第151部分(第1/7 页)

uchsafe　a　word　more；　and　the　four　generals　took　leave　and　descended　the　hill。

〃One　must　have　faith　in　such　as　he　says；〃　said　Liu　Gui。

〃What　is　to　be　gained　by　listening　to　the　sayings　of　a　daft　old　man？〃　replied　Zhang　Ren。

So　they　continued　their　road　to　Luocheng。

When　they　arrived；　Liu　Gui　said；　〃Luocheng　is　the　throat　of　the　road　to　Chengdu。　We　must　create　a　pincers　defense　for　the　city。　Two　of　us　are　to　guard　the　ramparts　while　the　other　two　are　to　station　themselves　in　front　of　the　city；　where　is　a　point　of　vantage　sheltered　by　some　hills。〃

Thus　Deng　Xiang　and　Ling　Bao　wanted　to　build　the　ramparts　outside　the　city。　Twenty　thousand　troops　were　told　off。　The　two　generals　went　to　establish　two　camps　in　two　stockades　twenty　miles　away；　hoping　to　be　able　to　keep　the　foe　away　from　the　city。

The　River　Fu　Pass　being　captured；　Liu　Bei　took　counsel　with　his　adviser　as　to　the　next　point　to　be　attempted。　This　was　Luocheng。

The　scouts　reported：　〃Liu　Zhang　has　sent　four　generals　to　the　defense　of　that　city；　and　two　camps　has　been　established　twenty　miles　away　to　form　an　ox　horn。〃

Then　Liu　Bei　assembled　his　officers　and　asked　who　would　go　to　attack　the　camps。　The　veteran　Huang　Zhong　offered　himself。

〃Veteran　General；　take　your　own　troops　and　go；〃　said　Liu　Bei。　〃A　goodly　reward　shall　be　yours　if　you　capture　the　two　camps。〃

Huang　Zhong　thanked　his　lord　and　was　just　leading　away　his　troops　when　suddenly　up　spoke　a　youthful　leader；　saying；　〃The　General　is　too　old　to　go　on　such　an　expedition。　I　am　of　poor　ability；　but　I　wish　to　take　his　place。〃

The　speaker　was　Wei　Yan。

Huang　Zhong　replied；　〃I　already　have　my　mission。　Why　should　you　wish　to　supplant　me？〃

〃Because　the　task　is　beyond　an　old　man'