relative；　I　think　you　would　be　generously　treated。　I　hope　you　will　consider　this　carefully。〃

Liu　Zhang　flew　into　a　passion。　He　tore　the　letter　to　fragments　and　began　to　abuse　its　writer；　crying；　〃That　traitor；　ingrate；　and　renegade！　How　dares　he　talk　thus　to　me？〃

And　Liu　Zhang　drove　the　bearer　of　the　letter　from　his　presence。　He　then　sent　an　army　under　the　leadership　of　Fei　Guan；　his　wife's　brother；　to　reinforce　Mianzhu。

Fei　Guan　at　once　remended　as　his　assistant　one　Li　Yan　of　Nanyang；　and　the　two　mustered　their　troops；　thirty　thousand；　and　set　out　for　the　city。

At　this　juncture　Dong　He；　the　Governor　of　Yizhou　City；　wrote　advising　to　borrow　aid　from　Hanzhong。

But　Liu　Zhang　rejected　this　plan；　saying；　〃It　will　be　useless　to　try　to　obtain　help　from　a　region　under　the　influence　of　our　relentless　enemy　Zhang　Lu。〃

Dong　He　replied；　〃He　may　be　an　enemy；　but　Liu　Bei　is　in　possession　of　Luocheng；　and　the　situation　is　extremely　dangerous。　When　the　lips　are　gone；　the　teeth　are　cold。　If　you　clearly　indicate　the　dangers　to　him；　he　must　e　to　our　help。〃

So　a　letter　was　written　and　sent　to　Hanzhong。

Two　years　had　elapsed　since　Ma　Chao　had　been　defeated　and　gone　over　to　the　Qiang　tribes　in　the　northwest。　He　had　made　friends　with　them　and　with　their　aid　had　conquered　portions　of　the　West　Valley　Land。　His　expeditions　had　been　very　successful；　the　people　opening　their　gates　at　the　first　summons。　Only　Jicheng　had　stood　out；　but　ever　this　was　on　the　point　of　yielding。　The　Governor　of　Jicheng；　Wei　Kang；　had　sent　many　urgent　appeals　for　help　to　Xiahou　Yuan　in　Changan；　who；　however；　would　do　nothing　without　his　master's　order。　Wei　Kang　was　in　despair；　and　at　a　council　his　officers　advised　him　to　yield。

However；　one　of　them；　Yang　Fu；