My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Chapter 744

“Haha! Come, Governor He! Let us keep drinking!” Gongsun Kang was having a banquet at Liaoxi’s Governor residence.

This was a banquet held by Gongsun Kang to welcome He Ping, the current Governor of Liaoxi. He Ping may be sent over to replace Gongsun Kang by Cao Cao but Gongsun Kang was not angry at all. In fact, he was very happy.

This is because Gongsun Kang was promoted to Marquis Xiangping and was given the position Zhongshu Ling.

This was a very prestigious position. He was one of the Nine Ministers and ranks even higher than the East General position that Sun Quan was fighting for. It was no wonder Gongsun Kang was so pleased.

“Having Governor He here is a great blessing to the Han Dynasty and the people of Liaoxi!” Gongsun Kang said cheerfully to He Ping.

“Oh no. I only got this position because Prime Minister Cao found a more important position for Lord Zhongshu.” He Ping flattered. “It is the people of Liaoxi who suffered a loss for losing such a capable Governor. I am even afraid of going out as I am afraid the people of Liaoxi would beat me up with sticks!”

“Hahaha. I’d like to see who dares to do it!” Gongsun Kang enjoyed the flattery. These scholars all knew how to talk. His eyes were still sparkling at the sight of the Nine Ministers position.

“Young Master!” One retainer wanted remind Gongsun Kang that he had to go to Xudou if he were to obtain such a position. Besides that, he would lose governship of Liaoxi. Once Gongsun Kang relinquish power, He Ping can betray him. Liaoxi would then become Cao Cao’s.

“Young Master?” Gongsun Kang now became annoyed anytime someone calls him this.

He Ping acted considerate and probed. “This is an imperial appointment by the Prime Minister. How about we inform General Wuwei about this? It would help with administration.”

Although General Wuwei was his title, he was the King of Liaodong. He may have submitted to Cao Cao recently but that did not change his military strength. In fact, he had already withdrawn his troops from the borders facing Buyeo and Goguryeo

“Hmph! Why should we consult him on everything? This is just a trivial matter, no need to inform him!” Gongsun Kang replied rebelliously. Everyone called him Young Master as though he was simply his father’s son. He was a Nine Minister! His rank was higher than his father’s!

“Stop calling me Young Master from now on!” Gongsun Kang said to his retainers.

“Er… then what should we call you?” One of them stammered. Gongsun Du was still alive so they can’t exactly call him Milord.

“Call me Your Excellency Zhongshu!” Gongsun Kang shouted back. I am now the Zhongshu Ling of the Great Han Dynasty, the right hand man of Prime Minister Cao and Marquis Xiangping. Calling me Young Master is very improper!”

“This…” The retainers were stunned. Did Gongsun Kang really gave away his authority just for a court title?

Becoming a Zhongshu Ling was not a simple matter. On top of that, Gongsun Du would get angry when he finds out and the retainers would be the one to suffer from his anger.

“Young Master! Please reconsider!” The retainers all knelt begging for Gongsun Kang to change his mind. It was better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix. On top of that, going to Xuchang meant placing his life in Cao Cao’s hands. If Cao Cao decides to kill Gongsun Kang, there would be nothing Gongsun Kang could do.

“Hmph! I don’t need you to teach me what to do!” Gongsun Kang was determined to be Cao Cao’s lackey. His retainer’s pleas all fell on deaf ears. Not only that, the more they plead, the more disgusted Gongsun Kang became of them.

“Your Excellency Zhongshu. Let us not put General Wuwei in an awkward position.” He Ping said, pretending to be the good guy.

“Leave!” Gongsun Kang felt ashamed and angry. He Ping was sent by Cao Cao and they sent a decree directly to Gongsun Kang without telling Gongsun Du. Gongsun Kang enjoyed the feeling as it felt like Cao Cao regarded him as the one in charge of Liaodong. Gongsun Kang already felt frustration and contempt working under his reckless and uneducated father.

He Ping’s question made Gongsun Kang even more uncomfortable. It felt like He Ping was looking down on his ability and all of this is because his retainers would not shut up.

“Young Master! You must not do this! The Zhongshu Ling may be a Nine Minister position but this is no longer the time of Emperor Wu. The Nine Ministers of today are just Cao Cao’s dogs, praised and killed according to his whims. I hope you reconsider!” One retainer who had always given Gongsun Kang good suggestions knelt down and advised.

“Young Master. Is this your retainer?” He Ping’s expression darkened. This person’s words had been full of insults.

“You fool! Get out of my sight!” Gongsun Kang was usually a cultured man not quick to resort to violence. However, his patience had already snapped. He grabbed a wine bottle and threw it at the retainer.

With a resounding smash, the bottle hit the retainer in the head, causing blood to flow down.

“Get out!” Gongsun Kang shouted again. The retainer knew he should leave but he was stubbornly loyal. He knelt down with blood still flowing down his head and advised again.

“Young Master, you must not be obstinate! General Wuwei have already planned things for you! In a few years, Liaodong’s foundation would go to you! Do not throw it away! It is better to be the master of a ruined house than the dog of the powerful!”

“Get lost! Now!” Gongsun Kang shouted furiously but his retainer’s voice was louder and he kept repeating the same thing.

“So this is your stance Young Master?” He Ping said darkly. “In that case, I will take my leave here and report back to the Prime Minister about your ambitions.” He Ping was also unhappy. He was Cao Cao’s retainer. Cursing at Cao Cao was the same as cursing him.

“No! Don’t! Brother He! Please stay!” Gongsun Kang could not allow He Ping to walk away. He had only just secured a connection with Cao Cao. If Cao Cao obtains a bad impression of him, then he can forget about ever becoming one of the Nine Ministers.

However, He Ping did not hear what Gongsun Kang said and kept walking.

“Damn it!” Gongsun Kang was furious. “Men! Drag this fool out and execute him!” Gongsun Kang wanted to prove his loyalty. The retainer who had been good to him now felt extremely unpleasant.

“Young Master!” The guards were all shocked.

“Did you not hear me? Drag him out and kill him!” Gongsun Kang waved.

“Understood!”

“Young Master. If you don’t listen to me today, you will be defeated in the future!” The retainer hoped that his words would persuade Gongsun Kang but his words fell on deaf ears.

“Take him away!”

“Gongsun Kang! You will not die well! Liaodong will fall because of you! I will wait for you in hell! Hahaha!” The retainer laughed as he was taken away.

“This madman! Kill him! Cut him to pieces! I want to feed him to the dogs!” Gongsun Kang furiously yelled back.

He Ping smiled all the while. He was not afraid that Gongsun Kang was angry. He was more afraid that Gongsun Kang would silently listen to advice. He Ping saw the other retainers trembling with fear after this retainer was killed. With this, there were no one left to offer good advice. Their lives were more important and they could simply just change masters. There were very few truly selfless servants in that era.

“It seems that I have wronged you, Your Excellency Zhongshu. You are truly concern about the Han Dynasty and is loyal to the Prime Minister. I will definitely write to the Prime Minister to let him know how loyal you are.” He Ping immediately said.

At that time, there was a scream heard outside. A guard then came back reporting that the retainer had been executed. His head was also brought in to show the others as a warning.

Gongsun Kang and He Ping continued to drink and chat until they were interrupted again. This time, the person interrupting was in charge of military intelligence.

“Young Master!” The retainer called out. In his urgency of the situation, he had already forgotten what just happened.

“Hm?” Gongsun Kang’s eyes were murderous. The retainer then quickly knelt down.

“Young Master! There is a report from the Liaodong Navy!”

“Liaodong Navy? An Yixuan?” Gongsun Kang and An Yixuan can be considered to be good friends as it was Gongsun Kang who put An Yixuan in charge of the navy. It was also the first time Gongsun Du praised his son for the decision. This is because of how outstanding An Yixuan is.

“Haha! It must be General An sending report of his victory!” Gongsun Kang laughed loudly.

“Report of his victory?” He Ping was shocked. There was a war going on?

Gongsun Kang then explained that Yangzhou had come back to take revenge for what happened last time.

“Your Excellency. Why did you not tell the Prime Minister about this? If he knew, he would definitely have sent troops to help you!” He Ping who heard this for the first time was very surprised.

“Haha! Why bother the Prime Minister for trivial matters? The Prime Minister is extremely busy. It would not be too late to report to him after dealing with these Yangzhou scum!” Gongsun Kang laughed loudly.

The reason why Gongsun Kang did not tell Cao Cao about this was because he wanted the merits to put himself in front of Cao Cao. Cao Cao would inevitably fight Yangzhou in the future so these merits would be invaluable.

Gongsun Kang’s motives aside, Gongsun Du also did not want Cao Cao to know about this since Gongsun Du was still testing Yangzhou’s strength. Also, if Cao Cao’s army enters Liaodong they would not leave. Because of this, Gongsun Du also instructed his son not to report to Cao Cao.

“Hm?” He Ping frowned. There was a chance to send troops to Liaodong but that opportunity was wasted. It was such a pity. But according to Gongsun Kang, they defeated Yangzhou. This can be considered their first win against Yangzhou so it was still beneficial to Cao Cao.

“Come! Let me congratulate Your Excellency for this great achievement! Once you report this to the Prime Minister, you may even get promoted again! At that time, please do not forget me!”

“Of course! Of course!”

While the two people continued to flatter each other, the retainer with the war report trembled even more. “Young Master! Our Liaodong Navy was completely destroyed!”

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1. Zhongshu Ling is some kind of secretary/researcher position. Their actual job varies between dynasties.