ere　ing　to　seize　the　grain　convoy　and　ran　to　tell　Sun　Li；　who　sent　on　a　message　to　Cao　Zhen。

Cao　Zhen　sent　to　the　chief　camp　for　Zhang　Hu　and　Yue　Chen　and　told　them；　〃Look　out　for　a　signal　blaze；　that　would　mean　the　ing　of　the　army　of　Shu；　and　then　you　are　to　raid　the　Shu　camp　immediately。〃

Zhang　Hu　and　Yue　Chen　sent　watchers　on　the　tower　to　look　out　for　the　promised　blaze。

Meanwhile　Sun　Li　marched　over　and　hid　in　the　west　hills　to　await　the　ing　of　the　men　of　Shu。　That　night；　at　the　second　watch；　Ma　Dai　came　with　his　three　thousand　troops　all　silent；　the　soldiers　with　gags；　the　horses　with　a　lashing　round　their　muzzles。　They　saw　tier　after　tier　of　carts　on　the　hills；　making　an　enclosure　like　a　walled　camp；　and　on　the　carts　were　planted　many　flags。

They　waited。　Presently　the　southwest　wind　came　up；　and　then　they　launched　the　fire。　Soon　all　the　carts　were　in　a　blaze　that　lit　up　the　sky。　Sun　Li　saw　the　blaze　and　could　only　conclude　that　the　troops　of　Shu　had　arrived　and　his　own　side　were　giving　the　signal；　so　he　dashed　out　to　attack。　But　soon　two　parties　of　soldiers　were　heard　behind　him　closing　in。　These　were　Ma　Zheng　and　Zhang　Ni；　who　soon　had　Sun　Li　as　in　a　net。　Then　he　heard　a　third　ominous　roll　of　drums；　which　heralded　the　approach　of　Ma　Dai　from　the　direction　of　the　blaze。

Under　these　several　attacks；　the　troops　of　Wei　quailed　and　gave　way。　The　fire　grew　more　and　more　fierce。　Soldiers　ran　and　horses　stampeded；　and　the　dead　were　too　many　to　count。　Sun　Li　made　a　dash　through　the　smoke　and　fire　of　the　battle　and　got　away。

When　Zhang　Hu　and　Yue　Chen　saw　the　fire；　they　threw　open　the　gates　of　their　camp　and　sallied　forth　to　help　defeat　the　army　of　Shu　by　seizing　their　camp。　But　when　they　reached　the　Shu　camp；　they　found　it　empty。