第47部分(第4/7 页)

s　my　mother　still　lives；　I　cannot　go　so　far　from　home。〃

Liu　Bei　thanked　him　and　went　his　way。　The　party　took　the　road　by　Liangcheng；　and　as　they　were　going　out；　they　saw　not　far　off　a　thick　cloud　of　dust。　When　the　troop　came　nearer；　they　found　the　troops　were　of　Cao　Cao's　army；　and　with　them　they　traveled　to　the　main　camp　where　they　found　Cao　Cao　himself。　Cao　Cao　shed　tears　at　the　sad　story　of　Liu　Bei's　distress；　the　loss　of　the　city；　his　brothers　and　wives　and　children。　When　Liu　Bei　told　him　of　the　hunter　who　had　sacrificed　his　wife　to　feed　them；　Cao　Cao　sent　the　hunter　a　present　of　a　hundred　ounces　of　silver　as　a　reward。

The　march　then　was　continued　to　Jibei；　where　Xiahou　Yuan　weled　them。　They　heard　that　his　brother　Xiahou　Dun　was　still　ill　from　the　wound　he　had　received　in　the　eye。　Cao　Cao　went　to　the　sick　man's　bedside　to　see　him　and　had　him　removed　to　Xuchang　for　skilled　treatment。

Presently　scouts；　sent　out　particularly　for　tidings　of　Lu　Bu；　returned；　saying；　〃Lu　Bu　has　allied　himself　with　the　bandits　in　the　east；　and　they　are　attacking　Yanzhou。〃

At　this　Cao　Cao　dispatched　Cao　Ren　with　three　thousand　soldiers　to　take　Xiaopei；　while　he；　in　conjunction　with　Liu　Bei；　moved　against　Lu　Bu。

They　went　east。　As　they　reached　the　Mangdang　Hills　near　Xiao　Pass；　they　met　the　a　band　of　thirty　thousand　Taishan　Mountains　brigands　barring　their　road。　The　chieftains　of　the　bandits　were　Sun　Guan；　Wu　Dun；　Yin　Li；　and　Chang　Xi　who　rode　out　with　their　spears　set。　However；　Xu　Chu　plunged　into　the　battle　and　easily　beat　them　back　and　chased　them　right　up　to　the　pass。

The　scouts　told　Lu　Bu；　who　was　then　in　Xuzhou；　whither　he　had　gone　to　start　an　expedition　to　save　Xiaopei。　He　left　the　protection　of　Xuzhou　to　Chen　Gui　and　set　out　with　Chen　Deng。