Page 208 of 266

The truly wise man, we are told, can perceive things before they

have come to pass; how much more, then, those that are already

manifest!' Thereupon he called one of the natives who had been

assigned to his service, and set a trap for him, saying: 'Where

are those envoys from the Hsiung-nu who arrived some day ago?'

The man was so taken aback that between surprise and fear he

presently blurted out the whole truth. Pan Ch'ao, keeping his

informant carefully under lock and key, then summoned a general

gathering of his officers, thirty-six in all, and began drinking

with them. When the wine had mounted into their heads a little,

he tried to rouse their spirit still further by addressing them

thus: 'Gentlemen, here we are in the heart of an isolated region,

anxious to achieve riches and honour by some great exploit.