But the bearer of this letter was captured on the Great River and sent to Sun Ce, who immediately put him to death. Then Sun Ce treacherously sent to ask the author of the letter to come and consult over some affair. The unsuspecting Xu Gong came. Sun Ce produced the letter, saying, “So you wish to send me to the land of the dead, eh?”
And thereupon the executioners came in and strangled Xu Gong. The family of the victim scattered, but three of his clients determined to avenge him if only they could find some means of attacking Sun Ce.
One day Sun Ce went hunting in the hills to the west of Dantu. A stag was started, and Sun Ce pressed after it at topmost speed and followed it deep into the forest. Presently he came upon three armed men standing among the trees. Rather surprised to see them there, he reined in and asked who they were.
“We belong to Han Dang's army and are shooting deer,” was the reply.
So Sun Ce shook his bridle to proceed. But just as he did so, one of the men thrust at him with a spear and wounded his thigh. Sun Ce drew the sword at his side, dashed forward, and tried to cut down the aggressor. The blade of his sword suddenly fell to the ground, only the hilt remaining in his hand. Then one of the assassins drew his bow, and an arrow wounded Sun Ce in the cheek. Sun Ce plucked out the arrow and shot at the offender, who fell, but the other two attacked him furiously with their spears, shouting, “We are Xu Gong's men and his avengers!”
Sun Ce then understood. But he had no weapons save his bow against them. He tried to draw off, keeping them at bay striking with his bow; but the fight was getting too much for him, and both he and his steed were wounded in several places. However, just at the critical moment, Cheng Pu and some of his own officers came up, and they minced the assassins into pieces.
But their lord was in a sorry plight. His face was streaming with blood, and some of the wounds were very severe. They tore up his robe and therewith bound up his wounds, and they carried him home.
A poem in praise of the three avengers says:
Badly wounded, Sun Ce was borne to his home. They sent to call the famous physician Hua Tuo, but he was far away and could not be found. However, a disciple of his came, and the wounded man was committed to his care.
“The arrowheads were poisoned,” said the physician, “and the poison has penetrated deep. It will take a hundred days of perfect repose before danger will be past. But if you give way to passion or anger, the wounds will not heal.”
Sun Ce's temperament was hasty and impatient, and the prospect of such a slow recovery was very distasteful. However, he remained quiet for some twenty of the hundred days. Then came Zhang Hong from the capital, and Sun Ce insisted on seeing and questioning him.
“Cao Cao fears you, my lord, very greatly,” said Zhang Hong, “and his advisers have exceeding respect for you; all except Guo Jia.”
“What did Guo Jia say?” asked the sick chieftain.
Zhang Hong remained silent, which only irritated his master and caused him to demand to be told. So Zhang Hong had to speak the truth.
He said, “The fact is Guo Jia told Cao Cao that he needed not fear you, that you were frivolous and unready, impulsive and shallow, just a stupid swaggerer who would one day come to his death at the hands of some mean person.”
This provoked the sick man beyond endurance.
“The fool, how dare he say this of me?” cried Sun Ce. “I will take Xuchang from Cao Cao, I swear.”
It was no more a question of repose. Ill as he was, he wanted to begin preparations for an expedition at once. They remonstrated with him, reminded him of the physician's orders and urged him to rest.
“You are risking your priceless self in a moment's anger,” said Zhang Zhao.
Then arrived Chen Zhen, the messenger from Yuan Shao, and Sun Ce would have him brought in.
He said, “My master wishes to ally himself with the South Land in an attack on Cao Cao.” Such a proposal was just after Sun Ce's heart. At once he called a great meeting of his officers in the wall tower and prepared a banquet in honor of the messenger. While this was in progress, Sun Ce noticed many of his officers whispering to each other, and they all began to go down from the banquet chamber. He could not understand this and inquired of the attendants near him what it meant.
