Chapter 619
Chapter 619
About a thousand soldiers appeared at the horizon, led by a few men on horses.
“Milord. Aren’t those our horses?” Guan Hai asked when he saw the black horse at the front. This black horse was named Yeguang because it so fast it gave off a black light during the day.
“Yes. It is Yeguang.” Liu Mang nodded. The horse came from Wuxi and symbolizes the throne. The barbarians gave this horse to Liu Mang so he could recognize it.
“It’s a disaster!” The common people panicked when they saw the large army. Though they found out that they were cheated, they were too cowardly to show their anger. They believed that while they may be cheated, it would still be a way to survive. On the other hand, rebelling meant death.
Watching Hao Liu’s subordinates get killed was satisfying but seeing this army surround them frightened them. They glared at Liu Mang for dragging them into this mess.
Jiang Wan tried to persuade them to help out. There were several thousand people here so if they worked together, they could win. Unfortunately, his efforts were futile. It was good enough that they did not beat him up as they feared the strength of Liu Mang and the others. If Liu Mang and the others weren’t around, they would have tied up Jiang Wan and delivered him to the approaching army.
“Let us go meet them.” Liu Mang said as he left the camp
“Brother Han. Are we just going to go out like this?” Jiang Wan hesitated. The refugee camp wasn’t in a good state but it was at least more defensible then walking out.
“Brother Jiang. Do you think this place can protect us from them?” Liu Mang asked indifferently. This place was just a simple and crude refugee camp. It would not protect them. On top of that, the others would get implicated.
“Sigh! That is why I said we should have run away!” Jiang Wan muttered.
“Brother Jiang. Only the reasonable will move forward. We are being reasonable here.”
“Reasonable? Brother Han. Are you alright?” Jiang Wan wanted to see if Liu Mang has a fever.
“General! It is them!” Hao Liu arrived on his horse. His back was wrapped with a cloth. It hurts when he moves and that pain became hatred as he thought of his chance at taking revenge.
“I know.” Guo Yi replied. He has seen the young man and his group before when he took their horses so he could recognize him.
“They are brave.” Guo Yi commented. He believed that they would run after the incident but instead they waited. Guo Yi then advanced on his horse and spoke with an arrogant tone. “Are you the ones that killed my men?”
“So what if it is us?” Guan Hai replied arrogantly.
“I will give you a chance to kneel and beg! I will make you die painlessly!” Guo Yi paid no attention to their words and simply gave an ultimatum.
“Do you all place the law in your eyes? Your subordinate abused his power and trick the refugees. His Highness the King of Shu gave the refugees three mu of land and set the tax at thirty percent. How did the land end up in your subordinate’s hands and the tax return to sixty percent? Was it because you did not investigate the matter or was it because you conspired together?” Jiang Wan stepped forward to argue before Liu Mang could say anything. He initially thought that Liu Mang had gone crazy yet he ended up being the first to step forward.
“Haha!” Guo Yi and the soldiers all laughed. How could Hao Liu alone dare to mess with Yangzhou’s policy? It was obvious that there is someone covering it up. The scholar stating such an obvious thing caused them to laugh.
“What is so funny? Only the reasonable will move forward!” Jiang Wan said as he repeated Liu Mang’s words.
This caused the soldiers to laugh even harder. Even Liu Mang could not help but laugh as Jiang Wan was being too adorable. Jiang Wan was talented and intelligent but he was too rash. When he found out that Hao Liu was scamming people, he should have quietly plotted a way out instead of lashing out. He was only saved because Liu Mang did not want to watch Hao Liu kill people. Otherwise, Jiang Wan would have already died. At the same time, he was smart enough to plan the nationalization of land. It was clear that Jiang Wan was intelligent but lacked worldly experience.
“I don’t know about elsewhere but at Xinye, I am the law! Even the Emperor cannot control me! Hao Liu is my subordinate so you all must give me an explanation!” Guo Yi’s words made Zhou Cang and Guan Hai want to kill him on the spot. Even Liu Mang’s eyes had narrowed in response.
“You are just one of Xinye’s officers and you want to represent the law? Where did you put Xinye’s Governor?” Jiang Wan shouted.
“Xinye’s Governor? Hah! Even the King of Shu cannot reach here as this is a remote place while they are the King of Heaven1! I am the Lord of these fertile lands. Since the King of Shu is willing to give us compensation for the hard work of being soldiers, it would a crime not to take it!”
“Men! Arrest them!” Guo Yi no longer wanted to argue and immediately gave his order.
“Wait!” Liu Mang stepped forward and said indifferently. For some reason, Guo Yi complied and had his soldiers wait.
“You must be Guo Yi?” Liu Mang asked as he looked up at Guo Yi who is on his horse.
“Yes. I am Guo Yi.” Guo Yi replied and then soon got annoyed. Why must he listen to this nobody? “Who are you?”
“I am what you call the King of Heaven!” Liu Mang replied indifferently.
“You! Boy, I change my mind. Even if you beg, I will make sure you die a tragic death!” Guo Yi said malevolently after he was shamed by this youngster.
“I want to see who dares!” Guan Hai and Zhou Cang stood in front of Liu Mang.
“General, be careful! These two are very strong! Over ten of my subordinates were killed by them!” Hao Liu added. He wanted Guo Yi to immediately crush all of them with the army.
“Even if they are strong, do you think they can defeat several thousand men? Doesn’t matter. Isn’t he the King of Heaven. I just need to kill…”
“His Highness the King of Shu, Liu Mang, is here! I want to see who dares to attack!” Guan Hai and Zhou Cang shouted loudly.
“His Highness the King of Shu?” The soldiers were shocked.
“His Highness the King of Shu?” Guo Yi was stunned for a moment and then sneered. “Wonderful! Earlier, I was still unable to pin crimes on you. If you die, it would be an injustice. But now, I have the right to kill you for the crime of pretending to be His Highness the King of Shu!”
“Sigh. Brother Han! Have you really gone mad?” Jiang Wan immediately grumbled. Why pretend to be the King of Shu of all people? Whatever the case, Guo Yi was the King of Shu’s subordinate. He was an officer who may have met the King of Shu before. Pretending to be the King of Shu was like asking to die.
Besides that, why would the King of Shu be in this sorry looking clothes? More importantly, the King of Shu should still be at Shouchun. He would not be at Xinye.
Jiang Wan could not be blamed for thinking that Liu Mang was at Shouchun. Jingzhou had announced that the King of Shu was captured. If the public found out that the King of Shu was actually missing, morale would plummet. As a result, they had to say that Liu Mang was at Shouchun.
“How can I prove that I am Liu Mang?” Liu Mang asked indifferently.
“His Highness the King of Shu should have a seal.” Jiang Wan subconsciously replied.
“Is this it?” Liu Mang said as he called Guan Hai over. Guan Hai nodded and showed Jiang Wan a seal.
Jiang Wan’s eyes grew wide in realization. “The… The Great Han…”
“Why? Are you not going to send anyone to take a look?” Liu Mang asked the opposing army.
“General. We should go and take a look.” One person reminded as the seal looked authentic from afar. The way they were being looked at also made them feel uneasy. “It would not be too late to kill them if it is fake.”
Guo Yi thought to himself and agreed. After all, they were already in his hands. He did not need to fear them.
“Go. Bring that seal over to me. I want to see what it is.” Guo Yi said to his personal guards and they took the seal from Guan Hai.
“General. Take a look.”
“Let this General see what kind of fake this is.” Guo Yi took the seal and then his smile quickly disappeared. “This is…”
Written on the seal were the words “Sage King of the Great Han Dynasty” along with Liu Mang’s name.
“Haha! I knew it was fake. How can the King of Shu appear here? This lowly person not only dares to kill Xinye’s elites but also pretend to be the King of Shu! His crimes must be punished. General! Let us kill them!” Hao Liu said complacently as he jumped excitedly. He thought that Guo Yi could immediately start killing.
Instead, Hao Liu just got slapped. He was slapped so hard he could barely feel his face.
“General. You?” Hao Liu covered his face. His mouth was bleeding and he had lost a tooth.
“Shut up!” Guo Yi’s face was pale. Hao Liu did not know because his rank was too low. He may be a gatekeeper but he was still a nobody. Anyone higher ranked than him could have crushed him like an ant.
On the other hand, Guo Yi was high ranked enough to know. He may just be a county officer but he was still a commanding officer. Naturally, he knew what the Han Dynasty’s seal looked like.
This man was truly the King of Shu. In the past, Cao Cao tried to drive a wedge between him and Lu Bu by making the father-in-law the subordinate to the son-in-law. On top of that, the father-in-law held the military power. This would become a matter of pride. Should the father-in-law listen to the son-in-law or the other way around?
If Liu Mang needed to listen to Lu Bu, then Lu Bu was being disrespectful a superior because Liu Mang was the King of Shu and had a higher rank. This would be bad for Lu Bu’s reputation. On the other hand, it was unlikely for the proud and arrogant Lu Bu to listen to Liu Mang’s commands.
If Liu Bei was the number one traitor for betraying so many people such as Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, and even Cao Cao, then Lu Bu was not much better for killing Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo. Lu Bu even plotted against Liu Bei once. Do you think such a person would be obedient?
Cao Cao’s scheme was good. Unfortunately, he did not expect Lu Bu to change after nearly experiencing death.
The King of Shu’s title wasn’t there for long. Instead, he got promoted to Sage King. Titles cannot be given freely. Only the Emperor could do it. This title is the result of Liu Bei plotting against Liu Mang by praising him so that Liu Mang would either have too many refugees to feed or lose his good name.
Although Liu Mang became a Sage King, he was still called the King of Shu in public. This is because sages do no wrong. If you oppose the sage, that would mean you are in the wrong. On the other hand, calling him the King of Shu means you are allowed to have different opinions.
Guo Yi felt his head hurt as he looked at the seal. If the seal said “King of Shu”, then Guo Yi can still arrest and kill Liu Mang and the others then claim that the King of Shu title was wrong. That was old news. But now the seal said “Sage King” so Guo Yi cannot do anything.
“General. That seal is radish.2” Hao Liu complained.
“How about you take a bite then?” Guan Hai sneered.
Guo Yi could immediately tell it was not radish best on its texture. It was carved out of first grade jade.
“Even if it is not radish, it is still fake! If you give me gold and jade, I can also carve this out!” Hao Liu continued to shout. He did not have any other choice.
“Haha.” Liu Mang laughed indifferently. “Brother Jiang. Is there anything else that can be used to prove my identity?”
“Brother Han. No, Your Highness! The tiger tally can also be used to proof Your Highness’ identity!” Jiang Wan already believed that this person was the King of Shu. The material of the seal was far too expensive for most people to use. It was ridiculous to spend so much money just to make a forgery that would barely be of use and could even cause your death.
“The tiger tally? Guan Hai, take it out for this general to see!” Liu Mang ordered.
“Yes, Milord!” Guan Hai nodded and started searching himself. After a while, he replied, “Milord, I don’t have it.”
Guo Yi started to relax at this.
“Haha! I knew it! That seal must have been a fake! You are also a fake! General! Let’s quickly kill them!” Hao Liu shouted.
“Milord. Aren’t you carrying the tiger tally?” Guan Hai added. His words dropped Hao Liu back to to the depths of hell.
“Oh, sorry. I forgot.” Liu Mang apologized but his expression showed that he wasn’t sincere at all. He then took out something that looks like a tiger and a leopard with a lot of engravings on it.
“The tiger tally?!” Guo Yi took the tiger tally. A civil official would not feel moved but a military official would as this tally held the authority to move the troops.
“This…!” Guo Yi was now extremely certain that the young man in front of him was the King of Shu and screamed internally. ‘Why are you here pretending to be a civilian?’ Guo Yi then remembered the horse and realized why it was such a good horse. This wasn’t the North. How could such a good horse be found here? Of course its owner also had great identity.
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- Double meaning plus context. Direct meaning would be King of Heaven. The ‘actual’ meaning here would be ‘someone of great power’, in this case, too important to care about lowly individuals.
- One of the ways of calling something a fake is to say it is engraved radish. Maybe they really do make forgeries with radish in that era. I wouldn’t know.
EndlessFantasy Translations 