Gods 003: Rivers of Blood

The upstart marquis Su Hu braces for the king’s wrath.

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Transcript

Welcome to the Chinese Lore Podcast, where I retell classic Chinese stories in English. This is episode 3 of Investiture of the Gods. 

Last time, we left off with King Zhou (4) of the Shang Dynasty ready to wage war against one of his vassals, the Marquis Su (1) Hu (4), because the latter refused to send his daughter into the king’s harem, and when the king got mad, Su Hu got mad as well. One thing led to another, and before you know it, Su Hu said heck with this, go find yourself another vassal, I quit! While Su Hu went back to his home state of Jizhou (4,1), the king was ordering that six armies be mobilized so he could personally go smack down this upstart.

One of the top commanders that the king had called up to lead his forces was named Lu (3) Xiong (2). This Lu Xiong thought to himself, “That Su Hu is a good, loyal official. How did he offend the king? If the king personally leads this campaign, then Su Hu’s state is doomed.”

Hoping to prop the door ajar for Su Hu, Lu Xiong now stepped forth, kneeled, and said to King Zhou, “Even though Su Hu offended your highness, there is no need for you to personally go on campaign. Right now, we have the four grand dukes in the capital and they haven’t returned to their territories yet. You can just order one or two of them to go capture Su Hu and punish him, and that will demonstrate your majesty’s prowess without your needing to go on a distant campaign.”

“Which of the four grand dukes can take on this task?” King Zhou asked.

At that, one of the king’s sycophant officials, Fei (4) Zhong (4), said, “Su Hu’s state falls under the jurisdiction of Chong (2) Houhu (2,3), the Grand Duke of the North. You can send him.”

King Zhou said sure, but the commander Lu (3) Xiong (2) was quite concerned about that recommendation. 

“That Chong (2) Houhu (2,3) is a tyrannical brute,” he thought to himself. “Wherever his army goes, the civilians will no doubt suffer terribly. But the Grand Duke of the West, Ji (1) Chang (1), is known everywhere for his virtue and compassion, and he is loved and trusted by the people. I should recommend him to keep things from getting worse.”

So before the king could issue his official edict, Lu Xiong said, “Chong Houhu has not yet earned the full trust of the people. I worry that he might not be able to uphold the prestige of the court on this mission. But Ji (1) Chang (1), the Grand Duke of the West, is well known for his compassion and honor. If you appoint him to go in your stead, then Su Hu will be punished without your highness having to go personally.”

After giving it a lot of thought, King Zhou ended up appointing both grand dukes who were recommended, and he dispatched an envoy to inform them.

The four grand dukes were feasting with the two top ministers of the court when the envoy arrived with the edict for two of them. The two summoned grand dukes kneeled, and the envoy read the decree, which basically said, “I’m the king, and a vassal is supposed to do whatever I say. But that Su Hu dissed me, and showed no remorse even after I let him go. He posted a seditious poem on the palace gate to declare his rebellion. So you guys go put the smack down on him.”

After receiving the edict, Ji Chang, the Grand Duke of the West, said to the two top court ministers at the feast, “How did this come about? Su Hu has always been loyal and honorable, and has rendered great military service. There must be something fishy about this matter of him leaving a seditious poem on the palace gate. Who is telling his majesty to wage war on a vassal that has rendered him service? I worry the other lords of the land will not take it well. Ministers, I hope the two of you can go to court tomorrow morning to see his majesty and find out what exactly Su Hu has done. If it really is true, then we can wage war against him. If the story doesn’t add up, we should stop this campaign.”

The second highest minister, Bi (3) Gan (4), agreed. But the Grand Duke of the North, Chong (2) Houhu (2,3), was not on board.

“A king’s words are like silk. Once it is spoken, it is woven. Now that his highness has issued the decree, who would dare to disobey him? Besides, if Su Hu left a poem on the palace gate, then there must be evidence. His highness would not take such extreme actions without cause. There are 800 vassal lords. If they all disobeyed the king’s orders at will, then that is a recipe for chaos.”

“You have a point,” Ji Chang said to his fellow grand duke. “But you’re only hearing one side of the story. Su Hu is a good, loyal gentleman. He serves the country faithfully, educates his people methodically, and commands his army brilliantly. He has done no wrong in all these years. And yet now, someone has misled his highness into waging war against an innocent man. This is an inauspicious omen for the country. I pray that his highness will opt against violence. War is a serious disaster. It wastes money, slaughters civilians, and destroys the peace of the land. An unjust war is not the way to prosperity.”

Chong Houhu, however, was steadfast in his convictions. He told Ji Chang, “Your words are reasonable, but you’re overlooking the fact that this is a command from the king, so it’s not up to us. Who would dare to disobey his highness? We would be committing an offense ourselves.”

“Well, in that case,” Ji Chang said, “you may lead your army and set off first. I will be right behind you with my forces.”

So the party broke up and everyone went their separate ways. As he prepared to depart, Ji Chang told the two ministers, “Chong Houhu is going on ahead, and I will return for now to my territory in the Western Qi (2) Mountains and lead my forces to join him shortly.”

Chong Houhu, meanwhile, was itching to go. The next morning, he went to the training grounds to organize his forces and set out at once.

Let’s go check in on Su Hu, the rebellious marquis. After leaving the capital in a huff, he and his entourage returned to his state of Jizhou (4,1) within a day. He was greeted by his generals and his eldest son, Su Quanzhong (2,1), whose name, by the way, means “Absolute Loyalty”. Su Hu told them what happened in the capital and then ordered his men to start drilling the soldiers and reinforcing their defenses.

The assault they were preparing for was on its way, in the form of an army 50,000 strong, led by Chong Houhu, the Grand Duke of the North. After some days on the road, their front column was approaching their target, and Chong Houhu ordered the army to pitch camp.

Scouts soon brought word of this to Su Hu. When he heard who was leading the oncoming army, Su Hu was irate. “If it were another lord, then we might be able to talk this out. But that Chong Houhu is wicked. No resolution can be achieved by dealing with him courteously. Let’s take this opportunity to crush his army, raise our forces’ prestige, and rid the people of this evil.”

So Su Hu led his army out of the city at once. As an explosive blasted off into the air, they charged out with a full head of steam and lined up in a row. Su Hu then shouted toward the enemy camp, demanding to speak with their commander. 

Chong Houhu quickly answered the call. As his banners parted, he rode out with his officers, holding up two military banners embroidered with dragon and phoenix. While his eldest son held down their lines, Chong Houhu rode out, dressed in golden armor, red battle robe, jade girdle, and phoenix helmet. He sat atop a red horse, and from his saddle hung a big saber.

For all his talk about not dealing with Chong Houhu courteously, Su Hu greeted him with a light bow from the saddle and said, “My lord, how have you been? Pardon me for not kneeling since I am in full armor. Right now, the king is wicked. He dismisses men of talent, indulges in women, and cares nothing for his people. He listened to the wicked and tried to force me to give him my daughter as his concubine. Such debauchery will cause chaos throughout the land soon. But instead of defending your own territory, why have you launched this unjust campaign?”

Chonghou Hu flew into a rage at those words. “You disobeyed his majesty’s command and wrote a seditious poem on the palace gate. You are a traitor and deserve death. I have come on his majesty’s decree to punish you. You should be on your hands and knees. Yet, you dare to wag your tongue and brandish your weapons in resistance!”

He then turned and asked who among his officers would go capture Su Hu. One lieutenant quickly answered the call, galloping out while shouting, “Watch me capture that rebel!” He was quickly met by Su Hu’s eldest son. After trading blows for 20 bouts, or exchanges, Su Hu’s son found his mark with the spear, and the enemy lieutenant fell dead to the ground. Su Hu immediately ordered his army to beat their drums and charge. Two of his generals galloped forth, leading their troops forward. They swept through the enemy, and before long, the field was littered with the bodies of the slain and blood flowed like rivers. Thoroughly routed, Chonghou Hu and his officers fell back, fighting while they retreated for three or four miles.

Back inside Jizhou, Su Hu rewarded his officers, but also told them, “Even though we crushed the enemy today, they will no doubt regroup and come back with reinforcements. Our city is in peril. What should we do?”

One of his lieutenants said, “My lord, even though we won today, this war is not ending anytime soon. First you wrote a seditious poem, and today you killed the court’s soldiers and resisted the king’s command. All of these are capital offenses. And there are many more vassal lords than just Chong Houhu. If the court gets mad and sends a few more of them to attack us, our little city cannot withstand it. In my humble opinion, we should go all the way. Chong Houhu has just suffered a defeat and is only a few miles from here. Let’s catch him unawares and raid his camp tonight. We will crush him so thoroughly that he will recognize our strength. And then we can find a good vassal lord to mediate and come to terms with them. That will give us options and save the city.”

Su Hu was delighted by this suggestion and started moving his pieces into place.

Meanwhile, at the enemy’s camp, Chong Houhu was feeling mighty embarrassed and annoyed after getting his butt kicked. After regrouping his forces and pitching camp, he told his officers, “I have never tasted defeat in all the years I have been leading armies in the field. Today, we lost an officer and a lot of soldiers. What should we do?”

One of his generals told him, “My lord, have you not heard the saying that ‘Victory and defeat are commonplace in war?’ The army of the Grand Duke of the West should be here soon, and then, sacking Jizhou would be as easy as turning over your hand. Please don’t let this trouble you and take care of yourself.”

That cheered up Chong Houhu a bit, and he put on a banquet for his officers. 

As darkness descended that night, the sound of drums and battle cries suddenly rang out from the entrance to Chong Houhu’s camp. Su Hu’s raiding party crashed through the gate, and before you knew it, everything was engulfed in chaos. Explosives were going off, men and horses were frantically darting to and fro. Weapons clanged while soldiers struggled to figure out whether they were running into friend or foe. Before long, the ground was littered with bodies, flames were roaring toward the sky,  and the cries of wounded and dying men filled the air.

Amid this chaos, Su Hu stormed into the camp looking for his counterpart. Chong Houhu was startled from his slumber and hurriedly donned his armor and grabbed his saber. As he rode out, he ran into Su Hu, who was clad in golden armor, red battle robe, and a jade girdle, seated atop a white horse, and wielding his Fiery Dragon spear.

“Chong Houhu, stop where you are and surrender!” Su Hu roared as he stabbed at his foe. Chong Houhu countered with his saber. While they traded blows, Chong Houhu’s son and officers tried to come to his aid, but they were met by Su Hu’s men. 

Before long, one of Su Hu’s officers cut down his opponent, and that took the fight out of Chong Houhu. Protected by his son, he fled like a dog without a home and a fish that had slipped through the net. Su Hu’s forces, meanwhile, pounced on their enemies like ferocious beasts. Once again, the ground was covered with the dead and rivers of blood flowed. Chong Houhu and his men ran like hell, not even caring where they were running to, as long as it was away from the enemy. Su Hu gave chase for about seven or eight miles before calling back his troops and returning to the city.

Out in the wild, Chong Houhu, his son, and a couple of his officers limped along with the tattered remnants of their forces. Chong Houhu lamented to his staff, “I have never suffered such a rout. The enemy caught us off guard with their night raid and we lost a lot of men. How can I not avenge this defeat? Yet, Ji (1) Chang (1), the Grand Duke of the West, has been sitting on his hands, ignoring the imperial decree and watching me suffer losses. How despicable!”

His son told him, “Our troops have lost their fighting spirit after these defeats. Let’s hold the troops in place and send someone to go tell the Grand Duke of the West to hurry up and send his army to reinforce us.”

“You’re quite right,” Chong Houhu said. “Once dawn breaks, let’s regroup our forces and then make plans.”

But before he finished talking, the quiet of the night was pierced by an explosive, followed by battle cries that made the heavens tremble. All around, echoed shouts of, “Chong Houhu, dismount and meet your doom!”

From in front, a young general galloped onto the scene. This was Su Hu’s eldest son, Su Quanzhong (2,1), all decked out for battle and looking quite the dashing warrior.

“Chong Houhu, I have been waiting here for you on my father’s command,” he shouted. “Lay down your arms and meet your death! What are you waiting for?!”

Chong Houhu was irate. “Damn rebel!” he cursed. “You and your father have committed treason, killed officers of the court, and slain his majesty’s troops. You have committed a mountain of crimes. Even if I cut you to pieces, it would not be sufficient punishment. I just fell for your dishonorable scheme tonight, and yet you dare to show off here and run your mouth? One day, when the heavenly troops arrive, you and your father will die without a final resting place. Who will capture this rebel for me?!”

One of his generals hoisted his saber and made straight for Su Quanzhong (2,1). After they traded a few blows, another of Chong Houhu’s officers rode forth to join the fight, but Su Quanzhong let out a mighty roar and skewered him with the spear. He then turned and made for Chong Houhu. Both Chong Houhu and his son rode forth to fight him, but Su Quanzhong showed no fear as he took on three enemies. 

Just as the fight was getting fierce, Su Quanzhong feigned an opening, and then pierced the armor around Chong Houhu’s leg. It didn’t draw blood, but it did peel away half of that piece of armor. Chong Houhu was startled and immediately quit the fight and ran. His son saw this and panicked for a second, and that was all Su Quanzhong needed to strike him on his left arm. Covered in blood, Chong Houhu’s son nearly fell off his horse. The other officers rushed forth, rescued him, and fled. Su Quanzhong wanted to give chase, but then saw how dark the night was and thought better of it, so he just led his forces back to the city.

As the first light of morning crept in, Su Hu got word that his son had returned. Su Quanzhong came in and reported that he had been victorious, but that Chong Houhu had managed to slip away.

“That old crook got off easy,” Su Hu said. “No matter. Go get some rest, my son.”

While Su Hu and his son celebrated their victory, Chong Houhu and his son fled through the night with what remained of their army. By the time they stopped and regrouped, they only had about 10 percent of their men with them, which depressed Chong Houhu.

One of his generals consoled him and said, “My lord, do not sigh. Victory and defeat are commonplace in war. We were unprepared last night and fell for the rebels’ trick. You should marshal our forces here for now and send a letter to the region of the Western Qi (2) Mountains to tell the Grand Duke of the West to hurry up and send his forces to join the fight. That will give us reinforcements and allow us to avenge this days’ defeat. What do you think?”

Chong Houhu thought about it for a minute and said, “That Ji Chang has been sitting back and watching me lose. If I go ask him for help now, it would be letting him off the hook for disobeying the king’s command.”

Just as he was going back and forth on whether to ask for help, they suddenly heard the sound of a large army approaching. Chong Houhu was scared out of his mind and quickly got back on his horse to go see who was coming. 

As the banners of the oncoming army parted, a commander rode out. His face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. His beard was red, his eyebrows were white, and his eyes had a golden gleam. He wore a red headdress, a suit of chain-link armor, a red battle robe, and a white jade girdle. He rode on a horse with fiery eyes and wielded two short-handled golden battle axes.

As soon as Chong Houhu saw this man, he relaxed. This was his younger brother, Chong (2) Heihu (1,3), who was the marquis of the state of Caozhou (2,1). Heihu, by the way, means Black Tiger, and that’s what I’m going to call him from now on, to help us keep him separate from his older brother, since their names sound similar. 

Black Tiger came up to his brother and said, “I heard you had suffered a defeat, so I was on my way to help you. I didn’t expect to run into you here. What good fortune. Let’s combine our forces and head back to Jizhou. I will take care of the enemy.”

So Black Tiger went on ahead with the 3,000-strong Flying Tiger Unit that was with him, while another 20,000 of his troops were right behind them. So they now all turned back and headed to Jizhou. When they got there, Black Tiger and his forces took the lead and started shouting challenges for combat.

When scouts brought word of this to Su Hu inside the city, his head sank and he fell silent for a good while before saying, “Black Tiger is an expert fighter, and he is well-versed in black magic. No one in this city is a match for him. What would we do?”

All the officers present were mystified by that remark, and Su Hu’s son, Su Quanzhong, was more than a bit miffed.

“As the old saying goes, ‘When armies attack, generals repel them. When floods come, the earth swallows them.’ What’s the big deal with this Black Tiger?” he scoffed.

“You are young, ignorant, and too full of your own valor,” Su Hu reproached him. “Black Tiger studied Daoist magic from an uncommon instructor. For him, taking the head of a top general in the midst of battle is as easy as taking something out of a sack. You cannot underestimate him.”

“Father! Stop talking up others and putting ourselves down!” his son shouted. “Let me go fight him. If I don’t capture Black Tiger alive, then I swear I will not come back to see you!”

“You’re asking for it. You will regret it,” Su Hu warned him. But Su Quanzhong refused to listen. He mounted his horse, flung open the city gates, and galloped out.

“Enemy scouts!” he shouted to the opposite line. “Send word to  your commander: I want to talk to Black Tiger!”

When the enemy soldiers rushed this message to the command tent, Black Tiger secretly rejoiced. So, helping his brother was only part of the reason Black Tiger was here. He was good friends with Su Hu, and he was hoping to broker some kind of compromise that would give Su Hu a way out of his dilemma. So he was glad to have an opportunity to speak with Su Hu’s son.

Black Tiger rode out to the front line and saw Su Quanzhong strutting around on his horse across the way. Black Tiger rode forth and said, “Good nephew, go on back and ask your father to come out. I have something to talk to him about.”

But Su Quanzhong was too young to understand the hidden intent behind Black Tiger’s words, and he had been riled up by all the praise that his father had heaped on Black Tiger. So he just scoffed and said, “Black Tiger, we are on opposite sides of the battlefield. And what connection do you have with my father? Lay down your arms and retreat now, and I will spare your life. Otherwise, it will be too late for regrets!”

Black Tiger was ticked off by this insolence, so he raised his golden axes and made for Su Quanzhong. Su Quanzhong raised his halberd to counter, and the two tangled in a dogged fight. Su Quanzhong was riding a full head of steam, and he saw that Black Tiger was using a short-handled weapon while he himself had a long weapon, which theoretically gave him the advantage. So he was dead set on capturing his foe. He showed off all his skills, and his halberd danced all over the place.

Before long, Black Tiger was on his heels and covered in cold sweat. He secretly sighed and thought, “What a son Su Hu has. Truly a credit to his family!”

With that, Black Tiger feigned a blow and then turned and rode away. Su Quanzhong cracked up from the saddle, roaring with laughter. “If I had listened to my father, I would’ve made a big mistake. I swear I will catch that guy alive to shut my father up.”

So he galloped after Black Tiger and began to gain ground. In front, Black Tiger heard the sound of bells on Su Quanzhong’s horse closing in. He turned and saw his foe coming near. Black Tiger quickly removed a red gourd that he was carrying on his back, removed the stopper, and muttered an incantation.

Suddenly, a stream of black smoke emanated from the gourd and opened up like a big net. From this net of smoke came a loud squawk, and a creature darted out. It was a magical eagle with a steel beak. It flew right at Su Quanzhong’s face. Su Quanzhong was surprised and quickly raised his weapon to shield his face, but the eagle pecked out one of the eyes of his horse. The horse reared up on its hind legs and sent Su Quanzhong tumbling to the ground.

“Take him alive!” Black Tiger shouted, and his Flying Tiger Squadron immediately swarmed in and bound Su Quanzhong. They then returned to camp, beating victory drums. Chong Houhu was delighted by news of his brother’s victory and ordered the prisoner be brought in.

When Su Quanzhong was pushed into the tent, he refused to kneel. Chong Houhu roared angrily, “Damn rebel, you’re my prisoner now. What do you have to say for yourself? How dare you refuse to show me respect?! You were looking all mighty and heroic last night, weren’ you? Well, how about now?! Men, take him outside and cut off his head!”

Su Quanzhong showed no fear and cursed aloud, “If you want to kill me, then kill me. No need to put on airs! To me, death is as insignificant as a feather. My only regret is that crooks like you are deceiving the king and harming the people. You will be the ones who destroy the enterprise of the Shang Dynasty. I just hate that I won’t get to eat your flesh!”

That little spiel did nothing to calm down Chong Houhu. “You little punk! You’ve already been captured; how dare you wag your tongue?! Take him outside and execute him!”

To see if Su Quanzhong will lose his head, tune in to the next episode of the Chinese Lore Podcast. And remember to visit chineselore.com for transcripts, supplemental materials, and links to connect with me on social media and to review and support the show. Thanks for listening!

Music in This Episode

• “Sao Meo” by Doug Maxwell / Zac Zinger
• “The Quiet Aftermath by Sir Cubworth (from YouTube audio library)
• “Ravines” by Elphnt (from YouTube audio library)