Bamboo Scroll竹簡 Ep. 3 · Fire at Yiling
Stockades burning along the wooded hills above the Yangtze gorges at Yiling, 222 CE
Bamboo Scroll · Three Kingdoms · Episode 3

Fire at Yiling

Yiling, 222 CE — Grief took Jing province and two of his sworn brothers; the war to take them back took four hundred li of stockades, one night of fire, and the emperor himself.
16 panels~8 min read free to readevery line sourced
Panel 01: 221–222 CE. Two years after the Yangtze fire, the alliance it made was already dead: Jing province gone, Guan Yu dead, and Liu Bei coming east with everything Shu had.
221–222 CE. Two years after the Yangtze fire, the alliance it made was already dead: Jing province gone, Guan Yu dead, and Liu Bei coming east with everything Shu had.
Panel 02: It began in 219, while Guan Yu was north at Fan: white-robed sailors in merchant hulls, a river taken without a battle, and Maicheng's last ride.
It began in 219, while Guan Yu was north at Fan: white-robed sailors in merchant hulls, a river taken without a battle, and Maicheng's last ride.
Panel 03: In 220 Cao Pi took the throne from Han. In 221 Liu Bei answered it at Chengdu, proclaiming Han not ended but continued — and a border war became a war between emperors.
In 220 Cao Pi took the throne from Han. In 221 Liu Bei answered it at Chengdu, proclaiming Han not ended but continued — and a border war became a war between emperors.
Panel 04: On the eve of the march, Zhang Fei was murdered in his camp by two officers he had whipped and kept at his side. They took his head to Wu.
Liu Bei You punish past all measure, and whip your own strong men, and keep them at your side — that is the road to disaster.
On the eve of the march, Zhang Fei was murdered in his camp by two officers he had whipped and kept at his side. They took his head to Wu.
Panel 05: Seventh month, 221: Liu Bei crossed the gorges. Sun Quan sent letters and hostages and asked for peace; the answer was no. So Sun Quan turned north on paper and took a king's seal from Wei.
Seventh month, 221: Liu Bei crossed the gorges. Sun Quan sent letters and hostages and asked for peace; the answer was no. So Sun Quan turned north on paper and took a king's seal from Wei.
Panel 06: Huang Quan asked to lead the vanguard and keep the emperor behind. Refused, he took the northern bank of the river instead, to watch Wei while the army faced Wu.
Huang Quan The Wu are fierce and the current runs downhill. Let me be the vanguard to face them; Your Majesty should be the rear anchor.
Huang Quan asked to lead the vanguard and keep the emperor behind. Refused, he took the northern bank of the river instead, to watch Wei while the army faced Wu.
Panel 07: Sun Quan's answer was a scholar of thirty-nine: Lu Xun, made grand commander over fifty thousand, with the oldest generals of Wu under him and none of them pleased.
Sun Quan's answer was a scholar of thirty-nine: Lu Xun, made grand commander over fifty thousand, with the oldest generals of Wu under him and none of them pleased.
Panel 08: Wu Ban walked into the open at the valley mouth with a few thousand, daring an attack. Every Wu general wanted it. Lu Xun said no.
Lu Xun There is a trick in it. We will watch.
Wu Ban walked into the open at the valley mouth with a few thousand, daring an attack. Every Wu general wanted it. Lu Xun said no.
Panel 09: At Yiling, Sun Huan of the royal house was cut off and besieged, and begged the grand commander for relief. None came. He held anyway — and afterwards asked how.
At Yiling, Sun Huan of the royal house was cut off and besieged, and begged the grand commander for relief. None came. He held anyway — and afterwards asked how.
Panel 10: From the first month to the sixth, nothing. Four hundred li of Shu stockades in the hills and the woods, and a Wu army that would not come out. His own generals called him a coward to his face.
Lu Xun I am only a scholar holding a charge from the lord. The state bent you all to me because I can bear humiliation and carry weight. Do your part, and say no more.
From the first month to the sixth, nothing. Four hundred li of Shu stockades in the hills and the woods, and a Wu army that would not come out. His own generals called him a coward to his face.
Panel 11: Intercalary sixth month: every soldier a bundle of dry grass. The first stockade burned, and the wind carried it down four hundred li of them.
Intercalary sixth month: every soldier a bundle of dry grass. The first stockade burned, and the wind carried it down four hundred li of them.
Panel 12: Forty camps and more. Zhang Nan and Feng Xi died in them, and the tribal chief Sha Moke with them; the boats, the weapons and the grain went into the river, and so did the dead.
Forty camps and more. Zhang Nan and Feng Xi died in them, and the tribal chief Sha Moke with them; the boats, the weapons and the grain went into the river, and so did the dead.
Panel 13: Liu Bei rallied on Ma'an mountain and put his men in a ring. The ring closed. He came out in the dark, and the relay riders burned his abandoned armour behind him so the road stayed hidden.
Liu Bei rallied on Ma'an mountain and put his men in a ring. The ring closed. He came out in the dark, and the relay riders burned his abandoned armour behind him so the road stayed hidden.
Panel 14: North of the river, Huang Quan's road home was gone. He surrendered to Wei with his column intact. At Chengdu someone proposed seizing his family; Liu Bei refused.
Liu Bei I let Huang Quan down. Huang Quan did not let me.
North of the river, Huang Quan's road home was gone. He surrendered to Wei with his column intact. At Chengdu someone proposed seizing his family; Liu Bei refused.
Panel 15: Xu Sheng and Pan Zhang wanted Baidicheng and the emperor in it. Lu Xun and Zhu Ran said no: look north. Within days Cao Pi's three columns were moving.
Xu Sheng and Pan Zhang wanted Baidicheng and the emperor in it. Lu Xun and Zhu Ran said no: look north. Within days Cao Pi's three columns were moving.
Panel 16: Fourth month, 223: Liu Bei died at Yong'an, and gave his son and his state to Zhuge Liang. The alliance of 208 was rebuilt within the year — on Wu's terms.
Liu Bei If the heir can be helped, help him. If he cannot — you may take it yourself.
Fourth month, 223: Liu Bei died at Yong'an, and gave his son and his state to Zhuge Liang. The alliance of 208 was rebuilt within the year — on Wu's terms.

In this episode

Two men held this year in their hands: an emperor with a grievance and every reason to march, and a scholar of thirty-nine whose own generals wanted him to fight. The fire settled which of them could wait.

Portrait of Liu Bei
Liu Bei劉備
161–223 CE
Came east with everything Shu had to recover Jing province. Lost the line, the army and, within the year, his life.
Portrait of Lu Xun
Lu Xun陸遜
183–245 CE
A scholar made grand commander at thirty-nine. Waited six months against his own generals' contempt, then burned the line in a night.
Portrait of Sun Quan
Sun Quan孫權
182–252 CE
Bought the north's neutrality on paper to take Jing province in fact, then chose a scholar over his oldest generals.
Portrait of Huang Quan
Huang Quan黃權
d. 240 CE
Argued against the war, commanded its northern bank, was cut off by the fire, and ended a honoured general of Wei.

Myth Check

The novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a masterpiece — and not a source. Where its famous scenes depart from the histories, we leave them out of the story and put them here.

The story you may know

Lu Xun pursued too far, lost his way in Zhuge Liang's stone maze of the Eight Trigrams at Yufu, and was led out by a father-in-law.

What the sources say

No history knows the maze. The sources have Lu Xun stopping at the border on purpose, because Wei's armies were massing behind him; Zhuge Liang was at Baidicheng arranging a succession, not building labyrinths.

Sanguozhi, Wu shu 13 & Shu shu 5; Zizhi Tongjian 69–70
The story you may know

The war was grief for Guan Yu gone mad — a vengeful old man's blunder from the first day.

What the sources say

The sources show a reasoned attempt to recover Jing province: Sun Quan offered peace and hostages and was refused; the Shu army held the initiative for six months; and Cao Pi's verdict on the linked camps was a professional judgement on a disposition, not a description of a fit of rage.

Sanguozhi, Shu shu 2 & Wu shu 2, Wei shu 2 in Pei Songzhi's commentary; Zizhi Tongjian 69
The story you may know

The Shu army was annihilated to a man, and Liu Bei died of a broken heart within the year.

What the sources say

He withdrew in order to Yong'an and held it; Huang Quan's northern column came through intact and went over to Wei; the emperor governed, arranged the succession formally, and died of illness ten months after the battle.

Sanguozhi, Shu shu 2 & Shu shu 13; Zizhi Tongjian 69–70

Sources

Every caption and quotation in this episode traces to one of these. Where scholars disagree, the panel says so.

Next

Fourteen years before this fire, the same river burned: Episode 1 · Fire on the Yangtze (208 CE). The north behind it was decided earlier still, in Episode 2 · The Road to Guandu (200 CE). Twelve years after it, Zhuge Liang dies on the Wei river in Episode 4 · The Last Campaign (234 CE). Meanwhile — meet the cast, or read the chronology of the age.