“Come. This old one will accompany His Highness. Shanmin, please support me.” Pang Degong said as he nodded at the others.
“Yes!” Pang Shanmin nodded.
“Let’s go together!” The common people said as well. All of them felt indignant at the injustice. Their grievances towards the Huang Family’s tyranny spilled out. The common people were all like this. Although Liu Mang weren’t particularly that good to them, he had opened up his doors and gave out a bit of wealth. Even then, they were all willing to risk getting beheaded for him after getting instigated.
“These mob!” Huang She was angry but he could not do anything alone. Huang She wanted to kill but he would not be able to defeat Liu Mang who was fully equipped with heavy armor without the assistance of his soldiers. His soldiers even dared to go against him.
As for the civilians, obstructing the law and attempting to attack the army is a capital offense worthy of death. Yet if he were to draw his sword on them, they would definitely rebel and kill him. The soldiers would definitely not try and stop them. In fact, it would be good enough if they did not also stab him in the back. Kill the soldiers for rebelling?
Earlier, one of them had even fought back. Huang She had to desperately use Liu Biao’s orders to keep the soldiers in line as even they did not dare to disobey Liu Biao. As a result, all of them could only escort Liu Mang to see Liu Biao.
“Thank you everyone.” Liu Mang said as he cupped his fist to the people. “There is no need to follow us. I am sure Liu Biao will be able to tell that I am innocent.”
“Innocent?” Huang She sneered. He is sure that Liu Mang would be dead when he sees Liu Biao.
Liu Mang was grateful to the common people but he could not allow them to follow him. This is because Liu Mang was gambling on Liu Biao to see things clearly. It would be great if Liu Biao did not immediately try to kill him, in which case there would be a battle. If that were to happen, the innocent civilians would only get injured. At that moment, the soldiers won’t care if you were a civilian or not. The casualties would be serious.
Liu Mang was not Liu Bei. He would never use the people as his shield. Besides that, not all of the Xiangyang troops listened to Huang She. This means there was no need to waste his effort fighting.
“This…” The civilians wanted to help Liu Mang because of his kindness. However, the other reason they thought of doing this was due to their excitement. Ordinarily, they would have been executed for creating a disturbance especially if they were all going to confront Liu Biao. Liu Mang’s words woke them up and calmed them down. Once they were calm, they started to hesitate. Calamity might befall them if they were to follow Liu Mang. However, they had also already declared that they would go follow Liu Mang and Pang Degong. If they were to go back on their words, they would lose face. To die with dignity or live in hardship. This was only natural. Even the common people needed to save face.
“Go back home, fellow countrymen. This old one here is enough.” Pang Degong helped Liu Mang persuade the people while taking a glance at Liu Mang. He never expected Liu Mang to be sympathetic to the people.
“In that case, we will be troubling Lord Pang.” With a way out of this situation, the common people started to leave. They all had family to feed and could not afford to involve their families in this matter.
“Don’t go! Didn’t you want to seek justice from the Lord?” Huang She sneered at them. Huang She was sure that they would not live to see the next day if they had indeed went along with them. But now, everyone ignored Huang She.
Liu Mang also did not blame them. It was good enough that these common people could help him out until this point.
“Your Highness. Let’s go.” Pang Degong said after the common people had left.
“Lord Pang! I think it is better if you do not follow me as well.” Liu Mang cupped his fist towards Pang Degong. He was grateful to Pang Degong but the man’s plan was to use his prestige to persuade Liu Biao. Unfortunately, this was not a problem that can be solved with words.
“Hm?” Pang Degong frowned. “I am sure the Lord will give face to this old man’s words.”
“Lord Pang. This is not a matter of giving you face but…” Liu Mang did not know how to explain. It is not like he could say that he slept with Liu Biao’s wife. “Lord Pang. I will remember this favor. If Lord Pang needs something from me, send a letter to Yangzhou and I will help to the best of my abilities.”
At this point, Pang Degong understood that his influence would not be able to help because it is a serious situation. He had already accomplished his objective of helping Pang Shanmin repay Liu Mang. At the same time, he had obtained precautionary help for his son. Pang Degong had been impartial the entire time. The reason he was still moving around in his old age was because of his only selfish reason, his children. Pang Shanmin was too honest. This made it hard for Pang Shanmin to protect himself against tricks. Pang Degong could still protect him and the Pang Family when he is around but once Pang Degong is gone, Pang Shanmin would not be able to protect the Pang Family. Before this, Pang Tong was still around but Pang Degong had forgotten to teach him morals. Now, the two siblings were enemies.
This was why Pang Degong needed to make an escape route for his son. He already had good relationship with the Cai Family and the Kuai Family so there were no problems in Jingzhou. However, Jingzhou alone was not good enough as insurance as Jingzhou was abundant in resources and had gone through many years of peace. Many others like Sun Ce and Cao Cao covet this piece of land. That was why Pang Degong wanted Yangzhou who had many others from the Lumen Academy such as Xu Shu as an escape route.
“Hm. This old body certainly gets tired quickly nowadays. Men. Come and take me back home.” Pang Degong said and left.
Pang Shanmin wanted to continue supporting his father but Pang Degong refused. He pointed towards Liu Mang, implying that Pang Shanmin should follow Liu Mang to see if Liu Mang needed more help. If Liu Mang needed more help, Pang Shanmin had to return to his father and inform him.
“Lord Pang, stay safe!” Liu Mang cupped his fists. Liu Mang still respected this old man for opening the Lumen Academy, giving people knowledge.
Once Pang Degong had left, Liu Mang coldly looked towards Huang She and said. “Official Huang. Why are you still standing there? Let’s go!”
“You!” Huang She got even more pissed off by Liu Mang’s words. It was as though he is the prisoner instead of Liu Mang.
Although Huang She felt embarrassed, he still did not dare to do anything to Liu Mang yet. He might as well wait for the time Liu Mang meets with Liu Biao
The group then set out to where Liu Biao was. At that moment, the location was the Xiangyang prison.
***
A man and a woman faced each other in prison.
Meanwhile the nearby jailorss talked to each other. “Prison head. Why did the Lord visit the prison today?”
“Shh! How would I know?” The head of the prison hissed back.
“I heard that there is an accident at the residence. That is why the Lord put his wife in prison.” Another jailors guessed.
“What kind of mistake could a woman make?” One asked in disdain before his eyes widened. “Could it be?”
The jailors’s words immediately brought all of their thoughts to a certain point. To begin with, there is normally not much a wife can do besides send money back to her maiden family. Even this is considered a small matter. There could only be one reason why Liu Biao became so agitated.
“She… she had….”
“Get lost! Don’t even say it or I will be the first to kill you!” The head of the jailorss said angrily. They were all small figures and could not afford to speak recklessly. It did not matter what her crime was, if they all spoke recklessly, they would also be dead.
“Don’t say I did not warn you! If anyone speaks recklessly and cause me to die. I will kill you all first before dying!” The head of the jailors spoke. If he was not at least this smart, he would not have become the head of the jailors. Knowing that this is the Lord’s matter, he quickly ordered his men to stay quiet.
“Yes! Yes!” The other jailors quickly replied in shock. As the head jailor was usually cheerful and seldom get angry, the other jailors were not afraid of him. Yet, the head was suddenly angry this time. It showed the other jailors how serious this was.
“I am saying this for your own good!” The head of the jailors shook his head as he laughed bitterly.
“Do you still not want to say who that person is?” Liu Biao asked while facing Lady Cai. Normally, seeing the two converse with each other was an ordinary affair but this time, both the location and the role they played were different.
Liu Biao was still the Lord of Jingzhou but Lady Cai was now a prisoner.
“Is the identity of that person really that important?” Lady Cai did not panic at all. She simply stared and caressed her stomach without looking at Liu Biao.
Liu Biao was filled with rage when he sees Lady Cai like this. However, he could only endure. “Milady. Tell me who that man is! Your husband knows that you were forced into this. Tell me who and I will kill that person! Then I will take you back home! You can still be the Lady Cai respected by many and Zong Er’s mother!” Liu Biao patiently tried to persuade her.
“Zong Er.” Lady Cai felt her heart ache when she heard this name. Zong Er was also her son.
Liu Biao continued to persuade when he saw Lady Cai’s expression. “Milady. Tell me who it is. We will kill him and then go back to before!”
“Go back to before?” Lady Cai seemed bewildered. Noticing this, Liu Biao was about to feel happy when he was suddenly met with disappointment.
Going back to what it is like before this was an attractive thought. However, was it going back to being the eldest daughter of the Cai Family free from worries or was it going back to being the wife of a man old enough to be her father? Ten years of her life had disappeared. Other women knew the meaning of marital affection and love but not Lady Cai. All she knew was that she had sacrificed too much. Liu Biao could give her extravagance but not a normal life. She would rather die than go back to that life. The only good thing there was her son Zong Er. “Liu Biao. Just give up.” Lady Cai rejected her husband’s offer.
“Slut! You insist on protecting him?” Liu Biao growled angrily like an injured beast. Lady Cai’s reply was silence.
“Do you really think I don’t know who that person is?” Liu Biao was about to lose his mind. Nobody could endure their wife sleeping with another man. Not only that, she even had his child. Even Sun Ce was willing to abandon Jiangxia to attack Liu Mang because his wife was taken.
“That man is the King of Shu Liu Mang isn’t it?” Liu Biao asked. Lady Cai expression changed slightly in reaction to the name. While Liu Biao wasn’t entirely sure at first, her reaction was all the confirmation that Liu Biao needed.
“Liu Mang Liu Hanyang! I will kill you!” Liu Biao said hysterically.
“Slut! I am sure you want to know how I found out about this! Good! I will tell you! Three months ago when you went to Jingshan, Someone intruded my residence and killed one of my guards! Although we were unable to find the assailant, we were able to find a letter on the corpse of my guard! It said that you and that slut are sleeping together! I did not believe it! I regret not believing it! If I had believed it then, I would have killed you and made mincemeat out of that Liu Mang! How hateful! You are even carrying that guy’s vile spawn!” Liu Biao’s eyes were red with murderous rage.
“I will give you one more chance! Repent and help me kill that slut Liu Mang Liu Hanyang and abort that vile spawn! Then I will give you a way to live! You can go back to being Lady Cai and I can pretend that nothing happened!” Liu Biao said.
This was an attractive offer since Lady Cai’s crime was heavy. Actual punishment for such crimes include things like pig cage drowning.1 While Liu Biao may not do this, he would certainly kill Lady Cai. The rest of the Cai Family would also suffer. Now, Liu Biao actually offered Lady Cai a way out. As long as she kill Liu Mang and the child in her belly, she would become the first lady of Jingzhou again. This is actually a kind offer.
“Hahaha!” Lady Cai suddenly laughed.
“What are you laughing about? Do you agree?” Liu Biao asked.
“I am laughing because I never expected you to be so good at scheming by yourself as well!” Lady Cai sneered.
“What do you mean?” Liu Biao asked gloomily.
“You don’t understand what I mean? It looks like you are also afraid!” Lady Cai coldly said.
“Afraid? What am I afraid of?”
“You are afraid of the King of Shu! You are afraid of that slut and the Cai Family! You are afraid that you would destroy Jingzhou!” Lady Cai coldly said. Liu Biao was good at scheming. Saying that Lady Cai could start afresh was bullshit. No matter how generous a husband is, would he tolerate his wife from rebelling? Of course not.
Liu Biao was afraid of the King of Shu Liu Mang. If it was just him alone, killing Liu Mang would not be a problem. However, Liu Mang had his status as the King of Shu and was the Lord of Yangzhou. Liu Mang had powerful troops. Even Liu Biao understood that his own thirty thousand elites would not be able to recapture Fancheng. Yet, Liu Mang was able to capture it and also Nanyang with only fifteen thousand men.
If Liu Biao could not defeat Liu Bei, what hope does he have against Yangzhou? If he kills Liu Mang, the alliance would break and Jingzhou would be attacked by Yangzhou. Liu Biao was initially confident because of the Yangtze River but if Yangzhou is forced, they could ally themselves with Sun Ce. With Jiangdong attacking through water and Yangzhou attacking through land, Jingzhou would be finished.
Besides that, most of the military power belonged to Cai Mao. Cai Mao hold half the power while Liu Biao hold the other half. With this incident implicating Cai Mao and the Cai Family, Cai Mao is sure to revolt. The navy at Xiangyang will now avoid approaching the shore. Liu Biao could see this which is why he is also afraid of Cai Mao.
However, if Lady Cai were to listen to Liu Biao’s false words, things would be different. Liu Biao personally arrests Liu Mang and Lady Cai is the one that would kill Liu Mang. When the Yangzhou Army comes, the Cai Family would be forced to fight. If Yangzhou were to lose, Liu Biao can finish off Cai Mao and take back all the military power. If Cai Mao were to lose, he could simply place all the blame on Lady Cai and give her to Yangzhou.
In the end, Liu Biao would stay at his invincible position. He was never such a generous person. As he was old and dying, he would definitely take Lady Cai down with him.
“Slut! Are you going to do it or not?” Liu Biao was angry at the humiliation. He was also annoyed that a woman could read his thoughts.
“Kill me! Just kill me! Xiao Cui has already gone to tell the King of Shu to escape. Once the King of Shu leaves Jingzhou, you will no longer have peace! I want to see how you will protect Jingzhou without my brother!”
“Slut! You think I do not dare to kill you?” Liu Biao could not tolerate anymore. He no longer cared about any schemes or plans. All he wanted to do now was kill Lady Cai. He took out his sword that gleamed coldly.
“Head! Should we?” One jailor asked in alarm. They themselves might get into trouble if Lady Cai were to die in their prison. He was uncertain as to whether they should stop Liu Biao.
“If you want to die, you can go!” The head jailor replied. Liu Biao was so angry that anyone that stepped forward would be dead.
“Then what about the Lady?”
“It can only end this way.”
“Die! Die together with that vile spawn!” Liu Biao shouted as he lifted up the sword with both hands.
“His Highness the King of Shu has arrived! Lord of Jingzhou. Quickly come out and greet him!”
______
“General Mi!” The defenders on the wall were shocked to see Mi Fang.
“Long time no see. Is everyone doing well?” Mi Fang laughed and greeted the defenders in a relaxed manner.
“General! Weren’t you dead?” The defenders on the wall asked in confusion. In Yuzhou, it was said that all three members of the Mi Family have already perished.
“That’s right, I am already dead!” Mi Fang laughed indifferently.
“General! Are you a ghost?” One defender asked in fear.
“Of course not! Have you ever seen a ghost appear in broad daylight?” Mi Fang laughed.
“Oh right.” The defender nodded. How could there be ghosts during the day? He was just scaring himself.
“Imperial Uncle Liu’s subordinate Mi Fang is dead. The Mi Fang you see here is the His Highness the King of Shu’s subordinate.” Mi Fang said to the defenders.
“Guo Huai. How are you recently?” Mi Fang asked one of the defenders.
“General. I am doing well!” Guo Huai replied. He was Yingshang’s general. Before this, he was one of Mi Fang’s assistant. When Yingshang was being captured, Mi Fang knew he could not escape and so he ordered Guo Huai to leave while he stayed behind. As Guo Huai led the defeated soldiers well and was able to form a new defensive army with the help of the citizens, he was made a general by Liu Bei.
“Mi Fang Mi Zifang! How dare you return here after betraying the Lord?” The governor shouted angrily after seeing Mi Fang getting along with the defenders. It did not matter who Mi Fang was working for. If Mi Fang did not betray Liu Bei, the governor would lose his post. Therefore, Mi Fang was his enemy.
“I betrayed Liu Bei?” Mi Fang sneered angrily the moment Liu Bei was mentioned. “Liu Bei is the one that betrayed me!”
When Mi Fang was captured, his sister Lady Mi was with him. He was resolved to die to prevent himself from implicating his brother but Liu Mang used Lady Mi as a hostage to prevent him from killing himself.
During his captivity, he wrote a letter to his brother saying to not care about his survival. He believed that Liu Bei would at least redeem Lady Mi as she was his wife. However, Lady Mi was later proclaimed dead by Liu Bei. It was such a good story too. One died fighting while the other committed suicide from grief. In return, the Mi Family were given three titles.
If that was all, it would not be too bad. His brother was still around. However, Liu Bei did not even spare his brother. This caused Mi Fang to thoroughly lose his faith in Liu Bei.
In the past, the Mi Family had given their vast wealth to Liu Bei. Now, they only had one housekeeper. Liu Bei’s return gift were three titles and the near extinction of the Mi Family.
Fortunately, His Highness the King of Shu helped his brother escape. His brother was now the Chief of Commerce in Yangzhou, and was in charge of all their commercial affairs. His brother was now also Marquis Guang. The Mi Family can rise again. Mi Fang now realized that Liu Bei only wanted their money. Once the money was used up, they would be thrown aside. On the other hand, Liu Mang wanted their talents.
“General?” The defenders did not know what to say.
“He is not your general! He is a traitor!” The governor shouted.
“You are right! I am a traitor! I want to personally kill Liu Bei with my own two hands! I want to see if his blood is red or black!” Mi Fang bared his anger outward.
“Kill him! Release the arrows!” The governor ordered but no one paid him any attention. Had the person below the walls been anybody else, they would have followed the order. However, this was Mi Fang, their old general.
“Do you all want to rebel?” The governor asked angrily. He took out his sword and put it at the neck of one of the defenders. “Shoot that traitor!”
“Sir! That man is our general!” The defenders still hesitated.
“He is a traitor! He is not your general! Shoot him or you will die!”
“I…” The defender was still unable to do it.
“Then die!” The governor cut the defender’s neck with his sword, spilling blood everywhere. He then moved on to threaten the next person.
“Shoot him!”
“Y…Yes!” This defender was frightened after seeing what happened to the last person. He took out his bow and shot an arrow. However, it was without strength. The arrow hit the ground before it could even reach Mi Fang.
“You as well! Just die!” The man’s bad performance was obviously on purpose as even the common citizens could shoot more powerful arrows. As a result, the governor killed another defender.
“You! And you!” The governor had a malevolent expression. The soldiers he pointed at quickly moved to avoid him.
“Guo Huai! Surrender!” Mi Fang laughed from below the walls. “You all have no chance to win. Milord’s army still have soldiers coming from the rear. On the other hand, that Big Eared Liu is already trapped! I am also sure you know that Yingshang barely have any provisions left!”
“Enough!” Guo Huai replied. “General! Leave! Since the city does not have any provisions, Milord will send more!”
“Guo Huai! Are you still dreaming? You have already been abandoned just like me! Liu Bei is already unable to endure after the defeat at Fancheng! Even Runan is running out of provisions! You are only here to buy Liu Bei time!” Mi Fang shouted again.
“Abandoned?” Guo Huai felt uncomfortable. Everyone hated traitors the most.
“Guo Huai! Think carefully! General Ge Jun and General Zhang Hu’s words are correct. If you all surrender, Yingshang would belong to Milord! Milord will not allow the people to suffer. They would also be able to enjoy the thirty percent tax set by Milord! Previously, Milord had captured Yingshang once. Now, he brought an even bigger army! How long do you think you can hold out? Once Yingshang is captured through battle, it would become a pile of scorched earth!” Mi Fang persuaded.
“General…” Guo Huai struggled with his decision. Mi Fang may be his general but Liu Bei was his Lord. In the end, the final decisive factor was the hopeful expressions of the other defenders.
Guo Huai sighed. “General Mi Fang. I surrender.” Guo Huai could only say this. The defenders had no fighting spirit left especially after Mi Fang appeared. The benefits and consequences also influenced their fighting spirit. It was also true that Yingshang had fallen once. On top of that, their catapult machines have not yet been repaired.
“Guo Huai! Are you trying to betray the Lord? Good! Then I shall kill you first!” The governor said and then struck at Guo Huai with his sword. However, how could a civil official win against a general? He only managed to kill the two soldiers because no one dared to retaliate against a person of his position. Guo Huai was not the same as them.
“Forgive me governor. I will be using your head!” Guo Huai stated and slashed the governor. Since he was going to surrender, he might as well go all the way.
“Guo Huai! You…!” The governor pointed at Guo Huai in disbelief before taking his last breath. His head was send flying and landed in Guo Huai’s hand. “Yingshang’s governor is dead! Open the gates!” The soldiers acted.
“Old Gao! How was it?” Zhang Liao asked as he watched the city gates being opened. He wanted to see Gao Shun’s reaction.
“Mm.” Gao Shun nodded and brought his army towards Yingshang’s entrance.
“Just ‘Mm’?” Zhang Liao asked. If you are going to show your approval, at least say a little more.
Gao Shun turned to look at Zhang Liao and replied. “Not stupid.”
“Pft!” The nearby Zhang Hu and Ge Jun laughed. Zhang Liao was the only one with a stifled expression.
“Old Gao! You better remember this!”
