第276部分(第3/7 页)

ort。　Take　three　thousand　and　leave　two　thousand　as　guides　for　me。〃

Wang　Guan；　thinking　that　suspicions　would　be　raised　if　he　refused；　took　the　three　thousand　of　his　troops　and　marched　away；　and　the　other　two　thousand　were　attached　to　the　army　of　Shu。

Then　Xiahou　Ba　was　announced；　and；　when　he　was　e　in；　he　said；　〃O　mander；　why　have　you　believed　the　tale　of　this　Wang　Guan？　In　Wei　I　never　heard　that　Wang　Guan　was　related　to　Wang　Jing；　though　it　is　true　I　never　made　particular　inquiries。　You　should　look　to　it；　for　there　is　much　pretense　in　his　story。〃

〃I　know　Wang　Guan　is　false；〃　said　Jiang　Wei；　with　a　smile。　〃That　is　why　I　have　taken　away　many　of　his　force。　I　am　meeting　trick　with　trick。〃

〃How　do　you　know　for　certain　he　is　a　false？〃

〃Sima　Zhao　is　as　crafty　as　Cao　Cao。　If　he　slew　all　Wang　Jing's　family；　would　he　have　left　a　nephew　and　sent　that　nephew　to　the　pass　beyond　his　own　reach　with　soldiers？　You　saw　this；　as　did　I。〃

So　Jiang　Wei　did　not　go　out　by　the　Xie　Valley；　but　he　set　an　ambush　there　ready　for　any　move　of　Wang　Guan。　And　indeed；　within　ten　days；　the　ambush　caught　a　man　with　a　letter　from　Wang　Guan　to　Deng　Ai　telling　him　what　had　e　about。　From　the　letter　and　the　bearer　thereof；　Jiang　Wei　learned　that　Wang　Guan　would　divert　a　convoy　of　grain　to　the　Wei　camps　on　the　twentieth　and　Deng　Ai　was　to　send　troops　to　Yunshan　Valley　to　help。

Jiang　Wei　beheaded　the　courier。　Then　he　sent　another　letter　to　Deng　Ai　by　a　man　dressed　as　a　Wei　soldier；　the　date　being　altered　to　the　fifteenth　instead　of　the　twentieth。

As　a　preparation；　Jiang　Wei　ordered　many　wagons　to　be　emptied　of　their　grain　and　laden　with　inflammables；　covered　with　green　cloth。　The　two　thousand　Wei　soldiers　were　ordered　to　show　flags　belonging　to　the　Shu　tra