第120部分(第4/7 页)

a　small　party　of　horsemen；　fled　through　the　burning　forest。　They　could　see　no　road　in　front；　all　seemed　on　fire。　Presently　Mao　Jie　and　Wen　Ping；　with　a　few　more　horsemen；　joined　them。　Cao　Cao　bade　the　soldiers　seek　a　way　through。

Zhang　Liao　pointed　out；　saying；　〃The　only　suitable　road　is　through　the　Black　Forest。〃

And　they　took　it。

They　had　gone　but　a　short　distance　when　they　were　overtaken　by　a　small　party　of　the　enemy；　and　a　voice　cried；　〃Cao　Cao；　stop！〃

It　was　Lu　Meng；　whose　ensign　soon　appeared　against　the　fiery　background。　Cao　Cao　urged　his　small　party　of　fugitives　forward；　bidding　Zhang　Liao　defend　him　from　Lu　Meng。

Soon　after　Cao　Cao　saw　the　light　of　torches　in　front；　and　from　a　gorge　there　rushed　out　another　force。　And　the　leader　cried；　〃Ling　Tong　is　here！〃

Cao　Cao　was　scared。　His　liver　and　gall　both　seemed　torn　from　within。

But　just　then　on　his　half　right；　he　saw　another　pany　approach　and　heard　a　cry；　〃Fear　not；　O　Prime　Minister；　I　am　here　to　rescue　you！〃

The　speaker　was　Xu　Huang；　and　he　attacked　the　pursuers　and　held　them　off。

A　move　to　the　north　seemed　to　promise　escape；　but　soon　they　saw　a　camp　on　a　hill　top。　Xu　Huang　went　ahead　to　reconnoiter　and　found　the　officers　in　mand　were　Cao　Cao's　Generals　Ma　Yan　and　Zhang　Zi；　who　had　once　been　in　the　service　of　Yuan　Shao。　They　had　three　thousand　of　northern　soldiers　in　camp。　They　had　seen　the　sky　redden　with　the　flames；　but　knew　not　what　was　afoot　so　dared　make　no　move。

This　turned　out　lucky　for　Cao　Cao　who　now　found　himself　with　a　fresh　force。　He　sent　Ma　Yan　and　Zhang　Zi；　with　a　thousand　troops；　to　clear　the　road　ahead　while　the　others　remained　as　guard。　And　he　felt　much　more　secure。

The　two　went　forward；　but　before　they　had　gone　very　far；