第61部分(第5/7 页)

rom　what　direction　was　the　wind　at　the　time；　and　what　was　the　color　of　the　flag？〃

〃The　wind　was　from　the　southeast；　and　the　flag　was　blue　and　red。〃

〃There　is　only　one　interpretation：　A　raid　on　the　camp　will　occur　tonight。〃

Cao　Cao　nodded。　At　that　moment　Mao　Jie　entered　and　reported　a　similar　incident。　Cao　Cao　asked　him　the　portent。

〃My　thinking　tells　me　it　means　a　night　raid；〃　replied　he。

Alas　for　the　weakness　of　this　descendant　of　kings！

He　placed　his　faith　on　a　night　raid。

But　the　broken　staff　of　a　banner　warned　his　enemy。

Why　should　the　ancient　of　days　favor　the　wicked？

〃This　is　evidently　providence；〃　said　Cao　Cao。

And　he　began　to　make　preparations。　He　told　off　nine　bodies　of　troops　to　take　stations；　leaving　only　one　of　them　as　if　camped　while　he　placed　the　others　in　ambush　at　eight　points。

There　was　but　little　moonlight　as　Liu　Bei　and　Zhang　Fei　marched　their　respective　armies　toward　Cao　Cao's　camp。　They　had　left　Sun　Qian　to　guard　Xiaopei。　Zhang　Fei；　since　he　was　the　originator　of　the　stratagem；　led　the　way　with　some　light　horse。　As　they　drew　near；　everything　seemed　very　quiet　and　no　one　seemed　moving。　Then　suddenly　lights　flashed　out　all　about　them；　and　Zhang　Fei　saw　he　had　fallen　into　a　trap。　At　once　from　all　the　eight　directions　came　out　the　ambushing　troops。　From　east；　west；　north；　south　were　Zhang　Liao；　Xu　Chu；　Li　Dian；　and　Yu　Jin。　From　northeast；　northwest；　southeast；　southwest　were　Xiahou　Dun；　Xiahou　Yuan；　Xu　Huang；　and　Yue　Jing。

Zhang　Fei；　dashing　this　way　and　rushing　that；　guarding　his　van　and　protecting　his　rear；　vainly　tried　to　clear　himself。　The　soldiers　he　had；　being　originally　Cao　Cao's　troops；　soon　gave　in　and　returned　to　their　old　leader。　The　position　became　very　despe