Gems of Chinese Literature/Lo Kuan-chung-Kidnapping an Emperor

by Lo Kuan-chung

THROUGH fire and smoke, Chang Jang and Tuan Kuei^[1] hurried away the Emperor^[2] and his brother, the Prince. Day and night they travelled on, until they reached Mt. Mang; then, during the second watch,^[3] they heard behind them a great hubbub of voices, with men and horses in pursuit. “Stop! you rascally rebels, stop!” cried out in a stentorian voice an officer who was leading the pursuers; at which, Chang Jang, seeing it was all up, threw himself into the river and was drowned. The Emperor and the Prince, not knowing if it was a real deliverance or not, did not dare to utter a sound but hid themselves in the long grass by the riverside. The mounted soldiers scattered on all sides to search for them, but failed to discover their hiding-place. The Emperor and Prince remained concealed until the fourth watch,^[4] when drenched with dew and faint with hunger, they embraced one another in tears, at the same time muffling their sobs in the undergrowth lest any one should hear them. At length, the Prince said, “we cannot stay here much longer; let us seek some way of escape.” They then tied themselves together by their clothes and climbed up the bank of the river, to find themselves in a tangled mass of brambles, unable for want of light to see which way to go. They were in despair; when suddenly a huge cluster of fireflies, giving forth a brilliant glow, flew round and round the Emperor. “God is helping us brothers!” cried the Prince; and by following the lead of the fireflies, they by-and-by reached a road. It was now the fifth watch,^[5] and their feet were so sore that they could walk no more. On the hillside they saw a heap of straw, in the middle of which they lay down; and over against this heap of straw there was a wooden shanty, the owner of which had dreamt that very night of two red suns which had fallen behind his shanty. Waking up in a fright, he slipped on his clothes and went out to see if anything had happened. Looking about, he noticed a bright red glare rising up to the sky from the top of the heap of straw at the back of his shanty; and on going hurriedly to find out what it was, he discovered two persons lying alongside the straw. “And who may you two young fellows be?” he called out; to which he got no answer from the Emperor who was afraid to reply; but the Prince pointed at his brother, saying, “This is his Majesty, the Emperor; there has been a mutiny of ten of our eunuchs, and he has taken refuge in flight; I am the Prince, his younger brother.” At this, the farmer was greatly alarmed; and after twice prostrating himself, he said, “Your servant is the brother of an official who served under the last dynasty; but being disgusted with the sale of office by the ten eunuchs, and their bad treatment of worthy men, I retired to this spot.” He then assisted the Emperor into the shanty, and on his knees offered wine and food. Meanwhile, the officer and his men had pursued and caught Tuan Kuei, and asked him where the Emperor was; and on being told that the Emperor had disappeared, without leaving any traces, the officer immediately beheaded Tuan Kuei and hung the head to his horse’s neck, dispersing his men to search in all directions. He himself rode off alone, and chance brought him to the farmer’s shanty. The farmer, seeing the decapitated head, enquired whose it might be; and when the officer had told him the circumstances, sovereign and subject met once more, to dissolve in bitter tears. “The State cannot be for a single day without its ruler,” said the officer; “I beg your Majesty to return to the capital.” The farmer could only produce one miserable horse, on which the Emperor mounted, while the Prince rode with the officer on the other.^[6]

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1. Eunuchs.
2. Succeeded a.d. 189, aged 13.
3. 9 to 11 p.m.
4. 1 to 3 a.m.
5. 3 to 5 a.m.
6. On reaching the capital, the young Emperor was at once deposed by his chief Minister, and the still more youthful brother, who had shared the above adventure, was set up in his stead. The former only reigned for five months, and is not included by Chinese historians as an actual occupant of the throne. The brother resigned the throne in a.d. 220.