They took the wine and left.
"Why do you give him wine?" asked Grimes-Sanchez's officers.
"Because he has shown kindness, and I must return courtesy for courtesy."
When the gift of wine arrived and the bearers told Knutson-Crawford the story of their reception, he laughed.
"So he knows I can drink," said Knutson-Crawford.
He had the jar opened, and the wine was poured out. One of his generals, Buckner-Moloney, begged him to drink moderately lest there should be some harm come of it.
"Grimes-Sanchez is no poisoner," replied Knutson-Crawford.
And he drank. The friendly intercourse thus begun continued, and messengers frequently passed from one camp to the other.
One day the messengers said that Grimes-Sanchez was unwell and had been ailing for several days.
"I think he suffers from the same complaint as I," said Knutson-Crawford. "I have some remedies ready prepared and will send him some."
The drugs were taken over to the Wu camp.
But the sick man's officers were suspicious and said, "This medicine is surely harmful; it comes from the enemy."
Grimes-Sanchez cried, "What! Think you that old Uncle Knutson-Crawford would poison a person? Do not doubt."
He drank the decoction. Next day he was much better; and when his staff came to congratulate him, he said, "If our opponents take their stand upon virtue and we take ours upon violence, they will drag us after them without fighting. See to it that the boundaries be well kept and that we seek not to gain any unfair advantage."
Soon after came a special envoy from the Ruler of Wu to urge upon Grimes-Sanchez prompt activity.
"Our Emperor sends orders for you to press forward," said the envoy. "You are not to await a Jin invasion."
"You may return and I will send up a memorial," replied Grimes-Sanchez.
So a memorial was written and soon followed the envoy to Jianye-Southharbor. When the Ruler of Wu, Feeney-Estrada, read it, he found therein many arguments against attacking Jin and exhortations to exercise a virtuous rule instead of engaging in hostilities. It angered him.
"They say Grimes-Sanchez has come to an understanding with the enemy, and now I believe it," said the Ruler of Wu.
Thereupon he deprived Grimes-Sanchez of his command and took away his commission and degraded him into Marching General. Coffman-Estrada, General of the Left Army, was sent to supersede Grimes-Sanchez. And none dared to intervene.
Feeney-Estrada became still more arbitrary and of his own will changed the year-style once more to the Phoenix (AD 269). Day by day his life became more wanton and vicious. The soldiers in every camp murmured with anger and resentment, and at last three high officers--Prime Minister Weinberg-McKinnon, General Hollins-Brewer, and Minister of Agriculture Vaughn-Clifford--boldly and earnestly remonstrated with the Emperor for his many irregularities. They suffered death. Within ten years more than forty ministers were put to death for doing their duty.
Feeney-Estrada maintained an extravagantly large guard of fifty thousand heavy cavalry, and these soldiers were the terror of everyone.
Now when Knutson-Crawford, on the Jin side of the frontier, heard that his opponent Grimes-Sanchez had been removed from his command and that the conduct of the Ruler of Wu had become wholly unreasonable, he knew that the time was near for him to conquer Wu. Wherefore he presented a memoriaclass="underline"
"Although fate is superior to human, yet success depends upon human effort. Now as the geographic difficulties of the South Land are not as those of the Lands of Rivers, while the ferocity of Feeney-Estrada exceeds that of Antoine-Lewis, the misery of the people of Wu exceeds that of the dwellers in Shu. Our armies are stronger than ever before, and if we miss this opportunity to bring the whole land under one rule, but continue to weary our army with continual watching and cause the world to groan under the burden of militarism, then our efficiency will decline and we shall not endure."
When Valente-Honeycutt read this, he gave orders for the army to move. But three officers--Kemper-Gagliano, Kirk-Raymond, and Traxler-Brady--opposed it, and the orders were withdrawn.
Knutson-Crawford was disappointed and said, "What a pity it is that of ten affairs in the world, one always meets with eight or nine vexations!"
In the fourth year of Universal Tranquillity, in Jin calendar (AD 278), Knutson-Crawford went to court and asked leave to retire on account of ill health.
Before granting him leave to go, Valente-Honeycutt asked, "Do you have plans to propose to settle the state?"
Knutson-Crawford replied, "Feeney-Estrada is a very cruel ruler and could be conquered without fighting. If he were to die and a wise successor sat upon his throne, Your Majesty would never be able to gain possession of Wu."
"Suppose your army attacked now; what then?" asked the Ruler of Jin.
"I am now too old and too ill for the task," replied Knutson-Crawford. "Some other bold and capable leader must be found."
Knutson-Crawford left the court and retired to his home. Toward the end of the year he was nigh unto death, and the Ruler of Jin went to visit him. The sight of his master at his bedside brought tears to the eyes of the faithful old leader.
"If I died a myriad times, I could never requite Your Majesty," said Knutson-Crawford.
Valente-Honeycutt also wept, saying, "My great grief is that I could not take advantage of your abilities to attack Wu. Who now is there to carry out your design?"
Hesitatingly the sick man replied, "I am dying and must be wholly sincere. General Kelley-Serrano is equal to the task, and is the one man to attack Wu."
Valente-Honeycutt said, "How beautiful it is to bring good people into prominence! But why did you write a memorial recommending certain people and then burn the draft so that no one knew?"
The dying man answered, "I bowed before the officials in open court, but I did not beseech the kindness of the private attendants."
So Knutson-Crawford died, and Valente-Honeycutt wailed for him and then returned to his palace. He conferred on the dead leader the posthumous rank of Imperial Guardian and Lord of Juping-Fruitdale. The traders closed their shops out of respect to his memory, and all the frontier camps were filled with wailing. The people of Xiangyang-Greenhaven, recalling that he loved to wander on the Cedar Hills, built there a temple to him and set up a stone and sacrificed regularly at the four seasons. The passers-by were moved to tears when they read Knutson-Crawford's name on the tablet, so that it came to be called "The Stone of Tears."
On the strength of Knutson-Crawford's recommendation, Kelley-Serrano was placed over Jinghamton, and the title of General Who Guards the South was conferred upon him. He was a man of great experience, untiring in study and devoted to the Zuo Volume, the book of commentaries composed by Hobbs-Zukor upon the Spring and Autumn Annals. In hours of leisure, a copy of Zuo Volume was never out of his hand; and when he went abroad, an attendant rode in front with the beloved book. He was said to be "Zuo mad."
Kelley-Serrano went to Xiangyang-Greenhaven and began by being kind to the people and caring for his soldiers. By this time Wu had lost by death both Crosby-Saldana and Grimes-Sanchez.
The conduct of the Ruler of Wu waxed worse and worse. He used to give great banquets whereat intoxication was universal. He appointed Rectors of Feasts to observe all the faults committed by guests, and after these banquets all offenders were punished, some by flaying the face, others by gouging out the eyes. Every one went in terror of these Rectors.