第274部分(第6/7 页)

i　had　hurried　on　Zheng　Lun　to　make　the　first　attack。　As　Zheng　Lun　turned　the　corner　of　the　hill；　a　bomb　exploded。　At　once　the　drums　rolled　and　an　ambush　discovered　itself。　Liao　Hua　was　in　mand。　Neither　side　stayed　to　parley；　and　the　leaders　engaged　in　single　bat。　In　the　first　encounter　Liao　Hua　cut　Zheng　Lun　down。

Deng　Ai　had　not　expected　such　preparation；　and　he　hastened　to　withdraw。　Then　Zhang　Yi　came　forth　and　attacked　on　the　other　side。　The　army　of　Wei　was　worsted。　Deng　Ai　fought　his　way　out；　but　he　bore　four　arrow　wounds　upon　his　body。　He　got　to　the　river；　where　he　found　Sima　Wang；　and　they　discussed　how　to　get　away。

But　Sima　Wang　proposed　another　form　of　attack。

〃Recently　the　Ruler　of　Shu　has　had　a　favorite；　Eunuch　Huang　Hao；　in　whom　he　places　all　his　trust　and　with　whom　he　spends　his　time　in　one　round　of　pleasure。　Let　us　use　the　eunuch　to　sow　distrust　between　the　Emperor　and　his　general　and　so　get　Jiang　Wei　recalled。　In　that　way　we　shall　retrieve　our　defeat。〃

So　Deng　Ai　assembled　his　advisers　and　asked　who　could　go　into　Shu　and　get　into　munication　with　Huang　Hao。

Dang　Jun　volunteered　at　once。　Deng　Ai　entrusted　gold　and　pearls　and　precious　things　to　him；　and　sent　him　into　Shu　to　win　the　treacherous　alliance　of　the　eunuch。　As　Dang　Jun　went；　he　also　disseminated　reports　that　Jiang　Wei　was　angry　and　intended　to　go　over　to　Wei。

These　rumors　became　the　mon　talk　in　Chengdu；　and　everyone　believed　them。　Huang　Hao　carried　them　to　the　Emperor；　and　a　messenger　was　sent　to　call　the　general　to　the　capital。

Meanwhile　Jiang　Wei　tried　every　day　to　bring　the　enemy　to　give　battle；　but　they　remained　obstinately　behind　their　defenses。　Jiang　Wei　began　to　think　some　evil　scheme　was　afoot；　when　suddenly　he　was　recalled　by　Imperial　Edict。