was the color of burning charcoal, without a single strand of fur out of place. From head to tail, its length measured one zhang. From its hoof to the nape of its neck, it measured eight chi. It loudly neighed and bellowed, and seemed as though it could soar through air and gallop into the sea. People of later generations composed a poem just for Red Hare, it went:
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It gallops one thousand li, and kicks up the dust; violet mist is parted in half as the steed crosses over rivers and climbs mountains.
Pulling on the silk reigns causes them to break, as the jade bridle whips back and forth; the flaming dragon flies down to the Ninth Heaven
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.
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This translation from Wikipedia. See license CC-BY-SA.
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