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Now Ho Yen heard of Kuan Lu's great skill in divination and sent to him in P‘ingyuan to invite him to take the sortes on his account. When the soothsayer arrived, Têng Yang was of the company to meet him, and he said to Kuan, "You call yourself a skilful diviner, but your speech does not resemble the language of the Book of Changes. How is that?"

Kuan replied, "An interpreter does not use the language of the original."

Ho laughed, saying, "Certainly good words are not wearisome. But cast a lot for me, and tell me whether I shall ever arrive at the highest dignity or not, for I have dreamed repeatedly that many black flies settled on my nose."

Kuan replied, "Yüan K'ai aided Shun; Duke Chou assisted Chou; both these were kindly and modest and enjoyed great happiness. You, Sir, have come to high honours and wield great powers, but those who esteem you are few and those who fear you, many. You are not careful to walk in the way of good fortune. Now the nose is an eminence. If an eminence retains its characteristic, thereby it remains in honour. But is it not that black flies gather to foul objects and the lofty fears a fall? I would wish you to give of your abundance for the good of the poor and avoid walking in the wrong road. Then indeed may you reach the highest dignity, and the black flies will disperse.'

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"This is mere senile gossip," said Têng.

"The gift of age is to see that which is yet to come; the gift of gossip is to perceive what is not said," replied Kuan. Thereupon he shook out his sleeves and went away. "He is very mad, really," said his two hosts.

Kuan Lu went home. When he saw his uncle he gave him an account of the interview. His uncle was alarmed at the probable consequences, and said, "Why did you anger them? They are too powerful for you to offend."

"What is there to fear? I have been talking to two dead men."

"What do you mean?"

"Têng Yang's gait is that of one whose sinews are loosed from his bones, and his pulse is unsteady. When he would stand he totters as a man without limbs. This is the aspect

of a disembodied soul. Ho Yen looks as if his soul was about to quit its habitation. He is bloodless, and what should be solid in him is mere vapour. He looks like rotten wood. This is the aspect of a soul even now in the dark valley. Both these men will certainly soon die a violent death, and none need fear them."

His uncle left, cursing him for a madman.

Ts'ao Shuang and his five friends were devoted to the chase and were often out of the city. Ts'ao Hsi, a brother of Shuang's, remonstrated with him about this and pointed out

the dangers of such frequent absence on these excursions. "You are in an exalted position and yet you are constantly going out hunting. If anyone took advantage of this to work you evil you might have cause to be exceedingly regretful.”

Ts'ao Shuang only showed anger, and replied, "The whole military authority is in my hands and what is there to fear?" Huan Fan, then Minister of Agriculture, also reasoned with him, but he would not listen.

About this time the style of the reign was changed to ChiaP'ing.

Now ever since Ts'ao had enjoyed the monopoly of military authority he had never heard the truth about the state of health of the man he had manoeuvred out of power. But when a certain Li Shêng was appointed to the governorship of Ch'ingchou he bade him go to take leave of Ssŭma I, at the same time to find out the true state of his rival's health.

So Li proceeded to the residence of the T'ai-fu and was announced. Ssuma saw through the device at once and told his sons the real reason of this visit, and bade them play their parts in the scene he arranged before the visitor was admitted. He threw aside his head-dress, so letting his hair fall in disorder, stretched himself upon his couch, tumbled the bedding into confusion, got a couple of slave girls to support him, and then told his servants to lead in the visitor.

Li came in and went up to the sick man, saying, "It is a long time since I have seen you, and I did not know you were so seriously ill. His Majesty is sending me to Ch'ingchou, and I have come to pay my respects to you and bid you farewell." "Ah; Pingchou is in the north; you will have to be very careful there," said Ssuma feigning that he had not heard. "I am going as Governor of Ch'ingchou, not Pingchou," said Li.

"Oh, you have just come from Pingchou."

"Ch'ingchou, in Shantung."

"Just back from Ch'ingchou, eh?" said Ssuma, smiling. "How very ill the T'ai-fu is!" said Li Shêng to the servants. "The T'ai-fu is deaf," said they.

"Give me paper and a pen," said Li.

Writing materials were brought, when Li wrote what he wished to say and put it before his host.

"My illness has made me very deaf; take care of yourself on the way," said Ssŭma.

Looking up, he pointed to his mouth. One of the girls brought some broth and held the cup for him to drink. He put his lips to the cup, at spilled the broth all over his dress.

"I am very weak and ill," said he, "and may die at any moment. My sons are but poor things, but you will instruct them, and when you see the general you will remember them, will you not?"

At this point he fell back on the couch, panting, and Li took his leave. He told his patron what he had seen, and Ts'ao Shuang rejoiced, thinking his rival could not last long.

"If the old man died, I should not be the one to grieve," said he.

But no sooner had Li gone than Ssuma rose from his couch and said to his sons, "Li Shêng will take a full account of this to his patron, who will not fear me any more. But wait till he goes on his next hunting trip, and we will see what can be done."

Soon after this, Ts'ao Shuang proposed to the king to visit the tomb of his father and perform the filial sacrifices in person. So they went, a goodly company in the train of the imperial chariot, and Ts'ao Shuang with all his brothers and his friends went with the guards. Ts'ao's friend Huan entreated him to remain in the city for fear of plots and risings, but Ts'ao asked angrily and rudely who would dare make trouble, and bade him hold his tongue. And he went with the king.

His departure rejoiced the heart of Ssuma, who at once began quietly to muster his trusty friends and henchmen and put the finishing touches to the plot for the overthrow of his rival.

Now terminates his forced inaction,
He must destroy the hostile faction.

Ts'ao Shung's fate will appear in the next chapter.

CHAPTER CVII.

SSUMA I RECOVERS POLITICAL POWER;

CHIANG WEI IS DEFEATED AT NIUT'OU HILLS.

The Ssumas were very pleased to hear that their rival and

his party were to follow the king on a visit to the tombs combined with a hunt, for it meant that the whole enemy faction left the city. As soon as they left, Ssuma entered, gave the minister Kao Jou provisional command of the army and sent him to seize the camp of Ts'ao Shuang. His brother's camp was also occupied. Having secured his position thus, he and his supporters went to the palace of the Empress Dowager and said to her, "Ts'ao Shuang has betrayed the trust placed in him by the late Emperor and has ruined the government. His fault must be expiated."

She replied, "What can be done in the absence of His Majesty?"

"I have prepared plans for the destruction of these base ministers and will see to it that no trouble happens to yourself."

The Empress was much alarmed, but could only act as she was directed and agree. So two of Ssuma's supporters copied out the memorial he had prepared and it was sent to the king by the hand of an eunuch. Then the arsenals were seized.

Soon the news of the rising came to the knowledge of the family of Ts'ao Shuang, and his wife came out from the inner apartments and summoned the captain of the guard to enquire into the truth of the rumours. He told her that she need feel no alarm and he would go and see. Thereupon the captain P'an Chu, at the head of a few bowmen, went up on the wall and looked around. At that moment Ssuma was crossing the court, and P'an bade his men shoot. But one of his officers reminded him that the T'ai-fu was one of the highest officers of state.

"You must not shoot at the T'ai-fu; he is on public service." Thrice he urged his chief not to let the men shoot, and so P'an desisted. Ssuma went across guarded by his son Shao. Then he went out of the city and camped on the Lo River at the floating bridge.

When the revolution began, one of Ts'ao Shuang's officers, Ssuma Lu-chih by name, took counsel with his subordinate Hsin Ch'ang.

"Now that this revolt has begun, what should we do?" "Let us go to the king with what troops we have," replied Hsin.

"Perhaps the best course," replied Lu-chih, and he went to his own house to get ready to start. There he met his sister, Hsien-ying, who asked the meaning of all this haste.

"His Majesty is out on a hunt and the T'ai-fu has closed the gates of the city. This is rebellion."

"I do not think so. He only means to slay Ts'ao Shuang, his rival," replied she.

"Why should he desire to do that?" asked her brother, sharply.

"Ts'ao Shuang is no match for the T'ai-fu," replied she. "If Ssuma asks us to join him, should we?" asked Hsin. Hsien-ying replied, "You know what a true man should do. When a man is in danger there is the greater need for sympathy. To be of his men and desert in an emergency is the greatest of evils."

This speech decided Hsin, who went with Ssuma Lu-chih. At the head of a few horsemen they forced the gate and got out of the city. When their escape was reported to Ssuma I he thought that Huan Fan would surely try to follow their example, so he sent to call him. However, on the advice of his son, Huan did not answer the summons, but decided to flee. He got into his carriage and drove hastily to the P'ingchang Gate.

But the gate was dependant of Huan's.

barred.

The warden was an old Huan pulled out from his sleeve a slip of bamboo and said, "The Empress's command; open the gate for me."

"Let me look," said the warden.

"What! How dare you, an old servant of mine, behave thus?"

The warden let him pass. As soon as he had got outside he shouted to the warden, "Ssŭma I has raised a revolt, and you had better follow me."

The warden realised that he had made a mistake, and ran after Huan, but failed to come up with him.

"So Bag o' Wisdom has got away too; that is a pity, but what can we do?" said Ssŭma, when they reported the escape. "The old horse always hankers after the old stable and manger, and he would have been useless to us," replied Chiang Chi.

Then Ssuma called to him Hsü Yün and Ch'ên T'ai and said, "Go ye to Ts'ao Shuang and say that I have no other intention than to take away the military power from him and his brother."

As soon as they had left, he called Yin Ta-mu and ordered Chiang Chi prepare a letter to be taken to Ts'ao Shuang.

Said Ssuma, "You are on good terms with the man and are the fittest person for this mission. Tell him that Chiang Chi and I are concerned solely with the military powers in the

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