Page:Leaves from my Chinese Scrapbook - Balfour, 1887.djvu/21

 and Chou, he persuaded himself that the treaty he had formerly concluded with the King of Chao was not sufficiently favourable to his own interests to be allowed to stand. He therefore recommenced operations against this state by attempting to gain possession of Yen-yü, a town situated at some distance from Han-tan, the capital of his rival's kingdom. This place, although in an outlying district, was deemed worthy of preservation by the King of Chao, and a general named Chao Chih was forthwith despatched with a large army to its relief. On his arrival, however, at the scene of action, he found that it had already been invested by the enemy; and the invading general, on hearing of his approach, immediately decided to give battle. A short but decisive engagement took place, which, owing to good generalship on the part of the Chao commander, ended in the forces of Ts'in being entirely routed. The siege was raised, and the army of Chao Hsiang Wang ignominiously put to flight. But this defeat, though unexpected, did but little to weaken the growing power of Ts'in; and the King of Wei, who had been subdued but a short time previously, thought it prudent to avail himself of its temporary repulse to form a defensive alliance with the King of Tsi. For this purpose he deputed a man named Hsü Chia as his ambassador, accompanied by the philosopher Fan Tsu. The envoys received an honourable welcome at the court of Tsi, the King being so struck with the wisdom and prudent conversation of Fan Tsü that he presented him with a quantity of gold on his departure. This so excited the jealousy of Hsü Chia, who had received no such mark of favour, that on his return to the court of Wei he denounced his colleague as a traitor, representing the present he had received