he　acme　of　wealth　and　good　fortune　and　yet　he　is　not　content；　but　must　e　to　encroach　upon　our　South　Land。〃

Cao　Cao　replied；　〃You　are　disobedient；　and　the　mand　of　the　Emperor　is　to　exterminate　you！〃

〃What　words！〃　cried　Sun　Quan　with　a　laugh。　〃Are　you　not　ashamed？　Everyone　knows　that　you　control　every　act　of　the　Emperor　and　you　tyrannize　over　the　nobles。　I　am　no　rebel　against　the　dynasty；　but　I　do　desire　to　capture　you　and　reform　the　government。〃

Cao　Cao　grew　angry　at　this　speech　and　bade　his　generals　go　over　and　take　Sun　Quan　prisoner。　But　before　they　could　obey；　Han　Dang　and　Zhou　Tai；　Chen　Wu　and　Pan　Zhang　led　out　two　armies　of　soldiers　from　left　and　right　at　the　sound　of　beating　drums；　and　arrows　and　crossbow　bolts　began　to　fall　like　raindrops　around　Cao　Cao。　He　turned　to　retire；　and　the　archers　and　bowmen　followed　him。　However；　presently　appeared　Xu　Chu；　with　the　Tiger　Guards；　who　rescued　Cao　Cao　and　took　him　back　to　his　camp。　The　army　of　the　South　Land　had　scored　a　victory；　and　they　marched　back　to　River　Ruxu。

Alone　in　his　camp；　Cao　Cao　thought；　〃This　Sun　Quan　certainly　is　no　ordinary　man；　and　by　the　presage　of　the　sun　in　my　dream　he　will　bee　an　emperor。〃

He　began　to　think　it　would　be　well　to　retire　from　the　expedition；　only　that　he　feared　the　troops　of　the　South　Land　would　exult　over　him。　So　the　two　armies　remained　facing　each　other　a　whole　month；　fighting　occasional　skirmishes　and　battles　in　which　victory　fell　sometimes　to　the　one　and　sometimes　to　the　other。

And　so　it　went　on　till　the　new　year；　and　the　spring　rains　filled　the　watercourses　to　overflowing；　and　the　soldiers　were　wading　in　deep　mud。　Their　sufferings　were　extreme；　and　Cao　Cao　became　sad　at　heart。　At　the　council　board　his　officers　were　divided；　some　being　for　ret