Chapter 26: Dong Zhuo Invades Yi Province Again; Liu Bei Loses His Arm!
But Chen Gong and Lu Zhi, after Fa Zheng retreated from the hall, immediately changed into court attire, carrying Li Yu's confession and gift list, and rushed to the palace in a sedan chair. They coincidentally caught up with Han Xing Wang Liu Bei handling government affairs inside the palace. After Right National Chancellor Chen Gong and Grand Tutor Lu Zhi paid their respects, they recounted the interrogation process, handed over the confession and gift list, and sat down beside him. Liu Bei was furious, slamming his fist on the desk, his eyes wide with anger, and thought to himself: "Gao Fang, you are a noble national uncle and a lonely king, how could you be so cruel to me? But you are indeed the mastermind behind this crime! Look at this one case, how many people have been implicated? My fourth brother Li Yu is imprisoned in the great prison, and my second and third brothers had to resign from office. The Lonely King almost killed my wise minister." Han Xing Wang Liu Bei was now filled with regret, shaking his head and stamping his foot, hating that he couldn't die from frustration. Chen Gong and Lu Zhi saw that Liu Bei truly had a repentant heart, so they stepped forward to repeatedly persuade him. Only then did Liu Bei calm down, immediately issuing an edict to pardon Li Yu and Wang Xue, restoring their original positions. But it was said that Chen Gong had already sent Fa Zheng to deliver the news to Li Yu and Wang Xue, who were in the commander's residence, and immediately ordered someone to invite Li Yu and Wang Xue to his Silver Peace Hall! Liu Bei commanded the drums to be beaten and the hall to be raised, preparing to clear Li Yu's name and turn against him.
Soon, Wen Wu gathered at the Silver Peace Temple, and Li Yu and Wang Xue also arrived at the Silver Peace Temple! Liu Bei stood up from his seat, took a few quick steps to the front of his fourth brother Li Yu, grasped Li Yu's hands with both hands, and said with tears in his eyes: "Ah, my dear! Commander! The king's fourth brother! All this is because the king was confused for a moment, couldn't tell true from false, and let you suffer, the king owes you an apology. The king should have thought that anyone in the world would rebel against me, but the fourth brother would never betray me! It was the king's fault!" Liu Bei cried, Li Yu also cried, feeling wronged. If it weren't for Fa Zheng handling the case fairly, the injustice would have been buried at sea, and no one expected that everything would be cleared up in just one day. Wang Xue felt equally wronged and shed tears at this time. The King of Han issued an edict, restoring Li Yu and Wang Xue's original positions and granting Li Yu the Shangfang Treasure Sword given by Emperor Ling of Han. This means that from now on, Li Yu can wield great power without needing to ask Liu Bei for permission, which is also what Liu Bei intended. All the civil and military officials were delighted at this.
Liu Bei summoned the imperial edict, bringing his brother-in-law, Mi Fang, to the Silver Ancestral Temple. Liu Bei was furious and pointed at him: "You are a noble brother of the emperor, but you have brought disaster to the country and harm to the people. You are truly a scourge on society and a pestilence on the state." He immediately issued an edict ordering Mi Fang's execution.
However, since Mi Fang was the brother of the empress, it would not be convenient to execute him publicly. Therefore, he was strangled in his own residence. Just as Mi Fang was about to be taken away for execution, his older brother, Mi Zhu, who was in charge of taxation and finance, knelt down and grabbed Liu Bei's legs: "Your Majesty, please show mercy! My younger brother Mi Fang should not have had such thoughts. It is all my fault for not teaching him well when he was young. He has no grudge against the Grand Marshal Li Yu, but things have gotten out of hand. Please spare his life for my sake and that of the empress."
Liu Bei was now in a difficult position. If he killed Mi Fang, it would be hard to explain to the officials at court. But if he didn't kill him, it would be hard to justify to his brother-in-law. What should he do?
Liu Bei thought for a moment and decided to consult with Li Yu. He held Li Yu's hand and said: "Fourth brother, my empress has only two brothers, and Mi Fang is indeed guilty. However, he was led astray by his own foolishness. Moreover, his older brother Mi Zhu helped you during your battles in the south and north. Can you please spare his life for my sake?"
Li Yu listened calmly but felt uncomfortable inside. However, Wang Yue, Li Yu's wife, spoke up: "It seems that Liu Bei still has favorites among his relatives. This is not fair! My husband Li Yu has made great contributions to the country, fighting battles in the south and north without complaint. But when it comes to your brother-in-law, you want to spare his life?" Wang Yue was about to continue speaking, but Li Yu signaled her to stop. Liu Bei looked down, unable to respond.
Liu Bei saw that Li Yu did not want to make things difficult for him, and it was not good to continue talking. At this time, Wang Fei's younger sister, Mi Fang, came onto the stage. Seeing the situation, she could only continue to give herself an excuse, saying: "Fourth brother, fourth uncle! Today, the king must severely punish him, but spare his life, and from now on, strip him of all official power, thoroughly cutting off his thoughts. In this way, you can let him live, and he will be grateful to the Li family. The king and I will not forget your kindness." Li Yu heard these words and thought that Wang Fei Mi was just like his own sister, so he could only say: "Your Majesty, it's up to you, I have no complaints." This time, Li Yu did not call Liu Bei "big brother", but rather "Your Majesty"! Li Yu felt that at this moment, Liu Bei had a bit of the aura of a tiger. Liu Bei heard this and could only smile wryly, saying: "Alright, thank you, fourth brother."
Han Xing Wang Liu Bei made a decision on the spot: to demote Guo Fang, the imperial uncle, from his official position and strip him of all power, relegating him to the status of a commoner and forcing him to reflect on his mistakes. Imperial Uncle Guo Fang was extremely grateful to have escaped with his life and left the palace in tears, kowtowing and bowing repeatedly to Li Yu.
Zi Zhan also repeatedly thought of Li Yu's great kindness and virtue, and was willing to take one thousand taels of silver from his private property to give to Li Yu and Wang Xue as a couple to calm their fears!
Finally, Li Yu spoke up and said: "Your Majesty, I came to the capital this time to resolve the situation in Hanzhong, but I was wrongly accused. In recent days, I have been fighting battles north and south, and my old injuries have recurred. I request leave to return home and recover."
Liu Bei immediately agreed, and now all of Li Yu's requests were approved by Liu Bei. He was afraid that Li Yu would not mention it! When Li Yu left the Silver Ancestral Hall, Liu Bei personally held Li Yu's hand to send him out of the palace. He repeatedly reminded Li Yu, saying "Fourth brother, you should recover from your injuries at home, and no matter what, you must hurry back to command the army." Li Yu nodded, bid farewell to Left Chancellor Chen Gong, Fa Zheng, his teacher Lu Zhi, Yan Yan, Zhang Ren, Wu An Guo, and other civil and military officials, and returned to the commander's mansion.
The storm had just passed, and suddenly the alarm came. Dong Zhuo led 500,000 troops from Xiliang to invade Yizhou, now only seven days away from Chengdu City. One hundred thousand urgent memorials, one after another, were reported to the Wangfu in Chengdu. Liu Bei was shocked. On this day, he was discussing countermeasures with civil and military officials when an official at the head of the hall announced: Dong Zhuo's special envoy, Li Su, requested an audience with the king. Liu Bei thought for a moment, "How timely! What business does Dong Zhuo's special envoy have? I must ask."
The next morning, Liu Bei ascended to the throne in the Silver Peace Hall. The civil and military officials, led by Chen Gong and Yan Yan, paid their respects and stood on both sides. (As Li Yu was not present in Chengdu at that time, Yan Yan held the highest position among the military officers, so he was the chief of the military officers!) Liu Bei ordered the announcement of Dong Zhuo's special envoy to be brought before him. Before long, footsteps were heard, and a man walked into the hall. This guy was about 1.7 meters tall, with a bun on his head, wearing a deep red robe, and it could be seen that he was a second-grade official of the current dynasty. He wore rhinoceros leather boots on his feet. Looking at his face, he had a sly smile, and this person was none other than Li Su, who had persuaded Lü Bu to surrender to Dong Zhuo! Seeing him take big strides, he came to the foot of the golden steps, bowed his head, and said disrespectfully: "Pay respects to King Han Xing, thousands of years, thousands of years, thousands of years." Liu Bei thought that as a foreign envoy, two countries at war should not kill the messenger, and should be treated with courtesy. Liu Bei said: "The noble envoy is excused from the ceremony, please stand up straight." "Thank you, King Han Xing," Li Su replied. Liu Bei continued to ask: "What is the name of the noble envoy?" Li Su replied to Liu Bei: "I am Li Su, the guardian of the Tianshui Pass." Liu Bei continued to say: "Is there anything you want to say to me?" Li Su bowed his head and said: "I have come here with a personal letter from Chancellor Dong Zhuo, which I would like to present to King Han Xing in person." As he spoke, he took out a letter and handed it to the official at the head of the hall, who then presented it to Liu Bei.
Liu Bei opened the letter and scrutinized it carefully, after reading it his face turned blue with rage. "Bang!" He slammed his hand on the table, shaking his head and stamping his foot: "How can this be! How can this be!" As he spoke, he handed the letter to Chen Gong, the Right Prime Minister.
The letter roughly said: The great Han is in danger, only the current Prime Minister Dong Zhuo can hold up the Han dynasty. However, you Liu Bei do not think about being loyal and protecting the country, but instead collude with Yuan Shao and Cao * and others, eighteen people, to rebel against the government. I ordered Li Yu to lead the army to secretly attack Xiangyang City. Now, Prime Minister Dong Zhuo is furious and has decided to go to war with you Liu Bei. He has made up his mind to conquer Yizhou. If you Liu Bei do not want to fight, you must agree to three conditions: First, return Xiangyang City, Yangping Pass, and compensate for the loss of Dangqu City; Second, you Liu Bei must pay tribute to me Dong Zhuo every year and acknowledge allegiance; Third, take the ringleaders Li Yu and Wang Xue and their families, regardless of age or sex, and put them in prison carts, sending them to Chang'an for me Dong Zhuo to deal with. If one of these conditions is not met, I Dong Zhuo will lead the army to kill into Chengdu! The words were sharp and threatening, how could Han Xing Wang Liu Bei not be angry?!
What's going on? Didn't Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu have a falling out, and isn't he about to die soon? It was Li Yu who saved Dong Zhuo's life this time. What's really going on? Why did Dong Zhuo want to switch from defense to offense and attack Yi Province?
It turned out that when Li Yu was deploying troops, Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, Li Ru, suggested: "At this time, the world is in chaos, and the war has been going on for a long time. Liu Bei may be a hero of his generation, but the one to be feared most is Li Yu. He defeated the Yellow Turbans and personally beheaded Zhang Jue; later, he joined forces with the eighteen lords and wounded Lü Bu, truly a god of war who has never been defeated.
But now, Liu Bei has personally put Li Yu in prison, and Li Yu must be disheartened and unwilling to help Liu Bei. In this case, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are no match for Lü Bu, so it's the perfect opportunity to seize Yi Province! Dong Zhuo's move was to win people over, but what he said was that he wanted to recover lost land and seek compensation.
However, as soon as Li Su left, Dong Zhuo led his army out, and many of the meritorious officials in the imperial court were deeply dissatisfied with him. But the old villain Dong Zhuo held great power, and these officials dared not speak out against him.
Wang Yun was the most angry, having used Diao Chan's linked ring plan, but before it could succeed, Dong Zhuo had already led his army to attack Yi Province! How did this Dong Zhuo manage to live so long? Wang Yun even sent off Dong Zhuo's chariot with a bow!
Nowadays, Dong Zhuo is more majestic than the Emperor of Han himself, using imperial carriages and ceremonies for his comings and goings, just like a second emperor of the Han dynasty! He is so arrogant, but unfortunately, all military power is in his hands. Alas, this Dong Zhuo just won't die!
Chairman Mao's words that "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun" are really too apt. If Dong Zhuo didn't have military power, who knows how many times he would have been killed by now? In any case, if Dong Zhuo didn't have military power, he wouldn't be in such a high position today!
This is why Dong Zhuo attacked Liu Bei's Yizhou at this time. To get back to the story, Han Xing Wang Liu Bei was furious after reading the letter; "The audacious old thief Dong Zhuo, I haven't gone to take his head, yet he dares to raise an army again and invade my territory, still daring to threaten me with big words. How can I tolerate this? Come, push the messenger Li Su out and kill him!" The golden armor warriors on the Yin An Hall responded with a shout, pushed Li Su to the ground, pinned his arms behind his back, and pushed him out of the hall.
Chen Gong, the left prime minister, hurried over and said: "Your Majesty, please calm down, you can't kill him." Liu Bei was truly angry at this time and scolded Chen Gong, saying: "Why can't I kill him? Are you the king or am I the king? I'm going to kill this guy!" Chen Gong said: "Your Majesty, since ancient times, when two countries are at odds, they do not execute envoys. It would be better to let him go back and tell Dong Zhuo that we refuse your conditions. If we want to fight, we will fight." Liu Bei's anger had not dissipated, but he could not ignore his military advisor's advice. He ordered those around him: "Let him go." Li Su was pushed back into the Silver Ancestral Hall. Liu Bei sternly scolded Li Su, saying: "You go back and tell that old thief Dong Zhuo: First, I consider Dong Zhuo a national thief and absolutely cannot accept your unreasonable conditions; Second, Han's king will resolutely go to war; Third, you must inform Dong Zhuo to surrender immediately or die!" After Liu Bei finished speaking, he was still not satisfied. He ordered people to beat Li Su with sticks and drive him out of Chengdu! However, before Li Su had left Chengdu, Liu Bei issued a second order: to have Li Su beaten with sticks and driven out of the borders of Yi Province! From this, it can be seen how great Liu Bei's anger was!
Liu Bei was discussing with his officials what to do next, when Chen Gong, the Right National Chancellor, spoke up: "Your Majesty, it seems that we will have to raise an army again. On the front lines, we have Left National Chancellor Guo Jia and two generals, Guan Yu and Zhao Yun, as well as Xu Huang, who are all reliable. However, in order to go to war, we need to prepare food and supplies for the troops, but this is not a problem, as we have Mi Zhu and Liu Ba to take care of it. The key issue is that we need a commander-in-chief to lead the army." Liu Bei agreed with him.
Who should be appointed as the commander-in-chief? Everyone unanimously recommended Li Yu, who was in charge of the imperial seal and led the army. Liu Bei also knew that this task could only be entrusted to his fourth brother, Li Yu. Seeing that everyone agreed, he decided to write a decree summoning Li Yu to come to the Silver Peace Temple to lead the army against Dong Zhuo.
Just as he was about to pick up his pen, an official came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the wife of General-in-Chief Li Yu, Wang Xue, has arrived at the Silver Peace Temple and requests to see you." Liu Bei immediately said: "Quickly summon her."
After a short while, Wang Xue was brought before him. At this time, she was dressed in mourning attire, with tears streaming down her face. Before speaking, she first kowtowed and wept for a long time, then said: "Your humble servant Wang Xue pays respects to Your Majesty, may you live forever."
Liu Bei saw that something was amiss and thought to himself that Li Yu and his wife had no elderly relatives, so who were they mourning? He asked: "Sister-in-law, please rise and speak." Wang Xue cried out: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
After she calmed down, Liu Bei asked: "Sister-in-law, what brings you to the Silver Peace Temple?" As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Xue burst into tears again, sobbing and saying: "Your Majesty, I have come to report a death. My husband, your fourth brother, General-in-Chief Li Yu of Yi Province, passed away yesterday."
When Wang Xue's words came out, it was like a thunderbolt on a clear day, and the entire Silver Peace Hall was shaken. At this time, Liu Bei was frightened by this sentence, his eyes wide with shock, and all the ministers were stunned. After a long while, Liu Bei finally stood up, shouted to the sky: "My good fourth brother! This is heaven's doom for me!" After finishing speaking, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted. Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing, two famous doctors of the time, came forward and struggled for half a day before waking Liu Bei up. The first thing Liu Bei did after waking up was to ask Wang Xue: "Fourth sister, are you telling the truth? My fourth brother is only 25 years old this year, it's the prime time for him to build his career, how could he die so young?" Wang Xue saw that Liu Bei didn't believe her and continued: "I dare not deceive Your Majesty, my husband Li Yu has indeed passed away." Liu Bei asked again: "How did my fourth brother Li Yu die? Tell me the story quickly!"
The king's wife, Wang Xue, had not spoken before tears fell from her eyes and she sobbed: "Your Majesty, after my husband Li Yu was wrongly accused and cleared of his name, he returned to the commander's mansion, but he had already contracted a serious illness in the military campaign. After returning home, his condition worsened day by day. I wanted to invite the famous doctors Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing to treat him, but my husband Li Yu refused, saying that it was just a minor illness and he would be fine after some rest. However, he eventually fell ill and did not recover. I didn't expect that this morning...he passed away. I dare not conceal the truth, so I rushed to the Silver Peace Hall to report his death to Your Majesty." Wang Xue spoke while crying, with tears streaming down her face.
Han Xing Wang Liu Bei felt a pang in his heart after listening, he felt that he had wronged his fourth brother Li Yu. If he hadn't taken this case, if he hadn't suffered such great injustice, his fourth brother Li Yu wouldn't have fallen ill and died, wasn't this a chain reaction? Liu Bei felt a wave of guilt, so he cried very sorrowfully. He told Wang Xue: "Younger sister, you go back to the commander's mansion first, I will immediately get up and rush to my fourth brother's house to mourn him. Also, I will immediately send people to deliver messages to my second brother Yunchang, third brother Yide, Left State Minister Guo Jia, General Zilong, Gongming and others to come to the capital to mourn!"
Liu Bei finished speaking and immediately issued an order: Right State Minister Chen Gong, Deputy Commander of the Chengdu Military Region Yan Yan, Head of the Tingwei Fu Law Department Fa Zheng, Great Confucian Scholar Lu Zhi, as well as Zhang Ren, Gao Shun, Wu An Guo and other officials in Chengdu accompanied Wang to pay his respects, bringing 100 members of the Imperial Guard. The order was transmitted, and everyone sprang into action. At this time, Tian Feng suggested that they should not spread the news of Li Yu's death to avoid alarming the people. Liu Bei thought it made sense and immediately issued another order that today's matter is not allowed to be leaked out, and Li Yu's funeral must be controlled within a limited scope!
With a fragrant incense, King Liu Bei of the Han Dynasty led his civil and military officials to Li Yu's commander mansion. Wang Xue came out from the commander mansion to welcome Liu Bei's royal carriage from afar. When Liu Bei arrived at Li Yu's commander mansion, he didn't rest for a moment before rushing straight to Li Yu's mourning hall. Wang Xue told Liu Bei that Li Yu was placed in the backyard, and asked him to take a short rest, but Liu Bei refused to rush quickly to the backyard of Li Yu's commander mansion!
From the front yard to the back yard of Li Yu's mansion, the kings and ministers found that the soldiers and servants who came and went were all wearing mourning clothes, with unhappy expressions on their faces. When they arrived at the back yard, they saw a white ocean in front of them. Listening carefully, they heard waves of crying sounds. People are like this, encountering an environment will be infected by it, Liu Bei's heart was already sad, under the influence of the surrounding environment, his nose turned sour and tears fell again. Many ministers immediately surrounded Liu Bei into the back yard of the mansion, only to see that all the doors and windows in the back yard were closed, and all the servants and soldiers were busy with the funeral of General Li Yu. The soldiers and servants heard that King Han Xing Liu Bei had arrived, and they hurried to greet him, leading everyone to the front of the mourning hall. They saw a tall gate tower, the original glazed tiles and red lacquer doors were covered with white paper, high soul flags on both sides of the door, and people wearing heavy mourning clothes in front of the door, welcoming the holy carriage. Then someone reported inside.
Li Yu's family was not large, with only Wang Xue, a woman. Although Liu Bei had asked Li Yu to take concubines several times, Li Yu refused, saying that he was content with Wang Xue and did not want anyone else. He also said that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and grow old together. Liu Bei saw this and did not press the issue further.
Li Yu was frugal and did not like to hire many servants. On the other hand, he had a large number of soldiers, with over 400 people in his household and nearly 500 soldiers. At this time, Liu Bei stood in the center, surrounded by his officials and ministers. He wore casual clothes and looked straight ahead.
Just then, someone shouted loudly: "Fourth brother! Little fourth! Your third brother has come! I'm late, but I'll definitely bring back Guan Yu's head to bury with you!" It turned out that Wang Xue's letter had arrived before Liu Bei's. Zhang Fei had rushed back from Xiaoyao Pass without bringing his troops, taking less than a day.
Before the words had even finished, Guan Yu's voice was heard: "Ah! Fourth brother! I know you are loyal and righteous, but you have been wronged. You must be feeling frustrated in your heart!" Behind him, Zhao Yun and Guo Jia also looked angry. Xu Huang did not come because when Guan Yu arrived, he had left Xu Huang and Ji Ping to guard the city of Dangcheng and Yangping Pass, as well as the three cities of Qishan.
Guan Yu continued: "I will definitely ask for an explanation from our eldest brother on your behalf!"
The four men arrived and saw Liu Bei, but they did not lose their composure because they had a fire in their hearts. Fa Zheng was about to step forward and question the three of them when he saw Liu Bei wave his hand and say, "Let's dispense with the formalities in front of my brothers." Ah, my two brothers, I heard that our fourth brother passed away not long ago. Let's go see him together!" Zhang Fei did not give Liu Bei any face and shouted loudly, "Yes, Fourth Brother is waiting for Your Majesty! If you don't come, how can my poor Fourth Brother rest in peace?" Liu Bei knew his third brother Zhang Fei's temper and nodded reluctantly. He personally walked into the mourning hall, followed by the officials. Li Yu's wife, Wang Xue, led the way as the hostess. When they arrived at the mourning hall, 100 meters away, Liu Bei looked up and saw a horizontal banner in the center with white paper and black characters, each character as tall as a person. It read "Can be used for great things." Inside the courtyard, a three-zhang-six-foot-high spirit platform was set up, covered with reed mats. Paper-made generals stood on either side of the door, and golden boys and jade girls were arranged on both sides. The paper-made people looked just like real ones. On the left, the golden boy held a treasure canopy and bowed his head, while on the right, the jade girl held a yellow banner with a smile on her face. Further in, white woolen blankets covered the ground to conceal the dust, and red stools were all covered with white cloth. Bamboo poles supported embroidered balls, and several pairs of white palace lanterns hung from them. The first pair read "Sweep the floor without harming the ants," the second pair read "Love and cherish the moths in the lampshade," the third pair read "There are fish in the pond, but no one is fishing," and the fourth pair read "Buy birds in front of the mountain and release them to prolong life." In the center was an eight-immortal table with a lantern that seemed neither bright nor dim. A white cloth curtain with a blue border and silver hooks hung upside down, accompanied by a couplet written in fine characters: the top line read "Green mountains and green waters have no master," and the bottom line read "Falling flowers and weeping birds shed tears of sorrow." The horizontal inscription was "Alas, alas!" written clearly. Further on, a cedar coffin with a cypress wood cover had an inscription that read "The spirit of Li Yu, the Eastern Expedition General of the Han Dynasty." A gust of wind blew by, causing the paper banners to flutter in the wind and the ashes from the burnt incense to fly wildly around the courtyard. Adding to this atmosphere, Liu Bei could not bear it anymore and rushed into the mourning hall, throwing himself onto the table and wailing loudly, "Fourth Brother! Great General! Li Yu! You have died a tragic death!" Thud! Thud! Thud! At this moment, Liu Bei did not care about his image and banged his head against the table. He was no longer concerned with his identity and let out a heartfelt cry of grief, causing him to faint on the spot. How could the officials and soldiers not cry? How could Madame Wang Xue not be moved? The cries merged into one. Zhang Fei became even more ruthless and wanted to go to Guo Fang's mansion to take his head, while Guan Yu did not stop him and followed along with Zhao Yun, who drew his sword and was about to leave. The three generals were burning with anger! Guo Jia tried to persuade them, knowing the brothers' feelings. In the end, he said that taking Guo Fang's head was not the priority at this moment, as they should be mourning Li Yu. Only then did Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, and Zhao Yun temporarily spare Guo Fang's life. As for Guo Fang, he felt grateful to Guo Jia, knowing that without him, his head would have been taken by Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, and Zhao Yun.
Here is the translation:
Chen Gong, the Right General, looked on and thought that if things continued like this, they would not be able to calm down Han Xing Wang Liu Bei. He waved his hand, and the guards came over, helping Liu Bei up. The officials tried to comfort him, but it took a long time for Liu Bei to stop crying.
After he calmed down, he used his royal robe to wipe away his tears and began to speak, saying that he was sorry to Zhang Fei and Li Yu. He thought back on the past, from when they first became sworn brothers until now, and especially about how Li Yu had been killed. Liu Bei cried again, and many people, including Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Guo Jia, also shed tears.
Zhang Fei was particularly emotional, as he was known for being straightforward and lacking in culture, but he valued relationships deeply. When Guan Yu died at Maicheng, Zhang Fei cried day and night. Now, he didn't care about the occasion and just let out a loud wail, like a trumpet blast.
Guan Yu also stroked Li Yu's coffin, his eyes filled with tears. Zhao Yun was also crying loudly. Chen Gong tried to comfort everyone, but it was no use. Just then, Guo Jia spoke up, saying, "Everyone should be calm and accept the change. What's the point of crying? The dead cannot come back to life!"
The others listened to Guo Jia and helped Liu Bei up, surrounding the coffin as they walked around it. Liu Bei said, with tears in his eyes, "I must open the coffin and take one last look at my fourth brother. Before he is buried, I want to see my big brother's face once more. If I don't see him, I won't be able to close my eyes even when I die."
Liu Bei didn't have any airs about being a king at this moment; he was just like an older brother in the family. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei also wanted to take one last look at Li Yu. Wang Xue tried to dissuade them, saying that the body had been dead for too long and smelled bad, even with medicine to preserve it. If something went wrong, he would be guilty of a serious crime.
Liu Bei wouldn't listen, insisting on seeing Li Yu's body. The others didn't dare disobey him. Just then, Zhao Yun picked up the coffin lid horizontally and held it up. It turned out that the coffin lid wasn't nailed down; this was done intentionally for Liu Bei to see his brother one last time.
Liu Bei looked at the body, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei also climbed onto the coffin, crying loudly. The officials who followed also looked inside and cried. They saw Li Yu lying inside, with a golden crown on his head and silver shoes on his feet, holding a precious sword that Liu Bei had given him.
Li Yu's face was covered with a yellow silk cloth, which someone gently lifted up. Liu Bei took another look and saw that Li Yu's appearance had changed completely; he looked like a wax figure, with sunken eyes and prominent cheekbones, his beard scattered across his chest. He lay there quietly, not making a sound.
Liu Bei was overcome with grief again and cried for half the day. The others tried to comfort him, but it took some time before he calmed down slightly. They closed the coffin lid, and Wang Xue invited Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Chen Gong, and Guo Jia to have tea in the front hall.
Liu Bei hadn't left yet; he personally lit incense and paid his respects, saying that death did not distinguish between high and low. He bowed three times before the coffin and then went to the front courtyard.
Here is the translation:
Guo Jia noticed that Liu Bei was in a daze, his voice hoarse. Zhang Fei insisted on guarding the coffin again! Liu Bei saw Zhang Fei's determination and also insisted on staying to guard the coffin. The officials and others tried to persuade him, but he didn't respond.
Just then, Liu Bei's mother, Empress Wang, arrived with Queen Mi, both of them crying and saying: "I want to see my fourth son one more time!" Queen Mi was also a wise person who knew that her fourth uncle, Liu Bei, was the pillar of the state. She was heartbroken and hated her second brother for not being capable.
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Wang Yue, and the officials saw Empress Wang arrive and immediately went out to welcome her. Wang Yue rushed into Empress Wang's arms, wailing loudly. Empress Wang comforted her, saying: "Fourth daughter-in-law, I'll take charge of this! Someone, bring it here!"
The attendants didn't dare to delay and brought a yellow package to the front of Li Yu's coffin. When they opened it, everyone was shocked - it was Mi Fang's head! Empress Wang had taken Mi Fang's head without telling Liu Bei!
Only two people were startled: Queen Mi and Finance Minister Mi Zhu. Although they knew their brother couldn't be saved, they didn't expect Empress Wang to bring his head without warning.
Wang Yue cried even harder when she saw Mi Fang's head. Zhang Fei knelt down and shouted: "Old brother, fourth brother! You're in heaven now, big brother won't let you down! Our sister-in-law has taken charge for you!" Guan Yu also knelt down, hitting his head on the ground and crying: "Thank you, sister-in-law, for taking care of my fourth brother!"
Liu Bei was filled with hatred. If only he had killed Mi Fang earlier, his fourth brother Li Yu wouldn't have died in vain. Thinking of this, he burst into tears.
Guo Jia and Chen Gong conferred with each other and Guo Jia came forward to advise: "Your Majesty, you should prioritize the bigger picture. Everyone dies, but we can't bring them back. You're the ruler of a million people, and Generals Zhang and Guan still have important duties to defend against Dong Zhuo. How can you stay here to guard the coffin? The enemy is approaching, and we need to prepare. Since General Li Yu is gone, who will take his place, and how will we lead the army? We need to return and make arrangements. If you stay here, won't it be a waste of time?"
Lady Wang also advised him, and Liu Bei finally nodded: "Alright, fourth sister-in-law, did my fourth brother leave any last words?" Lady Wang replied: "No, since he fell ill, he was always in a daze and didn't leave any final instructions."
Liu Bei sighed and said: "In that case, when I return to the palace, I'll immediately allocate national funds to build a tomb for General Li Yu. All expenses will be paid by the state treasury." Lady Wang knelt down and thanked him.
Liu Bei rested for an hour before leaving. The officials persuaded him to go, and he finally bid farewell. Lady Wang saw him off at the gate, while Empress Wang and Queen Mi stayed for a while longer before parting ways with Lady Wang.
Is the protagonist in the book dead or not? Throw flowers and encouragement, throw recommendations! Little brother will tell you?
I wish you an early return!
