Chapter 235 Recruitment Order Brings Misfortune (2)
The sound of horses approached and a group of soldiers wearing silver heavy armors and holding giant shields appeared. These are the Urban Army! Leading them was a young but determined man. He was the general of the Urban Army, Cheng Yu. Beside Cheng Yu was Huang Xu, who was also the deputy general of the Urban Army. Behind Huang Xu was Chu Jie. Because he was the Third Master, he ended up deciding to become a troop leader for the Urban Army.
However, these were not a strange sight to Liu Mang. The strange sight was the other person beside Cheng Yu wearing beautiful clothing and a bell. What is Gan Ning doing here?
Liu Mang remembered telling Yang Hong to bring the Urban Army but somehow Gan Ning came as well. The person Liu Mang did not want to see the most at the moment was Gan Ning. This is because he sold off all the ships. Even if the ships were used to destroy the Jiangdong Army, he should have at least kept one so that Gan Ning could use it to train the soldiers.
Liu Mang said he would give Gan Ning a ship in a few days but in the end, he could not fulfill his promise. That is why Liu Mang is currently avoiding Gan Ning. Every time Gan Ning asked to see Liu Mang, he received the excuse of Liu Mang being sick or not around. He did not have other excuses to give Gan Ning. Fortunately, Gan Ning have already realized Liu Mang’s brilliance and believed in him. Otherwise, he would have already become furious.
This time he came here because he was bored. When he heard that there was fighting going on, he left his deputy general in charge of the navy and followed Cheng Yu. Now, Liu Mang could no longer avoid Gan Ning.
Gan Ning, Cheng Yu and Huang Xu knelt in front of Liu Mang and greeted him. Liu Mang nodded towards Cheng Yu and said. “Surround all of these fighters and make them put down their weapons. I will count to 10. If anyone was still holding their weapons, consider them rebels and kill them on the spot!” Liu Mang spoke extremely loudly such that a lot of people heard it despite the situation being chaotic.
The 3,000 Urban Army entered with their heavy armors. These are armors that not ordinary soldiers can wear.
“Put down your weapons! If you surrender, you will not be killed!” The Urban Army soldiers were led astray as they were originally the Danyang ruffians. They could not wait for the others to stop fighting and tried to personally stop it themselves. Although the Urban Army were disciplined, the ruffians were not. If it was not because of the Third Master, they would be unable to be controlled.
“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 1!” Liu Mang jumped from 6 to 1 and made those that only intended to stop at the last moment all shocked. That’s cheating! Luckily, they dropped their weapons.
If not, you are dead. Liu Mang did not care about them. This was his territory. He can do things however he likes.
Rather than Liu Mang, it was the ruffians of the Urban Army that did not follow the rules. Before Liu Mang had finished counting, they already went to confiscate the weapons and beat them up. Many of them had martial arts but they did not dare to pick a fight with the 3,000 heavy armored soldiers. Resisting means death and they could not escape without a horse. They could only endure being beaten up. Even then, they still had to drop their swords otherwise they would be killed.
The only people who did not put down their weapons and was still fighting was Huang Zhong and the 3 warriors. Wang Wei wanted to put down his weapon but he was unable to. If he were to put down his weapon, his head would be chopped off by the other 3 warriors. He did not want to die.
The Urban Army also wanted to cut down these 3 people but they were not on the same level. The only person that could do it was Huang Zhong. The ones that approached were immediately knocked away. Thankfully the warriors did not hit too hard otherwise those soldiers would be dead.
“A good fight!” Gan Ning shouted. He also uses a sword but his sword is not curved like others. Gan Ning took his sword, jumped on the horse and rode to battle.
If Gan Ning were to choose to fight the white armored warrior or Wang Wei, they may not be so serious in fighting Gan Ning. However, Gan Ning decided to fight against the green armored person. That day, he was not in a good mood after being provoked by the attractive young man. After that, he was interrupted by an old man. Now, a man wearing a bell like a retarded lifestock appeared. He felt extremely humiliated.
“Hey you. The sword using donkey! Get lost!” The green armored warrior told Gan Ning.
“Sword using donkey?” Gan Ning was surprised for a moment. Are you talking about yourself? After all, Gan Ning was not the only one using a sword. All of them except the white armored warrior were using swords.
“Who else other than you? A donkey is a donkey! Did you think you would become a horse by wearing the bell? Bah!”
One of the reasons Gan Ning was known as the Jin Fan Zei is because Gan Ning likes to wear a robe with a hanging bell. It was Gan Ning’s hobby. However, this person’s venomous mouth insulted even that.
“You are really asking to die!” Gan Ning was also a short-tempered person. If it was not because of Su Fei in Jiangxia, he would have rebelled long ago. But now Su Fei is gone and there is no one left to restrain Gan Ning. “Old General Huang! I am taking this one!” Gan Ning’s eyes glowed murderously.
“Huh?” Huang Zhong initially thought that he could beat these 3 people but soon found out that they were not weak. He could fight against them in single combat but if they were to team up, he would lose. Now that Gan Ning is fighting one of them, he would be able to fight the remaining ones better.
“General Huang! Let us stop fighting! I surrender!” Wang Wei was a wise person. He decided to take this opportunity to stop fighting.
“You know me?” Huang Zhong was surprised but soon felt relieved when he realized that the other person was wearing Jingzhou Liu Biao’s armor which meant that he works for Liu Biao and it was not strange to be known by him. “What about you?” Huang Zhong asked the warrior with the spear.
“I will not surrender!” The white armored warrior shook his head. Huang Zhong readied his weapon and was about to fight again but the white armored warrior continued. “But I do not intend to fight anymore.” He only wanted to fight against the green armored warrior because of the insults thrown at him. He never wanted to stir up trouble. Besides that, there are 3,000 soldiers with heavy armor in formation outside. It would be troublesome even if he was strong. Liu Mang has already learned from his experience against Zhou Tai that normal soldiers cannot fight these kinds of generals. However, if there were in battle formations and sacrificed their lives, they were still able to tire out these generals. The general tactic was to trap them and prevent their actions. Even if the location was big, the strong warriors would have problems. The white armored that saw the gazes of these soldiers gave up resisting. (TN: If this continues for one more chapter. I shall permanently name you White Ranger and Green Ranger.)
All that is left was the green armored warrior and Gan Ning. Neither of them were weak. On top of that, both of them were the kind that fights to the death and would refuse to yield.
“Who is this?” Liu Mang thought to himself. The green armored warrior was skilled. The person that was closest to him in his image was Shouchun’s Guan Yu. However, Liu Mang knows that this person is definitely not Guan Yu. That is because Guan Yu gives the impression of a proud and aloof person. This person gave the impression of someone who is presumptuous. Guan Yu would only show disdain but this person would say it out. On top of that, Guan Yu would not appear here! Even if he did come here, he would do it quietly and not cause a ruckus unless he no longer wants to live! There was also the characteristics of Guan Yu. While it could be said that Guan Yu does this to pretend to be someone else, his soldiers have met Guan Yu before. If he was spotted, God of War or not, he would have to stay.
Who is he? Liu Mang wanted to think about it but he did not have the time. That is because the two madmen have finally tested each other out and would soon kill each other.
“Your head got kicked by a donkey!” The green armored warrior continued to taunt. They were both stubborn and Liu Mang could not afford either one of them to die. Gan Ning was the general of the navy. He must live for the sake of the Lu Bu’s Army’s future. On the other hand, the green armored warrior was someone attracted to the recruitment order. If he were to die like this, Liu Mang would no longer be able to recruit people.
“Old man Huang! Separate these two people!” Only Huang Zhong could solve the problem.
“Yes!” Huang Zhong rushed forward. However, they have fought until this point and they both considered anyone interfering in the match to be an enemy. In the end, both of them cooperated to attack Huang Zhong. (TN: orz)
“How irritating!” Liu Mang felt anxious because the two men were attacking each other with enough force to cut through the bones. Liu Mang was not wearing armor but he had no choice but to join in as well.
“Huang Xu, cover me with your arrows!” Liu Mang shouted and took a giant shield from one of the Urban Army soldiers. It was necessary to move in front and separate these two but before Liu Mang could act, two people stopped him.
The two that stopped him was Wang Wei and the white armored warrior. “General! Leave this to us! We are sorry!” The two generals felt ashamed. If it was not because they caused such a ruckus, this problem wouldn’t have happened. So these two generals decided to help stop the fight.
The white armored warrior and Wang Wei went towards the green armored warrior to stop him. Gan Ning was left to Huang Zhong because they were acquainted.
“Get out of my way!” The green armored warrior was furious that he keeps getting interrupted. Even the Buddha would be a little bit angry by now. He used both hands and tried to chase them away but those two were not so easy to be defeated. Wang Wei could block Huang Zhong’s strikes even though it was difficult. The green armored warrior’s attacks would not be a problem.
After being attacked for a while, he regained his temper. Gan Ning was also brought back by Huang Zhong. Although Gan Ning was strong, he was not as strong as Huang Zhong. In a one-on-one fight, he can only be defeated by Huang Zhong. In the end, they were knocked town and tied up by the Urban Army.
The green armored warrior being tied up was normal. However, Liu Mang also ordered for Gan Ning to be tied up. If he only tied up the green armored warrior, there is a chance that Gan Ning would just go ahead and kill him. At that time, Liu Mang would only be able to cry.
“Great talent is truly great talent!” The situation has finally settled down. Although there were no deaths, there were a lot of people who were injured. The food stand was destroyed. What started as a recruitment order turned into a fight. Liu Mang even needed to dispatch the Black Flag Army and the Urban Army. He also closed the gates to prevent any news from spreading out and turn him into a laughing stock.
“Men, go and treat all the injured.” In an era with limited medical technology, it was easy to get infected. That is why Liu Mang wanted to treat the injured first.
“You! Explain to me everything that happened!” Liu Mang asked the Urban Army soldiers from earlier. “How did you make the green armored warrior think that we are looking down on them?” Liu Mang wanted to know the actual reason. He refused to believe that this world had senseless discrimination and favoritism. There must have been a reason for the green armored warrior to act like that.
“General! I did not! I really did not look down on him!” The Urban Army soldier knelt and bitterly said. “I followed your orders and gave them food. Each person is given 3 bread and 1 piece of meat according to your orders! I have already given it to him!”
“You gave it already?” Liu Mang frowned. In order to entertain and gain the trust of talented people, he took out a lot of supplies and even prepared meat. This meat was something even the Urban Army could only eat twice a week. Yet, Liu Mang did not hesitate to take it out. So why did the green armored warrior say that they could not afford it?
“Hmph, what a hypocrite!” The green armored warrior was tied up but he was still not willing to accept it. “He is your subordinate! You did not know that he gave us 3 bread and 1 small piece of meat but he gave that white armored warrior a pot of wine and a large piece of meat! Isn’t that looking down on people? Why is it that we get 3 bread but that guy can drink wine?”
“Wine?” Liu Mang froze for a moment. When did he give wine? His army is not allowed to drink. At the very least, when they are on duty, they were not even allowed to touch wine. They could only drink during festive period or when they were relieved from duty. On top of that, wine requires grain. They do not even have enough grain to make wine!
“What is your name?” Liu Mang took a deep breath and asked the green armored warrior. Until now he still does not know his name. (TN: Until now, my hands are feeling annoyed describing Power Rangers…)
“This grandpa is proud of his own name! This grandpa’s name is Wei Yan Wei Wen Zhang!” The green armored warrior angrily roared. (TN: Why grandpa?)
“Wei Yan?!” Liu Mang’s eyes flashed. This was a really big fish! Wei Yang was the person Zhuge Liang claimed as rebellious and was someone comparable to the Five Tiger Generals! He was the one that surrendered to Runaway Liu together with Huang Zhong. Even though Huang Zhong was old by then, he was still powerful. Even then, he was on equal footing with Wei Yan and never on top. This was enough to understand Wei Yan’s strength. Later in Shu, Wei Yan had thought of a strategem that Zhuge Liang did not even think of. Unfortunately, Zhuge Liang did not trust Wei Yan and did not use his stratagem. Had Zhuge Liang trusted Wei Yan more, the Northern Expedition could have been more successful. Although Wei Yan had the tragic ending of starving before being massacred, he was a talent that was hard to come by.
“You have heard of this grandfather’s name? Looks like this grandfather’s is quite well known!” Wei Yan was certainly crazy.
“You dare!” Huang Zhong was in a bad mood. Wei Yan had called himself grandfather in front of Liu Mang implying that he is Liu Mang’s grandfather. This also means he claimed to be the grandfather of the Han Emperor. Huang Zhong slapped the back of Wei Yan’s head.
“Good! Hit him more!” Gan Ning was feeling happy. He really did not like Wei Yan. If he was holding a sword and was not tied up, he would have attacked Wei Yan already. Cheng Yu was also not feeling happy.
“Han Sheng, step back.” Liu Mang waved his hands towards Huang Zhong. Wei Yan who saw it smiled and shook his head. This Wei Yan is a stubborn person that refuses to admit his mistakes and was willing to die to keep up his appearance. If he was actually well known, Liu Biao would have recruited him already. Even if Liu Biao would not recruit him, Liu Biao’s two trusted subordinates, Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue would definitely recruit him. At that time, would he be at the recruitment order? However, Liu Mang did not tell him this. Wei Yan and Gan Ning were the same kind of person. Both of them had big mouths to eat, drink and brag. If you treat him nicely and praise him, he would definitely treat you as a friend. If you try and restrict and chastise him, he would become your enemy.
In the original history, he was enemies with Yang Yi because Yang Yi could not tolerate his bragging. Liu Mang cannot let such a great talent go. However, he must also not suppress him too much.
After finding out Wei Yan’s name, Liu Mang did not ignore him and called the Urban Army soldiers. “You. Tell me when can my army take out wine?” For this incident, Liu Mang was let the people on the scene explain.
“General, show mercy!” The Urban Army soldier that knelt on the ground was someone that followed Liu Mang since Xia Pi. Liu Mang also did not want to punish him too harshly but he would not have a choice.
“General. You cannot blame the soldiers for this matter. This is all Yun’s fault!” The white armored warrior walked forward and cupped his fist. The entire story went like this. Liu Mang had booked the whole of the inn in Hefei and also some houses for the people and soldiers to stay in. The inn itself has its own stock of wine and the wine was given to the soldiers. At first, the soldiers wanted to give the wine to Liu Mang. However, the white armored warrior appeared.
The white armored warrior had spoken in the Bingzhou’s native dialect. This made him more intimate to some of the soldiers. The white armored warrior had insisted that he is not from Bingzhou but knows the dialect because he had travelled to Bingzhou. However, he had still given a favorable impression to the soldiers. That is why the soldiers had given him a larger piece of meat and wine to drink. If it was done in secret, there would have been no problems but Wei Yan found out. Wei Yan had a loud voice and was unpleasant to talk to. The people of Bingzhou were also short tempered but in the Urban Army, there were also Liu Mang’s followers. Naturally, they did not give Wei Yan a proper explanation and the misunderstanding got worse. After that the fight happened. According to procedures, Liu Mang must first punish someone but Liu Mang could no longer manage this.
He opened his eyes wide and looked at the white armored warrior. “Your name is Yun? Could you be?”
“Does General know who I am?” The white armored warrior was puzzled.
“Are you Changshan’s Zhao Zilong? The one who followed the white horse general Gongsun Zan?” Liu Mang spoke so many details in one breath.
“General, you really recognize Yun?” Liu Mang saw Zhao Yun’s uncertainty and determined that this person was really Zhao Yun. Yeah baby! The world’s most loyal general that is both skillful and smart. Zhao Yun Zhao Zi Long! He should only be slightly weaker compared to Lu Bu. From strongest to weakest, the ranking was Lu Bu, Zhao Yun, Dian Wei, Guan Yu, Ma Chao, Zhang Fei. Although this ranking was only made when Huang Zhong was old and Sun Ce was dead, it was still truthful. Lu Bu got there unanimously. (TL: Even though he was also dead. Double standards.)
After reaching the peak of refinement, he can solo the three brothers at Hu Lao Gate. Although the presence of many could kill this tiger, only Dian Wei was able to actually scare him on his own.
Dian Wei was so powerful that he managed to defeat 4 of the Lu Bu’s Army’s general on his own. He could also probably hold out against Lu Bu on his own. Unfortunately, he died because he was outnumbered covering Cao Cao’s escape and part of it was also because Dian Wei was drunk at the time.
Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao and Zhao Yun also need no explanation.
Of course I know! Liu Mang wanted to say that but he could not as he would hurt Wei Yan’s feelings. On top of that, the people would think it is unfair and would not come for the recruitment order in the future.
(Congratulations to all those who answered Wei Yan. I myself got it wrong because in Dynasty Warriors he is pretty much someone who can’t speak.)
“No. I am just familiar with the white horse general Gongsun Zan.” Liu Mang nodded his head and lied.
“Old Master!” Hearing the name Gongsun Zan, Zhao Yun turned gloomy. It can be said that Zhao Yun was loyal to Gongsun Zan. Zhao Yun joined Runaway Liu only after being chased out by Gongsun Zan. Had Gongsun Zan not chase Zhao Yun away, Zhao Yun would have died together with Gongsun Zan.
“The white horse general is a good general but he is not a good master. His star fell too early!” Liu Mang sighed and shook his head. Gongsun Zan was a very good general during times of peace but not so much during troubled times.
“A falling star!” Zhao Yun looked straight at Liu Mang. Nobody had ever said this before. That is because after Gongsun Zan was replaced by Liu Yu, Gongsun Zan’s good name was tarnished. Yuan Shao had tarnished Gongsun Zan’s good name after Gongsun Zan’s death but now someone said that Gongsun Zan was like a falling star. Zhao Yun was dumbfounded.
“Hmph! Now I know you are partners!” Wei Yan began to feel cheated. Liu Mang’s excitement still hasn’t disappeared and while he intended to let Wei Yan go free, he now needed to clean up this mess.
“Partners?” Liu Mang looked at Wei Yan and laughed. “General Zhao is from Liaodong. We, the Lu Bu’s Army are from Lujiang! How could we be partners?”
“Lu Bu’s Army also came from Bingzhou right?”
“Err.” Liu Mang did not think of this. Most of Bingzhou are not from Liaodong but a small place can be considered a place in Liaodong.
“No need to worry. When the Lu Bu’s Army left Bingzhou, General Zhao was still a child.” Zhao Yun and Liu Mang’s ages were also far apart.
“Who knows?” Wei Yan still thought of nonsense and earned another slap at the back of his head by Huang Zhong. “Don’t talk so much rubbish!”
Good job. Liu Mang also wanted to praise Huang Zhong this time and clap his hands.
“Wei Yan right? You want it fair? I will give you fair.” Liu Mang must settle this problem in front of others to let them see. Even though they are poor, the public opinion is not weak. If the news spread out, Lu Bu’s Army will no longer be able to get talents.
“You name is Shi Xiang right?” Liu Mang remembers the name of his soldiers. “My army prohibits the drinking of wine. You know that right?”
“I know! I know!” Shi Xian was kneeling on the ground.
He remembers the name of his soldiers. What kind of person is this general? Zhao Yun looked at the soldiers. He had also led an elite cavalry of 3,000 before but he could not remember all the names of the soldiers.
The fact that this general could remember the names of the soldiers made him take notice.
“Then let me ask you. Do you know the punishment for drinking or keeping wine in the army?” Liu Mang asked coldly.
“I know! I know!” The old soldier Shi Xiang was already trembling.
“Then say it.” Liu Mang pulled him up. “Turn over there and tell everybody the punishment for drinking or keeping wine in my army!”
“Yes!” He was trembling but he still shouted the punishment. “Those that drink wine are executed! Those that kept wine are given 80 strikes of rod.”
. “Those that drink wine are executed? Those that kept wine are given 80 strikes of the rod?” There are people who could not believe it. This is the military law? So harsh? What is wrong with drinking wine? Must it be like this? A lot of the audience stayed to watch if the general would kill the soldier. That is because being hit 30 times by the rod was enough to kill an ordinary man. 80 strikes would be enough to kill most generals! (TN:Its okay~ Old soldiers are hard to kill.)
Most of them did not believe it but the old soldier Shi Xiang was panicking in fear. Many do not know about Liu Mang’s methods but these veterans know them well. He will accomplish whatever he promised. Liu Mang was a nice person to talk to and you could even walk up to him and joke with him. However, when it comes to military law, Liu Mang will not show mercy! 80 strikes of the rod? I am dead!
“General! Have mercy! I know my wrongs!” the veteran soldier knelt on the ground and begged for forgiveness. However, Liu Mang could not let him go. Had this happen on any other day, Liu Mang could have closed one eye. But now, he could only apologize.
“Get up!” Liu Mang shouted to the soldier. “Did you forget what I taught you? A man’s knees are worth 1,000 gold! You cannot kneel at will! If you respect me, you can kneel but absolutely do not beg for mercy! I do not want a life begging kneel! Get up right now!”
A man’s knees are worth 1,000 gold? This word made the eyes of the people around them turn bright. Most of them are also soldiers. They did not fully understand the jargon but they knew that this sentence has captured their hearts. A man’s knees are worth a thousand gold and absolutely cannot be used to beg for mercy.
There were also a bunch of scribes. Although the scribes did not add that into the commonly used sayings, there were some trying to figure out the meaning of the saying.
“Yes!” Shi Xiang stood up.
“Let me ask you. Did you drink?” Liu Mang asked.
“No! I did not!” Shi Xiang was really afraid. He would not be afraid if he were to die on the battlefield as it would be a glorious death but if he died to military law, it is just death.
“Really?” Liu Mang did not believe that he would not take a sip immediately after obtaining it.
“I really did not drink any! General!” Shi Xiang had the idea but he gave the whole bottle to Zhao Yun the moment he got it.
“This general did not drink any. This Yun is willing to risk his life as a guarantee!” Zhao Yun also wanted to help the soldier but this was someone else’s internal matters and he could not interfere as an outsider. However, he was able to testify that the soldier did not drink any wine because the bottle of wine was not open.
“Fine! With General Zhao’s guarantee. I will believe you!” Liu Mang gave Zhao Yun face and did not implement summary execution.
“That means this is privately owning wine! The punishment is being 80 strikes of the rod!” Liu Mang also said this to Shi Xiang
Only one person spoke in disdain. “Is it punishing those under you to protect this General Zhao’s reputation?” The small matter that did not need arguing was once again disturbed by Wei Yan.
Fuck you! Liu Mang finally understood why that Yang Yi wanted Wei Yan dead so much. A small matter but you made it as if Gan Ning was bragging! Why do you have to make things more problematic?
Liu Mang endured the urge to kill Wei Yan and continued. “The punishment for privately owning wine is 80 strikes of the rod but!”
“You see! I knew it!” Wei Yang was still spewing venom. “You are all talk!” Huang Zhong slapped him.
“Old man, you better not untie Grandfather Wei! Once he is untied you will lose in the war!” Wei Yang gnashed his teeth and said.
“Whose grandfather are you?” Huang Zhong’s men could not tolerate this and scolded. “Try and say it again!”
“But this error is not entire the fault of the soldier. It is because the general is not strict enough. So I will take the 80 strikes of the rod for Shi Xiang!” Liu Mang suddenly said.
Taking 80 strikes? Is Liu Mang mad? They saw that Liu Mang was wearing a scribe costume. 80 strikes is enough to kill a strong general. For Liu Mang, 30 strikes would kill him!
“General please reconsider!” Cheng Yu immediately knelt down.
“Little Lord please reconsider!” Huang Zhong also knelt down. If Liu Mang could endure 80 strikes, it would already be a highest achievement.
“Little Lord please reconsider!” “General please reconsider!” All the Urban Army soldiers knelt down. The old Urban Army soldiers called him General and got used to it. The other soldiers called him Little Lord.
“Little Lord?!” The others were shocked. They had thought that the young man was just a general serving under Liu Mang. They did not expect him to be His Highness the Prince of Shu, Liu Mang.
“Changshan’s Zhao Yun, Zhao Zi Long pays respect to Your Highness Prince of Shu!”
“Jingzhou’s Wang Wei pays respect to Your Highness Prince of Shu!”
“We respect to Your Highness Prince of Shu!” Everybody knelt down. Everybody, must kneel before royalty no matter their position in ancient times. Even Liu Mang’s father-in-law was supposed to kneel to Liu Mang if they took it seriously.
“We also request Your Highness to reconsider!” Zhao Yun also knew that 80 strikes can kill people! Even Zhao Yun himself would be seriously injured. On top of that, in his eyes, Liu Mang looked more like a scribe. (TN: Yes, yes we know 80 strikes can kill and every other related info. STOP!)
“Your Highness! He is just a lowly and humble soldier! Why do you sacrifice yourself for a lowly and humble soldier!” A scribe came up and ask Liu Mang.
The scribe was very respectful of Liu Mang but Liu Mang was not pleased. “Shut up!” Liu Mang shouted recklessly. His eyes even turned bloodshot and gave out a murderous feeling. The warriors all knew that this Liu Mang was a person with the resolution to kill. But they could not figure out why he placed himself in this position.
Although the scribed had said something unpleasant, it was reasonable. No matter what was said, it is a fact that the soldier is just a humble figure. How can the Prince of Shu, who is the most distinguished figure after the Han Emperor, take the blame for such a humble man?
Other princes would have stepped down by then but not Liu Mang. Liu Mang looked resolutely at that scribe. As a person not from the same era, he does not have that kind of mindset. He hates hierarchy and separating people into ranks. He was someone originally from the bottom ranks so he had a sense of substituting for the common people. (TN: The many more males who don’t even get asked out to cosplay with a girl or even give them money objects.)
Now the scribe had called them a lowly and humble figure. That would mean that he also called the old Liu Mang a lowly and humble figure!
“They are not just humble soldiers! They are my, Liu Mang’s, subordinates. They are also my brothers!” Liu Mang said as he walked towards the scribe.
“Did you know? Without them, I would have died at Xia Pi! I would have died on Mt Bagong. I would have died in the city of Wan Cheng! They are the ones that gave me my second and third lives!” The places that Rody stated were places that his Urban Army soldiers died. If they were all alive, the Urban Army would have more than 10,000 soldiers instead of the meagre 3,000 soldiers.
Liu Mang’s touching words made all the old soldiers especially the cavalries lowered their head.
“They are my brothers! Brothers!” Liu Mang continued. “I, Liu Mang have sworn that as long as I have something to eat, I will not let them starve! We live and die together! We share riches and honor!”
“We live and die together! We share riches and honor!” The Urban Army soldiers all roared. The ruffians that had just joined the army did not know what that meant but now they knew. It meant dignity. The dignity of a man!
Originally, soldiers were expandables. This is because good men do not become soldiers especially when there is no good end on the battlefield. Being executed was even better. That is because if you do not die on the battlefield, the injury suffered would be very painful. The best ending was to be abandoned or buried alive by your own companions.
Liu Mang had given the soldiers a life of dignity! They were not tools, they were not expandable, they were people. Flesh and blood! That is why they were willing to give their lives for Liu Mang. That is also why a lot of soldiers resigned after receiving severe injuries in Wan Cheng city. They did not want to worry their general and waste medical supplies.
“People of the audience, this is the last time I will say this. If I were to hear you say lowly and humble soldiers again, do not blame me and my sword!” Liu Mang ferociously told the scribe. He had to endure the impulse to kill that person. Liu Mang have seen enough people who does not treat the common people as human lives. The Liu father and son were one. Despite 5,000 private soldiers being killed, they only sighed in disappointment that their farmland is unmanned instead of being sad about the loss of lives.
Liu Mang thought he had gotten used to it but he could not.
Originally, he thought that the scribe would be frightened. However, the scribe was neither surprised, frightened, or angered. He walked forward and knelt down. “Yingchuan Xu Shu Xu Yuanzhi, pays respects to Your Highness Prince of Shu!”