“My dear master, what is the matter? Please defuse your rage greater than thunder.”
Hearing this Liu Jie’s cheeks puffed up with anger
He passed the letter to the beautiful mistress[1]
Concubine Zhou took over the letter to read
Standing beside the beaded curtain, she lifted her eyes
Three other concubines also approached together
Their slender shoulders leaning close as they lingered
After reading, Concubine Zhou hurried to seal the letter
Walking towards Marquis Liu, she opened her mouth and said:
“Ah, my master!
How can you say it out loud if you call it a secret?
What can we do if someone else finds out?
Not only would our House of Liu lose all dignity and grace
But scheming foes may seize this chance to stir unrest
Since the commandery mistress[2] has just become the empress
We must pay sufficient attention to living in the capital
If we make any teeny tiny mistake
The emperor may not be easily lenient with us
Though you, my master of marquis, would like to take revenge
You had better be more cautious and prepare patiently
The consequences of leaking the information may be severe
I am afraid that—rumors will spread and cause disaster
In my humble opinion, we should not make it obvious
It will be much better if we conceive it covertly”
Hearing this, the master’s heart rejoiced
He praised Concubine Zhao,[3] nodding his head:
“Oh, perfect! What a great idea. Let us act on your suggestion.”
Marquis Liu immediately rushed back to his study
He wrote back a letter to his younger son
After only two days of rest, the servant[4] again hurried on his way
Holding the letter, he went towards Yunnan to present to the Liu family
Let us put aside the return of Yu the Second
And turn to further explaining the situation at the imperial court
Only because Emperor Chengzong had just ascended to the throne
A rebel army was raised within the Kingdom of Chosǒn
The Chosǒn king was cooperating with some remote vassal states
Millions of powerful warriors were like lions and tigers
The king had appointed Wu Bikai as the supreme commander
Leading great numbers of soldiers and horses to set out on the eastern sea
Wu Bikai was a skilled fighter with great bravery
No one could fend off his two large golden maces
Hiding twelve flying bricks in his two sleeves
In a fight—he could kill people from thousands of paces away
Exotic masters taught him mystic arts of proven might
Commanders of remote vassal states followed him into fights
Moreover, Wu was supported by a counsellor for military assistance
Who was surprisingly—roaming in the clouds with demonic arts
The king conferred this man as a military tactician
His title, Spiritual Master of Military Miracles,[5] became well-known
Covertly, he prepared a magic figure that helped him vanish
With great efficacy, he could travel back and forth, invisible
People from those vassal states were all afraid of his power
Thus, Wu’s army harvested more grains as well as soldiers
They had three thousand warships in various sizes
Across the sea, they invaded the territory of the Yuan Dynasty
Generals of the Yuan Dynasty could hardly defend on the borders
They quickly retreated to report to the Yuan emperor
Emperor Chengzong countenance stirred with dread
He summoned court grandees to a strategic consultation
A scheme bloomed in the heart of the Imperial Father-in-law Marquis Liu
He pretended to recommend a loyal talent at this moment:
“Since the Kingdom of Chosǒn came to invade our borders
We must ask the competent to quell the distant disturbance
Huangfu Jing, the Commissioner-in-chief of Yunnan
Who was extraordinarily valiant in his prime time
This time, if we send him to fight in the east[6]
The stability of our empire will surely be guarded without casualty”
The Son of Heaven readily gave orders following Liu’s recommendation
Promptly, he sent the imperial edict out of the court:
“At the imperial command, Huangfu Tingshan[7] shall lead the army
Let him select one hundred thousand strong soldiers
I appointed Huangfu as the Chief Military Commander of Eastward Expedition
They shall march forward with full caution in no hesitation
If Huangfu was able to ward off the Chosǒn army
When he comes back to the capital, I shall reward him with honored titles”
No one dared to be dilatory when the decree was conveyed
The imperial envoy exited the court holding the edict
Putting aside the Messenger of Heaven’s travels to Yunnan
Now let us turn to Marquis Liu’s next action
The story goes that Master Liu was overwhelmed with pleasure when seeing the emperor follow his suggestion by sending Huangfu Jing on an expedition to the east. He immediately wrote a letter to Peng Ruze, Touring Pacifier of Shandong Prefecture. Peng was Liu’s niece’s husband. Liu entrusted him to covertly pay attention to the actions of Huangfu: “Now Huangfu Jing follows the order to fight in the east. He must be defeated instead of succeeding. If there is an emergency report framed him for secretly communicating with other kingdoms, causing the imperial army to be annihilated, then at least I can achieve my revenge. The day my vengeance succeeds, I promise to recommend you for a higher position.” After sending this letter, Liu informed his son about it. Now, let us turn away from Liu’s letter to his son and to the imperial envoy. Holding the imperial edict, the envoy traveled day and night, and in less than a month, arrived at Yunnan Prefecture.
The provincial military commander as if flying hurried to open the front door
Wearing official robes, he accepted the emperor’s edict immediately
The imperial envoy opened the edict to read out loud
The commander praised the emperor in front of the incense altar
Supreme Commander Huangfu prostrated to the edict
Then he placed it in a dragon pavilion with respect
He already knew that it was Marquis Liu’s suggestions
Covertly, Liu had malicious disposition to do harm:
“It must have been Liu’s son persisting in revenge
And telling his father to recommend me for expedition in the east
Since I was appointed as the Chief Military Commander
I must pay much more attention and be cautious”
Huangfu quickly passed through the hall to arrange a feast
He generously treated the imperial envoy with several rounds of wine
A group of armed servants received this news
Instantly, they spread it to all in and outside the mansion
Panic grew in Young Master Shaohua’s heart:
“It turned out that—my father was sent to the eastward expedition
There has not been a special friendship between Marquis Liu and father
Liu must have recommended my father for some reason
I fear the army of Chosǒn has high defensive power[8]
It will be hard to defeat the foreign invaders in short time”
Young Master Shaohua frowned with his eyebrows
He hurried to the inner hall to meet with his mother
He saw the lady and the young mistress
Sitting face to face also with frowning eyebrows
His mother sat straight and opened her mouth to ask:
“Is it true that the emperor commanded your father to fight in the east?”
The young master admitted that it was true not false:
“The imperial envoy was now in the main hall
Marquis Liu recommended father to be the marshal
I am afraid there is an agenda hidden behind this suggestion”
Lady Ying was displeased with the arrangement
Her eyebrows furrowed further as she asked what to do:
“If your father goes eastward for the expedition
Where can we, mother and sons, safely stay?
Heaven knows whether this expedition will succeed
Whether the Chosǒn army can be easily quelled!”
Young Lady Changhua’s beautiful eyebrows frowned
She knew it must be the secret revenge of the Liu family
As they were worried in the inner chamber
Tingshan finished the feast and came inside
Both the lady and the young mistress went to greet him
The virtuous official Huangfu Jing sat down steadily
Furrowing his eyebrows and making a long sigh
He announced: “The emperor commanded me to fight in the east
I, the humble official, have been greatly rewarded by his royal graciousness
And I will always be ashamed of having no opportunities to requite the emperor
Since an appointment to attack the foreign invaders has been made
I will definitely try my hardest to pay loyalty to the emperor
My concerns are not about the eastward expedition
But you, my wife and children, weigh heavy on my heart
[1] The original text is nü qunchai 女裙钗 [a female with skirt and hairpin]. Here, it refers to Mistress Zhou. [2] The original text is junzhu 郡主 [Commandry mistress]. Here it refers to Yanzhu, the elder daughter of Master Liu. [3] The original text is nü jiao 女娇娥 [beautiful woman]. Here it refers to the concubine, Lady Zhao. [4] The servant refers to Yu the Second 俞二. [5] The original text is shenwu zhenren 神武真人 [Spiritual Master of Military Miracles]. This is a religious name the military tactician giving to himself. Shenwu literally means godlike and powerful. [6] In this context, it refers that Master Liu wanted to send Huangfu Jing to the east of Qing to fight against Chosǒn. [7] Tingshan 亭山 is Huangfu Jing’s courtesy name. [8] The original text is renma zhong 人马重 [heavy people and horses]. Renma zhong is used to describe that there are too many soldiers and horses in the troop, and they are very strong in fighting.
