The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 38
Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 10:06PM The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 38:
Zhuge Liang Plans For The Three Kingdoms;
Sun Quan Attacks Xiakou To Take Revenge.
Listen:
Download Episode (Click this link. It will bring up a page with an audio player loaded with the file. Right click your mouse and "save as" to download episode.)
WARNING! THE SANGUO YANYI AUDIOBOOK IS BACK IN PRODUCTION, BITCHES! (Oh yeah, and something about spoilers, too.)
So it's been pretty much a whole month since I last posted one of these (or, for that matter, anything). I know, right? I'm a lazy one, I am. Wanna see if I've still got it? Download and/or listen to the episode live, and read the commentary to figure that one out, I guess.
Chapter 38 is a chapter chock full of foreshadowing. Zhuge Liang is often represented in the novel of being a man of godlike insight. While I would not attach deityhood to a person nearly as easily as did the ancient Chinese, I will say that however it is that he predicts the future seems to be remarkably accurate, as portrayed. However, before I get to what exactly it is that Zhuge Liang foresees (though, really, if I HAVE to tell you, you've obviously not been paying attention...), I will first spend a little time talking about Zhuge Liang the man.
Zhuge Liang, as I understand it, actually existed. He was a real man, a real flesh and blood being, and apparently quite good at the whole strategy thing. Which is in itself interesting, when one considers the lack of formal military training which Zhuge Liang had. He was a simple farmer (then again, so was Zhang Fei prior to the Yellow Scarf Rebellion. Interesting how farmers tended to be badasses in the late Han...) and yet was paradoxially as skilled at the art of war as any General who had spent several decades in the army.
It is this talent which caused Xu Shu to recommend him to Liu Bei on the very eve of his tragic defection to Cao Cao. Now, when you look at the scenario, it's not too difficult to understand why Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are less than enthused about their Lord and Sworn Brother's obsession with gaining the talents of Zhuge Liang. In a time when most of the great leaders of the day were all pushing 50, here's this bookish twenty-something, a simple farmer who's never fought a battle in his life, and their Master's falling all over himself to gain the bookworm as a retainer.
It's worth it, though. As Yu and Fei both learn to their great surprise, Zhuge Liang, having never fought a battle in his life, turns out to be more than a match for Cao Cao's cousin, (or Brother, even, by virtue of his own Xiahou blood), Xiahou Dun, as we shall see in the following chapters. Xiahou Dun was a very talented general, a capable strategist, and an excellent administrator. Certainly, no simpleton, but one of the massive foundation stones upon which Cao Cao's fledgling empire was built. For Zhuge Liang to completely rout Xiahou Dun, and then soon after (as we will see), another veteran general, Cao Ren, in his first battle ever, well, that's quite impressive to say the least.
But even so, such a thing could be called a fluke. And certainly, at first, Cao Cao probably thought the same, much to the detriment of his southern expeditionary force.
But the most important part of this chapter, I think, is the vision which Zhuge Liang foresees for the future of the Han, long torn apart by internecine warfare. Simply put, the Three Kingdoms, or Empires, are foreseen by Zhuge Liang as the future state of affairs in the Empire. This may not in itself be all that impressive a prediction, but it does demonstrate that Zhuge Liang understood quite well the purpose of each leg of the tripod. Cao Cao, obviously, was a dominant force, and if there had been only two kingdoms instead of three, Liu Bei might indeed have been screwed. But the third Kingdom, Wu, the Southland, held the balance of power, and only in allying with Wu could Cao Cao or Liu Bei triumph. Indeed, in future chapters, we will see both Cao Cao and Liu Bei attempt to gain the advantage by seeking an alliance with Wu.
Throughout his lifetime, Zhuge Liang would remain a staunch advocate of Shu-Han's alliance with Wu, even re-establishing broken ties with Wu following the death of Liu Bei. This is because Zhuge Liang knew the value of the Southland, and knew full well the consequences of allowing them to ally instead with Cao Cao.
Another plot point in this chapter is, of course, the invasion of Xia Kou, which is within the territory of Liu Biao of Jingzhou, by the navy of the Southland. In the first Battle of Xia Kou, Sun Quan loses his officer, Ling Cao (who, by the way, is quite a badass in the RoTK video games), who is slain by Gan Ning, an unappreciated officer of Liu Biao's subordinate, Huang Zu.
Gan Ning is one of my favorite characters in the book. In many ways, he appears to be a great example of the swashbuckling hero, fighting both with ferocity and flair. In fact, before becoming one of Liu Biao's best (and most under-rated), Gan Ning had previously been a pirate. What's more swashbuckler than a pirate? It's kinda a shame they never made a movie about the Three Kingdoms in the thirties. Errol Flynn might have made a good Gan Ning. :p Well, except that Mr. Flynn was A) Probably more or less unaware of Gan Ning, or anyone else in the Late-Han for that matter, since this novel wasn't as well known in the West in the earlier decades of the 20th century as it is now, and B) Far too busy being a double-agent for Nazi Germany to play Gan Ning in any work of cinema. :p
In the second Battle of Xia Kou, Gan Ning, now working for the Southland, brings victory to the forces of the Sun Family. Unfortunately, this also sets the stage for some strife between Gan Ning and Ling Tong, son of the slain Ling Cao. Confrontation between the two of them is quite inevitable.
At any rate, enough yapping. Enjoy this, the thirty eighth chapter in the Sanguo Yanyi audiobook, only at you-know-where!
Reader Comments