Chapter 204
Chapter 204 Wan Cheng is lost
Translated by Gamer
Wan Cheng has fallen! This was the news Lu Bu received the moment he reached Liu Mang. The moment Lu Bu chased after Sun Ce’s Army, the only soldiers left in the city was about 1,000 Black Flag and Urban Army soldiers. Sun Ce took advantage of Lu Bu’s absence to climb the walls of Wan Cheng. By the time they noticed this, it was already too late to defend the walls. Besides that, the soldiers were all too exhausted to continue fighting. Although there were also Danyang soldiers and other common soldiers that surrendered, they did not want to fight against Sun Ce because they were scared. As they were once Sun Ce’s soldiers, they could not afford to continue fighting Sun Ce. If they insisted on defending Wan Cheng, the lives of their families living in Jiangdong is forfeit.
Liu Mang was still in a coma. Huang Zhong and Xu Sheng could only grab Liu Mang and Lu Bu’s other family members to leave Wan Cheng.
Cheng Yu and Zhang Fan’s Wolf Cavalry have also joined up. Both Cheng Yu and Zhang Fan did not receive much casualties and also beheaded a lot of deputy generals. However, these merits were not important because they have lost Wan Cheng!
The remaining troops were less than 4,000 Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry and about 2,000 of Danyang soldiers and some of Sun Ce’s common soldiers. These soldiers were not willing to do Sun Ce’s bidding and was also not willing to remain in Sun Ce’s Army. One example was the Chu division. The Chu division was the first to oppose Sun Ce. It would be strange if Sun Ce was still willing to accept them. There are also those who did not have any family in Jiangdong. The total number of people ended up around 2,000 soldiers.
At most they have about 7,000 soldiers. (TN: Not my math.) It was impossible for them to attack Wan Cheng. Even then, there were about two thirds of Lu Bu’s Army’s rations. Now that he has lost Wan Cheng, winning is now an extremely difficult task.
This was Lu Bu’s fault. Had he not chase the enemy or perhaps not fight with Lu Su, there is a chance that Wan Cheng would not be lost and thousands of soldiers would not have perished. There were also those citizens who had helped to defend Wan Cheng but in the end, it was still lost because of Lu Bu. Liu Mang also defended for so many days until he fell into a coma. This made Lu Bu blame himself even more.
The only thing that brought relief to Lu Bu’s heart was that the rest of his family were safe. The only person that was injured was his daughter, who received that injury fighting with Zhou Tai.
Another person who also felt heartbroken, almost to the level of Lu Bu, was Liu Kai. Fortunately, his son Liu Neng, was young and managed to be calm. However, Liu Kai was extremely depressed. The Liu family has been occupying Wan Cheng for centuries. They have lost centuries of wealth in a matter of days. Although their whole family escaped, they did not manage to take anything with them so the Liu family is broke.
Liu Neng was much more optimistic. He did not care much about the loss of his ancestor’s wealth. He did not want to rely on his ancestors. Since his ancestors could obtain so much wealth, that would mean that Liu Neng was also able to do it. In fact, he would make it even larger than before. His eyes sparkled as he looked at Liu Kai sitting near the carriage. That person would become the foundations of his goals.
“Milord! Where do we go now?” Huang Zhong cupped his fist together as he asked Lu Bu. Although he did not say it, there is a hint of dissatisfaction on his face. This is because while they all risked their lives to defend Wan Cheng, Lu Bu alone made all their efforts wasted. How could he be comfortable with that? However, Lu Bu was Huang Zhong’s lord and Huang Zhong could only keep his displeasure in his heart.
However, Lu Bu have noticed it. Huang Zhong’s tone of speech and his eyes told Lu Bu about the dissatisfaction of the soldiers. At Huang Zhong’s side also stood a new face holding a spear.
“Your name is Xu Sheng right!” Lu Bu could not reply to Huang Zhong’s question. It was he who threw away Wan Cheng. Even then, he still wanted to recapture it. The only problem was that he does not have any idea on how to do it. Right now, he can only change the topic.
“That, that! Xu, Xu Sheng Xu Wen Xiang, see, see Milord!” Xu Sheng was excited. It was Lu Bu Lu Fengxian! Although Lu Bu was infamous throughout the land, he was still a person to worship for generals. If there ever was a rival, it would be the undefeated Lu Bu. Xu Sheng was so excited that he did not know how to speak.
“Get up!” Lu Bu could also see that his man was a valiant warrior. He was not inferior to some of his generals like Zhang Liao and Zang Ba. Zhang Liao and Zang Ba were already his soldiers and Liu Mang was not very skilled in martial arts. Surprisingly, Liu Mang is capable of making strong generals take him seriously. The first one was Huang Zhong and the second one would be Xu Sheng.
“Let’s go to Shucheng.” Lu Bu thought to himself and decided that they should go to Shucheng. His defeat this time was truly excessive. Besides that, he still has Lu Su to worry about. He had no advisors here. If Gongtai was around, would he have rushed out to chase the enemy?
Now he could only go to Shucheng and meet up with Gongtai. First he should occupy Shucheng and then slowly figure out what to do next.
*Sigh* Huang Zhong could only sigh. Such a good situation was just wasted. At first, Liu Mang managed to fight back 100,000 enemy soldiers. Sun Ce would have to go back and face his elders while this was a hit in the morale of the Jiangdong Army. 100,000 soldiers could not defeat 10,000 soldiers guarding the city and dared to return. This was humiliation! Who would follow this kind of lord? However, due to Lu Bu’s impulsiveness, the city of Wan Cheng was handed over and all they could do now was think of a way to solve the problem.
“Han Sheng, you take my place as commander of the Wolf Cavalry! I will accompany Han Yang and the others.” Lu Bu said as he handed over the command Huang Zhong in front of Cheng Yu. They are going to leave now. Sun Ce was not able to intercept them right now. With Huang Zhong in charge, Lu Bu could rest easy.
“Yes!” Huang Zhong cupped his fist and left. He knew that Lu Bu has a lot to say to his family and also needs to ease their worries. After all, they have been worrying ever since Wan Cheng was attacked. They were even put into prison for their own safety. It was only natural to appease to them. The thing Huang Zhong needs to do now is to take the Wolf Cavalry and advance to Shucheng while protecting those at the back.
“Cannot go!” Just as soon as they were about to leave, they heard a weak voice.
“Cannot go!” The voice got louder but still sounded weak.
“Hanyang!” “Little Lord!” Lu Bu and Huang Zhong was the first to discover the source of the voice. They who have reached the peak of refinement have good hearing. They heard Liu Mang’s voice near the carriage. He has regained consciousness and awoke from his coma. Liu Mang has truly used up every last bit of his energy during his fight with Dong Xi. Liu Mang could only faint after exhausting himself. He only had a little bit of consciousness when he heard the discussion of withdrawal between Lu Bu and the generals. “Wan Cheng is lost?” Liu Mang looked at everybody as he struggled to sit up.
Lu Bu hurried towards Liu Mang. It was truly strange. Although Lu Bu is the lord, he felt ashamed to look at his son-in-law. He could only nod his head.
“Haha.” Liu Mang forced a laugh. Wan Cheng! He took the Urban Army and the Black Flag Army to defend this city while risking their lives. He though Lu Bu has returned and he would be able to relax. Who knew that after sleeping for a while, the city was gone. If the city had fallen so easily, what was the purpose that he risked his life protecting it? Wouldn’t it be better to just give it to Sun Ce? That way, his brother in arms would not die. The siege tower would also not shoot all the citizens down.
“Milord, we are preparing to go to Shucheng and have military advisor Chen prepare us a stratagem!” Xu Sheng quickly said.
Now words are useless. Losing Wan Cheng is already a fact. Hearing Xu Sheng’s words, Liu Mang quickly grabbed Lu Bu’s arm. “Father in law, you cannot withdraw. Definitely must not withdraw!” His actions were very forceful and ended up coughing again. His wounds reopen and blood started to flow again.
“Little lord! The city is already lost!” Huang Zhong could not bear to see Liu Mang’s state right now. He knew that Liu Mang is agitated. How could he not be agitated! So many of this fellow officers died on Wan Cheng. How many of the Urban Army soldiers remained out of the original 3,000? How many of the Black Flag Army remained of the original 3,000? For what purpose did the citizens perished? Wasn’t it to prevent Sun Ce from entering the city? Now everything is lost. They lost it in their carelessness.
“I know, I know!” Liu Mang tried to calm his emotions. “Wan Cheng is lost and now belongs to Sun Ce. That is precisely why we cannot withdraw the troops!”
“Perhaps Little Lord is still worried about the citizens!” Liu Neng guessed. Sun Ce has promised 3 days of indulgence the moment they entered the city. Now that Wan Cheng belongs to Sun Ce, the citizens are in trouble.
“In that case rest assured, we have already opened a path at the city gates. The citizens have already escaped!” Even at this moment he still wants to worry about the citizens? Liu Kai could not really understand. Although Xu Sheng and Huang Zhong were also originally normal citizens, they also did not share Liu Mang’s view.
Liu Mang did not bother to explain. He knew that the moment they withdraw the troops, it would become even more difficult to win back Wan Cheng. Wan Cheng is an important city that has high walls and a city moat. It was an easy place to defend. Now that Lu Bu’s Army was chased out of the city, the Sun Ce’s Army would enter the city and fill it with soldiers. More lives will need to be sacrificed when Lu Bu returns to Wan Cheng to fight. Sun Ce has the rest of Jiangdong to support him but Lu Bu does not have anything. They could only rely on the soldiers in Shucheng which did not amount to much. Besides that, most of the provisions are in Wan Cheng. The Lu Bu’s Army has enough food at the moment but it was not enough for long periods of time. Since Sun Ce would be ready for battle, the Lu Bu’s Army would have no choice but to rob the populace.
“Go back to Wan Cheng!” Liu Mang repeated. “Wan Cheng still belongs to us!”
“Little Lord is confused from your fever!” Huang Zhong said as he put his hand on Liu Mang’s head. His head was hot as a result of the battle. Due to his weaken state, he succumbed to illness more easily.
Right now, Sun Ce is just beginning to lay his foundations in the city. The banner on the walls is replaced with the banner of the Sun Ce’s Army. Who would quietly hand over the city back to Sun Ce! Liu Mang wants the 3-4 thousand soldiers to attack Wan Cheng. Although there are also the Wolf Cavalry, it was impossible for the cavalry to besiege the town.
“Belive me! Father-in-law!” Liu Mang’s vision began to blur. He really did have a fever. He was feeling dizzy and his logic is starting to become messed up. “If you go to Wan Cheng now, there is still time. If you are slow, Wan Cheng would really belong to Jiangdong!” After saying this, Liu Mang fell unconscious.
“Han Yang, Han Yang!” “Little Lord, Little Lord!” Lu Bu and Huang Zhong shook Liu Mang as they were afraid that he passed away but Liu Mang only had a high fever.
“Doctor! Doctor! Come quick!” Lu Bu shouted loudly and soon two doctors came over. They were Lu Bu’s Army’s doctors. These doctors were also the contribution of Liu Mang. He was the one who commissioned the doctors and gave them jobs in the army. At first, the doctors were not willing to accept the job but after defending Wan Cheng, and the soldiers received casualties, the doctors became soft hearted and accepted it. The doctors were also parents. They also saw the soldiers defending the city with their lives.
Behind the doctors were 3 apprentice with the same appearance. This was one of Liu Mang’s stratagem. In the end, the doctors were forcefully brought along by Liu Mang. No matter what, the doctors will not follow them to war forever. This is why the doctor has 3 apprentices to teach. Once the apprentices have learned enough, the doctors can leave with titles and rewards so that they would be able to live prosperously.
“His body is cold and is giving out cold sweat. He is extremely fatigued. Just need to boil him a few herbs and let him rest.” The two doctors were famous practitioners in Wan Cheng and used to visit the children of the nobles. They were able to see Liu Mang’s small mishap with one glance. They quickly wrote down the prescription of the medicine for the apprentices to cook.
Seeing that Liu Mang is safe, Lu Bu left the carriage and took Huang Zhong and Xu Sheng for an official military discussion.
There were no camps and they started their meeting under the starlit sky. “Han Sheng! What is your opinion on Han Yang’s last words?” Lu Bu asked Huang Zhong first.
“Milord. I honestly think we should trust Little Lord!” Huang Zhong’s mind told him the best method was to go to Shucheng and request help from Chen Gong but in his heart, he believed Liu Mang.
“Wen Xiang! What about you?” Lu Bu turned his head to Xu Sheng. Although he was not very old, he has already started refining his body and earned some respect from Lu Bu.
“Me?” Xu Sheng did not expect Lu Bu to ask him this question. Xu Sheng also thought about it deeply. It is true that Wan Cheng is now in Sun Ce’s hands and it would probably be impossible to attack now. As the soldiers right now outnumber the non-combatants, they could let the soldiers defend the women and children while the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry go out and scout Wan Cheng. If it was like what Liu Mang said, then it would be better to strike. Otherwise, the Wolf Cavalry can always fall back.
“Milord. How about we go and see first?” Liu Kai could not help but speak. All of his belongings were still in Wan Cheng. The one with the biggest loss in Wan Cheng was him. After what Liu Mang said, his hearts were filled with the hopes of recovering his possessions.
“What about Zhang Fan and Cheng Yu?” Lu Bu asked the last two. It is not that he did not treasure them but it was because they were old. He wanted to please the youngsters, Huang Zhong and Xu Sheng first.
“Yu thinks we should go.” Cheng Yu was originally an Urban Army soldier. The moment he left together with Lu Bu, he has already felt like a deserter. This is especially true when he saw that the Urban Army does not have many soldiers left. The sight really hurt his heart. Now that his general Liu Mang has said something, he wanted to give Liu Mang his support.
“Everything is by the will of Milord.” Zhang Fan does not have his own opinion. However, he could not be blamed. He was Zhang Liao’s elder brother but he was placed a Zhang Liao’s deputy. As Zhang Fan was not an assertive person, he was never promoted even after so many years.
5 people. 4 people supported Liu Mang and 1 person was neutral. Lu Bu has reached his decision. “I know what to do now.” Lu Bu took a deep breath. “Listen to the orders!”
Huang Zhong was the first person to stand in front of Lu Bu. He was followed by Zhang Fan, Xu Sheng, Liu Kai and Cheng Yu. “Huang Zhong and Cheng Yu will take the Urban Army, Black Flag Army, and 2,000 Danyang soldiers to protect Han Yang and the others!” Lu Bu decided to leave Huang Zhong and Cheng Yu behind. With Huang Zhong around, safety is not an issue. Besides that, since the general, Liu Mang, is left behind, it is only natural for Cheng Yu who was once a part of the Urban Army to stay as well.
“I have received the order!” Huang Zhong and Cheng Yu said and left.
“Liu Kai, Zhang Fan. You two will come with me and the 4,000 Wolf Cavalry to take Wan Cheng and Sun Ce’s children!” Lu Bu took Liu Kai because Liu Kai was a snake in Wan Cheng and knew the layout of the city well.
“Yes!” Zhang Fan had no expression. He just does whatever Lu Bu says. On the other hand, Liu Kai was excited. He was going back to Wan Cheng!
Lu Bu and the others began to set up camp. This is because the Wolf Cavalry is proficient at fighting at night. They were going to be dispatched at night but the Wolf Cavalry soldiers did not complain. The soldiers wore their armor and held their swords. They got on their horses and went towards Wan Cheng before they disappeared into the darkness.