第59部分(第2/7 页)

　altogether；　〃but　you　are　a　wandering　headless　ghost。〃

〃I　am　a　minister　of　Han　and　not　a　partisan　of　Cao　Cao's；〃　cried　Mi　Heng。　〃You　cannot　say　I　have　no　head。〃

They　were　angry　enough　to　kill　him；　but　Xun　Yu　checked　them；　saying；　〃He　is　a　paltry　fellow。　It　is　not　worth　soiling　your　blades　with　his　blood。〃

〃I　am　paltry；　and　yet　I　have　the　soul　of　a　man；　and　you　are　mere　worms；〃　said　Mi　Heng。

They　went　their　ways；　all　very　angry。　Mi　Heng　went　on　his　journey　and　presently　reached　Jingzhou；　where　he　saw　Liu　Biao。　After　that；　under　pretense　of　extolling　Liu　Biao's　virtue；　he　lampooned　Liu　Biao　who　was　annoyed　and　sent　him　to　Jiangxia　to　see　Huang　Zu。

〃Why　did　you　not　put　the　fellow　to　death　for　lampooning　you？〃　said　one　to　Liu　Biao。

〃You　see　he　shamed　Cao　Cao；　but　Cao　Cao　did　not　kill　him　as　Cao　Cao　feared　to　lose　popular　favor。　So　Cao　Cao　sent　him　to　me；　thinking　to　borrow　my　hand　to　slay　him　and　so　suffer　the　loss　of　my　good　name。　I　have　sent　him　on　to　Huang　Zu　to　let　Cao　Cao　see　that　I　understood。〃

Liu　Biao's　clever　caution　met　with　general　praise。　At　that　time　a　messenger　from　Yuan　Shao　was　also　there　with　certain　proposals　for　an　alliance；　and　it　was　necessary　to　decide　which　aide　to　espouse。　All　the　advisers　came　together　to　consider　the　question。

Then　mander　Han　Song　said；　〃As　you　have　now　two　offers；　you　can　please　yourself　and　choose　your　own　way　to　destroy　your　enemies；　for　if　one　refuses；　you　can　follow　the　other。　Now　Cao　Cao　is　an　able　general　and　has　many　capable　officers　in　his　train。　It　looks　as　though　he　may　destroy　Yuan　Shao　and　then　move　his　armies　across　the　river。　I　fear；　my　lord；　you　would　be　unable　then　to　withstand　him。　That　being　so；　it　would　be　wise　to　support　Cao　Cao；　who　will　treat　you　with　re