第89部分(第1/7 页)

e　a　raid　on　the　camp　tonight。〃

〃How　shall　we　meet　it？〃　said　Liu　Bei。

〃The　plans　are　quite　ready；〃　was　the　reply。

San　Fu　whispered　them　to　the　chief。　So　at　the　second　watch；　when　the　enemy　arrived；　they　saw　fires　on　all　sides；　the　stockades　and　huts　burning。　Cao　Ren　understood　at　once　that　all　hope　of　a　surprise　was　vain；　and　he　turned　to　get　away　as　quickly　as　possible。　This　was　the　signal　for　Zhao　Yun　to　fall　on；　and　that　cut　Cao　Ren's　return　road。　He　hastened　north　toward　the　river；　and　reached　the　bank；　but；　while　waiting　for　boats　to　cross　the　stream；　up　came　Zhang　Fei　and　attacked。

By　dint　of　great　efforts　and　with　the　support　of　Li　Dian；　Cao　Ren　got　into　a　boat；　but　most　of　the　soldiers　were　drowned　in　the　stream。　As　soon　as　he　got　to　the　farther　shore；　he　bolted　for　Fancheng。　He　reached　the　wall　and　hailed　the　gate；　but；　instead　of　a　friendly　wele；　he　heard　the　rolling　of　drums；　which　was　soon　followed　by　the　appearance　of　a　body　of　troops。　Guan　Yu　led　them。

〃I　took　the　city　a　long　time　ago！〃　shouted　Guan　Yu。

This　was　a　severe　shock　to　Cao　Ren；　who　turned　to　flee。　As　soon　as　he　faced　about；　Guan　Yu　attacked　and　killed　many　of　his　force。　The　remnant　hastened　to　Xuchang。　On　the　road　the　beaten　general　wondered　who　had　advised　his　opponents　with　such　success；　and　he　asked　the　natives　for　the　answer。

While　the　defeated　Cao　Ren　had　to　find　his　way　back　to　the　capital；　Liu　Bei　had　scored　a　great　success。　Afterwards　he　marched　to　Fancheng；　where　he　was　weled　by　Magistrate　Liu　Mi；　himself　a　scion　of　the　ruling　family；　who　had　been　born　in　Changsha。　Liu　Mi　received　Liu　Bei　as　a　guest　in　his　own　house　and　gave　banquets　and　treated　him　exceedingly　well。

In　the　train　of　the　Magistrate；　Liu　Bei　saw　a　very　handsome　an