My Father in Law is Lu Bu

“Report from the frontlines!” A report from Jiangdong was sent to Yangzhou.

Sun Ce had been fighting for half a month.

“Bring it here.” Liu Mang said to the messenger before the letter was brought to him. The battle at Jiangdong was becoming even more intense. The two brothers were like bitter enemies who did not stop fighting. The only time the fighting stopped was when the moon was out.

In this half a month, Sun Ce lost about ten thousand men. Sun Quan was not faring any better with the corpse of his men filling up half of the city wall.

“Sun Ce is really good at fighting.” Liu Mang said as he read the letter. He still remembered the time he almost died when Sun Ce attacked Wancheng.

“It is not that Sun Ce is good at fighting. He simply does not have any other choice. If Milord dispatches your own troops, then Sun Quan would definitely be killed. Sun Ce would have to fight to preserve Sun Quan’s life.” Zhuge Liang said with a sneer.

If it was the Yangzhou Army that attacked Huiji, that city would not be a problem. Zhang Zhao’s stratagem would not be effective at all since Liu Bei already tried that before. In the end, the whole city was wiped out. Yangzhou lost thirty thousand men at that time. Lu Bu killed everyone to appease the dead and to warn others to never play this trick again.

If Yangzhou were to attack the current Huiji, Sun Quan would definitely die. Liu Mang would need to kill Sun Quan to gain the Yangzhou soldier’s respect. If he were to spare Sun Quan, the other enemies would do the same thing. So Sun Quan would have to die. But if Sun Ce was the one attacking, then it would be a different story. Even if the casualties were huge, it was the Jiangdong Army’s casualties. Liu Mang just needed to pay money and provisions. There was no need for Liu Mang to kill Sun Quan. The common people of Jiangdong would hate Sun Quan and Sun Ce to the bone but that has nothing to do with Liu Mang.

That was why Sun Ce was fighting viciously. It showed how much he wanted his little brother to live.

“Milord. There is no need to give Marquis Wu more provisions. Just give him five thousand gold.” Zhuge Liang suggested.

“Hm?” Liu Mang did not understand.

“Milord. At this moment, Sun Ce’s provisions would increase even if they eat more. What he needs right now is gold.” Zhuge Liang replied with a smile.

Liu Mang looked at Zhuge Liang’s smile and thought to himself for a while before understanding. Sun Ce has lost troops so the consumption of provisions has also decreased. That was why there was no need to give provisions. But gold can be used to provide compensation to the dead, so the gold Liu Mang sent over could be put to good use.

“Alright. Do as Kongming suggested. Provide Marquis Wu with five thousand gold and let him fight hard. After the battle is over, they would naturally be rewarded.” Liu Mang laughed.

“Milord. This Liang has a request.” Zhuge Liang suddenly said while kneeling.

“Hm?” Liu Mang was shocked. Since when was Zhuge Liang such a polite person? Normally, Zhuge Liang would be arguing with Liu Mang on bad terms. Yet, Zhuge Liang was lowering himself right now.

“Kongming. Just say what you want.” Liu Mang waved his hand.

“Milord must promise me first!” Zhuge Liang said shamelessly. He wanted Liu Mang’s word before he was willing to stand back up.

“Alright, alright. I will promise you.” Liu Mang said comfortably since Zhuge Liang was begging him for something. However, Liu Mang also frowned because if it was something Zhuge Liang had to beg for, it might not be easy to grant.

“This Liang want my brother to given a position as an official.” Zhuge Liang said to Liu Mang.

“Zhuge Jin?” Liu Mang thought of a name.

“Yes! I beg Milord to appoint my brother as the Zuo Shilang1 of the Ministry of Appointments.” Zhuge Liang replied.

An assistant minister at the Ministry of Appointments? This was not a small position. This would be the position of Lu Su’s assistant. Zhuge Jin would become the second highest ranked person in the Ministry of Appointment. Since the Ministry of Appointments is responsible for supervising all the officials in Yangzhou, it was an extremely important position. Liu Mang had to make sure this person would not abuse his power.

Liu Mang thought of Zhuge Jin. The man has ability and managed to stand out in the original timeline as a General-in-Chief.

Zhuge Jin has ability. More importantly, he also has moral quality. If Zhuge Jin was someone who bends the law for his own purpose, then Liu Mang could not appoint Zhuge Jin as an assistant minister for the Ministry of Appointments. But Zhuge Jin did not seem to be that kind of person. In the original timeline, when Zhuge Jin had to negotiate with Zhuge Liang, he was all business and did not talk about personal matters at all. This showed Zhuge Jin’s character.

Liu Mang nodded. “Alright.” Liu Mang was lacking officials so it was just right to put Zhuge Jin there. This is especially true right now since Lu Su was not around, the Ministry of Appointments need someone like this more than ever.

“Milord!” Zhuge Liang called out. Though Liu Mang had already given his promise, Zhuge Liang was still being mannered. This caused Liu Mang to start having doubts.

“What’s wrong? Kongming still has someone else to recommend?” Liu Mang asked skeptically.

“No! This Liang just have something to request from Milord.”

“Just say it all.” Liu Mang replied while rolling his eyes.

“Can Milord go and seek out my brother?” Zhuge Liang said awkwardly.

Great! Zhuge Liang was asking Liu Mang to go out and invite Zhuge Jin personally. Initially, Zhuge Jin was going to leave despite Sun Ce choosing the surrender. This is because the change in liege meant that Zhuge Jin was no longer Chief Ambassador. Liu Mang would have to dispatch people to Jiangdong to take over matters. That was why Zhuge Jin planned to leave and return to Jingzhou after putting everything in order.

“Not good!” Liu Mang immediately said.

“Does Milord find it difficult?” Zhuge Liang was a bit sad. “Milord. My brother is talented and is worthy of becoming the Ministry of Appointment’s assistant minister. I hope Milord will cherish him.”

“No. It is not too difficult! What is difficult about this? The most important thing in this world is not wealth but talent. Zhuge Jin is talented so Liu Mang wanted him. He was afraid that he would miss Zhuge Jin’s talent. Fortunately, Zhuge Liang was there to remind him. If Zhuge Liang had not reminded him, Zhuge Jin would have left. Initially, Liu Mang had thought that the other officials would also become his after Sun Ce surrendered. He never expected them to want to leave on their own. Zhou Yu, Lu Meng, Ling Cao, Huang Gai and many other veterans were all talented. Having them leave would kill Liu Mang from the heartache.

“Quick! Quick! Kongming, follow me quickly!” Liu Mang became more anxious the more he thought about it.

“Milord?” Zhuge Liang was confused. He did not understand what Liu Mang wanted.

“Let’s go to Jiangdong. My talented people, you must all wait for me!” Liu Mang said as he dragged Zhuge Liang with him. He quickly boarded one of Yangzhou’s ships. Lu Xun had immediately dispatched the flagship to escort Liu Mang.

“Wife. The winds here are strong. How about entering the ship?” One woman was looking around on the ship as though she wanted to commit the scenery at the Yangtze River to memory.

“Milord. There is no need to worry.” The woman replied.

“How can I not worry? You caught a cold in the past few days.” Liu Mang replied.

“Husband! Really!” The woman’s face turned red since what happened a few days ago was embarrassing to speak out loud. To people from the modern era, these kind of things was not really a problem. Men could even go out and buy sanitary towels without problem. But to those from the ancient era, it was still an embarrassing thing for women.

“Be obedient or you won’t be able to go out when we are in Jiangdong.” Liu Mang coaxed but the woman was still unwilling.

“If you still refuse to go in, I will have Boyan arrange a ship to send you back.” Liu Mang threatened. Only then did the woman enter the ship.

Liu Mang watched the woman walk away before turning to back to the scenery. “The turbulent Yangtze River sweeps away the heroes. Right and wrong, success and failures, are all short lived. Only the green hills still exist along with the rising and setting of the sun.”2

“That is a good poem!” Someone praised. Liu Mang did not even need to turn to see that it is Zhuge Liang as Liu Mang could recognize his voice. Liu Mang simply rolled his eyes in response. Of course it was a good poem. After all, the real owner of this poem was one of the greatest scholars of a generation.

“Boyan. Have you gotten used to commanding the navy?” Liu Mang ignored Zhuge Liang and asked Lu Xun who was standing at the side.

“This… This Boyan thanks Milord for cultivating me.” Lu Xun knelt down and cupped his fist. Lu Xun was grateful towards Liu Mang. The Lu Family faced a crisis after Lu Kang’s death. They were going to be removed from the rank of nobles. But it was Liu Mang who stood against the opinion of others and gave Lu Xun command of the navy. Fortunately, Lu Xun did not disappoint Liu Mang and his performance against the Jiangdong and Jingzhou Navy on the Yangtze River was outstanding.

“I did not cultivate you. This is your own ability!” Liu Mang shook his head. “Boyan. Do you not hate me that you no longer have the chance to take revenge?” Liu Mang asked. Lu Xun hated Sun Ce. Though Sun Ce did not personally kill Lu Kang, it was Sun Ce who forced Lu Kang to die. But now, Sun Ce has surrendered and Sun Ce’s little sister was now the wife of Lu Xun’s liege. Lu Xun no longer had the chance to take revenge. Liu Mang would also not allow Lu Xun to take revenge.

“No.” Lu Xun replied.

“Haha. You don’t have a grudge or is it that you do not dare to hold a grudge?” Liu Mang shook his head and laughed bitterly. How could one forget their hatred for their family’s enemy so easily?

Liu Mang’s words caused Lu Xun to turn silent. Lu Xun still hated Sun Ce. If it wasn’t for Sun Ce, the Lu Family would have fallen into ruins and his grandfather would still be alive. But what can he do? Now, Lu Xun had married one of the Sun Family’s people. (Sun Shangxiang’s servant who was made into Sun Shangxiang’s little sister by Liu Mang) On top of that, the eldest daughter of the Sun Family is now his liege’s wife. Even Sun Ce has surrendered and was about to become a co-worker. How can he take revenge?

“Boyan. Hatred is hatred. A man with lofty ambitions must have a clear distinction between love and hate.” Liu Mang said as he patted Lu Xun’s shoulder.

“Milord?” Zhuge Liang wanted to warn Liu Mang. Why are you instigating rebellious thoughts into your subject? Do you want Lu Xun to actually kill Sun Ce? If he does, Lu Xun himself would not be able to live as it would be a capital offense.

“Stand aside!” Liu Mang waved Zhuge Liang away.

“But this hatred must be separated. Look at when Sun Ce forced Governor Lu to die. At that time, he was a ruler. Now, he is just an official like you. You cannot kill him but that does not mean you cannot take revenge. For example, your position is higher than his. You have more authority. So he has to kowtow to you. Think about it. Your mortal enemy having to kowtow and pay respects to you? Won’t it feel good?” Liu Mang turned the subject around, making Zhuge Liang confused.

“Have Sun Ce kneel towards me?” Lu Xun thought to himself and he found that he quite liked the idea. Killing someone is easy but to have someone kneel to you was not easy.

The more Lu Xun thought about it, the more his heart cleared. He then knelt down in front of Liu Mang. “Lu Xun thanks Milord the guidance.” Lu Xun had been feeling depressed for the past few days after taking his wife and Sun Ce’s surrender. His mortal enemy was in front of him, yet he could not take revenge. He also could not kill Sun Ce since it would not be good for his Lord and his wife. He was even the one that sent Sun Ce back to Jiangdong. But now, Lu Xun felt enlightened.

“Haha. It’s good if you understand!” Liu Mang nodded. He was really afraid that Lu Xun and Sun Ce would come to blows since Sun Ce was his brother-in-law and Lu Xun was a trusted subordinate.

“Milord!” Lu Xun suddenly opened his mouth.

“What’s wrong? Does Boyan still have doubts?” Liu Mang frowned.

“No Milord. I don’t want to be commander in Jiangxia anymore.” Lu Xun said to Liu Mang. “I am willing to give up my position and work under General Gan Ning as an officer. I will follow General Gan Ning to sail the ocean. I hope Milord will grant me this.” Lu Xun had a reason for requesting this. Those that sailed with Gan Ning had returned and mocked Lu Xun and his subordinates for being landlubbers.

How could this be true? They were all elites and they even defeated the Jiangdong and Jingzhou navies. But they all turned silent after hearing the explanation of Gan Ning’s subordinates. When compared to those that sailed vast ocean, they might as well be landlubbers. That was why Lu Xun wanted to go to the ocean.

“Haha! Boyan is talking about this! Don’t worry. In two years, one year if it is fast, you would have the chance to go to the ocean.” Liu Mang said to Lu Xun.

“Thank you Milord!” Lu Xun said happily as he paid his respects to Liu Mang.

Liu Mang did not lie to Lu Xun. Those at the rivers were only landlubbers to Liu Mang. The navy he really wanted are the ones that sailed the ocean. There were two reasons Lu Xun’s troops was still around. The first reason was that Jingzhou was not yet defeated. The second reason was that the warship Liu Mang wanted have not been made. Even Gan Ning did not dare to sail too far. His warship may be power at the river but it could not sail too far into the ocean. They could only stay near the coastline where they had to take shelter the moment there were heavy winds.

Once Liu Mang constructs his new ships, he would disband his navy at the river. He would maybe just leave one camp of troops behind to keep the order at the Yangtze River. The rest would go to the ocean. So, Lu Xun’s request was something that would have happened eventually.

While Liu Mang was thinking, the warship reached the opposite bank of the Yangtze River where the naval barracks of Jianye was. Jianye now carried Yangzhou’s banner. It was also Yangzhou’s army that was stationed there. Sun Ce already brought everyone with him to fight Sun Quan. As a result, Liu Mang’s men took control of everything in Jianye.

___

1. Assistant minister. The Zuo is Left/East (yes, East is left in Chinese.) Hierarchy + etiquette and customs are important and East/West is therefore used as more/less distinguished positions with differences depending on era. (East being more/less important than West in different eras). During this warring era, the court officials respected the East.

2. As usual, I can’t do poems so I end up butchering it. The poem you want is “Linjiang Immortal : Rolling East of the Yangtze River”

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