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Chapter 46 sees a continuation of the web of ploys and schemes which so characterizes the Battle of Chi Bi. In the last chapter, Zhou Yu used Jiang Gan (who had been sent over to try to sway Zhou Yu over to Wei, and more importantly, away from Wu) as an unwitting weapon against Cao Cao, which resulted in Cao Cao being tricked into executing his two most capable, if despicable, naval Commanders, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun.
One of the subplots present during the Chi Bi storyline is the relationship between the three major strategists involved in the Wu-Shu alliance at the Red Cliffs; Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Zhuge Liang. Zhou Yu sees Zhuge Liang, rightfully so, as a great threat to the security of the Southland, and so thinks to compass Liang's death (without accruing the dishonor associated with killing an ally). Zhuge Liang knows Zhou Yu intends to kill him. Zhou Yu likely knows that Zhuge Liang knows that Zhou Yu's trying to kill him. I have no idea how many cycles deep this game of "I know, you know" goes, but considering the intelligence and wisdom of both these splendid strategists, I can imagine it goes pretty deep.
Lu Su serves as the intermediary between them, and his role is complicated. Sometimes, he serves as an instigator, and sometimes, he serves as a confidant. At any rate, after Zhou Yu dies in later chapters, Lu Su will be the one to take his place as the prime minister of the Southland, and he is indeed fortunate to have such capable men as Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu to study.
Zhuge Liang's method of not only obtaining a lot of arrows for Wu to use, but removing the same amount of arrows from the Enemy's supply, and evading Zhou Yu's clever little trap to put him to death is brilliant, if not particularly innovative. Sun Jian utilized much the same tactics early in the novel when he invaded Liu Biao. But nonetheless, this demonstrates quite clearly that Zhuge Liang knows his stuff. We tend to measure the greatness of individuals against the average person, but when great individuals square off against one another, either there is a victor and a loser, or else the thing ends in a stalemate. I think the author of this version of the novel realized this, and that is behind the "character assassination" of Zhou Yu, so to speak. Zhou Yu was great. None can deny that. But that was because he used his mind against the less intelligent. Zhuge Liang was every bit as intelligent as Zhou Yu, and trying to trick the smart and the wise is not nearly so easy.
But where Zhou Yu fails in tricking Zhuge Liang, he succeeds in tricking Cao Cao, largely, I think, due to the somewhat fickle nature of "Heaven" in ancient Han-Chinese thought. When Cao Cao fought Yuan Shao, Heaven aided him and brought Yuan Shao and his whole family to ruin. Now, Heaven appears to be doing the same stuff to Cao Cao that it did to Yuan Shao during Guan Du. Perhaps that's the reason Zhou Yu is able to trick Cao Cao so many times. Or perhaps it's just because Zhou Yu's just that damn good. (Considering Cao Mengde's abilities under normal circumstances, though, I doubt that Cao Cao was any less capable than Zhou Yu was.)
Another important event in this chapter is the beating of Huang Gai. Huang Gai is one of my favorite characters in the entire story, and this is why. He purposefully allows Zhou Yu to have him beaten half to death, just so that he can make a false-defection ploy work. That takes a strength of character that most people, quite frankly, lack. Huang Gai has been around for pretty much the whole novel. Thus far he's served three generations of the Sun Family in the Southland, and in all the Southland, there's probably no finer a vassal to the Sun Family than Huang Gai.
These deceptions, of course, contribute to the overall defeat of Cao Cao at Chi Bi, thus halting Cao Cao's advance into the South, and without quick thinking and courage, they would not have been successful, Cao Cao would have won, and I would probably have quite far less chapters remaining to make.
Enjoy this, the forty sixth chapter of the Sanguo Yanyi audiobook, here at Brookhavenchronicles.com.