by Luo Guanzhong
8Let us now turn to the young emperor who, along with Empress Dowager He and Consort Tang, was imprisoned within Yong'an Palace. They were gradually running out of clothing, food and drink; the young emperor's tears could not be dried. One day, he suddenly saw a pair of flying swallows in the courtyard. It inspired him to compose a poem, which went:
9
Amidst green tender grass and congealing mist, a pair of flying swallows.
The pristine waters of the Luo River are the envy of all who stand on footpaths between rice paddies.
I look off into the distance, and see my old palace among the blue-green clouds.
Whose loyalty can be trusted, that I may reveal to them the resentment in my heart!
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Dong Zhuo frequently sent people to keep tabs on the situation; they acquired this poem on that day, and came and presented it to Dong Zhuo. Zhuo said, "He shows his resentment by composing poems; now I have a good excuse to kill him." He then ordered Li Ru to take ten soldiers, and enter the palace to kill the emperor. At the time, the emperor was upstairs with the empress dowager and his consort. When a lady-in-waiting reported the arrival of Li Ru, the emperor was greatly surprised. When Li Ru offered poisoned wine to the emperor, the emperor asked the reason. Ru said, "Springtime is when everything becomes more warm and cordial, and so Chancellor of State Dong has especially sent this wine in honor of your birthday." The empress dowager said, "Since it is wine for his birthday, you can drink first." Ru angrily replied, "You won't drink?" He ordered his attendants to hold a dagger and a white silk shroud in front of them, and said, "If you don't drink the birthday wine, you can take these two items instead!" Consort Tang kneeled and declared, "I will drink the wine on behalf of the emperor; my only wish is that you spare the lives of mother and son." Ru scolded her, "Who are you, that you can die on behalf a monarch?" He then held up the wine and said to Empress Dowager He, "You can drink first!" The empress dowager cursed He Jin for his lack of foresight in bringing bandits into the capital, which was the cause of today's tragedy. Ru pressed the emperor, so the emperor said, "Allow me to bid farewell to the empress dowager." Filled with great emotion, he composed a verse. The verse went:
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Heaven and earth are changed and the sun and moon are overturned; the emperor has been cast aside and banished to the frontier.
Because of the insistence of a certain minister, my life on this earth is not much longer; the situation is lost, and my tears flow in vain!
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: Deposing the Han emperor: Chenliu becomes emperor; plotting against the villain Dong: Mengde presents a dagger.
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This translation from Wikipedia. See license CC-BY-SA.
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