Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance(Part 69): Peng Yue, A Natural Born Leader

Comprehensive Reflections to Aid in Governance

By Sima Guang

Translated By Yiming Yang

Annals of Qin Book 3 Scroll 8 (continued)

The 3rd year of the Second Emperor(207 B.C. continued)

The King of Zhao, Zhao Xie, and Zhang Er emerged from the city of Julu to thank all the forces that had come to their aid. Zhang Er met Chen Yu face-to-face and reprimanded him for his reluctance to relieve the siege of Julu. He also inquired about the whereabouts of his deputies, Zhang Yan and Chen Ze, suspecting that Chen Yu had caused their deaths. Despite Chen Yu’s explanation, Zhang Er continued to question him repeatedly. Infuriated, Chen Yu exclaimed, “I didn’t realize your mistrust of me ran so deep! Do you think I will tolerate this distrust forever just because I value this commander’s seal?” He then took off his commander-in-chief’s seal and threw it in front of Zhang Er. Startled, Zhang Er hesitated and did not pick it up.

When Chen Yu went to the restroom, one of Zhang Er’s retainers intervened, saying, “I have heard it said: you have no one but yourself to blame if God gives you an opportunity and you pass it on. General Chen has given up his seal, and you do not take it. You are defying God’s will. Please take the seal immediately!” Heeding this advice, Zhang Er placed the seal on himself and began to command Chen Yu‘s troops. When Chen Yu returned from the restroom and saw that Zhang Er had neither returned the seal nor urged him to stay, he left the meeting. He departed with a few hundred of his followers to fish and hunt in the rivers and swamps. Meanwhile, the King of Zhao, Zhao Xie, returned to the capital, Xindu.

In February that spring, the Duke of Pei launched an offensive against Changyi county in the north, where he met General Peng Yue. Peng Yue, originally from Changyi, placed his troops under the Duke of Pei’s command. Peng Yue had been a fisherman in the lakes of the Juye region before becoming a leader of outlaws. When Chen Sheng and Xiang Liang began their uprising, about a hundred local youngsters approached Peng Yue and said, “Would you please be our leader?” Peng Yue initially declined, saying, “I don’t want to.” However, the youngsters persisted, and Peng Yue finally agreed.

He instructed them to muster at sunrise the next morning, warning that anyone who was late would be beheaded. The following day at sunrise, dozens were late, with the last one not arriving until noon. Peng Yue expressed his regret, saying, “I am older than you, and you wanted me to be your leader. Now, so many are late for muster. I cannot kill all of you, but I will kill the last one to arrive.” He ordered his officers to behead the last offender. The youngsters laughed and said, “How could you be so serious? We won’t be late anymore, OK?” Peng Yue led the offender to be executed. Then, he ordered a memorial altar to be built and required all his followers to offer sacrifices. Terrified by this act, his followers no longer dared to look him in the eyes.

Under Peng Yue’s strict discipline, they began taking over towns and villages, growing their ranks with stragglers from other armed forces. They formed a force of more than a thousand soldiers and joined the Duke of Pei‘s campaign against Changyi.

The Duke of Pei’s siege of Changyi was unsuccessful, so he led his troops westward, passing by the town of Gaoyang. In Gaoyang lived a man named Li Yiji, who came from a poor family and worked as the gatekeeper of his neighborhood community. A cavalryman under the Duke of Pei was from the same neighborhood as Li Yiji. Li Yiji approached him and said, “I have met dozens of generals from other kingdoms passing through Gaoyang. To me, they are all unpleasant—fixated on rituals, egotistical, and deaf to discussions of grand strategies. I’ve heard that the Duke of Pei is haughty and disrespectful but has great vision. That’s the kind of leader I would like to follow. No one has introduced me to him. If you have the chance, please tell him, ‘There is a scholar in my neighborhood named Li. He is over sixty years old and six feet tall. Everyone thinks he is a crazy scholar except himself.’”

The cavalryman warned him, “The Duke of Pei does not like scholars. Once, a scholar wearing a Confucian cap came to meet him, and the Duke of Pei took off the cap and urinated on it. He often insults scholars when speaking to them. You’d better not call yourself a scholar.” Li Yiji insisted, “Just pass on what I said.” The cavalryman did as requested.

When the Duke of Pei arrived at a lodge in Gaoyang, he summoned Li Yiji to his room. Li Yiji called on him while he was in bed with two women washing his feet. When Li Yiji entered, he saluted him but did not kneel. Li Yiji began with a question: “Do you want to help the Kingdom of Qin attack the other kingdoms, or do you want to lead the other kingdoms to bring down the Kingdom of Qin?”

The Duke of Pei shouted, “What a stupid scholar! The rest of the world has suffered under Qin’s tyranny for so long. People have spontaneously rebelled against Qin. Why would I help Qin attack the other kingdoms?”

Li Yiji responded, “If you intend to lead an army in a righteous cause against the evil Qin, you should not be so impolite to an old man.” The Duke of Pei got up, dressed formally, invited Li Yiji to sit, and apologized for his rudeness. Li Yiji then spoke of forming a vertical alliance among the six kingdoms, which greatly interested the Duke of Pei. He offered Li Yiji food and asked, “What is your plan for me?”

Li Yiji replied, “The forces under your command are a crowd of stragglers and drifters. To face the powerful Qin army with fewer than ten thousand men is like putting meat in a tiger’s mouth. Chenliu is a critical transport hub and currently holds significant grain stores. I am friends with the mayor of the city. Send me there as your representative to persuade him to surrender. If he refuses, you can launch a siege, and I will act as your agent from within.”

Li Yiji received the order and led the way, with the Duke of Pei following with his troops. In this way, Chenliu county was conquered. In gratitude, Li Yiji was granted the title of Lord Guangye. He introduced his younger brother, Li Shang, who commanded four thousand young rebels, to join the Duke of Pei. The Duke of Pei appointed Li Shang as the commander of the forces from Chenliu. Meanwhile, Li Yiji became a lobbyist and diplomat, meeting the leaders of other kingdoms on behalf of the Duke of Pei.