第75部分(第1/7 頁)

So　Shen　Pei　left　the　army。　Then　a　force　of　twenty　thousand　troops　was　told　off　to　defend　the　depot　in　Wuchao。　The　leaders　of　this　body　were　Chunyu　Qiong；　Gui　Yuanjin；　Han　Juzi；　Lu　Weihuang；　and　Zhao　Rui。

Of　these　generals；　Chunyu　Qiong　was　a　hard　man　and　a　heavy　drinker；　who　in　his　cups　was　a　terror　to　the　soldiers。　Under　the　idle　life　of　guarding　the　supply　depot；　the　leaders　gave　themselves　up　to　indulgence　and　drank　heavily。

In　Cao　Cao's　army　food　was　also　getting　scarce；　and　a　message　was　sent　to　Capital　Xuchang　to　send　grain　quickly。　The　messenger　with　the　letter；　however；　had　not　gone　far　when　he　fell　into　the　hands　of　Yuan　Shao's　guards；　who　took　him　to　the　adviser　Xu　You。

Seeing　from　the　letter　that　Cao　Cao　was　short　of　supplies；　Xu　You　went　to　Yuan　Shao　and　told　him；　saying；　〃Cao　Cao　and　we　have　been　at　grips　here　for　a　long　time；　and　Capital　Xuchang　must　be　undefended。　A　small　army　sent　quickly　could　take　it；　and　at　the　same　moment　an　attack　here　would　deliver　Cao　Cao　into　our　hands。　Now　is　the　moment　to　strike；　for　his　supplies　are　short。〃

Yuan　Shao　replied；　〃Cao　Cao　is　full　of　ruses；　and　this　letter　is　artfully　designed　to　bring　about　a　battle　to　suit　himself。〃

〃If　you　do　not　take　this　chance；　he　will　do　you　some　injury　by　and　by。〃

Just　at　this　juncture　in　came　a　dispatch　from　Yejun　in　which；　after　some　details　regarding　the　forwarding　of　grain；　Shen　Pei　said　he　had　discovered　that　Xu　You　had　been　in　the　habit　of　receiving　bribes　while　in　Jizhou　and　had　winked　at　his　relatives　collecting　excess　taxes。　One　of　his　son　and　nephew　were　then　in　prison。

At　this　Yuan　Shao　turned　on　Xu　You　angrily　and　said；　〃How　can　you　have　the　face　to　stand　before　me　and　propose　plans；　you　extortionate　fellow？　You　and　Cao　Cao　ha