Chapter Eighty-Seven: When Wine Meets a Kindred Spirit, a Thousand Cups are too Few

  April 5th

  The whole city of Wancheng was filled with joy and laughter, lanterns and streamers were hung everywhere, especially the mansion of the governor of Wancheng was particularly magnificent.

  Apart from the naval officers who have been dispatched and the generals guarding the cities, all other scholars and military officials are present. How can those under your command not attend the master's wedding?

  "Wu County Governor Zhu Zhi presents a pair of jade arms!"

  "Wen Wu Duwei Sun Jing, sent a painting!"

  "Yang Wu, the Colonel, Sun Fu, sent 100 taels of gold!"

  。。。。。。。

  One after another, the lyrics are filled with a festive atmosphere.

  "Our master is about to bloom and scatter leaves, may our old master in heaven smile with joy!"

  "Yes, yes, it's been many years since our old master left. A tiger father has no dog son!" These words were spoken by the former subordinates of Sun Jian under Sun Ce, such as Huang Gai and Han Dang.

  "After Master Sun has an heir, the Sun family's dominance will be even more solidified!"

  "We will surely assist our lord in establishing a foundation for the next hundred years!" These were the bold and ambitious words spoken by Sun Ce's newly recruited or rather, young men with great aspirations, such as Lü Meng and Ling Cao.

  There are also those who remain silent in response to those who don't speak much, because for them joy and anger have been stored up in their chests, such as the two top strategists Zhang Hong and Zhang Zhao.

  Liu Mao and Lü Bu were also among the invited guests, Liu Mao and Lü Bu gave a pair of night pearls, which were produced in the East China Sea, and were bought by Yuan Shu at a high price, but were finally snatched away by Chen Lan, making Lü Boss cheaper.

  The whole banquet had one hundred and eighty tables, the entire prefecture was filled with tables and chairs, the higher the official position, the more they were inside.

  Liu Mang and Lü Bu sat at the main table.

  Lü Bu's arrival made everyone around him turn their heads, but the one who attracted the most attention was Liu Mang. Just a few days ago at the banquet, he had already defeated two famous scholars in debate, and those two strategists Chen Rui and Qin Song not only had great reputations but also had many disciples under them.

  The teacher was humiliated, so the students naturally wanted to stand up and avenge him. However, even the teacher himself had been defeated, how could these students possibly win against Liu Mang? Don't go make fools of yourselves again. After weighing the pros and cons, this group of students came up with an ingenious idea - to engage in a battle of wits.

  What is referred to as a "battle of words" here is actually a contest of knowledge and a contest of strategies.

  Many of Chen Rui's and Qin Song's disciples were whispering to each other, and they didn't touch the delicacies and fine wines on the table.

  "Gentlemen, this time we represent the scholars of Jiangdong. We will go to pay our respects to that Liu scoundrel one after another and make him drunk and humiliated to avenge the insult to our teacher!" A young scholar who took the lead spoke up.

  "Today is a great joy for our master, and all the guests are from my Jiangdong family. Moreover, there are people who have old relationships with Qiao Gong, it can be said that half of the Han Dynasty's aristocratic families are here. As long as we let that Liu Mangzi make a fool of himself, it will definitely become a laughing stock, and let him taste the humiliation of being ridiculed!" A group of disciples seemed to have already seen Liu Mangzi getting drunk and making a fool of himself, it would be even better if he came up with some crazy behavior or took off his clothes and danced, that would be perfect.

  The wine party slowly began, and the tedious formalities finally came to an end. Liu Mang's stomach, which had been hungry for a whole day, could finally feel at ease.

  Just after Sun Ce finished his toast, before he could even move his chopsticks, a group of scholars walked over, each holding a wine cup in their hands, with several servants carrying wine jars following behind.

  "Han Yang, it seems your troubles have arrived!" Lü Bu raised an eyebrow and could tell at a glance that this group of scholars were not well-intentioned. To be exact, the Jiangdong scholars had no good feelings towards Lü Bu's army.

  "What's the big deal, come on then! If you want to get scolded, I'll fulfill your wish!" Liu Mang didn't care at all. These Confucian scholars, if it were about strategy or classical knowledge, maybe Liu Mang wouldn't be a match for them. But if they came over to debate, that would be completely asking for a beating. Liu Mang could directly blast them with verbal attacks without using any dirty words.

  "This must be the King of Shu!" A leading scholar raised his cup, "The King of Shu is ingenious in strategy and brave in battle, and even more so when scolding Cao's villainy. He is a model for us all. Now I propose that we scholars from Jiangdong offer a toast to the King of Shu!" With a smile, he raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.

  "Huh?!" Liu Mang was a bit puzzled, could it be that good just to come and toast? When others toasted, Liu Mang also didn't decline hastily and took a mouthful.

  "The King of Shu is here, now my master's grand wedding the King of Shu can grant us his presence, it would be an honor for Jiangdong, I thank the King of Shu!" Another scholar walked over and raised his cup to take a sip.

  How come everyone started flattering me? Are they trying to curry favor with me after I've been defeated? Liu Mang took another sip.

  "The Shu King is young and already holds a high position, I wish the Shu King to advance further!" A scholar who isn't very good at speaking, if the Shu King advances further wouldn't that make him an emperor? However, his words were accompanied by wine.

  Liu Mang had no choice but to follow suit and drink it all in one gulp.

  After drinking this third cup, there was another scholar. Liu Mang finally understood that these scholars wanted to get him drunk and see him make a fool of himself! They took turns coming up!

  One or two is fine, but after Liu Mang saw the scholars staring at them from this table, they can't be ignored. Each and every one of them is staring fiercely. It's a battle of wits!

  Liu Mang can't eat so many people on stage, if it really goes on like this, he will be played by them.

  It's good that I'm prepared. Since you guys want to play, let's see who wins.

  "Today is General Sun Ce's joyful day, it's no fun drinking alone! Besides, you all toast one by one, even I, the king of drinkers, can't handle it!" Liu Meng looked at these scholars, aren't you guys here to plot something? Well, I'll play openly with you then.

  "This will be good. Let's have a toast together! You drink one cup and I'll drink one cup, so we won't neglect some gentlemen and can enjoy ourselves!"

  "This!" The leading Wen Shi frowned, if everyone drinks together, then after getting Liu Man drunk, everyone might have to follow suit and make a fool of themselves. "Your Highness the King of Shu, there are so many of us here, but Your Highness is only one person, could it be that Your Highness looks down on us and won't even let us offer you a drink?"

  The leading scholar used words to provoke Liu Mang, if Liu Mang didn't drink, it would mean that he looked down on the scholars of Jiangdong, and looking down on the scholars of Jiangdong was equivalent to looking down on all scholars, this hat is really big.

  "How about that! You drink one cup and I'll drink two!" Liu Mang also knew they wouldn't easily let up, only when they saw the dawn of their plot succeeding would they take the bait one by one.

  One for two? The leader, Wen Si, was moved. If the people below drank one tank, then Liu Mang would have to drink two tanks. Don't underestimate this doubling of quantity, it's a world of difference.

  "Well, then I'll drink to my heart's content!" Liu Mang clapped his hands and two soldiers walked up behind him. They were soldiers of Lü Bu's army, brought by Liu Mang. The two soldiers each held a wine jug in their hands.

  "Fill it up!" Liu Mang said, pointing at his own wine cup.

  A soldier came up and filled two wine cups for Liu Mang.

  "Everyone, take a good look!" Liu Mang drained his cup in one gulp and flipped it over to indicate that the cup was empty, now it's everyone else's turn.

  Under Liu Mang's gaze, the leading scholar also smiled and drank it all in one gulp.

  The first cup, the second cup, the third cup, the leader of the Wen clan laughed more and more happily, drink, drink, wait for you to know what it means to be embarrassed, what it means to be unbearable.

  The fourth cup, the fifth cup, the leader's smile decreased a bit, he also felt a little uncomfortable, but soon thought that he could see this guy make a fool of himself and endured that bit of discomfort. Now he was more uncomfortable than himself.

  Liu Mang's face also showed a struggle and a knot, making the leader Wen Shi feel much better.

  The sixth cup, the seventh cup, the eighth cup, the leading scholar felt a bit nauseous, and many scholars below had already turned red in the face, but were still holding on.

  They wanted to see how much this kid could drink, they drank eight cups, but this kid drank sixteen cups.

  The ninth cup, the tenth cup, the eleventh cup, even the leader of the scholars was about to vomit. His face turned purple as he struggled not to throw up, for if he did, it would be a huge loss of face.

  "Come on, come on, have another drink!" Liu Mang raised his wine cup again and drank it all in one gulp. Hum, you guys keep drinking, come on!

  "Your Majesty, I can't drink anymore, farewell, farewell!" The leading scholar did not expect Liu Meng to be such a heavy drinker. This was already his twenty-second cup of wine. Even those martial artists couldn't hold it in. But except for the initial discomfort, Liu Meng had been acting as if nothing was wrong.

  "Don't go, don't leave!" Want to leave? Ha! Dream on! Liu Meng grabbed Wen Shi, who was leading the way. "A thousand cups of wine are not enough when meeting a bosom friend. Today is General Sun Ce's big happy day. If you don't drink, it means you're not giving me face, and if you don't give me face, it means you're not giving General Sun Ce face! Come on, drink!"