said　Cao　Cao。　〃I　am　only　retiring　to　put　them　off　their　guard。　By　and　by　I　will　send　some　light　horse　to　attack　their　rear。　I　shall　defeat　them　then。〃

〃Ah！　Your　skill　is　unfathomable！〃　cried　Jia　Xu。

Three　thousand　horsemen　led　by　Xiahou　Yuan　and　Zhang　He　got　round　behind　the　Yangping　Pass　by　unfrequented　roads；　while　Cao　Cao　broke　up　his　camp　and　led　his　main　body　backward。

When　Yang　Ang　heard　of　the　retreat；　he　thought　it　would　be　a　good　chance　to　attack。

But　Yan　Ren　opposed　it；　saying；　〃Cao　Cao　is　full　of　ruses。　The　occasion　is　unclear。　We　should　not　lead　an　attack。〃

Yang　Ang　was　willful　and　said；　〃I　shall　go。　You　may　e　or　not；　as　you　wish。〃

In　spite　of　the　protestations　of　his　colleague；　Yang　Ang　marched；　taking　with　him　the　soldiers　of　five　camps　and　leaving　only　a　few　defenders。　The　day　he　set　out　was　very　foggy；　so　that　one　could　hardly　see　his　neighbor's　face；　and　soon　the　force　got　into　difficulties　and　could　not　advance。　They　bivouacked　on　the　road。

Now；　Xiahou　Yuan　was　out　with　a　reconnoitering　force　behind　the　hills　when　they　heard　the　voices　of　troops　and　the　neighing　of　horses。　In　the　dense　fog　they　could　see　nothing；　but　fearing　an　ambush；　they　hastened　to　retire。　Somehow　they　lost　their　way　and　presently　stumbled　on　the　deserted　camp　of　Yang　Ang。　The　few　defenders　thought　their　rades　had　returned；　so　they　threw　open　the　gates　to　let　the　troops　of　Cao　Cao　in。　They　found　an　empty　camp；　and　they　raised　a　great　blaze；　which　frightened　those　few　defenders　in　the　other　camps　so　that　they　fled。

As　soon　as　the　fog　cleared；　Yan　Ren　came　to　the　rescue。　But　as　Yan　Ren　and　Xiahou　Yuan　were　fighting；　Zhang　He　suddenly　appeared　and　attacked　from　the　rear。　Between　two　armies；　Yan　Ren　forced　his　way　through　and　qui