The Three Kingdoms Volume 2 Read Online Free PDF

purity of heart.
    Bravely you extolled Liu Bei’s worth
And blamed Cao Cao for his evils.
    Of blazing fire you felt no fear,
You blanched not when the sword came near,
But dreaded lest a willful son
Should dim the fame his fathers won.
    Yes, Mother Xu was of one mould
With famous heroines of old,
Who never shrank from injury,
And even were content to die.
    Eloquent praise, while still alive,
Was yours, and ever will survive.
    Hail! Mother Xu, your memory,
While time rolls on, shall never die.
    At the sight of his dead mother, Xu Shu wept so bitterly that he fainted and only recovered consciousness after a long time. When Cao Cao heard of it he sent mourning gifts, and in due course went in person to express his condolences. Xu Shu buried her mother in the south of the capital and kept a vigil at her tomb. He consistently rejected all gifts from Cao Cao.
    At that time Cao Cao was contemplating an attack on Sun Quan in the southeast. His advisor Xun Yu argued that he should wait until the weather was milder and he agreed. But he began to prepare for the war. The waters in a river were redirected to form a lake, which he called the “Training Lake,” where he could accustom his men to fight on the water.
    Now Liu Bei was preparing gifts for his intended visit to Zhuge Liang when his servants came to announce the arrival of a stranger of exceptionally austere appearance, wearing a lofty headdress and a wide belt.
    “Could it be him?” said Liu Bei to himself. Hastily arranging his dress, he went to welcome the visitor. But the first glance showed him that it was the mountain recluse Sima Hui, also known as Water Mirror. However, Liu Bei was very glad to see him and led him into the inner hall, where he conducted the guest to the seat of honor and made his obeisance.
    Liu Bei said, “Since leaving you that day in the mountains I have been overwhelmed with military affairs and so have failed to visit you as I should. Now that you have condescended to come and see me I feel that my ardent wishes have been gratified.”
    “I hear Xu Shu is here. I have come expressly to see him,” replied the visitor bluntly.
    “He has lately left for the capital. A messenger came with a letter from his mother telling him of her imprisonment by Cao Cao.”
    “Then he must have fallen into Cao Cao’s trap!” said Sima Hui. “I have always known his mother to be a very noble woman, and even if she was imprisoned by Cao Cao she would not summon her son like that. That letter was undoubtedly a forgery. If the son did not go, the mother would be safe; if he went, she would be a dead woman.”
    “But how could it be?” asked Liu Bei, astonished.
    “She is a woman of the highest principles, who will be greatly mortified seeing her son under such circumstances.”
    Liu Bei said, “Just as your friend was leaving he recommended to me a certain Zhuge Liang of Nanyang. What do you think of him?”
    Sima Hui smiled and said, “If Xu Shu wanted to go, he could just leave. But why should he want to drag Zhuge Liang out to shed his heart’s blood?”
    “Why do you say that, sir?” asked Liu Bei.
    He replied: “Zhuge Liang has four closest friends—Cui Zhou-ping, Shi Guang-yuan, Meng Gong-wei, and Xu Shu. These four are devoted to the perfection of separate things. Only Zhuge Liang is able to perceive their overall meaning. He used to sit with his hands about his knees reciting poetry, and then, pointing to his companions, he would say, ‘You, gentlemen, could be governors or prefects in official life.’
    “When they asked him what his ambition was he would only smile and refuse to answer. He often compares himself with the great scholars Guan Zhong and Yue Yi. No one could truly measure his talents.”
    “Yingchuan is truly a wonderful place that produces so many able men!” said Liu Bei.
    “Well, in the old days the astrologer, Yin Kui, had predicted that as the stars clustered thick over this district, there would emerge many wise men