by Luo Guanzhong
19After Wang Yun received the letter, he thought long and hard, but could not think of a plan. One day, Yun saw that all of the old ministers were inside the guardhouse, so he told them, "Today is my birthday; you must all come to my residence this evening for a few drinks." They all answered, "By all means, we will all come to celebrate your birthday." That evening, Wang Yun arranged for a banquet in the rear chamber of his residence, and all of the high-level ministers came. After a few rounds of drinks, Wang Yun suddenly covered his face with his hands and began to weep uncontrollably. All of the officials were taken aback, and asked, "Minister over the Masses, it is your birthday, why are you so upset?" Yun responded, "Actually, today is not my birthday. I used that as a pretext, because I wanted to get everyone together so that I could tell you all something, but I was afraid that Dong Zhuo would become suspicious. Dong Zhuo has double-crossed the emperor, and abused his power; the nation is in imminent danger of being lost. It makes me think of how Emperor Gao vanquished the Qin, destroyed the Chu, and had the whole world in the palm of his hands. Who would have thought that what he began so long ago, which has lasted to this day, would be wiped out by the hand of Dong Zhuo. That is why I am crying."
20
All of the ministers then started to cry. One of the men sitting in the group began to clap his hands and laugh uproariously, saying, "Can a bunch of ministers all crying from dusk till dawn and from dawn until dusk cry Dong Zhuo to death?" Yun looked at him, it was Captain of armed cavalry Cao Cao. Yun angrily responded, "Your ancestors also enjoyed the bounty of the Han Dynasty, and now instead of wanting to serve your country, you laugh instead?" Cao replied, "I am laughing at something else; I am laughing at the fact that none of you has a single idea of how to kill Dong Zhuo. Although I am not that talented, I am willing to cut off Dong Zhuo's head and hang it on the gates of the capital in order to appease the nation." Out of respect, Yun stood up from his seating mat and asked, "May I ask what you have in mind?" Cao replied, "Actually, the reason for my having bowed down in service to Zhuo is that I wanted to seize the opportunity to plot against him. Now that Zhuo somewhat trusts me, there are certain times when I can get close to Zhuo. I heard that you are in possession of a dagger called the seven star blade; I would like to borrow it so that I can enter his residence and stab him to death. Even if it means my life, I won't regret it." Yun said, "If you really are of such a mind, the country is indeed fortunate!" He then personally poured a cup of wine and toasted Cao. Cao made a solemn pledge while allowing his wine to slowly drip onto the floor, then Yun gave him the dagger. Cao concealed the dagger, and finished his drink. He then got up, bid everyone farewell, and left. The others sat for a while, and then also dispersed.
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: Deposing the Han emperor: Chenliu becomes emperor; plotting against the villain Dong: Mengde presents a dagger.
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This translation from Wikipedia. See license CC-BY-SA.
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