第10部分(第1/7 頁)

Alas！　I　am　left　alone　with　the　grief　in　my　heart。〃

When　they　had　sung　these　lines；　they　fell　weeping　into　each　others'　arms。

〃The　Prime　Minister　is　awaiting　my　report；〃　said　Li　Ru；　〃and　you　delay　too　long。　Think　you　that　there　is　any　hope　of　succor？〃

The　Empress　broke　into　another　fit　of　railing；　〃The　rebel　forces　us　to　death；　mother　and　son；　and　Heaven　has　abandoned　us。　But　you；　the　tool　of　his　crime；　will　assuredly　perish！〃

Thereupon　Li　Ru　grew　more　angry；　laid　hands　on　the　Empress　and　threw　her　out　of　the　window。　Then　he　bade　the　soldiers　strangle　Lady　Tang　and　forced　the　lad　to　swallow　the　wine　of　death。

Li　Ru　reported　the　achievement　to　his　master　who　bade　them　bury　the　victims　without　the　city。　After　this　Dong　Zhuo's　behavior　was　more　atrocious　than　before。　He　spent　his　nights　in　the　Palace；　defiled　the　imperial　concubines　there；　and　even　slept　on　the　Dragon　Couch。

Once　he　led　his　soldiers　out　of　the　city　to　Yangcheng　when　the　villagers；　men　and　women；　were　assembled　from　all　sides　for　the　annual　spring　festival。　His　troops　surrounded　the　place　and　plundered　it。　They　took　away　booty　by　the　cart　loads；　and　women　prisoners　and　more　than　one　thousand　severed　heads。　The　procession　returned　to　Capital　Luoyang　and　published　a　story　that　they　had　obtained　a　great　victory　over　some　rebels。　They　burned　the　heads　beneath　the　walls；　and　the　women　and　jewelry　were　shared　out　among　the　soldiers。

A　general　named　Wu　Fu　was　disgusted　at　this　ferocity　and　sought　a　chance　to　slay　Dong　Zhuo。　Wu　Fu　constantly　wore　a　breastplate　underneath　his　court　dress　and　carried　in　conceal　a　sharp　dagger。　One　day　when　Dong　Zhuo　came　to　court；　Wu　Fu　met　him　on　the　steps　and　tried　to　stab　him。　But　Dong　Zhuo　was　a　very　powerful　man　and　held　Wu　Fu