nce　there　is　nothing　to　be　feared。　I　know　this；　as　you　do；　but　it　must　remain　our　secret。〃

Shao　Ti　showed　his　admiration　for　Sima　Zhao。

In　his　camp；　just　prior　to　his　march；　Zhong　Hui　assembled　his　officers；　among　them　were　Army　Inspector　Wei　Guan；　Assistant　General　Hu　Lie；　Generals　Tian　Xu；　Tian　Zhang；　Yuan　Xing；　Qiu　Jian；　Xiahou　Xian；　Wang　Mai；　Huangfu　Kai；　Gou　Ai；　and　others；　some　eighty　of　them。

〃Firstly　I　want　a　Leader　of　the　Van；〃　said　Zhong　Hui。　〃He　must　be　skilled　in　making　roads　and　repairing　bridges。〃

〃I　will　take　that　post；〃　said　a　voice；　and　the　speaker　was　Xu　Yi；　son　of　the　Tiger　Leader　Xu　Chu。

〃Nobody　is　fitter！〃　cried　all　present。

〃You　shall　have　the　seal；〃　said　Zhong　Hui。　〃You　are　lithe　and　strong　and　have　the　renown　of　your　father　to　maintain。　Beside；　all　your　colleagues　remend　you。　Your　force　shall　be　five　thousand　of　cavalry　and　a　thousand　of　footmen。　You　are　to　march　into　Hanzhong　in　three　divisions；　the　center　you　will　lead　through　the　Xie　Valley；　the　other　two　passing　through　the　Luo　and　Ziwu　Valleys。　You　must　level　and　repair　the　roads；　put　the　bridges　in　order；　bore　tunnels　and　break　away　rocks。　Use　all　diligence；　for　any　delay　will　entail　punishment。〃

Xu　Yi　was　told　to　set　out　immediately；　and　his　chief　would　follow　with　one　hundred　thousand　troops。

In　West　Valley　Land；　as　soon　as　Deng　Ai　received　his　orders　to　attack　Shu；　he　sent　Sima　Wang　to　keep　the　Qiangs　in　check。　Next　he　summoned　Zhuge　Xu；　Imperial　Protector　of　Yongzhou；　Wang　Qi；　Governor　of　Tianshui；　Qian　Hong；　Governor　of　Longxi；　and　Yang　Xin；　Governor　of　Jincheng；　and　soon　soldiers　gathered　in　the　West　Valley　Land　like　clouds。

One　night　Deng　Ai　dreamed　a　dream　wherein　he　was　climbing　a　lofty　mountain　on　the　way　into　Hanzhong