Chapter 11: Man From Heaven
My Father in Law is Lu Bu
"Well well, what have we here? Mende was correct, you two really are feigning surrender!" said Xiahou Dun while pointing his blade at Song Xian and Wei Xu.
"Hehe, feigned surrender or not, Prime Minister Cao knew well enough. Right or wrong, crooked or straight, us brothers are no longer interested in quarreling!" said Song Xian with a smile. Within his smile was a sense of being free and at ease.
"Yuanrang, let me handle this!" Yu Jin too have arrived. His brows furrowed as heard Song Xian's speech. Was it really a feigned surrender?! He walked forward and said "General Song, General Wei. Perhaps we have all fallen to the Lu Bu army's stratagem - the stratagem of sowing dissension! Their purpose is to escape while we kill each other! Generals, please step aside! The Lu Bu army is with women and children; they cannot have escaped far! If we pursue them now, we will most certainly be able to catch up to them!"
[TL: so tempted to say, bruh, we have fallen for Lube's trap card!"]
"Wenze? Perhaps it really was the stratagem of sowing dissension?!" Although Xiahou Dun was a honest and thick fellow, he was not stupid. Even he could tell that Song Xian and Wei Xu shouldn't be betraying them. If they really are feigning surrender, then back in the chaos, they could've send their armies over to block his and Yu Jin's armies and allow Lu Bu enough time to kill Mende. However, when the Song Xian and Wei Xu's armies arrived, Lu Bu chose to escape instead.
[TL: Wenze is Yu Jin's courtesy name.]
"Sigh! It doesn't matter now! Song Xian, Wei Xu, if it really was the stratagem of sowing dissension, then this Xiahou Dun will apologize to you and justify for you in front of the Prime Minister! Move aside, we still have to pursue Lu Bu!" said Xiahou Dun while brandishing his blade.
[TL: http://media.tiltingatpixels.com/tilting/Do_Not_Pursue_Lu_Bu.jpg]
"You no longer have to pursue!" said Wei Xu indifferently.
"What do you mean by that?!" raged Xiahou Yuan. His elder brother was deeply injured by Lu Bu, he wanted to avenge his elder brother!
"Generals, perhaps you have grievances?! " Yu Jin thought that these two men are acting this way because they were attacked by their own people.
"Hehe. What we meant by 'you no longer have to pursue was that we are the Lu Bu army remnants that you guys are pursuing!" said Song Xian and Wei Xu together.
Yu Jin frowned even more deeply. "Generals, it would be wise not to inflict self harm! The influence of the Lu Bu army is already gone. Currently, he is no different from a stray dog, difficult to ever accomplish greatness! Generals, you must not give up your lives over momentary anger!"
"Wenze, why bother talking bullshit with them?! Break through them!" raged Xiahou Dun.
Yu Jin stopped him. Had it been the usual, Yu Jin might've break through them exactly like what Xiahou Dun said. Afterall, Wei Xu and Song Xian's troops are already badly damaged whereas they have an unlimited supply of troops.
But now, they cannot do that! Once Wei Xu and Song Xian are willing to die to prevent them from passing through the gates, they certainly could stop them for a couple hours. The area in front of the gates are simply too narrow, even if they have the advantage in numbers, they are unable to set up formations nor could they engage them all at once! Once delayed for a couple hours, Lu Bu would've already escaped!
"General Yu Jin, you could save your persuasions. That's right, we admit that we did not feign surrender. We originally planned to capture our elder brother for Prime Minister Cao in exchange for a life of riches, but Prime Minister Cao really was too overly suspicious of us, not only did he killed Old Hou, he even wanted to kill us! Since ancient times, no son would ever detest one's mother for being ugly and no dog would ever detest his residency for being poor! Us brothers have done enough wrongs, we can no longer redeem ourselves. Just allow us to give our lives back to our elder brother!"
Song Xian said it so lightly, as if the men who was about to die was not themselves.
It was like this afterall! Yu Jin sighed. This was exactly the stratagem of sowing dissention!
"Sigh!" Another sound of sighing was heard. Out of nowhere, a black faced fatty was standing next to Yu Jin.
[TL: a bit confused as to why black faced fatty. Maybe it's related to black bellied, a chinese term meaning smiling with evil intentions. Sorry, don't know enough Chinese slangs. I don't think it have anything to do with skin color though. I mean, the only black faced chinese historical dude I know of is Bao Qingtian]
"Yu Jin pay respect to the lord!" Yu Jin was about to dismount to pay his respect but was instead prevented by the black fatty. This black fatty was Cao Cao, Cao Mende. Although Cao Cao was a man who suspects everything, he was also a wise man, after his safety was guaranteed, he calmed himself and was able to figure things out!
"I did not expect that in the Lu Bu army, in addition to Chen Gong, there was another individual of such profound talent!" From using Xiahou De's banner to the stratagem of sowing dissention, he was able to grasp the timing accurate to perfection! Had it not been Xiahou Dun's messenger's arrival at the perfect time, perhaps Cao Cao would have died in Xiapi!
"Wei Xu, Song Xian, this Prime Minister have wronged you. I should not have suspect you all nor should I have killed Hou Cheng! You can step aside! I declare you all to be innocent, step down and replenish your lost troops with strong men of your choosing from the Qing Province soldiers. As for Hou Cheng, I have already ordered his burial; one reserved for honorable officials!" Cao Cao have a particular charisma! When one reached the level of charisma like Cao Cao, they would be standing above millions of men, their orders will be the will of heaven, no one will dare disobey!
However, such a person lowered his head and apologized. He even forgave Song Xian and Wei Xu of guilt and allowed them to replenish their troops!
Had Song Xian and Wei Xu not met Lu Bu, they really might've fall for it.
"Lord Cao! In this world, there exists but two heroes whom I, Wei Xu, was willing to serve. The first was my elder brother and the next was you, Lord Cao. Had we not met our elder brother, then perhaps Lord Cao would've been our master! However, I am sorry, we are unable to do as you requested!" said Wei Xu as he held his fist.
"Is there really no way?!" Cao Cao did not give up.
"Attention soldiers! Today, us brothers cannot apologize enough for you all for we ask you all to die with us here! Apology I will say no more, once we reached the netherworld, us brothers will make up for you all even if we have to be horses or oxen!" using their actions, Wei Xu and Song Xian told Cao Cao their decision.
"We are willing follow the generals to death!" Song Xian and Wei Xu, although a bit useless, are still generals who have led troops for years. In the army, they still have the will of their soldiers.
"I understand!" Cao Cao closed his eyes, raised his hand and swept it down. When he opened his eyes, he was filled with murderous intent. "Do not let a single one live! Sha!" The tyrant Cao Cao mercilessly declared for the massacre.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Due to having women and children, the Lu Bu army was advancing quite slow. Soon, Gao Shun and his Formation Breaker have caught up to Lu Bu.
"Gao Shun?!" Lu Bu frowned. "Why are you here?! Weren't you supposed to be hinder the enemies?!" For this breakthrough, the end army composed of Gao Shun's Formation Breaker was supposed to block the enemies from proceeding with their lives. For them to be here, perhaps Gao Shun was scared of death?!
No, that's impossible! Lu Bu shook his head. Gao Shun had been working for him for a long time, thus he knew what kind of character Gao Shun was. As the saying goes, how he who serves depends on how he who commands! If it was someone like Liu Mang who places his life as the utmost importance then his soldiers would certainly excel at fleeing!
As for Gao Shun, just look at his Formation Breaker! One could tell Gao Shun's disposition from the motto of his Formation Breaker - 'Burst the formations, death to all enemies!'
"General Gao Shun, why are you back?!" Although Lu Bu didn't want to directly inquire Gao Shun as it would show that he was distrustful of his subordinate but Chen Gong, who was next to Lu Bu, did not cared for it.
"The military advisor is here too?!" Gao Shun held his first toward Chen Gong. "Reporting to the lord, Old Song and Old Wei… they…"
"What about them?!" Although Song Xian and Wei Xu have hurt Lu Bu's heart, Lu Bu was still concerned about them. As an older brother, one must always forgive one's younger brother.
"They...they…!" Gao Shun was already a man who didn't know how to communicate well, and now, he was having an even more difficult time.
"Did they replace General Gao as the end army to block the Cao army?!" Chen Gong helped Gao Shun finish what he wanted to say.
Lu Bu looked at Gao Shun, Gao Shun nodded.
"Boren, Zigao?!" These were the courtesy name of Song Xian and Wei Xu. Lu Bu turned around and looked toward Xiapi. Sounds of fighting resounded from the city gate.
Two wounded armies blocking the gate, they are stalling time with their lives! Perhaps in a minute or perhaps in a second, there would be a soldier who would forever close his eyes!
Lu Bu paused for a bit. He took a deep breath and said. "Relay my orders, all three armies was to mourn for passing of Generals Wei Xu, Song Xian and Hou Cheng!"
[TL: in case you forgot, Lu Bu split his troops into 3 armies. First is lead by Zhang Liao, the Vanguard (aka. Front army). Lu Bu led his own remnant troops with Liu Mang and was protecting his family in the middle army and Gao Shun was leading the Rearguard (end army) consist of the Formation Breaker.]
"Lord?!" Chen Gong was shocked. What Lu Bu wanted to do would mean that Wei Xu, Song Xian and Hou Cheng did not conduct any betrayal! What Lu Bu wanted to do also meant that there would be people spreading rumors of him afterward!
After all, the reason why Xiapi was lost was all because of these three men!
"Was my words empty?!" Lu Bu looked at Chen Gong and Gao Shun sternly.
"Eh!" Gao Shun lowered his head, a tiger's gaze wasn't something that anyone could withstand.
"Sigh!" Chen Gong sighed, this was exactly Lu Bu's disposition. Regardless of your position, as long as he deemed you to be right, then you are right even if you are outrageously wrong! And he deemed you to be wrong, even if you are a saint, he would refuse to give you any respect!
A personality like this would certainly be of no issue should it occurred in a regular person, a general or an official. Had this personality appeared in peaceful times, it might even become an anecdote about steadfastness passed on with approbation! Alas, Lu Bu was born into troubled times and he also became a warlord!
Unable to distinguish between rewards and punishment, merits and demerits are all dependent on his feelings! If he's of good mood then you have conducted a meritorious deed and when he's in a bad mood then you are to have made a mistake! A lord like this was certainly not one who would accomplish much!
But didn't he, Chen Gong, decided to become Lu Bu's retainer precisely because of that?!
Had Lu Bu been a schemer, had Lu Bu been like Cao Mende, lacking moral, then would this Lu Bu still be Lu Bu?!
"The lord orders, all troops are to wear mourning clothes to send generals Song Xian, Wei Xu and Hou Cheng off!" Soon, a small voice was transmitted front of the front of the mid army.
"Send off Wei Xu, Song Xian and Hou Cheng?! Were they not traitors?!"
"Send off traitors?! What's wrong with the Lord?!" All the soldiers were muttering.
"That's right! They were the whole reason why Xiapi was lost!" The soldiers were all raging. "I'm not going to wear mourning clothes! You guys can wear it if you want to mourn for them!"
"What happened?!" Liu Mang who was resting in the carriage came out. Just when he was in an ecstasy about being able to return back home, back to the 21st century, back to being that worthless person. But hey, at least that's still home! Right when he was about to fire Boss Lu and say farewell, he heard the raging of the soldiers around him.
"Cheng Yu, what happened?!" Liu Mang asked Cheng Yu.
"Sire! This… this… was because the Lord ordered us to wear mourning clothes to send generals Song Xian, Wei Xu and Hou Cheng off!" It appears that things were difficult for Cheng Yu.
"To send these three off?!" Liu Mang too was confused. Wasn't these three traitors?! Although he have never met Hou Cheng, he have met Wei Xu and Song Xian. It was from these two men that he rescued boss Lu.
"That's right! They are traitors! Sire, please persuade the lord! The soldiers really don't want to send them off!" Of course they won't want to send them off. For they caused the break through of Xiapi and the death of countless soldiers in it! Oh how they wished to step and scatter filthy objects on their corpses to cause these three to be unable to reincarnated for eternity!
"This!" This task was a bit difficult for Liu Mang because he knew what Lu Bu said to Song Xian about the Bing Province Army always being their home. Go persuade him yourself!
Forget it! I am going to say farewell and stop associating myself with boss Lu anyways, might as well go!
Having made up his mind, Liu Mang nodded and walked toward Lu Bu.
"Lord, our food supply is running low!" For this break out, they did not bothered to bring good supply. What they have was Gao Shun's Formation Breaker's dry rations that they carry around with them, enough to only last a few days!
"Food supply?! It became difficult for Lu Bu too. They are marching toward Langye. In Langye was Zang Ba, Zang Xuanggao. Although Zang Ba was one of the eight superior generals under Lu Bu, he was not Lu Bu's retainer. However, Zang Ba had a spirit of loyalty and was subdued by Lu Bu. Thus, the plan Chen Gong gave Lu Bu was to incorporate the thieves Mount Tai of Zang Ba into his troops. Although this was somewhat disregarding camaraderie but Lu Bu was without other choices. He could only repay Zang Ba when he makes a comeback!
[TL: Lu Bu's eight superior generals: Zhang Liao, Zang Ba, Hao Meng, Cao Xing, Cheng Lian, Wei Xu, Song Xian, Hou Cheng.]
The problem they encounter now was that it requires three days worth of travel to reach Langye! Certainly they cannot starve! Even if the soldiers could endure it, what about the women and children?! They certainly can't!
"Is there any villages nearby?!" Lu Bu began to move his mind! Like Cao Cao, he too was a selfish individual. The only difference between them was that Cao Cao was willing to sacrifice the world for himself whereas Lu Bu was willing to sacrifice the world for his brothers!
Lu Bu wanted to pillage villages for food.
"There is a Zhouzhuang with a population of three hundred!" Being a general, Gao Shun was very knowledgeful of the terrains of the whole Xu Province.
"Fengxian, are you really going to do this?!" Chen Gong frowned. It is impossible for there to be any survivors once they pillage the village. A village of over three hundred! That's three hundred lives! Although they live in troubled times where human lives were no more worthy than those of dogs, Chen Gong was still unable to harden his heart.
"Then do you have any other suggestion?!" Lu Bu asked instead.
"I… Sigh!" Chen Gong sighed. He does not know of a different method. Afterall, they cannot starve to death here and thus, their only solution was to sacrifice the village.
"You could leave the problems regarding food supply to me!" A person came forward. Wasn't this Liu Mang who wanted to say farewell to Lu Bu?!
"Zhang Liao's soldiers numbered a thousand, the Formation Breaker numbered seven hundred, your soldiers numbered two hundred and adding on the children and women, we have two thousand and a hundred some people needing food for three days! You're but a frail scholar, where would you find food?!" Lu Bu was not convinced.
"Isn't it only three days worth of food for some two thousand people?! I'll find it for you!" Liu Mang looked at with furious eyes. Pillage Zhouzhuang?! Although Liu Mang did not know where Zhouzhuang is, he knew that there was some three hundred lives there! Human lives in troubled times are no more worthy than those of dogs but Liu Mang was not a person from troubled times! Although he was fine with killing on the battlefield, he was unable to accept this kind of massacre!
"Ah, little brother really have a way?!" Chen Gong too did not want to see civilians die tragically! "This is something that cannot be joked around!"
"I am willing to set up a military order!" Liu Mang knew that unless he does something dramatic, they will not believe him.
"Did you think the military order is child's play thing?! If you cannot find the food, you'd be killed!" roared Lu Bu.
"My Lord, perhaps little teacher really have a way!" Gao Shun really admired this little teacher.
Hey hey! If it's teacher than just teacher, why add little?! Where am I little?! Where?!
"That's right. Fengxian, just give it a try! Even if it doesn't work out, Zhouzhuang is enroute ahead anyways, it won't be too late to capture it then!"
"Good! I'll give you a chance. Two days. In two days time, if you cannot find food, then I could only kill you as a punishment!" Two days was the maximum they can go with the amount of food they have.
"No need for two days, a single day is enough!" Originally Liu Mang planned for half a day but he figured that he'd need a day to cool off.
"Without further ado, I will go find food! Bye Bye, Boss Lu! " In front of Lu Bu, Liu Mang confirmed the return button.
A golden ray shined down on Liu Mang. Soon, Liu Mang disappeared.
"This! This!" Not only Lu Bu, even Chen Gong, the kind of tactician who could stay calm and composed amongst armies of tens of thousands, was unable to stay calm and collected.
"Celestial being?!" After a long lag did Gao Shun finally managed to say these words.
"A man from Heaven?!" said Lu Bu, unable to believe it.
"Fengxian, Fengxian! Is little brother Liu surnamed Liu?!" Cheng Gong asked abruptly with excitement.
Nonsense! How would little brother Liu not be surnamed Liu?!
Lu Bu nodded his head and said. "He once said that his elder brother was His Majesty!"
"His Majesty?!" Chen Gong immediately stirred himself up. "Surnamed Liu! A man from Heaven?! Sibling of His Majesty! Heaven assist the great Han dynasty! Oh Heaven assist the great Han dynasty!"
Chapter 12: Fifteen Thousand Dollars Worth of Buns
My Father in Law is Lu Bu
Liu Mang's did not know that his leave have caused Lu Bu and Chen Gong to be unable to sleep at night!
Liu Mang is currently at a loss as to how to get three days worth of food for some two thousand people. He was not afraid of the military order. If worst comes to worst, he could just not go back. It's not like Lu Bu could chase over! However, he was scared of the massacre! It's over three hundred lives! If he was unable to accomplish his task, then based on the ways warlords acted during the Eastern Han Dynasty, Lu Bu really would massacre the whole Zhouzhuang!
Liu Mang was not some saint but neither was he a villain, he could not just sit there and watch as three hundred lives are lost before his eyes, even if these lives are from over a thousand years in the past!
When all is said and done, Liu Mang only have a thousand or so dollars total! And that was this month's living expenses! After spending all of that thousand dollars, he'll could drink the northwest wind! Even so, could this thousand dollars really be enough to feed over two thousand people for three days?!
[TL: drinking northwest wind = a chinese phrase basically mean that you ain't got jack to eat, since eating wind will only cause you to get cold and not be full.]
Even if his brain was in his ass, he'd still knew that it was impossible!
"Must I go and borrow money?!" With this kind of situation, it was the only solution! Liu Mang began to take his cell phone out when he noticed a major issue.
The clothes he was wearing was not his own! He already changed his clothes before they even began the break through due to there being too much blood on it. He was currently wearing was a clean ancient outfit!
"My wallet! My ID! My cellphone! My bank card!" Now, not to mention a thousand dollars, he didn't even have a single cent!
Only now did Liu mang noticed that he was currently at the same location where he was beaten up at. Fortunately, the cosplay contest last for three days. Thus, even though Liu Mang came back wearing ancient outfit, no one was really concerned.
"That's it! Find Chen Yi!" Their school's booth was to be there for several days and Chen Yi, as the person in charge, will certainly be there!
Liu Mang grabbed his long gown and started running toward the school's booth. As expected, Chen Yi was there commanding the underclassmen, teaching them how to hold props all the while fixing a wig.
"Chen Yi!" Liu Mang ran up to Chen Yi.
"Don't bother me! I'm busy!" Chen Yi did not even bothered to pay attention to who was calling her. She was teaching how to put on makeup.
The hell! You accounted for more than half of why I crossed through time and almost died! And now I called you and you just ignore me?!
"Chen Yi, it's me, Liu Mang!" Liu Mang reluctantly pulled Chen Yi a couple times. Only then did she noticed him.
"Liu Mang?!" Having seen Liu Mang, her voice suddenly got louder.
"My great aunt!" Liu Mang rushed to cover Chen Yi's mouth. He didn't want to get beat up again. Last time he was mistaken as a molester and was almost unable to get back. He didn't want to be mistaken as a molester again!
"It's you. So you finally decided to appear!" Chen Yi removed Liu Mang's hand. She too knew why he was being so cautious. "Where did you die off to yesterday?! Can't reach you on the phone, can't find you and you're not even in your dorms. I thought you died yesterday! I was even planning to report you as a missing individual later today!"
"Great Aunt Chen Yi, it's a long story!" Liu Mang did not know how to explain. He can't just go off and tell Chen Yi that he cross through time, went to Xiapi, saved Lu Bu and then killed some people!
"Where did you get the clothes you're wearing?! Where is my Aries Gold Cloth?!" Only now did Chen Yi noticed Liu Mang's outfit. Mainly black with dark but majestic patterns. "Ohho, it's even made out of silk!" Just by touching the clothes, Chen Yi was able to tell the material it was made out of. "Hmmm, this is…?" There was a faint line on the patterns. Chen Yi placed her hand on it and pulled. "Golden Thread?!" stunned Chen Yi.
Liu Mang was still thinking about how to explain himself. First he left her precious Aries Gold Cloth with Lu Bu and now he wanted to borrow money from her! Really, all his misfortunes just piled up!
"What?!" Liu Mang was distracted. "Golden Thread?!" He immediately turned his sight to his clothes.
"That's right, it's golden thread!" Chen Yi looked at that Han gown with admiring eyes! She wondered who had such an elegant taste, that gown should be a general's garment! General's garment should have golden thread embroideries! But that was during the ancient times! How could modern cosplayers use golden thread!?
Chen Yi thought that she was already someone who could be considered as one who seek for perfection, having used aluminum alloy to construct her Aries Gold Cloth just to show the beauty of real metal armor!
Now, having seen the clothes, she cannot help but pale into insignificance by comparison.
Money! Money! The Liu Mang who was still worried about how to get money suddenly came to a revelation - isn't this money?! Miserly, Liu Mang asked "If we take apart the golden thread, how much could they sell for?!"
"Take apart and sell?" Chen Yi was confused. Selling such a great golden embroidered general garment? Did Liu Mang go crazy?! "Taking into consideration of the designs, you should be able to get fifty grams of gold! With the current cost of gold being around three hundred, you're able to sell it for fifteen thousand!"
"Fifteen thousand?!" Liu Mang smiled. Fifteen thousand divided by two thousand people will give each one of them seven fifty. For three days, this should be enough!
"Are you really planning to sell it?!" Chen Yi think that Liu Mang went crazy. With such a beautiful gold embroidered general gown, it's a work of art! To take apart the golden threads to sell, it's a major waste!
"That's right, I need money!" said Liu Mang
"Need money?! How much do you need?!" Chen Yi asked. "A thousand? Two thousand?" Chen Yi's family was rich. This was shown by the fact that they allowed her to be in the anime and manga club - the school did not sponsor the club, thus all the props and costumes had to be made by themselves, not a small expense!
Liu Mang shook his head. "Fifteen thousand!"
Chen Yi could tell that Liu Mang was set to sell this golden embroidered gown! "Well, Liu Mang, seeing as you're so set on selling it, then let's keep the goodies within the family, you could save horrific behavior of taking apart the garment for the thread and sell me the gown instead! I'll pay you twenty thousand!" Apart from the golden embroideries, there were also other unique characteristic on the gown enough to make Chen Yi like it!
"Twenty thousand?!" Happiness came like the wind! For a DiaoSi like Liu Mang, he have never once seen money that numbered more than ten thousand!
[TL: In case you forgot, DiaoSi is a chinese slang meaning that the guy is of mediocre appearance, humble family, no car, no house and no connection. Basically a loser.]
"Yep!" said Chen Yi.
"Okay okay okay! I will go back to the dorms and take it off for you right away!"
"Return quickly!" Chen Yi shook her head. What a waste for such a nice gown to be in the hands of a brat like this! Due to her being so concerned for the gown, she actually forgot about her Aries Gold Cloth!
"Twenty thousand! Hehe!" When one have money, one's worries flies away! With twenty thousand dollars in his pocket, Liu Mang's confidence was flying off the shelf!
Three days worth of food for two thousand people?! Maybe not luxury food but certainly he could get food enough to fill the stomach of these people!
And where would one find food that's filling but not good? Obviously that would be the school cafeteria!
In this wide cafeteria, there was a magical food, the big meat bun! The bun was as big as one's palm! Although it barely have any meat, it had a lot of bread! Although it tastes bad, it's very filling!
When fifteen thousand dollars was placed in front of the cafeteria lady, the cafeteria lady was dumbfounded!
"Child, do you have a fever?!" That cafeteria lady placed her hand on top of Liu Mang's forehead.
"Aunty, I don't have any fever! This fifteen thousand dollars was for buying buns! As for the buns, I want that big meat bun that cost a dollar each!" In fact, Liu Mang too was at a loss. Had he had more money, he'd be buying better food already instead of coming to the cafeteria!
"Did that dude went nuts?! Fifteen thousand dollars! Buying buns?!"
Liu Mang came at the wrong time, right at the lunch period. The cafeteria was filled with people. Seeing Liu Mang place his bills on the ordering table, everyone began to murmor.
"A vulgarian! That's a vulgarian for sure!" A man nodded his head, certain that Liu Mang was a vulgarian.
"Even if he's a vulgarian, to spend his money buying buns?! With this many buns, how could he possibly finish it! What a bumpkin!"
"Did that man went crazy?! To spend all that money buying buns!"
"I know right?! Did he received some kind of trauma?! Did his girlfriend left him for 'Mr. Perfect?! Even if you are to vent, you can't do it like this! This is a waste of your family's money!" Great! Currently student Liu Mang was seen as a bumpkin by the guys and a pitiful child who was just dumped by his girlfriend by the girls.
"So what if you're dumped, if they don't want you, I want you! Lil handsome guy, if you use the money you're buying the buns to buy me bags, I'd be yours tonight!"
"That's enough, stop being so lecherous!" said two girls, teasingly.
Red with embarrassment, Liu Mang packed the bucketloads of buns onto the car! The school cafeteria was nice enough to provide Liu Mang a minivan to help him transport the buns.
This damn cafeteria really had over a ten thousand buns! Might these all be expired leftovers?! Forget it, at least I got food now!
Some ten thousand buns filled the whole minivan. With nowhere to put these buns, Liu Mang moved them to the anime and manga club's clubroom.
Having obtained food, it was about time for him to go back.
Liu Mang composed himself. The time crossing CD still had a couple minutes left on it. With nothing to do, Liu Mang started checking the props in the clubroom.
In the innermost section was all trophies! This Red Univeristy's anime and manga club was famous in the anime and manga community! Whether the quality of the girls, the props or even the amount of money they have, they're all top rated!
"That is?!" Liu Mang's sight was attracted by a golden armor.
Covered densely with scales, with a crown on top of it, and patterns like the ocean's waves! On the side, there was a matching weapon - a golden trident!
[TL: that's the Poseidon Scale from Saint Seiya. http://www.nerdgasmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/poseidon1.jpg]
Liu Mang walked over, he wanted to play around with that trident.
Suddenly, he found an embarrassing problem - he cannot lift the trident with a single hand and had to use both hands!
Although Liu Mang wasn't very strong, he had the physique! Thus, lifting fifty or sixty pounds with a single hand was no problem for him. However, right now, he was having difficulties holding this weapon with two hands!
"Is this thing made of steel?!" Liu Mang guessed correctly, it was a steel halberd! The weapon was constructed with alloy steel and Its exterior was covered with a gold coating! This was without a doubt another one of Boss Chen's masterpiece.
This weapon?! This armor?! Liu Mang remembered that Boss Lu lost his Sky Piercer! Maybe he'd be even even more stunning with this one!
Finished cooling down!
Liu Mang pressed confirm, golden light once again lit up. It wrapped all the buns in the clubroom. Liu Mang smoothly pulled the armor and trident into the golden light.
"Woosh!" The anime and manga club room suddenly got quiet, there was not a single person! Buns, armor and the trident have all disappeared!
Chapter 13: Boss Cao's Scheme
My Father in Law is Lu Bu
"Liu Mang?!" In Xiapi's Province Governor's Mansion, Cao Cao was muttering a name. From Lu Bu's escape to Xiahou De's banner and finally the stratagem of sowing dissension, it appear that this man's shadow was everywhere!
"Han imperial clansman?!" Cao Cao was dumbfounded, another Han imperial clansman?!
[TL: direct translation, relative to the Han Dynasty's clan. Using imperial clansman as opposed to royal clansman because china is an empire during this period, not king or queens.]
This man really got old Cao good! Cao Cao almost even lost his life! He only knew of such a person from the mouth of captured Lu Bu soldiers.
"A capable individual! A great talent!" Cao Cao sighed deeply. "Alas, this talent does not work for me! Fengxiao, say, do you think that I could recruit this Liu Mang?!" Cao Cao's success wasn't accidental, it was significantly because of his approach toward people of great talent!
[TL: Fengxiao is Guo Jia's courtesy name. Guo Jia is one of Cao Cao's main advisors, he's the dude who told him to flood Xiapi.]
"My lord, you're overthinking!" Seated below Cao Cao was a prodigal looking scholar. This man had not once stopped when he started drinking. Even when Cao Cao inquires him about things, he did not stand up. Yes, this man have a haughty attitude, but it was precisely because of this haughty attitude that that gave birth to the reputation of this sly genius, Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao.
"Not mentioning that this man's scheme almost cost you your life, let's just think about general Xiahou Yuan who was heavily injured by Lu Bu, do you think general Xiahou Dun would allow such a man to join us?!" Xiahou Yuan almost died in the hands of Lu Bu. Even though he survived, his injuries requires at least half a year to heal! The animosity was certainly going to be there!
"Regarding Yuanran and Miaocai, I could get things flowing!" Cao Cao still did not give up. For his talented individuals, for his great ambitions, what harm is there for him to lower himself?!
"Hehe, my lord oh lord, I know of your talent loving heart but you still need to consider who the talent is!" Guo Jia smiled wryly at his lord and shook his head. "It was reported that this man is called Liu Mang and is a Han imperial clansman. Say, do you think that those Han imperial clansmen would be interested in Prime Minister Cao? Would they really be willing to work for you?!"
"That's impossible! Isn't Liu Bei also a Han imperial clansman?! He's even the emperor's imperial uncle! There's also Liu Ye, Liu Ziyang! Are they not subordinates of I, Cao Cao?!" said Cao Cao, fully pleased with his accomplishments.
[TL: Ziyang is Liu Ye's courtesy name. He's an advisor to Cao Cao.]
"Liu Bei?!" Guo Jia sneered. "He is not a man who is contented with his roots. Lord, it is better to remove this man as soon as possible!" Guo Jia, Xun Yu and the other advisors regarded Liu Bei as the biggest thorn in the current Cao army!
Guo Jia understand that Liu Bei grew up in a poor family, having lost his father when he was still a child. To support themselves, Liu Bei and his mother sold shoes and straw-woven mats - a very difficult livelihood. On the southeast corner of Liu Bei's house, there was a mulberry tree of fifty foot tall. From afar, the tree looked like a canopy of a chariot. All the passersby felt that this tree was not something from the earthly world and believed that there will certainly be a nobleman originating from this house. In his childhood, Liu Bei played underneath the tree with other kids and pointed at the mulberry tree and said "In the future, I will certainly ride a feathered canopy chariot like this one!"
Imperial canopy! This was something only the emperor was qualified to sit underneath. But, a straw mat weaver dared to speak of his wishes to sit underneath such a canopy - one could tell that this person's ambition was certainly not small!
Sure enough, although this big eared Liu did not show any ambitions from the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he have been constantly calling himself a Han royal clansman and was even finally recognized as one by Emperor Xian of Han!
This caused Guo Jia to be on extra alert against Liu Bei! Having ambitions was not scary, what's scary was having great ambitions! Had Liu Bei been alone, Guo Jia would still not be so alert, but that was not the case. The big eared Liu had three brothers! Neither Guan Yu nor Zhang Fei are regular men. Instead, they exuded the qualities of great generals!
Guo Jia have always told Cao Cao to separate the three brothers, to divide and conquer. However, every single time, he was blocked by this big eared Liu. Say, being a subordinate, if you really are loyal, then why must you hide your generals? Perhaps you are trying to rely on them on a rebellion?!
"Fengxiao ah, although Xuande is unbearable, it is not not the time to get rid of him!" Cao Cao wasn't reluctant on killing Liu Bei. Afterall he was an overly suspecting man who was willing to wrongly kill three thousand than to let one escape!
But Cao Cao wanted Liu Bei's Zhang Fei and Guan Yu! Especially Guan Yu! Outstand martial abilities, familiar with the arts of war and with the spirit of loyalty and self sacrifice, he was certainly a valiant general!
Should he kill Liu Bei right away, then in this lifetime he could forget about trying to rein such a valiant general!
"Sigh!" Guo Jia too knew what his lord was thinking about! The desire for a good general and the difficulty of removing a major enemy!
"As for Liu Ye, Liu Ziyang? Hehe, if it wasn't for me, my lord, would you really dare use him?!" Although Liu Ye was very talented, as talented as Guo Jia, Cao Cao never really trusted him!
Xu Shao of Runan have once said 'Liu Ye, Liu Ziyang, have a talent in assisting the building of an era.' According to Cao Cao's love for talent, he should've had Liu Ye as a confidant. However, he never had. Instead, he gave Liu Ye an official position as the Assistant to the Excellency of Works. What does the Assistant of Excellency of Works do? He was in charge of provisions! Had he been in charge of the army provisions, then the position was pretty good, enough to not bring shame as a descendant of Liu Bang! Alas, he wasn't in charge of the army provisions. Instead, he was in charge of the provisions in the Excellency of Work's Mansion. In other words, he was the chief housekeeper!
[TL: 司空倉曹掾 : Assistant to the Excellency of Works. Cao Cao was the Excellency of Works(司空). 倉曹 according to the novel was in charge of the provisions. So basically dude's position is the aide to Cao Cao but instead Cao Cao sent him to his home and turned him into a butler because he wasn't willing to use someone he didn't trust.]
To turn such a talented man into a housekeeper, one could tell how much Cao Cao values Liu Ye!
"Fengxiao oh Fengxiao, I cannot hide anything from you!" Cao Cao smiled wryly.
"How's the army preparations going? For Lu Bu to escape this time is certainly troublesome!" Regarding soliciting Liu Mang, Cao Cao had already given up. He now set his focus on the Lu Bu army!
"There is no need for panic, my lord! The tiger who just lost his home is currently grieving! Should we chase after him now, certainly we would experience great casualties!" said Guo Jia after drinking some wine.
"Then could it be that we are not to chase and allow Lu Bu to leave?!" Cao Cao did not want to let Lu Bu go for that man left too deep of an impression on him! In Dong Zhou's residence and then again underneath the White Gate Tower, a single man's might was like that of gods and devils!
"Having lost half of Xiapi, Lu Bu have lost half of Xu Province! Of his seventy thousand troops, only a few thousand managed to break out! Thus, the only thing he could do right now is to find an opportunity to make a comeback, finding a way to replenish his troops!" Guo Jia spoke frankly with assurance. "Lu Bu was widely known for his despotic rule.The Xu Province borders Qing, Yang, Yu and Yan Provinces. As for our Yan Province, he certainly would not dare come toward it! Although Lu Bu came from the Yuan Shao's region to our Yan Province and then the Xu Province, the Yuan clan held no goodwill toward Lu Bu! Thus, Yuan Tan of Qing Province will certainly not take him in! Yang Province? Yuan Shu himself is in trouble, even more impossible! As for Yu Province, say, do you think he could go there?!"
[TL: Lu Bu cannot go toward Yu Province either because Liu Bei is in charge of it.]
"Then where would Lu Bu go?!" Cao Cao asked.
"He's going nowhere! He's still in Xu Province!" As expected from the genius Guo Jia, he guessed the whereabouts of Lu Bu right away. "Langye! In Langye was one of Lu Bu's eight superior general Zang Ba and his Mount Tai bandits!"
"Mere Mount Tai bandits, how could they possibly accomplish anything?!" Cao Cao laughed. Having fought the Yellow Turban Bandits, how could he possibly be afraid of some Mount Tai bandits?!
"My lord, you shouldn't underestimate this man named Zang Ba!" said Guo Jia. "As for the subordinates of Lu Bu, if you seek a scholars, then it's Chen Gong, if you seek a general, then it's this Zang Ba!"
"Oh?!" said Cao Cao, puzzled. "How is he compared to Zhang Liao or Gao Shun?!"
"Not inferior in any aspect!" said Guo Jia. Although this Zang Ba's wasn't as famous as Gao Shun or Zhang Liao, he was someone who was a boss! The Mount Tai bandits numbered numerous, crooks mixed with honest folk, but was completely obedient under Zang Ba's administration! One could tell how talented this Zang Ba was just from that!
Training an army? Unifying the soldiers? Maybe Zang Ba wasn't at the level of Gao Shun or Zhang Liao. However, unifying the generals, this Zang Ba was a lot better than Gao Shun and Zhang Liao!
"Are you saying that if Lu Bu obtains the Mount Tai bandits, then it's like giving wings to a tiger?! We have only just obtained this Xu Province… could it be that we are to battle again?!" Cao Cao grew anxious. Lu Bu was a fierce tiger and it would appear that this Zang Ba wasn't someone to be taken lightly!
Once these two get together, then old Cao's Xu Province will be in trouble.
"Worry not, my lord!" Guo Jia drank another cup. His face was already bright red. Although Cao Cao was anxious like a fiery flame, Guo Jia was calm like a silk thread!
"From Xiapi to Lanye, the distance is at least three hundred li! Even under forced march, the soldiers under Xiahou Yuan would still require three days to get there! Currently, Lu Bu is with kids and women. Taking into consideration of their health, Lu Bu is certainly going to delay his speed. Thus, it will take them at least three to five days to get there! And although Lu Bu's breakthrough was a success, he had a fatal flaw!" having said to this point, Guo Jia stopped because the wine bottle ran out of wine.
[TL: remember li is a chinese mile that's 500meters and ⅓ of an american mile.]
"Men! Supply Guo Jia with more wine!" Guo Jia caused Cao Cao to lose his appetite. He even think that the soldier bringing up the wine was too slow and decided to pour Guo Jia more wine himself.
"In Lu Bu's break through, apart from the family and soldiers, he have overlooked his army provisions!" Guo Jia came to the main point.
"Preceding the advance of the army, the advance of provisions!" said Guo Jia with a smile. "Although three to five days is not a long period of time, it is also not a short period of time! Although one could not stave to death in that period of time, surely it will starve one enough to lose consciousness! My lord, you only have to dispatch the Ferocious Riders and have them follow behind the Lu Bu army slowly, after three to five days, when the Lu Bu army is about to faint with blurred vision from hunger is the time to capture Lu Bu!"
After hearing Guo Jia's words, Cao Cao was full of delight. However, he thought of something being wrong and hesitated! "If Lu Bu harden his heart and conduct a forced march? Then won't he be able to reach Langye and Zang Ba?!"
"Rest assured, my lord! The first disposition of troops was already sent by someone else for me!" Guo Jia drank a cup of wine that was poured by Cao Cao. He didn't feel that he couldn't bear the weight at all.
"Who?!"
"Chen Deng of Guangling!" From Guo Jia's mouth was the name of a man! Chen Deng of Guangling was even more anxious than Cao Cao! Losing Xu Province, half of it was because of their Chen family selling out Lu Bu! Thus, the first thing Lu Bu does after getting away might not be bothering Cao Cao, but this Chen family was already on Lu Bu's blacklist!
Cao Cao's family was big and widespread. There's also the protection of guards and generals! But the Chen family did not have that! Should Lu Bu decide to launch a surprise attack, ending the Chen family and their Guangling. Then the Chen family really might be extinguished from history in the Latter Han Dynasty!
Chapter 14: The Great Coax
My Father in Law is Lu Bu
Liu Mang did not know that he had been the subject of a heated discussion of Boss Cao and CEO Guo - he had already been classified as the sort that are unable to be recruited.
"Swoosh!" Within the golden light, Liu Mang was curiously experiencing everything. Last time, he was beaten up and did not feel anything at all whereas this time, he could have a good feel of what crossing over felt like.
From the flash of the golden ray till its disappearance was less than two seconds. When Liu Mang's eyes finally adjusted, he found himself in a big tent. Within the tent was a delicate looking woman with fine black hair. She was currently binding the pair on her chest.
"So big?!" Liu Mang's subconscious mind cannot help but utter those words.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" The woman looked up and screamed aloud.
"It's a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!" Liu Mang remembered. Wasn't this delicate looking woman with fine black hair Boss Lu's daughter - that golden armored female warrior that saved him?
Oh shit! Liu Mang had set the spatial coordinates to his Aries Gold Cloth. Alas, he didn't know that the Aries Gold Cloth would be in Boss Lu's daughter's tent.
Now he's fucked! Not only did he rudely intruded upon someone else's tent, he even saw that her naked! But that pair was really big! Wrong, wrong! Liu Mang came back from his delusions, he can't let her continue screaming. If she keep screaming and Boss Lu found out about what he did, then he'll really be fucked!
With Boss Lu's three digit fighting prowess, to kill him is as easy as swatting a fly!
Liu Mang rushed forward. He held the woman and covered her mouth.
"So soft!" Because Lu Lingqi had took off the cloth that's binding her chest, it's currently entirely devoid of clothing! As Liu Mang was holding her to keep her quiet, he happened to held those pair!
[TL: I guess the author decided to flip Lu Lingqi, name of Lu Bu's daughter given by Koei, to Lu Qiling. Sounds the same, different characters. Well, do you guys want me to change it to Lu Lingqi or keep it as Lu Qiling? They're both fictional names anyways.
edit: 4-22-15 Under popular demand, I am changing the name to Lu Lingqi.]
Unable to help himself, Liu Mang grasped them a couple times.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!" Another scream. But this time, it wasn't Miss Lu. Instead, it was Liu Mang.
He remembered that Miss Lu saved him. However, he would never have thought that although Miss Lu's fighting prowess could not compared to her father's, it's still over eighty!
Thus, Liu Mang encountered a tragedy.
"It's going to break! Ahhh ahhh ahh!" In the moonlight sky, the Lu Bu army stationed outside the camp all trembled with fear. This scream was enough to cause one to be absolutely horrified.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"It's really broken?!" With a sullen face, Liu Mang was looking at his dangling arms. That bitch was very cruel, I only grasped them and she broke my two arms!
In the main tent of the Lu Bu army, Lu Bu was looking at the two in front of him with a bitter smile.
One was his daughter. The other was the Heavenly Man. For Lu Bu, both of them were very important - he could not afford to lose either. And now? This so called Man from Heaven went into his daughter's tent and even assaulted her! Lu Bu was at a loss.
On the side was Chen Gong, Zhang Liao and Gao Shun. These three men were watching the scene in front of them. They wanted to laugh but dared not laugh. They held their laugher back so hard that even their faces got red.
"Qiling, you can leave first!" First steady his daughter, Lu Bu waved his hands to tell his daughter to leave first.
"Yes father! Humph!" Lu Lingqi glared at Liu Mang. Her glare scared Liu Mang so much that he started trembling.
Seeing his daughter have departed, Lu Bu led Chen Gong, Zhang Liao and Gao Shun and fall onto their knees. "General Who Pacifies the East, Governor of Xu Province, Lu Bu, Lu Fengxian leading my subordinates and military advisors, Chen Gong, Gao Shun and Zhang Liao, pay our respects to the Heavenly Man!"
Liu Mang thought that Lu Bu was going to kill him for touching his daughter! Who would've expected that these four men actually kneeled to him. "Heavenly Man? What? Me? Tall?"
"Boss Lu, what are you doing!?" Liu Mang wanted to get Lu Bu up, the people from modern times aren't used to being kneeled and worshipped. However, he abruptly noticed that he can't move his arms. He thus gave up.
"Get up first, we can speak after!" With a movement, Liu Mang's two arms were like rattle drums, swaying all over.
Only after Lu Bu helped Liu Mang relocate his dislocated arms did he understand what they meant by Man from Heaven.
That golden light when he left, they regarded it as something of gods and immortals! Added to the fact that he is surnamed Liu, it became even harder for him to explain himself. They thought that he was sent to earth by the Emperor Liu in Heaven to correct things for the declining Han Dynasty. They called him the Man from Heaven or the Heavenly Man!
Isn't this situation going to make me into the boss?!
Had Liu Mang not been able to go back, perhaps then he would accept it. Having Lu Bu as his subordinate, his survival rate will certainly increase by a lot!
But now that he knows that he can get back, he had to be stupid to stay in this era, the Latter Han Dynasty, where birds don't shit and chickens don't lay eggs and be a shitty boss! No no, not a shitty boss, a warlord.
Liu Mang knew that in the Three Kingdoms period, big eared Liu, black faced Cao and that little authority Sun are all people they he would rather not know! Contend for hegemony in the Three Kingdoms period requires not only wisdom, one must also have a heritage!
Compare wisdom? Even if ten of me together can't compare to those three. Compare heritage? Big eared Liu have the reputation of the imperial uncle, his benevolence and righteousness was known to the whole world. What do I have? Han imperial clansman? This was something that I self bestowed! Although big eared Liu also self bestowed his status as an imperial clansmen, he was able to gain acknowledgement from the emperor!
Black faced Cao already have two provinces under his control! His strategists, the genius Guo Jia, the Xun family's uncle and nephew, Liu Ye, Cheng Yu and a whole bunch of other people. His generals, the Cao brothers, the Xiahou brothers, Yu Jin, Xu Huang, Xu Chu, Dian Wei (dude's already dead), Li Dian and more.
And I!? If I really became the boss, then I will only have three generals! Even though all three of them are all experts, two fists cannot withstand four legs! As for strategists, there's only the old man Chen Gong. And our territory? None! We're wandering on the streets!
That little authority Sun? Although it's his brother who's currently in power, it's soon to be his turn. Hell, their Sun clan has been passing on their traditions for three generations! Three generations of heritage! Their strategists and generals are all decent and they even have fifty or sixty thousand armored troops!
And I? Taking everything into account, there's only two thousand people! No matter how strong the Formation Breaker are, they cannot win hundred to one!
Nope, Ain't gunna do it! I am determined to not do it! If I become the boss, then if I lose then I'm pretty much going to die for sure.
Look at Lu Bu, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and Gongsun Zan. All these lost bosses, didn't they all receive a tragic death?!
If you're not the boss, then when your boss loses, you can still find a new boss and have a go again!
Liu Mang have experienced the inflexibilities of people in ancient times. For example, Chen Gong doesn't like Cao Cao, even if Cao Cao showed good intentions, he will still be met with cold rebuke from Chen Gong!
Thus, Liu Mang knew that if he says he didn't want to be the boss right now, then perhaps Boss Lu would tie him up and force him to be the boss!
Liu Mang turned his eyes and half kneeled toward Lu Bu and said. "The Great Han Dynasty's days are already numbered. The world shall belong to Lu. The Great Emperor have sent me down the the earthly realm precisely to help Boss Lu accomplish this great cause!"
[TL: Great emperor refers to the first emperor of Han, Liu Bang.]
"What?!" Lu Bu's eyes were wide open. Unaware, he was emitting murderous aura.
Liu Mang felt as if he was currently being stared by a beast, unable to move. Cold sweat was almost dripping from his forehead. However, Liu Mang was still preserving. He knew that should be back down, the situation would be even harder to deal with.
""The Great Han Dynasty's days are already numbered! The Great Han Dynasty's days are already numbered?!" Chen Gong had perplexed eyes. He was completely dazzled.
"The Great Han Dynasty? Lu clan's great cause?!" Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, although having affections for the Han Dynasty, it wasn't as deep as their affection for Lu Bu. Thus, they are only looking at Lu Bu.
"Lu Bu, Lu Fengxian, this world belongs to the people of the world. He who have the virtues shall possess it! Your expedition against the foreigners have helped protect our Han people from outside invasions - a quality achievement! You killed Dong Zhou and saved our Liu clan's little emperor - a grace to our Liu clan! Thus, the Great Emperor, after much consideration, have sent me down to earthly realm to hand this world to your hands!" Under the powerful pressures of the fierce tiger known as Lu Bu, Liu Mang managed to speak these words out one by one.
"Boss Lu, the provisions bestowed by the Great Emperor is located outside of your precious daughter's tent." Seeing that Lu bu did not respond, Liu Mang shifted his attention.
"Provisions? Heaven? Great Emperor's bestowment?!" Lu Bu was mutting to himself as he looked at Liu Mang. He was thinking of something. If Liu Mang was telling the truth about the expedition against foreigners, then Gongsun Zan was also a great general in the expedition against foreigners! He too would have helped the Han people. Why not choose him? If it's about having grace to the Liu clan then Cao Cao have even welcomed the Emperor Xian of Han to Xudu, allowing him to be spared from the pursuit of the likes of Guo Si and Li Que.
[TL: After finding the old capital Luoyang ravaged by war, Cao moved the imperial court and Emperor Xian to Xudu in 196.]
Why would he, Lu Bu, be the selection?!
If what Liu Mang was saying is to be false, then what of his golden armor? Just by looking one would know that it's not something that's made possible to be made currently. Lightweight and with amazing defense. There's also that golden light that caused Liu Mang to disappear right in front of their eyes!
And now, he even brought provisions out of thin air! Is this not something only gods and devils could do?!
Lu Bu did not get carried away, instead he was calm and composed and kneeled down toward Liu Mang. "This subject Lu Bu shall follow the Great Emperor's will!"
"Whew!" Liu Mang took a deep breath, he finally settled it. "Boss Lu, shall we go to have a look at the provisions and armor?!"
"Armor?!" Lu Bu was confused. Didn't Liu Mang only brought with him food?!
"Yep, armor! The Great Emperor knew that you have lost your Sky Piercer, thus he specially ordered the Heavenly craftsmen to make an armor and weapon for you!" Liu Mang was looking forward to seeing Lu Bu wear that Saint Cloth and Trident.
[TL: was thinking of putting scale there because I'm quite certain this is the poseidon's scale.]
"Let's go!" Lu Bu, having lost his Sky Piercer, had his fighting prowess greatly decreased. Now that he have heard that the Great Emperor had the Heavenly craftsmen craft him a weapon, Lu Bu can't help but get excited.
For a general, the most important things are the weapons and armor! A good weapon and armor is a general's second life!
"Let's go!" Liu Mang lead the front, followed by Lu Bu. Gao Shun and Zhang Liao was in the rear. The muddleheaded Chen Gong also followed.
Chapter 15: The Flashy and Enticing Boss Lu
My Father in Law is Lu Bu
This chapter is brought to you by Caleb of Arizona, Daoud of Morocco, Anthony of Washington, Bartosz of Poland, Trent of Malaysia, Andres of Spain, Dicky of Indonesia and Christian of Brazil. Thank you sponsors!
"This is the provisions?!" Baskets of meat buns piled on top of baskets of meat buns. Lu Bu puzzledly picked up a bun. "What is this? So white and so soft!" Lu Bu squeezed the meat bun. One must know that back during the times of the Three Kingdom and even during the whole ancient era, what was known as provisions are either unhusked rice or grain husks.
Food made out of unhusked rice or grain husks are either extremely hard or extremely ugly. However, the people back in those days only cared to be able to be full and not starve to death, thus these became the main components of army provisions.
And now, present in front of them was these meat buns. Not only do they look pleasant, they are also extremely soft!
"This is flour essence!?" Chen Gong too saw the meat buns, he picked one up and was greatly surprised. What was flour essence? It's this kind of white and exquisite flour. The people back then, unlike modern society, would not just throw away any old dirty flour. Hell, they'll even keep the grain shells. Also, the modern people use machines to grind their grains, achieving very finely grounded flour. The ancients did not have such machines, using grinding stones, their flour was very coarse.
On the market, a jin or fine flour could be exchanged for more than a hundred jin of coarse flour! This kind of thing was not something ordinary people could eat. Even the so called flour essence those bigwigs eat are not as white as these.
[TL: jin = 1.1 pounds = 500grams.]
"Flour essence?!" Liu Mang was a bit embarrassed at saying that he's going to treat their to a meal but instead brought back a whole bunch of meat buns. Seeing Chen Gong getting so dumbfounded, he was instead baffled.
"Dissatisfied?!" said Liu Mang. "If you're dissatisfied, then I'll bring something different next time!"
"Satisfied! Satisfied!" said Gao Shun right away. Before Gao Shun was a soldier, he was a full fledged farmer. He too knew of the quality of fine flour essence and as a man who loved his soldiers like his children, how could he possibly be dissatisfied when he knew that his soldiers are going to eat what only the wealthy could afford!
"That's good!" Liu Mang had a sigh of relief.
"There's meat inside?!" Lu Bu picked one up first and ate it. The bun entered the mouth without any coarseness, biting down was met with incomparable elasticity, so very tasty and refreshing, and the most critical part was that Lu Bu actually got to eat meat inside! Large chunks of meat!
Whether during the warring era or in peaceful times, having meat was a very extravagant thing. Only during the New Years would regular people have a liang of meat. However, this one liang of meat was not for a single person to eat, it's to be shared amongst the whole family. Thus, for a single person be able to get some minced meat was already considered pretty good!
[TL: liang = 50 grams]
And now, in the army provisions was meat! Large chunks of meat!
"Tastes good!" As a warlord, Lu Bu had eaten all kinds of culinary delicacy. However, he currently think that the meat bun was very tasty!
"There is a total of fifteen thousand meat buns!" said Liu Mang.
"This is called meat bun?!" Lu Bu ate another one. He only stopped after finishing his third bun. "Transmit my orders! Pass these meat buns to the soldiers! Each of them shall have six, two a day for three days! That should be sufficient! The rest is to be saved for the unexpected!"
Two a day! That's about enough! This kind of large cafeteria meat bun was really eaten to make one full! Each of them weighed as much as half a jin!
The large cafeteria meat bun that was seen as dark cuisine by Liu Mang have became a exceptional culinary delicacy to these soldiers. There were even soldiers who were reluctant to eat them, refusing to take a bite even after the buns grew moldy!
Having passed down the provisions, Lu Bu was about to see his long awaited armor and weapon.
"The weapon and armor are not here!" Liu Mang said.
"Not here?!" Lu Bu frowned. He was really uncomfortable without a comfortable weapon.
"It's in that… that…!" When Liu Mang arrived, he appeared in Miss Lu's tent. Thus, both the weapon and armor was there! Having been beaten till his arms were dislocated, he dared not try again.
"Let's go!" After listening to Liu Mang's words, Lu Bu didn't know whether to laugh or to cry! This so called Heavenly Man, this Man from Heaven, was actually afraid of his daughter!
Upon entering the tent, the first thing that came into view was a elegant figure that's practicing martial arts - it was like she was dancing! Yep, she's practicing martial arts, not dancing! The steel trident that Liu Mang had a hard time lifting even with bold hands was currently being swayed around, giving forth after images of a golden halberd, by that frail looking thing as if it weighed nothing.
"Father?!" Lu Lingqi stopped when she said that people have came into the tent. Holding the trident, she looked like a goddess.
"The weapon that you were talking about, is it this?" said Lu Bu after receiving the trident from his daughter. He was attracted by the trident at first sight!
"Yep! Forged of extremely hard steel, its sharpness enough to make iron be clay, weighing eighty jin, it's a weapon reserved for an emperor!" Liu Mang was boasting his ass off.
"Extremely hard steel?!" Zhang Liao could not believe it! It requires numerous iron to create steel, this extremely hard steel, how much iron is required to make that?!
"A weapon reserved for an emperor?!" If Lu Bu was to still doubt Liu Mang's words earlier, then he completely believed him now because what's in his hands was really a divine artifact!
With the trident in his hand, Lu Bu looked even more imposing!
"You all, move aside!" Lu Bu was itchy to try this divine weapon.
"Yes!" Zhang Liao and Gao Shun right away opened up room for Lu Bu.
After they moved away, Lu Bu closed his eyes. He was perceiving and apprehending the weapon in his left hand. Suddenly, he opened his eyes. Liu Mang felt as if this pair of eyes was void of emotions, so desolate and so proud.
"Star Shattering Moon Slicing Slash!" From Lu Bu's mouth came these words. With a kick of his leg, Lu Bu flew to the air. The halberd in his hand was like an extension of his arm. With the halberd pointing toward the heaven, it appears that he really was about to slice the moon.
"Azure Ocean of the Dragon!" Another move! This time, the trident gave off an ang sound, like a ocean dragon's roar!
"Mad Rush of the Bone Blossom!" The trident have already became a golden light. One could only see numerous after images of the halberd with Lu Bu in the center, giving off extreme murderous aura.
Seeing the Lu Bu who was extremely happy while testing the halberd, Zhang Liao and Gao Shun looked at each other and nodded. "Careful my lord, here comes Gao Shun and Zhang Liao!"
The two all of a sudden jumped came into the range of the halberd and jumped into its after image.
"Sha!" With Gao Shun was blocking Lu Bu's attacks. His Formation Breaker was a group of elite soldiers who use defend before returning attacks. Every one of halberd's shadow was blocked by Gao Shun.
"Zhan zhan zhan!" Although Zhang Liao was a balanced fighter, his attack was still decent. The blade, in the hands of Zhang Liao, was flashing and tinkling.
"Close ranged weapons could actually be this formidable?!" Liu Mang was dumbstruck. He believed that closed ranged weapons could not compare to bullets! A single bullet could kill you! However, it now appears that he was wrong!
With Lu Bu's speed as he wield his weapon, a bullet might really not be able to get in!
On the battlefield, there are tens of thousands of arrows flying toward oneself, comparable to machine gun fire. And these men, they could chop off their enemy general's head within the rain of arrows, their martial prowess was over the skies!
Liu Mang finally understood the profoundness of the Chinese martial arts. Should people like Lu Bu or Gao Shun appear in modern times, they are certain to become world class masters!
"Bang!" A light flashed by. A fragment flew across Liu Mang's face, rubbing his cheeks, a little bit away from taking Liu Mang's life.
This was a fragment of Zhang Liao's blade. "Kaka" Zhang Liao's steel blade have now broken apart, leaving only a handle. The handle too was densely covered with cracks!
Gao Shun's weapon, on the other hand, was fine. However, his shield was all split up and in pieces.
"Formidable, my lord!" Gao Shun and Zhang Liao looked at each other. They could see from each other's eyes the fear, the astonishment and a deep sense of powerlessness!
"Hahahahahaha!" Lu Bu too recovered. Holding the trident, he laughed loudly. "A Divine weapon! Divine Weapon! With such a halberd in my hands, who in the world could possibly stop this Lu Fengxian?!"
Afterward, Lu Bu, whether sleep or eat, would always bring this halberd with him so that he would not have what happened to the Sky Piercer happen to it.
"And the armor?!" Having felt the power of the divine weapon, Lu Bu grew interested in the armor.
"It's there!" Lu Bu looked toward the direction Liu Mang pointed.
A crown like helmet, covered densely with scales, a golden shine that made it appeared to be sacred and a large cloak that made the armor ascend to an even higher level!
"Divine clothing, armor of the Ocean Emperor! Bestowed to Boss Lu by the Great Emperor! The armor weighs twenty five jin and with whole body protection, there's no need for the fear of incoming swords and blades!"
Works of modern technology, manufactured with aluminum alloy, extremely lightweight. Although it could not block bullets or bombs, it could easily block swords, blades, staff and clubs.
Scaled armor coupled with the triangular construction of the interior, this could be said as the pinnacle of armors in the the era of closed ranged weapons!
"Armor of the Ocean Emperor?!" Lu Bu was emotionally moved. This was another golden armor! He have seen Liu Mang's golden armor, he even tried to test out it's defense himself and found that even if he had the Sky Piercer, he likely couldn't do anything to that armor unless he go after the face opening!
Now this armor in front of him, compared to Liu Mang's armor, appeared even more magnificent, even more luxurious and with even stronger defense!
Armor of the Ocean Emperor! Bestowed by the Great Emperor! Lu Bu was even more moved!
This was an armor reserved for the emperor!
"Quick, call forth the three ladies!" Wearing armor was not an easy task. In wartimes, one could hastily wear it. However, now he must do it step by step!
Lu Bu had his men call forth Lady Yan, Lady Ren and Lady Cao. These three women helped him wear the armor.
Soon, Lu Bu came out.
"This!" Liu Mang felt as if this Poseidon's Scale was made for Lu Bu! From shape to size and then to the magnificence, Lu Bu completely wore this Poseidon's Scale like a real Divine Cloth!
Hell, even some cosplay gurus wasn't close to Lu Bu's level!
"Hell, he's already middle aged! To still be this alluring!"