were　exhausted　by　a　long　march。〃

Cao　Cao　even　desired　to　put　them　to　death　as　a　warning；　but　their　fellow　officers　interceded；　and　he　spared　them。　Soon　Cao　Cao　himself　marched　in　the　van。　Then　he　saw　the　dangerous　and　evil　nature　of　the　place；　with　its　thick　growth　of　trees。　As　he　knew　nothing　of　the　roads　and　was　fearful　of　an　ambush；　he　returned　to　his　camp。

Calling　up　his　two　leaders；　Xu　Chu　and　Xu　Huang；　he　said；　〃Had　I　known　the　dangerous　nature　of　the　place；　I　would　never　have　e。〃

Xu　Chu　replied；　〃The　soldiers　are　here　now；　my　lord；　and　you　cannot　recoil　before　the　hardships。〃

Next　day　Cao　Cao　with　only　Xu　Chu　and　Xu　Huang　rode　out　to　reconnoiter　the　enemy's　camp。

As　they　rode　over　the　hills；　Cao　Cao　pointed　out　the　position　with　his　whip　and　said；　〃It　will　be　very　difficult　to　reduce　a　place　as　strong　as　this。〃

Just　then　there　arose　a　shout　in　their　rear；　and　a　shower　of　arrows　fell　about　them。　Yang　Ang　and　Yan　Ren　were　attacking；　and　the　danger　became　great。

〃Friend　Xu　Huang；　you　look　after　our　lord！〃　cried　Xu　Chu。　〃I　can　hold　the　enemy。〃

Xu　Chu　galloped　out；　and　the　two　leaders　could　not　stand　Xu　Chu　and　took　to　flight；　while　their　troops　scattered。　In　the　meantime　Xu　Huang　led　his　master　over　the　hills。　Soon　he　met　an　army　of　soldiers　led　by　Xiahou　Yuan　and　Zhang　He；　who　had　heard　the　sound　of　fighting　and　had　e　to　the　rescue；　and　Cao　Cao　got　back　safely　to　camp。　The　four　generals　were　rewarded。

For　fifty　days　the　two　armies　held　each　other　at　bay　without　ing　to　a　fight。　At　the　end　of　this　time；　orders　were　given　to　retire　in　the　camp　of　Cao　Cao。

〃We　have　not　tried　the　strength　of　the　enemy；〃　said　Jia　Xu。　〃You　should　not　retire；　my　lord。〃

〃I　see　that　they　are　always　on　the　alert；〃