My Father in Law is Lu Bu

The Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry glared at their prey from outside the city. They came from the North and had many years of experience. They were basically invincible wherever they went and truly lived up to their reputation.

Following Lu Bu’s command, they advanced in formation. Xinye’s gates opened and the opposing troops came out. Tensions rose and was about to break when a peculiar conversation took place.

“So it was you!” Lu Bu said with his eyes wide when he saw the approaching figure.

“Yes, it is me!” Liu Mang replied bitterly.

“Why are you here?” Lu Bu said gloomily. His eyes filled with anger.

“I also did not want to be here!” Liu Mang did not know how to explain. Was he supposed to say he was afraid of going home?

“You commanded the rebels?”

“You mean the refugees?” Liu Mang nodded.

“Well played! You started a rebellion to attack your own city! This is the first time I, Lu Fengxian, has seen this in my many years of life! Your Highness the King of Shu! Did you want to fight against the Wolf Cavalry as well?” Lu Bu sneered.

“This son-in-law doesn’t dare!” Liu Mang replied. The reason why things went out of control is because more refugees kept following him. He only had a few thousand from the camp but now there were over ten thousand. All of them were the types that were too afraid to speak for themselves. But now that there was someone leading the way, all of them wanted to seek justice. Because of that, Liu Mang had no choice but to help them seek justice to restore Yangzhou’s reputation and to prevent a real rebellion.

Liu Mang had no choice but to bring the refugees to Xinye. At the same time, Xinye’s defenders were prepared to defend against the invasion. Liu Mang took out the tiger tally and his seal. Unlike Guo Yi, Yang Chao did not want to disrespect his superiors so the refugees were allowed in. Liu Mang could not allow the refugees to sleep on the streets so he and the officials in Xinye started working to find a place for them to settle down before recompensating them.

Before he was done arranging things for the refugees, someone told him that Xinye was surrounded by an army. They even called him out as the leader of a rebellion. Liu Mang thought it was some General’s subordinate but then quickly realized he was wrong. It was the person he feared of meeting the most, his father-in-law, Lu Bu.

Liu Mang gritted his teeth and left the city with Zhou Cang and Guan Hai. The other troops with him was caused by Yang Chao acting on his own initiative. Yang Chao wanted to show off in front of Liu Mang. It was just like how people became more diligent when their superiors came to inspect them.

“Why won’t you dare? Your wings are already strong.” Lu Bu’s eyes were already narrowed.

“Father-in-law. Can we not discuss this right now?” Liu Mang never knew that Lu Bu could speak so much. He was worried that Lu Bu would continue make a fuss about this and cause them to stay at this topic for a day. So he decided to change the topic.

“Fine. Then let us discuss what you did at Jingzhou! You did well, you take people’s provisions and then you take their wife!”

“I…!” Liu Mang caught himself in a trap.

“Do you know that Qi’er and the others are worriedly praying for your safe return every day?” Lu Bu’s voice grew louder as he spoke.

“Are they well?” Liu Mang lowered his head. He did not dare to look straight at Lu Bu. He may be the King of Shu. He may be so influential that Lu Bu’s Yangzhou became Liu Mang’s Yangzhou. It can also be said that Lu Bu would be the losing party if he had a falling out with Liu Mang as Yangzhou’s officials were only respectful to him for being Liu Mang’s father-in-law. The Urban Army, the White Horses, the Black Flag Army all also belonged to Liu Mang.

Even Lu Bu’s own men had enough faith in Liu Mang. Chen Gong for one would not side with either sides in the event that they had a falling out.

That is why the one that ruled Yangzhou was always Liu Mang.

“They are living sadly without you!” Lu Bu replied in a bad mood.

“I am sorry towards them!” Liu Mang was also remorseful.

“If you want to say that, say it to them personally. Move aside, I still have things to do.” Lu Bu said and prepared to leave.

“Father-in-law?” Liu Mang panicked. He thought that Lu Bu had so much to complain about that he refused to enter the city.

“I am not so free to speak with you. There are other preys to hunt at Yangtze!” Lu Bu turned his horse around and rode off. His Wolf Cavalry all quickly followed him and soon vanished.

“Prey?” Liu Mang could not understand.

“Milord!” Hao Shao who had followed Lu Bu here greeted. He was no longer part of the Wolf Cavalry and only had five thousand men with him. When Lu Bu and Liu Mang were talking, he could not interrupt as he was an outsider. Now, he was allowed to speak. He did not expect the rebel army to be his Lord and wanted to accuse Xinye’s defenders for the mistake in the information given. However, he decided to forget it after thinking for a while. After all, Liu Mang had already gotten rid of the defender’s general. It was natural for this small captain to panic.

“Bodao!” Liu Mang called out when he saw Hao Shao. Hao Shao was the beginning of Liu Mang’s rise. When he was introduced by Zhang Liao, Liu Mang had thought that he had a close relationship with Zhang Liao. He took Hao Shao in to give Zhang Liao face. Hao Shao was given some troops and sent to a small county town. He never expected Hao Shao to be able to defend the county town from Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu’s joint attack with only a few thousand troops. This is how Liu Mang learned about Hao Shao’s hidden potential. When he found out about Guo Yi’s subordinate Hao Liu, he wondered if Hao Liu had a relation with Hao Shao. In the end, he found out they simply shared the surname. There were plenty of people with the surname Hao even though they do not belong in the same family.

“Where did my father-in-law go?” Liu Mang asked.

“Milord. The Lord Marquis must have gone to the Yangtze River!” Hao Shao replied and explained that Jingzhou was planning to take advantage of the rebellion at Xinye to attack. Hao Shao had just received news that Jingzhou’s news have already come ashore. They believed that the rebellion was real because of the Wolf Cavalry’s presence and planned to join in as ‘reinforcements’. Of course, none of them expected that the rebellion was caused by Liu Mang himself.

“Liu Pan is it?” Liu Mang already knew that Cai Mao was under house arrest so Jingzhou’s Military Advisor would be Liu Pan. Liu Pan was really good at seizing opportunities. Had this rebellion been real, Yangzhou would have suffered heavy losses.

Unfortunately, it would seem that Liu Pan was unlucky as Lu Bu was really angry. He would not have been so angry if the rebellion wasn’t caused by his son-in-law Liu Mang. On top of that, Liu Mang had disappointed him from his prolonged absence and his scandal at Jingzhou.

All of Lu Bu’s anger needed to be unleashed but he could not do so on his treasured son-in-law. So Liu Pan and his army would have to suffer as Lu Bu’s punching bag.

***

Countless ships travelled across the Yangtze River transporting soldiers from the South side of the river to the North side of the river.

“How long will it take to transport twenty thousand troops?” Liu Pan asked after watching the ships come and go for several hours. He was dissatisfied with the slow progress as he could lose this opportunity. The situation could change every hour.

“Military Advisor. We are almost done!” The officer tried to placate Liu Pan. He too was anxious as Yangzhou had already dispatched the Wolf Cavalry to attack Xinye. The Wolf Cavalry’s appearance here meant that the rebellion was real. The Yangzhou’s naval barracks was also only guarded by five thousand men.  They intend to attack the barracks with thirty thousand men on the front while twenty thousand men strike from the rear. The barracks would not hold even if it was firm.

There were merits to be had here and all of them want a piece of it.

Unfortunately for them, their anxiousness would not speed up the progress. Transporting soldiers requires time. On top of that, they weren’t using warships to transport the soldiers but cargo ships and fishing boats which caused a lot of delays. This is because Jingzhou’s ships were all in Jiangxia that was captured by Yangzhou. The others were at Fancheng, under Zhang Yun’s control and Zhang Yun no longer listened to orders. He would not come.

“That damn Cai Mao!” Liu Pan was dissatisfied. If Cai Mao’s thirty thousand troops at Fancheng were to cooperate, they would have long captured the naval barracks. However, Liu Pan’s mood quickly improved when he looked at his own troops waiting at the shore.

“Have them speed things up! We will attack in four hours! I want Yangzhou to be caught off guard!” Liu Pan said as he begun to make his preparations.

“Yes!” Liu Pan’s officer was placed in a difficult position but four hours was still enough time.

“Hmph! Yangzhou attack my Jiangxia and Jiangling. In that case, I will attack their Xinye! Even if I cannot capture Xinye, I will make sure Xinye is burned down!” Xinye may not be big but it was still a flourishing city as it was a transit point between Jingzhou and the Central Plains. Liu Mang traded away twenty eight cities in Wancheng just for Xinye. That goes to show how important Xinye is.

Unlike Liu Biao who was only good at preserving things, Liu Pan was an ambitious person who forges ahead. He came to Xinye with the purpose of occupying it and using it to defend against threats from the North. On the other hand, if he could not occupy Xinye, he would destroy and loot it as he had been drooling from the riches at Xinye for a long time.