My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Chapter 691

(25/10/2024 TL note): My PC died again. Quite permanently this time and I lost almost all my files including the document I used to try and get the terms the same. By pure dumb luck I have up till chapter 690 saved in my MP3 player because this was the work I did when my PC was… also dead the previous time.

The bad news is that terms will be different. The good news is that I will no longer care about “translating” weird terminology/locations/occupations. Especially occupations that don't seem to have an English variant.

Zuo Jie was shocked and looked towards Lu Su, hoping for an explanation. However, Lu Su remained silent. After a while, Yang Chen could no longer bear the silence and explained.

“Master Zuo Jie. Our Master's brilliant strategem brought three thousand men to attack the enemy unprepared under the cover of the moonlight. It can be said that Lu Meng suffered a huge loss. It can also be said that this is the first victory we've had since the siege.” Yang Chen explained.

“Yes.” Zuo Jie nodded. “Master Yang Kui's contributions is not unnoticed.”

“Young Master Zuo Jie. You must know that Lu Meng is not a simple man. He is one of Sun Ce's greatest general. I heard that the Grand Commander Zhou Yu asked this person to assist Sun Ce as the next Grand Commander before losing conciousness!” Yang Chen added.

Zuo Jie also knew Lu Meng. Lu Meng used to be Sun Ce's bodyguard and was always seen escorting Sun Ce every time Sun Ce went out. This showed how much trust Sun Ce had in Lu Meng. Lu Meng was later made to command the troops as a chief commander.

“But this Lu Meng is no match for my Master. You can ask the others who went with us today. Was Lu Meng caught unprepared by my Master?” Yang Chen continued to speak. The others nearby who followed Lu Su also nodded and kept praising Yang Kui's ingenuity. After all, Yang Kui was the one who led them to victory and soldiers normally liked generals who win battles. This made Zuo Jie trust Lu Su even more.

“It was just a bit more and we could have taken Lu Meng's head. What a pity!” Yang Chen said with full of regret.

“Enough, Yang Chen. Hold your tongue!” Lu Su scolded.

“Master Zuo Jie. I need to say more to make it fair! If the Young Master had provided with thirty thousand men instead of three thousand… No. if it was even only ten thousand, we could have taken Lu Meng's head today! We would not have been repelled like now!” Yang Chen spoke as though he was very unwilling.

“Yang Chen! Step back! The Young Master has his own plans. It is not your place to speak!” Lu Su angrily scolded Yang Chen and then cupped his fists at Zuo Jie. “My apologies, Young Master Zuo. I did not educate my subordinate properly and caused the Young Master to see a joke.”

Zuo Jie waved his hand. “Sigh. No matter. More importantly, were you really about to take Lu Meng's head today?” Zuo Jie was not being generous but he was shocked by the news.

Lu Meng was Sun Ce's trusted subordinate and the deputy general of the invading army. If Lu Meng can be killed, it would deliver a huge blow to the morale of Jiangdong's army. It might even win them this whole battle.

“I did see this Lu Meng.” Lu Su said to Zuo Jie.

“Really?” Zuo Jie's eyes glinted.

Yang Kui did not speak. Instead, one of Zuo Jie's family general's spoke up for Yang Kui. “Of course it is true. Young Master, at that time we were only a few steps away from Lu Meng's tent. I even looked into Lu Meng's eyes.” This person was obviously exaggerating. While they did see Lu Meng's banner, they did not see Lu Meng himself. If any of them actually did, they would no longer be alive. However, as generals, they all chose to lie in order to make themselves look good in front of Zuo Jie. “If we had more brothers today, I, Old Xu, would be the first to cut off Lu Meng's head and use it as a wine pot for you!”

“Old Xu! Do you really think you can do it?”

“Why not? I, Old Xu, am not a coward. If you give me another thousand soldiers, I will definitely take Lu Meng's head!”

“Haha! That is why I said you cannot do it!” Taking one thousand soldiers to kill one person. If you still can't do it then you better don't come out of your house to see people.

“He met Lu Meng!” Zuo Jie mumbled to himself and even stopped drinking. He have a special fondness for Lu Meng. If he could take Lu Meng's head, he would have a lot of face to show Sun Quan.

Zuo Jie then turned towards Lu Su and asked. “Master Yang Kui. How many troops must I provide you for you to be able to take Lu Meng's head?” Zuo Jie was already tempted by the chance that he would be able to take Lu Meng's head. He wanted the merits.

“Ten thousand? Twenty thousand? Thirty thousand?” Zuo Jie asked excitedly.

Lu Su put his drink down and shook his head. “Young Master. This is a matter of great importance. It is better to inform Prefect Zuo.” Yang Kui said to Zuo Jie. ȓ𝘼Ɲ∅฿Ёꞩ

“Why tell him?” Zuo Jie immediately pushed his father aside. Originally, he thought of his father and himself to be one. But after hearing what Lu Su said about his second brother, Zuo Jie's thoughts have changed. His father's things belong to his father and his things belong to himself. After all, his father's things would be divided between him and his brother. This made Zuo Jie uncomfortable. He was the one fighting hard here while his brother was being comfortable at home. On top of that, he was now told that his father was beginning to favor his brother? If Zuo Li did not pass his position to Zuo Jie, then Zuo Jie would be suffering a loss!

“Young Master Zuo Jie. This would require more than fifteen thousand men. Can you really make the decision without telling Prefect Zuo?” Lu Su asked awkwardly. “Prefect Zuo is the one with military authority. He would be troubled if you used it without his permission. It is better to tell Prefect Zuo!”

“What did you say?” Zuo Jie suddenly asked Lu Su.

“I said it is better to tell Prefect Zuo about this!” Yang Kui said to Zuo Jie.

“Not this but that other word!” Zuo Jie shook his head and conitnued to ask.

“This would require many troops. Can you really make such a decision?” Lu Su continued to speak.

“Not this either! How many people do you want?” Zuo Jie shook his head and immediately reminded Lu Su.

“More than fifteen thousand men? No, no. Ten thousand men should be enough!” Lu Su looked at Zuo Jie with confusion and then said a number.

“Fifteen thousand men! How can ten thousand men be enough? I know that Lu Meng! He is Sun Ce's trusted subordinate and is an expert in the art of war! If Zhou Yu is gone, Lu Meng would be the next Grand Commander! This man has exceptional talent! Ten thousand men is definitely not enough! Master Yang Kui. Ido you have the confidence that you would be able to take Lu Meng's head if I were to give you fifteen thousand men?”

“I do, but I also don't”

“What do you mean?” Zuo Jie frowned. He wanted a definite answer but Lu Su gave him this yes but no reply.

“What I meant is, how many of them are elites?” Lu Su smiled and asked. If these fifteen thousand men were nothing more than peasants with weapons, then Lu Su would definitely not be able to win even if he was the God of War. On the other hand, if they were all elites then Lu Su would have the confidence to fight directly with Lu Meng.

“The last time you went out with three thousand men, you took five hundred elites with you. This time you are going out with fifteen thousand men. Naturally, you should have one thousand five hundred… No. At least two thousand elites with you!”

“Two thousand elites?” Lu Su's eyes grew wide. These must be the limit the Zuo Family could take out. There were only three thousand elites on the walls. If Zuo Jie dispatched two thousand elites, it would mean that there were only one thousand elites defending the city.

“If there are indeed two thousand elites, then I cannot guarantee anything else but that Lu Meng's army would be defeated.” Yang Kui said to Zuo Jie. “If Lu Meng does not retreat, I will come and see you with my own head.”

“What do you mean by that?” Zuo Jie wanted to clearly understand.

Yang Kui took a sip and replied. “Young Master Zuo. Lu Meng is not a three year old child. He is also not a mediocre general. I can guarantee his defeat but taking his head would be more difficult.”

“Why do you say that?” Zuo Jie could not understand. Why can't you take Lu Meng's head if you can defeat him?

“What Master is saying is that after breaking into Lu Meng's camp, that Lu Meng would naturally run away. At that time, we would be busy fighting the remnants and won't have time to chase after Lu Meng!” Yang Chen explained for Zuo Jie.

“So it is like that!” Zuo Jie suddenly laughed after hearing the explanation. If Yang Kui was so certain that Lu Meng may escape, it means that he was certain that he could win.

“In that case, do not worry. I will definitely provide you with fifteen thousand men! Master Yang Kui should make the preparations early, capture Lu Meng and end this siege. I, Zuo Jie, swears that if Master Yang Kui is able to end this siege, as long as I can eat, I would definitely not allow Master Yang Kui to go hungry. I will definitely not treat you badly.

“Thank you for your trust, Young Master Zuo.” Lu Su said to Zuo Jie. He then sat down and continued drinking.

“If you need anything else, please tell me!” Zuo Jie said to Yang Kui.

“I don't need anything yet! I will definitely ask if I need something.” Lu Su replied.

“What do you mean?”

“Young Master Zuo. We just only launched a surprise attack on them. Don't you think Lu Meng would be more guarded now?” Lu Su smiled and asked.

Zuo Jie nodded. Lu Meng would definitely be more guarded the next day after getting attacked at night. Using the same trick would not work twice.

“Then…?”

“We rest for two days. Let the others drink and be merry for two days. After two days, Lu Meng will be defeated!” Lu Su said with confidence.

“In that case, I will be relying on you!”

“Young Master Zuo. Are we really not telling Prefect Zuo Li?” Yang Kui continued to ask.

“No need. Let the younger generation deal with this. Father is old and should be time for him to rest.” Zuo Jie has begun to seize power for himself after being provoked again and again by Lu Su.

“Haha.” Lu Su laughed silently. Fifteen thousand men was the limit Zuo Jie could take out without alerting his father. Lu Su did not want to alert Zuo Li as Zuo Li was not only conservative. He was also wary of Lu Su. This was the reason Lu Su himself did not have any military authority whatsoever. Zuo Li even made Zuo Jie watch over Lu Su. If it was not because Zuo Jie was an idiot who is mad for merits, Lu Su would not have been able to gain Zuo Jie's trust so easily.

The reason Lu Su brought up Zuo Li again was to make Zuo Jie even more rebellious against his father. The more his father refuse to let him do something, the more Zuo Jie wants to do it. It was also a fact that Lu Su's surprise attack against Lu Meng was effective and allowed Zuo Jie to stand out brilliantly. However, if Zuo Li were to find out, he would become even more wary at Lu Su. Lu Su did not want this to happen.

With Zuo Jie now rebelling against his father, Lu Su can rest easy. At the very least, nothing would go wrong for the next two days.

Sure enough, Zuo Li began to issue a gag order. If anyone informs his father of this matter, Zuo Jie would make that person wish for death even if Zuo Jie himself would be punished for it.

Zuo Jie may not have prestige but he was vicious. He is a person who can't do anything right but is capable of making trouble. He is someone who unable to help but very capable in ruining others.

Killing an officer may be difficult but not impossible. Even more so for someone like Zuo Jie. At most, he would simply be punished by his father. His father would definitely not kill him.

Because of this, everyone was afraid of Zuo jie.

Prefect Zuo Li also went to the walls for the next two days. The heads obtained from Lu Meng's camp decorated the walls but he believed it to be the heads obtained while defending the city. The soldiers were rewarded and Zuo Li gave Zuo Jie a nod of approval.

As though there was an understanding, Lu Meng's army also said nothing regarding the attack at night when they attacked the city. Zuo Jie breathed a sigh of relief.