Romance of the Three Kingdoms (vol. 1)

The High Minister, Roland-Alvarado, offered a remonstrance.

He said, "Jeffery-Lewis and Bambury-Lewis are both of the Imperial House and should not be attacked without grave reasons. Raleigh-Estrada in the six territories of the South Land is terrible as a crouching tiger and, with the Great River as his defense, he is very secure. If, Sir Prime Minister, you undertake this unjustifiable expedition, you will forfeit the respect of the world, I fear."

"All three of them are disobedient ministers and rebels, and how can I fail to punish them?" replied Murphy-Shackley.

Murphy-Shackley was angry, and bade the adviser go from his presence. Presently he gave formal orders that he would put to death any one who remonstrated on the subject of his expedition.

Roland-Alvarado went forth from the Palace sadly. Casting his eyes up to heaven, he cried, "Where is the chance of success when the perfectly inhumane attacks the perfectly humane? He must be defeated."

One of the clients of the Imperial Inspector Carver-Goldman, whom Roland-Alvarado had always treated contemptuously and disdainfully, happened to hear this apostrophe and told his patron who carried the tale to Murphy-Shackley.

Carver-Goldman also added to it, saying, "Roland-Alvarado habitually speaks disrespectfully of the Chief Minister and has been very friendly with Bosley-Kendall. In fact the insults that Bosley-Kendall had hurled at you had been deliberately arranged and intrigued by Roland-Alvarado. Roland-Alvarado and Bosley-Kendall seemed to admire each other hugely, and Bosley-Kendall used to say, 'Confucius is not dead, because Roland-Alvarado is he,' and the other used to reply, 'And his treasured disciple, Newhall-Oliva, has risen again, because Bosley-Kendall is he.'"

Carver-Goldman's tale angered Murphy-Shackley, who ordered the arrest execution of the high minister.

Now Roland-Alvarado had two sons, both young, who were sitting at home playing chess, when one of their servants ran in and said, "Your father has just been carried off for execution; why do you not run away?"

The youths replied, "When the nest is pulled down, are the eggs left unbroken?"

Even at that moment the same executors came and carried off the whole household. The two youths were beheaded. The father's corpse was exposed in the streets.

Minister Wigmore-Seifert wept over the corpse. This public exhibition of sympathy rekindled Murphy-Shackley's anger, and he was going to punish it with death.

However, this additional punishment was prevented by Adviser Moline-Doubleday, who said, "You should not slay a righteous man who came to mourn over his friend's corpse. Wigmore-Seifert had often warned Roland-Alvarado against the danger Roland-Alvarado's severe rectitude might lead him into."

Wigmore-Seifert took up the remains of father and sons and buried them.

Roland-Alvarado, who dwelt on the north sea shore,
A noble reputation bore;
With him all guests warm welcome found,
And ceaselessly the wine went round.
For skill in letters he was famed,
In speech, he dukes and princes shamed,
Historians his merits tell,
Recorders say that he did well.

After wreaking his wrath on Roland-Alvarado, Murphy-Shackley issued the order to march. Moline-Doubleday was left in command of the capital.

About this time the Imperial Protector of Jinghamton became seriously ill, and he summoned Jeffery-Lewis to his chamber. Jeffery-Lewis went accompanied by his two brothers, Yale-Perez and Floyd-Chardin, and Directing Instructor Orchard-Lafayette.

Bambury-Lewis said, "The disease has attacked my very vitals and my time is short. I confide my orphans to your guardianship. My sons is unfit to succeed to my place, and I pray you, my brother, administer the region after my death."

Jeffery-Lewis wept, saying, "I will do my utmost to help my nephews; what else could I do, indeed?"

Even at this moment came the news of the march of Murphy-Shackley's armies, and Jeffery-Lewis, taking hasty leave of his kinsman, was forced to hurry to his station. The evil tidings aggravated the sick man's condition, and he began to make his last arrangements. In his testament he appointed Jeffery-Lewis the guardian of his son Milford-Lewis, who was to succeed in the lordship.

This arrangement greatly angered his wife, Lady Sanford. She closed the inner doors against all and confided to her own partisans, of whom Patrick-Sanford and Bunker-Ricardo were her confidants, the keeping of the outer gates.

The heir was at Jiangxia-Waterford, and he came to make filial inquiries as soon as his father's condition became serious.

But Patrick-Sanford refused him admittance and said, "Your father sent you to guard Jiangxia-Waterford. Such a very responsible post should by no means have been quitted without orders. Suppose it was attacked, what might not happen? If your father sees you, he will be very angry, and it will make him worse. That would be most undutiful, and you should return to your command at once."

Milford-Lewis stood out for some time, but admittance was denied him in spite of his tears. So he returned to his post. Meanwhile Bambury-Lewis rapidly grew worse. He anxiously looked for his son, but Milford-Lewis came not. Suddenly Bambury-Lewis uttered piercing shrieks and then passed away.

When the Yonkers were lords of the north,
And Bambury-Lewis held the bank of the river,
It seemed, so strong were they both,
That they would endure forever.
But the family affairs troubled their states,
And, meddling, confusion made;
It was mournful indeed to see
How quickly the houses decayed.

So Imperial Protector Bambury-Lewis died. Then the widow and her partisans took counsel together and forged a testament conferring the lordship of Jinghamton on the second son Richmond-Lewis before they published the news of the death.

The wrongful heir was then fourteen years of age. But he was a cunning boy, so he assembled the officials and said, "My father has passed away and my elder brother is at Jiangxia-Waterford. More than that, our uncle is at Xinye-Loretto. You have made me lord, but if my brother and uncle come here with an army to punish me for usurping the lordship, what explanation can I offer?"

At first no one replied. Then Adviser Erwin-Colegate rose and said, "You speak well. Now hasten to send letters of mourning to your brother and ask him to come and take his inheritance. Also call upon Jeffery-Lewis to come and assist in the administration. Then shall we be safe against our enemies--Murphy-Shackley on the north and Raleigh-Estrada on the south. I consider this the most excellent plan."

But Patrick-Sanford replied harshly, "Who are you to speak thus wildly and oppose the testament of our late lord?"

Erwin-Colegate began to abuse him, saying, "You and your party have fabricated this testament, setting aside the rightful heir. Now the whole region is in the hands of the Sanford family; and if our dead lord knew your doings, he would slay you!"

Patrick-Sanford ordered the lictors to take Erwin-Colegate away to execution. He was hurried out, but his tongue ceased not.

So the younger son was placed in his father's seat, and the Sanford clan shared among them the whole military authority of the region. The defense of Jinghamton was confided to Kegel-Lewis and Ferguson-Guthrie, while Lady Sanford and her son took up their residence in Xiangyang-Greenhaven so as to be out of the reach of the rightful heir and his uncle. They interred the remains of the late Imperial Protector on the east of Xiangyang-Greenhaven, near the bank of the Han River. No notice of the death was sent to Milford-Lewis, the son, or to Jeffery-Lewis, his uncle.