e；　Yu　Jin　is　his　prisoner；　the　armies　of　Wei　have　lost　their　morale；　and　if　he　led　his　armies　to　Xuchang；　we　should　be　helpless。　I　can　only　think　of　avoiding　the　peril　by　removal　of　the　capital。　What　think　you？〃

〃No；　do　not　take　that　step；〃　said　Sima　Yi；　rising　to　reply。　〃Yu　Jin　and　all　the　others　you　lost　were　victims　of　the　flood　and　slain　in　battle。　These　losses　do　no　harm　at　all　to　your　great　plan。　The　Suns　and　Lius　are　no　longer　friends　since　Guan　Yu　has　acplished　his　desire。　You　may　send　a　messenger　into　Wu　to　foment　the　quarrel　and　cause　Sun　Quan　to　send　his　armies　to　attack　the　army　of　Guan　Yu　from　the　rear；　promising　that；　when　things　are　tranquil；　you　will　reward　the　south　to　Sun　Quan。　In　this　way　you　will　relieve　Fancheng。〃

Here　Minister　Jiang　Ji　said；　〃Sima　Yi　speaks　well；　and　the　messenger　should　lose　no　time。　Do　not　move　the　capital　and　disturb　the　people。〃

Cao　Cao　therefore　did　not　carry　out　his　first　proposal。

But　he　was　sad　at　the　loss　of　Yu　Jin；　and　spoke　of　him　affectionately；　〃Yu　Jin　had　followed　me　faithfully　for　thirty　years；　yet　in　that　moment　of　truth　he　was　less　than　Pang　De。〃

It　was　necessary　to　send　someone　with　the　letters　to　Wu　and　also　to　find　another　leader　willing　to　face　Guan　Yu。　Cao　Cao　had　not　long　to　wait　for　the　latter；　as　an　officer　stepped　out　from　the　ranks　of　those　in　waiting　and　offered　himself。　It　was　Xu　Huang。

Xu　Huang's　offer　was　accepted；　and　he　was　given　fifty　thousand　of　veterans。　Lu　Qian　was　sent　as　his　second；　and　the　army　marched　to　Yangling　Slope；　where　they　halted　to　see　if　any　support　was　ing　from　the　southeast。

Sun　Quan　fell　in　with　the　scheme　of　Cao　Cao　as　soon　as　he　had　read　Cao　Cao's　letter。　He　at　once　prepared　a　reply　for　the　messenger　to　take　back；　and　then　gathe