d　Sun　Ce　insisted　on　seeing　and　questioning　him。

〃Cao　Cao　fears　you；　my　lord；　very　greatly；〃　said　Zhang　Hong；　〃and　his　advisers　have　exceeding　respect　for　you………all　except　Guo　Jia。〃

〃What　did　Guo　Jia　say？〃　asked　the　sick　chieftain。

Zhang　Hong　remained　silent；　which　only　irritated　his　master　and　caused　him　to　demand　to　be　told。　So　Zhang　Hong　had　to　speak　the　truth。

He　said；　〃The　fact　is　Guo　Jia　told　Cao　Cao　that　he　needed　not　fear　you；　that　you　were　frivolous　and　unready；　impulsive　and　shallow；　just　a　stupid　swaggerer　who　would　one　day　e　to　his　death　at　the　hands　of　some　mean　person。〃

This　provoked　the　sick　man　beyond　endurance。

〃The　fool；　how　dare　he　say　this　of　me？〃　cried　Sun　Ce。　〃I　will　take　Xuchang　from　Cao　Cao；　I　swear。〃

It　was　no　more　a　question　of　repose。　Ill　as　he　was；　he　wanted　to　begin　preparations　for　an　expedition　at　once。　They　remonstrated　with　him；　reminded　him　of　the　physician's　orders　and　urged　him　to　rest。

〃You　are　risking　your　priceless　self　in　a　moment's　anger；〃　said　Zhang　Zhao。

Then　arrived　Chen　Zhen；　the　messenger　from　Yuan　Shao；　and　Sun　Ce　would　have　him　brought　in。

He　said；　〃My　master　wishes　to　ally　himself　with　the　South　Land　in　an　attack　on　Cao　Cao。〃

Such　a　proposal　was　just　after　Sun　Ce's　heart。　At　once　he　called　a　great　meeting　of　his　officers　in　the　wall　tower　and　prepared　a　banquet　in　honor　of　the　messenger。　While　this　was　in　progress；　Sun　Ce　noticed　many　of　his　officers　whispering　to　each　other；　and　they　all　began　to　go　down　from　the　banquet　chamber。　He　could　not　understand　this　and　inquired　of　the　attendants　near　him　what　it　meant。

They　told　him；　〃Saint　Yu　Ji　has　just　gone　by；　and　the　officers　have　gone　down　to　pay　their　respects　to　him。〃

Sun　Ce　rose