Story of the Three Kingdoms, Chapter 9
Story of the Three Kingdoms
Chapter 9
Luu Bu Helped Wang Yun to Remove the Evil
Jia Xiang Told Li Jue to Invade Changan
The man who ran into Dong Zhuo was Li Ru. Li Ru helped Dong Zhuo to
his feet, and they went to the yard and sat down. Dong Zhuo said,
"What are you doing here?" Li Ru said, "I was passing by the front
gate and heard that you were angry at Luu Bu. I came in just when
Luu Bu went out. He said that Prime Minister was going to kill him.
I came to try to resolve this." Dong Zhuo said, "That asshole
molested my woman. I will not let him live." Li Ru said, "You are
wrong. Have you heard of the story of King Zhuang of Chu? During
a night banquet the candles went out. A guest pulled the clothes
of the Queen. The Queen took the decor off his hat. But King Zhuang
did not punish him. Later King Zhuang was saved by this man in a
battle with Qin. Diao Chan is just a woman. But Luu Bu is a general
that you depend on. If you take this opportunity and give Diao Chan
to Luu Bu, he will be so grateful he will give his life for you."
Dong Zhuo said, "You are right. Let me think about it."
Dong Zhuo went into the house, and asked Diao Chan, "Did you commit
adultery with Luu Bu?" Diao Chang cried, "I was in the rear garden,
when Luu Bu came. I wanted to go in the house. Luu Bu said, 'I am
the son of the Prime Minister. You don't need to leave.' He chased
me to the pavilion. I had nowhere to go, and feared what he was
going to do. I wanted to jump into the pond and kill myself but he
held me. I'm glad that you came and saved my life." Dong Zhuo said,
"What if I give you to Luu Bu?" Diao Chan showed her surprise, and
cried, "I have give my body to you. If you want to give me to your
servant, I'd rather die than take this degradation." She took the
sword from the wall and wanted to kill herself. Dong Zhuo quickly
grabbed the sword and took Diao Chan in his arms, "I was just kidding."
Diao Chan fell to Dong Zhuo and cried loud, "This must be Li Ru's
idea. He and Luu Bu are good friends. But he does not care your face
and my life. I won't let Li Ru live!" Dong Zhuo said, "How can I be
without you." Diao Chan said, "I don't want to stay here any long.
I'm afraid Luu Bu will try to kill me." Dong Zhuo said, "Tomorrow
we go to my palace, Meiwu, outside the Capital. Don't worry now."
Next day, Li Ru came to see Dong Zhuo. He urged Dong Zhuo to send
Diao Chan to Luu Bu. Dong Zhuo said, "Luu Bu is my son. How can I
give my woman to my son? You can just send my regards to him and make
him happy." Li Ru said, "Don't be fooled by woman's words." Dong Zhuo
angrily said, "Why don't you give your wife to Luu Bu? If you say one
more word you are dead." Li Ru left, and sighed to himself, "We all
die in a woman's hands."
Dong Zhuo immediately ordered his return to Meiwu. All the ministers
went to see him off. Diao Chan sat in the carriage. She saw Luu Bu
in the crowd looking towards her. She quickly covered her face
pretending to be crying. Long after Dong Zhuo's carriages left, Luu
Bu still stood there, staring at the dust in the distance stirred up
by the carriages. Someone said behind him, "General why don't you go
with the Prime Minister? Is there something bothering you ?" Luu Bu
turned and it was Minister Wang Yun.
Wang Yun said, "I've been sick the past few days, and wasn't able
to visit you. I guess you must be happy now. Why did you seem not
so happy?" Luu Bu said, "For your daughter." Wang Yun seemed surprised,
"Is she not with you?" Luu Bu said, "That old thief kept her for
himself." Wang Yun said, "I can't believe it." Luu Bu told him in
detail what had happened. Wang Yun stumped his foot, and was silent
for awhile. Then he said, "I can't believe the Prime Minister can
be such an animal." He took Luu Bu's hand and said, "Please come with
me." Luu Bu followed to Wang Yun's place. Wang Yun said, "Prime
Minister raped my daughter, stole your wife. This is becoming a
national joke. Of course he is not the joke, the joke is us. I am
old, and don't have much to care about. But General you, how can you
stand such an insult!" Luu Bu pounded the table, and yelled. Wang
Yun stopped him, and said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't say that. Please
don't be so angry." Luu Bu said, "I swear I will kill this old thief."
Wang Yun hurriedly covered Luu Bu's mouth and said, "Don't say that.
You'll get me in trouble." Luu Bu said, "With my abilities, I can't
stay under him for long." Wang Yun said, "Yes. You are far better
than the Prime Minister." Luu Bu said, "I want to kill him. But he is
my father. I will leave a bad name if I kill my father." Wang Yun
laughed, "You surname is Luu, his is Dong. When he threw the spear
at you, did he consider you as his son?" Luu Bu said, "Right! If not
for your words, I almost fooled myself." Wang Yun was sure that Luu
Bu had made up his mind. He then said, "There is a greater issue.
Your name will be remembered forever as a hero if you serve the
Han Emperor as a loyal servant. On the other hand, if you help Dong
Zhuo you will be considered as disloyal and your name will also be
kept in the history books but as a villain." Luu Bu left his seat
and knelt down. He said, "I have made the decision. You can trust
me." Wang Yun said, "If we fail, we will all die." Luu Bu took out
his knife, cut his arm and let out some blood to show his determination.
Wang Yun also knelt down. He said, "The continuation of the Han
dynasty will rely on General. I will send for you when I have a
plan." Luu Bu then left.
Wang Yun planned with two officers, Sun Rui and Huang Wan. Sun Rui
suggested, "The Emperor just recovered from his recent illness. It's
a good excuse to send for Dong Zhuo in the name of discussing
business. Then we ask the Emperor to issue a secret order to Luu
Bu and ambush Dong Zhuo at the gate of the Palace." Huang Wan asked,
"Who would dare to be the messenger?" Sun Rui said, "Luu Bu has a
hometown friend Li Su. He is quite dissatisfied for not getting a
promotion. If we send him Dong Zhuo will not suspect." Wang Yun said,
"Good plan." They then got Luu Bu and discussed the plan with him.
Luu Bu said, "It was Li Su persuaded me to kill Ding Yuan. If he
doesn't want to do this, I'll kill him first." They secretly sent
for Li Su. Luu Bu said to Li Su, "You persuaded me to kill Ding Yuan
and defect to Dong Zhuo. Now Dong Zhuo has committed numerous crimes
against the Emperor and the people. I want you to send the Emperor's
order to Dong Zhuo and get him to the Capital. We will ambush him in
the city. Do you want to do it?" Li Su said, "I have wanted to do
this for a long time. Just I haven't found anyone to do it with me.
If you already have a good plan, I won't hesitate." He broke an
arrow and swore. Wang Yun said, "You will be guaranteed to a high
position after this succeeds."
Next day, Li Su led a dozen soldiers to Meiwu. He told the guards
that he brought the Emperor's order. Dong Zhuo let them in. Li Su
knelt in front of Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo asked, "What is the Emperor's
order?" Li Su said, "The Emperor just recovered from his illness.
He is gathering all the ministers and will yield the throne to the
Prime Minister." Dong Zhuo said, "What is the opinion of Minister
Wang Yun?" Li Su said, "Minister Wang is preparing for the ceremony.
Everything is ready. We are only waiting for the arrival of the
Prime Minister." Dong Zhuo was very happy. He said, "Last night I
dreamt a dragon surrounding my body. I knew it was a good sign."
He ordered his generals Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji and Fan Diao and
three thousand troops stay at Meiwu. He himself will return to the
Capital immediately. He said to Li Su, "If I become the Emperor,
you will be my first appointment." Li Su replied, "Yes, your Majesty."
Dong Zhuo went to the back of the Palace to say goodbye to his mother.
She was over ninety years old. She asked, "Where are you going?" Dong
Zhuo said, "I will receive the throne from the Han Emperor. You will
be an Empress soon." She said, "I feel scared recently. It may not
be a good sign." Dong Zhuo said, "Of course you are nervous. You
will be an Empress!" He left. Before he left, he told Diao Chan.
Diao Chan knew what was coming and she pretended to be happy.
Dong Zhuo's carriage, followed by a large team of soldiers and servants,
left Meiwu and went for Changan. After twenty miles suddenly one of the
wheels of Dong Zhuo's carriage broke and fell off. Dong Zhuo got off
the carriage and rode a horse instead. Another few miles, the horse
struggled and tore off the leash. Dong Zhuo asked Li Su, "Are these
good signs or bad signs?" Li Su said, "These indicate that we are
getting rid of the old and replacing with the new. They are good signs."
Next day, when they were on the road, a storm came, and the sky was
covered dark. Dong Zhuo asked Li Su, "What does this mean?" Li Su
said, "Your Majesty is going to take the seat of dragon. There must
be lights and clouds to accompany you." Dong Zhuo was happy again.
They arrived outside the city. All the ministers were there to greet
them, except Li Ru, who excused himself for illness. Dong Zhuo arrived
the house of Prime Minister. Luu Bu came. Dong Zhuo said, "I will be
the Emperor, and you will be the commander of all the armies." Luu
Bu thanked him. That night, Dong Zhuo heard children outside the city
singing a song, that sounded like, "Thousand mile grassland, makes
up a Dong; ...... makes up a Zhuo. ......, will not live." He asked
Li Su the meaning of the song. Li Su said, "It's nothing. It just
says that the Liu Emperors will end and the Dong Emperors will start."
Early next morning, Dong Zhuo went to the Emperor's palace. On the
road there was a monk, with a white turban and blue robe. He held a
long pole in his hands and tied a white cloth on it. On both ends
of the cloth there were characters scripted that one can make up to
be "Luu" (and the white cloth means "Bu"). Dong Zhuo asked Li Su,
"What does this mean?" Li Su said, "He's just crazy." And ordered the
guards to take him away. Dong Zhuo went to the palace. The ministers
all greeted him at the side of the road. Li Su walked with a sword
in one hand and the other hand holding the carriage. At the gate
of the palace the guards stopped the rest of the crowd and only allowed
Dong Zhuo's carriage and a dozen other people in. Dong Zhuo saw
Wang Yun and a few others standing at the gate, all with swords in
their hands. He asked Li Su, "Why the swords?" Li Su didn't answer,
but kept driving the carriage forward. Wang Yun yelled, "Here is the
rebel. Kill him." About a hundred guards came out and pricked their
spears at Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo was wearing armor inside his clothes.
He only injured his arm and fell off the carriage. He shouted,
"Luu Bu, come help me!" Luu Bu came from behind the carriage and said,
"The Emperor order: Kill the rebel." And his spear went for Dong Zhuo's
throat. Li Su chopped off Dong Zhuo's head with his sword.
Luu Bu said, "Li Ru is Dong Zhuo's accomplice. Arrest him." Li Su said
he will go. There was noise outside the gate. Li Ru's servants already
tied him up and brought him here. Wang Yun ordered to bring him to the
center of the city and behead him. He then order to display Dong Zhuo's
body on the street. Dong Zhuo was very fat. The soldier guarding his
body lit a fire at his belly and used it as a light. The molten fat
flowed to the ground. Everyone wanted to go and beat on his body.
Wang Yun then ordered Luu Bu, Huangfu Song and Li Su to bring fifty
thousand troops to take Meiwu.
Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji and Fan Diao heard that Dong Zhuo was dead
and Luu Bu was coming. They took their troops and fled to Liang Province.
Luu Bu went to Meiwu and first went to find Diao Chan. Huangfu Song
released all the people prisoned in Meiwu. All of Dong Zhuo's relatives,
old or young, were executed, including his mother, his brother Dong Wen,
nephew Dong Huang. The treasures stored in Meiwu, tens of thousands of
ounces of gold, millions of ounces of silver, silk, pearls, jewelries,
and food, were countless. These were all brought back to the Capital.
Wang Yun held a large banquet with the ministers and celebrated.
In the middle of the banquet, someone reported, "A man is crying at
Dong Zhuo's body." Wang Yun was angry, "Dong Zhuo's death is celebrated
by everyone. Who dare to mourn him? Bring him here!" The guards took
the man in. Everyone was surprised. The man was Minister Cai Ye.
Wang Yun said, "Dong Zhuo is a criminal of the country. Everyone is
glad that he is dead. You are a minister of the Han, why don't you
celebrate for the country, but rather mourn the rebel?" Cai Ye knelt
down and said, "Although I am not bright, I still know good from bad.
How can I betray the country and cry for Dong Zhuo? Just that he
always treated me well, and I couldn't help. I ask for my punishment.
But please spare my life so that I can finish the History of Han.
If so I will be forever grateful." The ministers all know Cai Ye's
reputation, and all asked for forgiveness. Minister Ma Ridi whispered
to Wang Yun, "Cai Ye is the number one scholar in the country. We
need him to finish the History of Han. He is also very well respected.
It would not be a good idea to kill him." Wang Yun said, "Emperor
Xiaowu did not kill Sima Qian. Sima Qian wrote a history book, and
left many bad words about the rulers. Now the Emperor is weak. We
cannot let some unruly people write down the story of today. That
will put us down in the history book with bad words." And he ordered
to hang Cai Ye. All educated men in the country wept for him.
Dong Zhuo's four generals, Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji and Fan Diao fled
to Shaanxi. They sent a letter to Changan asking for amnesty. Wang
Yun said, "Dong Zhuo's crimes, these four men were his main help.
We can forgive anyone, but not these four." The message was sent back
to Shaanxi. Li Jue said, "We don't get amnesty. Let's flee for our
lives." Advisor Jia Xiang said, "If you leave the troops, then
any one can arrest you. We'd better gather all of our troops and
take Changan. One, we can revenge for Dong Zhuo. Two, if we succeed,
we will have the Emperor on our side. If we fail, then we flee."
Li Jue agreed. They spread rumor in Shaanxi, said, "Wang Yun will
cleanse the province and kill everyone." Then Li Jue called for a
rebellion. More than a hundred thousand people responded. Li Jue
divided them into four columns, and marched toward Changan. On their
way they met son-in-law of Dong Zhuo, General Niu Fu, with five
thousand soldiers. They merged the troops and rode for Changan.
Wang Yun heard the news of the rebellion. He discussed with Luu Bu.
Luu Bu said, "Don't worry. I can take care of it." He ordered Li Su
to meet the enemy outside Changan. Li Su marched out of the city and
met head on with Niu Fu. Niu Fu was not equal of Li Su and retreated.
That night Niu Fu attacked Li Su's camps. Li Su did not prepare for
it, and was completely defeated. He retreated twenty miles, and lost
half of his army. Li Su went to see Luu Bu. Luu Bu said, "You embarrass
me." He executed Li Su and hung his head at the gate of his camp.
Next day Luu Bu himself went out to battle Niu Fu. Niu Fu was again
defeated and retreated. Niu Fu said to his aide Hu Chir, "Luu Bu
is too strong. I can never win this battle. Let's secretly take
the money and leave." That night they took all the money and left
the camp, with only three or four guards. When they reached a river,
Hu Chir wanted the money. He killed Niu Fu, and took his head to
see Luu Bu. Luu Bu asked why he did it. The guards told, "It was
for the money." Luu Bu was angry, and executed Hu Chir. Next day,
Luu Bu's army marched on. They met Li Jue's army. Luu Bu did not
wait for Li Jue to set up formations. He ordered his men to charge.
Li Jue could not stop Luu Bu, and backed thirty miles. They camped
by a hill. The four generals held a meeting. Li Jue said, "Luu Bu
is very brave. But he does not use his brain. Let me stay here
and keep him busy. General Guo take your troops to attack his behind.
You will charge with the retreating signal, and stop with the charging
signal. General Zhang and General Fan, will take your troops and
go directly to Changan." They all agreed.
Next day, Luu Bu arrived and met with Li Jue's army. Luu Bu charged,
Li Jue retreated to the top of the hill. Luu Bu pursued but was
beaten back by arrows and stones from the hill. Suddenly Guo Si
attacked from behind. Luu Bu turned around. As he heard the signal
for charge in Guo Si's army, Guo Si pulled back. Before Luu Bu
could give the order to stop, Li Jue's army attacked under a retreating
signal. It went on like this for several days. Luu Bu could not
fight, and he could not leave. Then he heard report that Zhang Ji
and Fan Diao were already near Changan. Luu Bu immediately retreated
toward Changan. Li Jue, Guo Si kept up the attack. Luu Bu did not
want to fight, and lost many men. By the time he reached Changan,
the city was already tightly surrounded by the rebels. Luu Bu did
not win a single battle. Many soldiers were afraid of Luu Bu's bad
temper, and defected to the rebels.
A few days later, the supporters of Dong Zhuo, named Li Meng and
Wang Fang, secretly open the city gates. The rebels charged into
the city. Luu Bu rode up and down the street and couldn't stop the
rebels. He led a few hundred cavaliers, and called Wang Yun, "Get
on a horse, let's leave." Wang Yun said, "If I cannot save the
country, I will die with it. I will not flee and escape my
responsibility." Luu Bu could not convince him to leave. By then
all the gates were in flame. Luu Bu did not even have time to take
his family. He led the cavaliers and charged out of the city, and
went to Yuan Shu's territory.
Li Jue, Guo Si sent their troops into the city. They started
a carnage. Many ministers were killed. The soldiers robbed anything
they could. When the rebels reached the Palace, the ministers asked
the Emperor to the top of the Gate of Xuanping and to order the rebels
to stop. Li Jue saw the Emperor's umbrella, stopped the soldiers, and
chanted "Your Majesty." The Emperor asked, "What is the reason for
you to enter the Capital without an order?" Li Jue, Guo Si said,
"Prime Minister Dong Zhuo was a loyal servant of the Emperor. Wang
Yun murdered him. We are here for revenge, not for rebellion. We
will leave as soon as we see Wang Yun." Wang Yun was standing at
the Emperor's side. He said to the Emperor, "I did it for the country.
My life is not worth the country. Let me go see them." The Emperor
couldn't decide. Wang Yun jumped off the Gate, and yelled, "Wang Yun
is here!" Li Jue, Guo Si pulled out their swords. They asked, "Why
did you murder the Prime Minister?" Wang Yun said, "Dong Zhuo was a
criminal. His crime deserves death. The day he was executed, all the
people in Changan celebrated. Haven't you heard of it?" Li Jue and
Guo Si said, "Then what crime did we commit? Why didn't you grant
amnesty?" Wang Yun said, "Don't waste words now. I know I will die.
So why don't you do it." They killed Wang Yun with their swords.
Then they sent soldiers to kill all of Wang Yun's family and relatives.
After they finished with Wang Yun, Li Jue and Guo Si said, "We
are already here. Let's kill the Emperor now." They held their swords,
and charged into the Gate. What will happen to the Emperor? Please
read the next chapter.