History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 218 Dong Zhuo's Death

Zhao Zhi smeared dirt on her face, then changed her hairstyle from a woman's bun to a warrior's knot. As she did this, she recalled her husband's analysis of the situation in the capital.

The current Imperial Guards in Luoyang include 150,000 warriors selected from across the country in 1949, and all the soldiers who were moved to Luoyang from Pingcheng in 1940, totaling hundreds of thousands of warriors.

The Imperial Guards and the Tiger Warriors were controlled by three men: Prince Xianyang, Yuan Xi; the Commander of the Imperial Guards, Yu Lie; and Prince Guangling, Yuan Yu. The Prince of Xianyang held supreme military and political power, Yu Lie commanded the Imperial Guards within the palace, and Prince Guangling controlled the mobilization of the guards in Luoyang and the palace. The military power of these three key officials complemented and checked each other; this balance was best maintained before the emperor assumed full power.

So no matter how angry Zhao Zhi is tonight, she has to protect that scoundrel Yuan Yu!

Those who have done wrong dare not sleep until dawn. Yuan Yu and Xin Shi left the small house and went their separate ways. Dong Zhuo was still pulling people up the wall, while Zhao Zhi was rubbing them up from below.

It's harder than lifting a pig up a wall!

"Dang Dang Dang——"

Dong Zhuo caught Yuan Yu and landed on the ground, the sound of the clapper echoing throughout the neighborhood.

They were discovered by the neighborhood officials on night patrol.

"Thief! Come quickly to the southeast!"

To ensure accurate street layout, the clerks in charge of managing neighborhoods often used a "field" structure to divide the area. Specifically, they divided the entire neighborhood into four "small fields." For example, the "small field" in the southeast corner was composed of "Southeast One, Two, Three, Four."

Yuan Yu climbed onto Dong Zhuo's back and threw a sentence at Zhao Zhi: "You cover our retreat!"

The sound of hurried footsteps was converging on this direction, and arrows were already being fired, accompanied by a warning: "You little thief, surrender now! Anyone who tries to escape will be killed!"

Before the arrows came flying, Zhao Zhi climbed back over the courtyard wall. In the blink of an eye, she hugged the broken tree to her chest and climbed back over the wall.

Dong Zhuo couldn't run very fast carrying Yuan Yu, so several patrol officers went after them. Zhao Zhi swung a tree as a shield to block two volleys of arrows from behind, then dragged the tree along to catch up with the patrol officers chasing after Yuan Yu and the other man.

"Kill this thief!"

The patrol officer indeed mistook Zhao Zhi for a military man.

"Clang clang clang, clang clang clang..."

The watchman's clapper sounded incessantly, each note urgent!
Zhao Zhi caught up with the leading patrol officer, swinging her arm through the flowering tree. In an instant, the patrol officers were all in a sorry state, and those who couldn't dodge in time were all injured.

Zhao Zhi would not kill these innocent minor officials. She would then use the tree as a weapon to force them to retreat a dozen steps, and then throw away the tree and climb over the wall like a monkey to another house.

The family who had been listening to the commotion immediately started screaming!
At the same time, Yuan Yu and Dong Zhuo's path was blocked, and the patrol officers threw stones and shot arrows before they even arrived.

Dong Zhuo made a sharp turn and ran west.

Yuan Yu yelled, "Where are you going?" He was only a few dozen steps away from Yuan Yu's house!

Dong Zhuo dared not explain, and swallowed his anger.

Yuan Yu then cursed Zhao Zhi: "Never believe Cheng Pangzi's nonsense again. What kind of bullshit guard chief is she, letting her cover the rear..." He shut up.

Because Zhao Zhi had been climbing over walls and taking unconventional routes, she landed ahead of the two of them.

Zhao Zhi complained to Dong Zhuo, "Why are you running so slowly? I'll go cover the rear again, you hurry up and take the general away!" She went towards a group of patrol officers who had caught up with them.

The sounds of fighting and screams woke up everyone in the neighborhood.

"Close the doors and windows, there are thieves!"

"Close the doors and windows, there are thieves!"

As the patrol officers kept shouting, Zhao Zhi deliberately grabbed one person and threw another, smashing them against the gates of the residents' courtyards. Soon, this angered the powerful and wealthy families, who sent their retainers and strongmen to help the patrol officers arrest him. In this way, Zhao Zhi led more and more people to surround and intercept Yuan Yu's escape route.

Yuan Yu, now clinging to Dong Zhuo's left shoulder like an earthworm, had narrowly escaped being shot in the back by an arrow. Dong Zhuo then abruptly stopped and changed direction.

Yuan Yu cursed, "Go ahead, you bastard! Why are you running back again?"

"General, don't move."

"You still dare to tell me what to do?"

It's no wonder Yuan Yu was irritable. He was currently upside down, his face directly against Dong Zhuo's thigh. When Dong Zhuo ran, he bumped into Yuan Yu's face with a "bang".

"No, you have to carry me on your back!"

As soon as Yuan Yu landed, he cried out, "Ouch, I can't do this." He felt dizzy.

Zhao Zhi lightly leaped down from the side courtyard wall. "Guard Dong, you're too slow!"

The figures of patrol officers and their men appeared layer upon layer at the crossroads behind them. "All three thieves are there!"

As they ran closer, it became clear that each person was carrying a knife, a stick, or other weapon, and each person was making a throwing motion with their other hand.

Yuan Yu's voice changed in fright: "Guard Zhao, carry me! Dong Zhuo, cover our retreat!"

He had barely finished speaking when he felt himself being half-flew, carried on Zhao Zhi's back and tumbled into a nearby house. Dong Zhuo looked back, his face filled with despair.

Zhao Zhi carried several people on her back without feeling any strain. She ran along the base of the courtyard wall, rising and falling several times, until she reached the opposite corner of the neighborhood.

She continued walking, her hands and feet seemingly hooked as she climbed the high walls of the neighborhood and jumped down onto the street outside.

This location is a corner.

Zhao Zhi quickly put Yuan Yu down. She first shushed him, then fell to the ground, pretending to be drunk and struggling to get up, in order to cover up the strange mud-covered face.

Two patrol teams turned around; they were the capital's imperial guards. They shouted at the two men, "Show your identification tags!"

"You stupid thing, how dare you be so aggressive towards me?" Zhao Zhi pretended to be domineering and threw a bronze plaque at the soldier.

The soldier picked it up, shone it in the torchlight, and immediately handed it back respectfully: "So it was Commander Liu Zhai."

"You've seen me? You've all seen me?" Zhao Zhi stood up with her legs bent, barely managing to, and scolded the others: "Anyone who dares to say they've seen me here, I'll skin you alive!"

After the patrol was scared away, Yuan Yu picked up the bronze plaque with a puzzled look and examined it carefully in the moonlight. It read: Xianyang Prince's Mansion, Zhai Shuai, Liu Xiaogou.

Liu Xiaogou is the chief bodyguard of Prince Yuanxi of Xianyang!
Yuan Yu asked, "Where did you get this brand?"

Zhao Zhi: "It's fake, to prevent the Imperial Guards from checking. It's a pity, this token can only be used once."

Yuan Yu's face was grim. He was the emperor's fourth uncle and a dignified General of Chariots and Cavalry. He had just been chased away like a stray dog. He barely managed to escape from the neighborhood and had to rack his brains to figure out how to conceal his identity when he encountered the Imperial Guards. Yet, a dog in front of his second brother, Yuan Xi, so easily shut up the patrolling Imperial Guards!
"I will first escort the general back to his residence, and then come back to inquire about the whereabouts of Guard Dong."

Zhao Zhi had no ability to find out the truth. After learning the whole story, Deng, the chief secretary of the Guangling Prince's Mansion, sent three groups of people to the Tingwei Prison, the Sizhou Prison, and the County Prison to find someone to rescue Dong Zhuo. Unfortunately, it was too late. Dong Zhuo died when he was carried out of the neighborhood.

Before his death, he disfigured himself and destroyed the bamboo plaque that proved his identity, fulfilling his final act of loyalty in exchange for the Guangling Prince's Mansion taking in his entire family.

Zhao Zhi's temporary mission ended, and she received a reward of 100,000 coins, which were personally delivered to the Prince of Rencheng's residence by Chief Secretary Deng. She then left the Prince of Guangling's residence alone, looking up at the sky.

Under the bright sun, how can we eradicate all the filth in the world?
Jin Tuo: A small copper pot used for cooking during the day and for keeping watch at night.

Liu Xiaogou: Just to clarify, I didn't make up this name. Yuanxi's head guard is indeed named Liu Xiaogou.

(End of this chapter)