e　five　thousand　troops　and　go　into　ambush　in　the　valleys　to　guard　against　any　such　move。〃

Said　Hu　Ban；　〃I　think　it　better　to　send　some　persons　to　pretend　to　be　deserters。　Let　them　tell　Zhu　Ran　of　the　plan　to　raid　the　camp；　and　Zhu　Ran　will　e　to　the　rescue　as　soon　as　he　sees　fire。　Then　the　ambushing　soldiers　can　attack　him。〃

They　thought　this　a　fine　plan；　and　they　made　the　necessary　arrangements。

Hearing　of　the　ill　success　and　losses　of　his　colleague　Sun　Huan；　Zhu　Ran　was　already　thinking　of　going　to　his　help；　when　a　few　deserters　appeared　and　hoarded　his　ship。

He　questioned　them；　and　they　said；　〃We　are　Feng　Xi's　soldiers；　and　we　have　deserted　because　of　unfair　treatment。　We　have　a　secret　to　tell。〃

〃What　secret　can　you　betray？〃

〃Tonight　Feng　Xi　is　going　to　make　an　attack　upon　General　Sun　Huan's　camp。　He　thinks　it　is　a　good　chance。　They　are　going　to　raise　a