“Your Majesty, King of Shu! What is the meaning of this? Did you think all the Lords in the world is like you who faces a surrendering person aggressively?” Jia Xu challenged. He would not be afraid if Liu Mang wanted him dead. As it was night time, it would be easy for him to escape in the darkness.
“All soldiers, prepare for battle!” Zhang Hu and Ge Jun was also influenced by Jia Xu’s high praise of Sun Ce and Cao Cao. They felt as though a good future could be found even if they do not surrender to Liu Mang. It was better to search for someone else rather than serve Liu Mang. So the two of them supported Jia Xu in this battle.
“You can leave if you want. I will not stop you since we are like kindred spirits. I will definitely burn incense for you at your grave several months from now.”
“Hmph!” Death? There is no one better than Jia Xu at self-preservation. He is able to abandon everything including his own reputation to protect himself. “If Your Majesty does not intend to stop me, I could live up until a very old age. There is no need for Your Majesty to burn me incense.”
“It does not matter if Mister Wenhe refuses to listen to my sincere advice. I only don’t want these two generals here to die as well!” Liu Mang knew that he could not persuade Jia Xu so easily. He also did not have the certainty that he could Jia Xu off. So, he attacked from a different angle.
“Hm?” Zhang Hu and Ge Jun was stunned as they did not expect to be mentioned by Liu Mang. The two of them never had their own opinions and simply followed Jia Xu. They would have already scattered away if it was not because of Jia Xu. There was even a chance for them to turn to bandits.
“Deluding people with lies! Let’s go! Your Majesty, there is no need to see me out!” Jia Xu showed disdain and was about to turn his horse around. His army also started to move.
“Milord!” Liu Ye started to become anxious. He was afraid that Liu Mang would be soft hearted and let Jia Xu go. Although he had been humiliated, he was not someone who would use his authority to take revenge for his own private matters. He knew how frightening the man Jia Xu was. The man’s ability to face this situation calmly and also his evaluation of Cao Cao and Sun Ce had made him feel alarmed. He knew that Jia Xu was someone who had to die if he could not be used.
“Ziyang, there is no need to worry.” Liu Mang stopped Liu Ye. Although he looked indifferent, he was actually more anxious than Liu Ye. He did not know where the Black Flag Army and the Formation Breaker were. “Killing a parent or a child would create mortal enemies. I wonder if they are truly irreconcilable!”
Liu Mang’s words caused Jia Xu to suddenly stop. Jia Xu turned around and asked, “What do you mean by that?”
Liu Mang knew that he had made the right move the moment he saw Jia Xu stop so he felt relieved. “Mister Wenhe. Are you truly uncertain about what I am talking about?” As Liu Mang asked this question, he rode his horse forward with Liu Ye trying to stop him. “Milord. It is dangerous in front.”
“No need to worry!” Liu Mang waved his hand. “With you and General Wenyuan around, Mister Wenhe would not be able to do anything to me!” Liu Mang approached Jia Xu. At that distance, Jia Xu would be able to kill Liu Mang if he wanted to. But if he did that, he would definitely offend the Lu Bu’s Army.
“Mister Wenhe. You spoke about Sun Ce but you did not say whether you could cross the Yangtze River!” War had started between Liu Biao and Sun Ce. Crossing the river would be possible for a small group but they would need a dozen ships to transport all of the cavalry over. The men from Jingzhou would not be so blind that they would allow Jia Xu to cross the river and seek shelter from Sun Ce. “Even if you could cross, do you think he would accept those that killed his father?” Liu Mang asked with a smile.
“Father’s killer? Your Majesty. Are you joking? When did I kill Sun Ce’s father? The one that killed Sun Jian was Huang Zu.” Jia Xu looked at Liu Mang, not knowing what he was thinking.
“I am not joking. I am sure you understand what I mean deep down in your heart. After the death of Emperor Ling, Dong Zhuo placed Liu Xie as Emperor instead of Liu Bian and became Prime Minister. Around that time, you were promoted and controlled the Niu Fu and Zhong Fu’s Army. Am I right?”
“So what?”
“If I remembered correctly, at that time, the vanguard of the Coalition was Sun Jian.”
“What about it?”
“It is true that Huang Zu was the one that killed Sun Jian. There was no trace of Mister Wenhe there.” Liu Mang smiled at Jia Xu. Sun Jian was indeed killed by Huang Zu. However, the reason for that was the Imperial Seal. Sun Jian found it and then hid it. Yuan Shu and the others found out and ambushed Sun Jian. This was what caused Sun Jian’s death.
The question is, how did Sun Jian obtain the Imperial Seal? Sun Jian found it in a well after Dong Zhuo burned down Luoyang. Some would say that Sun Jian found it because the Imperial Seal was very shiny. This is not possible. Liu Mang had seen the Imperial Jade before. Although it was a precious and beautiful piece, it was definitely not very shiny. It is definitely not to the extent that one would notice it in a well, especially since an empty well was still about ten meters deep.
In other words, Sun Jian must have been guided there. This person could not be Sun Jian’s friend or acquaintance. Otherwise, they would have met. That left only one possibility. The Imperial Seal was given by the enemy.
Who could it be? Sun Jian fought at the front lines. The first people he would meet are Niu Fu, Li Jue, Guo Si and Jia Xu. It was these four that defeated Sun Jian and killed his general Zu Mao.
If Li Jue and Guo Si were the ones that found the Imperial Seal, they would have kept it instead of giving it to Sun Jian. Niu Fu would give his Lord and father-in-law, Dong Zhuo. The only one left is Jia Xu. The man was tricky and evasive. It was just like the time he sent Guo Si and Li Jue to attack Changan and at the same time, warning Lu Bu of the impending attack. He was one of the four that defeated Sun Jian’s Army, leaving Sun Jian with only one thousand men left. However, Jia Xu realized that Dong Zhuo was not a good Lord while Sun Jian showed signs of being a Lord. In order to apologize to Sun Jian and not mark himself as an evildoer, he had dispatched people to tell Sun Jian about the Imperial Seal. It was a reconciliation effort on his part. He never expected this to end up causing Sun Jian’s death. In other words, Jia Xu was also responsible for Sun Jian’s death.
“That is simply General Sun Jian’s luck!” Jia Xu coldly looked at Liu Mang coldly. He never expected Liu Mang to know about this. Liu Mang realized that he was right based on Jia Xu’s expression. Jia Xu was no longer calm. At first, he denied involvement but not he said it was Sun Jian’s luck. This meant that he is starting to admit that he was responsible.1
“Really? Would the Little Conqueror think that way?” Liu Mang smiled at Jia Xu. If Jiangdong knew that his father was ambushed and the main cause of it was Jia Xu gifting the Imperial Seal to Sun Jian, he would definitely kill Jia Xu. After all, like Lu Bu, Sun Ce was easily irritated. On top of that, his father held a high position in his heart. Similarly, if Diao Chan were to be killed and that the main cause of it was Jia Xu, Lu Bu would definitely have Jia Xu killed. After all, Lu Bu had already killed Dong Zhuo just for Diao Chan.
“Admittedly, Sun Ce cannot be counted on. However, there is still Cao Cao!” Jia Xu replied. “Cao Cao appreciates talented people. He would receive us to take in talents!”
“Haha. At Wancheng, you killed Cao Cao’s son and his favoured general. Do you really think Cao Cao would take you guys in?” Liu Mang replied to Jia Xu but he was looking at Zhang Hu and Ge Jun. These two men were only generals. It would be easier to persuade them compared to Jia Xu.
“We…” Ge Jun and Zhang Hu became afraid after they heard Liu Mang’s words. They were afraid that Cao Cao would come after them. After all, they were also involved in the death of Cao Cao’s son and Dian Wei.
“Don’t worry. Cao Cao is tolerant. It is this trait that allows Cao Cao to come this far!” Jia Xu said to calm down Ge Jun and Zhang Hu.
“Haha!” Liu Mang suddenly laughed as he pointed at Jia Xu. “Mister Wenhe. You are truly talented and eloquent. You are already helpless and you could still say such jokes to your generals!”
“A joke? Your Majesty. It is best not to make such conclusions when you do not know about Cao Cao. You can go and ask your father-in-law about Zhang Miao and the Zhang Family!” Jia Xu coldly said to Liu Mang. Jia Xu was talking about Zhang Miao who betrayed Cao Cao and invited Lu Bu into Yanzhou. When Lu Bu was chased away, Cao Cao did not kill all of the Zhang Family and only killed the two brothers that betrayed him. Another important thing is that the Xiliang Cavalry were not responsible for the death of Cao Cao’s son and Dian Wei because they were simply following orders.2
Jia Xu’s words along with his living example made Ge Jun and Zhang Hu feel more comfortable.
“Haha. You can surrender but what about General Yang Wu’s son?” Liu Mang asked as he pointed at the five year old boy, Zhang Lei.
“Little Lord!” Ge Jun and Zhang Hu immediately remembered about Zhang Lei. The reason they left was to save Zhang Lei. They could surrender to Cao Cao but what about Zhang Lei?
“General Yangwu is already dead. Cao Cao would definitely not hurt a child because of General Yangwu. Do not worry!” Jia Xu continued to speak for Cao Cao despite the fact that he has never met Cao Cao before. At the same time, he complained in his heart that his actions of wanting to surrender to Cao Cao had nothing to do with Zhang Lei and the others. Taking Zhang Lei out of Nanyang is already an act of extreme benevolence from him. He would definitely not give himself up just for Zhang Lei.
“Not bad. Mister Wenhe is good at deceiving yourself. It is possible that Cao Cao would accept you guys. The three of them can surrender to Cao Cao. Cao Cao would not make things difficult for them. However, you will find your end over there. Even if Cao Cao does not kill you, his wife will hate you. His second son, Cao Pi, will also make life difficult for you! Mister Wenhe. Do you dare to set foot in that kind of Xudou?” Liu Mang provoked.
“Why would Lady Bian and Cao Pi want me dead? Your Majesty. Please stop trying to frighten others!”
“I am sure Mister Wenhe understands whether or not I am really trying to frighten others!”
“I don’t!” Jia Xu pretended to be confused. This was the reaction Liu Mang wanted. This was the only way to prevent Jia Xu from joining up with Cao Cao. When Cao Cao defeats Yuan Shao, he would already have half of China in his possession. Very few would be able to stand up against him if Jia Xu also joins him. So, Liu Mang had to prevent Jia Xu from joining up with Cao Cao.
“Since Mister Wenhe does not understand, I will have to point it out for you!” Liu Mang impolitely raised his voice for everyone to hear. He approached Jia Xu because he wanted everyone to hear him. He wanted the people on the walls, the Xiliang Cavalry, and also the spies in Shouchun to hear his words.
“Mister Wenhe. First, I need to ask. What kind of person is General Yangwu?”
“Zhang Xiu? He is a fierce general!”
“A general is one that is less adept at scheming and more adept at military tactics. Am I right?” Liu Mang asked again.
Jia Xu did not reply but his silence showed his approval. Zhang Xiu was good at using his men. The Xiliang Cavalry were also considered as elites.
“Why did Zhang Xiu want to oppose Cao Cao? This is because Cao Cao wanted Zhang Ji’s widow, Lady Zou which earned Zhang Xiu’s hatred. Similarly, my father-in-law fought against Sun Ce because he found out that Sun Ce planned to make use of him. Sun Ce was a bully and so is Cao Cao. Zhang Xiu would naturally revolt. However, he was only a general and was not good at scheming just like my father-in-law. He was someone who only knew how to dispatch troops. How could such a person know how to scheme against Cao Cao to the extent that Cao Cao almost died?”
Jia Xu’s heart sank as Liu Mang continued to speak. Liu Mang used Zhang Xiu as a comparison with Lu Bu. The both of them were truly similar in that they were fierce generals that were unable to scheme. The two of them also had sly advisors by their side, which were Jia Xua and Chen Gong.
Liu Mang was saying that Lu Bu’s successes were thanks to Chen Gong. At the same time, the damage inflicted to Cao Cao was definitely caused by Jia Xu.
Liu Mang’s conjecture was an unfair accusation to Jia Xu. After all, Jia Xu honestly wanted to surrender to Cao Cao. That was where he could put his talents to use. He was able to join up with Cao Cao together with Zhang Xiu. He never expected Zhang Xiu to go and cause that incident. The entire thing truly had nothing to do with Jia Xu. Zhang Xiu had even hidden his actions from Zhang Xiu. This is also why they had a falling out after the incident.
The entire stratagem had been made by Zhang Xiu’s Deputy General, Hu Che Er, who was a man that appeared to be simple minded. However, Jia Xu’s explanations would fall on deaf ears no matter what he did. This is because Hu Che Er was a general while he was the advisor. Who would believe that Jia Xu is not the one that planned that?
“I cannot surrender to Cao Cao and Sun Ce but there is still Liu Bei!” Jia Xu looked at Liu Mang coldly. If this exchange spreads, he would already offended Sun Ce and Cao Cao. There would no longer be any stable foundations left for him to lean on. This was not something he wanted. Jia Xu naturally carried resentment for the person that caused this to happen.
“Liu Bei?” Liu Mang was stunned for a while. He had forgotten about that Liu Bei. The man was just a troublemaker but in the end, he still managed to obtain one third of China. Liu Mang did not know what to say as Jia Xu have not offended Liu Bei. Even if Jia Xu did kill Liu Bei’s son and slept with his wife, Liu Mang was certain that Liu Bei still would have accepted Jia Xu with a smile for his cause.