🤔 Story 43: Cai Mao's Lies

1. Cai Mao's Plot and Liu Bei's Departure

 

Liu Bei sat in his inn by candlelight until midnight, preparing for bed. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and entered. It was Yi Ji. Yi Ji had learned that Cai Mao planned to assassinate Liu Bei and had rushed over to report it. Yi Ji told Liu Bei about Cai Mao's plot and urged him to leave immediately. Liu Bei said, "I haven't even bid farewell to Liu Biao yet, how can I leave like this?" Yi Ji replied, "If you go to bid farewell, Cai Mao will surely kill you!" Liu Bei thanked Yi Ji and quickly ordered his men to mount their horses. Before dawn, they rode back to Xinye. By the time Cai Mao arrived at the inn with his troops, Liu Bei was already far away.

 

2. The False Poem and Liu Biao's Anger at Being Deceived

 

Cai Mao regretted not capturing Liu Bei sooner, so he wrote a poem on the wall and went to see Liu Biao, saying, "Liu Bei intends to rebel; he wrote a seditious poem on the wall and left without saying goodbye." Liu Biao didn't believe him and went to the guesthouse himself. Sure enough, there were four lines of poetry on the wall.

 

The poem's gist was: For years I've been trapped here, gazing at the mountains and rivers before me. How can a dragon be something confined to a pond? I will ride the thunder and lightning to the heavens! (Implying Liu Bei's intention to leave Liu Biao and dominate the world)

 

Upon seeing the poem, Liu Biao flew into a rage, drew his sword, and said, "I swear to kill this unrighteous man!" After taking a few steps, Liu Biao suddenly came to his senses and said, "I've known Liu Bei for so long, and I've never seen him write poetry. This must be a scheme by outsiders to sow discord." So he returned to the guesthouse, used the tip of his sword to scrape the poem off the wall, sheathed his sword, and mounted his horse. Cai Mao asked for instructions, "The soldiers have assembled and can go to Xinye to capture Liu Bei." Liu Biao said, "Don't act rashly. Let's consider this carefully first."

043 

When Liu Bei left Jingzhou, which was governed by Liu Biao, the general of Jingzhou, Cai Mao, wanted to kill Liu Bei but couldn't do it himself, so he deliberately forged a poem of betrayal written by Liu Bei on a wall. Liu Biao was initially angry upon reading the poem, but after careful consideration, he realized: Liu Bei had never written poetry; this must be a forgery.