第285部分(第4/7 页)

mprisoned　guests；　and　thus　he　found　means　to　warn　his　former　chief。

Hu　Lie　wept　and　said；　〃My　son；　Hu　Yuan；　is　in　mand　of　a　force　outside　the　city。　He　will　never　suspect　Zhong　Hui　capable　of　such　a　crime；　and　I　pray　you　tell　him。　If　I　am　to　die；　it　will　be　with　less　regret　if　my　son　can　be　told。〃

〃Kind　master；　have　no　anxiety；　only　leave　it　to　me；〃　replied　Qiu　Jian。

He　went　to　Zhong　Hui；　and　said；　〃Sir；　you　are　holding　in　captivity　a　large　number　of　officers；　and　they　are　suffering　from　lack　of　food　and　water。　Will　you　not　appoint　an　officer　to　supply　their　needs？〃

Zhong　Hui　was　accustomed　to　yield　to　the　wishes　of　Qiu　Jian；　and　he　made　no　difficulty　about　this。　He　told　Qiu　Jian　to　see　to　it　himself；　only　saying；　〃I　am　placing　great　trust　in　you；　and　you　must　be　loyal。　Our　secret　must　be　kept。〃

〃My　lord；　you　may　be　quite　content。　I　know　how　to　keep　a　strict　watch　when　necessary。〃

And　Qiu　Jian　allowed　to　enter　into　the　place　of　confinement　a　trusty　confidant　of　Hu　Lie；　who　gave　him　a　letter　to　his　son　Hu　Yuan。

When　Hu　Yuan　knew　the　whole　story；　he　was　astonished　and　told　his　subordinates；　and　they　were　greatly　enraged。

They　came　to　their　mander's　tent　to　say：　〃We　would　rather　die　than　follow　a　rebel！〃

So　Hu　Yuan　fixed　upon　the　eighteenth　day　of　the　month　to　attempt　the　rescue。　He　enlisted　the　sympathy　of　Wei　Guan　and　got　his　army　ready。　He　bade　Qiu　Jian　tell　his　father　what　was　afoot。　Hu　Lie　then　told　his　fellow…captives。

One　day　Zhong　Hui　said　to　Jiang　Wei；　〃Last　night　I　dreamed　a　dream；　that　I　was　bitten　by　many　serpents。　Can　you　expound　the　vision？〃

Jiang　Wei　replied；　〃Dreams　of　dragons　and　snakes　and　scaly　creatures　are　exceedingly　auspicious。〃

Zhong　Hui　was　only　too　ready　to　accept　t