Chapter 195 Gamble (2)

“Set up a camp!” Lu Bu stares at Sun Ce’s main camp and decided that there is nothing to do except set up a camp. His Wolf Cavalry has already reached Wan Cheng City. Sun Ce no longer has the foundation to assault Wan Cheng. Shucheng has also fallen. More soldiers will return soon. At that time, Sun Ce is finished. This is why Sun Ce can only choose to withdraw.

The Wolf Cavalry will have their opportunity when the Sun Ce’s Army withdraw. When the army retreats, it would not be 1-2 people but their entire army. It is a big action where the entire army could be routed if something went wrong. This is especially true if there is a group of wolves staring at them.

Would Lu Bu let them go? He won’t! His pack of wolves would definitely tear the retreating Sun Ce’s Army apart piece by piece and swallow them all.

The city gate for Wan Cheng is broken and all the passageways are blocked. Now, the army, especially cavalries, would have difficulty getting into the city. Therefore, Lu Bu can only choose to camp near Wan Cheng.

As Lu Bu was about to set down the main camp, a messenger from Wan Cheng arrived. The person who arrived was Liu Neng from the Liu family. He has heard that people say Lu Bu is tall and imposing. His father also said that Lu Bu looks like a real man. Now Liu Neng also have this feeling. He agrees that Lu Bu is a unfathomable person.

His every action drew the attention of Liu Neng. He was a person worthy to be called a Lord. Worthy to be called Marquis Wen. Worthy to be called God of War Lu!

“Wan Cheng has 1722 soldiers! Among these, the injured are 352 people. The captured prisoners are 3892 people!” Liu Neng reported to Lu Bu. Lu Bu is the real master of the Lu Bu’s Army while Liu Mang is just the little lord. This is why Liu Neng decides to report the situation to Lu Bu first.

1,700 people? Not counting the injured soldiers only 1,400 people? 1,400 actually managed to capture 3,800 people? Lu Bu was puzzled. How did they manage to capture almost 3 times the amount of enemies?

Liu Neng did not say that the injuries of the 300 soldiers did not affect their combat effectiveness despite the injuries being quite serious.

Most of the soldiers that had serious injuries earlier were burned to death when Sun Ce used the fire attack. Only a few soldiers managed to escape. When the citizens doused a bit of the flames, a bit of hope came back to the injured soldiers.

“Was Sun Ce’s Army so weak!?” Lu Bu was really confused. It could not be that the whole army was filled with old, weak, sick or disabled people! Looking at the situation, it is easy to say that the defenders are all tired. Ordinary soldiers could easily behead the Lu Bu’s Army but were instead captured. They must have been really weak.

“Of the 3,800 people, 2,000 of them are Danyang soldiers!” Liu Neng’s words stunned Lu Bu. Danyang soldiers? He looked at Liu Neng. Are you sure they were Danyang soldiers?

Lu Bu knows how formidable Danyang soldiers were. This is because when Lu Bu was in Xuzhou, his father-in-law Cao Bao, gained fame with the help of Danyang soldiers despite being a third-class general. Tao Qian also relied on the Danyang soldiers to protect his counry. After that, Lu Bu and Liu Bei divided the Danyang soldiers among themselves. Lu Bu took his Danyang troops and made them part of the Wolf Cavalry or elite troops. As expected, the Danyang troops did not disappoint Lu Bu. Under the leadership of Cao Xing and they had almost killed Xiahou Dun! After Cao Xing died, the Danyang troops dispersed. This is how Cao Cao recruited the Danyang soldiers that were once in Lu Bu’s Army into his army of 150,000.

Liu Bei’s Danyang soldiers had a more direct treatment. Their name changed to White Army. The White Army was like Liu Bei’s precious conscience. Liu Bei has always relied on the White Army to save his life. Although he lost at Xuzhou, the White Army saved his life again and prevented Liu Bei from being surrounded. They were also considered elites under Liu Bei.

Now Liu Neng unexpectedly told him that 2,000 Danyang soldiers and 1,800 ordinary soldiers was captured by 1,000 wounded soldiers? How could Lu Bu believe this?

Sun Ce had enough manpower to capture Wan Cheng and at that time the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry will not be able to attack him. If it was not because of the Chu division’s third master being in the ranks of Liu Mang’s Urban Army, the city would have been captured. The 2,000 Danyang troops could even give the final blow to finish off Lu Bu’s Army.

However, the opera story bore fruit. The Danyang troops that were rebellious was betrayed by Sun Ce. As a result, the Danyang troops could not be blamed for surrendering and refusing to fight.

This incident made Sun Ce dumbfounded. Had the Danyang soldiers attacked, Lu Bu would be looking at Sun Ce’s banners while wandering around with his wolves. The heads of Liu Mang, Huang Zhong and Xu Sheng would be displaying on the walls and Lu Bu’s family would be in prison.

However, Lu Bu did not know that in this one war, Liu Mang has removed all of Sun Ce’s Danyang troops from Sun Ce’s Army.

Lu Bu could not dwell on the issue with the Danyang troop. This is because Liu Neng went on with the next issue. “The total casualties on Wan Cheng are over 9,000. Out of the total casualties, 5,000 are ordinary soldiers.” Liu Neng did not that that these were the Liu family’s private army but he believed that Lu Bu also knew about it. “The Urban Army casualties are about 2,600 people and the Black Flag Army casualties are about 1,500!”

The Urban Army had more than 2,600 casualties! The figure made Lu Bu silent. The Urban Army was originally given to Liu Mang to train him. He had no hope for the Urban Army to be strong at all. He only hoped for the Urban Army to be a second line of defense. Who would have thought that the war casualties would be so high. From the start, the Urban Army had major casualties when fighting Chen Lan and Lei Bo. It did not exist as a military. In order to compensate for the Urban Army, he allowed Liu Mang to expand the military and it became 3,000.

Out of the 3,000 Urban Army soldiers, 200 soldiers had joined the cavalry. In that case, the remaining Urban Army soldiers defending the walls right now is about 200. That is almost as if the whole army was destroyed!

If the previous casualties of the Urban Army made Liu Mang silent for such a long time, what would he do now? Lu Bu was speechless.

“Black Flag Army!?” Lu Bu looked at Liu Neng. He has never heard of this army before. He could not guess who the general was or where the soldiers came from.

“The Black Flag Army was originally the Zhou family’s private army!” Liu Neng recounted the events to Lu Bu. He explained that Liu Mang wanted to destroy the entire Black Flag Army and how he persuaded Xu Sheng, the leader of the Black Flag Army.

“Heavy infantry!? Zhou family!?” Lu Bu looked up. He finally understood what happened in Wan Cheng. Three thousand heavy infantries! If the Wolf Cavalry were to clash with these heavy infantries, they would not be able to eliminate them completely.

On the other hand, Liu Mang managed to capture them with little casualties. This made Lu Bu sigh.

“Xu Sheng!” Where is that general? Lu Bu noticed that ever since Liu Mang arrived, he has been getting a lot of military officers. He has obtained Huang Zhong, Su Fei, Gan Ning, and he also has the advisor Yang Hong. Now he also has Xu Sheng!

“There is more!” Liu Neng wanted to say it but did not know how to and hesistated. Liu Neng considers himself a talented man who has seen the world but feels small in front of this middle-aged man.

“Speak!” Lu Bu frowned. He is starting to get a bad premonition. “Real men don’t hesitate!” Lu Bu has met Liu Neng’s father, Liu Kai before. As Liu Neng was the one who proposed that they surrender to Lu Bu, Lu Bu thought that Liu Neng is a straightforward person unlike his father. He did not expect Liu Neng to start acting like an old woman.

“Milord! His Highness Prince of Shu is severely injured and in a coma. His chances of survival is unknown!” Liu Neng gritted his teeth. He unexpectedly gave his new lord a bad impression. He also did not say ‘Little Lord’ in the report. This was something they say privately.

“What!” Lu Bu suddenly stood up. He stared at Liu Neng with eyes like a tiger. Liu Neng could only shiver. It was like the eyes of a primitive beast. Liu Neng wanted to escape but could not.

“Repeat that again!” Lu Bu told him. He lowered his voice but his anger continued to rise. He could not help but release his aura.

“During the attack on Wan Cheng, His Highness Prince of Shu repelled the enemy attack and managed to kill the enemy general Dong Xi. He had severe injury and fell into a coma. His chances of survival are unknown!” Liu Neng repeated again.

“Han Yang! Han Yang!” Lu Bu panicked. Lu Bu has a complicated relationship with Liu Mang. When he was saved by Liu Mang he felt grateful and treated him like a brother. After that, the childish Liu Mang and his daughter caused a havoc. This made Lu Bu treat him as a son. The more he sees Liu Mang, the more fond Lu Bu became of him as Lu Bu did not have a son. Under Chen Gong’s instigation, he betrothed his daughter and Liu Mang together. At that time, he has really considered Liu Mang as his son!

Liu Mang would then help Lu Bu’s Army to escape several calamities which made Lu Bu more satisfied with Liu Mang. Even when Liu Mang did something wrong or outrages to the point of heresy, Lu Bu still tolerated it and even worried about him. Lu Bu then told his daughter something that was not pleasant to hear. Lu Bu made a big foundation for whose sake? It was for the sake of Liu Mang! The world was in chaos and the Han has already lost their foundation. Now everyone is fighting for power and Liu Mang who had the title of Prince of Shu is said to have a great advantage. He could start a new generation of Han.

Now Liu Neng told Lu Bu that his son may not survive. It made Lu Bu panic. It is like your son is in a coma and nobody knows if he would live or die.

“Anything else!” Lu Bu’s voice was low but he was screaming internally. He closed his eyes. He was afraid that he has the sudden urge to kill but he knew that Liu Neng still had things to say.

“There is still more!” Liu Neng’s hairs were all standing but he endured the fear and still say it.

“General Su Fei! General Su Fei was slain by Sun Ce Army’s Jiang Qin. He was also made into human swine and delivered to Wan Cheng.”

“Human swine!” Lu Bu knows what it is. It was a kind of torture as if turning humans into pigs. First, cut off their arms and legs, then dig out their eyes. After that, pour molten copper into their ears until they become deaf. After the person is death, pour mute medicine into their mouths then cut off their tongue to destroy their vocal chords and make them incapable of speech. Once you are done, throw the person into the toilet. Some people also cut off the victim’s nose, shave their heads, eyebrows and eyelashes before pouring a drug that ensures their hair would never grow again. They also plucking out their offspring. (TN: I assumed ‘Art of Torture 101’ meant private parts when the translation gave me offspring but I am not sure.)

The most famous incident was when Lu Hou supported Madame Qi. His exclusive ‘care’ resulted in her face having paintings of flowers, with her ears cut off, and left to die in pain in the toilet. It was Lu Hou’s exclusive torture for Madame Qi.

It was because of that incident that Lu Hou’s fame and reputation was destroyed completely. It was something that only a truly cruel person could do. Su Fei! Su Fei! Although Lu Bu did not work with Su Fei for a long period, he knew that the person is very talented and is a first-class military commander especially on water. On water, he is no match for Su Fei. Su Fei was also very modest. He was a person that did not try to offend anybody. Unexpectedly, this person was made into human swine by Sun Ce!

Why on earth would Sun Ce do this! Was slapping Lu Bu by beheading Su Fei not enough? Did he need to add a scar by making human swine?

Liu Neng’s following words ignited Lu Bu’s rage. “The Miss was injured. The government office is also destroyed. Sun Ce dispatched a senior general Zhou Tai to attack the government office. Many soldiers were killed. To protect Lady Wife, Miss was injured.” (TN: Saying that Lu Lingqi protected Lu Bu’s wife.)

“Sun Ce!” Lu Bu was shaking in fury. What was Lu Bu’s berserk button? That was his family! Sun Ce launching a surprise attack on his family has made Lu Bu reached the limit of his anger. Now that Liu Mang is in a coma, Lu Bu is about to burst out in anger.

“Sun Ce! Armies of Jiangdong!” Lu Bu gripped his fist tightly. He has never wanted to kill a person this much before. “Since you want to play, we can slowly play tomorrow.”

Lu Bu is really angry. Sun Ce did not play by the rules and pushed his berserk button. Those who touch the scales of the dragon would die!

(TN: The ‘berserk button’ was translated as ‘inverse scales’. Since that did not make sense at all…)