ow　then　shall　we　meet　the　situation？　I　do　not　understand　delay。

〃The　people　are　stretched　and　the　army　exhausted　indeed；　but　confusion　does　not　cease。　If　confusion　does　not　cease；　then；　whether　we　go　on　or　stand　still　the　drain　is　the　same。　Does　it　seems　that　attack　should　not　be　made　yet？　Is　it　that　the　rebels　are　to　be　allowed　to　obtain　a　permanent　hold　on　some　territory？　I　do　not　understand　the　arguments。

〃A　stable　condition　of　affairs　is　indeed　difficult　to　obtain。　Once；　when　the　First　Ruler　was　defeated　in　Jingzhou；　Cao　Cao　patted　himself　on　the　back　and　said　that　the　empire　was　settled。　Yet；　after　that；　the　First　Ruler　obtained　the　support　of　Wu　and　Yue　on　the　east；　took　Ba　and　Shu　on　the　west；　and　undertook　an　expedition　to　the　north；　wherein　Xiahou　Yuan　lost　his　life。　So　Cao　Cao　calculations　proved　erroneous；　and　the　affairs　of　Han　seemed　about　to　prosper。　But；　still　later；　Wu　proved　false　to　pledges；　our　Guan　Yu　was　defeated；　we　sustained　a　check　at　Zigui………and　Cao　Pi　assumed　the　imperial　style。　Such　events　prove　the　difficulty　of　forecast。　I　shall　strive　on　to　the　end；　but　the　final　result；　whether　success　or　failure；　whether　gain　or　loss；　is　beyond　my　powers　to　foresee。〃

The　Latter　Ruler　was　convinced；　and　by　edict　directed　Zhuge　Liang　to　start　on　the　expedition。

Zhuge　Liang　marched　out　with　three　hundred　thousand　well…trained　soldiers；　Wei　Yan　leading　the　first　division；　and　made　all　haste　to　Chencang。

The　news　soon　reached　Luoyang；　and　Sima　Yi　informed　the　Ruler　of　Wei；　who　called　his　council。

Then　Cao　Zhen　stepped　forth　and　said；　〃In　the　previous　campaign　I　failed　to　hold　West　Valley　Land；　and　my　disgrace　is　terrible　to　bear。　But　now　I　beg　to　be　given　another　mand　that　I　may　capture　Zhuge　Liang。　Lately　I　have　f