“When I saw Cao Cao, I said that to keep you going was like feeding a tiger. The tiger must be kept fully fed or he would eat humans. But Cao Cao laughed and replied, 'No; not that. One must treat the Commander like a falcon. Not feed it till the foxes and hares are done. Hungry, the bird is of use; full fed it flies away.' I asked who were the quarry. He replied, 'Yuan Shu of the South of River Huai, Sun Ce of the South Land, Yuan Shao of Jizhou, Liu Biao of Jingzhou, Liu Zhang of Yiazhou, and Zhang Lu of Hanzhong; these are the foxes and hares.'“

Lu Bu threw aside his sword and laughed, saying, “Yes; he understands me.”

But just about that time came news of the advance of Yuan Shu on Xuzhou, and that frightened Lu Bu.

When discord rose between Qin and Jin,

They were attacked by Yue and Wu,

And when a promised bride never came,

An army marched against army to enforce the claim.

How all this fell out will be shown in the next chapter.

CHAPTER 17. Yuan Shu Marches Out An Army Of Seven Divisions; Cao Cao And Three Generals Join Forces

The south of River Huai was very fruitful, and Yuan Shu, as governor of such a large territory, was very influential. He was not a little puffed up. The possession of the Imperial Hereditary Seal, pledged by Sun Ce, added to his pride. And he seriously thought of assuming the full style.

As a preliminary he assembled all his officers and addressed them thus: “The Supreme Ancestor, the Founder of Han Dynasty, was only a very minor official, and yet he became ruler of the empire. The dynasty has endured four centuries, and its measure of fortune has run out. It no longer possesses authority; the cauldron is on the point of boiling over. My family has held the highest offices of state for four generations and is universally respected. Wherefore I wish, in response to the will of Heaven and the desire of the people, to assume the Imperial Dignity. What think ye of the proposal, my officers?”

Secretary Yan Xiang rose in opposition at once, saying, “You may not do this. Prince Wen, the Ancestor of the Zhou, was of distinguished virtue and held many offices; till the last years of Shang Dynasty, he had two thirds of the empire. Still he served and was loyal to the ruling house. Your house is honorable, but it is not so glorious as that of Zhou. The Hans may be reduced, but they are not so abominably cruel as those of the Shang Dynasty that they are to be overthrown. Indeed this should not be done.”

Yuan Shu did not hear this with pleasure.

Said he, “We Yuans came from the Chen family, the same ancestry with King Shun. By the rule of interpreting the signs of fate, the day has come when earth (Chen) receives fire (Liu). Beside there is an oracle saying, 'One who replaces the Hans must wade through deep mire.' My name means 'the high road.' It fits exactly. Further than this, I possess the Imperial Hereditary Seal and must become lord of all or I turn from Heaven's own way. Finally, I have made up my mind, so if any one says too much, that person will simply suffer death.”

Yuan Shu arrogated himself the insignia of royalty and assigned Second Glory the reign title. He set up officials with titles only given by an emperor, and rode in a chariot decorated with the dragon and phoenix, and offered sacrifices after the manner of an emperor in the north and south suburbs. Also he appointed the daughter of Feng Fang his Empress and his son Heir Apparent, and he pressed for the early wedding of Lu Bu's daughter with his son so that the palace entourage might be complete.

But when Yuan Shu heard of the fate of his marriage ambassador, Han Yin, who was sent to the capital and was executed, Yuan Shu was very angry and began at once to plan for revenge. He made Zhang Xun his Grand Commander and gave Zhang Xun the command of more than two hundred thousand soldiers with the instruction to invade Xuzhou. The army consisted of seven divisions under seven commanders: Zhang Xun led the Center Army; Qiao Rui, the First Left Army; Lei Bo, the Second Left Army; Han Xian, the Third Left Army; Chen Ji, First Right Army; Chen Lan, Second Right Army; and Yang Feng, the Third Right Army. Each commander was instructed to make a certain town his objective.

The Imperial Protector of Yangzhou, Jin Shang, was ordered to superintend the commissariat, but he declined the office. And so Yuan Shu put Jin Shang to death. Ji Ling was in command of the reserves to help wherever he was required. Yuan Shu led thirty thousand troops, and he appointed three generals, Li Feng, Liang Gang, and Yue Jiu, to go up and down and coordinate the grand march.