The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 51
Tuesday, August 3, 2010 at 7:57AM The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 51:
Cao Ren Withstands The South Land;
Zhuge Liang Angers Zhou Yu.
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WARNING: DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU. ONLY DO IT FIRST, AND THEN RUN LIKE HELL.
Chapter 51 is a chapter which sees Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu, allies of late against the overwhelming military force Cao Cao has brought to bear in the South, turning their attentions instead to each other.
The reader will no doubt have noticed throughout the course of the story thus far a healthy distrust between Zhou Yu, the Southland's premier strategist, and Zhuge Liang, the rock upon which Liu Bei intends to build his fledgling kingdom. Now that Cao Cao has more or less been taken out of the equation, for the time being, Zhou Yu understands full well that time is of the essence.
Cao Cao's defeat at Chi Bi has seriously compromised his position in the Jing Province, but recently acquired after the death of Liu Biao and his heir Liu Zong, and both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang know that the other will be laying plans to seize the region in its weakness. Zhou Yu, naturally, would be the one to seize the day, but he also knows just how dangerous the insights of Zhuge Liang are.
In addition, there's technically a state of alliance between the Southland and Liu Bei's forces, so things must be handled very carefully. Thus, though previously in the story relations between the two forces had been conducted by intermediaries such as Lu Su or Mi Zhu, now Zhou Yu goes to meet with Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang in person. Certainly highly unusual for Zhou Yu as we've seen him thus far, but the situation appears to demand it.
Of course, Zhuge Liang is on top of things, as usual, and knows the hidden intent behind Zhou Yu's visit. Zhou Yu means to gain an advantage for the Southland (not to mention a significant buffer for the Southland), but first he has to play the Diplomacy game. The reader might also remember that it was the Southland who fielded the majority of the allied armies against Cao Cao during the Battle of Chi Bi. So Zhou Yu's claim that the Southland should have the first crack at the Jing Province does have a certain legitimacy.
So it is that the conference between Zhou Yu and Liu Bei ends up with an agreement that the Southland should first attempt to take the Jing Province, with Liu Bei's force holding its actions until a conclusion shall be obtained one way or the other. On the surface this seems to be a victory for Zhou Yu. After all, he's Zhou Yu, the chief military mind in the Southland, the man who has but recently brought the mighty Cao Cao to his knees at the Red Cliffs.
The Jing Province is being guarded by Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun, both of them extremely capable field commanders, but certainly not of the same caliber as their kinsman and Master, Cao Cao. It seems at the outset that Zhou Yu should not have too much trouble taking Nanjun. But that Zhuge Liang were a shrewd one. And he knows that sometimes, it's the one who waits for his opportunity that seizes victory (Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Sengoku-Era Japanese Daimyo, is a good example of this), so Liang lets Zhou Yu make his attempt.
This part of the book will no doubt irritate many a reader. There are many, like me, who have nothing but admiration for Zhuge Liang. There are many also who hold Zhou Yu in the same kind of esteem. I myself respect both men for the things they accomplished and the abilities they possessed. The chapters to follow amount to an almost Looney Tunes-like contest between Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang, like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.
It is unfortunate that Zhou Yu is made to look like some sort of buffoon, but I do see why the author presented the story in the way he did. It's unfortunate, but one of them had to look like the chump. As history has demonstrated, Zhuge Liang is the one that survived.
Normally I'd go on and on and on and on and on here, but I think this time, I'm just going to let you listen to the chapter in peace. I rock.
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