Zhuge Liang burns another detachment of Cao Cao’s troops, but there are plenty more where that came from.

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Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 50.

Before we pick up where we left off, I would be remiss to not note the milestone of our 50th episode. It’s taken us more than a year to get here, and we’ve got plenty more of the story to go. We are really just getting warmed up here. I have enjoyed the experience of producing this podcast immensely, and I want to thank all of you listeners out there for giving the show a chance, sticking with it, sending in comments, and telling other people about it. I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating: You guys make the effort it takes to produce the show worthwhile. So thank you.

 

So, where were we? Ah yes. Liu Biao had just died, and before his body was cold, his wife, Lady Cai, and her brother Cai (4) Mao (4) had conspired to forge his will and make her son, Liu Cong (2), the new ruler of Jing Province. They kept word of all this, including Liu Biao’s death, hidden from his elder son Liu Qi (2) and from Liu Bei.

Then, when they heard that Cao Cao’s army was on its way, they quickly decided to surrender. So they sent an official named Song (4) Zhong (1) to deliver the message to Cao Cao. On his way back, Song Zhong was captured by Liu Bei’s soldiers. They took him to Xinye (1,3) County to see Liu Bei, and he ended up telling Liu Bei everything. Zhang Fei then told Liu Bei that he should kill Song Zhong, then march on Xiangyang, where they would sack the city, kill Lady Cai and Liu Cong, and use the city as their base to fight Cao Cao.

But Liu Bei would have none of this.

“Enough already!” he said as he shushed Zhang Fei. “I will proceed as I see fit.”

He then admonished Song Zhong. “You knew what was going on, so why did you not report this to me sooner? Even if I kill you today, it would do no good. So scram!”

Song Zhong, breathing a huge sigh of relief, thanked Liu Bei and made himself scarce. Just as Liu Bei was sitting around feeling bad, word came that Liu Biao’s elder son Liu Qi had sent the official Yi (1) Ji (2) to see him. Remember that Yi Ji had twice saved Liu Bei from conspiracies by Cai Mao to kill him, so Liu Bei was obviously glad to see him.

After they greeted each other, Yi Ji said, “My lord Liu Qi heard that his father had passed away, but that his stepmother and Cai Mao conspired to keep the news from us and made Liu Cong the new ruler of the province. After my lord sent men to verify that this rumor was true, he sent me here to tell you, in case you did not know. He also wants to ask you to join forces with him and go to Xiangyang to hold the Cais responsible.”

“Sir, you have not heard the whole story,” Liu Bei said. “You only know that Liu Cong has assumed command of the province. Do you know that he has surrendered it to Cao Cao?”

Yi (1) Ji (2) was shocked by this and asked how Liu Bei came by this intel, and Liu Bei told him how he had captured Song Zhong.

“If that’s the case, my lord, why don’t you go to Xiangyang under the pretense of mourning Liu Biao, lure Liu Cong out of the city, capture him, and wipe out his conspirators? The province would be yours.”

“Yi Ji is quite right,” Zhuge Liang chimed in. “My lord, you should do as he suggests.”

But once again,