binnovel Chapter 257 Jia Xu's Vicious Plan
Chapter 257 Jia Xu's Vicious Plan
Chapter 257 Jia Xu's Vicious Plan
On the other side, Jia Xu came out of Zhang Wen's room and just walked to the front yard when he was pulled to the front by Niu Fu who appeared out of nowhere.
Niu Fu was a short and fat man. He glanced around and then whispered to Jia Xu, "Wenhe, how is it?"
Compared to Dong Zhuo, Jia Xu was more frank with Niu Fu. Without any hesitation, he frowned and said worriedly, "Zhang Wen is very determined and has no intention of giving in. I am worried that the court may really have other plans."
Niu Fu had always trusted Jia Xu, so he asked without any doubt, "What should we do then?"
Jia Xu raised his head and looked towards Dong Zhuo's bedroom, and said solemnly, "Brother Niu, no matter what method Dong Gong uses to occupy Xuzhou, he will inevitably provoke a thunderbolt attack from the court. Now that the court is holding on, it is not the time to fight hard. Only by going south can we further grow stronger and wait for the court to collapse. Only then will we be able to accomplish great things!"
Niu Fu didn't want to fight either, and said distressedly: "I don't understand what my foster father is thinking. He just obeys Li Ru's words. It's really strange..."
Jia Xu vaguely guessed it, and said, "Brother Niu, now the only way is to go south, and we must make a decision as soon as possible, before winter, otherwise when Liu Biao and others have recovered, it will not be so easy to deal with them."
Niu Fu scratched his head and said, "I know what you said. But Yuan Shu was so powerful back then, but he was still blocked by Liu Biao. Can we succeed?"
Jia Xu said: "Yuan Shu was too arrogant. He started wars on all sides and aroused public anger. If he had focused on business, combined kindness and power, put strategy first, and supported it with military power, the land of Jiangdong would have been in his pocket. At that time, the court would have fallen apart, the Han Dynasty would have lost its power, and the whole world would have chased it. Yuan Shu missed the opportunity and brought about his own destruction. Now the opportunity is in the hands of Lord Dong. As long as we plan properly, the great cause will be in front of us!"
Niu Fu looked at Jia Xu and said, "Then, shall I go and persuade my foster father?"
Jia Xu's expression became more serious, and he said, "Brother Niu, you must explain the pros and cons to Mr. Dong! I suspect there is a conspiracy by the court here."
Niu Fu raised his hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll go find my foster father right away."
Jia Xu watched his back, his face gradually returning to its usual expressionless state, even a little cold.
Niu Fu searched the front yard for a while but couldn't find Dong Zhuo. Then he realized that he had left the city, so he hurriedly chased after him.
At this time, Dong Zhuo was patrolling with Li Ru, Hua Xiong and other troops.
Hua Xiong said excitedly, "Mr. Dong, almost every brother in the army now has two women, the military salary has doubled, and the morale has been greatly boosted!"
Dong Zhuo smiled, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "Well done!"
Li Ru was standing aside, looking at the army which seemed orderly on the surface but actually somewhat disorganized, and felt a little strange.
Hua Xiong didn't care about Li Ru who had 'surrendered' from the imperial court, and continued: "Lord Dong, I don't agree to go to war with Lu Bu either. It's better to go south."
Before Li Ru arrived, Jia Xu was the only military advisor among Dong Zhuo's staff. Jia Xu's words were always right, and his tactics and strategies had never failed, which earned him the trust of Niu Fu, Hua Xiong, Guo Si and others.
Li Ru immediately said, "Lord Dong, my subordinates' intention is to persuade Lu Bu to surrender, not to start a war."
Hua Xiong was very dissatisfied with Li Ru. He snorted coldly and said, "Lü Bu occupies five counties, which is larger than Dong Gong's territory. He has more soldiers and generals. If it were you, would you surrender?"
Li Ru smiled instead of getting angry, and said confidently: "Lü Bu was born in a humble family, and he killed his adoptive father Ding Yuan, so he is not tolerated by the world. Lord Dong accepted him, which is a great grace from heaven. How can Lü Bu not surrender?"
Li Ru was too lazy to argue with a reckless man like Hua Xiong, so he turned to Dong Zhuo and said, "Mr. Dong, Cao Cao has 50,000 soldiers in Qiao County, which is a serious threat to us. If we cannot expand our territory, there will be disaster!"
"Cao Cao?"
Dong Zhuo's face darkened slightly, and he said, "It is indeed a threat to my heart."
Hua Xiong saw that Dong Zhuo was tempted, so he said hurriedly: "Mr. Dong, Wenhe's words make a lot of sense. If Lu Bu doesn't surrender, we will miss the opportunity. What should we do? If we go south now, Liu Biao has not yet established a firm foothold, and the army is exhausted after the war, with no money or food. This is a good opportunity!"
Seeing that Li Ru was about to retort, Dong Zhuo stopped him with a smile and said, "Wen Ru, just go ahead and do it. I know what's going on."
Li Ru swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth, raised his hand and said: "Thank you, Mr. Dong, I will do it right away."
Not far away, there was Li Ru's carriage, guards, and gifts, obviously preparing for a long journey to Xia Pi.
Hua Xiong also hesitated to speak, feeling very angry.
Dong Zhuo looked at the soldiers in front of him, and waited until Li Ru left before he said, "Hua Xiong, I heard that some people escaped?"
Hua Xiong's face froze slightly, and he said, "Yes, nearly a hundred people every month."
Dong Zhuo nodded silently, his old face motionless, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Hua Xiong stood aside, not caring at all.
The most elite troops under Dong Zhuo's command were the Xiliang cavalry. Some of these soldiers had followed him for more than ten years, and some for five or six years. Most of them were from Bing and Liang. They had been away from their hometown for many years and were becoming increasingly homesick, so many of them fled and sneaked back to their hometowns.
Li Ru got on the carriage, and with his entourage, he headed straight for Xuzhou Xia Pi, ready to persuade Lu Bu to surrender.
Two days later.
Dong Zhuo entertained Zhang Wen several times, and the two reminisced about the past and talked for several hours.
This time, neither of them mentioned any sensitive topics, but mostly talked about love, romance and irrelevant matters.
Jia Xu was not accompanying them, only Niu Fu and Hua Xiong were there. These two were not talkative people, and they were silent throughout the whole process, just eating and drinking.
On the third day, Zhang Wen packed his bags and prepared to leave Pei State and head to Langya County in Xuzhou.
Dong Zhuo was beside Zhang Wen, his old face full of reluctance to leave, and said: "Mr. Zhang, please take care of yourself on your journey. The weather is dry, so don't rush on your journey..."
Zhang Wen put his hands behind his back, paced, and said, "Zhongying, you must know that if you make a mistake, you will make mistakes at every step. You still have a chance to turn back."
Dong Zhuo quickly raised his hand and said, "Mr. Zhang, Dong Zhuo is loyal to the court and has no second thoughts."
Zhang Wen ignored him and said, "The imperial court cannot intervene now, but if we force it to intervene, not to mention you, even if Yuan Shu is included, they will not be a match for the imperial court and will be destroyed in an instant."
Dong Zhuo said sincerely, "Mr. Zhang, please tell the court that Dong Zhuo is a Han minister in life and a Han ghost in death!"
Anyone who says something like this is considered a traitor in history!
Zhang Wen seemed not to have heard and said, "Yuan Shu's defeat is imminent, Zhongying, please don't make the mistake."
Dong Zhuo raised his hand and said respectfully, "I understand."
Hearing the word "your humble servant", Zhang Wen looked back at him and said, "For the sake of our old friendship, I will tell you one more thing. Han Sui and Ma Teng intend to surrender. Liu Bei, the governor of Hanzhong, is ready to go to Liang."
Dong Zhuo's face twitched slightly, and then he said in a deep voice: "Thank you, Mr. Zhang!"
Zhang Wen didn't say much and walked straight towards the carriage.
Dong Zhuo followed him all the way, escorted him carefully, and was very respectful.
After Zhang Wen got on the carriage and drove away, his eyes became gloomy.
If the Three Qiang tribes submit to the imperial court, there will no longer be any threat to the Han Dynasty in the north, and the imperial court can concentrate on dealing with the various princes in the south!
Guo Si looked uneasy and stepped forward and asked, "Mr. Dong, is what Zhang Wen said true?"
Dong Zhuo put his hands behind his back, his expression changing constantly, and said, "The three Qiang have been trying to submit to the court for a long time."
Zhong Yao had been sent to conquer the Three Qiang several years ago, and he had been sent there several more times since then. The Three Qiang had an obvious intention to surrender, and they asked the court for official positions, money, and food, but they were all rejected by Liu Bian, so the process had been delayed until now.
Guo Si frowned tightly, feeling uneasy and thinking anxiously.
The Yellow Turban Army of Qingzhou and the Black Mountain Army were pacified one after another, leaving only Liangzhou unsettled in the north for the imperial court. If the three Qiang provinces were pacified, the imperial court would no longer have any constraints in the north!
This is "bad news" for them!
Niu Fu stood aside and said in a muffled voice: "Foster father, Wen He is right. We can't wait any longer. Let's go south. Li Ru is nothing. We can't trust his words!"
"I know." Dong Zhuo's face returned to normal, and he said coldly: "Let the people in Luoyang keep an eye on the court's every move!"
Hua Xiong and Niu Fu looked at each other and did not respond.
This kind of job is Jia Xu's.
But in the past few days, Jia Xu seemed to have disappeared and was completely out of sight.
There are two flowers in bloom, let me show you one first.
Li Ru finally arrived in Xia Pi, where he was warmly received by Lu Bu.
The two exchanged pleasantries along the way and entered the backyard.
Li Ru glanced at the sumptuous dishes on the table and became more certain, but he pretended to be indifferent and said, "Captain Lu, your death is approaching, and you still have the heart to feast?"
Lu Bu's official position, that is, "Pinglu Xiaowei", was a low-ranking official. Above him were various Lieutenant Generals, and after them were various generals. He was completely a "minor official" of the middle and lower levels.
Hearing the title of 'Captain Lu', Lu Bu's smile froze, he sat down, and asked calmly: "What is your position?"
Lu Bu now controls five counties and has an army of 100,000. He can be said to be a top-notch prince in the world. Others are either prefects, governors, or generals, but Lu Bu is still a "captain".
Therefore, this "Captain" has always been a thorn in his side.
Seeing that Lü Bu's sore spot had been touched, Li Ru was not at all panicked and sneered, "I am an aide to Lord Dong. Lord Dong is the Grand Marshal, one of the Three Dukes of the dynasty. As an aide to Lord Dong, I am one level higher than him. Captain Lü, Xu Rong has stationed his troops in Langya County, and Sun Jian has occupied Guangling County. The situation of a pincer attack from the north and south has been formed. I am afraid that Captain Lü will not be able to keep his position as a captain."
Lu Bu showed no sign of panic, staring at Li Ru and asked, "What do you think of me?"
Li Ru was a little surprised by Lu Bu's reaction, but he still said: "Either surrender to the court and wait for the court to pursue Captain Lu for the crime of killing Ding Shijun. Or make a strong alliance with the outside world and rely on the government troops."
"You want me to surrender to Lord Dong?" Lu Bu said straight to the point.
Li Ru knew that his intentions were seen through by Lu Bu, but seeing that Lu Bu had exposed it so easily, he secretly became alert. He calmly straightened his clothes, sat down opposite Lu Bu, and said calmly: "Captain Lu is the son-in-law of Lord Dong. No matter what Captain Lu is like, in the eyes of outsiders, you are still a family."
An adopted daughter of Dong Zhuo was given to Lu Bu.
Lü Bu picked up his chopsticks and started eating, saying, "I have formed an alliance with Yuan Shu. If Sun Jian dares to move, I will attack him from both sides. As for Xu Rong, he only has 10,000 or 20,000 men. I, Lü Fengxian, don't take him seriously!"
Li Ru felt that something was not right, and laughed coldly, "Yuan Shu was very powerful before, occupying half of Jiangdong, from Yuzhou to Jiaozhi, and he was invincible wherever he went. What's the situation now? The Yuan family had three dukes in four generations, and they were exterminated by the court. The nobles sympathized with them, and they were in the limelight for a while. The world knew that they would replace the Han Dynasty! What's the situation now? Captain Lu, who is stronger or weaker than Yuan Shu?"
Lu Bu ate as he had done in ancient times, and then drank a lot of wine, saying: "The general trend is clear, the Han Dynasty will end, heroes are fighting for the top, and great undertakings are ahead! If I join others, I will only be a cow and horse, and Lu Bu will have to be under others for a long time, right?"
Li Ru was secretly surprised. He did not expect that Lu Bu had such ambitions, but he did not panic. He said, "Those who achieve great things do not care about small matters. Captain Lu cannot humble himself, so how can he look down on the world?"
Lü Bu was eating happily. Suddenly, he grabbed the long-haired man beside him, stared at Li Ru, and said, "Let me ask you, am I, Lü Bu, a hero?"
Li Ru was startled and quickly raised his hand and said, "Brother Lu..., you are a hero of the world."
"Then are you willing to stay and help me achieve my great cause?" Lu Bu asked.
Li Ru's eyes were wide open, his face full of shock.
This, this Lu Bu, actually wants him to surrender?
Lu Bu raised his head and said, "You don't want to?"
Li Ru felt a chill in his heart as he looked at the slightly tilted spear in Lu Bu's hand.
He had a premonition that if he shook his head or said "no", Lu Bu would chop him to pieces on the spot!
But wasn't he here to persuade Lü Bu to surrender to Dong Zhuo? Why did Lü Bu force him to stay?
Li Ru raised his hands tremblingly, wanting to say something but stopping himself, thinking of a perfect excuse in his mind.
Lu Bu didn't care. He pushed the spear away from his hand, stood up and walked over. He took Li Ru's hand and laughed, "Brother Li is better than a hundred thousand soldiers. Brother Li, let's have a long talk tonight!"
Li Ru was anxious and wanted to break free, but he was no match for Lu Bu's strength. He tried to be calm and said, "Brother Lu, please listen to me. I..."
"Let's talk in my room." Lü Bu said loudly. He was a head taller than Li Ru, and he took him and walked with big strides.
Li Ru glanced at the gazes of the servants and guards around him, and his heart suddenly felt cold, his whole body chilled.
The third year of Yonghan, the end of October.
Pei State, Xiang County.
Dong Zhuo's face was gloomy. He pushed everything in front of him to the ground and roared, "Li Ru, you are bullying me too much!"
When Niu Fu saw this, he said angrily, "Foster father, Li Ru was originally afraid of Wang Yun's disaster and came to surrender, and his intention was not sincere. Now he has surrendered to Lu Bu, which shows that he is a villain who forgets his loyalty for the sake of profit. Foster father, there is no need to be angry with him!"
Hua Xiong then persuaded, "Mr. Dong is just a sinister person. It is better for him to leave now than to harm him in the future. You should be thankful. Please don't be angry."
Dong Zhuo didn't want to hear any more. He picked up his sword and chopped the table in front of him into pieces.
He was still furious, staring at the people in front of him with eyes as big as copper bells, swinging his sword to chop, scaring everyone back in fear.
Fortunately, he still had some sense. He threw away his sword angrily and shouted, "Send someone to tell Lu Bu that I want Li Ru's head!"
Niu Fu, Hua Xiong, Guo Si and others could only agree, knowing that this was impossible.
On the other hand, Jia Xu, who was sitting next to him, was dressed in white without any stains. His face was calm and expressionless, without any emotion at all.
Only occasionally a hint of mockery and disdain flashed across his eyes.