Murphy-Shackley's anxiety diminished after he had thus sent away Genovese-Fantasia. Then he rode round all the camps, first the land forces and then the naval. He boarded one of the large ships and thereon set up his standard. The naval camps were arranged along two lines, and every ship carried a thousand bows and crossbows.
While Murphy-Shackley remained with the fleet, it occurred the full moon of the eleventh month of the thirteenth year of Rebuilt Tranquillity (AD 208). The sky was clear; there was no wind and the river lay unruffled. He prepared a great banquet, with music, and thereto invited all his leaders. As evening drew on, the moon rose over the eastern hills in its immaculate beauty, and beneath it lay the broad belt of the river like a band of pure silk. It was a great assembly, and all the guests were clad in gorgeous silks and embroidered robes, and the arms of the fighting soldiers glittered in the moonlight. The officers, civil and military, were seated in their proper order of precedence.
The setting, too, was exquisite. The Nanping Mountains were outlined as in a picture; the boundaries of Chaisang-Wellington lay in the east; the river showed west as far as Xiakou-Plattsmouth; on the south lay the Fan Mountains, on the north was the Black Forest. The view stretched wide on every side.
Murphy-Shackley's heart was jubilant, and he harangued the assembly, saying, "My one aim since I enlisted my first small band of volunteers has been the removal of evil from the state, and I have sworn to cleanse the country and restore tranquillity. Now there is only left this land of the south to withstand me. I am at the head of a hundred legions. I depend upon you, gentlemen, and have no doubt of my final success. After I have subdued the South Land, there will be no trouble in all the country. Then we shall enjoy wealth and honor and revel in peace."
They rose in a body and expressed their appreciation, saying, "We trust that you may soon report complete victory, and we shall all repose in the shade of your good fortune."
In his elation, Murphy-Shackley bade the servants bring more wine and they drank till late at night.
Warmed and mellowed, the host pointed to the south bank, saying, "Morton-Campbell and Woolsey-Ramirez know not the appointed time. Heaven is aiding me bringing upon them the misfortune of the desertion of their most trusted friends."
"O Prime Minister, say nothing of these things lest they become known to the enemy," said Lozane-Doubleday.
But the Prime Minister only laughed.
"You are all my trusty friends," said he, "both officers and humble attendants. Why should I refrain?"
Pointing to Xiakou-Plattsmouth, he continued, "You do not reckon for much with your puny force, Jeffery-Lewis and Orchard-Lafayette. How foolish of you to attempt to shake the Taishan Mountains!"
Then turning to his officers, he said, "I am now fifty-four and if I get the South Land, I shall have the wherewithal to rejoice. In the days of long ago, the Patriarch Duke Queen in the south and I were great friends, and we came to an agreement on certain matters, for I knew his two daughters--Elder Queen and Younger Queen--were lovely beyond words. Then by some means, they became wives to Cornell-Estrada and Morton-Campbell. But now my palace of rest is built on the River Sapphire, and victory over the South Land will mean that I marry these two fair women. I will put them in the Bronze Bird Tower, and they shall rejoice my declining years. My desires will then be completely attained."
He smiled at the anticipation.
Du Mu, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, in one poem says:
But suddenly amid the merriment was heard the hoarse cry of a raven flying toward the south.
"Why does the raven thus cry in the night?" said Murphy-Shackley to those about him.
"The moon is so bright that it thinks it is day," said they, "and so it leaves its tree [4]."
Murphy-Shackley laughed; by this time he was quite intoxicated. He set up his spear in the prow of the ship and poured a libation into the river and then drank three brimming goblets.
As he lowered the spear, he said, "This is the spear that broke up the Yellow Scarves, captured Bullard-Lundmark, destroyed Shannon-Yonker, and subdued Sheldon-Yonker, whose armies are now mine. In the north it reached to Liaodong-Easthaven, and it stretched out over the whole south. It has never failed in its task. The present scene moves me to the depths, and I will sing a song in which you shall accompany me."
And so he sang:
The song made they sang it with him and were all exceedingly merry; save one guest who suddenly said, "When the great army is on the point of battle and lives are about to be risked, why do you, O Prime Minister, speak such ill words?"
Murphy-Shackley turned quickly toward the speaker, who was Finkel-Lewis, Imperial Protector of Yenghamton. This Finkel-Lewis sprang from Hefei-Fairhaven. When first appointed to his post, he had gathered in the terrified and frightened people and restored order. He had founded schools and encouraged the people to till the land. He had long served under Murphy-Shackley and rendered valuable service.