第107部分(第2/7 页)

ttle　his　doubts。〃

So　the　war　party　left。　They　were　quickly　succeeded　by　Zhuge　Jin；　Lu　Fan；　and　their　faction。

They　were　brought　in　and；　after　the　usual　courtesies；　Zhuge　Jin　said；　〃My　brother　has　e　down　the　river　saying　that　Liu　Bei　desires　to　ally　himself　with　our　lord　against　Cao　Cao。　The　civil　and　military　hold　different　opinions　as　to　the　course　to　be　pursued。　But　as　my　brother　is　so　deeply　concerned；　I　am　unwilling　to　say　much　on　either　side。　We　are　awaiting　your　decision。〃

〃And　what　do　you　think　about　it？〃　asked　Zhou　Yu。

〃Submission　is　an　easy　road　to　tranquillity；　while　the　result　of　war　is　hard　to　foretell。〃

Zhou　Yu　smiled；　〃I　shall　have　my　mind　made　up。　e　tomorrow　to　the　palace；　and　the　decision　shall　be　announced。〃

The　trimmers　took　their　leave。　But　soon　after　came　Lu　Meng；　Gan　Ning；　and　their　supporters；　also　desirous　of　discussing　the　same　thing；　and　they　told　him　that　opinions　differed　greatly；　some　being　for　peace　and　others　for　war。　One　party　constantly　disputed　with　the　other。

〃I　must　not　say　much　now；〃　replied　Zhou　Yu；　〃but　you　will　see　tomorrow　in　the　palace；　when　the　matter　will　be　fully　debated。〃

They　went　away　leaving　Zhou　Yu　smiling　cynically。

About　eventide　Lu　Su　and　Zhuge　Liang　came；　and　Zhou　Yu　went　out　to　the　main　gate　to　receive　them。

When　they　had　taken　their　proper　seats；　Lu　Su　spoke　first；　saying；　〃Cao　Cao　has　e　against　the　South　Land　with　a　huge　army。　Our　master　cannot　decide　whether　to　submit　or　give　battle　and　waits　for　your　decision。　What　is　your　opinion？〃

Zhou　Yu　replied；　〃We　may　not　oppose　Cao　Cao　when　he　acts　at　the　mand　of　the　Emperor。　Moreover；　he　is　very　strong；　and　to　attack　him　is　to　take　serious　risks。　In　my　opinion；　opposition　would　mean　defeat　and；　s