Chapter Fifty-Four: The Bait

  Under the mountain of Ba Gong, in the middle of the city management army's large camp, a golden armored general rode on his war horse, muttering to himself. If one drew closer, they could hear: "Old man Chen, dead old man, you'd better remember this for me, that damned bait again!"

  Jin Jia War General is our classmate Liu Mang, he is scolding Chen Gong, the matter started from last night when Lü Bu and others discussed.

  With Zang Ba's second passageway, Lü Bu felt much more at ease, so he called all the camp officers in. Although Liu Mao was only a small city guard general, he was still in charge of one camp, so he was allowed to enter the grand tent.

  "Let me lead the vanguard in a strong attack tomorrow, milord!" Gao Shun said as soon as he entered, knowing that Lü Bu had been badly shaken by Chen Lan's thunderous rebuke earlier that day.

  "Let me bring the Qingzhou Wolf Cavalry instead!" Zhang Liao also knew that this battle was not going to be easy, the ambush camp had already been severely damaged and there were only about 200 of the original veterans left. If they suffered any more casualties, Gao Shun would be heartbroken.

  So Zhang Liao, as an old partner, stepped forward.

  "What? You think you can take down Mount Bagong?! Lu Bu rarely sneered and said "Unfortunately, it's not up to the two of you!"

  "Huh?!" Gao Shun and Zhang Liao both looked puzzled.

  Chen Gong spoke up, "This time we have General Zang Ba leading us!"

  "Zang Ba?! Zhang Liao and Gao Shun both furrowed their brows. They didn't look down on Zang Ba's abilities, but since the Battle of Kaiyang, he had no troops under his command. How could he lead an attack on Baima Mountain?!"

  "Zang Xuan Gao?!" Liu Meng looked at this man, outside of Kaiyang, this man had clashed with Lü Bu before, his eyes were red as he wanted to fight Lü Boss to the death, didn't he have any troops?!

  "Lü Bu said, 'Make it known to the eight hundred men on Mount Dingjun that there is another road up the mountain. The vanguard and the wolfish cavalry must all obey General Lü's commands and follow him, including myself!'"

  "Commander Lv is in charge?!" Liu Mang was indeed a bit surprised, he had thought that Zang Ba would lead the way and Lü Bu would command the troops, but now it seemed that Zang Ba was fully in charge.

  "Master!" This completely gave Zang Ba the power, and Zang Ba was a little surprised.

  "Don't worry, just treat me as a regular soldier! After all, I'm not as good as you in mountain warfare!" Lü Bu was most skilled at cavalry charges. If it were a cavalry unit, even ten Zhang Fei wouldn't be a match for him. However, in mountainous terrain battles, that wasn't his strong suit.

  "Yes!" Zang Ba had no choice but to obey.

  "My lord! If it were just General Zhang Bao alone, that would be unacceptable!" Chen Gong spoke up.

  "Huh?!" Lü Bu asked in confusion.

  "The troops are defeated and the bandits can quietly retreat, but what about you, my lord? If you don't go down the mountain, Chen Lan will not be able to eat or sleep well!" Chen Gong continued.

  "Me?!" Lü Bu pointed to himself and immediately understood. The armor given by his great-grandfather was too dazzling, with a golden light all over it. Chen Lan and Lei were already extremely wary of him. If he suddenly disappeared, the two would definitely be extremely nervous. If something went wrong, they might even discover the second path behind the main peak. At that time, it would be impossible to launch a surprise attack.

  But to make Lü Bu stay, Lü Bu was not willing either. He is the god of war, and his existence can bring out the greatest strength of Lü Bu's army. Moreover, Chen Lan has already been on Lü Bu's list of people to be killed, and he cannot bear to kill two people at once, which would make Lü Bu very unhappy.

  It was clear that Lü Bu was in a difficult situation, and Chen Gong suddenly smiled and looked at Liu Mang.

  Liu Mang's heart skipped a beat, no good! Old Man Chen had set his sights on himself.

  As expected, Old Man Chen spoke up, "As long as Han Yang is still under the Eight Public Mountains, this Chen Lan's register will be safe and sound!"

  Damn, Liu Meng is going to scold his mother. Old Chen, do you think I'm a tranquilizer or something? Or maybe it's Chen Lanlei's dad. Let's take a walk around Ba Gong Mountain and the two of them will be fine again, without any suspicion.

  "Wait a minute!" Liu Mang thought for a moment, if he stayed behind, wouldn't he be able to avoid taking the other road and getting into another fight, and wouldn't he be able to take it easy?

  "If I stay here, then there's no need for me to attack Ba Gong Mountain, right?" Liu Mang's eyes sparkled as he looked at Chen Gong.

  When Liu Mang asked the question, Chen Gong smiled and knew that this kid was going to agree.

  "You need to attract Chen Lan and Lei Bu's attention under Mount Bagua, no need to attack the mountain!"

  "Alright, I'll go!" Liu Mang didn't say another word and agreed to come down. Attacking the mountain would be suicidal, now they just needed to circle around the foot of the mountain, only a fool would risk their life.

  "So, tomorrow Han Yang will lead the troops to set up a suspicious formation at the foot of the mountain, while Gao Shun leads the ambush and Pingzhou wolf riders take the rear mountain road directly to Bagong Mountain!" Lu Bu gave a series of orders.

  "I will obey your orders!"

  "Understood!"

  Watching Liu Mang leave the big tent, Lü Bu finally spoke up: "Gong Tai, you're doing this not just to make Han Yang stay behind, but also to calm down Chen Lan and Lei Bo's hearts, right?" If it was simply a decoy, they could have just had Lü Bu take off his armor and find someone with a similar build to wear it. As long as that person didn't say a word, it would still be able to calm down Chen Lan and Lei Bo.

  "My lord is wise!" Chen Gong waved his hand. "Han Yang has already been made king, and although he is the lord's son-in-law in the army, many soldiers and generals have complaints about him." The son-in-law has a higher official position than the father-in-law, so is this Lü Bu's army or Liu Mang's army? Chen Gong sent Liu Mang to Xuchun City this time not only to provoke Yuan Yao, but also to show others in Lü Bu's army that he, Liu Mang, is also a member of Lü Bu's army and can risk his life for it.

  "Is there a risk to life?!" If Liu Mang were here, he would definitely strangle Chen Gong to death, but Lü Bu directly ignored these four words. How could there be no danger on the battlefield?!

  "Gongtai, you think you're clever, but aren't you afraid that I, the lord, will have an opinion about this?! Lü Bu's eyes gleamed as he stared at Chen Gong. This time, provoking a battle outside the city can be considered as accumulating prestige for Liu Mang. Originally, Liu Mang's noble title and official position were higher than Lü Bu's. Once his prestige accumulates, where will Lü Bu be placed? If Lü Bu really becomes suspicious, neither Chen Gong nor Liu Mang will be able to escape death."

  Chen Gong did not answer immediately but instead asked back "Will the lord?!"

  Lü Bu didn't say anything, but stared fixedly at Chen Gong.

  Chen Gong also stared at Lü Bu, the two of them, one a scholar and the other a general, looked at each other for half a stick of incense. Only then did Lü Bu smile slightly and shake his head, "Gongtai, ah Gongtai!"

  "My lord!" Chen Gong's face was calm, but his palms were already sweating in his sleeves. Being more powerful than one's master was a taboo for any vassal, and while others might not have noticed, Chen Gong had truly sensed the murderous intent from Lü Bu; once Lü Bu rose up, everything would be over.

  Fortunately, Lü Bu was not that kind of person! To be exact, Lü Bu was not a qualified feudal lord.