Classic · Romance of the Three Kingdoms · Luo Guanzhong (original) · VoiceSmiths adaptation · 1522 · 5:00

Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats

Zhou Yu sets a trap: 100,000 arrows in ten days. Kongming asks for three, waits for fog, and lets Cao Cao pay. Same cast as the Chinese episode.

StorytellerZhuge Liang (Kongming)Zhou Yu, Commander of WuLu SuCao Cao, the Prime MinisterThe Soldiers on the Boats

StorytellerOn the Great River, the kingdom of Wu faced the huge fleet of Cao Cao. Wu's young commander, Zhou Yu, had just tricked Cao Cao into beheading his own two admirals, and he sent his kind-hearted officer Lu Su to see if Zhuge Liang, called Kongming, had noticed.Zhuge Liang (Kongming)Zijing! I haven't yet congratulated the Commander on his little trick.Lu SuYou know about it?Zhuge Liang (Kongming)It was only good enough to fool a fool. But those two admirals are dead, so Wu has nothing to fear on the water. Only, please don't tell him I knew. He is a jealous man.StorytellerLu Su promised. But back in camp, he could not lie to Zhou Yu.Zhou Yu, Commander of WuThis man cannot be allowed to live!Lu SuIf you kill Kongming, Cao Cao will laugh at us.Zhou Yu, Commander of WuThen I will do it fairly, so no one can complain. You'll see tomorrow.StorytellerThe next day, in front of all his generals, Zhou Yu turned to Kongming.Zhou Yu, Commander of WuSir, which weapon matters most when we fight on the river?Zhuge Liang (Kongming)The bow and arrow.Zhou Yu, Commander of WuExactly. And we are short of arrows. Would you make us a hundred thousand? Can it be done in ten days?Zhuge Liang (Kongming)Cao Cao may attack any day. Ten days is too long.Zhou Yu, Commander of WuThen how many do you need?Zhuge Liang (Kongming)calmlyThree. In three days, I will hand you a hundred thousand arrows.Zhou Yu, Commander of WuThere are no jokes in the army.Zhuge Liang (Kongming)Then I will sign a pledge. If I fail, I take any punishment. On the third day, send five hundred men to the river to carry the arrows.StorytellerThe pledge was signed in front of everyone, and Kongming left.Lu SuIs he bluffing?Zhou Yu, Commander of WumockingHe has signed his own death warrant. Even with wings, he couldn't fly away now. I'll tell the craftsmen to go slow and give him nothing he needs. Go and see what he is doing.StorytellerSo Lu Su went to Kongming's boat.Zhuge Liang (Kongming)I told you not to tell him! Three days for a hundred thousand arrows? Zijing, you have to save me.Lu SuYou brought this on yourself. How can I save you?Zhuge Liang (Kongming)Lend me twenty boats, thirty men in each. Hang blue cloth on every boat, and tie a thousand bundles of straw along both sides. On the third day you'll have your arrows. Just don't tell the Commander this time.StorytellerLu Su did as he asked, though he had no idea why. The first day, Kongming did nothing. The second day, nothing. On the third night, before dawn, he quietly called Lu Su to his boat.Lu SuWhere are we going?Zhuge Liang (Kongming)To fetch the arrows. Don't ask. Come and see.StorytellerThe twenty boats, tied together with long ropes, slid out toward the northern shore. That night a great fog came down over the river, so thick you could not see the man in front of you. The banks vanished, the mountains vanished, and the whole river turned to gray. Just before dawn they drew near Cao Cao's water camp. Kongming lined the boats up in a row and had his men beat the drums and shout.Lu SuWhat if Cao Cao's men come out after us?Zhuge Liang (Kongming)laughingIn a fog like this? He won't dare. Let's drink our wine, and go home when the fog lifts.StorytellerIn Cao Cao's camp, drums and shouting came out of the gray.Cao Cao, the Prime MinisterA thick fog, and the enemy appears from nowhere. It must be a trap. Nobody moves. Send the archers to the water and shoot!StorytellerTen thousand archers shot blindly into the fog, and the arrows fell like rain. Kongming turned the boats around so the other side could take its share, and the drums never stopped. When the sun rose and the fog cleared, the straw on all twenty boats bristled with arrows. Kongming had every man shout together:The Soldiers on the BoatsshoutingThank you, Prime Minister, for the arrows!StorytellerBy the time Cao Cao understood, the light boats were far downstream, and there was nothing he could do.Zhuge Liang (Kongming)Five or six thousand on every boat. More than a hundred thousand, and it cost Wu nothing. Tomorrow we shoot them back at Cao Cao.Lu SuYou must be a god! How did you know there would be fog?Zhuge Liang (Kongming)A general who cannot read the sky is no general. Three days ago I knew this fog was coming. That is why I asked for three days. The Commander meant to kill me, all fair and proper. But my life is in Heaven's hands, not his.StorytellerWhen the arrows were counted in Zhou Yu's tent, and Lu Su told him the whole story, Zhou Yu was silent for a long time.Zhou Yu, Commander of WusighsKongming's plans are beyond any man's. I am no match for him.StorytellerSoon Kongming came to see him, and Zhou Yu invited him in to drink.Zhou Yu, Commander of WuCao Cao's water camp is strong. I have an idea how to break it. Tell me if it's right.Zhuge Liang (Kongming)Don't say it, Commander. Let's each write it in our palm, and see if we agree.StorytellerThey wrote in secret, and opened their hands together. Then both men burst out laughing. In each palm was the same single word: Fire.

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