My Father in Law is Lu Bu -
Chapter 690
Zuo Jie walked back and forth at the South Gates of Huiji. He felt agitated and also had some expectations.
“Shit. If I knew about this, I wouldn’t have let Yang Kui take out the troops!” Zuo Jie was flustered. Though he gave Yang Kui three thousand men, there were only five hundred elites. The others were fine but those five hundred elites were the Zuo Family’s assets. Losing them may not cause the entire Zuo Family to end but it would still be a heavy blow. This is because the Zuo Family only had three thousand elites. The several hundred deaths they had suffered the past few days was enough to make Zuo Li feel distressed. If Zuo Li found out that his son caused another five hundred elites to die, he would definitely get slapped.
However, Zuo Jie was also hopeful. Lu Meng’s camp was already in flames. This meant that Yang Kui had already attacked Lu Meng. Zuo Jie hoped Yang Kui’s battle bore fruits.
“Any movements from over there?” Zuo Jie asked one scout. This was the twelfth time Zuo Jie asked this question.
“Report. Young Master. It would seem that Yang Kui is withdrawing with the troops.” The scouts replied.
“Sigh. I knew it. I knew I shouldn’t have given him troops!” Zuo Jie said with remorse.
“Hm?” The scout was confused. Does withdrawing mean defeat?
“Young Master! Look! There is movement over there!” One subordinate said and pointed.
“Where?” Zuo Jie was already in panic. He had already made too many wrong judgements.
“It looks like Yang Kui?” One soldier said to Zuo Jie. The moonlight has already returned so they could see a little clearer.“Did Lu Meng chase them all the way here?” Zuo Jie panicked.
“Open the gates!” Someone with a loud voice shouted from below the gates. All of them were still excited and some even knocked on the gates.
“Who are you?” The officer on the city walls asked. “Reveal your identities or we would shoot you with arrows until you can no longer be recognized!” Night raids were a common tactic which was why there would always be people garrisoned on the walls.
“Third child! You don’t recognize me anymore? Quickly open the gates!” One veteran shouted.
“It’s you old man?” One soldier responded when he heard the curse.
“Who else can it be if not your uncle?” The soldier below the walls cursed again. They could already confirm that the soldiers below were Jiangdong’s rebels like them.
“Why are you all back? Could it be that Yang Kui was defeated and you all retreated? Is Lu Meng chasing you all?” Zuo Jie quickly asked.
“Your mother’s shit! Which buttless fool told you this nonsense? We didn’t lose! We won! We killed a lot of Sun Ce’s men!” The soldier below did not know who he was talking to so he just cursed freely.
Zuo Jie’s expression darkened. He had never been cursed so vulgarly before. On top of that, this person was his subordinate.
“Young Master. Do we open the gates?” The gatekeeper asked.
“Young Master, look! Isn’t that Master Yang Kui?” Sure enough, two figures approached on horseback. When they left with the army of three thousand, only two people were on horses. One was ridden by Yang Chen, the other was ridden by Lu Su. So these two could only be them.
“It’s really Master Yang Kui!”
“Young Master Zuo Jie. Are you here to greet us?” Lu Su asked from below the city walls.
“Oh shit! That person is the Young Master?” The foul mouthed soldier was dumbstruck. He had just cursed at the Zuo Family’s Young Master earlier.
“Are you Master Yang Kui?” Zuo Jie also tried to confirm.
“Yes.” Lu Su replied.
“Master Yang Kui. How did the battle go?” Zuo Jie asked nervously.
“Haha, Young Master Zuo Jie. Thanks to the good fortune you have given me, we managed to break into Lu Meng’s camp. This is the result of the battle. Young Master, please take a look!” Lu Su pointed at the heads of the soldiers behind him.
“I don’t want to see it! Open the gates and greet our Master Yang Kui!” Zuo Jie laughed loudly.
“We won! We actually won!” Zuo Jie was happy. How could he not be happy? This was a gamble and Zuo Jie had won.
“Yes!” The gates slowly opened. Lu Su looked at the firm walls from below the city with a sneer. In a few days, this city will fall.
After a while, the soldiers began to enter the city. Zuo Jie knew that meritorious ministers could not be neglected so he went out to greet Yang Kui.
They counted the number of soldiers. Three thousand went out to battle and the number of soldiers that returned was at least two thousand four hundred. Amongst the casualties, about a hundred of them were elites. However, their attack still bore fruits. The heads they brought back alone were several hundred. Altogether, Lu Meng would have lost a few thousand men. One must remember that Lu Meng’s men were all elites superior to Zuo Jie’s own elites. Six hundred inferior troops to be traded with over a thousand top quality troops was a very good trade.
Zuo Jie was extremely excited. This was a very good accomplishment. If it was the battles on the walls, they would not be able to obstruct these few thousand soldiers. However, this night raid managed to gain such an achievement. This victory will boost morale.
“Master Yang Kui have worked hard.” Zuo Jie was not a fool. This advantage was given to them by Yang Kui. That was why Zuo Jie respected Yang Kui.
“This is all just things I should be doing.” Yang Kui replied humbly. “This is all because of Young Master Zuo Jie’s commands. Otherwise, I would not have gain this military success.” Yang Kui said, handing over his accomplishments back to Zuo Jie.
Zuo Jie naturally knew that none of the accomplishments, from the planning to the execution, were related to him at all. But since Yang Kui had handed over the accomplishments to him, he was naturally happy. “Haha. Master Yang Kui is a great talent! You are like my ‘wu zhi zi fang’.1”
Yang Chen who was standing at the side laughed with disdain. ‘Wu zhi zi fang’? These are the words said by the first Han Emperor, Liu Bang. Are you trying to become independent? If your liege hears this, you would have to suffer the consequences.
“No, no!” Lu Su did not want any contribution and acted modestly.
“Master must be tired. I have already prepared a drink to share with you!” Zuo Jie said to Lu Su. Originally, they shouldn’t be drinking during the war but Lu Su still obeyed Zuo Jie.
Zuo Jie also knew that they should not be drinking. So only the three of them drank on a small table.
After some time drinking, Lu Su put down the wine cup with a sigh.
“Master Yang Kui. Why have you stopped? Do you not like this wine?” Zuo Jie asked skeptically. This wine may not be able to compare with the ones favored by nobles but it was still a good wine. Was Yang Kui worried that this drink was his only reward?
“Don’t worry, Master Yang Kui. Once the war is over, I will definitely give you first class wine! For now, please pardon me for this.” Zuo Jie said to Yang Kui.
Yang Kui shook his head, causing Zuo Jie to frown. Was Yang Kui still unwilling to give face?
“Young Master Zuo Jie. I was not sighing because of the wine. Even if Young Master offers me plain water, I would not have any complaints. I am sighing because today’s battle was a pity!” Yang Kui said as he shook his head.
Zuo Jie was extremely confused. Didn’t they win?
“It’s a pity. If we had more troops, I could have taken Lu Meng’s head!” Yang Kui said with regret.
“Pft!” Zuo Jie spat out his drink from the shock. “Master. Master Yang Kui. What did you say?”
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- Ridiculously fancy way of saying counselor. As a bonus, the literal word for word translation would be something along the lines of “This is my son’s house”
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