“Milord. A report from the frontlines of Yuzhou!” Jia Xu Jia Wenhe said as he entered Liu Mang’s residence.
“Bring it here!” Liu Mang replied. Although it had been peaceful in Jingzhou, Liu Mang was constantly worried about the battle at Yuzhou. Whether he could return to Yangzhou depended on whether he could capture Yuzhou. Chen Deng was slowly forging through half of Xuzhou. This alongside Yuzhou would be like having two provinces. It can already be considered conquering the Central Plains.
Three forces would form in the Central Plains. Liu Biao, Sun Ce and the Conqueror of the Central Plains, Liu Mang. At that moment, Liu Biao would need to let Liu Mang go in order to maintain a stable power balance. If he did not, there may be the possibility of Liu Mang allying with Sun Ce. At that time, Liu Biao would be facing a crisis.
Liu Mang felt excited when he thought of going back to Yuzhou.
“We suffered more than fourteen thousand losses at Nandun?” Liu Mang frowned at the reports. Written on it were the number of dead and injured of his Yangzhou Army and at least dozens of them belonged to the Urban Army. This is despite them having catapults.
Liu Mang continued reading the report. Despite their heavy losses, the battle had become a foundation for the Yangzhou Army to become elites. Although fifty thousand Yangzhou Army troops were auxiliary troops, they started to become part of the main force after the food situation was resolved. Although they were still commanded by the more experienced men of the Urban Army, they have now started to learn the art of war.
In any case, the Yangzhou Army were still new recruits. It was hard for them to become elites. But sieging the city with the help of the catapults was still their task.
Out of his fifty thousand men, at least eleven thousand were dead and at least two thousand were seriously injured to the point where returning to the battlefield was impossible. The remaining thirty six thousand soldiers can be considered elites.
“Send a letter to Shouchun. Have the names of the dead recorded in the Hall of Heroes and arrange for money and fertile land to those injured.” Liu Mang said to Jia Xu.
“Yes!” Jia Xu nodded as he looked at Liu Mang. Jia Xu had different opinions regarding the treatment of the dead and injured. To him, human lives had very little value during chaotic times. People became soldiers to eat. Jia Xu did not care about those who died. Having their names recorded cost nothing. However, the severely injured were normally mercy killed to allow them to die comfortably. Those with conscience would just let them die on their own as those with severe injuries were not only unable to fight but could also impede them.
This is because medical care needed to be given to those injured. Besides that, the anguished howls of the severely injured could lower morale. Even after winning, they would need to be responsible for the future of these injured soldiers. At that moment, there were already over ten thousand retired soldiers missing a limb or two. Some of them even loss all their limbs. To Yangzhou, they were just burdens.
However, Jia Xu also knew that he would not be able to persuade Liu Mang to change his mind.
Jia Xu shook his head bitterly. It was fortunate for Liu Mang that his soldiers aren’t the type to cling to life. With the compensation given to the family members upon their death in the line of service and recording their name as heroes for the citizens to worship them, death was still a better option. As a result, the Yangzhou Army did not fear death.
“We have captured Nandun!” Liu Mang said to Jia Xu after he finished reading the report.
“All that is left is Dingcheng. After that, we can converge our army onto Runan.” Nandun and Dingcheng were like defensive cities. It would be hard to capture Runan without capturing it first. Once they capture it, Liu Bei would have no choice but to abandon Yuzhou or perish together with Runan.
Despite Nandun being captured, Liu Mang did not seem happy. Jia Xu asked if a general died only for Liu Mang to say that there were no generals dead but Zhang Liao was injured. Although it was not too serious, he would need time to rest.
The reason why Liu Mang was unhappy was because of all the deaths amongst the common people. Although he gave the order to attack, he was not happy. He then showed killing intent. “Imperial Uncle Liu Bei Liu Xuande! That traitor to the Han!”
Liu Mang’s hatred for Liu Bei was much more than his hatred for Cao Cao and Sun Ce despite having the same surname. His hypocrisy caused the war to be extended. Without him, Cao Cao would have long united the land in the original history. There won’t be any Three Kingdoms or the Jin Dynasty. Cao Cao would have at least brought peace to the land.
Having ambitions is fine but one must at least have the ability. Everyone used their own troops and generals but not Liu Bei. He manipulated and involved the common citizens. He made the innocent die for his cause. When he was defeated at Xuzhou, he lied saying that Cao Cao would kill all of them in order for the countless citizens of Xuzhou to accompany him.
On the surface, it looked like he was thinking of the citizens. In actual fact, he was using them as his shield to cover his retreat. Cao Cao was not an idiot so it was not possible for him to have wanted to kill Xuzhou’s citizens after capturing it since war requires food and human resources
But thanks to these citizens, Liu Bei was able to escape. Along the way, over ten thousand of those who followed him starved to death. It was the same with the citizens of Nandun who stood ready to defend the city.
“Pass down my orders. Capture Yuzhou and kill Liu Bei. That man must die!” Liu Mang have never hated someone as much as Liu Bei. Even before attacking Yuzhou, he received a secret message from the puppet Emperor telling him not to kill Liu Bei as they were all from the same clan.
Liu Mang still gave face to the Emperor and had initially thought of keeping Liu Bei under house arrest. He even thought of obtaining Zhang Fei and Guan Yu. However, the incident at Nandun made Liu Mang determined to kill Liu Bei. Liu Bei had to die even if he had to kill Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as well.
“An army of a hundred thousand!” Liu Bei walked back and forth. Liu Bei knew that he was going to lose but it was this critical juncture that made him anxious.
“What a large army!” Liu Bei muttered, realizing that he never had an army that big even at his peak. Now Liu Mang dispatched this large army just to deal with him.
Liu Bei was jealous at Lu Bu’s luck. When Lu Bu came to Xuzhou, he only had the Wolf Cavalry and the Formation Breaker. How many soldiers could he have when Cao Cao chased him away from Yanzhou? Liu Bei wanted Lu Bu to be his gatekeeper but Lu Bu ended up finding a good father-in-law that is willing to wed his own daughter to Lu Bu as a concubine, allowing Lu Bu to develop his army again.
When Lu Bu was chased away from Xuzhou, the fierce tiger should have become like a sick cat. Yet suddenly he gained a son-in-law, Liu Mang Liu Hanyang. Now he occupied Lujiang, Yangzhou and withstood a coalition attack from three forces.
Now Lu Bu had an army of a hundred thousand. Liu Bei felt jealous and afraid.
“It only I had a daughter!” Liu Bei could not help but mutter.
Jian Yong thought to himself that even if Liu Bei had a daughter, he would not be successful. Cao Cao himself had already tried marrying his daughter to Liu Mang but failed. As it would be better to be Cao Cao’s subordinate instead of Liu Bei’s, there was little chance that Liu Mang would accept.
“How do we repel the enemy?” Liu Bei felt his head ache. It would already be considered good if he could even keep half of what he has.
“Milord. They probably don’t have one hundred thousand men!” Jian Yong stepped forward and explained. Although Yangzhou now had provisions, it was impossible for them to bring out a hundred thousand soldiers that quickly. If they really did, Jian Yong would be happy as it would mean that most of them were mixed troops. These kind of soldiers did not have any fighting strength and would only impede the main army.
“At the very least, they would still have fifty thousand men!” Liu Bei replied. He also knew that Liu Mang was unlikely to have one hundred thousand men but even fifty thousand men was too much for him to handle.
“Brother, there is no need to concern. We will just act flexibly according to the circumstances.” Guan Yu stepped forward and said to Liu Bei.
“Easier said than done!” Liu Bei laughed bitterly. He could maybe repel the enemy if he had provisions but what would the soldiers eat without provisions? Liu Bei was already prepared to withdraw but Yangzhou had already come knocking.
“If only the Military Advisor was here!” Liu Bei once again recalled his blessing that is Pang Tong. If Pang Tong was here, he would not need to worry so much.
“Third Brother!” Guan Yu also said silently. As Zhang Fei accompanied Pang Tong, he was also missing.
“That’s right! What about Gongyou?” Liu Bei suddenly remembered about Sun Qian.
“Milord. Sun Qian had been missing for a long time!” Jian Yong replied bitterly.
“Sun Qian is missing?” Liu Bei was stunned. Previously, he did not let Sun Qian follow him as Sun Qian and Pang Tong hated each other. When Pang Tong’s letter arrived saying to attack Fancheng, Sun Qian objected. That was why Sun Qian was left behind in Nanyang.
“Did Gongyou not return?”
“Governor Sun disappeared after we left for Fancheng.”
“Where could he be?” Liu Bei asked.
“Maybe in Yangzhou!” Jian Yong replied maliciously, accusing Sun Qian of betrayal. Jian Yong did not care about Sun Qian’s relationship with Pang Tong but he still suspected Sun Qian due to his actions at Yuzhou.
At the start of Mi Zhu’s incident, Jian Yong was reprimanded by Liu Bei for being unable to find the assassin sent by Yangzhou. As the city was already under martial law, it would be impossible for the assassins to leave. The entire time, there were only two places he did not search for assassins. The first was Liu Bei’s residence. As it was filled with guards, there was no need for Jian Yong to do anything. These guards would be able to notice the assassins themselves. The other was Sun Qian’s residence.
Mi Zhu’s housekeeper that went missing and then returned to provoke Liu Bei was also investigated and the trails led back to Sun Qian.
Jian Yong did not voice out his doubts as Liu Bei and Sun Qian were close. Tattling on Sun Qian was just asking for trouble. But now that Sun Qian had disappeared, Jian Yong has an excuse to speak.
“Gongyou?” Liu Bei still cannot believe it but Sun Qian’s disappearance and Jian Yong’s constant warnings had started to convince Liu Bei.
“Sun Qian is really such a person? I regret not killing him earlier!” Guan Yu said angrily. He hated traitors the most.
“Milord. Sun Qian may also have a hand in the Military Advisor’s trip to Jingzhou!”
“Brother! What are you waiting for? Sun Qian may have disappeared but his family is still in Yuzhou! We can just go and question them!” Guan Yu suggested angrily. His whole face was red in anger.
Liu Bei thought to himself for a while and finally agreed. He ordered Liao Hua to investigate Sun Qian’s residence as he was afraid that Jian Yong would try and frame Sun Qian.
Jian Yong did not object as he truly believed that Sun Qian was hiding something. But just as Liao Hua was about to leave, a messenger ran in saying that Sun Qian was seeking an audience.
“Sun Qian?” Liao Hua stopped walking, Jian Yong’s smile froze and Guan Yu no longer seemed angry. All of them looked at the messenger.
“What did you say?” All of them asked at the same time.
“I… Lord Sun Qian is waiting outside seeking an audience with Milord.” Sun Qian needed to request an audience as it was forbidden to interrupt a meeting.
Liu Bei did not know whether this was good news or bad news now that Sun Qian was back. “Let Gongyou in.”
“Yes!”
After a while, Sun Qian entered the hall. Liu Bei frowned at Sun Qian’s appearance as Sun Qian looked like a farmer from a rural area.
“What’s the matter, Governor Sun? Did you come back because the road to Yangzhou is blocked?” Jian Yong asked. He had already offended Sun Qian before so he might as well go even further.
“Road to Yangzhou?” Sun Qian initially did not know what Jian Yong was talking about. However, he soon noticed the meaningful looks the others were giving him. At this point, he realized that Jian Yong must have slandered him.
“Gongyou. Where did you go?” Liu Bei asked after stopping Jian Yong from speaking.
“Milord, it is hard to explain in a few words. After departing from Wancheng, I keep thinking that attacking Fancheng was wrong!”
“What is the point of giving advice after the fact?” Jian Yong retorted back. To him, Sun Qian was simply one of Yangzhou’s chess piece.
“The Military Advisor’s letter told us to attack Fancheng because our provisions are being detained in Fancheng!” Jian Yong said.
“In that case, did we obtain the provisions?” Sun Qian laughed.
“You…!” Sun Qian’s words cut like a knife. The amount of provisions obtained were too little to even return to the populace. It was also unable to support the army for long.
“Hmph! The Military Advisor’s strategy allowed us to capture Fancheng in a single day! If it was not because we were unable to obtain the next step to the plan, we could have already reached Xiangyang City!” Jian Yong bragged.
“I do not know if the Military Advisor had a brilliant strategy but I know that it is not the Military Advisor that captured Fancheng!” Sun Qian replied.
“Are you claiming that the Military Advisor’s letter was fake? Governor Sun! Have you forgotten that it was the Military Advisor’s men that took out Fancheng’s lookouts and ensured that their gates were unable to close?” Jian Yong asked and then laughed. “Oh right, you were not there! How would you know?”
Jian Yong sneered. It was Liu Bei that prevented Sun Qian from accompanying them.
“Haha, Xian He! Even though I was left behind in Nanyang, I still know what happened in Fancheng!”
“Is that so?” Jian Yong taunted.
“The entire battle at Fancheng was planned by that Liu Mang!” Sun Qian said as he shook his head.
“Planned?”
“Milord. It is true that if you capture Fancheng, you would be able to suppress Jingzhou. However, do you think it is so easy to capture Fancheng?”
“That is because the Military Advisor is talented!”
“Really? If you insist that Liu Mang’s White Horses were actually the Military Advisor’s men then I have nothing left to say!”
“What? The White Horses?”
“Yes Milord! It is Liu Mang’s White Horses that helped Milord capture Fancheng!”
“Impossible! It must be the Military Advisor’s scheme!” Jian Yong refuted.
“Master Jian Yong. Were you able to find and reward the ones that opened the gates?” Sun Qian asked, changing the way he addressed Jian Yong. This showed that he was now estranged.
“I…!” Jian Yong was unable to find the ones responsible. As the ones who captured Fancheng, they would definitely be rewarded but instead, they went missing.
“Sun Qian. How do you know about this?”
“Haha. You will know this just by looking at the clues. The ones that opened the gates came from the East which is from Yuzhou. Afterwards, the provisions sent to Yuzhou were robbed. Who else could it be?” Sun Qian asked. He did not find out about this himself but was actually told through a letter from Yangzhou. As Liu Mang was going to capture Yuzhou, Liu Bei was finished. Liu Mang sent the letter because he felt that Sun Qian was still a useful chess piece. On top of that, Sun Qian was talented so Liu Mang wanted to give Sun Qian the chance to become his subordinate.
“The whole thing was a trap from the start! He helped Milord capture Fancheng so that you would offend Liu Biao. Now Liu Biao would allow him to freely deal with us!” Sun Qian learned from experience and did not mention names. Before this, Jian Yong said Pang Tong’s letter was genuine but Sun Qian said the entire thing was a trap. This implied that Pang Tong might be a traitor.
“This is just your side of the story! You simply intend on slandering the Military Advisor!” Jian Yong accused.
“Slandering the Miltiary Advisor?” Sun Qian cupped his fist at Liu Bei. “Milord. Only a few scouts should be needed to find those White Horses but some people seem unable to do that. Some people try to hide this fact. Who is the one slandering here?”
“I thought…” Jian Yong was unable to admit that he was drunk over the victory. He had thought that these meritorious individuals would eventually show themselves but they never did.
“Jian Yong?” Liu Bei looked at Jian Yong. If the whole scenario was a trap then the traitor could be Pang Tong, Jian Yong or even the both of them.
“Milord! Do not listen to Sun Qian Sun Gongyou’s one sided statements! We have been companions for decades. Milord should know of my conduct!” Jian Yong played the emotional card, causing Liu Bei to hesitate. The two of them grew up supporting one another.
“Didn’t Yuan Shao and Xu You have the same relationship?” Sun Qian asked coldly.
“Sun Qian! You!”
Sun Qian fully intended on removing Jian Yong. The two of them were loyal to Liu Bei but in the end they took different paths. This is because Sun Qian was released by Liu Mang. Sun Qian who wanted to support Liu Bei could not let anyone find out about this secret. On the other hand, Jian Yong constantly investigating the matter made Sun Qian realize that he was being suspected.
Since Sun Qian have no intention of leaving Liu Bei, he could only force Jian Yong to leave.
“Xianhe!” Sun Qian thought to himself. “It wouldn’t have come to this if it weren’t because of Pang Tong. If you want to blame someone, blame Pang Tong.”
Liu Bei’s heart was filled with suspicion the moment Sun Qian mentioned Xu You. Xu You grew up together with Yuan Shao but eventually defected to Cao Cao, causing Yuan Shao’s defeat at Guandu.
Even though Liu Bei was not as paranoid as Cao Cao, he still hesitated. Sun Qian took this opportunity to speak of his own deeds. “Milord, this Sun Qian did not fail you. He helped you obtain provisions to overcome this crisis!”
“Provisions?” Everyone immediately showed interest. Liu Bei was struggling as he lacked provisions. It is only with provisions can they fight back against Liu Mang.
“Men! Take Jian Yong to prison!” Liu Bei no longer trusted Jian Yong. If Jian Yong was not a traitor, then he would not have spoken for the traitorous Mi Zhu against Sun Qian.
The battle at Fancheng was revealed by Sun Qian to be a trap. On the other hand, Jian Yong seemed blind despite being in charge of information. If Jian Yong was indeed blinded then it would not be a problem. However, it would be frightening if Jian Yong was sabotaging him deliberately. Now, Jian Yong was accusing Sun Qian again.
To Liu Bei, Sun Qian was a faithful official. He had risked his life to burn down Liu Mang’s provisions at Ruyin, and almost lost his life in the process. He had discovered Mi Zhu’s treachery and almost got killed by an assassin from Yangzhou. He advised against attacking Fancheng but Liu Bei did not listen. Now, he provided provisions in this crucial moment.
Jian Yong who continued to slander this faithful official made Liu Bei angry. This is also considered giving an explanation towards Sun Qian.
“Milord!” Jian Yong shouted. He wanted to justify himself but did not know how to. He could only be dragged away by the guards.
“Brother. Is it really okay?” Guan Yu was disturbed as Jian Yong had been with them for years.
“Second Brother, there is no need to say anymore. Even if he did not betray us, it is a fact that he neglected his duty!” Liu Bei did this not only because of suspicion. He had to do this to placate Sun Qian.
“Milord. Xianhe is probably tricked by a vile person and should still be loyal to you.” Sun Qian said. Though he didn’t say it, the vile person he was referring to was Pang Tong.
“Gongyou is bighearted! Jian Yong is truly repulsive as a colleague!” Liu Bei’s impression of Jian Yong worsened after hearing Sun Qian plead for Jian Yong.
“Milord overpraise me.” Sun Qian laughed modestly.
“Gongyou. Where did the provisions come from?” Guan Yu asked. The lack of provisions has been a problem for quite a while. Guan Yu who stayed behind in Yuzhou to take care of things was unable to solve this problem. Now that Sun Qian had apparently solved the problem, Guan Yu wanted to ask for pointers.
At the East was Yangzhou who were enemies. At the South was Jingzhou who they recently offended. The West was Hanzhong. It is possible to look for provisions there but it was too far away.
“Milord. These provisions come from Yanzhou!”
