more　to　hope　for。　Were　it　not　for　poor　me；　I　know　not　how　many　there　would　be　styling　themselves　emperors　and　dubbing　themselves　princes。　Certain　there　be　who；　seeing　my　great　authority；　think　I　have　some　ulterior　aim。　But　they　are　quite　wrong。　I　ever　bear　in　mind　what　Confucius　said　of　King　Wen　of　Zhou*；　that　he　was　perfectly　virtuous；　and　this　saying　is　ever　engraved　on　my　mind。　If　I　could；　I　would　do　away　with　my　armies　and　retire　to　my　fief　with　my　simple　title　of　Lord　of　Wuping。　Alas！　I　cannot。　I　am　afraid　to　lay　down　my　military　powers　lest　I　should　e　to　harm。　Should　I　be　defeated；　the　state　would　totter；　and　so　I　may　not　risk　real　misfortune　for　the　sake　of　an　empty　reputation　for　kindness。　There　be　some　of　you　who　do　not　know　my　heart。〃

As　he　closed；　they　all　rose　and　bowed　their　heads；　saying；　〃None　are　your　equals；　O　Prime　Minister；　not　even　Duke　of　Zhou*　or　the　great　Minister　Yi　Yin*。〃

A　poem　has　been　written　referring　to　this：

Had　Duke　Zhou；　the　virtuous；　died；　while　foul…mouthed　slander

was　spreading　vile　rumors；

Or　Wang　Mang；　the　treacherous；　while　he　was　noted　for　the

deference　paid　to　learned　men；

None　would　have　known　their　real　characters。

After　this　oration　Cao　Cao　drank　many　cups　of　wine　in　quick　succession　till　he　became　very　intoxicated。　He　bade　his　servants　bring　him　brush　and　inkstone　so　that　he　might　pose　a　poem。

But　as　he　was　beginning　to　write；　they　announced；　〃The　Marquis　of　Wu　has　sent　Hua　Xin　as　an　envoy　and　presented　a　memorial　to　appoint　Liu　Bei　Imperial　Protector　of　Jingzhou。　Sun　Quan's　sister　is　now　Liu　Bei's　wife；　while　on　the　River　Han；　the　greater　part　of　the　nine　territories　is　under　Liu　Bei's　rule。〃

Cao　Cao　was　seized　with　quaking　fear　at　the　news　and　threw　the　p