Page:Romance of the Three Kingdoms - tr. Brewitt-Taylor - Volume 1.djvu/92

 Both men wept freely as they separated.

Now Yüan Shu, hearing that his brother had come into Ichou, sent to beg a thousand horses. The request was refused and enmity sprang up between the brothers. He also sent to Chingchow to borrow grain, which Liu Piao would not send. In his resentment he wrote to Sun Chien trying to get him to attack Liu Piao. The letter ran like this:—

“When Liu Piao stopped you on your way home it was at the instigation of my brother. Now the same two have planned to fall upon your district, wherefore you should at once strike at Liu Piao. I will capture my brother for you and both resentments will be appeased. You will get Chingchow and I shall have Ichou.”

“I cannot bear Liu Piao,” said Sun Chien as he finished reading this letter. “He certainly did bar my way home and I may wait many years for my revenge if I let slip this chance.”

He called a council.

“You may not trust Yüan Shu; he is very deceitful,” said Chêng Pu.

“I want revenge on my own part; what care I for his help?” said Chien.

He despatched Huang Kai to prepare a river fleet, arm and provision them. Some craft were to take horses on board. The force soon set out.

News of these preparations came to Liu Piao and he hastily summoned his advisers and warriors. K‘uai Liang told him to be free from anxiety, and said, “Put Huang Tsu at the head of the Chianghsia army to make the first attack and you, Sir, support him. Let Sun Chien come ‘riding the rivers and straddling the lakes;’ what can he do?”

So Huang Tsu was bidden to prepare to march and a great army was assembled.

Here it may be said that Sun Chien had four sons, all the issue of his wife who was of the Wu family. Their names were Ts‘ê (Po-fu), Ch‘üan (Chung-mou), I (Shu-pi) and K‘uang (Chi-tso). His wife’s sister was his second wife, and she bore him a son and daughter, the former called Lang (Tsao-an), the latter Jên. He had also adopted a son from the Yü family named Shao (Kung-li). And he had a younger brother named Ching (Yu-t‘ai).

As Sun Chien was leaving on this expedition his brother with all his sons stood near his steed and dissuaded him, saying, “Tung Cho is the real ruler of the State for the Emperor is a weakling. The whole country is in rebellion, every one is scrambling for territory. Our district is comparatively peaceful and it is wrong to begin a war merely for the sake of a little resentment. I pray you, brother, to think before you start.”