Chapter Thirty-Two: Not Favored

  (ps: Today, I deliberately updated a bit later, making friends who have been waiting patiently wait for a long time. I'm really sorry about that. However, please consider the new book and new ranking of Pure Wolf, and still support Pure Wolf by collecting, clicking, and commenting.)

  After abducting the first somewhat famous accomplice and henchman Xu Sheng, Tao Ying returned to Xuzhou City. The first thing Tao Ying did was to report to Tao Qian about the journey of Meng Yang and others, as well as the reply given by Zang Ba. Then, Tao Ying exchanged the third key and asked for orders from Tao Qian, preparing to lead the now barely over eight hundred strong Junzi Army on a southern expedition to collect the head of Xu Zhu's number one great rebel, Chen Rong.

  Here is the translation:

  Out of habit, Tao Ying didn't think much when asking for orders and thought that Tao Kui would agree to his request as usual. However, to his surprise, Tao Kui refused outright and scolded him, "No! Ying'er, are you stupid again? Are you going to go to Guangling and die in vain?"

  "Father, don't you trust me?" Tao Ying asked with a bitter smile.

  "You only have 800 cavalrymen. Do you know how many soldiers and horses Sun Feng has?" Tao Kui scolded, "You're still talking about knowing yourself and the enemy, but you don't even know how many soldiers and horses Sun Feng has! How can you lead 800 men to attack him?"

  "Father is wrong," Tao Ying said calmly. "I know that when Sun Feng rebelled in Guangling, he brought more than 10,000 soldiers and civilians from Xiaopei, and 3,000 warhorses. Later, he killed the governor of Guangling, Zhao Yu, and absorbed his troops. Recently, Sun Feng has been expanding his army, adding about 5,000 soldiers. Now, he has more than 16,000 soldiers in Guangling, with at least 4,000 cavalrymen."

  "Do you still want to go die?" Tao Kui scolded.

  Tao Ying smiled and said, "A good army values quality over quantity. A good general values strategy over bravery."

  "Even if Sun Feng's army is large, it's just a mob. Their morale is low, and they're not united. The soldiers from Guangling who were absorbed by Sun Feng are only following him because of his power and the threat of Cao Cao. If Sun Feng loses, these soldiers will definitely turn against him."

  Tao Ying continued to analyze the situation, pointing out that Sun Feng's newly recruited 5,000 soldiers were just a bunch of inexperienced thugs who had never seen blood.

  Tao Kui was still not convinced, saying "You're just talking on paper! You're just talking on paper!"

  Tao Ying replied calmly, "My army has seen blood. We've fought battles before."

  "What do you mean?" Tao Kui asked in surprise.

  "On June 18th, I led 400 of my soldiers to attack the Yellow Turbans in Yuzhou. We killed their leader, Zhang Rui, and more than 600 bandits. We captured 52 warhorses and a large amount of food and money. We retreated back to Wu County within a day, with only one soldier killed and ten injured."

  Tao Ying continued to recount his military achievements, including another battle on June 25th where they killed about 600 Yellow Turbans and captured many weapons and flags.

  On July 6th, Tao Ying led 500 soldiers to attack the bandits in Lingbi, killing their leader, Huang Yuantou, and annihilating his entire gang of 391 people. They captured 16 warhorses and a large amount of food and money, with no casualties on their side.

  Tao Kui was shocked and asked, "You're the one who eliminated the bandits in Zuixian? But the governor of Xiaopei reported that he was the one who did it?"

  Tao smiled, and Cao Hong also smiled, stepping forward to salute him with a fist: "Please forgive me, my lord. I was wrong about the matter of taking care of the thieves. In fact, it was the second young master who personally eliminated that band of thieves. However, he was afraid of startling the snake by hitting the grass and revealing the military strength of the Junzi Army, so he ordered me to let General Xu Duan take the credit. General Xu Duan was greedy for your reward, my lord, and embezzled the young master's great achievement!"

  Tao Qian's eyes widened in shock, staring at his son in disbelief. After a long while, he asked in extreme surprise: "My son, you wouldn't be deceiving your father, would you? Within one day, you can raid over 200 miles and still have the strength to fight?"

  "I dare not deceive my father, everything I said is true," replied his son. "If Father doesn't believe me, the heads I cut off and the flags, armor, and helmets I captured are all hidden in Wu County Castle. Father can send someone to check at any time." Tao Qian smiled even more proudly and continued: "As for how I was able to raid hundreds of miles and still have the strength to fight, it's all thanks to those so-called inferior horses, the Xiongnu horses. The Xiongnu horses are not good at charging, but they excel at long-distance raids. Not just 200 miles, even if we raided 300 miles, the Xiongnu horses can still go into battle."

  Tao Qian was thoroughly shocked. Tao Qian had not only fought in battles but also understood military tactics. However, because of his experience on the battlefield and decent military background, he found it even more unbelievable that an army could cover over 200 miles in a day and still have enough energy to challenge an enemy several times its size, emerging victorious in the end. Tao Qian had never seen or heard of such an army before.

  "Father, please let me go," Tao Ying said, taking advantage of the situation to plead his case. "I've thought it over many times, and our gentlemanly army has only fought a few small skirmishes so far. We urgently need a worthy opponent to hone our skills and train us in battle. The bandit troops are numerous and would be an ideal target for us to practice on. If I can defeat them in one battle, not only will we recover the rich city of Guangling, but our gentlemanly army will also gain valuable experience fighting against large enemy forces, which will help us grow stronger quickly."

  Tao Qian remained silent, and after a long while, he sat down again, staring at Tao Ying and saying: "My son, I believe your three battles were not fake, but Zong Feng is not like He Yi or Huang Chao's mob. The army under Zong Feng's command is mostly composed of old officials who have undergone military training, with experience and equipment, and their strength is more than ten times that of yours. You lead 800 people to conquer him, aren't you afraid of hitting a stone with an egg?"

  Tao Ying laughed wildly and said: "Father, you're wrong! The one who hits the stone with an egg is not me, but Zong Feng's child! I'm only worried about one thing now, that Zong Feng's child dares not to come out of the city and fight a field battle with me. If he closes the city and guards it to death, then I'll have to waste some effort. But even if Zong Feng's child is dead and doesn't come out, it doesn't matter, I have a special tool for attacking cities, and it's just right to use Zong Feng to practice."

  Here is the translation:

  Tao Qian was at his wit's end with his son's arrogance, but after considering for a moment, he finally said: "Alright, I agree to let you lead the southern campaign, but I have one condition - you must come back alive. If the battle doesn't go in your favor, you must retreat immediately and not try to be a hero or sacrifice yourself for the country. Come back alive, and you can start again from scratch. But if you die, not only will you not have another chance, but I will also lose my successor."

  Tao Ying smiled carelessly and said: "Don't worry about that, Father. My personally trained army may not be the strongest in battle, but when it comes to running away with our lives, we are second to none! Even the great Warlord Big Ears would have to admit defeat if he encountered my army."

  Tao Qian shook his head and sighed: "Where did you get this confidence from?" After thinking for a moment, he said: "Alright, since you insist on going, I'll give you an opportunity to show off your skills. I'll send General Zhang with 5,000 soldiers to accompany you on the southern campaign to attack the bandit Rong Yu."

  Tao Ying replied lightly: "No need to send so many troops, Father. Just give me another 1,000 infantrymen and that's enough." He thought to himself: We can't afford to deploy too many troops from Xu State, not only because our military strength is precious, but also because they would just be a burden on me.

  Tao Qian couldn't take it anymore and scolded: "Nonsense! You arrogant child! 800 cavalrymen and 1,000 infantrymen going up against 16,000 enemy soldiers, and you're the one leading the attack? Do you think you're White Tiger reborn or something?"

  Tao Ying thought to himself: Actually, I am a reincarnation... He sighed and said: "Father, I really don't need that many troops. Our Xu State is already weakened, and we're short on supplies and money. We also have to support the burden of Big Ears' army, so I really can't bear to add more burdens on you."

  Tao Qian refused to give in: "This is war, not a household budget! You need to be prepared to spend money!" He scolded again: "Besides, this is your first time on the battlefield, and it's such a big campaign. Without some experienced generals by your side, how can I trust you? One thing for sure - if you insist on only bringing 800 cavalrymen, I'll take back my previous words and not let you go!"

  Tao Ying thought to himself: It's really not worth discussing with old men... He made a concession and said: "Alright, Father, please send an experienced general to accompany me on the campaign. But we don't need 5,000 troops - just 1,000 infantrymen is enough. They won't even need to fight; they can just help me with logistics and cleaning up the battlefield."

  Tao Qian sighed again: "I really don't know where you got this confidence from..." He reluctantly agreed: "Two thousand infantry and cavalry, I'll send General Zhang to lead them and accompany you on the campaign. Don't argue anymore."

  …………?

  Tao Ying was worried that the large number of soldiers would slow him down, but unfortunately, Zhang Yu thought otherwise. On the evening of that day, after Tao Qian summoned Zhang Yu and issued orders, Zhang Yu's first reaction was to jump up and shout like a slaughtered pig: "Your Excellency, kill me now! Let me lead 2,000 soldiers to accompany the two young masters on their southern expedition to attack the 20,000-strong army of the bandit Qiu Rong! And we still have to attack the heavily fortified city of Guangling! Even if I had the ability to communicate with heaven and earth, I couldn't do it!" "If we can't take down the city, don't blame yourself. You're just a deputy, listening to my son's command in battle. No matter how badly we lose, all the blame will be borne by my son." Tao Qian said sternly: "I only have one task for you, which is to protect Ying'er and bring him back safely. As long as Ying'er can come back alive, even if you lose all 2,000 soldiers and 800 noble troops, I'll give you credit for a great achievement!" "In that case, I will obey orders." Zhang Yu let out a sigh of relief, thinking to himself: This is more like it. Two thousand soldiers protecting one young master should be absolutely sufficient. However, my lord seems to love his second son dearly, willing to waste so many soldiers and resources on him? It looks like I need to seize this opportunity to build a good relationship with the second young master during this southern expedition.

  No matter how secretly Vice Director Tao acted, the large-scale movement of Nan Zheng's troops was bound to be noticed by everyone, so on the second day in the morning, the news that Vice Director Tao was about to lead 2,800 troops to conquer Guangling spread quickly throughout Xuzhou City.

  Upon hearing the news, Mo Zhen and his brothers couldn't help but laugh out loud. Mo Fang, who had always looked down on Tao Ying, was laughing so hard that he was almost crying, and exclaimed: "Haha...! Good, good, good! Tao Ying is so arrogant, we can save a lot of trouble now. Mo Rong, although you and I have never gotten along, this time I really wish you all the best, kill Tao Ying and leave no trace!"

  Mi Zhu was relatively calm, and after laughing loudly, he quickly calmed down and instructed Mi Fang, who was still laughing: "Younger brother, don't be too happy yet. Immediately send someone to inform Xu Shu in Xiaopei about this matter. Also, have you bought off Zhang Yi? Let him make his move first, and let Tao Qian's illness gradually worsen. When the news of Tao Ying's execution by Cao Cao reaches Xuzhou, Tao Qian will suddenly die, and someone will take the blame."

  Mi Fang burst out laughing again, and immediately picked up his brush to write a letter to Liu Bei. Mi Zhu added another sentence, "Younger brother, at the end of the letter, remember to inform Xuande that Tao Qian has not summoned us brothers alone recently, nor has he mentioned passing on the seal in front of us." "We've already said it several times, do we need to mention it again?" Mi Fang replied casually without lifting his head. "It must be mentioned, lest Xuande misunderstands us." Mi Zhu ignored his brother's opposition and was also very depressed. Liu Bei had brought up this matter twice in his letters and in front of Mi Fang - could it be that the benevolent and loyal Xuande had also become suspicious, doubting that his brothers were actually Tao Qian's people from the start? The purpose of their actions during this period was only to give Xuande a glimmer of hope, temporarily appease him, and then tie him up like a dog in Xuzhou as a watchdog, while Tao Qian and his son took advantage of this weak period?

  Upon hearing the news, Chen Gui and his son Chen Deng fell silent for a long time. Then Chen Deng bowed to Chen Gui and said: "Father, it seems that we have overestimated Tao Ying's son. I suggest that it is time for us to get closer to Xuande."

  Chen Gui sat silently for a long time before sighing, "I'm not resigned to this. At this point in time, we're only just approaching Lord Xuande, and we'll inevitably be overshadowed by the Mi brothers." Chen Deng also sighed, "Father, I too have my regrets, but this is the way things are now, it's a matter of timing and circumstances." Chen Gui continued, "I never thought that Second Master would be so reckless, insisting on taking such a small force to conquer Guangling. If he were to die in battle, we father and son would still have to continue supporting the Tao family, which would be courting disaster for ourselves. Even if Second Master manages to return alive, I reckon he won't be able to hold onto his position as Governor of Xuzhou in the future. If we don't make a decision soon, our influence in Xuzhou will only dwindle further compared to the Mi brothers."

  Chen Gui nodded slowly, acknowledging that his son was right. After careful consideration, Chen Gui instructed, "Yu Long, you arrange the contact with Xuande, but it must be kept secret and not let outsiders know."

  Chen Deng agreed, but Chen Gui added: "Also, immediately send 2,000 dan of military rations to the Second Master. If the Second Master cannot return, then let it be our Chen family's last act of loyalty to the Tao family. If the Second Master returns triumphantly, then we will also have a way out."

  "Understood," Chen Deng replied respectfully, and smiled: "If the Second Master really can return triumphantly, that would truly be a miracle. But showing the Tao family our last bit of loyalty is also proper."

  When the news reached Cao Jiao and other officials in Xuzhou who were loyal to Tao Qian, they were all in a state of panic. They submitted memorials and advised Tao Qian to recall his order, not wanting his only capable son to die in vain. Cao Jiao's reaction was the most intense. Upon hearing the news, he immediately summoned Zhang Yi and pointed at his nose, ordering: "No matter how badly you lose, you must bring back the young master safely! If a single hair on his head is harmed, don't blame me for not cherishing our decades-long friendship!" Zhang Yi bowed and replied: "General, be at ease. Our lord has also given similar orders. I will risk my life to protect the young master and ensure his safe return." He then curiously asked: "General, why are you so concerned about the young master? I've heard that he rejected your proposal for a marriage alliance." Cao Jiao scolded him in a bad tone: "You don't understand anything! You and I are both from Danyang. It doesn't matter if you're here or not - when our lord handed me the key to the document that would determine his successor, he repeatedly instructed me to take care of his son after he passed away. This proves that our lord never intended to give Xuzhou to Cao Pi, but rather wanted to pass it down to one of his sons! Who do you think is most likely to be named in that document?" Zhang Yi replied without hesitation: "Of course, it's the young master. Although he's young and impulsive, he's still better than the older son by a hundred times. Our lord isn't foolish, so he naturally knows how to choose." Cao Jiao said in a low voice: "Now you understand how important the young master is? For us old folks from Danyang, as long as we can protect the young master, we don't have to worry about what will happen after our lord passes away. But if something happens to the young master and the older son is weak and useless, and our lord has thoughts of giving Xuzhou to Cao Pi, then we old folks from Danyang will truly be in a precarious situation!" Zhang Yi nodded vigorously and said seriously: "General, be at ease. For our lord's sake, as well as for us old folks from Danyang, I will definitely use all my strength to protect the young master."

  Cao Jiao also nodded, then let out a sigh and muttered: "Second Master, why are you so foolish? If you don't take this risk, you won't have to worry about it later, and we old folks from Danyang won't have to worry either." "Father——!"

  Cao Jiao's words had barely fallen when a young girl rushed in, shouting and stumbling, and stopped in front of Cao Jiao, crying out loudly: "Father, I heard that the bookworm is going to conquer Guangling with less than three thousand soldiers to attack the old thief Mo Rong! Is it true? Why don't you stop him?"

  "If only I could persuade him," Cao Jiao sighed. "Not just me, even our lord can't persuade him. Ling'er, just accept your fate. Your father will choose a better one for you."