Romance of the Three Kingdoms II by Lo Kuan-Chung

by the mere sound of his voice scared the many legions of Ts'ao Ts'ao at Tangyang Slope. Even Ts'ao himself was careful to keep out of his way. Your safety is in defence, lying behind your ramparts and within your deep moats till hunger shall have vanquished your enemies. This Chang has a very violent temper, and if he is provoked he vents his anger in flogging his men. If you avoid battle he will be irritated and his cruelty to his men will cause them to mutiny. Then you can attack and will succeed."
    Yen thought the advice good. He therefore resolved only to defend, and he set all his men on the walls. When one of Chang's soldiers came up to the gate and shouted for them to open, Yen gave orders to open the gate and admit the man. When he had come within he gave the message as has been related before. But the Prefect was exceedingly angry and said, "Fool that you are! How dare you speak thus to me? Think you that I, General Yen, will surrender to such as he? By your mouth indeed will I send a message."
    Then he bade the executioner cut off the man's ears and nose. And thus mutilated he returned to Chang. When Chang heard of it his wrath boiled up and he cursed the defender of the city. Grinding his teeth and glaring with rage, he put on his armour, mounted his steed and went up close to the walls, with a few mounted men, and challenged those on the ramparts to fight him. But the men on the walls only replied with shameful abuse and none accepted the challenge. Chang galloped again and again to the drawbridge, only to be driven off each time with flights of arrows. But not a man came outside the walls. As the day closed in, the warrior, still fuming with wrath, returned to his own camp.
    Next day Chang again led his men to the foot of the wall and challenged; again the challenge was refused. But Yen shot an arrow from the tower that struck Chang's helmet. This angered him still more, and pointing the finger of disdain at his enemy, Chang cried, "I will capture you yet, you old fool, and then I will devour your flesh."
    So again at eventide the men of Han returned to camp baulked of their desire. On the third day Chang and his men made the circuit of the city along the edge of the moat, hurling insults at their enemies.
    It so happened that the city was set on a hill with rugged heights all round, so that going around it the assailants were sometimes on hill tops and sometimes on the level. While standing on one of the hills, Chang noticed that he could see clear down into the city. There stood the defenders in their ranks, all readly for battle although none of them came out. And the common people went to and fro carrying bricks and bringing stones to strengthen the defences. Then he ordered his horsemen to dismount and his footmen to sit down so that they could not be seen from the city. He hoped thus to cheat the defenders into thinking that there were none to attack and so induce them to come out. But this also was vain, for still they declined battle and another day was lost. The army once more returned to camp.
    That night Chang sat in his tent trying to think out some means to overcome an enemy that steadily refused to come out from behind the walls. Presently, however, the brain behind the knitted brow conceived a plan. So next day, instead of sending all the men to offer a challenge from the foot of the wall, he kept most of them in camp and sent only a few to howl insults and hurl abuse. He hoped by this means to inveigle Yen out to attack the small number of men. But this also failed, and he was left all day rubbing his hands with impatience. Never a man appeared without the wall.
    Foiled again, another ruse grew up behind the knitted brows above his bushy eyebrows. He set his men to cut firewood and seek out and explore the tracks that lay about the city. No longer did they challenge the wall. After some days of this, Yen began to wonder what mischief was brewing, and he sent out spies, dressed as were the firewood