than　ten　thousand　troops。

Just　at　this　time　Fei　Yi　arrived　front　Chengdu。

Zhuge　Liang　received　him　and；　after　the　ceremonies　were　over；　said；　〃I　would　trouble　you；　Sir；　to　carry　a　letter　for　me　into　East　Wu。　Will　you　undertake　the　mission？〃

〃Could　I　possibly　decline　any　task　you　laid　upon　me？〃　said　Fei　Yi。

So　Zhuge　Liang　wrote　a　letter　and　sent　it　to　Sun　Quan。　Fei　Yi　took　it　and　hastened　to　Capital　Jianye；　where　he　saw　Sun　Quan；　the　Ruler　of　Wu；　and　presented　this　letter：

〃The　Hans　have　been　unfortunate；　and　the　line　of　rulers　has　been　broken。　The　Cao　party　have　usurped　the　seat　of　government　and　still　hold　the　mand。　My　late　master；　Emperor　Bei；　confided　a　great　task　to　me；　and　I　must　exhaust　every　effort　to　achieve　it。　Now　my　army　is　at　Qishan；　and　the　rebels　are　on　the　verge　of　destruction　on　River　Wei。　I　hope　Your　Majesty；　in　accordance　with　your　oath　of　alliance；　will　send　a　leader　against　the　north　to　assist　by　taking　the　Middle　Land；　and　the　empire　can　be　shared。　The　full　circumstances　cannot　be　told；　but　I　hope　you　will　understand　and　act。〃

Sun　Quan　was　pleased　at　the　news　and　said　to　the　envoy；　〃I　have　long　desired　to　set　my　arm　in　motion；　but　have　not　been　able　to　arrange　with　Zhuge　Liang。　After　this　letter　I　will　lead　an　expedition　myself；　and　go　to　Juchao　and　capture　Xincheng　of　Wei。　Moreover；　I　will　send　Lu　Xun　and　Zhuge　Jin　to　camp　at　Miankou　and　Jiangxia；　and　take　Xiangyang。　I　will　also　send　another　army　under　Sun　Shao　and　Zhang　Cheng　into　Guangling　to　capture　Huaiyang。　The　total　number　will　be　three　hundred　thousand　troops；　and　they　shall　start　at　once。〃

Fei　Yi　thanked　him　and　said；　〃In　such　a　case　the　Middle　Land　will　fall　forthwith。〃

A　banquet　was　prepared。　At　this；　Sun　Quan　said；　〃Whom　did　the　Pr