The legend of pale bamboo leaves

The legend of pale bamboo leaves

According to historical records, during the period of the Three Kingdoms, in the 19th year of Jian'an, Wei's Prime Minister Cao Cao monopolized government power and his power in the court grew day by day. At that time, Liu Bei, a member of the Han royal family, had already seized the land of Hanzhong and his wings were growing stronger. At the suggestion of the great military advisor Zhuge Kongming, he sent troops north to attack Wei's Cao Cao. The leaders of the army were Zhang Fei and Ma Chao.

The two men split their troops into two groups. One group, led by Zhang Fei, rushed to the city of Bashu and met General Zhang He, the main force of Cao's army. Zhang He was a man of courage, resourcefulness and intelligence. He defended the city and prevented the enemy from leaving. Seeing that he was unable to capture the city after a long siege, Zhang Fei sent people to stand in front of the city and shout and curse, the sound was like thunder. Zhang He ignored them and placed defensive weapons such as battering rams and stone carts on the city walls. He still held his ground and refused to fight, eating and drinking in the city. Zhang Fei was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, and his mouth was covered with sores. The soldiers also felt dry mouths due to the shouting and cursing in front of the city.

After Zhuge Liang learned about this, he sent someone to deliver fifty jars of fine wine to Zhang Fei and taught Zhang Fei how to act according to the plan. Zhang Fei ordered his men to carry the wine to the front of the city, and asked all the soldiers to sit in front of the city, open the wine and drink it happily. He himself even raised the jar of wine and drank it all in one gulp.

The spies in the city reported the matter. Zhang He stood on the city wall and took a look. It was exactly as they said. So he cursed fiercely, "Zhang Fei, you are going too far!" He ordered his troops to leave the city and rob the camp that night, but they fell into Zhuge Liang's trap and suffered a disastrous defeat. Later it was learned that Zhang Fei's strategy was to "lure the enemy", and what the soldiers drank in front of the city during the day was not "fine aged wine", but a soup sent by Zhuge Liang that would help the soldiers reduce their heat and quench their thirst. This soup was made from light bamboo leaves. In this way, Zhang He was lured into being deceived, and the soldiers were helped to solve the problems of heat and dryness. The popularity of light bamboo leaves has continued to this day.