Page:Romance of the Three Kingdoms - tr. Brewitt-Taylor - Volume 1.djvu/46

 eunuchs would resemble lighting up a furnace to burn a hair. But act promptly; use your powers and smite at once and all the Empire will be with you. But to summon forces to the capital, to gather many bold men into one spot, each with his own schemes, is to turn one’s weapons against one’s own person, to place one’s self in the power of another. Nothing but failure can come of it, nothing but confusion.”

“The view of a mere book-worm,” said Ho with a smile.

Then one of those about him suddenly clapped his hands, crying

“It is as easy as turning over one’s hand! why so much talk?”

The speaker was Ts‘ao Ts‘ao.

What Ts‘ao Ts‘ao said will be disclosed in later chapters.