The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Lu Bu is good at being filial

Chapter 18

＜ I Am Not the Son of Gong (4) ＞

Morning.

“Ah, this is good.”

Jeongwon felt invigorated by the cool rice water he drank from the morning.

Not only the high-quality rice that couldn’t be eaten in Byungju, but also the hospitality of Wonka, who served grilled meat from the morning, made him feel a bit regretful.

“I want to come again tomorrow….”

He seemed to have heard that even if you serve as a servant, you should do it in a noble’s house, and perhaps it was because he could enjoy such luxury that he said so.

“Hoho, do you like it?”

“Try this too.”

“Haha, this is something.”

Actually, the best part might be that the two women who spent the night with me fed me.

“Are you alright? Yesterday, after a long time, I let loose, and without realizing it, I became quite rough.”

Jungwon felt ‘alive,’ especially thanks to the help of these two people.

“I heard that the men of Byeongju are wild, and now I know exactly what that wildness is.”

“Ha ha ha!!”

Jungwon couldn’t stop laughing at the woman’s flirtation.

Yes.

Isn’t this why I came to Luoyang, to enjoy things like this?

Byeongju is no fun.

Even if you try to indulge in pleasure, the eyes of the Byeongju army are everywhere, and naturally, the story reaches your wife’s ears.

“Sigh….”

Thinking of the family in Byeongju made him feel uneasy.

If there’s anything good about Byeongju, it’s the taste of the water or the cleanliness of the water for washing, compared to the capital-

“Ahem.”

Come to think of it, that’s also something from the past few years.

That Lu Bu guy, as if he had some disease related to water, dug wells and made waterways….

“Now that I think about it, I heard that the men of Byeongju have hair as smooth as silk.”

“That’s right. Even you, sir….”

“Enough.”

With a ‘thud,’ Jungwon stood up from his seat.

“Let’s get up now.”

“Oh, yes….”

Jungwon saw a fleeting look of disappointment and irritation on the women’s faces but didn’t care.

After all, these women were courtesans sent by Wonka to extract information about Byeongju from him.

They were spies sent to whisper love at night and disarm the man, extracting information in the meantime.

“When will you come again, sir?”

“If Wonka calls me, I can come running anytime. Haha. Will you sing by my side then too?”

In other words.

“Of course, Master Jipgeumoh.”

“We hope you will display the wildness of Byeongju here…hohoho!”

If you slowly reveal the information without disclosing everything, you can continue to meet and enjoy this pleasure.

“Hahaha. Yes, for that time-“

Bang!!

The door burst open roughly, and a group of people entered the room.

“Who are you! How dare you enter this place….”

“Lord Jeong.”

Jeongwon, who had roughly opened the door and entered, was a nobleman-

“Wo, Lord Wonso.”

The actual manager of this manor, Wonso, appeared, and Jeongwon’s heart sank.

“Lo, Lord.”

The women clasped their hands and bowed deeply.

As soon as Wonso appeared, the women who had been flirting instantly assumed a proper posture, and Jeongwon felt a fire rise within him.

“What do you mean the Byeongju army has withdrawn?”

However, Jeongwon’s anger quickly subsided at Wonso’s next words.

“……What are you talking about?”

It was so absurd.

“Withdraw? Why would I? …No, did I?”

Could it be that what he had just heard was wrong?

Maybe Wonso was trying to test him.

“The military seal of the Byeongju army is with me, so how could the Byeongju army have withdrawn? Unless His Majesty has given the order-“

“A report has come in that about 5,000 troops of the Byeongju army stationed in Maengjin are moving towards the Yellow River.”

Wonso clenched and unclenched one hand, putting his trembling fist into his sleeve as he continued.

“If you did not give the withdrawal order to the Byeongju army, who could have moved the Byeongju army privately?”

“That’s what I want to ask. Who could have privately-“

Wait.

Privately?

“…….”

“It seems you have an idea. Did you give an order to the Byeongju army without our knowledge?”

“Th, that is….”

No way.

It can’t be.

It must not be.

If it’s the worst-case scenario-

“Surely, General Ye moved the soldiers without reporting to the General? A force of five thousand soldiers?”

“!!”

Jeongwon felt a chill down his spine at Wonso’s words.

Not only because of what Wonso said, but because it was Wonso who said it.

“W-what are you talking about!”

Jeongwon shouted.

“I told you! Lu Bu is a general I recommended and raised! I raised him like a father, so how could Lu Bu move the army without a word to me!!”

Forgetting that this was the Won family’s manor and a guest room for visitors, he shouted at Wonso.

“How could you slander without evidence-“

“Is this slander?”

At Wonso’s stern voice, something that had been boiling inside Jeongwon subsided.

“I thought I was asking politely, but it seems you think I am slandering you.”

“N-no, that’s not it….”

“While Magistrate Jeongwon says he treats Lu Bu like a son, the General moves soldiers privately without any notice to his father!”

Wonso turned his head, covering his mouth with his sleeve.

“I don’t know whether to handle this as a family discord and filial impiety, or by military law.”

If it’s a matter between father and son, the father can discipline the son.

“Surely, the one who has risen to the rank of Commander of the Guards can control his subordinates, right? I, Won Boncho, believe that the Commander of the Guards is not such a person.”

But if it’s handled by military law, it is ‘overstepping authority.’

“Show the strictness of military law.”

“……I will go immediately.”

Jeongwon stepped outside with a flushed face.

“……Tsk.”

Wonso clicked his tongue and shook his head, uncharacteristically.

“It’s over.”

“E-elder….”

After Jeongwon left, the courtesans, hastily dressed, approached Wonso and bowed.

“I, we….”

“Enough. This is something even I didn’t expect.”

Wonso covered his face with one hand.

“Is that what a honeyed man looks like when he gets old…. Sigh.”

“…….”

At Wonso’s lament, the servants’ faces turned pale in an instant, but no one opened their mouths until Wonso spoke again.

“Clean up the bedchamber. And you.”

Wonso pointed to the bedding for the women.

“Take a bath immediately, then load all the bedding and furniture onto the cart.”

“Y-yes? C-could it be….”

“I don’t believe in superstitions.”

Wonso looked at the bedding as if he had seen something filthy.

“But this time, I feel like believing.”

* * *

“The weather is nice. It’s a perfect day for sun-drying.”

The morning sunlight is clear today.

“Jangryo. Should we take out all the bedding and dry it for a day?”

“Are you suggesting that 700 people take out bedding for 7,000 people and let it see the sunlight, General?”

Jangryo was startled by my words.

“At least we should dry the ones we use. I can’t stand leaving them in the tent all the time.”

“Phew. I thought you meant to do it for all the other soldiers too.”

Jangryo sighed in relief and turned his eyes to the camp.

The camp was empty.

Initially, there were 7,000 people here, but the governor took all 1,000 cavalry into Luoyang.

Of the remaining 6,000 infantry, 5,300 followed Huseong to Maengjin Port.

So now there are only 700 soldiers left.

“Jangryo. We have to clean this up anyway. It’s better to dry and air it out in advance.”

“…….”

The task of these 700 soldiers is to clean up and reduce the camp where 7,000 people stayed.

Their traces, equipment, even the tents.

“Who else would clean up if not us? Huh? It’s better to tidy up in advance.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to have the soldiers stay here when new ones arrive?”

“Even if that happens, wouldn’t it be better to have neatly arranged bedding and barracks? How would you feel receiving something others have used? Huh? This is a matter of soldier morale.”

I patted Zhang Liao on the shoulder and pointed ahead.

“Look at him. He’s already dismantling the barracks with the kids.”

The cavalry commander is quietly organizing the barracks with his 700 subordinates.

The speed is so fast that if they were asked to set up the barracks again, it wouldn’t take half a day to restore them to their original state.

“That’s the cavalry commander… No, he’s not the cavalry commander anymore, is he?”

“That’s true.”

The cavalry commander is the one who leads the cavalry.

But now, he is leading 700 infantrymen, so I feel a bit sorry for him.

“Cavalry…”

“Do you regret sending them off so lightly?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Currently, there are about twenty horses left in our camp.

Half of them are for messengers or scouts to spread the news.

The other half are for me, Zhang Liao, the cavalry commander, and the seven centurions chosen from the 700.

There is no actual cavalry unit to speak of.

“I feel a bit sorry for you.”

“Why are you saying that all of a sudden?”

“Well, isn’t this plain somewhat suitable for military training?”

Although there are plains in Bingzhou, they are not like this.

“To truly be called a cavalry commander, one must train cavalry on such a vast plain.”

“…You’re not planning to make me the cavalry commander, are you?”

Zhang Liao lowered his voice and pointed with his eyes at the former cavalry commander, now an infantry commander.

“Is that okay? There is a hierarchy, you know.”

“Seems like you have some ambition?”

“Well, yes.”

Zhang Liao scratched his beard but did not back down.

Although the beard he grew to look older has now settled quite thickly, he still seemed a bit lacking in dignity as a general compared to the infantry commander.

…although some of them look overly dignified.

“It’s not like the three of us, Nana, Song Hu-wei, and I, are just a year or two apart in age. You and the infantry captain…”

“There’s a seven-year difference.”

“A seven-year difference is not something you can easily bridge by calling each other brothers.”

In society, they say age differences don’t matter much, but there is a significant difference between Zhang Liao in his early twenties and the infantry captain in his late twenties.

“What can you do? From your perspective, that guy is your elder, senior, and superior. To surpass that and become a proper thousand-man commander, a true general, you need to achieve that level of military merit-“

“Lu Bu─────!!”

“That must have startled you.”

At the sound louder than the hoofbeats, I waved my hand towards the soldiers.

“Continue with your tasks, Zhang Liao, follow me.”

“Yes, sir.”

I took my halberd and stepped forward.

I didn’t mount my horse, but fully armed, I walked forward to greet the ‘guest’ who had come to the military camp.

“Governor.”

“What have you done!!”

Jing Yuan dismounted, fuming.

He was in plain clothes, not armor or official robes, and his appearance was too disheveled to blame on riding.

“Where have all the soldiers gone!”

“They crossed the Yellow River and went to Bingzhou.”

“W-what!”

Jing Yuan turned pale.

The soldiers who had followed him, the thousand soldiers who had previously entered Luoyang with Jing Yuan, also stiffened.

“Who told them to go to Bingzhou!”

“I did.”

“Why!”

“Because Bingzhou is currently under invasion.”

I calmly stated the justification.

“The urgent report came in, and there was no time to inform you. I sent someone, but it seems we missed each other.”

The truth of the Bingzhou invasion?

“There was so much chaos. I apologize.”

How can it be confirmed?

In an era where the fastest news urges the horse to run and is delivered by people.

“I wanted to rush to Bingzhou myself immediately, but I sent Huseong first.”

“This person─!”

Huh?

Sla───p!

“…….!!”

Zhang Liao tries to step forward from behind.

Jing Yuan swung his hand widely-

“Argh…!”

He almost fell to his knees in pain, clutching his hand.

A rough red mark was deeply imprinted on his wrist.

“I’m sorry. I did it unconsciously.”

I swung my hand towards the hand that was swung at me, and I ended up clapping Jing Yuan’s wrist.

I didn’t reverse slap him when he tried to slap my cheek.

I didn’t grab the old man’s wrist and twist it too hard, ending up just slapping his wrist.

I respect the elderly, as my roots are in the land of courtesy in the East.

“Surely, you weren’t trying to slap this Yeobongseon’s cheek, were you?”

I lightly clapped my hands.

“If you wanted to put your hands together, you should have given a warning.”

“This, this…!”

Blood vessels stood out in Jing Yuan’s eyes as he clutched his reddened wrist.

His hand trembled below, seemingly losing strength.

“Sir.”

I stepped forward towards Jing Yuan.

“I misspoke. I didn’t clearly state who was invading Bingzhou.”

“This, this…!”

“Bingzhou is currently being invaded by bandits.”

Even if it’s just one bandit rampaging, it’s an invasion.

“We were ordered to clear the bandits in Bingzhou and then to clear the bandits near the capital. Fortunately, the rebellion in the capital has been settled, and no more soldiers will be needed-“

“You, who knows one but not the other──!!”

Jeongwon shouted.

“Why don’t you know that 7,000 troops should be here!”

“…….”

I know.

“The Xiliang army is still in the west! There are still soldiers of the Seowon Eight Guards in the court!”

I know it well.

“The remnants of Hajin’s disbanded troops are watching and gathering…! This force now…!”

That’s why I sent them.

“Governor. Why are you doing this?”

“You, you, this can’t be…!”

As I took a step forward, Jeongwon stepped back two steps.

“As if you are worried that another bloodshed will occur.”

“……!”

“Are you worried that another great upheaval will occur in the court? Are you saying that someone is plotting another rebellion? Are you saying that thousands of troops are stationed near the court, aiming their spears and swords at Luoyang?”

“……!!”

Jeongwon is not someone who lacks awareness.

“Perhaps.”

And I, too, am not someone who lacks awareness in this matter.

“You are not plotting a rebellion, are you?”

“You, you insolent…!!”

Jeongwon pointed at me, veins bulging in his neck.

“If not, that’s a relief.”

It’s clearly a statement that crosses the line, but the fool who knows one but not the other is just asking out of pure curiosity.

“Of course, I trust Governor Jeongwon. However, everyone who comes here tells me to be cautious, so I can’t help but think deeply.”

“Where did you learn to act like a gullible fool!”

Ah.

As expected.

“You…!”

“I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong to deserve being called a fool and slapped.”

He thrusts the spear into the ground.

“The soldiers have been lying on a mat on the ground for days, but it seems the magistrate has been drinking and sleeping in the arms of a woman.”

“……!!”

“I said, the city of Bingzhou is under attack right now.”

He takes a step closer to the garden.

“What orders should the magistrate of Bingzhou give?”

“You, you…!”

“Who do we soldiers serve?”

“You…!”

“Of course, it is the heavens, isn’t it?”

Someone interrupted.

“This, this. This is quite…”

A man in official robes appeared on horseback.

Behind him, a man dressed in leopard skin was snorting like a guard.

“Ho Geoa. Do not draw your weapon. We are here as guests.”

“Ho!”

The man called Ho Geoa responded like a command and placed the spear tied to his back on the ground.

“Haha. Let’s not be so sharp with each other. Aren’t we all subjects of this country, Han?”

To say otherwise would be treason.

“General Ye, I apologize for the late introduction. I work under General Dong Zhuo.”

The man bowed his head.

“My name is Li Ru.”

As he lightly bowed his head, I saw a part of his neck slightly lift.

“I wish to speak with the general separately….”

“You, you…! Who do you think you are to dare…!”

“Well.”

The man named Li Ru took something out of his sleeve.

“I am the bearer of an edict from the Empress Dowager.”

“The, the Empress Dowager…?”

“Lord Jingyuan.”

Iyu smiled as he gently rubbed the string that tied the decree.

“Would you please step aside?”

“The Empress Dowager-“

“The Empress Dowager has instructed me to deliver a message to General Yeo.”

Iyu, who had been smiling, immediately changed his expression and pointed in the direction of the capital.

“If you’re curious, you can ask the Empress Dowager directly. Now then, General Yeo.”

Iyu held the decree and pointed inside the military camp.

“I am here to deliver the Empress Dowager’s command. Shall we proceed to the tent?”

“This way.”

I reached out to Iyu and pointed to my tent.

“I will follow the command of the royal elder.”

Through the sparse white hair, the blood could be seen, making Jeongwon’s scalp red.

＜ I Am Not the Son of Gong (4) ＞ End