My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Chapter 724

Liu Mang had really given Guo Jia a lot of face by dragging out both Zhang Ji and Hua Tuo. He even promised the two doctors a promotion to satisfy their dissatisfaction.

“TB?” Liu Mang repeated after hearing their diagnosis. He initially thought it was a severe case of pneumonia as Guo Jia was coughing out blood. If this was the case, Liu Mang would be helpless as Guo Jia would already be experiencing respiratory failure. There were no oxygen machines in that era to help him.

But if it was tuberculosis, then it would be much easier to deal with.

“TB?” Guo Jia asked in confusion. He did not know what illness this was. Not even the doctors in the imperial palace had ever said such a word.

“Oh. Its tuberculosis.” Liu Mang explained.

Guo Jia nodded. The imperial doctors did tell him it was this. This illness was contagious and cannot be cured in that era. It is because of this that Guo Jia was determined to go to Hebei to help Cao Cao. He had planned to be stationed there till his last breath but because of the cold, Cao Cao found out about his illness and sent him here.

“Is it incurable?” Guo Jia laughed indifferently as though he was not the ill patient about to die.

“No, its…” Liu Mang wanted to speak but then Guo Jia interrupted him.

“I already knew. Even miracle doctors bring the dead back to life.” Guo Jia shook his head bitterly.

“Fengxiao. Listen to me!” Liu Mang said.

“No need to say anymore Your Highness. I, Guo Jia have never begged anyone in my life. But let me beg you to return my coffin to Xudou once I am dead.” Guo Jia seemed very accepting of his fate. His only reluctance was having to part with Guo Yi.

Just as soon as he said this, Liu Mang smacked him in the head.

“Your Highness! You…!” Guo Jia's eyes grew wide. A woman's waist and a man's head should never be touched. Yet the King of Shu just hit him in the head. “Why did you hit me?”

“Because you are a moron!” Liu Mang replied angrily.

Guo Jia did not know what a moron was but he knew it was probably an insult.

“I haven't finished speaking so why are you interrupting me!” Liu Mang said and smacked Guo Jia in the head again.

“King of Shu! Do not bully people too much!” Guo Jia shouted back angrily.

“So what if I bully you? You want to kill me?” Liu Mang realized one thing over the years. These geniuses cannot be given any face. The moment you do, they become arrogant. You had to be ruthless towards them for good effect. Look at Lu Su and Tian Feng as examples.

“Who said you cannot be saved? I haven't even finished speaking and you are making your own assumptions!” Liu Mang said as he smacked Guo Jia a third time.

“You want to fight?” Guo Jia was about to fight back when he suddenly stopped. “Wait. What did you say?”

“What did I say? Didn't you say you want to fight me?” Liu Mang looked at Guo Jia and provoked. “Come on then! Try and do it with your current condition!”

“No. Your Highness. Did you say I can still be saved?” Guo Jia asked again.

“Yes.” Liu Mang nodded.

“How could it be?” Guo Jia was surprised. Tuberculosis was supposed to be a death sentence. This was a fact recognized by everyone. It was like saying that cancer could be completely cured in the modern era.

“Is it fun to lie to you? How much do I get paid for lying to you?” Liu Mang rolled his eyes.

Guo Jia then realized that Liu Mang was right. If Liu Mang wanted to cheat Guo Jia, he could simply take the money and say Guo Jia cannot be cured rather than saying that Guo Jia could be cured.

“If you think Yangzhou cannot cure your illness then why did you come all the way to Yangzhou? To give me money?” Liu Mang asked sarcastically.

“I…” Guo Jia did not know how to reply.

Guo Jia's tuberculosis was not the contagious type. If it was, Cao Cao would be the first warlord to die from tuberculosis. Liu Mang would also be able to laugh in his sleep. 𝐑аꞐộВΕṦ

Tuberculosis is also expensive as it consumes a lot of energy and people need to eat a lot of protein to replenish themselves. Sure enough, Hua Tuo and Zhang Ji's prescription included lean meat porridge and bird's nest.

If an ordinary family were to get tuberculosis, they would have to go bankrupt before they can even finish their treatment.

However, Guo Jia brought one hundred thousand gold. Liu Mang could not be stingy and asked his men to prepare the necessities for Guo Jia. The rest was handled by Hua Tuo and Zhang Ji.

After leaving Guo Jia in the hospital, Liu Mang went back to deal with other government affairs. As for his disciple Guo Yi, Liu Mang simply send him to the Yangzhou Academy where there were also an elementary school to teach the very young students.

****

Meanwhile, the Yuan Brothers did not dissappoint Liu Mang in Hebei. They were starting to get the upper hand thanks to Yangzhou's equipment and the absence of Guo Jia. This allowed them to win several battles and they even managed to defeat the Jizhou Army. The Jizhou Army have already lost more than half of their troops along with their leader Xu You. There were now like a disorganized and abandoned army.

Yuan Xi then exploited this moment to strike decisively. His goal was to lower Cao Cao's morale and to raise the morale of his own troops. Because of this, the Jizhou Army suffered even more. Of the remaining ten thousand men, a thousand were killed and over half of them surrendered to the enemy and the remaining ran away. If it was not because of Zhang He's timely arrival, the entire Jizhou Army would have been routed.

Cao Cao was extremely angry. The veterans of the Jizhou Army and even Zhang He and the others lowered their head in fear.

“Very good. Half of the Jizhou Army surrendered and the other half deserted!” Cao Cao was extremely angry. He knew that the Yuan Army would target the Jizhou Army to break the deadlock. That was why he sent Zhang He as reinforcements. However, the Jizhou Army surrendered before Zhang He could arrive.

If Zhang He did not arrive, it was possible that all of them would have entered Youzhou to help their old boss.

“Please punish me Milord. I am guilty for not being able to provide reinforcements in time.” Zhang He knelt down in front of Cao Cao and took the blame.

“Get up, Junyi. What crime have you commited? These people are the ones guilty and deserves to die!” Cao Cao secretly thought to himself. However, he could not actually execute anyone since these officers of the Jizhou Army were the children of the nobles from Jizhou. If he executed them, these nobles would no longer offer him tribute.

This is where Zhang He showed his brilliance. He knew that Cao Cao was angry and had to vent but Cao Cao could not touch the Jizhou Army. That was why Zhang He decided to become the punching bag.

“Men! Arrest Zhang He and flog him thirty times with the rod for not arriving in time to provide aid!”

“Thank you Milord for your mercy!” Zhang He was not angry that he was going to be flogged. Instead, he was quite happy.

“Understood!” A group of people came to take Zhang He away. These people knew how to act according to Cao Cao's expression. Since Cao Cao was showing an appreciative look towards Zhang He, they would not hit Zhang He too hard.

The officers became terrified seeing Zhang He get taken away. If it weren't for Zhang He, they would have already been captured by the Yuan Brothers. If even the general sending the reinforcements was punished, then what about them?

“Men! Take these people away! They were defeated and switched sides during the battle. They are all defeated generals. Under their command, the Jizhou Army became useless. Kick them out of the army and never recruit them again!” Cao Cao wanted to kill these officers but could not. The best he could do was to permanently remove these parasites from the army.

“Thank you for sparing us Prime Minister!” The officers were grateful to Cao Cao. If they were defeated in battle, they would be dead. Yet, they were not only defeated but they even surrendered to the Yuan Brothers. All these military power don't matter as long as they get to keep their lives.

Even though these officers were kicked out of the Jizhou Army, the army still had strength. After all, there were initially about ten thousand men. Only about one thousand were killed. These army were also once elites. They simply became useless without their general. Other armies would be able to greatly increase their strength by incorporating these ten thousand men into their army.

The other generals looked at Cao Cao expectantly hoping he would send these troops to them. Unfortunately, they would be disappointed.

“Milord. The punishment has been carried out.” The guards reported as Zhang He was brought back inside. Though the flogging was lenient, it was still painful. Zhang He's legs was still numb but he steadied himself and clasped his fist at Cao Cao.

“Junyi. You may be spared for execution but you must still atone for the failure. I am assigning these disorganized rabble to you. If you cannot turn them into a proper army or if today's disgrace happen again, I will not spare you. Do you understand?”

“Understood!” Zhang He was overjoyed. Disorganized rabble? These were all veterans. With a little bit of training and discipline, they will return to the elites they once were.

The other generals regretted their decision to just watch. If they were the once getting flogged, these elites would belong to them.

“Zhang He accepts the order! I will definitely live up to the Lord's expectations!” Zhang He said and stepped back while enjoying the envious glares.

“Milord. The snow is getting heavier. How about we retreat for now?” One strategist suggested.

The snow was already falling heavily in the North. It is said that early snow meant a prosperous harvest after but this was bad news for Cao Cao. This is because it meant that the defeat of the Yuan Brothers is delayed once again.

This was not the only bad news. Cao Cao's army soon lost three hundred thousand men worth of fighting power to frostbite. This is because many soldiers do not wear thick clothes. Frostbite will inevitably occur when the temperature dropped. Hundreds of people have already frozen to death.

Cao Cao's mood worsened as the bad news came one after another.

“Milord. We cannot retreat.” Cheng Yu advised. He was now Cao Cao's main strategist.

“Cheng Zhonglang! The snow is about to block the roads and we do not have thick clothes! If we do not retreat now, we would all freeze to death!” One of the generals shouted at Cheng Yu. They accuse Cheng Yu of just being a civil official and would not understand the plights of those who have to watch their subordinates die to the cold.

“I do not know if they will freeze to death or not. All I know is that if we retreat now, we will have to wait until the beginning of next spring to launch another attack on Youzhou. By then, the King of Shu would become more powerful and we would be fighting on two fronts!” Cheng Yu reminded the others that there was still the King of Shu to deal with in the South.

Yangzhou have not attacked yet because they were not ready for war. But it would be a different story next spring. When that happens, Cao Cao would have to fight on both sides which would be very disadvantageous.

“But if we attack by force, we would suffer heavy casualties! Even if we capture Youzhou, we would become powerless against the King of Shu!” Someone else added. The heavy snow was advantageous to the defenders. The city walls became harder to climb as it was slippery. If a city has ten thousand defenders, Cao Cao would have to sacrifice more than thirty thousand men just to capture it. If he takes Youzhou this way, his own army would be too exhausted to fight in the future.

Cheng Yu also frowned at this. The Cao Cao Army was in a difficult position where there was no right answer.

Cao Cao then thought of Guo Jia. If Fengxiao was here, what advice would he give? He then remembered Guo Jia telling him to divide and conquer to capture Youzhou.

‘Divide and conquer.” Cao Cao frowned. He had not yet come up with a solution the last time they discussed this.

“Have the people who gone to Liaodong returned?” Cao Cao asked Cheng Yu.

Cheng Yu nodded. “Yes. But Gongsun Du's attitude remains the same.” Cheng Yu replied. Cao Cao sent fifty thousand gold to persuade Gongsun Du to stop selling equipment to the Yuan Brothers or help Cao Cao. But Gongsun Du was not persuaded.

Cao Cao did not know that Gongsun Du was earning more than one hundred thousand gold just to be a middleman. Which is why he did not care for Cao Cao's money.

“Could it be that I will not be able to capture Youzhou?” Cao Cao shouted angrily.

“Milord. I have a plan but I am not sure if I should tell you.” Zhang He suddenly spoke up.

“Hm?” Cao Cao looked at Zhang He and could not help but feel a bit dissatisfied. This is because Zhang He may be a good fighter but he was not good at strategy. Despite this, Cao Cao did not discourage Zhang He.

“Speak, Junyi.”

“Milord. What do you think of the Grand General?” Zhang He asked cautiously.

“Benchu?” Cao Cao frowned. The Grand General in question was naturally Yuan Shao. Cao Cao did not think much of Yuan Shao other than the fact that he was a defeated general. Yuan Shao used to be powerful and his boss but now, it was Cao Cao who has risen to power. Cao Cao still felt a sense of gratitude towards Yuan Shao. Without Yuan Shao to provoke Cao Cao, Cao Cao would not have achieved what he has.

“Grateful?” The others were shocked before they sighed in admiration. It is no wonder that they were only generals and strategists rather than rulers. They did not have such magnanimity. If it were them, they would wish their enemies crushed to pieces. If their enemies were dead, they wished that the corpse of the dead dug out and whipped to relieve their hatred.

“Sigh. Benchu and I were childhood friends. It is a pity that we walk different paths. I wonder if Benchu is cursing me in the afterlife!” Cao Cao sighed. His feelings for Yuan Shao was really complicated. Yuan Shao had helped him out in the past and they often made mischief together. It was a friendship stronger than steel. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao also fought together in a coalition against Dong Zhuo with Yuan Shao as the leader and Cao Cao his deputy. Unfortunately, Yuan Shao was defeated here and died.

“Then Milord. What is the Grand General returns?” Zhang He looked at Cao Cao carefully and asked.

“Hm?” Cao Cao narrowed his eyes at Zhang He. “What do you mean?”

Zhang He trembled with fear. He felt the kind of pressure given by someone who is superior. However, he still forced himself to look at Cao Cao. Zhang He somewhat regretted opening his mouth since now he had no choice but to say it. If he did not, he would die.

Cao Cao was a man who loved talents but he would only use talents that he could trust. The ones he became suspicious of were all killed.

Zhang He have already earned Cao Cao's suspiciouns. If Zhang He does not dispel those suspiciouns, he would die in the middle of battle. Cao Cao would also not be stingy with the posthumous title.

Zhang He supressed his fear and clasped his fist at Cao Cao. “Milord. The Grand General Yuan Shao is not dead!”

“Oh?” Cao Cao looked back at Zhang He with interest as though he saw something.

“What? Yuan Shao is not dead?” The other officers were all surprised.

“But Yuan Shang already held a funeral for his father. What do you say about that?” Cao Cao asked.

“This is because Yuan Shang is afraid that his position would be stolen by his brother Yuan Tan!” Zhang He replied. Although Yuan Shao loved Yuan Shang very much, Yuan Tan was still the eldest son. Yuan Shao's heir was most likely to be Yuan Tan. Because of this, Yuan Shang privately held a funeral for his father and claim that the title was passed onto him. There would be no evidence.

“But what if Yuan Shao is already dead?” Cheng Yu asked. Cheng Yu was asking why wouldn't Yuan Shang simply killed Yuan Shao rather than hide him.If Yuan Shang was already going to do this, he should have just went all the way.

“This is impossible.” Zhang He shook his head without even thinking.

“Do you have any evidence?” Cao Cao was interested to see Zhang He deny it so quickly.

“Yes.” Zhang He nodded. “The evidence is the Commander of the Xiandengying.” Zhang He replied.

“Wen Chou?” Cao Cao arrived at the answer. The Xiandengying and the Dajishi were both Ju Yi's subordinates. However, Yuan Shao got rid of Ju Yi and then gave these two armies to his trusted generals. The Xiandengying was given to Yan Liang but Yan Liang was killed and Wen Chou took over. Cao Cao felt that it was a pity Wen Chou did not work for him. He also fancied Wen Chou and Yan Liang's abilities.

Cao Cao wanted the two of them to surrender but he failed to persuade Wen Chou. Yan Liang was also unlucky and fell to Xu Zhu's blade before any persuasion could happen.

“Milord. Yan Liang Wen Chou, Gao Lan and I may be called the Four Pillars of Hebei. However, the Grand General likes Yan Liang and Wen Chou the most as those two are extremely loyal to him.” Zhang He felt a little emotional. He always envied Yan Liang and Wen Chou when he was under Yuan Shao's command as the two were always provided with money, food and troops.

Although Zhang He was also good at martial arts, he was given any important position by Yuan Shao. This made him feel uncomfortable.

“Yuan Shao was very good to Yan Liang and Wen Chou. Because of this, the two of them are extremely loyal to Yuan Shao.” Zhang He explained.

Cao Cao nodded. He also knew that Yuan Shao favored Yan Liang and Wen Chou a lot. During the coalition against Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao once mentioned that Lu Bu would not be a problem if Yan Liang and Wen Chou were here. This showed how much trust Yuan Shao had in the two generals.

“And now, Wen Chou is under Yuan Shang's command.” Zhang He reminded the others.

“You mean Wen Chou is serving Yuan Shang because Yuan Shao is not dead?” Cheng Yu frowned and asked.

Zhang He nodded. Yuan Shang did not dare to kill his father since he would have to bear the reputation of patricide. Yuan Shang may not care but no one would dare to work for him in the future if he has such an inhumane reputation. This is especially true for Yuan Shang since Yuan Shao doted on him a lot.

Another reason is because of Wen Chou. This person would not care who you are. If you kill Yuan Shao, he would come after you. The fact that Wen Chou was commanding the troops under Yuan Shang showed how likely it is that Yuan Shang was making use of Yuan Shao's life to obtain Wen Chou's service.

“Men! Bring out the map!” Cao Cao shouted and soon a map was brought in.

Cao Cao looked at the map of Youzhou. Yuan Tan and his brothers were at Fanyang while Wen Chou's troops were in Bohai.

“Bohai.” Cao Cao muttered. This might be were Yuan Shao is as the man used to be the Governor of Bohai. It was also his birthplace.

“Wen Chou would definitely not be far from the Grand General.” Zhang He did not continue as Cao Cao had already fallen into deep thought. Wen Chou would not be too far away. This meant that Yuan Shao was likely in Bohai.

What would happen to the Yuan Brothers if Yuan Shao suddenly appeared? They have already enjoyed Yuan Shao's power. What if they were taken away? What would happen to their alliance?

Hebei used to belong to Yuan Shao but now it was occupied by his three sons. Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan would never give up their power and Yuan Shao would not listen to his son's commands. Their alliance would definitely be broken.

Cao Cao's eyes glinted but he was still cautious. Yuan Shao was not an ordinary man. It would be easy for him to deal with his sons with just his reputation alone. If he manages that, Youzhou would become even harder to capture. Yuan Shao's return was a double edged sword.

Previous