Chapter 297

Liu Mang took two 2,500 of the Black Flag Army soldiers out. He was about to fight the enemy when he saw the enemy banner, making him stunned. There were a total of three banners. The first one was the Lord’s banner. The second one was the deputy general’s banner. The third one was the military banner that said, ‘Urban Army’.

‘What is this? Could there be another army called the Urban Army in this world?’ Liu Mang thought that this was strange as the Urban Army had participated in the siege with him. Because of a large amount of physical exertion, he allowed them to rest in the city. The remaining had been taken away by Liu Ye to Ruyin. They would then go and capture Runan for provisions and also to rescue an ally by attacking the enemy. This is to cut the supply lines for Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu. However, he could not understand why there were so many Urban Army soldiers in front of him.

While feeling puzzled two riders moved forward. It was dark at night so they could not be seen clearly but their voices could be heard. “Are those the Black Flag Army of the Sage King Liu Mang?”

‘This voice is…’ Liu Mang’s eyes glinted. Huang Zhong was also a bit puzzled. “This voice. Is it Xu Er?”

“Han Sheng. You heard it too?”

“Yes. This is Xu Er’s voice!” Huang Zhong nodded his head. There was nobody who could recognize this voice better than the father. As Huang Zhong did not think highly of his son before, he knew all of his son’s movements and could recognize the voice.

“Huang Xu?” Liu Mang could not understand. If this person was Huang Xu, this would really be the other half of the Urban Army. However, they should have followed Liu Ye to Ruyin. Liu Mang allowed Huang ZHong to step forward and speak. They found that the two generals that rode to the front were Huang Xu and Cheng Yu. The two of them had brought back Liu Mang’s army.

“Speak. What happened?” Liu Mang showed a displeased expression. If the Urban Army were to appear here, it could only mean that they were defeated. Liu Ye was defeated. Otherwise, they would be at Ruyin instead of Yingshang.

“Milord. This is…” Cheng Yu and Huang Xu did not know how to explain.

“Speak. How many injured and dead? I have already prepared myself. Victory and defeat is common in war. Where is Ziyang and Xu Sheng? What about Wang Wei and the others?” Liu Mang could only accept defeat and wait for the army to regroup before attacking Ruyin again.

“No! Ziyang, Xu Sheng and the others are not here with us!” Cheng Yu and Huang Xu explained.

“They are not here with you? Where are they?”

“They are still at Ruyin!” They replied little girls. They were unlike leaders of the Urban Army.

“They are still at Ruyin!” The Urban Army had been defeated and weer now at Yingshang. Liu Ye, Xu Sheng and the others were either killed in battle or taken prisoner. This had started to become a headache. Ziyang was a capable person like Xu Shu but he was also captured. Liu Mang was reluctant to give up on him, Xu Sheng and the others. However, the headache was not so much the fact that they were captured. It was the fact that there was a person capable of doing this to them.

Liu Ye had 2,500 Black Flag and Urban Army soldiers. Both were heavy infantries. The generals like Huang Xu, Wang Wei, Cheng Yu and the others was also capable and would even be able to stop the three brothers. This made Liu Mang consider his actions.

“Han Sheng. Dispatch a messenger to Ruyin. Tell them that we have Lady Mi and that we would trade her for Xu Sheng, Liu Ye, and Wang Wei. Otherwise, their Lord Wife would end up remarrying.” Although 50,000 provisions could save Shou Chun, Liu Mang had to save these three generals.

“Milord.There is no need for that! Even if you send Lady Mi, you would not be able to trade for them!” Huang Zhong looked at the two resentfully for failing to meet with expectations.

“There is no need?” Liu Mang stood up feeling angry. “Did Ziyang, Xu Sheng and Wang Wei all get killed already? How daring! Liu Bei! I, Liu Mang, really look down on you! You even killed my generals to deal with me. This hatred must be addressed!” Xu Sheng was a veteran at martial arts and was the general of the Black Flag Army. Wang Wei was quite a strong figure. Finally, Liu Ye was an indispensable figure that helped Liu Mang with experiments for things like glass and cement.

“Sigh! Milord. Let this general speak!” Huang Zhong quickly stood up again and sighed. He knew that if he did not act now, the misunderstanding would get bigger and bigger. “Milord. The three of them are still alive.”

“Still alive? If they are still alive then get people to exchange prisoners. If it is not enough then send Mi Fang as well. We can even give them our ballista! However, they must return me Ziyang, Wang Wei and Xu Sheng!” Liu Mang went all out. Even the second generation ballista was sold at ten thousand gold. Even Cao Cao wants to buy it at that price. Now, Liu Mang had the third-generation ballista which were even more powerful and rock ballista. They were in an era without any artillery. Not only would it be able to kill but it would also be able to frighten the soldiers. Liu Mang was willing to trade them away for the lives of three people.

“Milord. There is no need for that. We were not defeated. The three of them are also not captured.” Huang Zhong finally explained.

“We were not defeated? They were not taken prisoner?” Liu Mang obviously did not believe him. “Victory and defeat are common in war. There is no need to lie to me! I just need you all to stay alive!”

“It is true. The others were not defeated in battle. To be precise, it should be that there was no battle!” Huang Zhong replied.

“Huh?” Liu Mang became more and more confused.

“Father. Let me say it!” Huang Xu felt embarrassed. He and Cheng Yu did not know how to explain, causing Liu Mang to become more confused. Now, he could only bite the bullet and speak directly. “Milord. We arrived at Ruyin yesterday but then we received information that you were defeated at Yingshang. So, Ziyang told us to split up. We came for a rescue mission whereas he would wait for us there!” Huang Xu explained but it was not satisfactory.

“Where did you get this information from? I was defeated at Yingshang? These weak defenders defeated me? Haha. Open your eyes wide and take a look. This land is Yinghsang and it no longer belongs to Liu Bei. It now, belongs to the Lu Bu’s Army!” Liu Mang really could not understand why they had received information about his defeat..

“Milord. This is…” Cheng Yu opened his mouth but was unable to give an explanation. The information was probably provided by the enemy. If it was just removing a tiger from the mountain, Liu Ye would have already won. However, Ruyin had been acting strangely, causing the generals to believe that this is true. As a result, the rescue drama was made.

“Alright. Rest for the day. Tomorrow, we will go to Ruyin!” Liu Mang did not want to criticize too much. They were not defeated and the generals were not captured. All that happened was time wasted. Originally, he planned to go to Runan but now decided to go to Ruyin.

_

The sky turned bright. Liu Mang knew that his men were still tired because of the siege on the previous day. That was why they only left late in the morning. Ruyin was to the north of Yingshang. If they were to follow the waterway up, it would take them about three hours to reach their destination while it would take one hour to go by land. However, Liu Mang and the others still reached Ruyin within a day only to find the place eerily quiet.

The city was devoid of the hustling of the merchants and the voices of the people. Liu Mang was also unable to see a banner or figure on top of the city. It was as though the city was completely dead.

“””Milord!””” Liu Ye, Xu Sheng, and Wang Wei knew that Liu Mang was coming and greeted him. Liu Mang relaxed when he saw the three of them. The three of them were very talented people. Even one of them dying would give Liu Mang a terrible heartache.

“Zitabg. What is going on here?” Liu Mang asked Liu Ye who was in charge of the military. He was made leader when Liu mang split up the troops. Opposing Liu Ye would be opposing Liu Mang. It would also be violating military orders. As a result, everyone had to listen to him.

“Milord. This is all Liu Ye’s fault. I ask Milord not to blame the other four generals!” Liu Ye prostrated in front of Liu Mang and begged.

“Ziyang. Stand up and talk. What is your crime?” Liu Mang wanted to know what was happening here.

Liu Ye got up and explained to Liu Mang, allowing Liu Mang to understand what was going on.

Three days ago, Liu Ye led the army to Ruyin. In accordance to the usual practice, Liu Ye went up to persuade the enemy to surrender. However, there was no reply in the city. Liu Ye thought it was strange and dispatched a scout for an inquiry. At that moment, music could be heard coming from the city. There was a person on the walls above the gate, singing and playing the zither. Liu Ye would not feel suspicious if it was just that. However, the gates all also opened at the same time. There were even soldiers sweeping away the dead leaves.

Besides the musician on the walls and the two young boys sweeping the floor, there were no other people. Liu Ye did not know whether this was a surrender or an ambush.

Just as Liu Ye was about to dispatch the scout, he finally heard a voice. “Liu Ye. You seem well.”

“Whoever that is in the city better surrender!” Wang Wei shouted.

“This general must be General Xu Sheng!” The musician on the wall laughed indifferently. “General. There is no need for so much trouble. The gates are open. Help yourselves to Ruyin if you want it.”

“Help ourselves? Militasry advisor. What do you think of this?” Wang Wei was stunned. Just entering the city like this felt wrong. Even if it was a surrender, there should be someone that surrenders. Even a small city would have hundreds of defenders. On top of that, Ruyin is so big and empty. ‘It’s a trap!’ This was what Wang Wei thought after years of experience.

“Sir. What is your name?” Liu Ye could not understand the situation and decided to probe first.

“This talentless one is Sun Qian Sun Gongyou. This one is currently the governor of Ruyin, under the Left General, Liu Xuande.” The man replied. He was one of the top three advisors in Liu Bei’s Army.

Liu Mang would have laughed if he was there. Sun Qian was from Beihai and was recommended by the great Confucian, Zheng Xuan. Although respectable, he was just a second-rate advisor. At Xuzhou, he was played around by Guo Jia, Chen Gong and Chen Gui. Liu Bei did not live a good life with Sun Qian’s help. However, Sun Qian was lucky. Tao Qian wanted to give Xuzhou away. When Liu Bei obtained Xuzhou, Sun Qian also obtained merits. Besides that, Liu Bei was just a person who sold sandals and nobody wanted to help him. He also did not have his current popularity. As a result, he only have Sun Qian and Jian Yong as his advisors. Even now, there is only an additional person, which is Pang Tong. There were only three people so, no matter how one sees it, Jian Yong would be at the top three.

If Lu Bu and the others were here, they would have gone straight in as such a second-rate advisor was almost killed by Chen Gong alone. Now, all the veterans entered the cavalries. Liu Mang also send some to Zhao Yun’s White Horse cavalry. Although Cheng Yu was present, he was initially a small figure that did not know of Sun Qian.

It would be even more impossible for the others who just joined to know. On top of that, Liu Ye is an advisor who would naturally think more. Sun Qian was also highly ranked as one of Liu Bei’s advisors.

“Military advisor. Let me take the army and storm in! The city gates are open and there are no garrison. It is a good opportunity to break into the city!” Xu Sheng never bothered thinking of a cunning plot. Since they opened the gate, he would just enter.

“Wait!” Liu Ye shook his head. “This is too suspicious. It might be a trap. Let me think for a while more.”

The more Liu Ye thought about this, the more advantage he ended up giving Sun Qian. At that moment, Sun Qian was actually sweating buckets. Although his forehead was wet, it was not visible to those below the walls.

If Xu Sheng were to really rush in, Sun Qian would be finished. He had already cursed Pang Tong enough. Ruyin was originally difficult to defend and he requested for reinforcements. Instead of sending more troops, Pang Tong took away all the defenders and sent them to Runan with the excuse of regrouping and reinforcing the city.

That much is fine. Ruyin could not be defended and Sun Qian himself wanted regroup. However, he also received a secret order telling him to stop the enemy at Ruyin. How could he stop thousands of enemies alone? He was just a scholar. He couldn’t even stop one soldier.

Sun Qian had received instructions from Pang Tong but if something were to go wrong, his life would end there.

Sun Qian did not want to carry out this order but Liu Bei addressed him as a brother in the secret order. “Brother. This one enters Yangzhou to fight the fake king and rescue the people. This one thought that the decisive battle would be there but the fake king is crafty. He attacks my Yuzhou. He attacks one place to rescue another. Your elder brother is about to capture Yangzhou soon and earnestly request for this worthy younger brother’s help. Whjen the Han becomes prosperous, Gongyou’s merits would not be ignored.

Although Liu Bei seemed to be begging Sun Qian, it should not be forgotten that Liu Bei is the Lord and Sun Qian the advisor. Another way of saying it is, ‘Do whatever you want. If you obediently execute the order, you will gain merits. If you are disobedient, do not blame me for disregarding old feelings!’

Sun Qian could only helplessly go on this ridiculous mission that would be the end of him if something wrong were to happen. Fortunately, Pang Tong and Liu Bei only told him to hold out for three days.

“Mister Ziyang. Do you have any interest in joining Milord struggle for the Han?” Sun Qian resisted the uneasiness in his heart and shouted.

“What? Are you trying to persuade me to surrender?” Liu Ye asked in a mocking tone.

“You misunderstand. Qian understands that you are a brave man with incredible foresight. You killed a man of your father’s at the age of thirteen. After that, you killed Zheng Bao and brought peace to Yangzhou. After that, you became Liu Xun’s subordinate. Liu Xun was just an impertinent man. You definitely did not think highly of him. You then became Traitor Cao’s subordinate. However, you were alienated because of your identity. You then met Sage King Liu Mang. This allowed you to have a glorious life. This Sage King is truly a brave hero!”

Before Liu Ye could even reply, Sun Qian then added, “But it is a pity. His Highness the Sage King is going to die young.” Sun Qian shook his head.

“What did you say? How dare you curse our Lord! You are truly asking to die!” Xu Sheng felt angry and wanted to rush into the city to beat Sun Qian to death. However, he was stopped by Wang Wei who believed that this was a trap as Sun Qian dared to provoke them even though he was alone in the city. “Wang Wei! Let me go!” Xu Sheng groaned angrily.

“Why? Did I say something wrong?” Sun Qian’s fingernails had already dug into his palms. If Xu Sheng were to rush in, he would really be beaten to death. Thankfully, he was stopped by Wang Wei.

“Mister Ziyang! His Highness and you have split your forces correct?” Sun Qian saw that the Black Flag Army and the Urban Army added together only totalled up to a few thousand men. He knew that this could not be all the soldiers, not knowing that the main army was at Yangzhou.

So, he concluded that these few thousand soldiers have definitely split up with Liu Mang.

“Unfortunately, if he did not split up his forces, Yuzhou may have been his. But now, he would only meet with disaster in a single battle.” Sun Qian continued his provocation.

“Disaster in a single battle?” Liu Ye remained calm. “Mister Gongyou. Although we split up our forces, we still have tens of thousands of soldiers. We are just the vanguards.”

“Tens of thousands of soldiers? Haha… Those soldiers and the White Eared Soldiers!” Sun Qian was shocked and turned pale. He then said something he shouldn’t have said.

“White Eared? The White Eared Heavy Infantries?” Liu Ye thought as he asked.

“How could it be? The White Eared Soldiers were taken to Yuzhou by Milord along with Zhang Fei and Chen Dao!” Sun Qian shook his head. “Otherwise, how could they reach Shouchun so easily? What do you think, Mister Ziyang?”

“Huh?” Liu Ye furrowed his eyebrows, not understanding what Sun Qian was trying to say.

Sun Qian then yawned. “Mister Ziyang. I am tired and need to go back and rest. Ruyin is right here. You can just help yourself. Oh right. Yuzhou is not like Huainan. It is very cold at night. Mister Ziyang may need to wear more clothes. You all look travel-worn and unprepared. There are some clothes here for you to use. Please do not be picky.” After saying that, two robust soldiers pushed out a cart with clothes towards Liu Ye’s Army.

‘Robust soldiers? What about those weak soldiers earlier? Now they are already elites?’

Both carts were full of clothes. It is usable to escape the cold. However, the expressions all the people present immediately changed when they saw it. Xu Sheng even tried rushing into the gate again.

The clothes were all women’s clothes. This was an unbearable mockery.

TN

Apparently, Brother is like the magic word that could make people do work for you. Here, let me try.

-TN used move.

“Brothers. Translate this story for me for the people! FOR THE COOKIES!”

-But it was not effective.

What? Why not?

Also, if they really think it’s a trap, then attack it the normal way, with siege ladders and rock ballista. After all, the orders was to capture Ruyin. They are going to need to enter the stupid place anyway.