第138部分(第1/7 页)

Her　lord；　still　rather　intoxicated；　said；　〃You　are　not　an　official；　still　you　know　right　from　wrong　as　well　as　I。　My　enemy；　and　the　man　I　would　slay　if　I　could；　is　Cao　Cao。〃

〃But　why？　And　if　you　wish　to　slay　him；　why　do　you　not　do　something？〃　said　she。

〃I　have　done　something。　I　have　settled　with　General　Ma　Teng　to　assassinate　Cao　Cao　at　the　review。〃

Li　Chunxiang　of　course　told　her　paramour；　who　told　Cao　Cao；　and　Cao　Cao　made　his　arrangements　to　defeat　the　scheme。　He　called　up　his　trusty　generals　and　gave　them　orders　for　the　morrow　and；　this　done；　he　arrested　Huang　Kui　and　all　his　household。

Next　day；　as　arranged；　Ma　Teng　and　his　western　troops　came　close　up　to　the　wall；　and　among　the　flags　and　banners　he　discerned　that　of　the　Prime　Minister　himself；　whereby　he　knew　that　Cao　Cao　would　hold　the　review　in　person。

So　Ma　Teng　rode　forward。　Suddenly　a　bomb　exploded；　and　at　this　signal　there　appeared　bodies　of　armed　troops　in　four　directions：　Right　and　left；　front　and　rear；　led　by　Xu　Chu；　Xiahou　Yuan；　Cao　Hong；　and　Xu　Huang。　The　western　forces　were　quite　hemmed　in。　Ma　Teng　then　saw　the　mistake　he　had　made；　and　he　and　his　two　sons　fought　valiantly　to　free　themselves　from　the　trap。　The　youngest　son………Ma　Tie………soon　fell　in　the　volleys　of　arrows。　Father　and　son　rode　this　way　and　that；　seeking　a　way　out；　but　failed　on　every　side。　Both　were　sorely　wounded；　and　when　their　steeds　fell　from　their　many　arrow　wounds；　both　were　captured。

Ma　Teng；　Ma　Xiu；　and　the　miserable　Huang　Kui　who　could　not　keep　his　counsel；　were　brought　before　Cao　Cao。　Huang　Kui　loudly　protested　his　innocence。　Cao　Cao　then　called　in　the　witness　Miao　Ze。

〃That　worthless　scoundrel　has　spoiled　all　my　plans！〃　cried　Ma　Teng　against　Huang　Kui。　〃Now　I　cannot　slay　the　reb