Romance　of　Three　Kingdoms　…　by　Luo　Guanzhong　…　Chapter　61

Chapter　61

In　The　River；　Zhao　Yun　Recovers　Liu　Shan；

With　One　Letter；　Sun　Quan　Repulses　Cao　Cao。

In　spite　of　the　persuasion　of　Pang　Tong　and　Fa　Zheng；　Liu　Bei　steadily　refused　to　sanction　the　assassination　of　his　host　at　the　banquet；　Imperial　Protector　Liu　Zhang；　even　if　thereby　he　was　to　gain　possession　of　West　River　Land。

The　next　day　there　was　another　banquet；　this　time　in　the　city　of　Fucheng；　whereat　host　and　guest　unbosomed　themselves　freely　to　each　other　and　became　exceedingly　friendly　and　affectionate。

All　were　mellow　with　wine；　and　Pang　Tong；　talking　with　Fa　Zheng；　said；　〃Since　our　master　will　have　nothing　to　do　with　our　scheme；　we　had　better　set　Wei　Yan's　sword…play　to　work　and　take　advantage　of　the　confusion　to　kill　Liu　Zhang。〃

Wei　Yan　came　in　shortly　afterward；　with　his　sword　drawn；　and　said；　〃There　being　no　other　entertainment　at　this　banquet；　may　I　show　you　a　little　fencing　to　amuse　you？〃

Thereupon　Pang　Tong　called　up　some　of　the　armed　guards　and　ranged　them　along　the　lower　part　of　the　hall　till　Wei　Yan　should　fall　on。

At　these　preparations　the　officers　of　Liu　Zhang　stared　with　questioning　eyes　toward　the　chief　seats　at　the　upper　end。

Then　one　of　them；　Zhang　Ren；　drew　his　sword；　saying；　〃An　opponent　is　needed　to　make　fencing　a　success；　so　he　and　I　will　display　our　skill　at　the　same　time。〃

So　they　began。　Presently；　at　a　glance　from　Wei　Yan；　Liu　Feng　came　up　and　took　position　at　his　side。

At　once　three　of　the　manders　of　the　west　followed　suit；　saying；　〃And　we　three　will　e　in　too。　It　may　add　to　your　amusement　and　help　to　raise　a　laugh。〃

＇e＇　Hongmen　Banquet　At　that　time　Liu　Bang；　Governor　of　Pei；　and　Xiang　Yu；