Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff · chapter 1 of 8
The Scholars of Wu
吴国的书生们
Cao Cao's letter has Wu's scholars ready to surrender. Zhuge Liang teases them one by one, until Sun Quan walks in and hears a secret: half of Cao Cao's army is fake.
Hear the chapter
Read what you hear
- Narrator 曹操带着大军，来到了长江边。他给江东的孙权写了一封信：“我有八十万人马。你投降吧！”
Cáo Cāo dài zhe dàjūn, láidào le Chángjiāng biān. Tā gěi Jiāngdōng de Sūn Quán xiě le yì fēngxìn: “Wǒ yǒu bāshíwàn rénmǎ. Nǐ tóuxiáng ba!”
Cao Cao led his great army to the Yangtze. He wrote to Sun Quan of Jiangdong: "I have eight hundred thousand men. Surrender!"
- Lu Su 先生，快点儿！大堂里的人都在等你，他们都想投降。你等一下千万小心说话，这可怎么办啊！
Xiānsheng, kuàidiǎnr! Dàtáng lǐ de rén dōu zài děng nǐ, tāmen dōu xiǎng tóuxiáng. Nǐ děng yí xià qiānwàn xiǎoxīn shuōhuà, zhè kě zěnmebàn a!
Master, hurry! Everyone in the hall is waiting for you, and they all want to surrender. Please watch your words in there. Oh, what are we going to do?
- Zhuge Liang 鲁兄，别怕。想投降的人越多，我越有话可说。只要他们肯听，我就能说服他们。
Lǔ xiōng, biépà. Xiǎng tóuxiáng de rén yuè duō, wǒ yuè yǒu huà kě shuō. Zhǐyào tāmen kěntīng, wǒ jiù néng shuōfú tāmen.
Don't be afraid, Brother Lu. The more people want to surrender, the more I have to say.
- Lu Su 千万别吵架！你是客人，他们是主人，吵起来就不好了！
Qiānwànbié chǎojià! Nǐ shì kèrén, tāmen shì zhǔrén, chǎoqǐlái jiù bùhǎo le!
Please don't argue! You're the guest and they're the hosts. It'll only go badly!
- Zhuge Liang 放心。我只是聊聊天，绝对不吵架。
Fàngxīn. Wǒ zhǐshì liáoliáotiān, juéduì bù chǎojià.
Relax. I'm only going to chat, and I absolutely won't argue.
- Wu Scholar 你就是诸葛亮？听说你很会说话。曹操有八十万大军，我们只有几万人。怎么打？
Nǐ jiùshì Zhūgě Liàng? Tīngshuō nǐ hěnhuì shuōhuà. Cáo Cāo yǒu bāshíwàn dàjūn, wǒmen zhǐyǒu jǐwànrén. Zěnme dǎ?
So you're Zhuge Liang? I hear you're a good talker. Cao Cao has eight hundred thousand soldiers, and we have only a few tens of thousands. How can we fight?
- Zhuge Liang 先生说得对。如果打不过，那我们就投降吧。
Xiānsheng shuō dé duì. Rúguǒ dǎ búguò, nà wǒmen jiù tóuxiáng ba.
You're quite right, sir. If we can't win, then we should surrender.
- Lu Su 先生？！你怎么也说投降？
Xiānsheng?! Nǐ zěnme yě shuō tóuxiáng?
Master?! You too, saying surrender?
- Zhuge Liang 不过，我有一个小问题。投降以后，先生还能安安静静地在家读书吗？
Búguò, wǒ yǒu yí gè xiǎo wèntí. Tóuxiáng yǐhòu, xiānsheng huán néng ān'ānjìngjìng dì zàijiā dúshū ma?
But I have one small question. After we surrender, will you still be able to read quietly at home?
- Wu Scholar 这个……曹操也许会给我们每个人一个小官。
Zhè ge… Cáo Cāo yěxǔ huì gěi wǒmen měi gè rén yí gè xiǎo guān.
Well... Cao Cao might give each of us a small government post.
- Zhuge Liang 一个小官，换一辈子听别人的话。这个价钱，真便宜啊！
Yí gè xiǎo guān, huàn yíbèizi tīng biérén dehuà. Zhè ge jiàqián, zhēn piányi a!
A small post, in exchange for taking orders for the rest of your life. What a bargain!
- Wu Scholar 你……你是不是在笑话我们这些读书人？
Nǐ… nǐ shì bú shì zài xiàohuà wǒmen zhè xiē dúshūrén?
You... are you making fun of us scholars?
- Zhuge Liang 不敢不敢。我只是在替各位先生算账。
Bùgǎn bùgǎn. Wǒ zhǐshì zài tì gè wèi xiānsheng suànzhàng.
I wouldn't dare. I'm only doing the sums for you gentlemen.
- Wu Scholar 算账？你的主人刘备，不也被曹操打得到处跑吗？他连一个家都没有，你还来教我们？
Suànzhàng? Nǐ de zhǔrén Liú Bèi, bù yě bèi Cáo Cāo dǎ dé dàochùpǎo ma? Tā lián yí gèjiā dōu méiyǒu, nǐ hái lái jiào wǒmen?
Sums? Your own master, Liu Bei, has been chased all over by Cao Cao. He doesn't even have a home, and you come to lecture us?
- Zhuge Liang 刘将军人少，可是他从来不想投降。百姓宁可跟着他走路，也不想留下来。
Liú jiāngjūn rénshǎo, kěshì tā cóngláibù xiǎng tóuxiáng. Bǎixìng nìngkě gēnzhe tā zǒulù, yě bùxiǎng liúxiàlái.
General Liu has few men, but he has never thought of surrendering. The people would rather walk the roads with him than stay behind.
- Zhuge Liang 先生们读了那么多书，怎么一点儿胆子也没读出来呢？
Xiānsheng men dú le nàme duōshū, zěnme yìdiǎnr dǎnzi yě méi dúchūlái ne?
You gentlemen have read so many books. How did you not pick up even a little courage?
- Wu Scholar 你！你说话太不客气了！
Nǐ! Nǐ shuōhuà tài bú kèqi le!
You! That was very rude!
- Lu Su 完了完了……他还是吵起来了……
Wán le wán le… tā háishi chǎoqǐlái le…
It's over, it's over... he started an argument after all...
- Zhuge Liang 我吵了吗？我只是在等茶。哎呀，茶怎么还没来？
Wǒ chǎo le ma? Wǒ zhǐshì zài děng chá. Āiyā, chá zěnme hái méilái?
Did I argue? I was only waiting for tea. Oh dear, why hasn't the tea come yet?
- Sun Quan 够了。你们的声音，我在后面都听到了。
Gòu le. Nǐmen de shēngyīn, wǒ zài hòumiàn dōu tīngdào le.
Enough. I could hear you all the way in the back.
- Wu Scholar 主公！我们……我们只是在讨论……
Zhǔgōng! Wǒmen… wǒmen zhǐshì zài tǎolùn…
My lord! We were only... discussing...
- Sun Quan 你就是诸葛先生？我听鲁肃说，你有话要对我说。
Nǐ jiùshì Zhūgě xiānsheng? Wǒ tīng Lǔ Sù shuō, nǐ yǒu huà yào duì wǒ shuō.
You are Master Zhuge? Lu Su tells me you have something to say to me.
- Sun Quan 曹操的信，我看了三遍，一晚上没有睡觉。先生，你也是为这件事来的吧？
Cáo Cāo de xìn, wǒ kàn le sān biàn, yì wǎnshang méiyǒu shuìjiào. Xiānsheng, nǐ yě shì wèi zhè jiàn shìlái de ba?
I read Cao Cao's letter three times and didn't sleep all night. You came because of this too, didn't you?
- Zhuge Liang 是，主公。曹操的信，我也看过了。我想问您一个很简单的问题。
Shì, zhǔgōng. Cáo Cāo de xìn, wǒ yě kànguò le. Wǒ xiǎng wèn nín yí gè hěn jiǎndān de wèntí.
Yes, my lord. I've read Cao Cao's letter too. I'd like to ask you one simple question.
- Sun Quan 说。
Shuō.
Ask.
- Zhuge Liang 您想做一个自己做决定的人，还是一个听曹操话的人？
Nín xiǎng zuò yí gè zìjǐ zuò juédìng de rén, háishi yí gè tīng Cáo Cāo huà de rén?
Do you want to be a man who makes his own decisions, or a man who does what Cao Cao says?
- Sun Quan 大胆！你敢这样对我说话？
Dàdǎn! Nǐ gǎn zhè yàng duì wǒ shuōhuà?
How dare you! You speak to me like this?
- Lu Su 主公，请息怒！先生的意思是……哎呀，这可怎么办！
Zhǔgōng, qǐngxī nù! Xiānsheng de yìsi shì… āiyā, zhè kě zěnmebàn!
My lord, please don't be angry! What the master means is... oh no, what are we going to do!
- Sun Quan 鲁肃，你先出去喝口水。诸葛先生，我再问你一次：曹操的八十万大军，是真的吗？
Lǔ Sù, nǐ xiān chūqù hēkǒushuǐ. Zhūgě xiānsheng, wǒ zài wèn nǐ yí cì: Cáo Cāo de bāshíwàn dàjūn, shì zhēnde ma?
Lu Su, go out and get some water. Master Zhuge, let me ask you again: are Cao Cao's eight hundred thousand soldiers real?
- Zhuge Liang 主公，那个数字，一半是假的。
Zhǔgōng, nà ge shùzì, yíbàn shì jiǎ de.
My lord, half of that number is fake.
- Sun Quan 那另一半呢？你快说，我等不及了。
Nà lìngyíbàn ne? Nǐ kuài shuō, wǒ děng bù jí le.
And the other half? Hurry up, I can't wait.
- Zhuge Liang 另一半是真的。可是，主公，接下来的话，不能让别人听见。请您让他们都出去。
Lìngyíbàn shì zhēnde. Kěshì, zhǔgōng, jiēxiàlái dehuà, bùnéng ràng biérén tīngjiàn. Qǐng nín ràng tāmen dōu chūqù.
The other half is real. But, my lord, what comes next must not be heard by others. Please send everyone out.
What changed in the story?
- What does Zhuge Liang say at first when the scholar asks how Wu can fight?
“如果打不过，那我们就投降吧”
- What price does Zhuge Liang say the scholars would pay for a small government post?
“一个小官，换一辈子听别人的话”
- Why is the scholar angry about Zhuge Liang's own master?
“你的主人刘备，不也被曹操打得到处跑吗”
- What question does Zhuge Liang ask Sun Quan?
“您想做一个自己做决定的人，还是一个听曹操话的人”
- What does Zhuge Liang say about Cao Cao's eight hundred thousand men?
“那个数字，一半是假的”