Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff · chapter 7 of 8
The River Burns
大火烧江
Wu's fire ships turn Cao Cao's chained fleet into a wall of flame. Zhuge Liang has slipped away, and now he sends the one man who owes Cao Cao a favor.
Read what you hear
- The Young Soldier 大人！着火了！后面的船都着火了，火已经烧到我们这边来了！
Dàrén! Zháohuǒ le! Hòumiàn de chuán dōu zháohuǒ le, huǒ yǐjīng shāodào wǒmen zhèbiān lái le!
Sir! Fire! The ships behind us are all on fire, and it's already spreading toward us!
- Cao Cao 快灭火！用水！用沙子！用什么都行！
Kuài mièhuǒ! Yòngshuǐ! Yòng shāzi! Yòng shénme dōuxíng!
Put it out! Use water! Sand! Anything!
- Cao Cao's Adviser 大人，灭不了！风太大，火烧得太快！
Dàrén, miè bùliǎo! Fēng tài dà, huǒshāo dé tài kuài!
Sir, we can't put it out! The wind is too strong and the fire is too fast!
Chapter 7 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- Cao Cao 那就把铁链解开，让船一条一条分开！谁能解开，我给谁金子！
Nà jiù bǎ tiěliàn jiěkāi, ràng chuán yì tiáo yì tiáo fēnkāi! Shuí néng jiěkāi, wǒ gěi shéi jīnzi!
Then undo the chains and pull the ships apart, one by one! I'll give gold to anyone who can do it!
- The Young Soldier 大人，解不开啊！铁链太多，太结实了！是您说的，要连得牢牢的！
Dàrén, jiě bù kāi a! Tiěliàn tài duō, tài jiēshí le! Shì nín shuō de, yào lián dé láoláo de!
Sir, we can't undo them! There are too many chains, and they're too strong! You said to link them tight!
- The Young Soldier 大人，我的鼓还在船上！那是我妈妈花了三个月的钱给我买的……
Dàrén, wǒ de gǔ hái zài chuánshàng! Nà shì wǒ māma huā le sān gè yuè de qián gěi wǒ mǎi de…
Sir, my drum is still on the ship! My mother spent three months of savings to buy it for me...
- Cao Cao 是我说的……是我说的……
Shì wǒ shuō de… shì wǒ shuō de…
I said that... I said that...
- Cao Cao's Adviser 大人，走吧！去岸上，再不走，就来不及了！
Dàrén, zǒu ba! Qù ànshàng, zài bù zǒu, jiù lái bù jí le!
Sir, let's go! To the shore! If we don't go now, it'll be too late!
- Cao Cao 我的八十万大军……我的船……我的一切……
Wǒ de bāshíwàn dàjūn… wǒ de chuán… wǒ de yíqiè…
My eight hundred thousand soldiers... my ships... everything I had...
- The Young Soldier 大人，我扶着您。这边走，小心脚下！
Dàrén, wǒ fú zhe nín. Zhèbiān zǒu, xiǎoxīn jiǎoxià!
I'll hold you up, sir. This way, watch your step!
- Cao Cao 周瑜……诸葛亮……你们今天赢了，可是我不会忘记你们的。
Zhōu Yú… Zhūgě Liàng… nǐmen jīntiān yíng le, kěshì wǒ búhuì wàngjì nǐmen de.
Zhou Yu... Zhuge Liang... you have won today, but I will not forget you.
- Zhou Yu 哈哈哈哈！烧起来了！整条大江都在烧！鲁肃，你看，多亮啊！
Hāhā hāhā! Shāo qǐlái le! Zhěngtiáo dàjiāng dōu zài shāo! Lǔ Sù, nǐ kàn, duōliàng a!
Ha ha ha ha! It's burning! The whole great river is on fire! Lu Su, look how bright it is!
- Lu Su 天哪！比白天还要亮！都督，我们赢了！您笑得像个孩子一样！
Tiān nǎ! Bǐ báitiān háiyào liàng! Dūdū, wǒmen yíng le! Nín xiào dé xiàng gè háizi yí yàng!
Heavens! It's brighter than daytime! Commander, we've won! You're laughing like a child!
- Zhou Yu 我的火攻计划想了三个月，才等到今天。难道我笑一笑都不行吗？
Wǒ de huǒgōng jìhuà xiǎng le sān gè yuè, cái děngdào jīntiān. Nándào wǒ xiào yí xiào dōu bùxíng ma?
I planned this fire attack for three months to reach this day. Am I not even allowed to smile?
- Zhou Yu 传令！所有的船，跟着我，追上曹操！一个也不要让他跑了！
Chuánlìng! Suǒyǒu de chuán, gēnzhe wǒ, zhuī shàng Cáo Cāo! Yí gè yě búyào ràng tā pǎo le!
Pass the order! All ships, follow me and chase Cao Cao! Don't let a single one of them get away!
- Lu Su 都督，等一下。先生呢？他不是一直站在高台上借风吗？
Dūdū, děng yí xià. Xiānsheng ne? Tā búshì yìzhí zhàn zài gāo táishàng jièfēng ma?
Commander, wait a moment. What about the master? Isn't he still up on the altar borrowing wind?
- Zhou Yu 对，诸葛亮！来人，去高台把他请下来！
Duì, Zhūgě Liàng! Lái rén, qù gāotái bǎ tā qǐng xiàlái!
Right, Zhuge Liang! Someone go and invite him down from the altar!
- Sailor 报告都督！我们跑到高台上找过了，那里没有人，只有一面旗子在飘！
Bàogào dūdū! Wǒmen pǎo dào gāo táishàng zhǎoguò le, nàlǐ méiyǒu rén, zhǐyǒu yí miàn qízi zài piāo!
Report, Commander! We ran up and searched the altar. No one is there, only a flag fluttering!
- Zhou Yu 什么？他跑了？他比我早了一步……
Shénme? Tā pǎo le? Tā bǐ wǒ zǎo le yí bù…
What? He ran off? He was one step ahead of me...
- Lu Su 都督，先生说：火，让您自己去点。您看，您点得多漂亮啊！
Dūdū, xiānsheng shuō: huǒ, ràng nín zìjǐ qùdiǎn. Nín kàn, nín diǎn dé duō piàoliang a!
Commander, the master said: let you light the fire yourself. Look, you've lit it so beautifully!
- Zhou Yu 哈！鲁肃，你说得对。先打曹操，别的事，以后再说。
Hā! Lǔ Sù, nǐ shuō dé duì. Xiāndǎ Cáo Cāo, biéde shì, yǐhòu zàishuō.
Ha! You're right, Lu Su. First we deal with Cao Cao. The rest can wait.
- Lu Su 是！我本来想说“这可怎么办”，可是这一次，我不说了！
Shì! Wǒ běnlái xiǎng shuō “zhè kě zěnmebàn”, kěshì zhè yí cì, wǒ bù shuō le!
Yes! I was about to say 'what are we going to do,' but this time, I won't!
- Liu Bei 军师！你终于回来了！我们在江边等了一整夜，半边天都是红的，我们都以为你出事了。
Jūnshī! Nǐ zhōngyú huílái le! Wǒmen zài jiāngbiān děng le yìzhěngyè, bànbiāntiān dōu shì hóng de, wǒmen dōu yǐwéi nǐ chūshì le.
Strategist! You're finally back! We waited by the river all night, and half the sky was red. We were afraid something had happened to you.
- Zhuge Liang 让主公担心了。我很好，只是有点儿冷，借风可是一件很冷的工作。火已经烧起来了，现在，我们要做第二件事。
Ràng zhǔgōng dānxīn le. Wǒ hěn hǎo, zhǐshì yǒudiǎnr lěng, jièfēng kěshì yí jiàn hěn lěng de gōngzuò. Huǒ yǐjīng shāo qǐlái le, xiànzài, wǒmen yào zuò dì èr jiàn shì.
I'm sorry to worry you, my lord. I'm fine, just a little cold. Borrowing wind is a very cold job. The fire has caught, and now we must do the second thing.
- Liu Bei 第二件事是什么？
Dì èr jiàn shìshì shénme?
What is the second thing?
- Zhuge Liang 曹操一定会逃。他逃到哪里，我们就在哪里等他，这一次，他跑不掉。
Cáo Cāo yídìng huì táo. Tā táodào nǎlǐ, wǒmen jiù zài nǎlǐ děng tā, zhè yí cì, tā pǎo bú diào.
Cao Cao will surely flee. Wherever he runs, we will be waiting for him, and this time he won't get away.
- Guan Yu 军师，曹操能逃的路有很多条，我们只有几个人，怎么等得过来？
Jūnshī, Cáo Cāo néng táo de lù yǒu hěnduō tiáo, wǒmen zhǐyǒu jǐ gè rén, zěnme děng dé guòlái?
Strategist, Cao Cao has many roads he could flee by, and we have only a few men. How can we wait on them all?
- Zhuge Liang 最近的一条，是华容道。可是昨天下雨，那里的泥很深。曹操的兵，又饿又累，所以他不会走大路，一定走这条近路。
Zuìjìn de yì tiáo, shì Huáróng Dào. Kěshì zuótiān xiàyǔ, nàlǐ de ní hěn shēn. Cáo Cāo de bīng, yòu è yòu lèi, suǒyǐ tā búhuì zǒu dàlù, yídìng zǒu zhè tiáo jìnlù.
The shortest is Huarong Road. But it rained yesterday, and the mud there is deep. Cao Cao's soldiers are hungry and tired, so he won't take the long road. He'll take this short one.
- Zhuge Liang 云长，我想请你带五百人，去华容道等他。
Yúncháng, wǒ xiǎng qǐng nǐ dài wǔbǎi rén, qù Huáróng Dào děng tā.
Yunchang, I'd like you to take five hundred men and wait for him on Huarong Road.
- Guan Yu 军师……你知道的，我曾经欠曹操一份很大的人情。他给过我红马，也给过我金子，所以我心里很不安。
Jūnshī… nǐ zhīdào de, wǒ céngjīng qiàn Cáo Cāo yí fèn hěndà de rénqíng. Tā gěi guò wǒ hóng mǎ, yě gěi guò wǒ jīnzi, suǒyǐ wǒ xīnlǐ hěn bù'ān.
Strategist... you know I once owed Cao Cao a great debt of kindness. He gave me a red horse, and he gave me gold, so my heart is uneasy.
- Zhuge Liang 我知道，云长。我就是因为这个，才选你去。
Wǒ zhīdào, Yúncháng. Wǒ jiùshì yīnwèi zhè ge, cái xuǎn nǐ qù.
I know, Yunchang. That is exactly why I chose you.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why can't Cao Cao's men undo the linked ships?
“铁链太多，太结实了”
- What does Cao Cao say when he sees Zhou Yu's triumph coming?
“我不会忘记你们的”
- What does Zhou Yu find when he sends for Zhuge Liang?
“那里没有人，只有一面旗子在飘”
- Where does Zhuge Liang think Cao Cao will flee?
“最近的一条，是华容道”
- Why is Guan Yu troubled by the order?
“我曾经欠曹操一份很大的人情”