ur　noble　father；　it　was　owing　to　the　vicious　nature　of　Zhang　Kai　and　due　to　no　fault　of　Tao　Qian。　Now　while　the　remnant　of　the　Yellow　Scarves　is　disturbing　the　lands；　and　Dong　Zhuo's　partisans　have　the　upper　hand　in　the　capital；　I　wish　that　you；　Illustrious　Sir；　would　regard　the　critical　position　of　the　court　rather　than　your　personal　grievances；　and　so　divert　your　forces　from　the　attack　on　Xuzhou　to　the　rescue　of　the　state。　Such　would　be　for　the　happiness　of　that　city　and　the　whole　empire。〃

Cao　Cao　gave　vent　to　a　torrent　of　abuse：　〃Who　is　this　Liu　Bei　that　he　dares　write　and　exhort　me？　Beside；　he　means　to　be　satirical。〃

Cao　Cao　issued　orders　to　put　the　bearer　of　the　letter　to　death　and　to　press　on　the　siege。

But　Guo　Jia　remonstrated；　saying；　〃Liu　Bei　has　e　from　afar　to　help　Tao　Qian；　and　he　is　trying　the　effect　of　politeness　before　resorting　to　arms。　I　pray　you；　my　lord；　reply　with　fair　words　that　his　heart　may　be　lulled　with　a　feeling　of　safety。　Then　attack　with　vigor　and　the　city　will　fall。〃

Cao　Cao　found　this　advice　good；　so　he　spared　the　messenger；　telling　him　to　wait　to　carry　back　his　reply。　While　this　was　going　on；　a　horseman　came　with　news　of　misfortune：　〃Lu　Bu　has　invaded　Yanzhou；　now　holding　Puyang。　The　three　counties　left………Juancheng；　Fanxia；　and　Dongjun………are　under　severe　attacks。〃

＇e＇　Zhang　Yang　was　among　the　eighteen　lords　who　rallied　against　Dong　Zhou　at　the　Tiger　Trap　Pass。

When　Li　Jue　and　Guo　Si；　the　two　partisans　of　Dong　Zhuo；　succeeded　in　their　attack　on　the　capital；　Lu　Bu　had　fled　to　Yuan　Shu。　However；　Yuan　Shu　looked　askance　at　him　for　his　instability　and　refused　to　receive　him。　Then　Lu　Bu　went　to　try　Yuan　Shao；　who　was　a　brother　of　Yuan　Shu。　Yuan　Shao　accepted　the　warrior　and　made　use　of　him　in　an　attac