San kuo; or, Romance of the three kingdoms (volume 1 of 2)Luo, Guanzhong
History
San kuo; or, Romance of the three kingdoms (volume 1 of 2)
Luo, Guanzhong
China -- History -- Three kingdoms, 220-265 -- Fiction
O Lü was a wonderful archer,
And the arrow he shot sped straight;
By hitting the mark he saved his friend
That day at his yamên gate.
Hou I, the archer of ancient days,
Brought down each mocking sun,
And the apes that gibbered to fright Yuchi
Were slain by him, one by one.
But we sing of Lü Pu that drew the bow,
And his feathered shaft that flew;
For a myriad men could doff their mail
When he hit the mark so true.
Lü Pu laughed loud at the success of his shot. Dropping his bow he
seized his guests by the hands saying, “The command of Heaven indeed!
And now you cease from fighting!”
He ordered the soldier attendants to pour out great goblets of wine and
each drank. Liu Pei in his inmost heart felt rather ashamed; his fellow
guest sat silent, nodding his head. Presently he said, “I cannot
disobey your command, General, but let me depart. What will my master
say and will he believe me?”
“I will write a letter and confirm it,” said Lü Pu.
After a few more rounds of the wine Chi Ling asked that he might have
the letter and after that departed. When the brothers took their leave
Lü Pu again reminded Liu Pei that he owed him his deliverance.
In a short time the soldiers had gone. Here nothing will be said of the
entry of two of the actors in the drama into their own towns. When Chi
Ling had got back to Huainan and told the story of the feat of archery
and the peace-making that followed, and had presented the letter, his
lord was very wroth.
“He repays me for all my grain with this bit of play-acting!” cried he.
“He has saved Liu Pei, but I will lead a large army myself and settle
him, and take Lü Pu too.”
“Be careful, my lord,” said Chi Ling. “He is braver and stronger than
most men and has wide territory. He and Liu Pei together make a
powerful combination, not easy to break. But there is another course. I
have found out that his wife, the lady Yen, has a daughter just of
marriageable age and as you have a son, you could arrange a marriage
alliance with Lü Pu. If his daughter wedded your son he would certainly
slay your enemy for you. This is the nothing-can-separate-relations
plan.”
This scheme appealed to Yüan Shu, who soon set about its
accomplishment. He sent presents by the hand of Han Yin, who was to
discuss the question. When Han saw Lü he spoke of the immense respect
his master had for him and his desire to ensure perpetual alliance
between the two families by a marriage, an alliance such as existed
between the states Tsʻin and Chin.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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