"I offer you a toast, General!"
"Another! Another!"
The officers cheered, showering him with flattery.
Lü Bu was drinking with gusto. He lifted another jar of wine and tore off its clay seal, ready to drink deeply again, but a slender, jade-white hand reached over and stopped him.
"General, you've already had enough to drink today."
"Have you forgotten that you still have military affairs to attend to tonight?"
The speaker was a woman in court attire, barely twenty years old, with beautiful features and a graceful figure. She looked gentle and delicate, radiantly lovely.
Now she was looking at Lü Bu with reproach in her eyes.
This woman was none other than Diao Chan, who had followed Lü Bu to Xiapi.
Lü Bu laughed at her words. "It's fine! This little bit of wine barely quenches my thirst. How could it possibly get me drunk?"
He was enjoying his drinking far too much to stop now.
Unable to persuade him, Diao Chan could only sigh. "Then take your time drinking, General. I'll prepare some sobering soup for you."
With that, she rose, bowed to everyone, and left the banquet.
After Diao Chan left, one officer praised her. "Diao Chan truly is a beauty without equal, and so gentle and considerate too. You're a fortunate man, General!"
Another officer laughed. "With a beauty like that, it's no wonder the general once flew into such a towering rage for her that his hair nearly lifted his crown."
Hearing their praise, Lü Bu could not conceal his satisfaction.
All his life, he had loved only fine wine and beautiful women.
Now he held Xu Province, with countless elite soldiers and fierce officers under his command, an endless supply of fine wine and exquisite food, and an unrivaled beauty like Diao Chan by his side. This was precisely the life he had dreamed of.
"Come, come! Drink up! No one leaves sober today!"
With a broad sweep of his hand, Lü Bu prepared to drink his fill with the officers.
Just then, however, an attendant hurried into the room and reported to Lü Bu, "General, Master Chen is outside the residence requesting an audience."
"Hm? Gongtai?"
Lü Bu's eyes were hazy with drink, but the attendant's words brought him somewhat to his senses. He ordered, "Quickly, invite him in!"
The attendant withdrew at once and soon returned with a scholar in purple robes.
Lü Bu rose to greet him. "You've come at just the right time, Gongtai! Today is my birthday. Come have a drink with me!"
As he spoke, he tried to pull Chen Gong over to sit beside him.
But Chen Gong remained unmoved. He glanced around at the assembled officers and frowned. "General, I have an important matter to report."
"Oh, whatever it is, tomorrow will-"
"General!"
Chen Gong's expression darkened, and he shook off Lü Bu's hand.
The lively atmosphere instantly grew much colder.
The officers were no fools. Seeing this, they tactfully took their leave, and soon every last one had gone.
A perfectly good banquet had been interrupted by Chen Gong's arrival, and Lü Bu's good mood vanished. He dropped into the seat of honor and said impatiently, "What is it? Out with it!"
Yet Chen Gong did not immediately state his business. Instead, he addressed Lü Bu with anger written across his face. "General, how could you sink so low? You spend your days drinking and holding banquets, paying no attention to military affairs. Do you truly intend to abandon them altogether?"
Lü Bu grew angry at this. He slammed his wine cup onto the table and retorted, "I've fought battles all my life. What's wrong with enjoying myself a little?"
"Besides, today is my birthday. Am I not even allowed to hold a banquet to celebrate? It's not as though I didn't invite you. You were the one who refused to come!"
Chen Gong said expressionlessly, "If I remember correctly, General, you already celebrated your birthday last month."
"D-did I?"
Mercilessly exposed by Chen Gong, Lü Bu flushed and scratched his head awkwardly.
"Uh, perhaps I remembered it wrong... Anyway, Gongtai, didn't you say you had something important to report? What is it?"
To escape the embarrassment, Lü Bu hastily changed the subject.
Chen Gong could not be bothered to argue with him further and said directly, "Yuan Shu has sent someone here to seek a marriage for his son, Yuan Yao, to your daughter."
"The betrothal letter and gifts have already arrived. The envoy is at the relay station outside the city, awaiting your summons."
"What?"
At those words, Lü Bu instantly sobered up a little.
He had long since learned that Yuan Shu had proclaimed himself emperor, but now the man actually wanted to form a marriage alliance with him and marry his daughter to his son?
Just what was this fellow plotting?
Filled with doubt and suspicion, Lü Bu looked up at Chen Gong and asked, "Gongtai, what do you think Yuan Shu is after? What does he want?"
He was skilled only at fighting, not at strategy or intrigue.
Chen Gong was his most trusted adviser, and he always sought Chen Gong's opinion before making any decision.
Chapter 52: Wine and Women Have Undone Me! From Today On, I Quit Drinking!
Yuan Shu had sent someone to seek a marriage alliance with him shortly after proclaiming himself emperor.
Lü Bu would never believe there was no trap in this.
Chen Gong replied, "By proclaiming himself emperor, Yuan Shu has defied the condemnation of all under heaven. Sun Ce has already broken with him, and the Son of Heaven under Cao Cao's control has even issued an edict ordering Zhang Xiu to march against Yuan Shu."
"He therefore wishes to win you over through marriage, General, to avoid being attacked from both front and rear."
Xu Province bordered Yang Province. If Lü Bu also became Yuan Shu's enemy, Yang Province would find itself surrounded by enemies on every side.
Sun Ce lay to the south, Liu Biao to the west, Cao Cao to the north, and Lü Bu to the east.
To prevent that from happening, Yuan Shu had sent an envoy to appeal to Lü Bu, hoping to forge an alliance through marriage.
"Win me over?"
After hearing Chen Gong's analysis, Lü Bu sank into thought.
His relationship with Yuan Shu was neither particularly good nor particularly bad.
The previous year, he and Yuan Shu had fought Liu Bei together for control of Xu Province. Throughout that time, Yuan Shu had supplied him with grain and other provisions, promising that the support would continue.
Once he defeated Liu Bei, however, Yuan Shu broke his word and cut off the supplies of grain and materiel. Only then had the two fallen out.
Yet now Yuan Shu had sent someone to win him over once again.
And he even intended to establish a marriage alliance.
After thinking for a while without reaching any conclusion, Lü Bu asked hesitantly, "Gongtai, do you think I should accept Yuan Shu's proposal?"
"He has already proclaimed himself emperor. If our children marry, wouldn't that make me an imperial relative?"
There was a trace of temptation in Lü Bu's words.
He had been born a commoner and won everything he now possessed through his martial prowess. Yet his humble origins had always caused the great aristocratic clans to look down on him.
Thus, even after he occupied Xu Province, few eminent scholars came to serve him.
If he could form a marriage alliance with Yuan Shu, he could transform himself into an imperial relative in a single stroke, while also finding shelter beneath the great tree of the Yuan Clan!
Why wouldn't I?
But no sooner had he voiced this idea than Chen Gong said bluntly, "If you wish to accompany Yuan Shu to the Yellow Springs, General, then by all means marry into his family!"
Lü Bu exclaimed in surprise, "Is it really that serious?"
Chen Gong said, "The rightful dynasty ruling all under heaven is still Han. Yuan Shu is a false emperor, and not a single regional lord will recognize his imperial throne."
"If you form a marriage alliance with Yuan Shu, General, you will destroy your own future. You will also be regarded as a rebel accomplice, and sooner or later the regional lords will march against you!"
Lü Bu instantly broke into a cold sweat.
He had not realized there were so many twists and turns involved. He had merely thought a marriage alliance with Yuan Shu would bring benefits, never imagining that it carried such enormous risks.
Only after grasping the situation did Lü Bu belatedly rage, "Yuan Shu is truly despicable! He rebels himself, and now he wants to drag me into it!"
"I have received the Son of Heaven's favor and was personally invested as the Marquis of Wen! How could I associate with a traitor like him?"
Then, deeply moved, he said to Chen Gong, "Thank goodness for you, Gongtai. Otherwise, I would have fallen for his trick!"
"Come, let me offer you a toast!"
As he spoke, Lü Bu filled his own cup to the brim, preparing to toast Chen Gong.
"That won't be necessary."
Chen Gong refused the wine cup Lü Bu offered him, then said gravely, "I once believed you were a hero, General, but your conduct has been truly disappointing."
"A hero should harbor great ambitions! He should achieve deeds without equal!"
"You now command Xu Province and possess countless elite soldiers and capable officers. You ought to put your forces in order and build your strength to contend for all under heaven. Yet you spend your days indulging in wine and women, content to linger in one corner of the realm. How does such conduct differ from that of a common street loafer?"
"If you continue to show so little ambition, General, I can only leave your service."
Lü Bu's expression changed at once.
He had never imagined that merely indulging in a few extra drinks would provoke such strong displeasure in Chen Gong, even making him consider leaving!
But all he wanted was to enjoy a life of wealth and comfort.
"Have I truly been wrong?"
Muttering to himself, Lü Bu lowered his head to look into the cup in his hand. The wine reflected his present appearance: a face covered in stubble, utterly dispirited. He froze.
"Wine and women have ravaged me, leaving me so haggard..."
Lü Bu gazed at his reflection in the wine, his eyes filled with conflicting emotions.
Then, as though he had made up his mind, he abruptly stood and hurled the wine cup to the floor, declaring through gritted teeth, "From today on, I quit drinking!"
He then looked up at Chen Gong and said earnestly, "Gongtai, I know I was wrong. From now on, I will never again lose myself in drinking!"
"I cannot do without your counsel, Gongtai. You must not abandon me!"
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