The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 32
Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 7:43AM The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 32:
Jizhou Taken: Yuan Shang Strives;
River Zhang Cut: Xun You Schemes.
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WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.
I know I said before that the story is shifting to the south, and so it is, but for the next couple of chapters, Cao Cao's got some loose-ends to take care of in the north. What are these loose-ends, you might ask? Their names are Yuan Shang, Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, and Gao Gan, the sons (and nephew) of Yuan Shao.
Indeed, this is the chapter where the mighty Yuan Shao, one of the great heroes of the early part of the novel and the only man in all the land who has thus far had an army large enough to challenge Cao Cao's power, dies with not so much as a whimper. It's kind of ironic that, given Yuan Shao's legendary fondness for talking, in the final moments of his life he could not speak a word, not even the name of him who was to succeed him.
In the novel, there is a common theme which seems to pop up time and time again in the households of the regional warlords. That theme is the conflict of succession resulting from the accession of a younger son over the elder, such as in the cases of Yuan Shang/Tan, Liu Zong/Qi (we'll cover that one later in the book), and even, if you can believe it, the House of Cao itself later faces the same internecine strife. In each occasion, the author seems to imply through dialogue just what an ill-advised move it is pass on power to a younger son rather than the eldest. History itself seems to support this. The precedent recorded here, in chapter 32, serves quite well to illustrate the folly of breaking the chain of succession.
Yuan Shang, benefiting from the opportunism of his Mother, is "named" Heir to Yuan Shao's crumbling empire, though "pointed-to" might be a bit more accurate. Yuan Tan, Eldest son of Yuan Shao, waves the bullshit flag. And the Yuan Family, rather than uniting to overcome the "Wolf at the Door", Cao Cao, fall upon each other and waste their resources in a futile and completely Pyrrhic conflict.
Cao Cao shows his brilliance during this stage of the story. In the past, it's been written that Cao Cao was cunning, brave when the situation demanded it, and very, very intelligent. But his successes usually seemed to be brought about by the advice of skilled strategists and tacticians. The plans which Lord Cao implements in order to divide the Yuan Brothers and overcome them seperately are masterful and proves just how much Cao Mengde has come to fulfill the promise of his nickname, the "Hero of Chaos".
One by one, the advisors of the Yuans are falling. Ju Shou and Tian Feng died during Guan Du. Peng Ji is soon to follow. Guo Tu and Shen Pei continue to serve their respective masters, but they too are no match for Cao Cao, and so must inevitably fall. And that, folks, might just be the real tragedy of the Yuan Family's warlord kingdom...Tian Feng was one of the best advisors of the period, Ju Shou was not far behind. Shen Pei was a capable advisor and tactician, Xin Ping was also a solid leader and advisor. All these men, if they had cooperated with each other toward a common goal, would have been sufficient to overcome Cao Cao, cunning though he was. But instead, they plotted and schemed against each other, maneuvering for position. Most of them were actually loyal to the House of Yuan. Loyal. But one by one they die because they just...didn't...get it.
Enjoy this, the Death of Yuan Shao and the strife that ensues forthwith, here on brookhavenchronicles.com. Hit that little orange button over there at the top of the sidebar and subscribe to my rss feed to get this awesome content delivered automatically to you! And thanks for listening.------>
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