Chapter 298 (1)
Godlike Sun Qian
When women’s clothes were sent over, even Wang Wei who was calm became unable to stand it. He also took up his sword and was about to charge into the city with the Black Flag Army. During those times, the worst kind of humiliation was their parents being shamed. The second worst kind of humiliation was having their manhood questioned. Now, a lot of women’s clothing were delivered to Liu Ye to humiliate his army.
The soldiers all wanted to rush into the city and cut Sun Qian down. They would then put his head over women’s clothing and send him back to Liu Bei. Only this would relieve the general’s heart.
“Wait!” The others wanted to rush in but Liu Ye was thinking too hard. He looked at the city and wondered if it was really empty. If the city was really empty, why would Sun Qian provoke them?
The soldiers would all rush in when angry. If it was an empty city, he would just die.
‘Sun Qian could not be that stupid.’ Liu Ye shook his head. As one of Liu Bei’s best advisor, how could be place himself in such a dangerous situation. There was no need to anger the generals. In other words, Sun Qian was doing it deliberately. This led him to suspect that there was an ambush in the city.
“Military advisor. We have been humiliated like this. Even if you can endure it, we cannot!” Xu Sheng replied in irritation.
“Endure it even if you can’t for High Highness’ great cause. What about the others at Shouchun? We cannot afford to lose!” Liu Ye’s mood was also bad. He could not figure out what Sun Qian wanted. “Did you not notice that Sun Qian is purposely trying to lure you in?”
“Purposely luring us in?” Wang Wei thought for a moment and then said, “It really feels that way. Sun Qian first said bad things about His Highness and then gave us women’s clothing. He is clearly trying to provoke us.”
“But what benefits would he obtain from angering us?” Cheng Yu added. “It would be understandable if they tried to anger us during a decisive battle on the field but right now, there are not many people in the city.”
“Who knows if there are really nobody in the city. What you see may not necessarily be the truth! There may be an ambush in the city.”
“Have those two confessed?” Liu Ye asked the bodyguards. The two soldiers sent by Sun Qian had been detained by Liu Ye. This is so that they could be tortured for information.
“The two people have confessed!” The soldiers in Liu Mang’s Army knows how to torture others. This is because one of the few books brought by Liu Mang was ‘Top Ten Methods of Torturing in the Qing Dynasty’. It was originally just a book Liu Mang randomly took for entertainment but it has been treasured by some.
“They said that there are no defenders in Ruyin. Almost everyone was withdrawn except for the weak and a few other soldiers like him besides Sun Qian!” The bodyguard reported to Liu Ye.
“Empty?” Liu Ye frowned. ‘How could that be? If it was empty, where did Sun Qian’s courage come from?’
“Military advisor. Do not hesitate anymore. Let us kill our way in to find out if it is empty or not!” Xu Sheng’s patience was at an end after being humiliated. How could he not think of taking revenge.
“Military advisor. I suggest we can send a group of men into the city first. If it is really empty, we can enter and catch Sun Qian. If it isn’t, we can send a signal. We will only lose a few people at most.”
“Let us do it this way! I, Xu Sheng, will go!” Xu Sheng really wanted Sun Qian dead.
“Alright. But if something goes wrong, leave Ruyin immediately.” Liu Ye properly instructed. Xu Sheng was the leader of the Black Flag Army. If something were to happen to him, he would not be able to explain it to Liu Mang.
“I understand!” Xu Sheng nodded. He was not a fool. If there was an ambush, he would not rush in.
“General Cheng Yu. Take a group of soldiers and be prepared to give assistance to General Xu Sheng!” Liu Ye was unable to relax and instructed Cheng Yu.
“Yes. This general receives the order!” Xu Sheng and Cheng Yu was prepared to leave when a soldier rushed to them and interrupted.
“Report! Ruyin’s gates have closed again!”
“What?” Liu Ye was surprised. While they were thinking about what to do, the sky turned dark and the gates were closed again.
“Military advisor. Look up on the walls!” Huang Xu pointed towards the wall.
“The walls?” Liu Ye looked at the walls where Huang Xu pointed at and saw shadows. Not only were there people but there were also flags moving around.
“Ah, so there really was an ambush!” Xu Sheng and Wang Wei suddenly realized. Sun Qian’s actions could not be explained. If Xu Sheng were to get ambushed and then the gates were to close, he would be defeated.
Meanwhile, an old man was at the verge of death on the walls. “How long do we need to do this?” The man whose age was about fifty, wiped his sweat from his head as he shouted to another old man at the side. He was pushing the carts in his hands. On top of the carts were straw scarecrows equipped with weapons and armor. When the scarecrow stood upright, only half its body could be seen. With helmets, they looked like people. These were the ambush troops in Sun Qian’s hands.
Sun Qian was also having cold sweat. He knew he was playing with fire by angering Liu Ye’s Army. If the generals had rushed in, he would be dead. Fortunately, they had an advisor to restrain them.
On the second day, Liu Ye got up early to attack. Since the opponent has soldiers, he decided to attack normally with the catapults.
However, he could not understand why the city gates were open again and the soldiers disappeared again.
“I understand now!” Liu Ye seemed to understand. Sun Qian decided to abandon the gates as they had catapults. As a result, the enemy would not be around when the walls are attacked. Instead, the city gates were open to invite the enemy in and ambush. The catapults would not work in the city.
“Truly skilled!” Liu Ye could not help but nod in admiration. ‘Sun Qian is truly one of Liu Bei’s top advisor. He has already removed the advantage of the catapults.’
“Military advisor. Are we still going to attack?” Xu Sheng and the others now had higher opinion of Sun Qian after listening to Liu Ye’s words. ‘Liu Bei really has talented people.’
“Attack! Of course we are going to attack!” Liu Ye immediately replied. The catapults were not a necessity. His subordinates were the two most elite troops of Liu Mang’s Army. Both were heavy infantries that has the advantage. Xu Sheng and Wang Wei were also skills at martial arts. Although Cheng Yu and Huang Xu were slightly inferior, they were also quite god.
“Alright! I will go and prepare!” At most, it would be a hard battle. It was not something they have never experienced before. As long as there was a fight, there would be merits. All of them were not people afraid of battle.
Just as everyone was prepared to attack, Sun Qian appeared on the walls again. “Mister Ziyang. I trust you have been well. Did you sleep well last night? Did those clothes fit?”
“This hateful Sun Qian appeared again!” Although Xu Sheng was surprised by Sun Qian’s thoughts, he still had a bad impression of him.
“There is no need for Mister Gongyou’s concern. Everything was well. We also could not bear to wear the clothes you sent yesterday. Allow this one to enter the city and send it back to you.” Liu Ye walked up and spoke.
Sun Qian was not an idiot. Although he was bad at planning, he could understand words. Liu Ye’s idea of sending clothes to the city meant that he was ready to attack the city. Although he was anxious, he was good at showing a different emotion.
“Mister Ziyang. The city gates of Ruyin is wide open. There are no soldiers guarding. It is very easy to come in!” Sun Qian spoke in attempt to stall Liu Ye from attacking.
“Haha, Mister Gongyou. Why are you still continuing this? Why can’t we all not mince our words?” Liu Ye replied to Sun Qian.
This sentence terrified Sun Qian. ‘How did you know? I’m a goner!’ Sun Qian now hated himself for digging his own grave. He believed he could not die any quicker. Just as Sun Qian thought that everything was over, Liu Ye’s next words gave Sun Qian a way out. It had to be said that Sun Qian’s luck was really good.
“Mister Gongyou.You opened up the gates and removed the defences from the walls. Is it to attract my army into the city? You know that my army has catapults and decided to bring the fight to the streets in order to better defend the city. Haha. I, Liu Ye Liu Ziyang may feel bad about the casualties but I will capture Ruyin for the sake of Milord’s great cause even if it is more difficult.” Liu Ye put on an expression that seemingly said, ‘I have you figured out. There is no need to pretend anymore. There would be no good end for you if you continue.’
‘What? I have no defences on the walls? I opened the gates to lure you to the streets for my army to attack?’ Sun Qian was surprised but noticed that his words had reason.
“Mister Ziyang is really talented. You can even see my clumsy tactics. You really made me feel ashamed!” Sun Qian’s eyes continued to move. He was thinking of how to slow down Liu Ye’s Army.
‘Fighting at the streets? Stalling for time?’ These words spun inside Sun Qian’s mind. Suddenly, Sun Qian got an idea. He slapped his own thigh with a little admiration for himself.
“Hahaha.” Sun Qian laughed.
“Mister Gongyou. Why are you so happy? Are you so excited to finally meet us?” Liu Ye was very puzzled.
“No, Mister Ziyang. I am very fond of Mister Ziyang. It is my fortune to match wits against you. However, it is a pity. Qian is untalented but has better human relations. Ziyang have already let me win.” Sun Qian made an expression as though he had already win while Liu Ye had already lost.
“What? You won?” Liu Ye was confused. “Mister Gongyou. Are you daydreaming?” Liu Ye believed that Sun Qian had drank too much the previous night. “Mister Gongyou. As I admire you for being able to delay my assault and remove the advantage of my catapults, do not forget that your soldiers are just defenders while mine are elites. They are also heavy infantries no less inferior compared to your Lord’s White Eared Soldiers. At most, you could only stall for a while. How did you come to believe that you would win?” Liu Ye asked unconvinced.
“Haha. Mister Ziyang. It is a waste that I am admired by you. However, you are short-sighted. You can only see the victory in front of you but incapable of seeing the big picture.” Sun Qian looked disappointed. This made Liu Ye very angry. If Liu Ye was really a useless person unable to see the big picture, he would not have been able to get rid of that small person by his father’s side at the age of thirteen. On top of that, at the age of twenty, he managed to stop the tyrants at Yangzhou. Amongst them was a tyrant named Zheng Bao who wanted to use the people to cross the Yangtze River. He wanted Liu Ye’s help. Liu Ye was afraid after finding out the fact. At this time, Cao Cao had sent messengers to Yangzhou. Liu Ye met up with the messenger and talked about this situation, he then asked the messenger to stay for a few days. Zheng Bao received the messenger with gifts and wine but was not a good drinker. Liu Ye then smashed Zheng Bao’s head with his sword. He then threatened the ministers with crimes under Cao Cao’s orders. The shocked troops ran back to camp. In order to prevent mishaps, he talked to all the other chiefs, appeased, and subjugated the people. He was elected their new leader. However, he saw the decline in the Han Dyansty and he was also part of the royal clan. He did not want to hold soldiers and entrusted his place to Liu Xun.
This showed that he was a person who could look at a big picture but he was now insulted.
“Mister Gongyou. If you do not start making sense, you may be in prison this evening. The clothes you have sent could also be worn by you.” Liu Ye replied unwaveringly.
“Haha! Mister Ziyang. You do not need to try and scare me! If Mister Ziyang wants to be quick, you can enter the city and make me wear those women clothing by tonight. However, even if Mister Ziyang were to obtain Ruyin, you would lose your Lord. Tell me then. Would it be considered my win or yours?”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing! Mister Ziyang should come into Ruyin quickly. This Gongyou will welcome you!”
‘What is Sun Qian talking about? Breaking into Ruyin was not a difficult task and would only take some time. That’s right. Time!’ Liu Ye suddenly looked up at Sun Qian. “A good strategy! Truly a good strategy! Xu Sheng. Cheng Yu. Recall the troops!”
“What? Military advisor!” Everyone present was in disbelief.
“Return to Yingshang. Our Lord may have been ambushed.”
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‘Liu Ye is a smart guy’ they said…
If you know how your opponent would act, you could plan against it. Telling your opponent that you know their tricks and traps, even if it was correct, would make them rethink their strategy, making it harder for yourself. If you were wrong, all it does is cause embarrassment to yourself. Meanwhile, a certain Fifth Grade Admin Officer reads the enemy general’s every move like a psychic. Liu Ye, you are fired. Also, Liu Ye’s backstory to show that he is ‘smart’ is not helping.
Also, there is a saying that there is a fine line between a genius and an idiot…
I am pretty sure Liu Ye is NOT a good example of this.