by Luo Guanzhong
12Let us now turn to Zhang Rang and Duan Gui, who had made off with both the young emperor and the Prince of Chenliu. They had battled their way through the smoke and flames, and rushed through the night toward Mount Mang.[6] At around midnight, they heard a loud commotion behind them, which was accompanied by lots of shouting. Horses and men quickly arrived; in the front was Min Gong, assistant to the governor of central Henan, who shouted, "Halt you traitors!" Zhang Rang saw how desperate the situation was, so he jumped into the river and died. The emperor and the Prince of Chenliu knew not what to believe, so they dared not make any loud noises. They hid in some tall grass beside the river. The soldiers and horses scattered in all four directions, they did not know the whereabouts of the emperor.
13
The emperor and the prince hid until the fourth watch; the dew started to cover everything. They were hungry, and embraced each other. They began to weep, but were afraid of someone noticing them, so they stifled their sobs while still amongst the reeds. The Prince of Chenliu said, "We cannot linger here for much longer, we must find a road out of here." The two of them then bound themselves together with their clothing, and climbed up onto the bank of the river. The area was carpeted with thorn bushes, and they could not see the path in the dark. They were about to give up, when a swarm of fireflies suddenly appeared, and lit up the area. They only flew around the emperor. The Prince of Chenliu said, "Heaven must be helping my brother!" They followed the light from the fireflies, and eventually spotted the road. They walked until the fifth watch, when their feet became too sore to continue. There was a haystack at the foot of a small hill. The emperor and the prince crouched down beside the haystack. In front of the haystack was a villa. The master of the villa had been dreaming that two red suns had landed behind his villa, and woke up with a start. He got dressed, went outside, and looked all around. He noticed a red glow, rising up into the sky, from the haystack behind the villa. He hurried over to take a look, and found the two of them crouching beside the hay.
Continued next week. Tomorrow's installment from Lays of Ancient Rome by Macaulay.
This is one of four great novels from China, published when it was the most highly civilization in the world. Map shows China at the time of this story.
Chapter Summary: How Dong Zhuo rebukes Ding Yuan in the Garden of Warmth and Brightness; Li Su wins over Lü Bu with offerings of gold and pearls.
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This translation from Wikipedia. See license CC-BY-SA.
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