Liu Mang had compared Mi Zhu to the wrong person. Kuai Yue may be cunning but he cared about his family the most. The prosperity of his family lies in his harmonious family relations. That was why he could give up everything to stay with his brother and his son.
On the other hand, Mi Zhu placed more importance in prestige. Kuai Yue was already a noble from the start. He was respected everywhere even before his family became influential. On the other hand, Mi Zhu was a merchant. Even if he earned a lot of money and made a country rich, he still could not rise up or do anything without others bringing calamity to him. Even Guan Yu who once sold dates looked down on him.
It was useless. Mi Zhu was from the lowest class in society. That was why he desperately wanted to become a noble even if it was at the cost of his family and his wealth.
“Mi Zhu. Are you certain? If you send me to the Left General, General Mi Fang and Lady Mi would truly be ‘dead’!” Liu Mang’s messenger said to Mi Zhu, hoping for Mi Zhu to stay his hand.
Instead, Mi Zhu sighed and said, “Is that so? I am sure my brother and sister will support me if they know I do it for our Mi Family!”
Truly ruthless. The messenger was capable of tearing away his flesh but Mi Zhu was ruthless enough to abandon his flesh and blood.
Mi Zhu touched the three letters of appointment in his hand. As long as he had those, the Mi Family would be able to make a comeback. So what if he had to lose his family? He was still young enough to take wives. It would only take a while for the Mi Family to become prosperous again while there was only one chance if they wanted to become nobles. These letter of appointment was enough to make the Mi Family nobles. Who else can claim to have three titles in their family?
“Is Sun Qian with you?” Mi Zhu suddenly remembered and asked. Mi Zhu noticed that something was fishy since Sun Qian picked this convenient time to speak of his siblings.
“Why should I tell you whether he worked for us or not?”
Mi Zhu became interested. “If you can tell me that he is, I can guarantee that you won’t feel any pain. You might even be spared!” Mi Zhu persuaded. Right now, Mi Zhu was not valued by Liu Bei. If he could prove that Sun Qian was a spy, he would definitely contributed a lot. Besides that, he was already in Pang Tong’s camp. If he could harm Sun Qian, he would definitely be valued by Pang Tong.
“What if I don’t speak?”
“You don’t want to speak? Your Lord won’t be able to help you. When the time comes, you are sure to speak!” Mi Zhu sneered. Interrogation was a painful experience.
“He is.” The messenger immediately replied.
“Huh?” Mi Zhu froze. He expected the messenger to resist a little instead of caving in after a single threat. After all, this was the person who tore off a letter that had been sewn to his back.
“I can tell you that Master Gongyou was captured as early as Ruyin.” The messenger replied indifferently.
“Oh?” Mi Zhu’s eyes glinted. This was a humiliating past for Sun Qian. While everybody had suspected Sun Qian’s explanation, none of them questioned him when they saw that Sun Qian narrowly survived.
“Master Gongyou and Pang Tong1 have conflict with each other. I am sure, you know this?”
Mi Zhu nodded at this.
“The empty fort strategy employed by Pang Tong had certainly stalled our strategist Liu Ye for some time. However, it would not last for long. Even if someone wanted to be cautious, they would surround Ruyin. As a result, those within Ruyin would be unable to escape. This was how Master Gongyou was so easily captured.” The messenger explained. He was familiar with that battle since he had been one of those soldiers that captured Sun Qian.
“What happened after that?” Mi Zhu asked, certain that there was a huge secret. “Don’t worry. If you tell me, I will allow you to go free and even give you a reward!”
“When Master Gongyou was captured, he could have used the provisions that they hid in Ruyin to save his life. However, the provisions have all been burned by Pang Tong.”
“Did the Military Advisor sent someone to burn the provisions?” Mi Zhu asked as he thought about the scheme. Why was Sun Qian rewarded when he came back? Initially, people had thought that Sun Qian was the one that burned the provisions to prevent Liu Mang from obtaining it. Nobody had thought that it was Pang Tong that burned the provisions so that Liu Mang would kill Sun Qian in anger.
“It was definitely done by Pang Tong. Because of him, my Lord’s other subordinates all wished to kill Master Gongyou.”
“Then why is Sun Qian still alive?” Mi Zhu asked. After all, Sun Qian had been thrown into a fire.
“My Lord gave Sun Qian a large pot of water as an escape route and a bit of rations.” With the pot of water, Sun Qian would be able to protect himself from the fire. The rations would help him last the journey after escaping. If Sun Qian still died then he was an idiot.
Mi Zhu’s eyes glinted. “In other words, Sun Qian had long since relied on your Lord and came here as a spy! Is this information true?” Mi Zhu commented and then asked. If it was true, Sun Qian was finished and Mi Zhu would be able to use this information to climb to the top.
“Is there a need to ask such questions?”
“Haha! Men! Come and escort him to the Lord! I have things to report!” Mi Zhu laughed. As a merchant he naturally gravitated to benefits.
“No need.” A cold voice replied.
“You cannot go in!”
“Scram!”
A middle aged scholar barged into Mi Zhu’s home with soldiers. Mi Zhu immediately called out the moment he saw the scholar. “Sun Qian, Sun Gongyou!”
“Men! Arrest that traitor!” Sun Qian shouted with an ashen expression. He glared at Liu mang’s messenger who simply said whatever he liked. He was fortunate to have come early enough to stop this or he would be sent to Liu Bei instead. Everything would have been finished if that were to happen. After all, he never betrayed Liu Bei. If Sun Qian wanted to surrender, he would not have come back here. Even if Liu Mang had released him, it does not mean that he had surrendered to Liu Mang.
“Sun Qian Sun Gonyou! What are you doing?” Mi Zhu shouted. He wanted to use Sun Qian as a stepping stone but he did not expect Sun Qian to be one step ahead.
“What am I doing? Mi Zhu Mi Zizhong! I should be the one asking you this question!” Sun Qian coldly replied. He then looked at Liu Mang’s messenger and asked, “Who is this? Why is he in your home?”
Mi Zhu reflexively blurted out a reply. “This person is Liu Mang’s messenger!”
“Covertly communicating with the enemy? Do you want to betray the Lord? Arrest him!” Sun Qian ordered. He wanted Mi Zhu to personally admit to the messenger’s identity.
“I’m innocent!” Mi Zhu objected. The men that Sun Qian brought over were not his but Jian Yong’s. Jian Yong’s relationship with Sun Qian was not that bad. He simply did not want to interfere with Sun Qian and Pang Tong’s struggle. Borrowing Jian Yong’s men was an easy task.
“Sun Qian Sun Gonngyou! This is slander! I did not betray the Lord, you did!” Mi Zhu shouted back. Fortunately, Jian Yong’s soldiers did not listen to Sun Qian entirely. When they heard Mi Zhu’s claims, they did not dare to arrest Mi Zhu as the man was also Liu Bei’s subordinate.
“Do you have any proof that I betrayed the Lord?” Sun Qian asked coldly.
“Evidence? I have evidence!” Mi Zhu said as he pointed towards Liu Mang’s messenger. “This person is my evidence! This person told me that you are the one that betrayed the Lord!” Mi Zhu replied feeling pleased. As long as this person was around, he could expose Sun Qian. Unfortunately, he soon found himself dumbstruck.
“Mi Zhu. Remember what we discussed.” The messenger cupped his fist towards Mi Zhu and then took out a dagger.
“Protect them!” Jian Yong’s soldiers quickly brought Mi Zhu and Sun Qian behind them for protection. However, Liu Mang’s messenger simply stabbed himself in the chest instead. Blood flowed out as the man fell to the floor.
“Marquis Cheng (Chenghou)2. Farewell!”
“No! No!” Mi Zhu shouted as he recklessly ran towards Liu Mang’s messenger. He wanted to save Liu Mang’s messenger but it was impossible. The dagger had severed the messenger’s arteries. It was impossible for him to survive.
“You cannot die!” Mi Zhu cried out loudly. He had never wanted a person to live this much in his life. Even when his siblings died, he only felt depressed.
If the messenger survived, Mi Zhu would be able to get out of this predicament and even get promoted. If the messenger died, Mi Zhu would be finished.
“So you really have made contact with Liu Mang! Men! Arrest Mi Zhu!” Sun Qian knew that this matter was over but he was still afraid. Liu Mang’s messenger had no hesitation at all and even died with a smile on his face.
“Master Gongyou. There is a letter here!” Jian Yong’s men noticed the letter on Mi Zhu’s body and gave it to Sun Qian. Sun Qian saw that the letter came from Mi Zhu’s brother, Mi Fang. That means that the letter came from Yangzhou.
Mi Zhu’s end is becoming a reality.
“Send him to the Lord and await his judgement!”
___
Four people were at the governor’s residence. Liu Bei, Sun Qian, Mi Zhu and Jian Yong. Mi Zhu was placed in an awkward position. He knew that his siblings were still alive but it was also his Lord that proclaimed them dead.
“Zizhong. Did you know that you siblings are still alive?” Liu Bei asked in a dull and flat tone.
“N.” Mi Zhu nodded.
“Then you also know that I have no redeemed them?”
Mi Zhu nodded again.
“Zizhong. Do you hate me?” Liu Bei asked.
“No.” Mi Zhu shook his head.
“It is not that you don’t hate him! You simply don’t dare to admit it!” Sun Qian interjected. If one considered Sun Qian to have felt guilty towards Mi Zhu, that feeling was now replaced with a desire to ensure that Mi Zhu stayed dead. This is because Mi Zhu knew too much. If Mi Zhu were to survive, the one that died would be him. On top of that, forcing Mi Zhu to die would give him merits.
“Sun Gongyou!” Mi Zhu glared.
“Is that why you betrayed me?” Liu Bei asked indifferently. Liu Bei had complicated feelings for this incident. Mi Zhu was the reason Liu Bei could accomplish so much. It was Mi Zhu that allowed Liu Bei to make a comeback. Had it been any other person, Liu Bei would have already killed him instead of hearing him out. Mi Zhu even wedded his sister to Liu Bei. It can be said that Liu Bei owed Mi Zhu a lot.
However, it was precisely because Liu Bei had become rich that he did not value Mi Zhu as much. It was to the extent that Liu Bei even avoided Mi Zhu simply because he did not know how to confront Mi Zhu. It was simply like how giving people help during times of need makes them feel gratitude while constant presents would only make them greedy. Every time he looked at Mi Zhu, he felt ashamed at himself. He was given so much money and he was still unable to become successful.
“No! I never betrayed you!” Mi Zhu shook his head. No matter who it is, the warlords all do not tolerate traitors. Cao Cao even executed those traitors that surrendered to him.
“Did you not?”
“Then who is that in your home? Is it an envoy for my Lord? Also, what is Marquis Cheng?” Sun Qian purposefully added.
“Marquis Cheng?” A common title would be like Marquis Xiang and Marquis Ting. Marquis Cheng was of a higher grade like Lu Bu’s Marquis Wen.
Even Liu Bei and his brother Guan Yu only had the Marquis Xian title.
“Milord! This is all Sun Qian’s slander! I did not betray you!”
“I am slandering you? Why don’t you ask the others present! Everyone there heard the man call you Marquis Cheng! The ones that arrested you are not my men but Xianhe’s men! Is Xianhe also slandering you?” Sun Qian immediately got Jian Yong involved as it was Jian Yong’s men that made the arrest.
“Milord! I am wrongly accused!” Mi Zhu said as he slammed his head onto the ground. Blood flowed onto his face, causing him to look unsightly.
His unsightly appearance made Liu Bei feel even unhappier. On the other hand, Jian Yong felt disturbed about something and cupped his fist at Liu Bei. “Milord. Could there have been some mistake? Mi Zhu have always been loyal and devoted. His work performance have also always been complimentary. It is unlikely that he would betray Milord!”
“That’s right! Milord! This one have always been faithful to you!” Mi Zhu crawled forward and hugged Liu Bei’s thigh but was kicked away as he caused Liu Bei’s thigh to become bloody.
“Hm?” Liu Bei frowned. Although he kicked Mi Zhu away, he also started to doubt that Mi Zhu really betrayed him. If it had happened before this, Liu Bei would not have believed it at all. After all, Mi Zhu was still his brother-in-law. Why would Mi Zhu betray him?
“Milord! I did not betray you! It is Sun Qian that betrayed you! Sun Qian was captured by Liu Mang at Ruyin! He was released to become a spy! That messenger was initially going to expose him!” Mi Zhu pointed at Sun Qian.
“Sun Qian?” Liu Bei and Jian Yong stared at Sun Qian. Was this possible? Liu Bei and Jian Yong also had suspicions about Sun Qian’s actual ability to escape.
“Haha!” Instead of getting angry, Sun Qian laughed. “Milord! I went to Ruyin and risked my life for Pang Tong’s empty fort strategy! Would I betray Milord? I only need to tell them the location of the provisions after the city was breached. Would Yangzhou still need provisions? I even burned down the provisions. Would I do that if I was a traitor? There may not be much there but there were still twenty thousand provisions! This is enough to change the situation of this war!” Sun Qian replied. He was a politician. The thing he needed the least was face. It was actually Pang Tong’s scheme to kill Sun Qian but when the story got changed to Sun Qian’s heroics. “This subject still remembers Liu Mang’s expression after the provisions were burned down. He looked as though he wanted to eat me alive! How could it be that I betray Milord?”
“That Liu Mang wanted to burn me like the provisions! He tied me up and threw me into the fire. If it was not because I was lucky, I would not have survived! I would have no longer been able to work for Milord!” Sun Qian cried out as he adjusted his sleeves. This was not to wipe his crocodile tears but to show the burn scars that he had suffered.
Actually the burn scars that he had was not from that incident. Sun Qian had simply burned himself to make it look like he had escaped with his life.
Liu Bei nodded when he saw Sun Qian’s scars. He believed Sun Qian’s story and agreed that it would have been stranger if Liu Mang decided to spare Sun Qian.
“These are all lies!” Mi Zhu tried to explain.
“Yes! They are all lies! But don’t you think it is strange that the loyal you are the one that received a letter from the Fake King Liu Mang instead of the traitorous me?” Sun Qian said and then gave a signal for one of Liu Bei’s guards to take out a letter. The guard handed the letter over to Liu Bei and said, “Milord. We obtained this from Mi Zhu’s house.”
“Oh?” Liu Bei picked up the letter and read it. The more he read the darker his face became. After he was done reading it, he gave a cold harrumph. Jian Yong quickly took the letter and read it after that. He then shook his head at Mi Zhu.
“Swindler Sun Qian! Did you swap the letter? It is the letter my little brother sent me!” Mi Zhu panicked when he saw Liu Bei and Jian Yong’s reactions. He was afraid that Sun Qian had a hand in this.
“Haha. Is Milord done reading? Please return that letter to Marquis Cheng!” Sun Qian cupped his fist towards Liu Bei. Liu Bei flung the letter in response. Mi Zhu then quickly crawled forward and picked up the letter. When Mi Zhu picked up the letter, he saw that it was indeed the letter his little brother wrote for him. So why did Liu Bei’s face turned dark?
This was due to Mi Zhu’s lack of foresight as a merchant. Merchants know the art of making money but not the art of words. In the letter, Mi Fang told his brother not to surrender. This is a good thing. However, Mi Fang wrote this about twenty times. This would definitely draw interest to the word. As a result the words that said not to surrender became words asking to surrender. It would be hard for Mi Zhu to justify this.
“Milord! I have been accused wrongly! I would never betray you! Please spare my life on account of my Mi Family dispersing our wealth!” Mi Zhu did not understand the reason but he could tell that calamity was going to fall upon him based on Sun Qian, Jian Yong and Liu Bei’s expression. He kowtowed in hopes that Liu Bei would spare him.
Jian Yong sighed. He originally wanted to help Mi Zhu since he had made dealings with Mi Zhu before. However, Mi Zhu sealed his own way out. There is truly no saving him.
Mi Family dispersing their wealth. Those words rang loudly in Liu Bei’s ears. It was as though Mi Zhu was calling him trash for all of his failures despite obtaining the Mi Family’s wealth. Liu Bei’s killing intent increased as he narrowed his eyes.
“Enough!” Liu Bei shouted, stopping Mi Zhu’s howls.
“Men! Sent Mi Zhu to the secret prison!” Liu Bei roared. Mi Zhu could only be sent to the secret prison instead of the common one at that moment.
“Milord! I am accused wrongly! Xianhe! Help me! Sun Qian! The two of us cannot live under the same sky!” Mi Zhu cries grew softer as he was dragged further away until his mouth was blocked, silencing him abruptly.
Jian Yong shook his head. Mi Zhu was finished. He then glanced at Sun Qian. He did not believe that Sun Qian betrayed Liu Bei but he would certainly believe if Sun Qian purposefully forced Mi Zhu to this end. This is because Mi Zhu had grew too close to Pang Tong.
Jian Yong saw the smile on Sun Qian’s face but he did not point it out. He did not want to involve themselves in those two people’s hatred for each other.
“Xianhe. What should we do?” Liu Bei’s killing intent leaked out. Jian Yong understood Liu Bei’s intentions. Liu Bei wanted to kill Mi Zhu regardless of whether Mi Zhu had betrayed him. This is simply because Mi Zhu reminded Liu Bei about his failures. However, Liu Bei could not execute him publicly for the same reason. The Mi Family had done too much for Liu Bei. Even if they did betray Liu Bei, he could not execute them publicly. It was the same with Liu Pi. The difference is that Liu Bei lied saying that Liu Pi died in battle.
Besides that, Liu Bei had just given three marquis titles to the Mi Family. If he executed them for being traitors right after that, Liu Bei would turn into a joke. People would ask why Mi Zhu wanted to betray Liu Bei. They would say that Liu Bei did not want to take out sixty thousand provisions as ransom and Mi Zhu who could not stand by any longer betrayed Liu Bei for his siblings. Once this rumor spreads, Liu Bei would no longer be known as benevolent and would lose the loyalty of his men.
As a result, Mi Zhu needed to die but he had to die gloriously.
Since Mi Zhu could no longer be saved, Jian Yong cupped his fist and said, “Milord! Restrain your grief! Marquis Xiang could not bear finding out that his siblings were killed by that Fake King Liu Mang! He was so heartbroken that he spat out blood and died!”
Sun Qian took a deep breath when he heard this. Jian Yong was such a poisonous person. He could easily make people die like this. With just a few words, Mi Zhu could not live even if he wanted to. On top of that, his death would only make Liu Bei look more benevolent.
“He grieved to death?” Liu Bei sneered. “How easy for him! Gongyou, I will leave this matter to you!” Liu Bei said. He did not leave it to Jian Yong not because he did not trust Jian Yong. It was simply because Mi Zhu would die too comfortably. On the other hand, Sun Qian was the one that caught Mi Zhu. He would not let Mi Zhu die so easily.
“This subordinate will not disappoint Milord. He will ensure that will die heartbroken!” Sun Qian nodded with a smile. He did not care about Mi Zhu personally. He was just happy removing one of Pang Tong’s pawns. He wanted to ensure that Pang Tong felt sorrowful for a day.
________
They used Pang biejia again. I am reverting back to Pang Tong unless his title is absolutely necessary for the discussion.
Another position name.
