Page:Romance of the Three Kingdoms - tr. Brewitt-Taylor - Volume 1.djvu/208



hia Hsü, as he had guessed the enemy’s intention, had also devised a counter-move. So he went to his chief and said, “I saw Ts‘ao Ts‘ao very carefully reconnoitring round about the city and he certainly noticed that the south-east angle of the wall had been lately restored with mud bricks of a different kind and that the abatis is badly out of repair. He will try to effect an entrance there. Wherefore he is making a feint attack at the opposite point. He is piling up straw and making ostentatious preparations whereby to cajole us into withdrawing from the real point of attack to defend the north-west. His men will scale the walls in the darkness and try to enter at the south-east.”

“Supposing your surmise correct, what do you advise?” asked Chang Hsiu.

“The counter-move is plain. You issue an order for our best and bravest soldiers to fill their bellies, to take only the lightest outfit and conceal themselves in the houses near the south-east. Then disguise the townspeople as soldiers and send them to pretend to defend the north-west. To-night we will let the enemy climb up the walls and enter the city and, once they are fairly within, give the signal and the concealed soldiers will rush out upon them. We may even capture Ts‘ao Ts‘ao himself.”

The stratagem was decided upon. Soon the scouts told Ts‘ao that the defenders of the city had moved to the north-west where noisy preparations for defence were going on. The opposite corner was left undefended.

“They have fallen into my trap,” said Ts‘ao Ts‘ao gleefully.

They prepared shovels and hooks and all the gear needed for scaling walls, and all day they kept up the attack on the north-west angle.

But at the second watch they despatched the veterans to the opposite corner, where they climbed the wall, broke up the abatis and got into the city apparently without disturbing any of the guards. There was no sign of life anywhere as they entered. But just as they were leaving the wall suddenly a bomb exploded and they found themselves in an ambush. They turned to retire, but Chang Hsiu immediately fell on the rear.