Page:Romance of the Three Kingdoms - tr. Brewitt-Taylor - Volume 1.djvu/367

 was seventeen li. The Fushui stream ran beside the camp. He ordered his men to collect firewood and grass ready for the blaze he intended to make at night as his signal. He also sent Li Fu, a civil officer, disguised as an officer of Ts‘ao Ts‘ao’s army, to inform Shên P‘ei of his intentions.

Fu reached the city wall safely and called out to the guards to open. Shên P‘ei recognised his voice and let him in. Thus Shën P‘ei knew of the arrangements for his relief and it was agreed that a blaze should be raised within the city so that the sortie could be simultaneous with Shang’s attack. Orders were given to collect inflammables.

Then said Fu, “As your food supply is short it would be well for the old men, the feeble soldiers and the women to surrender. This will come upon them as a surprise and we will send the soldiers out behind them.”

Shên P‘ei promised to do all this and next day they hoisted on the wall a white flag with the words “The populace of Ch‘ichou surrender” on it.

“Ho ho! This means no food,” said Ts‘ao. “They are sending away the non-combatants to escape feeding them. And the soldiers will follow behind them.”

So on two sides he laid an ambush of three companies while he went near the wall in full state. Presently the gates were opened and out came the people supporting their aged folk and leading their little ones by the hand. Each carried a white flag. As soon as the people had passed the gate the soldiers followed with a rush.

Then Ts‘ao Ts‘ao showed a red flag and the ambushed soldiers fell upon the sortie. The men tried to return and Ts‘ao’s men made a direct attack. The chase continued to the drawbridge, but there they met with a tremendous shower of arrows and crossbow bolts which checked the advance. Ts‘ao’s helmet was struck and the crest carried away.

So the men retired. As soon as Ts‘ao had changed his dress and mounted a fresh horse he set out at the head of the army to attack Yüan Shang’s camp.

Yüan Shang led the defence. The attack came simultaneously from many directions, the defenders were quite disorganised and presently defeated. Shang led his men back by the hills and made a camp under their shelter. Thence he sent messengers to urge Ma Yen and Chang K‘ai to bring up the supports. He did not know that Ts‘ao had sent the two Lüs to persuade these two into surrender and that they had already passed under Ts‘ao’s banner, and he had made them marquises.

Just before going to attack the Western Hills he sent the two Lüs with Ma Yen and Chang K‘ai to seize the source of Yüan Shang’s supplies. Shang had realised he could not hold the hills so he went by night to Ik‘ou. Before he could get camped he saw flaring lights springing up all around him and