I

Nie Zheng

Nie Zheng came from the Deepwell section of the city of Zhi. He killed some one, and to escape his enemies' revenge, he went to Qi with his mother and sister. There he worked as a butcher.

Some time later Yan Zhong-zi of Pu-yang was in the service of Count of Han, and he had a quarrel with Xia Lei, the Minister of Han. Fearing that he would be executed, Yan Zhong-zi fled and traveled about looking for someone who could get revenge on Xia Lei. When he reached Qi, some of the local people said that Nie Zheng was a man of courage and daring, who lived out of the public eye among butchers in order to escape his enemies.

Yan Zhong-zi went to his place to pay his respects but was repeatedly turned away. After that he had beer prepared and went to offer a congratulatory toast to Nie Zheng's mother. When everyone was feeling the effect of the beer, Yan Zhong-zi presented a hundredweight of gold to Nie Zheng's mother to wish her a long life. Nie Zheng was alarmed at such generosity and was determined to refuse it. Yan Zhong-zi pressed it on him with just as much determination, but Nie Zheng refused, saying, "I am lucky to still have my aged mother. Our household may be poor, but I make my living here as a dog butcher so that I can provide her delicacies to eat every day. She is well provided for, and I dare not accept your gift."

Yan Zhong-zi had the others withdraw and then said to Nie Zheng, "I have an enemy and have roamed through many of the great domains. When I came to Qi, however, I heard of your high sense of right, sir, and this is why I presented the hundred weight of gold--to use for ordinary expenses in taking care of your aged mother and in that way to get on good terms with you. I wouldn't dare expect anything from you for it." Nie Zheng replied, "The only reason I have curtailed my ambitions and accepted dignity of working as a butcher in the marketplace has been to take care of my aged mother. So long as my mother is alive, I do not dare commit myself to anyone." Yan Zhong-zi insisted that Nie Zheng give way, but in the end Nie Zheng refused to accept the gift. Nevertheless, Yan Zhong-zi played out his proper role as a guest and then left.

Some time later Nie Zheng's mother died. After she was buried and the period of mourning completed, Nie Zheng said,"To think that I am but man of the marketplace, one who wields the knife as a butcher, while Yan Zhong-zi is an adviser of the high nobility, and yet he did not think it too much to turn his carriage and riders to meet me! The way I treated him was ungenerous in the extreme. I had done nothing important to deserve it, yet he offered a hundredweight in gold for my mother's sake. Even though I didn't accept it, in doing this he was simply showing how deeply he understood me. How can I just do nothing when a good and worthy man has been stirred to glaring rage and then personally shows his confidence in a poor and humble man? When he pressed me earlier, I acted as I did only because of my mother. Now that my mother has lived out her natural span, I will be of use to this man who so well understands me."

He next went west to Pu-yang, and meeting Yan Zhong-zi said, "The only reason that I could not commit myself to you earlier was because my mother was still alive. Now unfortunately her years are over. Who is it that you want me to take revenge on? Please let me carry this matter through." Yan Zhong-zi told him the whole story: "My enemy is Xia Lei, the Minister of Han. Xia Lei is also the uncle of the ruler of Han. His kindred are very numerous, and whenever he stays outside his compound, he is extremely well guarded. I tried to get people to assassinate him, but none was ever successful. Now I am lucky that you have not rejected me, so let me increase the number of carriages, mounts, and strong warriors to assist you." Nie Zheng replied, "The distance between Han and Wei is not very great. If you're going to kill a minister and that minister is also a relation of the ruler of a domain, the situation is such that you should not use many people. If you use many people, something will inevitably go wrong; if something goes wrong, word will inevitably leak out; and if word leaks out, the entire domain of Han will be your enemy. Then you really would be in danger!" Thus Nie Zheng refused carriages, horses, and men. He then said farewell and set out alone.

Sword in hand, he came to Han. Xia Lei, the Minister of Han, was seated in his office, and there was a great throng of men with weapons and pikes standing guard around him. Nie Zheng went directly in, climbed the stairs, and stabbed Xia Lei to death. His entourage was in great confusion. Nie Zheng gave a loud shout and killed several dozen men. Then he cut the skin off his face, gouged out his eyes, cut himself open and pulled out his entrails, and died.

The ruler of Han took Nie Zheng's corpse and had it exposed in the marketplace, trying to find out who the man was, but no one knew. He then offered a reward of a thousand silver pieces to anyone who could tell him who killed the minister Xia Lei. But after a long time no one came forward with this knowledge.

Nie Zheng's sister Rong heard that someone had assassinated the Minister of Han, but that the criminal could not be ascertained because no one in the kingdom knew his name; thus they had exposed his corpse and offered a reward of a thousand pieces of silver. At this she let out a moan: "Could this be my younger brother? Alas, Yan Zhong-zi understood my brother all too well!" She went to the capital of Han and to its marketplace, and the dead man was indeed Nie Zheng. She collapsed on the corpse, weeping with the utmost grief. And she said, "This man was known as Nie Zheng, from the Deepwell quarter of the city of Zhi." The crowds of people walking through the marketplace all said, "This man assaulted the minister of our domain, and the king has posted a reward of a thousand pieces of silver for his name-haven't you heard? How can you dare come here and recognize him?"

Rong answered them, "I have heard. Nevertheless, the reason why Nie Zheng endured disgrace and abandoned himself to the commerce of the marketplace was so that our aged mother would come to no harm and because I was not yet married. Once our mother had passed away and I had married, Yan Zhong-zi selected my brother to be his friend, even in his degraded position. He was so kind and generous that my brother had no choice. A gentleman will indeed die for someone who understands him. And now, because I was still alive, he has gone further, mutilating himself so there will be no traces to follow. How could I stand in dread of paying with my own life, and by doing so wipe away forever my worthy brother's name?" This amazed the people in the marketplace of Han. Then she called out to Heaven several times, until, with a piteous moan, she died at Nie Zheng's side.

When this story was heard in Jin, Chu, Qi, and Wei, everyone said, "it is not just that Nie Zheng showed ability-- his sister too was a woman of fierce principles. Suppose that Nie Zheng had truly known that his sister lacked the determination to simply endure the situation and that she would surely cross a thousand leagues of perils, unmindful of the troubles that would come from recognizing the exposed corpse, just to proclaim his name. Had he known that, he would not necessarily have committed himself to Yan Zhong-zi."

But Yan Zhong-zi may indeed also be known as someone capable of acquiring gentlemen by his ability to understand a person's worth.