Chapter 032 The Big-Eared Thief Is Plotting Rebellion

Within the city of Xuzhou, Lü Bu held feasts each day.

Lü Bu sat drinking at the table with Chen Gui and his son Chen Deng, enjoying the sight of Diao Chan herself performing a dance. Her graceful figure moved with the delicacy of a butterfly in flight. The silk gown she wore was as sheer as a cicada’s wings, accentuating her exquisite form in all its beauty.

Lü Bu looked utterly enraptured; it was said that wine does not intoxicate, but the heart is drunk of its own accord.

“This time, I owe it all to you and your son, who secured the governorship of Xuzhou for me. Allow me to drink to you both,” Lü Bu declared, raising his cup. The Chen father and son hastened to return the toast.

Chen Deng quickly replied, “Not at all, not at all! You, General, are a dragon among men. How could the Emperor deny you so trifling a title as Governor of Xuzhou?”

Flattery and sycophancy were indeed the Chen family’s talents, and Lü Bu was greatly pleased by their praise. Moreover, having succeeded in securing the governorship for him, they were now basking in his favor.

At that moment, Chen Gong arrived.

Seeing him, Lü Bu immediately called out, “Gongtai, you’ve come at just the right time! Join us, sit, and drink with us!”

Chen Gong brushed aside the wine offered by the serving maid, his face grave as he spoke, “Fengxian, do you even hear yourself?”

“We hold a place of utmost strategic importance. Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, Liu Bei—every one of them covets it. Yet you idle away your days, making no plans for the future. I fear you will one day regret this bitterly!”

Chen Gong spoke these words with pained conviction, but Lü Bu had grown weary of such admonitions.

Suddenly, Lü Bu leapt to his feet, standing atop his chair, his spirit surging as he proclaimed with passion, “Cao Cao is nothing but a rat, skilled only in petty tricks and deceit. As for Liu Bei, he is nothing but a dog.”

“I possess the Coiling Dragon Halberd and the Sky-Piercer, and my Red Hare horse can travel a thousand li in a day—why should I fear any hero in the realm?”

Finally, Lü Bu declared with pride, “Gongtai, remember this: there is no one in this world who can defeat Lü Bu!”

His words failed to move Chen Gong, but Diao Chan, standing nearby, looked utterly entranced.

At that moment, Chen Gui and Chen Deng stood up.

Chen Deng said, “Chen Gongtai, you are far too arrogant! Without General Lü here, what are you?”

Chen Gong, enraged, replied, “You petty flatterers, skilled in nothing but sycophancy, dare to wag your tongues here!”

Lü Bu was instantly displeased. In recent days, he had shown great favor to the Chen family precisely because their flattery pleased him.

Now, seeing Chen Gong direct his ire at the Chens, Lü Bu actually spoke in their defense: “Gongtai, is there any need for such jealousy of the talented?”

Hearing this, Chen Gong spat out a final warning—“You will regret this”—and left in fury.

Back in his own quarters, his heart full of bitterness, he downed cup after cup of wine.

He despised the fact that all his talents were wasted in the service of such a brute as Lü Bu.

At first, Lü Bu, though arrogant, had heeded his every word. But ever since securing Xuzhou, Lü Bu had grown proud and complacent, losing all ambition.

In Chen Gong’s eyes, disaster was inevitable.

“Master, if you are troubled, why not go out hunting to ease your mind?” suggested one of his retainers.

Chen Gong agreed it was a good idea. He mounted a carriage and rode out of Xuzhou to hunt. While chasing a swift rabbit, he loosed an arrow—but struck a man in black instead.

Wounded, the black-clad man tried to flee, but Chen Gong had brought soldiers with him; escape was impossible.

After the man was caught, they searched him at once.

“My lord, there’s a letter on him!”

The letter was handed to Chen Gong. On reading it, his face changed dramatically.

The letter revealed a secret plot: Liu Bei and Cao Cao were conspiring together for Xuzhou.

He had long suspected that Liu Bei did not intend to stay quietly under Lü Bu’s rule, and now his suspicions were confirmed.

Chen Gong thought once more of Lü Bu, who spent his days in drunken revelry, lost in the pleasures of women.

Now was the time to lay this letter before Lü Bu, to show him just how dangerous his surroundings had become.

Lü Bu, upon seeing the letter, flew into a rage. “That big-eared scoundrel! Have I not treated him well? How dare he!”

Chen Deng immediately rose to advise, “My lord, Liu Bei is a master of deceit, seeming true but being false. If you do not remove him soon, he will become a grave threat!”

Chen Gui echoed, “Indeed! There is one more thing I have yet to report: Liu Bei has stationed his troops at Xiaopei, recruiting more soldiers day by day. Their numbers now reach tens of thousands.”

Lü Bu was astonished. “Is this true?!”

“Send word at once! Ready the army—come with me to destroy that big-eared traitor!”

The order to march against Liu Bei was given. Yet Chen Gong suddenly felt something was amiss, though he could not, for the moment, say exactly what.