Romance of the Former Han Dynasty (1)

[CHUNG Yoon-Ngan <chungyn@mozart.collective.com.au>]

  Romance of the Former Han4 Dynasty (1)

  It was during the Warring States Period (453BC to 221BC), in 294BC, 
the fifth year of the reign of Zhao4 Hui4 Wang2, the ruler of the State 
of Zhao4, that Qin2 Zhao Wang2, the ruler of the State of Qin2 dispatched 
an army of 100,000 strong to attack Zhao4. The Qin2 army was under the 
command of General Wang2 He, General Wang2 Jian3 and Yi4 Ren2 who was the 
grandson of Qin2 Zhao Wang2. After a long march the Qin2 army camped in 
a place near the border of Zhao4. 

  Li3 Ji4 Shu, the commander of the Zhao4's frontier town of Zhang He2, 
sent messengers to Han Dan, the capital of Zhao4, to report to Zhao4 Hui4 
Wang2 that the Qin2 forces were going to invade Zhao4. On hearing of the 
news Zhao4 Hui4 Wang2 was terrified, but one of his officials named Lin4   
Xiang Ru2 said that he had plans to defeat the Qin2 army. Lin4 Xiang Ru2 
told Zhao4 Hui4 Wang2 to send forth 20,000 troops to ambush quietly near 
the Qin2s camps. The troops were under the command of General Zhao4 
Qian2 and General Yi He2. Zhao4 Hui4 Wang2 then ordered General Lian2 Po 
to lead an army of 50,000 to join forces with the troops of General Li3 
Ji4 Shu in Zhang He2.     

  After General Lian2 Po had settled his troops in Zhang He2, the 
following day he marched out to do battle with the Qin2. The Qin2 forces 
came out in force to fight the Zhao4 troops. The Qin2 camps were left 
with a skeleton army to guide their camps. Seeing the opportunity had 
arrived the Zhao4 troops sprang up from the ambush and destroyed the 
Qin2 camps. They captured many heavy equipments. Yi4 Ren2, the grandson 
of the ruler of Qin2, was in his camp looking at the maps when the Zhao4
soldiers entered his camp. Yi4 Ren2 was captured by the Zhao4 soldiers and 
became the prison of war. 

  In the battlefield, the Zhao4 forces put the Qin2 army to rout. The 
Qin2 soldiers fled for their lives. Luckily the Qin2 Generals of Wang2     
He and Wang2 Jian3 escaped.

  The Zhao4 army returned to Han Dan triumphantly. They displaced the war 
booties and the Qin2 prisoners of war with Yi4 Ren2 in the lead. Zhao4 
Hui4 Wang2 wanted to execute Yi4 Ren2, but he was advised by Lin4 Xiang Ru2
not to do so on the ground that Qin2 was a very powerful State and Qin2 Zhao 
Wang2 might attack Zhao4 again if his grandson was killed. It was better 
to use Yi4 Ren2 as a hostage to prevent further incursion by Qin2. 

  A few days later, an official from Qin2 brought the message that Qin2 
would live in peace with Zhao4 provided that no harm was being done unto 
Yi4 Ren2. Zhao4 Hui4 Wang2 accepted the peaceful proposal and ordered 
General Zhao4 Qian2 to be the custodian of Yi4 Ren2. The ruler also told 
the General to be kind, lenient and not to harm Yi4 Ren2.

  There was a big crowd in the street watching General Zhao4 Qian2 taking 
the royal prison of war, Yi4 Ren2, to his house. Among the crowd there 
was a man by the name of Lu3 Bu4 Wei2 who was a smart and very talented 
businessman. Lu3 Bu4 Wei2 sighted as soon as he saw Yi4 Ren2 whom he 
regarded as a strange commodity...........to be continued. 

CHUNG Yoon-Ngan.