he　glory　of　the　Hans。〃

〃But　how　dare　I　attempt　this？　The　ruler　is　also　of　the　Imperial　House。　The　whole　region　is　devoted　to　him　for　his　good　deeds；　and　no　other　person　could　attain　such　a　hold。〃

〃I　am　no　traitor；〃　said　Zhang　Song；　〃but　in　your　presence　I　feel　constrained　to　be　perfectly　open　and　plain。　Liu　Zhang；　the　Imperial　Protector　of　Yizhou；　is　naturally　weak　and　can　neither　use　the　wise　nor　employ　the　capable。　Then　again　Zhang　Lu　threatens　on　the　north。　People　are　distracted　and　would　gladly　wele　an　appreciative　ruler。　The　journey　I　have　just　made　was　to　propose　to　support　Cao　Cao　and　place　the　region　under　him；　but　I　found　him　rebellious　and　set　on　evil；　proud　and　arrogant。　So　I　have　turned　aside　to　you。　If　you　will　take　Yizhou；　you　will　have　a　base　from　which　to　deal　with　Hanzhong　when　you　will；　and　the　whole　empire　beside。　You　will　continue　the　rightful　line；　and　your　name　will　live　in　history。　Would　not　that　be　real　fame？　If　then　you　think　of　taking　our　region；　I　am　willing　to　do　what　little　I　can　as　an　ally　within。　But　do　you　contemplate　such　a　step？〃

〃I　am　deeply　grateful　that　you　think　so　well　of　me。　But　the　Imperial　Protector　being　a　member　of　the　family；　I　should　lay　myself　open　to　general　execration；　were　I　to　attack　him。〃

〃When　a　hero　finds　himself　in　the　world；　his　duty　is　to　work　out　his　destiny；　to　exert　himself　and　perform　his　task　as　best　as　he　can；　to　press　forward　among　the　foremost。　At　the　moment　the　position　is　that；　if　you　fail　to　seize　this　opportunity；　some　other　will　take　possession　of　Yizhou；　and　you　will　regret　when　too　late。〃

〃And　I　have　heard　much　of　the　difficult　nature　of　the　country；　its　many　high　mountains　and　numerous　streams；　and　its　narrow　roads。　How　could　such　a　country　be　invaded？〃

The