The next morning, after he had received the respects from his ministers, King Zhou addressed his messengers,“Transmit my orders to the four grand dukes that they must each present me with 100 beautiful virgins to serve in the palace. Their family background, in terms of rank and wealth, may be ignored,but they must be gentle, virtuous, and above all beautiful.”
But before the king had finished this announcement, a great minister stepped out from the ranks, and knelt down before him, “Your old ministerShang Rong begs to advise Your Majesty that if you rule the country properly the people will continue to take pleasure in their work and obey your wishes without having to be ordered . ”Shang reminded him,“Your Majesty has already 1,000 beautiful women at least,who serve you in your chamber palace. If you now order the conscription of so many beautiful virgins, the people will be dissatisfied and oppose you. Remember the saying,‘When a ruler rejoices with his people, they also rejoice with him; when he grieves at the sorrow of his people, they also grieve at his. 'Your people are now suffering seriously from floods and droughts. How can Your Majesty seek pleasure in women at a time like this? You must recall how emperors Yao and Shun rejoiced with the people and ruled the country with kindness and virtue, without resorting to violence and without bloodshed or war. During their reigns, lucky stars shone brightly over the sky and sweet dew drenched the earth. Phoenixes danced in the palace courtyard and herbs of immortality grew in the fields.The people were rich and everything was in abundance.Rain fell at night and every day was sunny. Two ears would grow on each rice stalk. If Your Majesty seeks only short-lived pleasures: fixing your eyes on obscene events, filling your ears with lewd music, drinking until you become intoxicated, and hunting in the mountains and forests, this is a poor way to rule and will bring about the downfall of the dynasty. As prime minister in your government, and one who's served under three kings, I'm obliged to present Your Majesty with the truth and hope that you won't conscript the virgins and indulge in lascivious pleasure.”
King Zhou remained silent for a long time. Finally he said,“You're right. I'll repeal my edict at once."
Annoyed by what had happened, he had little patience to remain in the hall discussing state affairs with his ministers and quickly retired to his chamber palace.
The following summer, all 800 marquises came to Zhaoge to pledge their allegiance to theShang Dynasty. As Grand Tutor Wen Zhong had been sent to the front to subdue the rebels of the North Sea,Fei Zhongand You Hun had become extremely influential at court and demanded of the dukes and marquises bribes and presents. But Su Hu, Marquis of Jizhou,refused to comply. Su Hu had an indomitable spirit and a fiery temper, but was a righteous man. He refused to ingratiate himself by dishonest means and would explode at the slightest injustice or wrongdoing. He did everything according to law, and refused to confer gifts upon Fei Zhong and You Hun, who as a result were very much annoyed.
At court that morning, after King Zhou had received the respects from his ministers, the gate guard came forward and reported,“To mark this year of celebration, all the dukes and marquises of the nation have arrived in the capital to make obeisance to Your Majesty. At present, they are waiting for your orders outside the palace gate.”
When King Zhou discussed the matter with Shang Rong,the latter replied, “I suggest that Your Majesty grant an audience only to the four grand dukes, whom you can question about the livelihood of their people and about peace and security in their districts, and that the marquises make their obeisance outside the palace gate."
“You're right,Prime Minister,"King Zhou said in delight.
The four grand dukes, all splendidly dressed, entered the Meridian Gate and walked over the Nine Dragon Bridge to the Cinnarbar Terrace, where they knelt and prostrated themselves before King Zhou. The king, in turn, thanked them for their services.
“You labor diligently for me, spending your energy and time educating the people and protecting them from starvation and war. You've achieved great things for the nation," the king said in encouragement.“I'm greatly pleased you've come."
Jiang Huanchu,the East Grand Duke, replied,“It's by grace of Your Majesty that we were created dukes. We're obliged to be diligent and watchful at our posts, so that Your Majesty's mind will always remain at ease. Any service we've rendered comes within the limits of our duty and isn't worthy of praise. However, we greatly appreciate the kind concern shown us by Your Majesty."
The king was delighted with this reply and ordered Shang Rong and Vice Prime Minister Bi Gan to entertain the four grand dukes, while he himself retired to his private court with his favorites Fei Zhong and You Hun.
“Though you advised me to ask the four grand dukes for beautiful virgins, I was stopped by Shang Rong. Now that we've got the dukes here, I'll issue the order to them directly tomorrow morning. That way I can save the trouble of sending messengers to them later. What do you think about that?”
“It was virtuous of Your Majesty to suspend the conscription of beautiful virgins on the Prime Minister's advice.”Fei Zhong said but then admonished the king,“Your Majesty's decision is known to everyone, and you mustn't change your mind or you'll lose their trust. I learned recently that Su Hu has a daughter as beautiful and charming as an angel. She's fully qualified to serve you in the palace.Furthermore, by having her brought to the palace, Your Majesty won't upset the whole nation."
King Zhou was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately sent an order for Su Hu to see him at the Dragon VirtueCourt to discuss urgent state affairs.
When he came, Su Hu kowtowed and then waited on hisknees for the king to speak.
“I'm told that your daughter's mild, virtuous, and modest. I would like to have her serve me in the rear palace. Asher father, you'll become related to the royal family and enjoywealth and rank, known and admired throughout the country.How do you feel about it, Marquis?”asked' King Zhou.
“Your Majesty's got a queen consort and thousands ofconcubines. They're all charming and beautiful and possess talents to please all of your senses. How is it that you're sounwise as to be deluded by your lying courtiers?”Su Hu protested. “My daughter, moreover, is crude and ignorant of therites and has a very homely face. I beg Your Majesty to takemy humble advice and take immediate action to behead your
malicious courtiers so that you may rule with virtue. The future generations will know that you're a good and proper rulerand not a womanizer."
King Zhou burst out laughing. “You're both ignorantand lacking in common sense. Since ancient times, none hasbeen so foolish as to refuse royal connection. Once a daughteris lucky enough to be chosen queen or royal concubine, she'shonored as highly as the king. You would enjoy untold gloryas my relative if you let your daughter serve in my palace.Don't be muddle-headed. Think it over."
At this, Su Hu flew into a rage. He shouted sternly,“Therule can only last when the king reigns with virtue and diligence and the people remain satisfied. You're now careless ofstate affairs, distracted from your duties by an unbridled passion for women. Behaving this way, I'm afraid you'll end upthe downfall of your 600-year-old dynasty.”
King Zhou was enraged. “You must obey the king, even ifit means giving up your life. How dare you oppose my order!And how dare you offend me with your rubbish and insult mefor a wicked king! This is the gravest of offences. You shouldbe arrested and put to death according to law!" he threatened.
When the palace guards placed Su Hu under arrest,Fei Zhong and You Hun entered the court, knelt down and kowtowed to the king. “Su Hu should be punished for hisdisobedience. However, you would be looked upon as a bad ruler, and people would say that you had insulted a good manand imposed limitations on freedom of speech just because youwere unable to get his daughter. It would be better to set himfree and let him return to his post. This way he'll be gratefulfor your generosity and be willing to give you his daughter. Byso doing, the people will admire you as a good ruler, generousand kind, permitting all to enjoy the freedom of speech and allowing dutiful ministers to live in peace. You'll be killing twobirds with one stone."
Now calming down a little, King Zhou said,“I'll do asyou advise. Set him free and let him return to his post. But hemay no longer remain here in the capital."
Su Hu was expelled from the court and ordered to leavethe city at once. When he reached his residence, he was met byhis generals, who asked him,“What important problem didHis Majesty discuss with you?”
Su Hu was still in a rage and cursed the king soundly. “IfI don't send my daughter to him, the bloody bastard is sure tosend an army. But if I do, he'll neglect state affairs, and people'll curse and ridicule me. What shall I do, Generals?”
“It's said that when the ruler is immoral, ministers mayabandon him and seek their future abroad. Our king ignoreshis good and faithful ministers and devotes himself solely to sexual pleasure. Chaos is bound to overrun the country soon.Let's leave this place and declare independence to save ourown homes and lives and the land inherited from our ancestors," they advised him.
Su Hu was greatly excited. “A hero must act in public.Hand me a brush and ink, and I'll write a poem on the Meridian Gate to express my strong resolve never again to serve theShang Dynasty." Eventually, he wrote the following on thewall:
You ignore the rites between king and ministers,
You corrupt the five cardinal virtues of mankind.
Thus, Su Hu, the Marquis of Jizhou, has decided
To offer no further obeisance to the Shang Dynasty.
King Zhou pondered deeply after Su Hu was removedfrom the palace,“Though I've set him free, I still don't knowwhether he'll give his daughter to me or not."
But his meditation was interrupted by a gate officer, whoknelt before him and said,“While on duty at the palacegate, I discovered a quatrain written by Su Hu, in which he announces a rebellion. Not daring to keep it to myself, I'm reporting this to Your Majesty.”
Reading over the explosive poem, King Zhou once more became infuriated. “How dare that bloody bastard act like this.As Heaven prefers not to kill, I didn't cut his damned head offbut set him free instead. This is the way he shows his grati-
tude! This time he must be punished," he cursed, and gavethe order,“Generals Yin,Chao and Lu are hereby ordered tolead six armies under my command to attack Jizhou. Our goalis the utter decimation of the city."
Hearing this order and cheering the king before his throne,General Lu Xiong thought,“Su Hu is a good and faithful minister, but how did he offend the king so much that His Majesty himself is going to Jizhou. Woe to the city!" Feeling apang of compassion for Su Hu, he knelt down and reported,
“Though Su Hu was offensive in Your Majesty's presence, it'sunnecessary for you to venture personally to the front. Sincethe grand dukes are still in the capital,Your Majesty may appoint one or two of them to command the attack. Youshouldn't place yourself in danger on the front."
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“ Who would be the best qualified to act on my behalf?"
“Since Jizhou's in the north, under the administration ofthe North Grand Duke,Your Majesty may logically appointChong Houhu,”Fei Zhong said.
This was quickly approved by the king.
“Chong Houhu’s avaricious and cruel. Wherever his armygoes, people suffer terribly,”General Lu Xiong thought. “Butthe West Grand Duke JiChang is virtuous, loved and welltrusted by the people. Better I recommend him to prevent things from getting worse.”The king was ordering to publishthe appointment when he objected.“ThoughChong Houhu isthe North Grand Duke, he's not fully trusted by the people,and it may be difficult for him to accomplish his mission. How-
ever, Ji Chang has long been known for his virtue. I recommend that you appoint him to take your place. This way, SuHu'll be punished according to law without your having to confront the danger of arrows and spears."
After a long hesitation,King Zhou approved both recommendations, and appointedChong Houhuand Ji Chang asjoint command of the army. When the announcement reachedhim, Ji Chang remarked to the two prime ministers and thethree other dukes at the banquet,“Though Su Hu came tooffer his allegiance, he wasn't admitted to the palace, nor washe received by His Majesty. How could he possibly have offended the king? He's known to all for his loyalty and goodconduct, and for his manyoutstanding military successes.There must have been a good reason for him to write thepoem. His Majesty'll lose sympathy from the marquises if hebelieves the malicious accusations by his minions and attacksSu Hu. Would you two prime ministers try to find out at court
tomorrow morning what crime it is that Su Hu's committed.Should he be guilty, Su Hu must be punished. If not, we mustdo something about it. ”
“You're right, Grand Duke,” Deputy Prime Minister BiGan agreed.
But Chong Houhu held a different view. “The king'swords, if unspoken, are like silk threads, but turn into satinonce he begins to speak. Who would dare to oppose an orderhe had already issued! Besides, Su Hu did indeed write an abusive poem, and His Majesty hasn't made his decisiongroundlessly. Should the 800 marquises all begin to disobey theking, how can His Majesty maintain order?”
“Your point seems quite reasonable,yet it's only onesided. No one doubts that Su Hu's a faithful minister. Heserves the country with loyalty, educates the people methodically and commands his army brilliantly. He's acted faultlesslyfor years now.”Ji Chang refuted him.“I'm at a loss as to who's tricked His Majesty into punishing the innocent. Thisisn't an auspicious omen for the country. I pray that His Majesty won't choose to use violence. War is a serious disaster. Itwastes money, slaughters the people and destroys the peace of the nation."
“You may be right, Grand Duke, but how can we disobeyHis Majesty's orders? We're compelled to follow them, lestwe commit the crime of opposing the ing,"replied ChongHouhu.
“If it be so, lead your army to the front first, and I'll follow you there soon,"said Ji Chang.
The banquet ended, and the party went their separateways. Before his departure,the West Grand Duke said to theprime ministers,“Chong Houhu'll be there first. I have toreturn to West Qi for the time being, and will join himshortly."
Arriving back at Jizhou, Su Hu was met in the suburbs byhis eldest son Su Quanzhong at the head of his generals. Whenhe entered the city, he held a meeting and told his generals allthat had happened to him in the capital. “We must train men
and horses and make preparations to defend the city walls withcatapults and rolling logs against the king's army," he warnedthem.
All of his generals and soldiers took extra care while onguard and prepared themselves for the anticipated attack.Without the least delay, Chong Houhu gathered a
50,000-strong army and left the capital for Jizhou. He was wellequipped with cannons powerful enough to shake the earth,and his troops with their spears and swords were imposing ashuge mountains. After marching through countless cities andtowns, a report came from the vanguard,“The army's arrivedat Jizhou and requests orders from the commander." He ordered the army to halt, and encamp within stockades and
strongholds.
When he learned of the arrival of the invaders, Su Huasked an intelligence officer,“Who's the commander of thearmy?"
“It’s Chong Houhu, the North Grand Duke.”
Su Hu was infuriated. “I'd settle this matter with a compromise if it were any other grand duke but ChongHouhu," he declared.“Chong's an evil fellow, and it's absolutely hopeless to try to settle in peace with him. I'll take himby surprise, and ensure that people won't suffer any harm.”
Amid the firing of cannons, Su Hu led his generals and soldiers out of the city roaring like thunder. He lined up his menand shouted, “Let me talk with your commander now!”
Chong Houhu led his men out of the strongholds to meetthe challenge. He rode on a tall stallion,wore golden chainmail, a red robe and a jade belt, and held a cutlass across hissaddle. Behind him came his eldest son, his generals and twogreat banners,one embroidered with a dragon and the otherwith a phoenix.
SeeingChongHouhu in front of him, Su Hu bowed.“How are you, Grand Duke. I'm terribly sorry that I cannotoffer you a complete salutation, as I'm in helmet and ar-
mor,” he greeted and then came to the point,“King Zhouhas of late become corrupt and immoral as a ruler. He showsno respect for his ministers, cares little for the state and listensonly to the minion courtiers. He compelled me to give him mydaughter as a concubine. Addicted to sex and wine, he nowleads a life of dissipation. The kingdom'll soon suffer fromgreat disturbances and is bound to fall before long. But I've always stayed within my own marquisate, and am surprised tosee you here with your army."
In anger,Chong Houhu said,“You disobeyed the ordersof His Majesty and wrote a treasonable poem on the wall ofthe Meridian Gate. You're a rebel and ought to be punishedby death. By order of His Majesty, I'm here to carry out hissentence. You should have knelt down before my army inunconditional surrender, but you stand there in armorbrandishing your weapons and mouth glib rubbish!”Turningtowards his men he demanded,“Who'll take that filthy banditfor me?"
A general, wearing a phoenix-feather helmet, a scarlet robe
and golden armor, urged forward his black stallion crying,
“I'll take that bloody bastard.”
Galloping swiftly to the front, he was met by General Su Quanzhong, Su Hu's eldest son, who, brandishing a halberd,shouted,“What's the big hurry? Come on, let's fight.”He recognized his opponent as General Mei Wu.
“Su Quanzhong, you and your father are rebelling against His Majesty. Lay down your arms and surrender, or else your whole clan will die.”
Su Quanzhong remained silent. Urging his horse forward, he stabbed at Mei Wu's chest with his halberd. Mei Wu resisted bravely and struck at him with his battle-axe. Their combat proceeded vigorously. After twenty rounds,Mei Wu received a fatal wound and fell dead to the ground.
Now that his son had won the first encounter, Su Hu ordered his men to beat the drums, signaling an all-round engagement. At this Zhao Bing, Chen Jizhen and the Jizhou soldiers launched into the enemy line. After a fierce battle, the field was soon piled high with the dead and wounded, and blood flowed freely over the wilderness under a gloomy sky.Chong Houhu and his generals Jin Kui，Huang Yuanji and Chong Yingbiao were utterly defeated and retreated to a distance of ten miles.
Returning, Su Hu held a meeting to discuss the future with his generals. “Though we've defeated Chong Houhu today,he'll come here again with a stronger force,"Su Hu said.“Jizhou's still in great danger. What shall we do now?”
Zhao Bing stepped forward and said, “In my humble opinion, since we've taken the first step, we must take the second.Chong's suffered defeat this time and retreated, though not too far from us. We might launch a surprise attack tonight and smash his stockades in the darkness. When we've routed him completely Chong'll come to realize that we're not to be trifled with. Only then can we hope to come to terms with a duke other than Chong and save the city from destruction.What do you think, Marquis?”
Su Hu was overjoyed at this suggestion.“You're quite right. I agree with you completely," he said, then issued orders,“Su Quanzhong with 3,000 men are to lay an ambush at Wugang, about ten miles beyond the west gate;General Chen Jizhen's to lead his army on the left and Zhao Bing on the right,while I'll be in the middle.”
After dusk, Su Hu's armies were ordered to march to theirpositions, flags rolled up, drums quiet and horses moving in silence. Soon they would take the enemy by surprise.
Chong Houhu had not expected such a defeat and the lossof his generals and soldiers. With nowhere to turn to, he gathered his troops and encamped anew. He addressed his men,“Though I've fought countless battles in my day, never have I
suffered such a defeat as today! The death of Mei Wu in particular is a great loss to us. What shall we do?”
General Huang Yuanji consoled him,“Don't you know,Grand Duke, that victories and defeats are routine business inthe army. The West Grand Duke'll soon be with us, and we'llbe able to smash Jizhou as easily as snapping our fingers. Youshouldn't worry too much."
At thisChongHouhu brightened up and drank with hisgenerals in their new camp. Meanwhile Su Hu led his army quietly out of the city and waited patiently for the moment tocome. By the time of the first watch, the army had marched
ten miles, and the enemy camp was in sight. At a prearrangedsignal, Su Hu's cavalry and infantry bravely launched their attack, taking Chong completely by surprise. They rushed in liketigers and wolves, slaughtering and maiming on all sides. SuHu was riding alone, lance in hand, in search of Chong Houhu.
Chong was startled from his dreams by the battle cries. Hedressed quickly, mounted his horse, grabbed his cutlass andstormed away from his tent into the combat. Soon he cameupon Su Hu, in a golden helmet and armor, mounted on a
black horse and wielding a long fire dragon lance.Su Hu sawhim.“Chong Houhu! How dare you flee so shamelessly. Getdown from your horse and be my captive," he shouted.
Chong was greatly frightened, and had little choice but tomatch his cutlass against Su Hu's lance. At this moment, hisson Chong Yingbiao, Jin Kui and Huang Yuanji came to hisaid. But Zhao Bingand Chen Jizhen appeared moments laterto right the temporary imbalance. The men on both sides battled furiously in the dark of night. Su Hu's troops were wellprepared for the attack, while Chong Houhu's men were taken bysurprise. Thus, the soldiers of Jizhou fought with extraordinarybravery, and Chong Houhu's men were totally overwhelmed.
In the midst of the fight,Jin Kui was felled from hishorse by Zhao Bing and died instantly. Realizing that the situation was not to be saved, Chong Houhu was forced to beat afighting retreatwithChong Yingbiao. They ran like homelessdogs, while the soldiers of Jizhou fought as bravely as tigersand fiercely as wolves. The ground was strewn with corpses,and blood flowed in streams. After pursuing the fleeing troops
for twenty miles, Su Hu gave the order that his men return toJizhou.
Fleeing,Chong HouhuandChong Yingbiao met HuangYuanji, Sun Ziyu and their soldiers. Chong Houhu groaned.“Since I first became a soldier, I've never suffered such a bigdefeat as this. I never expected those treacherous bandits wouldattack ourstockades in the middle of night, and cost us officersand many soldiers. We must take our revenge. I'm alsodispleased that Ji Chang should rest peacefully in his dukedom,
and ignore His Majesty's orders. He doesn't send us a singlesoldier but sits back and watches me suffer a defeat. I won'ttolerate this."
“We've lost our fighting spirit,”Chong Yingbiao said.“I suggest that we take a defensive position and take no further action for the present. Let's send a messenger to Ji Changto request reinforcements."
“You're right, my son. Let's discuss this again atdawn,”replied Chong Houhu.
He was not aware that an ambush was prepared for them.As they rode, the sudden thunder of cannons rent the air andthey heard the Jizhousoldiers roaring“Chong Houhu dismount from your horse and die!”
Looking up, Chong Houhu saw a brave young general in agolden helmet and armor, with a face round as the full moonand lips red as vermillion. “On my father's orders I've waitedfor you for a long time. Throw down your cutlass, get off your
horse and meet your death,” cried Su Quanzhong.“What areyou waiting for?"
“You bloody bastard! Both you and your father are wicked rebels, killing generals and soldiers sent here by His Majesty. Your crimes are weighty as mountains, and you deserve tobe sliced into a thousand pieces. It's too early for you to brag
about victory, though I've suffered from your surprise raid. Assoon as the reinforcements from His Majesty arrive, you andyour father shall meet instant deaths,"Chong Houhureviledin return. “Who'll take this rascal for me?"
General Huang Yuanji spurred his horse forward andswung his cutlass at Su Quanzhong, who met the charge withhis halberd. They fought an intense battle, with neither sidetaking the immediate upper hand. Then, Sun Ziyu galloped out
with his forked spear to join the fight against Su. With amighty roar, Su Quanzhong pierced Sun Ziyu's helmet with hisweapon, bringing him crashing to the ground.
Though the combat was joined by Chong Houhu and hisson, Su uanzhongfought on single-handedly against the threegenerals, displaying the courage of a tiger in the mountains ora dragon in the sea. Su Quanzhong's halberd slashed ChongHouhu's armor, knocking off a piece covering his thigh. Muchalarmed, Chong spurred his horse and with a rapid leap fledthe scene of combat. Seeing his father flee, ChongYingbiao became discouraged and distracted. A thrust of Su's halberd athis heart caught him unawares, but hastily avoiding it, he tooka heavy blow in the left arm. Blood soaked his robes and armor. He would have fallen from his horse had not his generalsrushed forward to support him. Once again,Chong Houhu'sarmy suffered a terrible defeat.
Su Quanzhong dared not pursue any further in the darkness, and went back to the city.
At dawn, Su Hu held a conference at court. He asked SuQuanzhong,“Have you captured that rogue?”
“By your order, I had my men lay an ambush at Wugang,and the defeated enemy troops fell into the trap at midnight. Ifought bravely and managed to stab Sun Ziyu to death, knockoff Chong Houhu's armor and pierceChong Yingbiao's leftarm. They were thoroughly defeated, but I dared not chasethem farther in the dark. I had no choice but to return," Su Quangzhong reported.
“Chong Houhu was lucky. You may rest now, my son.”SuHu was very pleased with this outcome.
If you wish to know what happened after that, please readthe next chapter.
