第278部分(第4/7 页)

esent；　and　they　turned　pale。

Sima　Zhao　said；　〃It　is　six　years　since　I　conquered　the　east；　and　the　six　years　have　been　spent　in　preparation。　I　have　long　intended　to　reduce　both　Wu　and　Shu。　Now　I　will　destroy　Shu；　and　then　like　a　flood　I　will　descend　upon　Wu　and　conquer　that。　That　is　the　method　'destroy　Guo　to　capture　Yu'。　I　can　tell　very　nearly　what　forces　they　have　in　Shu。　There　are　eighty　or　ninety　thousand　troops　in　the　garrison　of　Capital　Chengdu；　forty　or　fifty　thousand　on　the　frontier；　while　Jiang　Wei　has　about　sixty　thousand　in　his　cantonments。　Against　them　we　can　pit　one　hundred　thousand　troops　beyond　the　pass　under　Deng　Ai；　enough　to　hold　Jiang　Wei　and　keep　him　from　moving　east；　and　Zhong　Hui　has　two　or　three　hundred　thousand　veterans　within　the　pass。　And　they　will　march　in　three　divisions　through　Luo　Valley　and　straight　into　Hanzhong。　Liu　Shan；　the　Ruler　of　Shu；　is　an　oblivious　fool　with　his　frontier　cities　in　ruins；　the　populace　and　officials　quaking　with　fear。　The　state　will　not　last　long。〃

The　assembly　praised　this　perspicacity。

Zhong　Hui　marched　as　soon　as　he　received　his　seal　of　office。　Lest　his　real　object　should　be　known；　he　gave　out　that　his　force　was　directed　against　Wu。　To　give　color　to　the　pretense；　he　had　many　large　ships　built　in　Qingzhou；　Yanzhou；　Yuzhou；　Jingzhou；　and　Yangzhou。　He　also　sent　Tang　Zi　along　the　coastal　regions　of　Dengzhou　and　Laizhou　to　collect　vessels。

Even　his　chief；　Sima　Zhao；　was　deceived　and　called　him　to　ask：　〃I　manded　you　to　invade　the　Riverlands　by　land　march。　Why　are　you　collecting　ships？〃

Zhong　Hui　replied；　〃If　Shu　hears　that　we　intend　to　attack　the　west；　they　will　ask　assistance　from　Wu。　So　I　pretend　to　attack　Wu；　and　Wu　will　not　dare　to　move　under　a　year。　When　Shu　is　beaten；　the　ships　w