Page:Romance of the Three Kingdoms - tr. Brewitt-Taylor - Volume 1.djvu/223

 Lü Pu hesitated, and for three days made no move. Then Ch‘ên Kung came to see him again and said, “The enemy are all round the city and unless you go out soon you will be quite hemmed in.”

“I am thinking it would be better to maintain a stubborn defence,” said Lu.

“Our enemies are short of food and have sent for supplies to Hsütu. These will soon arrive and you should go out with some veterans and intercept the convoy. That loss would be a heavy blow.”

Lü Pu agreed and went in to tell his wife the new plan. She wept saying, “If you go do you think those others equal to the defence of the city? Should anything go wrong you would be very sorry. You abandoned me at Ch‘angan and it was only through the fortunate kindness of P‘ang Hsü that I was hidden from our enemies and rejoined you. Who would have thought you would leave me again? But go, go your way as far as you wish, and do not mind your wife?”

And she wept bitterly. Lü Pu very sadly went to take leave of Little Cicada who said, “You are my lord, you must not be careless and ride out alone.”

“You need not fear; with my mighty halberd and the Hare, my swift steed, who dare come near me?”

He went out. He met Ch‘ên Kung and said, “That story about supplies for Ts‘ao Ts‘ao is all false, one of his many ruses. I am not going to stir.”

Ch‘ên Kung sighed; he felt all was lost.

“We shall die and no man shall know our burying place,” said he.

Thereupon Lü Pu remained in his own quarters with his women folk, drinking freely to dissipate his sorrows. Two of his advisers went in and proposed that he should write to the powerful Yüan Shu for help. Yüan would hardly refuse to rescue the affianced bride of his son. So he wrote and bade these two take the letter.

Hsü Ssŭ said, “You ought to send a strong escort with us to force a way through.”

So Lü told off a company and two captains to conduct his messenger beyond the pass. They started that same night at the second watch, Chang Liao leading and Ho Ming bringing up the rear. They got out of the city, crept past Yüan-te’s camp and got beyond the danger zone. Then half the escort went on and Chang Liao led the remainder back toward the city. At the pass he found Yün-ch‘ang waiting. However, at that moment Kao Shun came to his help and they all returned and re-entered the gates.

The two messengers presently reached Shouchʻun, saw Yüan Shu and presented the letter.