第87部分(第4/7 页)

ei；　〃and　through　one　of　them　am　I　here　now。〃

〃It　should　not　be　so。　But　the　reason　is　that　you　still　lack　the　one　person　to　aid　you。〃

〃I　am　simple　enough　in　myself；　I　know。　But　I　have　Sun　Qian；　Mi　Zhu；　and　Jian　Yong　on　the　civil　side；　and　for　warriors　I　have　Guan　Yu；　Zhang　Fei；　and　Zhao　Yun。　These　are　all　most　loyal　helpers；　and　I　depend　upon　them　not　a　little。〃

〃Your　fighting　generals　are　good：　Fit　to　oppose　a　legion。　The　pity　is　you　have　no　really　able　adviser。　Your　civilians　are　but　pallid　students　of　books；　not　people　fitted　to　weave　and　control　destiny。〃

〃I　have　always　yearned　to　find　one　of　those　marvelous　recluses　who　live　among　the　hills　till　their　day　arrive。　So　far　I　have　sought　in　vain。〃

〃You　know　what　the　Teacher　Confucius　said；　'In　a　hamlet　of　ten　households　there　must　be　one　true　person。'　Can　you　say　there　is　no　one？〃

〃I　am　simple　and　uninstructed。　I　pray　you　enlighten　me。〃

〃You　have　heard　what　the　street　children　sing：

〃In　eight　and　nine　years　begins　decay；

Four　years；　then　es　the　fateful　day；

When　destiny　will　show　the　way；

And　the　dragon　flies　out　of　the　mire！

〃This　song　was　first　heard　when　the　new　reign　style　was　adopted。　The　first　line　was　fulfilled　when　Imperial　Protector　Liu　Biao　lost　his　first　wife；　and　when　his　family　troubles　began。　The　next　line　relates　to　the　approaching　death　of　Liu　Biao；　and　there　is　not　a　single　person　among　all　his　crowd　of　officers　who　has　the　least　ability。　The　last　two　lines　will　be　fulfilled　in　you；　General。〃

Liu　Bei　started　up　in　surprise；　crying；　〃How　could　such　a　thing　be？〃

Water　Mirror　continued；　〃At　this　moment　the　marvelously　clever　people　of　the　earth　are　all　here　and　you；　Sir；　ought　to　seek　them。〃

〃Where　are