Chapter 51 If You Have No Money, Pay With Your Body!

Liquidated damages?

Question marks popped up on Cao Cao's head once again.

Were those three words anywhere in the original loan contract?

He hadn't really read it carefully.

At that time, he was completely immersed in the joy of obtaining the loan and never intended to pay it back in the first place, so naturally, he hadn't given Lu Chuan's loan contract a second thought.

Now, things were different. Lu Chuan had produced the loan contract, which meant whatever he said went.

"Then, how are the liquidated damages mentioned by Lord Lu to be calculated?"

"It's quite simple. The contract stipulates that the right of interpretation for liquidated damages rests with me. I can decide how much to collect, or by what means to collect them. So, General Cao, do you happen to have thirty million coins right now?"

"How much? Thirty million coins?"

Cao Cao stared blankly at Lu Chuan, thinking that he certainly had the nerve to ask.

Where on earth was he supposed to find thirty million coins?

Even if he sold himself, he wouldn't be worth that much.

Lu Chuan shook his head. "If you don't even have thirty million coins, then this matter becomes rather difficult to handle."

Cao Cao turned his head away helplessly; he no longer had the desire to say anything to Lu Chuan.

Not everyone was as wealthy and generous as Lu Chuan, being able to casually lend out one hundred million coins.

Although it wasn't truly one hundred million in cash, ten million in coins plus grain, forage, and military equipment valued at forty million was already quite an extravagant sum.

Lu Chuan looked around with an expression of utter helplessness.

"Since you have no money, we can only use people as collateral."

Use people as collateral?

Cao Cao still failed to grasp the crux of Lu Chuan's words.

What did it mean to use people as collateral?

Surely he wasn't worth that much himself, was he?

Wait!

Cao Cao's expression changed abruptly as a certain possibility occurred to him.

Could it be that Lu Chuan harbored that kind of inclination?

Although niche, it was still quite popular within certain aristocratic circles.

At this thought, Cao Cao instinctively took a step back.

He would rather die right here than let Lu Chuan have his way!

Xiahou Dun and the others seemed to have thought of this as well, stepping back one after another, adopting a posture that said if Lu Chuan dared to look at them, they would fight him to the death.

Of course, Lu Chuan had absolutely no such thoughts whatsoever. Seeing Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun, and the others all retreating, his face darkened unpleasantly.

What on earth were they thinking?

Was he that kind of person?

Could they please not be so filthy-minded?!

To prevent the misunderstanding from escalating further, Lu Chuan dared not keep them in suspense any longer.

"I heard that General Cao's recent trip to Yangzhou to recruit soldiers was quite fruitful, managing to assemble an army of over ten thousand men in a short period of time. It's truly enviable."

Cao Cao offered a bitter smile inwardly. If it were before today, he would certainly have been overjoyed to speak of recruiting soldiers, but now, mentioning such matters brought him nothing but grief.

An army of over ten thousand men, just like that, gone.

Lu Chuan continued, "Since General Cao has no money, how about using these newly recruited soldiers to pay off the liquidated damages?"

Use the newly recruited soldiers to pay off the liquidated damages?

Cao Cao found himself bewildered once more.

Lu Chuan had led his cavalry in a midnight raid on the camp; the recruits he had just gathered had long since scattered in rout, and nobody knew where they had fled. Even if he waited until tomorrow, the number of soldiers he could rally back wouldn't be very large—getting even a thousand of them together would be a blessing.

After all, these new recruits felt no sense of loyalty to Cao Cao. Given the chance to run away, who would willingly stay behind to risk their lives for him?

Since the recruits had all run off, how could they be used as collateral?

Regardless of all that, Cao Cao currently had no choice in the matter. Whatever Lu Chuan said went; he could not object.

"Since Lord Lu deems it acceptable, naturally I have no objections."

"Good! Then I must ask General Cao to remain here temporarily and assist me in rounding up the routed soldiers after dawn. However, I won't drive you to absolute ruin either; after all, if you don't have a single soldier left in your hands, how could you ever repay the principal with interest in the future? I can leave you a modest number of troops so that when you return to Henei, there is still some hope for you."

Cao Cao opened his mouth, wanting to express his gratitude, but it all felt thoroughly bizarre.

The soldiers he had painstakingly recruited would become Lu Chuan's come daylight, and yet he was supposed to thank Lu Chuan?

Wasn't this entire situation profoundly absurd?

Since Lu Chuan had already made up his mind, he naturally saw no need to consult Cao Cao's opinion further. He signaled Lu Huo to gather all the raiding cavalry, and then had Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and Cao Ren stripped of their weapons and armor.

The veteran soldiers who had followed Cao Cao were likewise driven to a designated area, where all their weapons and armor were confiscated, guarded strictly by five hundred cavalrymen to ensure they caused no trouble.

Cao Cao watched all of this unfold with bitter resentment, yet he was utterly powerless to stop it.

Who told him to lose the battle?

Fortunately, Lu Chuan did not make things overly difficult for them; as long as Cao Cao and his men refrained from causing trouble, Lu Chuan paid them no mind at all.

Having confiscated all weapons and armor, Lu Chuan ordered his men to ignite bonfires on the spot and set up cauldrons to cook meals.

As mentioned earlier, once routed on the battlefield, the vast majority of new recruits would choose to flee for their lives rather than return to pledge loyalty anew.

Under such circumstances, simply waiting around here would not bring many soldiers back.

Moreover, upon seeing that Lu Chuan commanded so many cavalrymen, those soldiers were far too terrified to hide away, let alone dare to approach.

To lure those scattered troops back, Lu Chuan had to resort to some tactics.

Dozens of large iron cauldrons were set up, and the preserved meat brought along was tossed inside. As the raging fires burned fiercely, the rich aroma of cured meat soon drifted into the air.

Not only that, but Lu Chuan also had his men boil thick millet gruel, tossing in chunks of salt and leafy greens, filling the air with the fragrance of grain.

Once the appetizing scents had thoroughly spread, Lu Chuan dispatched his cavalry to gallop back and forth within a ten-li radius, centered around the cooking site, shouting as they rode.

"Lord Lu is gathering the routed soldiers! All deserters will have their past faults pardoned; anyone willing to come over will be provided with hot meals."

It was a remarkably simple message, entirely devoid of any flowery embellishments, but to the ears of the fleeing soldiers, it carried an entirely different weight.

What did they hope to gain by following Cao Cao into battle?

Was it not simply to have a full stomach, and perhaps, if possible, save up a bit of coin to return home, take a wife, and start a family?

Those with wives and aging parents simply longed to bring money back home and raise a few more children.

Their demands were as modest and plain as that. Therefore, upon hearing that Lu Chuan would not only pardon their desertion but also offer them food, their hearts were inevitably stirred.

It was the dead of night, however, and since they had no idea what the situation was on Lu Chuan's end, they dared not approach rashly, choosing instead to hide away until dawn.

Watching Lu Chuan's maneuvers, Cao Cao began to harbor deep misgivings in his heart.

Could Lu Chuan actually succeed in rounding up all the scattered troops?

It didn't even take a hundred percent—if he could manage to gather just half of the routed soldiers, that would amount to five thousand men!

Five thousand men! When Cao Cao had personally traveled all the way to Yangzhou, he had only managed to recruit a little over six thousand!

If such a vast number of soldiers fell into Lu Chuan's hands, coupled with Lu Chuan's terrifying financial resources, it probably wouldn't take long for him to build a formidable, battle-hardened army!

When that day came, would he ever be able to wash away today's humiliation?

Suddenly, Cao Cao felt a chilling certainty that he might never be a match for Lu Chuan for the rest of his life.