Mi Fang’s Death
The one that entered the room was Song Qian. He was usually a cold and indifferent person. However, he wasn’t indifferent at that time. Liu Bei was able to deceive the common people but it was not so easy to trick Song Qian as the man was a scholar. He would not be brainwashed so easily. In order to survive, he immediately surrendered the moment Liu Mang attacked the storehouse. Not only that. He even took the initiative to check the inventory of the Liu Mang’s Army to be someone of value.
“Your Highness!” Song Qian called out loudly the moment he entered with a cheerful expression. This was because Song Qian found that buried under the ground, in a secret corner in the storehouse was a lot of gold. This would make Liu Mang happy and if Liu Mang was happy, his rewards would be more.
“Oh! There is even a secret area!” Liu Mang was really happy. Not only was Yingshang captured but he also gained a lot of provisions. Now, Song Qian even found 4,000 stones and also gold and silver jewelry. No one would dislike having more money.
“Zi Fang. Just Yingshang alone has so much provisions and wealth. This looks like Big Eared Liu’s personal collection. Once Zi Fang has finished cleaning up, we will need to talk.” If there were already this much at Yingshang, by right, there should be more at the capital city Runan. It was Liu Bei’s home. Once that place is captured, the provisional problems at Yangzhou may be over. Liu Mang wanted Mi Fang to tell him the general deployment of troops at Runan.
“Zi Fang?” Song Qian forgotten about the person next to him when he reported the good news. He was happy when praised by Liu Mang. However, when someone else was mentioned, he felt discontent. He turned around to see who was the one that stole his glory, and then shouted out, “General Mi! Lord Wife!”
His words made Mi Fang’s expression change.
If Mi Fang’s expression did not change, Liu Mang would not have taken note of this. However, he acted strange after Song Qian called out to them. This gave Liu Mang a trace of doubt.
“Lord Wife?” Liu Mang thought about the method of address. This method of addressing was not a big deal during the Han Dynasty. Lord is a way of addressing the master of a family. Lord Mother would be the Lord’s wife. If Song Qian was Mi Fang’s vassal, then calling the woman Lord Mother was correct. However, he called him General Mi. This was an official title, meaning that Song Qian was not a vassal. In that case, who would be the Lord Wife?
Mi Fang’s expression was like a dead man’s expression. Liu Mang also started to think.
“Song Qian. Is she your Lord Wife?” Liu Mang looked at the woman and asked.
“Yes!” Song Qian also responded. Then he shook his head. ‘I am no longer part of the Liu Bei’s Army.’
“Song Qian! How dare you!” Just as Song Qian was about to speak, Mi Fang stepped forward and grabbed Song Qian, making him unable to open his mouth. Although Mi Fang was just a second-rate general, it was still easy for him to kill a scholar. After saying that he surrendered to Liu Mang, he had already been untied. A person’s throat was very fragile and he could easily crush it.
Although Mi Fang was quick, someone else was even faster than him. This person was Huang Zhong who had been standing at the side. His hands moved and grabbed Mi Fang’s hands, preventing it from reaching anyone. However, Mi Fang still forced his way through with his head. This action made Huang Zhong feel a little pain. He then threw Mi Fang away.
“Zi Fang!” The beautiful woman saw Mi Fang get thrown away by Huang Zhong and hurriedly went to support him. Although Huang Zhong had managed to throw Mi Fang away, Mi Fang still managed to smash Song Qian’s face with his head. Song Qian’s nose and mouth was also smashed.
Song Qian cried out in pain as blood flowed down his nose. His facial features destroyed.
“Your Hiness, tis Lod Wiv is…” (Your Highness, this Lord Wife is…) Before Song Qian could say it, Mi Fang started to threaten him. “Song Qian you dog! If you say it, you better be careful with your head! I will make sure your entire family meet a tragic end!”
His threatening made Song Qian tremble. Although Mi Fang was captured, there was still a big boss behind Mi Fang.
“Don’t worry about it!” Liu Mang knew that something was up. He walked forward and patted Song Qian’s shoulder. A person in a lower position patting the shoulder of a higher position showed disrespect while patting of shoulders between friends showed their relationship. On the other hand, a person with a higher position patting the shoulder of a person in a lower position means showing interest. This calmed Song Qian down a little. On top of that, Liu Mang did not say Song Qian’s name directly which showed a kind of intimacy. After Song Qian’s heart settled down a bit, Liu Mang’s next words calmed him down completely.
“Don’t worry about it. Look at Mi Fang. Although he is no longer tied up, he is still a prisoner while you have already abandoned the old forces. Do you think you need to fear him as Liu Mang’s subordinate? Besides that, even if Mi Fang surrenders to me, he is still a defeated general. Although you are new to the army and I was going to make you work hard, you have delivered the provisions and wealth from the secret area in the storehouse. This is a huge contribution that deserves a reward. I have decided. I will allow you to serve as a quartermaster in my Urban Army. You will be in charge of provisioning the Urban Army and Black Flag Army. How is that?” Truthfully speaking, Liu Mang was not too pleased with Song Qian surrendering so quickly. After all, nobody likes traitors. Even after he joined Liu Mang’s Army, Liu Mang planned to send Song Qian to a small area. He did not expect Song Qian to deliver him with so much food and money.
Liu Mang could not help but ponder for a moment. His instincts told him that Song Qian was keeping a huge secret. So, Liu Mang decided to give Song Qian a good position. Either way, the Urban Army and the Black Flag Army were very loyal to Liu Mang. And so, Liu Mang was not afraid of Song Qian doing anything there.
“Yes. Yes. This subordinate Song Qian thanks the Lord!” Song Qian was very excited. He had heard of both these armies before. They were just like Liu Bei’s White Eared Army. Just by becoming a member of the White Eared Army, they were already trusted subordinates. Liu Mang had given him a chance. Naturally, he would feel moved. He went from an ordinary officer to a high official of six hundred stones.
“Milord. This Lord Wife… No. That’s wrong.” If Song Qian were to be under Liu Mang, he could no longer call her Lord Wife. “This is Mi Fang’s younger sister. She is Liu Bei’s wife.”
“What!” Liu Mang was really shocked. Liu Mang did not care about those first few words but about the fact that she was Liu Bei’s wife.
“Song Qian. You will die a tragic death!” Mi Fang yelled at Song Qian but could not move as he was being held by Huang Zhong.
‘Mi Fang’s younger sister that is Liu Bei’s wife? Isn’t that Lady Mi?’ Lady Mi was so famous because she was the one with the second biggest dowry, including Sun Shangxiang. Although Sun Shangxiang had a huge dowry, it was Zhou Yu’s plan to use a woman to exchange for Liu Bei’s Army. However, thanks to Zhuge Liang’s counter strategy, they lost the woman and soldiers. It was more earnings instead of dowry. It was different for Lady Mi. Numerous wagons of gold allowed Liu Bei to rise again despite several defeats in war. It could be said that the Mi family had helped him a lot.
Another reason was that in the original history, Liu Bei was defeated at Changban. Lady Mi was carrying Liu Bei’s son, Liu Chan. Zhao Yun went searching for them but only had one horse. Zhao Yun initially wanted to let Lady Mi get on the horse and take Liu Chang to safety but she knew that she would not be able to escape. In the end, she entrusted Liu Chan to Zhao Yun and then committed suicide by jumping into a well. To prevent her body from being defiled, Zhao Yun sealed up the well with rocks. Such a righteous woman was rare in that world. Even Liu Mang had to show his admiration.
This was a big fish. Even though Liu Bei was like his ancestor Liu Bang that saw his wife and children as clothes. They could be thrown away whenever without giving much thought. However, Lady Mi had slightly more importance to Liu Bei than that. The key point is the Mi family. If Liu Mang were to obtain Mi Fang, he would have about thirty percent chance of obtaining Mi Zhu. However, if Liu Mang also has Lady Mi, that chance would rise to eighty percent.
“A good plan!” Liu Mang truly underestimated Mi Fang. He was just a small figure that relied on his brother and his sister to gain a foothold in the army. Even then, he was just a prefect at most. This second-rate figure had almost tricked Liu Mang.
If it was not for Song Qian, Liu Mang may have missed Lady Mi. Even the fact that Mi Fang said he would surrender was probably false and he would defect the moment he had the chance. Liu Mang could not help but shake his head and fault himself for this mistake. The first impression was the strongest. Liu Mang had really thought that this was Mi Fang’s wife and not Liu Bei’s wife.
“Concubine Liu Mi Shi gives respect to Your Highness.” The embarrassed woman became straightforward. She knew she could no longer hide and walked towards Liu Mang.
“Milady. Please get up.” When Liu Mang saw Lady Mi bow down, he asked for her to stand up. He even specially went over and help her up. The feeling of coming in contact with her skin could not be described.
“General Mi Fang. This is your mistake. How could you not say that Lady Mi is here? Based on my feelings with Xuan Degong, I would definitely take care of her well.” Liu Mang was rebuking but was smiling deep down. ‘Haha. Feelings? Feelings of enmity.’
“Hmph. Stop being insincerely courteous. Kill me if you want!” Mi Fang coldly grunted. He knew that he could no longer hide his sister’s identity and had an unpleasant expression. He and his brother were merchants. Their position has always been low and they have always been ridiculed by people. Liu Bei only gave importance to them because their sister is his wife. If Lady Mi fell into Liu Mang’s hands, it would spell trouble. Right now, Liu Mang was in a war against Liu Bei. He would not send her back. On top of that, Liu Mang’s actions towards Lady Mi made Mi Fang’s heart sink even more. He was a lecherous person like Cao Cao. When Liu Bei’s wives were with Cao Cao’s Army, they were treated with respect because they were protected by Guan Yu. Otherwise, both Lady Mi and Lady Gan, who was also beautiful, would become two wonderful objects to Cao Cao.
“General Mi Fang. Don’t worry. I won’t touch Lady Mi at all!” Liu Mang saw that Mi Fang was afraid that he would warm the bed with Lady Mi. Liu Bei and Sun Ce fought in such a harmful manner that one mistake would cost Yangzhou. Lu Bu’s Army might even disappear from history. Now that Liu Bei’s wife had fallen into their hands, Liu Mang could not help but want to take revenge on Liu Bei. Not to mention the fact that Lady Mi was not an old woman but a beautiful one.
“Are you serious?” Mi Fang felt helpless and afraid of Liu Mang. He was afraid Liu Mang was lying.
“Of course it is true! Although I do joke in my army, my words still carry an enormous weight. I will definitely treat Lady Mi like a sister-in-law. If the Left General and I stop fighting, I could even send her back to her husband.” Liu Mang righteously replied.
“Sister-in-law!” Mi Fang was set at ease. During ancient times, uncles and sister-in-laws are to be treated with respect. What Mi Fang doesn’t know was that Liu Mang did not come from ancient times.1”
“Then what do you want?” If Liu Mang were to send Lady Mi back, he would not obtain anything. A person would not help or hurt others without reason.
“How about a ransom? General Mi Fang. Right now, your Lord Liu Bei is at war with me. On top of that, you are now my prisoners. If the Left General wants you back, he would naturally need to ransom you.” Liu Mang said.
“Ransom? Are you planning set a high initial price? If so, I suggest you give up! We of the Mi Family would not let you blackmail the Lord even if we were to be diminished.” If Liu Mang were to ask for a lot of gold and provisions, then there would be nothing to discuss. Even if Liu Bei could give out that much, he would not do it for just a woman.
“Do you think I am such a person?” Liu Mang laughed in disdain. “For Lady Mi, I believe 50,000 provision should be affordable for Liu Bei.” Although it looks like a lot, it was not much to Liu Bei. It was not even a year’s worth for the military.2
“Then it’s settled!” Mi Fang’s mind was at peace. This was because this was doable as long as the ransom was not excessive. It was just like when Lu Su was captured by Liu Mang. The Lu Family was willing to throw away their fortune to redeem Lu Su.
“Alright. Take the both of them down!” Liu Mang waved his hand. Four bodyguards escorted Mi Fang and Lady Mi away.
After seeing the both of them leave, Huang Zhong asked, “Do you really only want provisions?” Huang Zhong did not understand. With Liu Bei’s wife in his hands, he could threaten and humiliate Liu Bei.
“The provisions?” Liu Mang shook his head. “Han Sheng. What we are lacking the most right now is food.” They were already on the verge of collapse. If he could exchange the woman for food, why not?
The most important thing was that if Liu Bei could not capture Yangzhou because of her, who would he blame? It would definitely be the Mi Family. Even if Liu Bei does not blame them, his other generals and his brothers would certainly complain as they already despise the Mi Family’s identities as merchants. They would become even more mistreated. At that time, Liu Mang can enter the stage and earn their loyalty.
“Han Sheng. Declare to the outside world that Mi Fang was killed in battle!” Liu Mang suddenly thought of something and said to Huang Zhong.
“Killed in battle?”
“Yes. Killed in battle!” To earn the allegiance of the Mi Family, Liu Mang would need to place pressure on them and could not simply let them go. Otherwise, they may leave for other places even if they were chased away.
Just as Huang Zhong was about to execute the order and just as Liu Mang was about to take a rest, a bodyguard suddenly rushed in and shouted, “Milord! General Huang! This is bad. A large enemy force is seen outside the city!”
“The enemy?” Liu Mang and Huang Zhong were stunned. They had only just captured Yingshang. Where did the enemy come from? Lu Mang wondered if Liu Bei ignored capturing Yuzhou and wanted to focus their attack on himself. The soldiers were also fatigued. It was a good plan that caught him unprepared.
“If you want to die, do not blame me!” Liu Mang’s voice was cold. If there were no catapults, Liu Mang would really be in trouble. The soldiers were tired and it would be difficult to defend Yingshang that had just lost in an attack. Fortunately, although the Urban Army soldiers were exhausted, there was still the Black Flag Army.
Liu Mang believes that there would not be many soldiers at Yuzhou. After all, the main force was at Yangzhou. He even dispatched his prized White Eared Army. Those that were here were only lightly armored infantries seeking death.
TN : 主母 Zhu Mu. Literally, Lord Mother/ Lord female. Although one way of saying it would be ‘Lady’, besides the fact that it is more commonly used as a ‘polite’ word to refer to the general masses, referring to a man’s wife as lady is apparently outdated based on the dictionary Google gave me. Also, the context needed to refer to her as ‘The Master’s wife’ specifically, alongside with Mi Fang not being said ‘Master’.
Also, there is a description of how beautiful Lady Gan was and that it was probably an exaggeration. I shamelessly left it out because it was an absolutely useless tidbit.
1. There is an idiom part after this that got censored. The raw gave me this. 好吃不过饺子，好玩不过（不说了，怕被和谐）It is something about dumpling culture, and then followed by something vulgar.
2. Not sure how they count provisions. Servings maybe?