The Story of Hua Guan Suo/卷1

Part one
Since the time when Pan Gu divided heaven and earth, After the Three Emperors and Five Rulers and lords of Xia and Shang, The Zhou Dynasty overthrew King Zhou and made the empire prosper, Generation succeeding generation for eight hundred years. At the time of King Lie of Zhou the empire was in chaos; The various kingdoms during the Spring and Autumn period swallowed each other up. The Emperor of Qin gained sole hegemony over the cities of the He burned the Classics, buried the scholars, and destroyed the sacred texts. In the West he constructed Ebang Palace and in the East he filled up the sea; In the South he garrisoned the Five Ranges and in the North he built the Great Wall. He hoped to pass on the mandate to be Son of Heaven from generation to generation, But when he traveled to Shaqiu his imperial enterprise collapsed. The Second Emperor Hu Hai was handed on the precious throne; Zhao Gao killed him and his fate returned to the clouds. The Third Emperor Ziying was young and weak. The empire was in disorder and gradually troops arose. Chu and Han set up King Huai as emperor; They divided their troops in two places in order to overthrow Qin. The first to reach Chang'an was to be the Son of Heaven, The one to reach Xianyang later would be a loyal minister. Gao Zu arrived first and got everything. The Hegemon King grew wroth in his heart. He killed King Huai of Chu and broke faith; He broke the covenant and tried to snatch away the mandate of Han. The King of Han appointed [Han Xin] as Commander in chief, Number one man among one million troops. He arrayed his troops in front of Nine-li Mountain. The Hegemon King's ambitions went down to defeat when he was surrounded in a last-ditch stand. By the Wu River he killed himself with a dragon spring sword; His eight thousand troops scattered amid the sounds of the songs of Chu. In Chang'an the Han Son of Heaven inaugurated the state. A prominent nose and a dragon's face: truly a sage ruler. Emperors Hui, Wen, Jing, Wu, Zhao, and Xuan, Emperor Yuan and Ai and Ping—eleven sovereigns. In the middle Wang Hang conceived his traitorous plan, Plotted and usurped the House of Liu for eighteen years. Who could have known that again there would be Liu Guangwu Who rose in righteous rebellion in Nanyang and mustered an army? He apprehended the traitorous usurper Wang Hang And in the Tower Bathed by Water hacked him to pieces. The restoration set up Liu Guangwu; The Later Han established their capital at Luoyang. The country was pacified, the state settled, and there were no wars; Rains forthcoming and winds in season, the Great Peace was attained. The mandate was transmitted to the Emperors Ming, Zhang, He, and Shang, And to Sovereigns An, Shun, Chong, Zhi, Huan, and Ling. At the end of Han when the empire split into three, Emperor Xian of the Liu family Lost mountains and rivers and the ministers of his ancestral altars. In Guanxi the Yellow Turbans revolted; Wei, Shu, and Wu carved up the realm of Han. Cao Cao of the state of Wei established his capital in Ye. Sun Quan was sovereign in the area of Wu. Liu Bei took possession and ruled in Xichuan, A golden branch and precious leaf left behind from Han. As chief military advisor he had Zhuge Liang; Valiant Zhang and Guan were good men. All at Peach Spring Cave in Qingkou— Guan, Zhang, and Liu Bei pledged themselves as brothers. The three swore brotherhood and divided the empire; In Ziya Temple they burned incense.