Prime　Minister。

For　a　long　time　the　Latter　Ruler　made　no　reply。

Presently　he　said；　〃I　longed　to　see　your　face　once　more；　that　is　the　only　reason。〃

Zhuge　Liang　replied；　〃I　think　my　recall　was　not　on　your　own　initiative。　Some　slanderous　persons　has　hinted　that　I　cherished　ulterior　objects。〃

The　Latter　Ruler；　who　indeed　felt　guilty　and　ill　at　ease；　made　no　reply。

Zhuge　Liang　continued；　〃Your　late　father　laid　me　under　an　obligation　which　I　am　pledged　to　fulfill　to　the　death。　But　if　vile　influences　are　permitted　to　work　at　home；　how　can　I　destroy　the　rebels　without？〃

〃The　fact　is　I　recalled　you　because　of　the　talk　of　the　eunuchs。　But　I　understand　now　and　am　unutterably　sorry；〃　said　the　Latter　Ruler。

Zhuge　Liang　interrogated　the　eunuchs　and　thus　found　out　the　base　rumors　that　had　been　spread　abroad　by　Gou　An。　He　sent　to　arrest　this　man；　but　Gou　An　had　already　fled　and　gone　over　to　Wei。　The　eunuchs　who　had　influenced　the　Emperor　were　put　to　death；　and　all　the　other　eunuchs　who　were　involved　were　expelled　from　the　Palace。

The　Prime　Minister　also　upbraided　Jiang　Wan　and　Fei　Yi　for　not　having　looked　into　the　matter　and　set　the　Son　of　God　right。　The　two　Ministers　bowed　their　heads　and　admitted　their　fault。

Zhuge　Liang　then　took　leave　of　the　Latter　Ruler　and　returned　to　the　army。　He　wrote　to　Li　Yan　to　see　to　the　necessary　supplies　and　began　preparations　for　a　new　expedition。

Yang　Yi　said；　〃The　soldiers　are　wearied　by　the　many　expeditions；　and　the　supplies　are　not　regular。　I　think　a　better　plan　would　be　to　send　half　the　army　to　Qishan　for　three　months；　and　at　the　end　of　that　time　exchange　them　for　the　other　half；　and　so　on　alternately。　For　example；　if　you　have　two　hundred　thousand　troops；　let　one　hundred　thousand