hy　brother；　why　has　your　friendship　bee　so　thin？〃

〃Brother；　you　know　the　laws　of　Wei；〃　replied　Hao　Zhao。　〃I　have　accepted　their　bounty；　and　if　that　leads　to　death；　so　be　it。　Say　no　more；　but　return　quickly　to　your　master　and　tell　him　to　e　and　attack。　I　am　not　afraid。〃

So　Jin　Xiang　had　to　return　and　report　failure。

〃He　would　not　let　me　begin　to　explain；〃　said　he。

〃Try　again；〃　said　Zhuge　Liang。　〃Go　and　really　talk　to　him。〃

So　the　go…between　soon　found　himself　once　more　at　the　foot　of　the　wall。

Hao　Zhao　presently　appeared　on　the　tower；　and　Jin　Xiang　shouted　to　him；　〃My　worthy　brother；　please　listen　to　my　words　while　I　explain　clearly。　Here　you　are　holding　one　single　city。　How　can　you　think　of　opposing　one　hundred　thousand　troops？　If　you　do　not　yield；　you　will　be　sorry　when　it　is　too　late。　Instead　of　serving　the　Great　Han；　you　are　serving　a　depraved　country　called　Wei。　Why　do　you　not　recognize　the　decree　of　Heaven？　Why　do　you　not　distinguish　between　the　pure　and　the　foul？　Think　over　it。〃

Then　Hao　Zhao　began　to　get　really　angry。　He　fitted　an　arrow　to　his　bow　and　he　called　out；　〃Go！　Or　I　will　shoot。　I　meant　what　I　said　at　first；　and　I　will　say　no　more。〃

Again　Jin　Xiang　returned　and　reported　failure　to　Zhuge　Liang。

〃The　fool　is　very　ill…mannered；〃　said　Zhuge　Liang。　〃Does　he　think　he　can　beguile　me　into　sparing　the　city？〃

He　called　up　some　of　the　local　people　and　asked　about　the　forces　in　the　city。　They　told　him　about　three　thousand。

〃I　do　not　think　such　a　small　place　can　beat　me；〃　said　Zhuge　Liang。　〃Attack　quickly　before　any　reinforcements　can　arrive。〃

Thereupon　the　assailants　brought　up　scaling　ladders；　upon　the　platforms　of　which　ten　or　more　men　could　stand。　These　were　surrounded　by　planks　as