Chapter 643

Liu Mang was surprised to see Liu Ye kneel down begging for someone else. In the past when Liu Ye followed Liu Mang out for campaigns, there weren’t many that could compete with Liu Ye. Liu Ye initially competed against Xu Shu but after he was given these books, he abandoned the development of the army and government affairs. He instead studied these books. At that time, he no longer gave face to anything. So it was surprising to see him kneeling and speaking for others.

Who was this person and why would Liu Ye beg for him? When Liu Ye came to Liu Mang, he was alone and had no connections with anyone. This could only mean that this person here had talent.

“Stand up and speak!” Liu Mang gestured. The industrial zone was already half destroyed so he had someone look for a place for him to sit. Liu Ye and the others followed him.

After finding a suitable place to talk, Liu Mang sat down and gestured for the others to sit as well.

“Ziyang. This person is your assistant minister?” The Ministry of Works had one high official and two assistants. One of the two assistants was a man named Ge Luo. He did not have any outstanding talent but he was honest. There were a lot of things the Ministry of Works needed to do. Liu Mang would not be able to relax if the person in charge was greedy. Since Liu Ye needed to turn the things in the book into a reality, Ge Luo was in charge with most of the other work.

The other assistant would be this young man.

“Yes.” Liu Ye nodded. “Ma Jun, quickly step forward and greet the Lord.”

“Yes. Ministry of Work’s Assistant Minister Ma. Ma Jun, greets the Lord.” Ma Jun stuttered.

“Yuanzhi. Do you know this Ma Jun?” Liu Mang asked Xu Shu.

“I know him! How could I not?” Xu Shu replied with a wry smile. “Milord, do you still remember when Liu Bei and Zhang Xiu attacked Yangzhou together?”

How could Liu Mang forget that? Yangzhou had almost fallen on that day.

“Why?”

“When I defended Shouchun, the ballista were destroyed by Liu Bei’s catapults. It allowed Liu Bei to get onto the walls. General Deng Chao was killed by Zhang Fei and the city almost fell.”

“I know all this but what does it have to do with Ma Jun?” The ballista were one of the older models so it did not have much range and was easily destroyed. It could not do much after three hundred paces away.

“Those catapults… I am the one who made them.” Ma Jun said to Liu Mang.

“What? It was his catapults?” A few of the veterans standing behind Xu Shu exclaimed. They could remember it well as they were survivors of that battle. Initially, they thought of relying on the moat and the ballista on the walls but they never expected Liu Bei to take out catapults. Those catapults caused heavy casualties on their side. In other words, Ma Jun was the one that killed many of their fellow soldiers.

“Ma Jun!” Liu Ye’s eyes grew wide. Liu Ye knew the truth and had kept this fact a secret. He did not expect others would find out about this. “Milord. Ma Jun was young and did not know better. Please forgive him!”

“You made those catapults?” Liu Mang asked again as he thought of Liu Bei’s catapults. Those things had appeared at Shouchun’s battle and was also used when attacking Yuzhou.

“Yes!” Ma Jun stood up and stared at Liu Mang unbendingly.

“Milord. At that time, Ma Jun served a different master so please forgive him!”

“Milord. If we do not kill him, our fellow soldiers would not be able to rest in peace!”

“Yes Milord! Many of our men have died because of him! We must kill him to appease their spirits!”

Liu Mang did not say anything and stared at Ma Jun for a while. Suddenly, he laughed.

“Milord. Ma Jun is not a bad person. Please spare him!” Liu Ye pleaded.

“Teacher1, there is no need for you to plead to him. If he wants to kill me, let him.” Ma Jun said without stuttering this time.

“Kill you? Who said I want to kill you?” Liu Mang laughed. “You are an Assistant Minister of my Ministry of Works. You are a talented person of Yangzhou. Why would I want to kill you?”

“Then Milord. What about before?” Liu Ye asked skeptically.

“Before what?” Liu Mang thought to himself and then said. “Ziyang. Up until now, I never mentioned a single word about killing Ma Jun. You are the one who started pleading on your own.”

“Ah!” Liu Ye finally remembered. Liu Mang had only talked about the gunpowder the entire time and did not mention Ma Jun at all.

“But Milord. You look angry!” Liu Ye was still skeptical. He was flustered and revealed Ma Jun’s identity because he saw Liu Ye’s angry expression.

“Because I am angry at you! Didn’t I say to report to me when you are done making the gunpowder? I even told you to take your time if you want to test it! Let us not talk about what happened to the industrial zone. If you were to die, who can replace you in managing the Ministry of Works?” Liu Mang asked.

“Milord!” Liu Ye felt at peace after hearing Liu Mang’s reprimand.

“Then there is this Ma Jun! Why did you not tell me you have gotten such a person? Do you think I am so heartless? If you two died in the explosion, wouldn’t it be a huge loss to Yangzhou? Don’t you think I should punish you for this?”

“Yes, yes!” Liu Ye nodded.

“Normally, I will suspend you until you understand your mistake. However, since you managed to manufacture gunpowder, your deeds make up for your mistakes. That being said, if this happens again, the lightest punishment I can give you is dismissal.” Liu Mang said strictly.

“Milord. This is not my teacher’s fault. I, Ma Jun, was the one that was too anxious for merits.” Ma Jun spoke up for Liu Ye. The two of them were loyal to each other as they both studied Mohism. Though Liu Ye was not a Mohist himself, he had learned about Mohism meticulously. On the other hand, Ma Jun was born a Mohist. When Ma Jun introduced himself to Liu Ye, Liu Ye was shocked to find out that Ma Jun’s teacher studied under the same teacher as Liu Ye. This made Ma Jun’s teacher and Liu Ye brother disciples.

The two managed to manufacture the gunpowder together but Ma Jun was too interested in things stated in the book such as guns and cannons. He wanted to test things out by himself. This caused the explosion. Fortunately, the two understood enough to stay far away from gunpowder or the two of them would have died.

“Ma Jun! Step back!” Liu Ye did not want Ma Jun to get into trouble but it was too late. If Liu Bei does not criticize Ma Jun, it would mean immediate execution or estrangement. Neither of this would be good for Ma Jun.

“Hmph! Do you think you can escape punishment? Before this, you have already made catapults that harmed my soldiers!”

“Milord?” Liu Ye felt misgivings as Liu Mang initially said he would not hold that into account.

“However, at that time you served a different master so you can escape capital punishment. Your punishment will be to forever remain as my Yangzhou person. If you betray Yangzhou, you will be executed without question.”

Liu Ye sighed with relief after hearing this. This wasn’t even a punishment at all because anyone who betrays Yangzhou would be executed anyway.

“Ma Jun, quickly thank the Lord!” Liu Ye said.

“Thank you Milord for not killing me!” Ma Jun immediately knelt down and stuttered.

“Haha. I am sure you are sincere with your words.” Liu Mang laughed as he looked at Ma Jun.

“Alright. Both of you, stand up.”

“Ma Jun. You are from Fufeng right?” Liu Mang suddenly asked.

“How did you know?” Ma Jun was surprised. This was the first time he had met with Liu Mang.

“Haha. I just happened to know.” Liu Mang did not explain but with this, he confirmed that this Ma Jun was the great inventor during the Three Kingdoms era, Ma Jun Ma Deheng.

Ma Jun was an introverted man that was responsible for the construction of the square-pallet chain pumps meant for irrigation. However, he was more known for inventing the the South-pointing chariot which was a directional compass vehicle.

Even Zhuge Liang and the others were no match for Ma Jun in machinery.

Ma Jun was the only one wondering where he had possibly met the King of Shu before. On the other hand, the other officials were already used to it and no longer asked questions.

“Ziyang. How is the gunpowder right now?” Liu Mang finally asked.

“Milord. We already have the gunpowder but how do we use it? I am incapable. I do not know how to make cannons.” Liu Ye replied. They already got the gunpowder but ran into trouble when test-firing it. They got something like a metal bucket, put gunpowder at the back and the pellet inside. However, they found out from this test that they would simply blow themselves up instead of the enemy.

As it is, using this weapon was suicidal.

“You already made the cannon barrel?” Liu Mang asked.

“Yes.”

“Let me see it.” Liu Mang furrowed his brows. According to the book, there should not be any explosions.

The cannon barrel that was brought over was huge and made of iron. Liu Mang could not help but nod as he caressed the cannon.

“Did you all put too much gunpowder?” Liu Mang asked. This could have been the possible reason for the explosion.

“No!” Liu Ye shook his head. Although they had the intention of doing that at first, Liu Ye gave up the idea and only used the appropriate amount. “At first it went well. The first two times it could shoot and the power was destructive. However, it exploded the third time.”

“Hm?” Liu Mang turned back to the cannon. The outer appearance of the cannon was good. However, Liu Mang furrowed his brows when he felt that one point on the cannon felt hollow. He lowered his head and put his hand in the cannon.

“Milord! Be careful!” When Liu Mang took out his hand, there was a cut on it. Guan Hai wanted to get someone to bandage the injury but Liu Mang stopped him. They could all endure deeper cuts during battle so why bother with light cuts like this. Liu Mang sucked up the dirty blood from his hand and then stopped caring about it.

“This cannon barrel has a problem.” Liu Mang said to Liu Ye and Ma Jun.

“The cannon barrel?” Liu Ye was puzzled. He supervised the whole thing so the manufacturing of it could not have been the problem.

“No, I meant that the thing is too brittle. The inner part of it is full of blisters. It was a problem from the tempering stage caused by air going into the iron as it solidified. There are even sharp edges. If this is the case, the cannon would be brittle and it would not be strange for there to be an explosion.

“Then how do we make a cannon?”

Liu Mang did not give Liu Ye an explanation. There could be many reasons for tempering problem to happen. The only thing he was sure of is that these blisters were the cause of the explosion. This kind of cannon can only harm their own people.

“Change the material to copper.” Liu Mang said to Liu Ye.

“Copper?” Liu Ye and Ma Jun were shocked. Iron was a stronger material. On top of that, copper was basically money. They would need to melt down thousands of coins just to make one cannon.

“Wouldn’t it be too extravagant?”

“Milord. Isn’t iron stronger?” Ma Jun did not stutter when it comes to his specialty. As a result, his tone sounded rude. Everyone knew this which was why they used iron from the start.

“Iron is certainly stronger but right now, you all still can’t make proper iron cannons. So we can only use copper. It should at least guarantee that the cannons would not explode.

“But!” Ma Jun still wanted to object.

“There is nothing else to discuss. If you can make an iron cannon that will not explode, then we can use iron.” Liu Mang said. As copper had a melting point that is several hundred degrees lower, it was easier to be shaped.

“Milord. How many cannons are you planning to make?” Xu Shu asked.

“I want a hundred cannons that is three thousand catties and five hundred cannons that are only a thousand catties.” Liu Mang replied.

“So much?” Xu Shu was worried about the amount of copper they need to use. Copper was basically money. The army’s expenditure was part of Xu Shu’s job and Mi Zhu who handled finances would definitely come looking for him.

Easier said than done. If they made so many cannons like this, Yangzhou’s finances would be in trouble.

“Yuanzhi, just do it. You will understand in a few days. It would not be too late to object once Ziyang and the others make a three thousand catty cannon.” Liu Mang said. Xu Shu could only nod in reply.

***

Compared to Yangzhou, the other two previous overlords of the Central Plains could only hide and lick their wounds. Even Cao Cao started to feel afraid as Liu Mang was too fast. Liu Mang had captured half of Yuzhou in a single winter. It won’t be long before he really conquers the whole of the Central Plains. Though Jingzhou and Jiangxia were not under Liu Mang’s rule, they could no longer challenge him.

With this development speed, Liu Mang would be ready to fight when Cao Cao is done unifying the North.

“No. I must send troops immediately.” Cao Cao felt a sense of urgency. Liu Mang gave him a terrible sense of unease. Lu Bu was almost killed but suddenly Liu Mang appeared. Those routed troops was now becoming the overlords of the entire South region.

“Milord. Now is not the time to send troops!” Cheng Yu immediately stopped Cao Cao. “It is more important for us to capture the North! It would not be too late to deal with that Liu Mang once we obtain the North!” Cheng Yu did not have a good opinion of Liu Mang but he still knew it was not the time.

“By that time Liu Mang would have already conquered the South! How am I supposed to attack him then? Would it be Guandu all over again?” Cao Cao replied angrily. The Battle of Guandu was one of Cao Cao’s greatest achievements but it was too exhausting. He definitely did not want to do it again.

“Milord! *Cough* We must attack Yangzhou!” A pale man coughed as he spoke.

“Fengxiao. Are you alright?” Cao Cao asked. Normally, they had to prioritize government affairs during meetings like these. However, Cao Cao could not help but feel concern towards this sick man.

“Milord, thank you for your concern. I am feeling much better.” Guo Jia replied. His illness worsened since Hebei and now he was coughing all the time. His life would soon end if he doesn’t get this illness treated. Yet before his death, Guo Jia was determined to help his Lord.

“Milord. We must attack Yangzhou.”

“Fengxiao. Can we even attack Yangzhou?” Xun You spoke. “We may have troops but it is almost Spring. That would be the time we need to attack Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang. If we start another war now, we would be at a disadvantage.”

Yuan Shao may have suffered a disastrous defeat but a cultured person would still be better than an ordinary person. Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan were also not idiots. They may fight against each other but they also know that Cao Cao is watching them like wolves. They would get bitten the moment they become exhausted. That was why after fighting against each other for two months, the two brothers came to a tacit understanding. This was something Cao Cao did not want to see. It would be terrible if they were to join forces against Cao Cao.

That was why the two were planning to wait until Spring. The two hated each other to the point they wanted to kill each other. It would be too late if they were to wait for the other to act first. Meanwhile, Cao Cao could not act at all.

“Milord. There is also not much provisions at Xudou.” Xun Yu spoke up. Xun Yu was in charge of managing the provisions at Xudou. In his opinion, they would not be able to capture Yangzhou.

“Haha. We don’t have to use our troops at Xudou!” Guo Jia laughed.

“We don’t have to use our troops at Xudou?” The others could not understand.

“Everyone. We are afraid that Yangzhou was expanding too quickly. However, there is someone else more afraid than us.” Guo Jia said and the others started to have their own opinions.

“Liu Biao?” Cheng Yu thought of Liu Biao. Liu Biao hated Liu Mang a lot since Liu Mang took his wife. On the other hand, Liu Mang was almost killed by Liu Biao so the hatred was mutual.

“Sun Ce?” Xun Yu thought of Sun Ce. Sun Ce was someone who needed a peaceful sleep. Liu Mang managed to obtain Yangzhou in the first place because of Sun Ce. Liu Mang and the others were supposed to leave Yangzhou and go to Hanzhong to find trouble with Zhang Lu. However, Chen Duan who was under Sun Ce’s command resented Liu Mang so much that he irritated Lu Bu, causing Lu Bu to refuse to leave.  Now they ended up becoming the most powerful force at the Central Plains. Even Jiangdong’s navy was defeated. How could Sun Ce not feel panicked?

“Liu Bei!” Someone mentioned. But this suggestion caused everyone to laugh with disdain. This is because Liu Bei had less than three cities left. He had Runan but most of the people had already migrated out. His soldiers were also mostly new recruits. If it weren’t for the fact that Liu Mang had gone missing recently, he would have already been wiped out.

“It does not matter whether it was Liu Bei, Sun Ce, or Liu Biao. All of them would be more anxious than us. So we do not need to be the ones sending troops!” Guo Jia said to the others.

“Are you saying to have all three of them attack?” Cheng Yu asked.

Guo Jia coughed a bit. “Yes, but no!” These three wouldn’t have many troops left after their respective defeats.

“We do not want them to send troops as it is impossible to begin with. However, we can give them a righteousness.” Guo Yi suggested.

“Righteousness?”

“Yes. The soldiers would not fight without a purpose.” Guo Jia said to the others. During ancient times, everyone needed a righteous cause to fight. It was for this reason Cao Cao wanted to shelter the Emperor. Without a righteous cause, the soldiers had no purpose and would not try their best. If they attack other cities, they would just be bandits.

Even when Yangzhou attack Jingzhou, they could not say they were fighting to take revenge for Liu Mang. After all, Liu Mang slept with the other party’s wife. He would deserve death.

Instead, the reason they use is because it was a punitive expedition on Liu Biao. In a sense, Liu Biao was the subordinate of the South General. So the South General had authority.

“Fengxiao. Are you saying…”

“Yes. We remove the King of Shu’s title as the South General and the Lord of Yangzhou.” Guo Jia said to the others. The two titles given to Liu Mang were originally supposed to be given to Lu Bu. If Liu Mang loses these two titles, he would not have any righteous cause to attack Liu Biao and Sun Ce.

But how could they remove those two titles? They cannot just take away the title without reason. On top of that, Liu Mang was also the Sage King. It would be bad if he uses it as an excuse to get people onto his side!

“Since we cannot demote him. We should promote him!” Cheng Yu said cunningly as he thought of a way to deal with Yangzhou.

“Yes. We should promote him.” Guo Jia nodded.

“But what position should we give him?” Cao Cao was troubled.

“Milord. The position of General of Agile Cavalry is still empty.” Guo Jia suggested. This position initially belonged to the Fuwan Family. However, they were wiped out when Liu Bei reported them to Cao Cao so the position was now empty.

“Good! Then we should suggest for His Majesty to promote His Highness to the General of Agile Cavalry controlling the Jinwu Guards.” Cao Cao laughed. This was a high position second only to a Grand General. It was two positions higher than Liu Mang’s position as East General. However, this was only really considered a promotion if the land was at peace. Unfortunately, it was a turbulent era.

The Jinwu Guards themselves were a joke. The original Jinwu Guards was an elite force of five thousand elite heavy cavalry. They fought a war and defeated the Xiongnu, chasing them back up until the Xiongnu’s monarch. But that was in the past. The current Jinwu Guards were the Emperor’s personal army representing his authority. Yet, what kind of authority did the Emperor have now? The Jingwu Guards now have two thousand men all of which were noble’s children listening to their father’s words and their fathers listen to Cao Cao. As a result, this position was just a fraud.

“What about Lu Bu?” If they gave Liu Mang a position, they cannot leave Lu Bu out since half of Jiangdong was Yangzhou.

“Lu Bu Lu Fengxian? Make him a Bulwark General.” Cao Cao said generously. It was a position higher than Liu Bei’s Left General.

“We have given them a righteous cause. But what if Liu Mang still insists on attacking Jingzhou and Jiangdong?” Cao Cao was still worried. This is because Lu Bu was a problem. If Liu Bei was the most despicable person around, Lu Bu was at second place. The only difference is that Liu Bei was sneaky while Lu Bu was direct.

Cao Cao was afraid that Yangzhou would not get tied down by righteous causes. After all, Lu Bu even dared to kill his own father.

“Then we just need the three of them to feel the need to cooperate.” Guo Jia laughed. Jiangdong’s main army may have been wiped out but their people are strong. Jiangdong could have easily formed a new army but they lacked the money after many years of war. If Sun Ce were to force the nobles to pay more money, they may decide to change lords.

On the other hand, Jingzhou had money but their people were weak. These men would easily run the moment they see blood. So it would be hard to make elites out of them. Jiangdong and Jingzhou could easily help each other out in this area. Then there was also Liu Bei the troublemaker. They may be able to stall Yangzhou if they worked together.

“Should we lead the alliance?” Guo Jia’s plan was good but Yuzhou, Jingzhou and Jiangdong could not take on Yangzhou. They would simply get themselves annexed. If they were to ally with each other, they might stand a chance. Jingzhou had money, Jiangdong had troops and Liu Bei may be of some use even if he was useless.

“Let Liu Biao do it.” Liu Biao was a genuine imperial uncle unlike Liu Bei. Liu Biao was also older and had more money. So it was better to let Liu Biao do it.

“Milord. It is easy to decide between Liu Biao and Liu Bei but what about Sun Ce?” Xun Yu said. Liu Biao would agree to an alliance since he wanted Yangzhou dead the most. He even gave away Jiangxia to Jiangdong just to attack Yangzhou. Liu Bei wasn’t a problem since he was a shameless man who goes wherever that benefits him.

However, Sun Ce was the Little Conqueror. Asking him to ally with someone wasn’t too bad if that person wasn’t the man that killed his father. He only allied himself with Liu Biao previously because the man lowered himself to Jiangdong. However, Guo Jia was going to put Liu Biao on top this time.

“Then should Sun Ce lead them?” No one thought of having Liu Bei lead because he did not have the ability.

“In that case, Liu Biao would not agree.” Liu Biao looked down on and killed Sun Ce’s father. He would definitely not acknowledge Sun Ce. Besides that, Liu Biao was rich. Not all rich people were arrogant idlers but usually demanded better treatment.

“Then what should we do?” Everyone was wracking their brains as Cao Cao frowned. When he looked over and caught Guo Jia smiling, he could not help but say unhappily.

“Fengxiao. If you already have a plan, do not leave us in suspense. No need to make us think so hard!”

Guo Jia did not know how to reply. He wasn’t keeping the others in suspense but he was helping his Lord come to a decision. Guo Jia knew that he was going to die soon. Even though he promised to help Cao Cao conquer the land, his body would not allow it. That was why he wanted to find someone to succeed him. Cao Cao had plenty of talented people but each other them have their own way of making contributions. They would not step up to succeed him.

Cheng Yu could scheme but he was too obstinate. He could not think outside the box. How was he going to surpass others this way?

Xun You was good only at making overall plans. With him at the rear, there was no need to worry about logistics. Unfortunately, he did not have the ability to take charge.

Xun Yu on the other hand had everything he needed to succeed Guo Jia but Guo Jia did not dare to use him. This is because Xun Yu placed too much importance in the old ways. Xun Yu believed that the Emperor would forever be a Liu and not a Cao. Xun Yu was only helping Cao Cao now because he believed that Cao Cao could help pacify the Han.

Once Cao Cao obtains the land, it was likely that Xun Yu would rebel. That was why Guo Jia could not entrust things to him. He asked all this question to train the rest in hopes that Cao Cao would not have any worries once he is gone.

Guo Jia bitterly shook his head. “Milord. If Sun Ce refuses, we can use someone else.”

“Someone else?” Xun Yu thought of something after hearing Guo Jia’s words.

“If we do not have Jiangdong’s troops, what good is the alliance?” After all, they needed Jiangdong and Jingzhou to ally with each other the most. Liu Bei was just an extra whose sole purpose was to annoy Yangzhou.

“Jiangdong must be part of the alliance but not Sun Ce.” Guo Jia continued.

“What do you mean?” Cao Cao’s eyes narrowed.

“Milord. Do you still remember the envoy from Jiangdong that came the other day?” Guo Jia reminded.

A few days ago, an envoy from Jiangdong came to give Cao Cao a congratulatory gift for his wife’s birthday. Such things are usually given by their own people. No one would expect Jiangdong to send an envoy all the way just for this.

“What about Jiangdong’s envoy?”

“Milord. Do you still remember the signature on the letter?” Guo Jia said.

“Signature?” Cao Cao had already forgotten but Guo Jia remembered. Guo Jia then signaled for the letter to be brought over.

Cao Cao then took the letter and looked for the signature. It showed that the one who wrote the letter was Sun Quan.

“Sun Quan?”

“This person is Sun Ce’s little brother!” Guo Jia explained.

“Sun Ce’s little brother?” Was there anything strange here?

“Sun Ce is not involved in this entire thing at all. According to our spies in Jiangdong, Sun Ce did not know about this letter at all. In other words, Sun Quan sent this letter in secret!” Guo Jia explained. With this explanation, the others begun to understand Guo Jia’s intentions.

Since ancient times, the ones in power should be vigilant against their own siblings the most. It was no difference even if the ones in Jiangdong was not the Emperor.

“The Second Lord of Jiangdong is aiming high!” Guo Jia said to the others. When used normally, this comment is a complement. However, it was different when applied to Sun Quan. Sun Quan had a brother in front of him as the ruler of Jiangdong. Sun Quan simply needed to be an idler at worst but here he is doing things behind his brother’s back.

“Fengxiao. Are you saying…”

“We change Jiangdong’s ruler.” Guo Jia said to Cao Cao and the others.

___________

1. Teacher’s brother. But there is no proper term for it in English so…
2. This chapter is absolute hell since I need to search for the English names of various title/occupations.