从《说岳全传》，经《三国演义》，到《大秦帝国》，一次次相遇，却茫然于英语的简练表达。读《The Story of Mankind》（Hendrik Willem Van Loon），有所获。

To increase the misery of the masses of thepeople, the triangle of western Europe was for ever exposed to attacks fromthree sides. On the south lived the ever dangerous Mohammedans. The westerncoast was ravaged by the Northmen. The eastern frontier (defenceless except forthe short stretch of the Carpathian mountains)was at the mercy of hordes of Huns, Hungarians, Slavs and Tartars. 　

《三国演义》中曹操崛起于四战之地:北方是占据冀、青、并三州的袁绍，西方是割据关中的韩遂、马腾集团，张绣割据西南方向的宛，袁术盘踞东南方向的淮南，东边是先后拥有徐州的陶谦、刘备、吕布三集团。差不多可以表达了。