P.S: This may be my last blog post for the time being since I killed my mom's laptop and my desktop is now beyond life support.
A/N: Ah well, at least I can have a hand in footie formation doodling and random writing lolz. Hopefully can some up with a decent next chapter for ART.
But firstly, let's time jump
[瑜两男一女，女配太子登。男循尚公主，拜骑都尉，有瑜风，早卒。]
Trans:
[Yu left behind two sons and a daughter, the latter betrothed to the Crown Prince. His elder son, Xun, was made the Capital Commander of Cavalry. Having his father's air, Xun sadly passed away early.]
Analysis:
Good looking parents=good looking children. It's a no-brainer to see Zhou Yu's daughter marrying Sun Quan's firstborn son, the only bummer was his son, Zhou Xun, passing away early. Fyi, a Capital Commander is he who bosses the capital city's forces, i.e. Zhou Xun was in charge of Eastern Wu's capital cavalry.
In ancient times, cavalry was extremely prized as vital tactical units working in tandem with infantry forces. Needless to say, training decent mounted troops was a certified drag. This is also why those assuming command must have a sharp military brain, let alone strongly trusted. Also, it must be known that such mounted units during that time were considered light/medium cavalry. In short, disruption via mobility and speed is the vital key.
Interestingly, Zhao Yun was Liu Bei's chief cavalry commander way before the Sun-Liu alliance took place (yes, Zhao Yun is my fave Shu Han general b/c he's way too underrated).
[循弟胤，初拜兴业都尉。妻以宗女，授兵千人，屯公安。黄龙元年，封都乡侯，后以罪徙庐陵郡。]
Trans:
[Xun's younger brother, Yin, was the Capital Commander of Prosperity. His wife a part of Sun clan, he was granted a thousand personal soldiers and being stationed at Gong'an. During the first year of Huanglong calender, he was bestowed the honorary title of a capital marquis. Afterwards, he was exiled to Luling county.]
Analysis:
The prophet Jeremiah was right after all. Thankfully, I can never call myself a good Christian.
[赤乌二年，诸葛瑾、步骘连名上疏曰："故将军周瑜子胤，昔蒙粉饰，受封为将，不能养之以福，思立功效，至纵情欲，招速罪辟。臣窃以瑜昔见宠任，入作心膂，出为爪牙，衔命出征，身当矢石，尽节用命，视死如归。故能摧曹操于乌林，走曹仁于郢都，扬国威德，华夏是震，蠢尔蛮荆，莫不宾服。虽周之方叔，汉之信、布，诚无以尚也。夫折冲扦难之臣，自古帝王莫不贵重，故汉高帝封爵之誓曰'使黄河如带，太山如砺，国以永存，爰及苗裔'。申以丹书，重以盟诅，藏于宗庙，传于无穷，欲使功臣之后，世世相踵，非徒子孙，乃关苗裔，报德明功，勤勤恳恳，如此之至，欲以劝戒后人，用命之臣，死而无悔也。况于瑜身没未久，而其子胤降为匹夫，益可悼伤。窃惟陛下钦明稽古，隆于兴继，为胤归诉，乞丐余罪，还兵复爵，使失旦之鸡，复得一鸣。抱罪之臣，展其后效。"]
Trans:
[*sorry, above shit too cumbersome*]
Analysis:
During the second year of Chiwu calender, we got two big ****s shooting court appeal. Lest you ppl think I bullshitting, go Google Zhuge Jin and Bu Zhi. Basically, the contents of appeal went on and on about Zhou Yu's contribution especially routing Cao Cao at Wuling.
[权答曰："腹心旧勋，与孤协事，公瑾有之，诚所不忘。昔胤年少，初无功劳，横受精兵，爵以侯将，盖念公瑾以及于胤也。而胤恃此，酗淫自恣，前后告喻，曾无悛改。孤于公瑾，义犹二君，乐胤成就，岂有已哉?迫胤罪恶，未宜便还，且欲苦之，使自知耳。今二君勤勤援引汉高河山之誓，孤用恧然。虽德非其畴，犹欲庶几，事亦如尔，故未顺旨。以公瑾之子，而二君在中间，苟使能改，亦何患乎!"
瑾、骘表比上，朱然及全琮亦俱陈乞，权乃许之。会胤病死。]
Trans:
[*sorry, same as above]
Analysis:
Appeal rejected, Sun Quan wasn't really that heartless. The only problem? Zhou Yin had a problem with himself, which resulted in Sun Quan having a problem with him. It's one thing to be inept, quite another to get drunk and horny.
Ofc appeal finally went thru, but this still happened.
[瑜兄子峻，亦以瑜元功为偏将军，领吏士千人。峻卒，全琮表峻子护为将。权曰："昔走曹操，拓有荆州，皆是公瑾，常不忘之。初闻峻亡，仍欲用护，闻护性行危险，用之适为作祸，故便止之。孤念公瑾，岂有已乎?"]
Trans:
[*paiseh...*]
Analysis:
It doesn't matter apart from the fact that yet another family descendant bites the dust, yet another family inheritor has a problem with himself, i.e. own personal character.
So let's get back to time
["刘备以枭雄之姿，而有关羽、张飞熊虎之将，必非久屈为人用者。愚谓大计宜徙备置吴，盛为筑宫室，多其美女玩好，以娱其耳目，分此二人，各置一方，使如瑜者得挟与攻战，大事可定也。今猥割土地以资业之，聚此三人，俱在疆场，恐蛟龙得云雨，终非池中物也。"]
Trans:
[Liu Bei is indeed a hero. With Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as fearsome warriors, he will not be content to be others' mere second. Hence, listen to what your lowly vassal has to say: 'Tis best for us to build a fine palace in Wu in order to house Bei. Through beautiful ladies and fanciful toys, he will surely be distracted while separated from the latter two. By holding Liu Bei hostage, we will gain a major leverage. Now that the three are united in the same territory, we must act swiftly. For a dragon can never be restrained once it tastes falling rain."]
Analysis:
Dragons were seen as a symbol of power back then. In fact, the emperor would always be regarded as an incarnation of one. In times of turmoil, only the truly capable are regarded as potential dragons. Yet, only one out of many can unify and rule. This is why Zhou Yu advised Sun Quan to do this-and-that. Sounds eerily familiar? You're not alone b/c Luo Guanzhong bullshitted all of us.
[权以曹公在北方，当广揽英雄，又恐备难卒制，故不纳。]
Result: Rejection approved, Sun Quan vetoed the vote. This was down to Cao Cao still remaining a threat, whatever fear materialised soon after. Incidentally, subsequent conflicts actually made Gan Ning and Zhang Liao BA famous altho we all know both were born to shatter the BA metre.
Liu Bei's answer to Gongjin's trollolol
[刘备之自京还也，权乘飞云大船，与张昭、秦松、鲁肃等十馀人共追送之，大宴会叙别。昭、肃等先出，权独与备留语，因言次，叹瑜曰：“公瑾文武筹略，万人之英，顾其器量广大，恐不久为人臣耳。”]
Analysis:
Above commentary comes from Accounts of Jiangbiao aka Pei Songzhi's annotations. This was most likely after the conclusion of Red Cliff since technically, the war wasn't over until most of Jing Province was won over. Long story short, Liu Bei decided to troll Zhou Yu behind his back. As we all know by now, if you troll Zhou Yu, you troll the entire Eastern Wu.
{“公瑾文武筹略，万人之英，顾其器量广大，恐不久为人臣耳。”}
Above statement is all about Liu Bei stating that a man of Gongjin's stature will surely leave Sun Quan one fine day. In short, either he'll go west (i.e. Liu Bei's imminent base) or north (i.e. emulating Guan Yu years ago without strings attached). Ofc Liu Bei's intent was lagi clear, I don't have to spell it out for you.
Zhou Yu's countermeasure (?)
[是时刘璋为益州牧。外有张鲁寇侵，瑜乃诣京见权曰："今曹操新折衄，方忧在腹心，未能与将军连兵相事也。乞与奋威俱进取蜀，得蜀而并张鲁，因留奋威固守其地，好与马超结援。瑜还与将军据襄阳以蹙操，北方可图也。"]
Trans:
[During that time, Liu Zhang was the Governor of Yi Province. Upon knowing Zhang Lu's constant invasion (on Yi Province), Zhou Yu sought an audience with Quan, saying: "With Cao Cao recently routed, he also has to deal with inner unrest, hence unable to utilise his full might. Your lowly vassal beseech us to attack the lands of Shu first, after which we shall defeat Zhang Lu. After securing whatever conquered territory, we can easily forge an alliance with Ma Chao. After all is said and done, I will be able to return with Your Grace to seize Xiangyang. Then we can start casting our sights on the northern lands.]
Analysis:
Firstly, Yi Province=Shu. It's very simple due to the nature of ancient Chinese history. Now just a little bit info on the terrain. As for Zhang Lu, he's the ruler of Hanzhong, the self-proclaimed Lord of Han'ning. Hanzhong had always been Yi Province's northern terrain buffer together with Chencang (the other two buffer zones being Badong and Longxi). Interestingly enough, Yi and Jing were actually linked together via the Yangtze (which is why this happened). In short, by securing the western front, Sun Quan would possess an undeniable advantage, i.e. one stretching land just south of Cao Cao's north. At that time, Xiangyang was still under Cao Cao's control due to its defensive value.
Note that this event took place shortly before a certain somebody's untimely death...
How evil man appreciates good talent
[初曹公闻瑜年少有美才，谓可游说动也，乃密下扬州，遣九江蒋干往见瑜。干有仪容，以才辩见称，独步江、淮之间，莫与为对。乃布衣葛巾，自讬私行诣瑜。瑜出迎之，立谓干曰：“子翼良苦，远涉江湖为曹氏作说客邪？”
干曰：“吾与足下州里，中间别隔，遥闻芳烈，故来叙阔，并观雅规，而云说客，无乃逆诈乎？”
瑜曰：“吾虽不及夔、旷，闻弦赏音，足知雅曲也。”
因延干入，为设酒食。毕，遣之曰：“适吾有密事，且出就馆，事了，别自相请。”
后三日，瑜请干与周观营中，行视仓库军资器仗讫，还宴饮，示之侍者服饰珍玩之物，因谓干曰：“丈夫处世，遇知己之主，外讬君臣之义，内结骨肉之恩，言行计从，祸福共之，假使苏张更生，郦叟复出，犹抚其背而折其辞，岂足下幼生所能移乎？”
干但笑，终无所言。干还，称瑜雅量高致，非言辞所间。中州之士，亦以此多之。]*
Trans:
[*let my analysis below do the talking pls]
Trans:
[*let my analysis below do the talking pls]
Analysis:
This was much earlier. Apparently, even Cao Cao appreciated Gongjin and as any history buff may tell you, it's not every day Mengde does that. In fact the term [有美才] alludes to both Zhou Yu's capability and character.
So what Cao Cao did is very simple: Employ verbal talent to persuade military talent. Jiang Gan was described as an exceptional looking man blessed with a gift of gab. In fact, it's said that no one had ever bested him in any debate. Of course such means was the acceptable norm in a sense that the ancient Chinese actually gauged talent in terms of intellectual level.
I can't be bothered to translate every word spoken by Zhou Yu and Jiang Gan, so let me just summarise things a little bit:
Basically, Zhou Yu already knew why Jiang Gan visited him. In fact, Zhou Yu was rather blunt in asking whether Jiang Gan is out to convince him in turning coat. Ziyi (i.e. Jiang Gan's style name) could only buat bodoh, but he knew by then what it means by game over. In fact, Gongjin using music as a parallel statement has to be the icing on the cake.
[“吾虽不及夔、旷，闻弦赏音，足知雅曲也。”]
One interesting fact is that this was Zhou Yu's way of saying "okay, I still trust you 'cuz you're my friend". In short, civility wasn't compromised, this had to be the real checkmate.
Of course after that, Zhou Yu later organised a banquet as recompense, there was no way Jiang Gan could go about persuading his buddy. Why?
Because the ancient Chinese placed a great importance on mutual respect paid and integrity. Zhou Yu took the initiative, Jiang Gan would risk humiliation if he chose to press the issue home. Not to mention his big boss also.
Note-And this is not including Gongjin taking Ziyi on an excursion in his encampment. Technically speaking ofc since you don't expect N.Korea to educate S.Koreans and Japanese in every and any shit possible.
[瑜之破魏军也，曹公曰：“孤不羞走。”
后书与权曰：“赤壁之役，值有疾病，孤烧船自退，横使周瑜虚获此名。”
瑜威声远著，故曹公、刘备咸欲疑谮之。]
Trans:
[When Yu routed the Wei forces, Duke Cao stated: "There is no shame behind my defeat.
Yet after, he sent a message to Quan, saying thus: "The war at Red Cliffs was hampered by pestilence. Together with my decision to burn the boats, this is why Zhou Yu gained renowned status for free."
Indeed such was Zhou Yu's repute that Duke Cao and Liu Bei were intent on belittling him.]
Analysis:
Translation says it all, really.
<I <I <I I> I> I>
江东狮儿举兵吼，庐江舒人奇才应
伯符一生英勇战，公瑾一世为谋帅
二乔各归英杰怀，小乔公瑾吴众贺
断金之交不可忘，外事不决问周郎
仲谋年少拒孟德，两军交接箭在弦
火焚贼众在赤壁，骁骑追寇于乌林
进攻南郡江陵城，德谋老将不为然
二督同道非同心，廉颇终叹相如德
先是兴霸后子明，分兵军袭子孝营
身受创伤暗箭喜，奋起立阵终得胜
枭雄忌其王佐姿，奸雄赏识其智勇
九江蒋干图说之，孙吴周瑜礼为攻
安息巴丘孙权泣，卧龙惜哉火凤去
后书与权曰：“赤壁之役，值有疾病，孤烧船自退，横使周瑜虚获此名。”
瑜威声远著，故曹公、刘备咸欲疑谮之。]
Trans:
[When Yu routed the Wei forces, Duke Cao stated: "There is no shame behind my defeat.
Yet after, he sent a message to Quan, saying thus: "The war at Red Cliffs was hampered by pestilence. Together with my decision to burn the boats, this is why Zhou Yu gained renowned status for free."
Indeed such was Zhou Yu's repute that Duke Cao and Liu Bei were intent on belittling him.]
Analysis:
Translation says it all, really.
<I <I <I I> I> I>
<I <I <I I> I> I>
江东狮儿举兵吼，庐江舒人奇才应
伯符一生英勇战，公瑾一世为谋帅
二乔各归英杰怀，小乔公瑾吴众贺
断金之交不可忘，外事不决问周郎
仲谋年少拒孟德，两军交接箭在弦
火焚贼众在赤壁，骁骑追寇于乌林
进攻南郡江陵城，德谋老将不为然
二督同道非同心，廉颇终叹相如德
先是兴霸后子明，分兵军袭子孝营
身受创伤暗箭喜，奋起立阵终得胜
枭雄忌其王佐姿，奸雄赏识其智勇
九江蒋干图说之，孙吴周瑜礼为攻
安息巴丘孙权泣，卧龙惜哉火凤去
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