“We will go toward the East Gate. We will break out through the East Gate!” Liu Mang made up his mind.
“East Gate? Are you out of your mind?!” Lu Bu shouted. “The East Gate was the White Gate Tower - the place we just lost. Because I was there, the East Gate was also the gate Cao Cao sent the most troops toward. How could we break through via the East Gate?! The East Gate is out of question. We are to break through via the West Gate!”
It was written that Lu Bu was a very stubborn person. Originally, Liu Mang did not believe that but now he does. Lu Bu rejected him without even giving him a chance to explain himself. No wonder Lu Bu still lose so thoroughly even with a first class military advisor Chen Gong, the first class troops Formation Breaker and the Heavy Cavalry of Bing Province, and himself, the pinnacle of super first class general.
But, Liu Mang had a way to deal with people like Lu Bu.
People like Lu Bu are like hedgehogs. If you stroke him following the spines, nothing would happen. If you stroke him against the spines, your hand will be pricked full of blood.
“Boss Lu, do you not want revenge?!” With just one sentence, Lu Bu’s stubbornness was lifted.
“Revenge?!” Lu Bu’s eyes shined. In this darkness, Lu Bu’s eyes were terrifying.
“Yes. Revenge. Bullied so badly by taitor Cao and betrayed by Wei Xu, Song Xian and Hou Cheng. Are you just going to leave without doing anything? Did you not want to kill those three traitors and give traitor Cao a payback?!”
“What must I do?!” Lu Bu was very direct. Although he was known as a hero, he was also a vile person. One of the main characteristics of a vile person was their vindictiveness.
Cao Cao brought forth to him so much pain, how could he possibly not give Cao Cao a payback? There’s the three traitors Wei Xu, Hou Cheng and Song Xian too. Everyone have such an characteristic - one’s hatred for traitors are much stronger than one’s hatred for enemies. E.g. the Chinese traitors in the Sino Japanese War. Cursing them so much, enough for at least three generations of ancestors and descendants.
[TL: No idea who author decided to add it. Guess it resonates with the chinese people. Many still aren’t over what the Japanese did in WWII.]
“Breakthrough via the East Gate!” Liu Mang spoke his mind. “It is true that the Cao troops was most heavily stationed in the East Gate. However, that is to guard against the Lu Bu army!”
“What do you mean?!” Lu Bu inquired.
“Hehe. We are now Cao troops under General Xiahou Yuan’s nephew. Say, would the Cao troops be stopping us now?!”
“That’s right!” Lu Bu only now remembered that Liu Mang had Zhang Liao get all the soldiers to change into Cao army uniform. Under the dark sky, it would be hard to differentiate them from regular Cao soldiers.
“Cao army had broken through Xiapi. With the whole Xu Province in his fingertips, based on Cao Cao’s personality, how would he possibly not express his heroics and enjoy the feeling of a victor? Thus, he would certainly be holding a celebratory banquet for his acquisition of Xu Province in the building that indicates Xiapi - the White Gate Tower!” In the Romance of Three Kingdoms, boss Lu was killed on the same White Gate Tower.
“The moment when one is most proud is also the moment when one is most neglectful. Say, how strong would his guard be at that moment?! The reason why I had general Zhang Liao lead the front and the eight hundred Formation Breaker following behind was to see if there was a chance to directly assault Cao Cao’s tent. The three traitors are certainly going to be with Cao Cao. Perhaps, if we were lucky, we could get rid of Cao Cao, deciding Heaven and Earth in a single inning. Once Cao Cao is dead, both the Yan Province and the Xu Province will be sent into chaos. Boss Lu could take advantage of the situation and replace Cao Cao. Even if we can’t kill him, we would still leave the city in quick succession, making a comeback at another date!”
[TL: 一局定乾坤: deciding Heaven and Earth in a single inning. Basically, one moved settled the game. Kill Cao Cao, win game.]
After hearing Liu Mang’s explanation, two words was evoked into Lu Bu’s mind - do it!
What the Lu Bu army was best at was their speed. Formation Breaker was the elite amongst elite and the rest of the Lu Bu army was those that had survived despite all odds; soldiers that had experienced hundreds of battles, their speed certainly not slow.
Holding the banners of Xiahou De, an army of “Cao soldiers” strut toward the White Gate Tower.