The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 65

The Sanguo Yanyi - Chapter 65:

Ma Chao Battles At Jiameng Pass;;

Liu Bei Takes Over Yizhou. 

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WARNING: IT'S THANKSGIVING DAY, IF YOU HAPPEN TO LIVE IN AMERICA. THAT MEANS A LOT OF LEFTOVER TURKEY. BETTER MAKE SOME COLD TURKEY SANDWICHES OUT OF THAT, BEFORE YOU END UP WITH A WHOLE LOT OF THE SAME THING AS YOU'LL FIND IN THIS CHAPTER'S COMMENTARY...YOU KNOW...SPOILERS. 

HAHA. I SLAY MYSELF.  

In the last chapter, of course, Ma Chao was driven from the West Valley Land (eastern Xi province, pretty much), after unwisely giving in to the urge to be a Tyrant, slaying a few people in the process, and then later on having most of his family wiped out by their next-of-kin in revenge. 

It is here that we see the recurring theme of Heaven's invisible hand turning the course of events once again. Ma Chao, you will recall, was the son and heir of Ma Teng, the unfortunate governor of Xi Liang who had been assassinated by Cao Cao a few chapters back. As such, Ma Chao had been one of the Feudal Lords in his own right...a person on equal standing with Liu Bei, Sun Quan, and even Cao Cao himself as far as his essential status in soiety was concerned. 

However, Ma Chao's dastardly deeds in the West Valley Land, his slaying of the submissive Wei Kang among them, pissed Heaven off enough to remove such a grace from Ma Chao...for those of you somewhat unfamiliar with this novel, who were aware that Ma Chao ends up becoming one of Liu Bei's top Generals but did not know how Ma Chao went from being a Feudal Lord to being a mere subordinate of a Feudal Lord, here's where you discover how the ancient Chinese concept of Heaven punishes the deeds of the wicked in subtle but far-reaching ways. No longer will Ma Chao command troops as the ruler of his own country...he will spend the rest of his days in the employ of another...And it is to his soon-to-be employer that the events of history draw Ma Chao...For being driven from his former lands of control, Ma Chao flees the only direction he really could...he flees south, to Han Zhong and the temporary employment offered by Zhang Lu...But Zhang Lu, himself, has been caught up in the politics of the day, the struggle between Liu Bei and his cousin Liu Zhang (who is, it has been noted, Zhang Lu's old enemy)...

So here's Ma Chao, serving Zhang Lu, who is being drawn into the conflict betwen Liu Bei and Liu Zhang, and that, of course, draws the course of history towards an inevitable meeting between Ma Chao and his soon-to-be Lord, Liu Bei...

See how these things work?

But wait! Heaven isn't done playing its game with Ma Chao and Liu Bei yet! You'll recall that a couple chapters ago, Pang Tong, Liu Bei's indispensible advisor, lost his life at Fallen Pheonix Slope...likely this happened because Liu Bei had made the decision to attack and invade the lands of his own cousin, Liu Zhang, which is technically an unfilial action (regardless of the circumstances, of which there were indeed some to extenuate it)...Having punished Liu Bei for his unfilial act by taking away from him his Pang Tong, however, Heaven then gets ready to allow Liu Bei to gain an Empire because, after all, for the most part, he's still a swell guy and all of that.

So it is that Heaven brings Ma Chao within his grasp, and through the agency of Yang Song's connivance and Li Hui's wordcraft, Ma Chao is convinced, perhaps quite rightly, that his only real chance of survival is to abandon the service of Zhang Lu and join Liu Bei. Which, of course, is necessary in order for the next step in Heaven's plan to happen:  For Ma Chao, one of the most feared men in the entire country at this point in the story, a guy known far and wide for being as doughty and fierce a warrior as any alive, has but to simply go to Cheng Du and tell Liu Zhang, basically, "Surrender to Liu Bei or I'll destroy your city and kill you and your people".

Poor Liu Zhang's been under a lot of stress, having fought against his cousin Liu Bei for several years at this point, so that was the final straw. He surrendered soon after, and Shu fell into the hands of Liu Bei.

This chapter is therefore an excellent illustration of how the Han concept of "Heaven" seems to work as an offstage character who, nonetheless, touches and influences every event... I point this out because, though it's never actually said in so many words, "Heaven" or "Fate" is pretty much the most important character in the entire story, and this is one of those chapters where the actions of "Heaven" are really sort of obvious...

Anyways, enjoy this, Chapter 65 of the Sanguo Yanyi, the Chapter where Liu Bei finally gets his destined "Promised Land" of Shu, and the Age of the Three Kingdoms, already well begun, is firmly established for the rest of the novel. Happy listening, courtesy of DJRaspe.com! 

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