WARNING: WE’RE SURROUNDED BY ZOMBIES. HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF GRAPE JELLY-DROOLIN’ ZOMBIES.

And we come to Chapter 48. In the last chapter, Pang Tong convinced Cao Cao to chain his ships together, in order to promote stability and prevent seasickness among Cao Cao’s mostly northern army. Then he even obtained a written decree of protection for his own family, in Cao Cao’s own handwriting, guaranteeing their safety despite the fact that Pang Tong’s advice is going to end up destroying Cao Cao’s expeditionary force. Way to go, Pang Tong! But there’s a person present who could expose Pang Tong. Xu Shu, who, having been tricked over to Cao Cao’s service, is present, and knows full well what Pang Tong’s advice will lead to.

Xu Shu, as I think I’ve mentioned a time or two before, is one of my favorite characters in the novel, and this is the last chapter in which he appears in the novel. I think it such a shame that he did not accomplish more in his career than he did, considering his affinity for strategy, and when he, at Pang Tong’s suggestion, requests Cao Cao to send him to defend the northwest against a fictional invasion by Ma Teng, he leaves also this great story we’re almost literally in the middle of. Poor Xu Shu. He coulda been a contender!

Pang Tong also leaves the story. For a few chapters anyway, but I guarantee he’ll be back before you know it.

Another theme appearing in this chapter is the almost epic poem recited by Cao Cao. In the Three Kingdoms television series, it’s presented as this giant song and dance number, kinda like an ancient Han-Chinese version of a U.S.O. Show or something. But I don’t know. I always imagine this scene as Cao Cao and his top military and civil officers getting drunk together, just standing there and drinking, probably not much different than people do at a bar. Then Cao Cao, like many drunk people do, decided it was a fine idea to sing a song, so he did.

Now here is where Cao Cao probably irrevocably lost his mandate from Heaven for his Southern Expedition. After Liu Fu criticizes Cao Cao’s song for lyrics that are counterproductive to the war effort, Cao Cao runs Liu Fu through with a spear. The spear that defeated Lu Bu and Yuan Shu, Li Jue and Guo Si and Yuan Shao, now has run through Liu Fu, and this murder of a faithful minister probably proved to be the final nail in the coffin of Cao Cao’s Expeditionary Force.

Enjoy this, the forty eighth chapter of the Sanguo Yanyi audiobook, here at Brookhavenchronicles.com. And thanks for listening.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENTARY LIKELY CONTAINS SPOILERS. BUT I’M SURE YOU KNEW THAT BY NOW. IF NOT, PAY MORE ATTENTION! :p

With Chapter 47, the ploys of Zhou Yu, acted upon by various Wu officers, are presented to Cao Cao. Ever wonder why a Shu-Han loyalist like myself holds someone like Zhou Yu, who has tried time and time again (according to the novel) to slay Liu Bei and especially Zhuge Liang, in such high honor and respect? The man was brilliant, both in history and in literature. If he were alive today, and living in America, serving some upstart revolutionary army instead of serving the Sun Family of the Sanguo Period, I have little doubt that the Federal Republic and all its armies would be crushed. I think Zhou Yu really was that damn good at his job. He was the Erwin Rommel of his day, a loyal and brilliant officer whose subordinates loved him because he not only was one of the greatest talents of the day, but also because he was chivalrous, conducting himself with honor and integrity.

The novel, in its attempts to elevate Zhuge Liang to near-Deification, has thus far engaged Zhou Yu in a series of almost Wily Coyote/Roadrunner-esque conflicts with Zhuge Liang, with Liang always somehow emerging the winner. Historically, Zhuge Liang did not play nearly as prominent role in the Battle of Chi Bi as Zhou Yu did, and it were the ploys of Zhou Yu which saved the day for Wu, and defeated Cao Cao.

Even the novel does not downplay the respect the officers of Wu had for Zhou Yu. Huang Gai allows Zhou Yu to beat and humiliate him publicly, and though he states that it is his gratitude to the Sun Family which causes him to submit to this otherwise outrageous treatment, the Huang Gai as portrayed thus far in the novel certainly would not have allowed this “punishment” to be meted out by just anybody. I submit that Huang Gai would have allowed only Sun Quan and Zhou Yu to do this to him, and Sun Quan is not there.

Gan Ning, also, endures violence and humiliation from Zhou Yu, in order to lend credibility to Zhou Yu’s ruses. I think that Gan Ning, though pretty much always counted among the mighty of the Sanguo Period, does not get nearly enough credit for his shrewdness, both of thought and character. There are indeed officers in this great story who are a whole lot of brawn and frighteningly little brain, but Gan Ning is the total package, and was pound-for-pound one of the most truly exceptional men of the Age.

Kan Ze also, in serving as Huang Gai’s emissary to Cao Cao, puts his own life in jeopardy. It is Kan Ze upon whom the burden of convincing Cao Cao to accept the false surrender of Huang Gai falls, and if not for Kan Ze, the fire attack which defeated Cao Cao at the Red Cliffs would have failed.

Also another important player in this chapter is Pang Tong, the Young Phoenix. Pang Tong, it can be said, served all three of the Three Kingdoms at one point or another, in name at least. Pang Tong, at this time, is technically a free agent. Zhou Yu employs his services in tricking Jiang Gan, who would bring Pang Tong to meet Cao Cao, as Zhou Yu has foreseen. Pang Tong then “joins” Cao Cao, using the full force of his prestige (as one of the paramount talents of the land) and also simple trickery in order to convince Cao Cao to chain his ships together. Now, in Cao Cao’s defense, the immobility of his ships did make his land-raised northern soldiers less prone to sea-sickness, and did make travel between the ships in his fleet much easier. Certainly there was enough advantage in the plan to recommend it even to the normally suspicious Cao Cao. But one disadvantage which Cao Cao overlooked, that of the fleet’s vulnerability to fire, would come back to haunt him. Certainly, a southeast wind is not supposed to occur at that time of the year in that particular region, so under normal circumstances, Cao Cao has nothing to worry about. But Cao Cao’s not up against your normal, garden-variety strategist in this battle. Pang Tong, working for Wu, helped bring ruin to Cao Cao’s southern Expedition, and then eventually would go on to serve Liu Bei for all the remaining days of his life.

It has long been illustrated throughout the course of the story that destiny is indistinguishable from the Will of Heaven. When Heaven doesn’t want something to happen in the story, it doesn’t let it happen. Heaven knocked down the mighty Yuan Shao, so the story goes, because Yuan Shao invaded Cao Cao, and attempted to seize the capitol, Xu Chang. Now,too, Heaven knocks down the mighty Cao Cao when he attempts to invade the Southland. Cao Cao was quite simply outmatched by the impressive minds arrayed against him at Chi Bi. Not to throw rocks at Mengde. He was one of the most impressive specimens of political and military thought in the entire history of China, but even the greatest general will fall prey to the combined talents of several lesser generals. Zhou Yu, Huang Gai, Gan Ning, Kan Ze, and Pang Tong were the true heroes of the Red Cliffs, and Jiang Gan would be added to that list for his significant contributions to the Wu-Shu victory, were it not for the fact that he was working for Cao Cao and thus his contribution to the victory of his enemies was purely accidental on his part.

Chi Bi was the only occasion where Pang Tong and Zhou Yu would find themselves on the same side, and what happens when Pang Tong and Zhou Yu are working together in a common cause against a common enemy? Better check out the next chapter to find out. ;p

In the meantime, though, enjoy this, the forty-seventh chapter of this seemingly never-ending audiobook, the Sanguo Yanyi, here at brookhavenchronicles.com.

WARNING: THESE PRE-COMMENTARY DISCLAIMERS ARE GOING TO LOOK A LOT COOLER ON THE NEW SITE I’M BUILDING

Chapter 46 sees a continuation of the web of ploys and schemes which so characterizes the Battle of Chi Bi. In the last chapter, Zhou Yu used Jiang Gan (who had been sent over to try to sway Zhou Yu over to Wei, and more importantly, away from Wu) as an unwitting weapon against Cao Cao, which resulted in Cao Cao being tricked into executing his two most capable, if despicable, naval Commanders, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun.

One of the subplots present during the Chi Bi storyline is the relationship between the three major strategists involved in the Wu-Shu alliance at the Red Cliffs; Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Zhuge Liang. Zhou Yu sees Zhuge Liang, rightfully so, as a great threat to the security of the Southland, and so thinks to compass Liang’s death (without accruing the dishonor associated with killing an ally). Zhuge Liang knows Zhou Yu intends to kill him. Zhou Yu likely knows that Zhuge Liang knows that Zhou Yu’s trying to kill him. I have no idea how many cycles deep this game of “I know, you know” goes, but considering the intelligence and wisdom of both these splendid strategists, I can imagine it goes pretty deep.

Lu Su serves as the intermediary between them, and his role is complicated. Sometimes, he serves as an instigator, and sometimes, he serves as a confidant. At any rate, after Zhou Yu dies in later chapters, Lu Su will be the one to take his place as the prime minister of the Southland, and he is indeed fortunate to have such capable men as Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu to study.

Zhuge Liang’s method of not only obtaining a lot of arrows for Wu to use, but removing the same amount of arrows from the Enemy’s supply, and evading Zhou Yu’s clever little trap to put him to death is brilliant, if not particularly innovative. Sun Jian utilized much the same tactics early in the novel when he invaded Liu Biao. But nonetheless, this demonstrates quite clearly that Zhuge Liang knows his stuff. We tend to measure the greatness of individuals against the average person, but when great individuals square off against one another, either there is a victor and a loser, or else the thing ends in a stalemate. I think the author of this version of the novel realized this, and that is behind the “character assassination” of Zhou Yu, so to speak. Zhou Yu was great. None can deny that. But that was because he used his mind against the less intelligent. Zhuge Liang was every bit as intelligent as Zhou Yu, and trying to trick the smart and the wise is not nearly so easy.

But where Zhou Yu fails in tricking Zhuge Liang, he succeeds in tricking Cao Cao, largely, I think, due to the somewhat fickle nature of “Heaven” in ancient Han-Chinese thought. When Cao Cao fought Yuan Shao, Heaven aided him and brought Yuan Shao and his whole family to ruin. Now, Heaven appears to be doing the same stuff to Cao Cao that it did to Yuan Shao during Guan Du. Perhaps that’s the reason Zhou Yu is able to trick Cao Cao so many times. Or perhaps it’s just because Zhou Yu’s just that damn good. (Considering Cao Mengde’s abilities under normal circumstances, though, I doubt that Cao Cao was any less capable than Zhou Yu was.)

Another important event in this chapter is the beating of Huang Gai. Huang Gai is one of my favorite characters in the entire story, and this is why. He purposefully allows Zhou Yu to have him beaten half to death, just so that he can make a false-defection ploy work. That takes a strength of character that most people, quite frankly, lack. Huang Gai has been around for pretty much the whole novel. Thus far he’s served three generations of the Sun Family in the Southland, and in all the Southland, there’s probably no finer a vassal to the Sun Family than Huang Gai.

These deceptions, of course, contribute to the overall defeat of Cao Cao at Chi Bi, thus halting Cao Cao’s advance into the South, and without quick thinking and courage, they would not have been successful, Cao Cao would have won, and I would probably have quite far less chapters remaining to make.

Enjoy this, the forty sixth chapter of the Sanguo Yanyi audiobook, here at Brookhavenchronicles.com.

WARNING: IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I WROTE ONE OF THESE COMMENTARIES, SO I MIGHT BE A BIT RUSTY.

Annnnnd I’m back. Miss me? Probably not, but you might have missed some of my content, such as the Sanguo Yanyi audiobook. So I guess I’ll just dive right in here.

Chapter 45 is an amusing chapter to me. It introduces Jiang Gan, a man unfortunate to be intelligent enough and have enough of a reputation as a persuader for Cao Cao to consider sending him to attempt to sway Zhou Yu over to his side. He’s also unfortunate enough to have suggested the whole notion himself, guessing incorrectly that their association as former students under the same master would cause Zhou Yu to betray the Sun Family. This bad judgment would cost Cao Cao the battle (and it does a great job of illustrating how the Mandate of Heaven turns against those who act against Heaven’s Will. This is why Yuan Shao, so capable an officer early in the novel, fell when he attacked Cao Cao, and it is why Cao Cao’s own southern expedition into Wu is also doomed to fail.

When you get right down to it, Cao Cao’s chances of winning some sort of victory in Wu territory would have been a lot better if Cao Cao had just decided not to send anyone over to Wu. But, of course, he did. And history shows that he got handed his ass by Zhou Yu. The novel shows that he got stomped by Zhou Yu with a little bit of help from Zhuge Liang (obtaining arrows, shifting the winds). Either way, the Battle of Chi Bi would cripple Cao Cao’s southeastern advance.

Another reason I find this to be an amusing chapter is that, well, I like to see wicked people get their comeuppance. The Cai Family sold out Jingzhou, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun sold out Mao’s sister and nephew (who were murdered by Yu Jin at the behest of Cao Cao), and sold out the Southland by training Cao Cao’s army in naval warfare. There’s few people I vehemently dislike in the novel, but Cai Mao and Zhang Yun were two such people. Zhou Yu’s masterful handling of Jiang Gan secures him relief from one of his few remaining anxieties. In using Cao Cao’s own agent against him, tricking him into executing Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, and thus removing pretty much the only really capable naval commanders he had, at a time when he needed to train his northern, land-based army how to fight on water. He would be forced to install other men, less capable naval commanders, to replace Cai Mao and Zhang Yun.

In a way, Jiang Gan won the Battle of Chi Bi for the Wu-Shu coalition. Isn’t that something?

I like this chapter, and I hope you do too. You keep listening to them, and I promise I’ll keep making ‘em. Enjoy!

WARNING: IF JESUS WERE HERE, HE’D CUT YOU.

Last chapter saw a whole lot of debate about whether or not the Southland should go to war against Cao Cao, and now, in Chapter 44, that war draws ever nearer. For Sun Quan has decided to leave the decision in the hands of his Foreign Policy advisor, (and Commander-in-Chief of his armies), Zhou Yu, and now all the officers, civil and military, in Wu know that it is Zhou Yu, rather than Sun Quan, that they must sway to their various conclusions.

Zhuge Liang knows this, as well, and probably knew it before anyone else did. It’s entirely possible, given the representation of the character of Zhuge Liang thus far in the novel, that he knew it would all come down to Zhou Yu even before he left Liu Bei to travel to the Southland. And Zhuge Liang, as proven quite adequately in the previous chapter, has more than enough of an edge over his rivals in the Southland to achieve his goals without much difficulty.

Zhou Yu, the shining strategist of the Southland (in all the novel, there is arguably none better at the Arts of War-making in the state of Wu than Zhou Yu, though Lu Xun would come close to attaining that level) is, quite simply put, a genius.

In the comments on threekingdoms.com, at various points, a topic arises concerning the “character assassination” of Zhou Yu in this particular version of the novel. One of the primary points brought up in said comments is that, historically, Zhou Yu was actually a pretty fine and virtuous man, who actually achieved much more than is credited to him in this version of the novel. My own studies seem to support this. However, in the novel, Zhou Yu is portrayed thus: While still extremely talented, he displays at times a pettiness and short-sightedness which does not seem to fit a man of his wisdom and intelligence.

What I think, though, and this is only my personal opininion, is that Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang were not really meant to be compared and contrasted. Both men were absolutely brilliant, probably more intelligent than any military or civil leader in our world today, both had their shining triumphs and their debilitating weaknesses. No one is perfect, and the more power any one individual has, the less perfect they become. If you have been listening to my audiobook, by the way, you might notice that it is not, in fact, perfect. Every once in a while, it slips up. Just a bit. Not much, but just enough for you to notice. I do that on purpose, just as I do my very best to make the REST of the audiobook a masterpiece, just to emphasize and demonstrate this very point:absolutely nothing is perfect, but we as a species must work to make it so, even knowing that what we work for is and always will be unattainable. Society must ever develop, ever evolve, or stagnance will kill everything. There is a word for those who do not evolve. And that word is “extinct”.

Zhou Yu was far from perfect, but in the particular spheres of his expertise, he was one who could only be matched, but never surpassed. Even by Zhuge Liang. Humans across the planet could stand to learn a lesson from that.

Fortunately for Zhuge Liang, he was aware that one of Zhou Yu’s weaknesses was a quite common one. Any man, when told that another man is coming to take his wife, would seek to stop that from ever happening. Cao Cao’s expressed intent (which still remains in question historically) to seize the Qiao Sisters, Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao, delivered into Zhuge Liang’s hands a means of setting Zhou Yu against Cao Cao, and once that happened, victory became sure. Cao Cao might very well have conquered the Southland had it not had Zhou Yu determined to defend it.

Once Zhou Yu was convinced of the proper course to take, it did not take long to convince Sun Quan to make war with resolve against Cao Cao. And when that happened, it made inevitable the Battle of Chi Bi, the Red Cliffs, and the Era of the Three Kingdoms.

By the way, a character of note in this chapter is Zhuge Jin, who appeared previously but has not spoken until now. Zhuge Jin was the older brother of Zhuge Liang, and quite a capable and intelligent man in his own right. Zhuge Jin is one of my favorite characters in the story and when I was young I used to call him “Huge Chin”. :p

Anyways, enjoy this, the umpteenth (or forty fourth) chapter in the Sanguo Yanyi audiobook. Thanks for listening.

WARNING: THE TIMES, THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’. (WELL, NOT REALLY…THEY NEVER REALLY DO. EVER. BUT SOMETIMES I GUESS IT’S NICE TO BE AN OPTIMIST LIKE BOB DYLAN…)

The true significance of Chapter 43 may be lost on some, I suppose. That is to say that in a novel where the martial valor of many of its heroes overshadows just about everything else, it might be a bit easier to overlook the importance of the parts where there’s not really any fighting going on. This, of course, would provide a one-sided experience to the story, unfortunately. What would the obstinacy of Achilles have meant if the reader had not previously read that he and Agamemnon had previously had a quarrel in the command tent about the captured Trojan maiden Briseis? Sometimes, it’s the battles fought behind the scenes, with words rather than swords, that take on true significance. This chapter’s commentary is about the art of the debate in Ancient China, its applications, and how the situation put forth in this chapter compares with the events of our own day.

As you may have guessed, Chapter 43 consists almost completely of debate. The issue at queston: Should the Southland (East Wu, Wu, or the Kingdom of the Sun Family, whichever you prefer..) submit to the authority of the Imperial Throne, which is controlled by the ambitious Minister, Cao Cao? Or should they march off to war to repel the invading army of Cao Cao?

In every era, there will always be proponents for either side of an argument or debate. In the case of Chapter 43 of the novel, though, pretty much all the civil officers and even some of the military officers oppose the course of war, and favor submitting to Cao Cao. Those in the Southland who favor war are very few, as pretty much everyone has vested interests which would be disrupted in the event of war.

Liu Bei, having recently been crushed by Cao Cao and having barely escaped with his life and the lives of his general staff at Chang Ban, is running out of options. In fact, he has but one real option left. Alliance with a stronger power AGAINST Cao Cao. The only force of any significant size, of course, that’s left in that part of the country is the Southland. Thus, Liu Bei has an unenviable task to accomplish. Somehow, he’s got to convince a Kingdom full of learned, cultured people, who don’t really have any intention to rise in rebellion, to throw away their vested interests and rise in rebellion. (As a revolutionary, I feel his pain there…)

Of course, it’s a one-sided deal for the Southland. Everyone knows quite well that Liu Bei’s offer runs thus, though couched in slightly more diplomatic language:

“Hey, ummm, Sun Quan…old buddy, old pal! How ya been? Hey, listen, I need a really, really, REALLY big favor from you, buddy. There’s this guy, right? Cao Cao? Big, nasty, fire-breathing villain…yeah…that’s the one. Anyway, he’s kinda got a beef with me. Actually, he’s coming to kill me. And my whole family! I…uh….kinda doublecrossed him a while back, and he’s kinda taking it like some kind of asshole…Anyway, Sun Quan, my old friend (whom I regret to say I have not actually met face to face yet…), can you help a brotha out? Here’s what I need you to do. I need you to round up some of your boys, and go stop Cao Cao and that mob of like 10 times more than either one of us could muster if we added together all our crews, you know, the ones that are out to kill me? Please? I’ll be your best friend! Thanks!“

What’s in it for the Southland? Not a whole lot. And it would seem like the Southland would have to be insane to accept such a raw deal…

And that’s where Zhuge Liang comes in. In his first couple battles, Zhuge Liang has demonstrated a shining talent for strategy and battle tactics. Now it’s time to send him on another type of mission entirely. For, indeed, Zhuge Liang was the only person in the entire Empire, I think, who could have accomplished the impossible task which presented itself to the dangerously vulnerable forces of the fledgling Shu Kingdom…and it would fall to Zhuge Liang to ensure that the Southland promised their support, despite the lack of benefit to them.

Eventually, thanks to the awesome oratory skills of Zhuge Liang, and the clever, cunning turn of thought which already in the novel is becoming characteristic of Liang, he actually manages to pull off this impossible feat, and secures the aid of the Southland through words alone.

Fast forward almost a couple thousand years, and let us look for a moment at our own Empire, the American Empire.

Following the September 11th attacks, our country went to war. There really wasn’t much of a debate involved. It was just:

Government:  Hey, this guy attacked us. Let’s go fuck him and his whole religion up for it!

People:  What’s his name?

Government:  Uh…Osama Bin Laden. Yeah, that’s right. Osama Bin Laden. He is the enemy of freedom.

People:  Fine. Let’s go fuck him up. We love freedom!

Me:  But if you love freedom, why are you going over across the world to take it from another country?

People and Government:   We’re doing this to ensure the spread of Democracy and OUR way of life. Those terrorists hate us and our way of life.

Me:  Could that possibly be because you’re a bunch of greedy assholes?

People and Government:  Platitude platitude platitude…

Me:  Ahhhhhh. I see. Well, have fun then, guys! If it’s all right with you, I’m just going to stay back here in the States and talk shit about what you’re doing. Okay? Okay. Thanks, guys!

Government:  All right, well, now that we’ve got that all settled, let’s go fuck up Sadaam Hussein and give freedom to the people of Iraq!

People:  Wait…you said it was that Osama fellow…in Afghanistan!

Government:  No, you are mistaken. We said it was Sadaam Hussein. It’s always been Sadaam Hussein. Haven’t you been listening? Not listening is Un-American!

Me:  Ummm…sorry to interrupt, but I have to point out that in this day and age, not listening is VERY American.

Government:  Shut up.

Me:  Sigh…fine…

People:  Ah well, fuck it. Let’s go fuck up Sadaam, then! Capitalism is so great! Because of Capitalism, we get this great job in the army where we make all this money, which we don’t make when we work at Kentucky Fried Chicken! Hmmph! The civilians can only make enough money to feed themselves and their families by selling drugs! Hmph! Chumps!

And so the army marches on, and in the words of Padme, “This is how Democracy dies, with thunderous applause”…

There was little debate about going to war. None can argue against that. However, when something comes along which might help people, such as…oh, I don’t know…universal, completely socialized healthcare…well, then, there’s a huge debate. People talk and talk and talk on that one.

In both cases, those with vested interests in the so-called “Old Order”, that is to say, the Status-Quo, attempted to sway the actions of Government to suit their own purposes. And, indeed, in the end, in BOTH ancient China and modern America, those selfish, selfish people won. For indeed, Zhou Yu, whose opinion was to decide the matter of war for the Southland, did not view war with Cao Cao objectively, but went to war with Cao Cao because of Cao Cao’s alleged desire to capture Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao, the wives of the late Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, respectively. And in the modern day, you have “men” like Lieberman and Nelson who, as duly elected Senators of the realm, vote their own “conscience” rather than the will of the majority of their constituents. And I’m sure all the people dying from lack of proper medical care can be proud of the moral fiber of our nation’s politicians.

Now, don’t get me wrong. In the case of Zhou Yu, despite his selfish reasons for going to war, I actually support the fact that he decided for war against Cao Cao, since by doing so he enabled balance to be maintained through the Three Kingdoms system.  But it was indeed a selfish reason to go to war. (That’s a spoiler by the way. You all should be quite aware of those by now…) The war of the Southland against Cao Cao would only have been justifiable as a defense of their homeland, which in this case, it was indeed. That is the only reason I agree with this particular war.  As much as I admire Zhou Yu, I admire Lu Su more, because he was the one, like me, who was representing the voice of reason throughout this chapter and indeed this whole part of the novel. It is he who points out that the politicians are turning their back on duty and pursuing their own selfish interests.

Something that’s still going on today….right here in our own country.

There is a danger to endless debate. And here is what that danger is: When one embraces a position, they close their mind to all other possibilities. Which is why we now live in a country where the vast majority of people, though highly dissatisfied with their lot in life, simply cannot envision any other system in place, and thus continue, every 4 years, to participate in their own enslavement.

Makes you think, doesn’t it? I certainly hope so, because we don’t really need talkers anymore. We need do’ers. Ones that THINK.

At any rate, here is Chapter 43 of the Sanguo Yanyi audiobook, right here at Brookhavenchronicles.com. Did I mention that it’s FREE?! That’s right. It is. Because I believe in leading by example…and to all you other content-suppliers out there…you may charge for your art, but when you do so, you should be ashamed.

WARNING, I PUT A LOT OF SOUND EFFECTS IN THIS ONE…

That’s right, I did. Chang Ban is, in my humble opinion, one of the most entertaining chapters in the entire novel, as it showcases the talents of not only Zhao Yun (Zilong) but Zhang Fei in their fullest glory. I have tried to use sound effects very sparingly in this audiobook, because I didn’t really want sensationalism to take away from the actual words. The words in which this story, any story is told are what are really important. However, I feel that in this case, sound effects help to add an epic quality to the great deeds being performed in Chapter 42. The result, as you will hear, is truly an audible treat. An audiobook chapter that listens like a radioplay. :p

Obviously, Liu Bei got his ass kicked at Chang Ban. There is no doubt of that. But I think that many readers of the novel might tend to underestimate the true value of Chang Ban. Chang Ban is, indeed, the turning point, the crucible, indeed, the catalyst for the rest of the novel. As such, it represents the end of the first stage of the story, as well as the beginning of the next stage, the Age of the Three Kingdoms. Cao Cao had the far larger army at Chang Ban, and could easily have wiped out Liu Bei forever, thus putting an end to the man who would turn out to be his main rival for the Empire in the decades to come. But for the tremendous courage of Zhao Zilong and Zhang Fei, Liu Bei would have perished at Chang Ban, and all that was his and all that he had ever striven to accomplish would have perished with him. The very fact that he survived Chang Ban was a shining victory, and allowed the entire rest of the book to happen.

One thing that I absolutely love about this chapter is that Cao Cao, who for most of the novel has conducted himself with a whole mountain of towering self confidence, seeming at times to be quite the smug fellow, gets scared into a mindless panic by the shouting of Zhang Fei. One has to wonder if this is exactly the result Guan Yu, whose affinity for strategy has sort of been forgotten by many in the shadow of his tremendous martial prowess, had hoped to accomplish several chapters back when he described the exploits of Zhang Fei during the Yellow Turban Rebellion to Cao Cao. Certainly, I doubt Guan Yu envisioned the specifics of Chang Ban, but I would think that the notion of Liu Bei being forced to flee from Cao Cao might have occurred to Guan Yu at some point. At any rate, it is indeed fortuitous for Liu Bei that Guan Yu had instilled such a fear of Zhang Fei in Cao Cao, because it was that and that alone which saved Liu Bei from certain death at Chang Ban.

And Cao Cao would never again have such an opportunity to kill Liu Bei…

Anyway, enjoy this, Chapter 42 of the ongoing ancient Chinese Epic, the Sanguo Yanyi, the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, here at Brookhavenchronicles.com. Thanks for listening.

So when we last left off, the Cai Family had decided to surrender to Cao Cao. This, of course, has left Liu Bei pretty much surrounded by enemies, with only a vastly inferior force left to him. Liu Qi is at Jiangxia, but Cao Cao would long ago have swallowed up Liu Bei’s army by the time help from Jiangxia would arrive. And so, Liu Bei flees south at the behest of Zhuge Liang, and the people decide to go with him. I’m seeing some echoes of the biblical Exodus here…

Of course, a small army followed by an extraordinarily large crowd of civilians is not able to move very fast, and it becomes inevitable that a larger force riding in pursuit with no civilian hangers-on, such as Cao Cao’s, will catch up with that unfortunate first army.

Put all that together, and you’ve got the “Battle” of Chang Ban. Though it’s not so much a battle as a slaughter, as Cao Cao, having finally come to understand the true potential of his one-time friend, Liu Bei, desperately seeks to destroy him before he has a chance to get a foothold anywhere, yet I call it a battle because of the sheer deeds of heroism which buy the forces of Liu Bei time to flee. Despite the fact that Cao Cao easily scatters Liu Bei’s forces, the officers of Liu Bei are of no common composition. Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang have gone to Jiangxia for reinforcements, but Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun (Zilong) are still there to assist Liu Bei, and at Chang Ban, I think that both these men show greater valor than at any other point in their long lives.

Zhao Yun’s act of heroism involves going behind the lines of an enemy army of close to a million, rescuing one of his Lord’s wives, rescuing a couple of his Lord’s other officers, getting them to safety, then going BACK in behind enemy lines to retrieve his Lord’s other wife and only blood-offspring. Then, fighting his way back out through Cao Cao’s lines, through several officers and their soldiers, only one-handed, as the other arm held the infant son of his Lord, Zhao Zilong won safety for the child lord, though at the cost of the life of Lady Mi. Such a deed probably couldn’t be accomplished today…all in all, I would consider Zhao Zilong’s heroic rescue of Liu Shan to rank among the greatest acts of heroism ever accomplished by any human being in the history of our species.

Zhang Fei’s career-defining act of valor actually comes in the next chapter, but since I’m talking about the subject now, I might as well address it here. Zhang Fei has, thus far in the novel, proven himself to be approximately 25% strategist, 90% ill-tempered drunkard, and about 200% braver than anyone you’ve ever seen. Seriously, even people who don’t like Zhang Fei have to admit he’s got Balls made of Damascus Steel, and they’re about the size of beach balls. Now, he demonstrates it in abundance. At Chang Ban, Zhang Fei stands alone on a bridge spanning a chasm, which Cao Cao must cross to strike at Liu Bei and finish the destruction of his one time friend. He stands alone, as Cao Cao’s army of almost a million shows up. And he holds them at bay…no, DRIVES THEM INTO FULL RETREAT with only his own enormously loud voice. That’s right, he drove off a huge army of battle-hardened veterans simply by screaming at them. This is indeed a tribute to the character of Zhang Fei, whose reputation was so fearsome that none were willing to be the first to face him.

This, of course, allows Liu Bei to get the hell out of Dodge, as the old saying goes, though Zhang Fei would have bought more time had he left the bridge intact, rather than destroying it, as Cao Cao would not have crossed it, thinking that Zhang Fei, or perhaps Zhuge Liang, was laying a trap.

Chang Ban Po is one of my favorite parts of the entire novel, because every time I read it, I end up with the thought, “Oh yeah, Cao Cao. You messed up now. Should have killed Liu Bei when you had the chance, all zillion times you had the chance. Now it’s too late. He’s beyond your grasp now…” The thing that sets Chang Ban apart from the other major losses Liu Bei had suffered to date was that Chang Ban, as the last major loss Liu Bei suffered prior to the foundation of the Shu-Han Empire, Chang Ban represents the turning point in the ambitions of Liu Bei. Always before, he had no notion of his own power, his own potential. And so his losses were in a sense trivialized. They meant little. Now, however, Liu Bei begins to see the bigger game, as it were, and his place in it, and if he can just escape the tragedy at Chang Ban, which due to the efforts of Zhao Yun (Zilong) and Zhang Fei, he does, he can go on to build a land for himself, after allying himself with the Southland in order to stop Cao Cao’s advance into the south.

“…And the Dragon flies out of the mire” indeed…

Enjoy this, the forty first chapter in the Sanguo Yanyi audiobook, only here at Brookhavenchronicles.com. Thanks for listening!