Chapter 285 – Silly Mi Fang (1/2)

Chapter 285 Silly Mi Fang

Miss Lu was worried about Liu Mang, so she went to Yangzhou. For the sake of his daughter’s safety, Lu Bu also took his Wolf Cavalry along to chase after her. However, Liu Mang who was in Yuzhou did not know of that news. He only knew that Gus.h.i.+ Anfeng had been compromised and Hefei had also lost. The letter from Xu Shu the day before said that sharp soldiers of Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu were unstoppable. Xu Shu’s initial hope was that Liu Mang’s enthusiatic energy was capable of quickly calming down the situation in Yuzhou and secondly, hope Liu Mang was able transport some of the army provisions and fodder that the plundered from Yuzhou to Shouchun, as the forage in Shouchun was already insufficient. There wew more tha a million people in Shou chun. Even if Xu Shu was very skilful, without food for those million people, he would not be able to do anything. He had already reduced three meals a day to two. In addition to that the morning meal was very light and only the evening meal was heavier.

When Liu Mang left on his expedition, he took with him a month’s forage. As part of the Shouchun’s forage was given to him and if he did not tranport a little back, even without the siege by Liu Bei, the people of Shouchun would starve to death. Then under the rebellion of those hungry commoners, directly attacked and breakdown the city gate. They then captured Xu Shu, tied him up and handed him over to Liu Bei.

“Zi Yang, have you sent back the first batch of forage?” Liu Mang was also anxious.He did not expect Liu Bei and Zhang Siu to be so fast. The half of Yangzhou then left under Liu Mang command was only Shouchun and Lujiang. On the contary, Liu Mang only manage to acquire an foreign Anshun as an addition county base. That was unrelated to the insincerity of Liu Pau Pau. Liu Pau Pau had great reputation in Yuzhou. The attacks Liu Mang made on a few of the small towns in the city, the commoners actually went up the city walls to help to soldier defend the city. As Liu Mang was reluctant to directly attack the commoners, he did not use all the siege weapon, resulting him being slower.

The first batch of forage that Liu Mang mentioned was obtained from An Feng Jin. Liu Bei’s total of five thousand navy and five thousand heavy soldiers also had tens of thousands of pecks of dry forage in the An Feng Jin. Liu Mang retained a portion of those forage for his military force and ordered the Gansu navy to be s.h.i.+pped back most of the rest to Lujiang and Xu Shu in Shouchun.

“My Lord, the first batch of forage had already be sent back by the General Gan!” Liu Ye reported to Liu Mang Liu Ye was very excited when he was with Liu Mang because Liu Mang was the one who gave him a stage to showcase himself. What is Liu Ye is best at? The first was strategy and the second was the mechanism of strategy. Liu Mang allowed Liu Ye to satisfy both of those. Liu Mang brought back many books which just let Liu Ye mesmerized. Catapults, as well as the improvement of the bed crossbow, and even the appearance of cement had Liu Ye’s presence. As for the mechanism of strategy, Liu Mang appointed Liu Ye as the director of the Industrial Park. He is responsible for the emergence of various new technologies. What Liu Mang gave him was a two thousand stone official position. There were still other strategies above that. Liu Ye did not know the relations.h.i.+p between Xu Shu and Pang Tong. Originally, that expedition was supposed to bring along Xu Shu, the military officer as a military strategist. However, Liu Mang did not bring Xu Shu but had Xu Shu stay in Shouchun, Instead, he took Liu Ye by his side and carefully asked Liu Ye about everything. He had Liu Ye help him get ideas.

Shouchun is very important but also requires a person with high reputation and sufficient capacity as a leader. However, there were quite many of such people in Liu Mang’s Army. One example was Huang Zhong. Everyone knows about Huang Zhong’s’ prowess and he was originally a general. Even the old and senile Huang Zu from Jingzhou had given Huang Zhong ten thousand troops to endure against Lu Bu’s attacks. Huang Zhong had lived up to expectations. He had interrupted Lu Bu’s Army and even fought against Lu Bu.

If Huang Zhong did not want to repay Liu Mang because of his son and by becoming Liu Mang’s escort, he may have already been a general under Lu Bu’s command.

There was also Yang Hong. Although Yang Hong was not very good at formulating strategies, he was good at defending.

However, Liu Mang had still decided to leave Xu Shu behind and take Liu Ye along to serve as strategist. Liu Ye had really once been a military officer under Liu Xun. However, Liu Xun’s army only had little elites and were mostly second grade garrison soldiers. Liu Ye had also defended a lot. However, regardless of which troops under Liu Mang is used, they were all top quality troops. Even when serving under Cao Cao, Liu Ye could not put his mouth anywhere. This was why Liu Ye was very happy. He was very grateful towards Liu Mang. It was Liu Mang, the good judge of talent, that allowed Liu Ye to display himself on the stage.

Liu Mang did not know what Liu Ye was thinking. If he knew, he would have laughed. So I was that good? Actually, Xu Shu staying in Shouchun was something that he himself wanted. Xu Shu did not want to go to war against his good friend Pang Tong at such an early stage. However, he did not expect the showdown to be end up at Shouchun. Liu Mang being a good judge of talent is just a joke. If he had not seen the Three Kingdoms and knew of their history, he would not be able to tell who had talent and who did not have talent.

“Have those been sent back? If we save up a little bit of food, we would be able to last for another month!” Liu Mang nodded. He wanted to speed things up. Right now, the hinterlands of Yangzhou had already been breached by Liu Bei. He had came to Yuzhou to obtain provisions. Once he had enough, he could return to Yangzhou to fight against Liu Beia and Zhang Xiu.

“There is not enough time.” Liu Mang softly muttered. He gritted his teeth and wanted to speed up. This was a war of speed. If Liu Mang was fast enough to go to Yuzhou, obtain provisions and then return to Yangzhou, Yangzhou could be saved. Yuzhou would be turned to shambles and Liu Bei’s gains do not make up for the losses. Zhang Xiu’s Xiliang Cavalry would not be able to obtain revenge even after ten years. After some slow boiling, even he would not be able to escape.

If Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu were faster, the one that loses would be Liu Mang. If they had captured Shouchun and Lujiang before Liu Mang obtains provisions, not only would Liu Mang lose his investment. Even Lu Bu himself would be met with misfortune. After all, all of Lu Bu’s resources are placed in Yangzhou. Most importantly, Liu Mang would be in an isolated army. Not only does Yuzhou belong to Liu Bei. His neighbors were Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu. Once Yangzhou has fallen, Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu would be able to easily catch him.

Liu Mang really wanted to speed things up now. He had procrastinated a lot earlier as he would hate to use the numerous tricks on Yuzhou that had the common people defending it on the wall. They had made Liu Mang’s hands tied. However, he was now at a point of death. For Xushu and the others are Shouchun and the millions of the common people at Yangzhou, he could only lift the butcher’s knife. He had to sacrfice his principles.

“Ziyang. We should divide our forces!” Liu Mang want to capture the Chou state as quickly as possible. With sufficient provisions even Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu would not be able to capture a city with millions of people.

“Milord. Divide our forces?” Liu Ye wanted to persuade Liu Mang otherwise. Splitting up the forces was something largely abstained from the battlefield, especially when cutting through enemy lands with an isolated army. This is because one would not know the enemy’s deployment and could easily be swallowed up once they split up.

“Yes. We shall divide our forces! Rest a.s.sured, Ziyang. Liu Bei would not leave behind too many troops!” Liu Mang said to Liu Ye. Liu Bei and the others were able to capture Gus.h.i.+, Anfeng and Hefei so quickly. This showed that the army in Liu Bei’s hands were powerful. Naturally, this would mean that there were little soldiers guarding the cities. It was just enough to defend and could not go out and attack Liu Mang.

“But Milord. If we divide out forces, could we still capture their cities?” Liu Ye was a bit skeptical. Liu Mang only had ten thousand soldiers at most. Gan Ning’s navy had also now been regarded as infantries to help the Liu Mang’s Army transport provisions. There were very little in the navy and Liu Mang was reluctant to use them for siege.

Ten thousand troops divided into two would be five thousand. If there were a little more defenders, it would not be possible to fight. Normally, the sieging army would have several times the number of the defending army. Even though the Urban Army and the Black Flag Army were elites, they could not siege with less people than the number of defenders. After all, the defenders have a city that multplies the strength of the defense. If the Liu Mang’s Army could not capture the city, they would certainly fall into peril.

“It is possible! We can definitely do it!” Liu Mang was now shameless and cruel. The common people were innocent but for his own men at Shouchun, he could only wish them death.

“Ziyang. This time, I brought the catapult from Shouchun over. There is a total of thirty two. We will take sixteen each and break through all the way. Do not spare any that dares to stop us!” Liu Mang’s eyes glowed coldly. The catapult is meant to be used on the walls to pulverize the enemy archers. It has never been used on the defenders or the common people but Liu Mang was forced to be ruthless.

“Won’t this be against the heaven?” Liu Ye was a bit hesitant.

“Ziyang. Would a united land be against the heaven or would a torn land be against the heaven?” Liu Mang asked. “I do not want to kill innocent people but I can only be a butcher for the sake of Shouchun’s millions!”

“Ziyang understands!” Liu Ye also took a deep breath. “Ziyang would definitely not let Milord down!”

“Go. Each of us take half of the Black Flag and the Urban Army. Liu Ziyang I want you and I to meet again at Yuzhou Runan!” Liu Mang was prepared to attack the enemy to rescue an ally. If they captured Runan and Shouchun was lost, Liu Bei would also not feel good. Worst comes to worst, Liu Mang would give Runan to Cao Cao. He believes that at that time, Cao Ren at Gucheng would be happy.

And so, Liu Mang’s Army split up. Liu Ye was given five thousand where two thousand five hundred were Black Flag and the other two thousand five hundred were Urban Army. The Black Flag were for field use. They were heavy armored troops and could prevent cavalry raids. They could also be used to fight with heavily or lightly armored troops outside cities. On the other hand, the Urban Army were for sieging. Both the Urban Army and the Black Flag were infantries. However, the Black Flag had heavy armors made of iron with a lot of impurity. This made it hard for them to climb the ladders. That wa.s.s why the one sieging the city were the Urban Army who had light armors with good defense. The generals and deputies such as Cheng Yu, Huang Xu, Xu Sheng and w.a.n.g Wei were given to Liu Ye. This made their fighting ability strong.

Liu Mang also had Gan Ning give Liu Ye two thousand navy to push the catapult.

The remaining half of the men were with Liu Mang. The worries of a ma.s.sacre were also less. Liu Mang’s marching speed increased. When they came across a city, they first tried to persuade. Words were only spoken thrice. The first time was a demand that they surrender. The second time was a demand that they surrender immediately. The third time was giving the order to attack.

Sixteen catapults descended on the defenders and the common people helping to defend the city. The casualties were not light. Boulders that were hundreds of pounds would definitely kill when it hits a person. A few were injured while some were directly squashed. Provisions were directly taken. Liu Mang no longer cared if there was a ma.s.sacre. Those that tried to stop him were beheaded. In half a day, Liu Mang pushed in several miles from Anfeng. It was almost comparable to an ordinary marching speed.

“Milord. In front is Yingshang!” Huang Zhong said from beside Liu Mang. Yingshang was a large city. Liu Mang relied on Yingshang, the second largest city in Yuzhou. It was like Wancheng at Yangzhou. It was because of the Ying River that Yingshang was rich and had a lot of provisions.

“Yingshang!” Liu Mang looked at the city in front of him. The city was Liu Bei’s equivalent of his Lujiang. After capturing it and Ruyin, half of Yuzhou would be in Liu Mang’s hands.

“Han Sheng. Advance and shout for them to open the gates and surrender!” Liu Mang said to Huangzhong.

“Yes!” Huang Zhong led his horse under the city of Yingshang. Although Huang Zhong had entered his middle-ages, he could still shout loudly. When he roared, half the city walls were able to hear him. “Defenders of Yingshang! We are under command of Sage King Liu Mang of the Han. Today, we demand you to open the gates quickly. Otherwise, Yingshang would be caught in the flames of war and none will be spared!” Liu Mang had already hardened his heart and all would be slain no matter how old or how young they were.

Liu Bei was useless in everything but his brainwas.h.i.+ng skill was G.o.d-cla.s.s. Many of the common people were not natives of Yuzhou. The ones on the wall in particular were mostly the common people from Xuzhou. Those were the ones that followed Liu Bei all the way from Xuzhou. They treked from distant lands and there were numerous casualties. After reaching Yuzhou, they still risk their lives for Liu Bei. This shows the level of brainwas.h.i.+ng.

“Bulls.h.i.+t! What Sage King? It is more like False King! How dare the Slave of Four Surnames dare to take on the name of Sage!” A young general appeared on the walls and spat down the wall.

“My Lord is personally granted the t.i.tle of Imperial Uncle by the current Emperor. Even if your Lord is here, he must pay respects by calling him Uncle. Who are you to dare and attack my Yuzhou?” The youth on the wall ridiculed Huang Zhong.

“Would the general on the wall dare to introduce himself?” Huang Zhong looked displeased. Liu Mang was his Lord and had treated him with kindness. If Huang Zhong himself was shamed, he would just go up the walls and fight a little. However, the Liu Mang and Lu Bu were the ones being brought up now. This made Huang Zhong unable to tolerate him.

“This one had not change his name and his surname! This one is the governor of Imperial Uncle Liu’s Yingshang, Mi Fang Mi Zi Fang!” The youth on the wall shouted loudly.

“Mi Fang?” Liu Mang slowly said to himself. Liu Mang was not familiar with this name as this person could be counted as a second-rated general. However, this person had a wonderful younger sister who was the famous Lady Mi.

Mi Fang, or Zifang, is was originally from Donghai Commandery aand served Tao Qian. The Mi Family was an extremely rich and powerful merchant family. Cao Cao had also tried to solicit the Mi Family but they had refused and joined up with Liu Bei at his field. It should be known that this field was given to Liu Bei by Gongsun Zan. Liu Bei only had a few thousand soldiers while Cao Cao had the whole of Yanzhou and half of Yuzhou. Beside that, Cao Cao had also taken in the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou and his army became even stronger like a big boss. On the other hand, it was as though Liu Bei was running a small private business. However, the Mi Family had chosen Liu Bei and even married their sister to him. The dowry for the marriage at that time was truly the envy of others. Countless servants and carts carrying thousands of gold and silver. It could even be said that the Mi Family was the one that helped Liu Bei create the White Eared Heavy Infantry. Without them, it would not be possible to compete against Lu Bu and the others.

At that time, Lu Bu really envied Liu Bei as he only received less than one-fifth of the dowry after marry Cao Bao’s daughter.

Liu Bei’s brother-in-law Mi Fang is also known as a traitor. When Liu Bei became King of Hanzhong, he became governor of the Southern province. He did not get along well with Guan Yu. After failing his task of providing military a.s.sets, he was scolded by Guan Yu and felt uneasy. Sun Quan and s.h.i.+ Ren then persuaded him to surrender to Wu and this led to Guan Yu’s defeat. Since then, he became a general of Wu and fought for Wu.

“Bandit. I dare you to come down and fight with this Huang for three hundred rounds!” Huang Zhong angrily shouted.

“Haha. Old bandit. Do you dare to climb the walls and fight three hundred rounds against me?” The youth, Mi Fang, retorted on the walls.

Those that could really fight three hundred rounds against Huang Zhong was already a Lu Bu. Zhao Yun was one while Sun Ce was half. Xu Sheng, Wei Yang and the others would not be able to hold out anymore after one hundred rounds. For a second-rate officer like Mi Fang, he would join his ancestors after three rounds.

“This little bandit is courting death!” Huang Zhong could not climb the walls but not only was he a master of the sword. He was also a master of the bow. Huang Zhong would not miss his targets. Even those that have reached the peak would need to go all out against his arrows. Huang Zhong took the bow from the horse and nocked an arrow in a single moment. He then aimed at Mi Fang who was on the wall.

“What?” Mi Fang started to regret cursing Huang Zhong. This was because he felt as though he was being watched by death. It was a sense of danger. Mi Fang wanted to moev his body but did not dare to. This was because he knew that death would not be far away if he did. “Eagle Eye!” Mi Fang’s mouth twitched. As a military man, he had naturally heard of people that could reach the peak of archery. Their two eyes were eyes of an eagle. The eagle eye woould cause their enemies to become unable to move. One strike would then be needed for the kill.

Mi Fang used to think that these were just rumors. After all, how could Qi make others unable to move? It was not a rope. But now, he found out that he was extremely wrong. He now had the pleasure on being glared at by the eagle eye.