Chapter 53

The next day, on the city wall of Changshe. Liu Yao and Tian Feng stood on the city wall, looking at the Yellow Turban camp opposite.

"Yuanhao, do you have any good ideas to deal with the Yellow Turbans? You seemed to have something to say yesterday but held back. Is there something you can't tell Huangfu Song and the others?" Liu Yao asked.

Tian Feng stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "Indeed, my lord. Feng has a plan to defeat the enemy. However, the time is not right to tell the two generals. They are born soldiers and can be a bit impatient. If they can't hold back, it might not be a good thing."

"Oh, please enlighten me, Yuanhao." Liu Yao asked curiously.

"I dare not," Tian Feng said, squinting his eyes. "Has my lord noticed anything around the Yellow Turban camp?"

Liu Yao looked around. Apart from a forest of overgrown weeds, there was nothing else near the Yellow Turban camp. He was a bit puzzled, but then seemed to realize something and exclaimed, "Yuanhao, could you be talking about that?"

Tian Feng smiled and said, "It seems my lord has figured it out. I believe this time Bo Cai will not escape our grasp."

Liu Yao asked, "Yuanhao, what should we do now? After all, the Yellow Turban camp is quite far from that forest."

Tian Feng wiped the sweat from his forehead and pointed to the scorching sun in the sky. He said one word, "Wait!!!"

"Wait!!! I see." Liu Yao smiled, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

This wait lasted for five days. During these five days, there was no conflict between the Yellow Turbans and Changshe. It seemed as if there had never been any interaction between the two sides.

At this time, Liu Yao and Tian Feng were playing a game in the study. Of course, it wasn't Go. It was the chess that Liu Yao had "invented." Since Liu Yao arrived in Youzhou, he often played chess with Tian Feng and Ju Shou to pass the time. Tian Feng believed that there was great knowledge in chess, so whenever he had free time, he would drag the first idle man of Youzhou, Liu Yao, to play a few rounds.

Liu Yao and Tian Feng were quite relaxed, but Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were in a difficult situation. They had thought that Liu Yao would quickly resolve the Yellow Turban issue upon his arrival. However, Liu Yao was now leisurely drinking tea and playing chess.

After all, Liu Yao's troops were independent of their command and not under their jurisdiction. Moreover, they didn't dare to question Liu Yao. First, Liu Yao's rank was higher than theirs, being the General of the North, which was only below He Jin's Grand General. Second, Liu Yao was the current crown prince and would likely become the emperor. They didn't dare to defy him. For a moment, they were at a loss, scratching their heads in frustration.

Finally, Zhu Jun came up with a plan. This old fox secretly approached Zhang Fei and bought him with two jars of fine wine. Zhang Fei had just had a taste of wine a few days ago, and now he was cut off. His craving for alcohol was driving him crazy. Besides, as long as Liu Yao didn't find out, he could secretly drink a couple of jars without being discovered.

Moreover, Zhu Jun's request was only for Zhang Fei to find out Liu Yao's current thoughts. While Zhu Jun and the others didn't dare to do it, Zhang Fei and his men didn't have such qualms. They had worked under Liu Yao for years and knew his character well. He wouldn't get angry over such a small matter.

"Lord, Lord, I, Zhang Fei, am here." Zhang Fei shouted as he burst into the study.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!!! I said Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun wouldn't come themselves. My lord, you lost. The two jars of fine wine in your collection now belong to me." As soon as Zhang Fei stepped into the study, he heard Tian Feng's loud laughter.

Liu Yao shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly, "Losing is losing. I, Liu Yao, won't renege on my promise. I'll send the two jars to your residence when we return to Youzhou." He then glared at Zhang Fei angrily.

Zhang Fei was completely baffled by the two men's actions and didn't know how to start what he wanted to say. He only knew that Liu Yao and Tian Feng seemed to be making a bet, and this bet was related to him. In the end, his lord lost, and Tian Feng won two jars of fine wine.

Liu Yao looked at Zhang Fei and asked coldly, "Yide, how many jars of wine did Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun give you to come here?"

Zhang Fei, still in a daze, blurted out, "Two jars."

"Ah!!!" Zhang Fei immediately realized what he had said and weakly asked, "My lord, how did you know?"

"Hmph, do you think I don't know your character, you fool!!!" Liu Yao said with a bright smile. "Very good, Yide, you've now learned to drink secretly without my permission and to accept bribes from others. I'm very satisfied with your performance."

Zhang Fei, seeing the increasingly bright smile on Liu Yao's face, felt cold sweat trickling down his back. Everyone in Youzhou knew that whenever Liu Yao had such a smile, someone was about to suffer, earning him the nickname "Smiling Tiger." This had been proven countless times. This time, the test subject was none other than himself.

"Yide, do you know your mistake?" Liu Yao said sternly.

Zhang Fei quickly knelt down and said, "I, Old Zhang, know my mistake."

"Originally, you would have been given fifty lashes for disobeying my orders, but since you have admitted your mistake and we are in a time of war, I will record the fifty lashes and let you serve your sentence by meritorious service," Liu Yao said calmly.

"Thank you, my lord, for your leniency." Zhang Fei said excitedly. He didn't expect that he would only be given lashes. Even if he were to receive fifty lashes now, with his physical condition, he would be back to his usual self in no more than a day.

Tian Feng, watching Zhang Fei's excitement, couldn't help but cover his forehead. He felt sorry for this fool. If the lord ended it so easily, would it be worthy of his "Smiling Tiger" reputation?

Sure enough, as Tian Feng had expected, Liu Yao smiled and said, "Yide, don't be in a hurry. I haven't finished yet. This time you drank secretly without my permission, and there's no guarantee you won't do it again. I need to make a deep impression on you. So, you are forbidden from drinking any alcohol for a year."

"What!!!" Zhang Fei jumped up immediately. Not drinking for a few days had already made him very uncomfortable, and not drinking for a year would be unbearable. He tried to negotiate, "My lord, hehe, is a year too much? How about a month? Hehe."

"Not a chance!!! Do you know what could happen if you drink and cause trouble? It could result in the deaths of thousands of our brothers. Can you bear that responsibility?" Liu Yao said seriously.

"Ah... My lord, I, Old Zhang, understand. I, Old Zhang, promise not to drink for a year and never to drink on the battlefield again," Zhang Fei said firmly. He was a man of both roughness and finesse and understood that Liu Yao was doing this for his own good.

Liu Yao looked at Zhang Fei with satisfaction. "It's good that you know your mistake. You may go. Oh, and tell Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun that if they trust me, they should wait a bit longer."

"Understood." Zhang Fei left the study.

"Hehe, congratulations, my lord. Yide is a man of both roughness and finesse. If he can change his bad habits, he might even lead his own army one day," Tian Feng said.

"Hehe, yes, Yide may look rough, but he is actually very thoughtful. Whether he can lead his own army depends on his growth," Liu Yao said, looking at Zhang Fei's retreating figure.