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title of Prince Ch'ênliu; you are to proceed to Chinchingchung, where you will reside; you are forbidden to come to Court unless summoned."

Sadly Ts'ao Huan withdrew. The T'ai-fu Ssuma Fu wept before the deposed king and promised eternal devotion. "I have been a servant of Wei and will never turn my back upon the House," said he.

Ssuma Yen did not take this amiss, but offered him a princedom. He declined the offer.

The new Emperor was now seated in his place, and all the officers made their salutations and felicitated him. The very hills rang with "Wan shui! O King, live for ever!"

Thus succeeded Ssuma Yen, and the state was called Ta Chin and a new year-style was chosen, T'ai-Shih, or the "Great Beginning." An amnesty was declared.

The kingdom of Wei had ended.

The Founder of the Dynasty of Chin

Took Wei as model; thus the displaced king
Was named a prince, when on the terrace high
His throne he had renounced.

We grieve when we recall these deeds.

The new Emperor conferred posthumous rank upon his late father, Ssuma I, his uncle and his grandfather. He built seven temples in honour of his ancestors, dedicated to Ssuma Chun, Ssuma Liang, Ssuma Chien, Ssŭma Fang, Ssuma I, Ssŭma Shih and Ssuma Chao. All these, except his uncle, were in his own direct line of ancestry.

All these things being accomplished, Courts were held daily, and the one subject of discussion was the subjugation of Wu.

The House of Han has gone for aye,

And Wu will quickly follow.

The story of the attack upon Wu will be told next.

CHAPTER CXX.

A VETERAN OFFERS NEW PLANS;

SUN HAO SURRENDERS AND THE THREE STATES RE-UNITE.

When the King of Wu knew that the House of Wei had fallen

before the Chins he also knew that the usurper's next thought He then would be the conquest of his own land. The anxiety made him ill, so that he took to his bed and was like to die. summoned to his bedside Puyang Hsing, his First Minister, But they two came almost too late. and his heir Sun Ling. The dying ruler, with his last effort, took the minister by the hand, but could only point to his son. Then he died.

Puyang left the couch and called a meeting of the officers, whereat he proposed to place the heir on his father's throne. Then one Wan Yü rose and said the young prince was too youthful to rule in such troublous times, and he suggested instead Sun Hao, who stood in the direct line from Sun Ch‘üan. He was then Marquis of Wuch'êng. The General Chang Pu supported his election, saying he was able and prompt in decision. However, Puyang was doubtful and consulted the Empress Dowager.

"Settle this with the nobles," she replied; "I am a widow and know nothing of such matters."

Finally Sun Hao won the day, and in the seventh month he was enthroned as Emperor in Wu, and the first year of his reign was Yuan-Hsing (264 A.D.). The excluded prince was consoled with the title of Prince Yüchang. Posthumous rank was given to the late Emperor's father and mother. The veteran leader Ting Fêng was made Minister of War.

However, the year-style was changed to Kan-Lu the very next year.

The new ruler soon proved himself cruel and oppressive and He indulged in every form of vice day by day grew more so. and chose an eunuch as his confidant and favourite. When the Prime Minister and Chang Pu ventured upon remonstrance, Thereafter both, with all their family, were put to death. none dared to speak; the mouth of every courtier was "sewn up."

Another year-style, Pao-Ting, was adopted the next year, and the responsibility of the Prime Minister's office was shared by two officers, "the left" and "the right."

At this time the imperial residence was in Wuch'ang. The people of Yangchow refused tribute and suffered exceedingly. There was no limit to the ruler's extravagance; the treasury was swept clean and the income of the royal domain exhausted. At length Lu K'ai, "left," or senior, Prime Minister, ventured a memorial, saying, "No natural calamity has fallen upon the people, yet they starve; no public work is in progress, yet the treasury is empty. I am distressed. The country under the Hans has fallen apart and three states have arisen therefrom. Those ruled by the Ts'aos and the Lius, as the result of their own folly, have been lost in Chin. Foolish I may be, but I would protect the state for Your Majesty against the evils we have seen in the other divisions. This city of Wuch'ang is not safe as a royal residence. There is a rhyme. concerning it, the gist of which is that it is better to drink the water of Chienyeh than eat the fish of Wuch'ang, better to die in Chienyeh than to live in Wuch'ang. This shows the regard of the people as well as the will of Heaven. Now the public storehouses are nearly empty; they contain insufficient for a year's use. The officers of all grades vex and distress the people and none pity them.

"In former times the palace women numbered less than a hundred; for years past they have exceeded a thousand. This is an extravagant waste of treasure. The courtiers render no disinterested service, but are split into cliques and cabals. The honest are injured and the good driven away. All these things undermine the state and weaken the people. I beg Your Majesty to reduce the number of officers and remove grievances, to dismiss the palace women and select honest officers, to the joy of the people and the tranquillity of the state."

But the king was displeased, and showed his contempt for the minister's remonstrance by beginning to collect material for the building of a new palace to be called the "Chaoming Palace." He even made the officers of the court go into the forest to fell trees for the work.

The king called in the soothsayer Shang Kuang and bade him take the sortes and enquire as to the attainment of empire. The soothsayer replied that all was propitious and in the year kéng-tzu a black umbrella would enter Loyang. And the king was pleased.

He said to Hua Fu, "The former rulers listened to your words and sent captains to various points and placed defensive. camps along the rivers. And over all these was set Ting Fêng. Now my desire is to conquer Han and avenge the wrongs of my brother, the ruler of Shu. What place should be first conquered?"

Hua Fu replied, "Now that Ch'êngtu has fallen and the Throne there been overturned, Ssuma Yen will assuredly

desire to absorb this land. Your Majesty should display virtue and restore confidence to your people. That would be the best plan. If you engage in war it will be like throwing on hemp to put out a fire; the hemp only adds to the blaze. This is worthy of careful consideration."

But Sun Hao grew angry and said, "I desire to take this opportunity to return to my real heritage. Why do you employ this ill-omened language? Were it not for your long service, now would I slay you and expose your head as a warning."

He bade the lictors hustle the faithful minister from his presence, and Hua Fu left the court.

"It is pitiful," said he, "Ere long our beautiful country will pass to another." So he retired. And the king ordered Lu K‘ang, “Guardian of the East," to camp his army at Chiangk'ou in order to attack Hsiangyang.

Spies reported this in Loyang and it was told the King of Wei. When he heard that the army of Wu threatened to invade Hsiangyang he called a council, and Chia Ch'ung stood forth, saying, "I hear the government of Wu, under its present king, is devoid of virtue and the king has turned aside out of the road. Your Majesty should send Yang Hu to oppose this army, and when internal trouble shall arise let him attack, and victory will then be easy."

The king issued an edict ordering Yang Hu to prepare, and so he mustered his men and set himself to guard the district. Yang was very popular. Any of the men of Wu who desired to desert to the other side were allowed to come over. He employed only the fewest possible men on patrol duty. Instead he set his men to till the soil, and they cultivated an extensive area, whereby the hundred days' supplies with which they set out were soon increased to enough for ten years.

Yang maintained great simplicity, wearing the lightest of garments and no armour. His personal escort numbered only about a score.

One day his officers came to his tent to say that the spies reported great laxity in the enemy's camp, and they wished to attack.

But Yang replied, "You must not depise Lu K'ang, for he is able and crafty. Formerly his master sent him to attack Hsiling, and he slew Pu Shan and many of his captains. I could not save them. So long as he remains in command I shall remain on the defensive. I shall not attack till there be trouble and confusion among our enemies. To be rash and not await the proper moment to attack is to invite defeat."

They found him wise and said no more. They only kept the boundaries. One day Yang and his officers went out to hunt, and it happened that Lu had chosen the same day to hunt.

Yang gave strict orders not to cross the boundary, and so each hunted only on his own side. Lu was astonished at the enemy's scrupulous propriety. In the evening, after both parties had returned, Yang ordered an inspection of the slaughtered game and sent over to the other side any that seemed to have been first struck by the men of Wu.

Lu K'ang was greatly pleased and sent for the bearers of the game. "Does your leader drink wine?" asked he.

They replied, "Only on ceremonial occasions does he drink." "I have some very old wine," replied Lu, smiling, "and I will give of it to you to bear to your general as a gift. It is the wine I myself drink on ceremonial occasions, and he shall have half in return for to-day's courtesy."

They took the wine and left.

"Why do you give him wine?" asked Lu's officers.

"Because he has shown kindness, and I must return courtesy for courtesy."

When the gift of wine arrived and the bearers told Yang the story of their reception he laughed.

"So he knows I can drink," said he.

He had the jar opened, and the wine was poured out.

of his captains begged him to drink moderately lest there should be some harm come of it.

"Lu K'ang is no poisoner," replied the general.

And he drank. The friendly intercourse thus begun continued, and messengers frequently passed from one camp to the other.

One day the messengers said that Lu K'ang was unwell and had been ailing for several days.

"I think he suffers from the same complaint as I," said Yang, "I have some remedies ready prepared and will send him some."

The drugs were taken over to the other camp. But the sick man's officers were suspicious and said, "This medicine is surely harmful; it comes from the enemy."

Lu K'ang cried, "What! Think you that old Uncle Yang would poison a man? Do not doubt."

He drank the decoction. Next day he was much better, and when his staff came to congratulate him he said, "If he takes his stand upon virtue and we take ours upon violence, he will drag us after him without fighting. See to it that the boundaries be well kept and that we seek not to gain any unfair advantage.

Soon after came a special envoy from the King of Wu to urge upon his general prompt activity.

"Our Emperor sends orders for you to press forward," said the envoy. "You are not to await invasion."

"You may return and I will send up a memorial," replied the leader.

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