he　inhabitants　of　the　hills　came　running　along　saying　that　the　Wei　soldiers　had　e。

Wang　Ping　was　still　bent　on　going　his　own　way；　and　so　Ma　Su　said　to　him；　〃Since　you　will　not　obey　me；　I　will　give　you　five　thousand　troops　and　you　can　go　and　make　your　own　camp。　But　when　I　report　my　success　to　the　Prime　Minister；　you　shall　have　no　share　of　the　merit。〃

Wang　Ping　marched　about　three　miles　from　the　hill　and　made　his　camp。　He　drew　a　plan　of　the　place　and　sent　it　quickly　to　Zhuge　Liang　with　a　report　that　Ma　Su　had　camped　on　the　hill。

While　Sima　Yi　was　marching　toward　Jieting；　he　sent　his　younger　son　to　reconnoiter　the　road　and　to　find　out　whether　it　had　a　garrison。

Said　Sima　Yi；　〃If　there　is　a　garrison；　do　not　advance　further。〃

Sima　Zhao　returned　to　report：　〃Jieting　has　already　been　occupied　by　Shu。〃

〃Zhuge　Liang　is　rather　more　than　human；〃　said　his　father　regretfully　when　Sima　Zhao　gave　in　his　report。　〃He　is　too　much　for　me。〃

〃Why　are　you　despondent；　Father？　I　think　Jieting　is　not　so　difficult　to　take。〃

〃How　dare　you　utter　such　bold　words？〃

〃Because　I　have　seen。　There　is　no　camp　on　the　road；　but　the　enemy　are　camped　on　the　hill。〃

This　was　glad　news。

〃If　they　are　on　the　hill；　then　Heaven　means　a　victory　for　me；〃　said　his　father。

At　night　Sima　Yi　changed　into　another　dress；　took　a　small　escort；　and　rode　out　to　see　for　himself。　The　moon　shone　brilliantly；　and　he　rode　to　the　hill　whereon　was　the　camp　and　looked　all　round　it；　thoroughly　reconnoitering　the　neighborhood。　Ma　Su　saw　him；　but　only　laughed。

〃If　Sima　Yi　has　any　luck；　he　will　not　try　to　surround　this　hill；〃　said　he。

Ma　Su　issued　an　order　to　his　generals：　〃In　case　the　enemy　e；　you　are　to　look　to　the　summit　for　a　signal　with　a