Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 462 Strange bedfellows
Hao Meng led dozens of armored soldiers to rush in first, followed by hundreds of soldiers, and another hundred soldiers to surround the back gate.

As the shouts of battle reached the backyard, Lü Bu, disheveled and carrying a long sword, rushed out of the bedroom, while his wife, Lady Wei, was covered by a garment.

"I told you not to bully a woman, but you didn't listen. Now you've brought trouble upon yourselves." Madam Wei said with a look of fear and resentment.

Lu Bu's eyes flashed with a fierce light as he shouted, "Shut up, you country bumpkin! Do you want to die here?"

"My lord, the enemy has reached the main hall! All attendants have gone to the hall to defend against them!" a servant hurriedly reported.

"Do you know who is behind this rebellion?" Lü Bu asked.

“A accent from the Hedong region!” the attendant said.

"kill!"

As soon as the servant's voice faded, shouts of battle erupted from ahead, along with the sound of arrows piercing the night.

"What should we do?" Wei asked, gripping Lü Bu's arm tightly.

"If the enemy enters through the front gate, they will surely block it at the back. Now we will climb over the wall through the latrine and get out to Cheng Lian's camp!"

As he spoke, Lü Bu dragged Lady Wei towards the toilet in the back of the house. During this time, Lü Bu did not forget to bring his two children with him, while leaving all the other concubines behind.

The toilet reeked of a pungent stench. Taking advantage of his height, Lü Bu first lifted Lady Wei up. Lady Wei, though a woman from Shuo Shang who had enjoyed wealth and privilege for many years, was still nimble and hurriedly climbed over the wall. Then, Lü Bu pushed his eldest daughter up the wall for Lady Wei to catch. He then carried his younger child on his back and scaled the wall to leave the courtyard.

Under the cover of darkness, Lü Bu, unaware of who was causing the disturbance, dared not call out to anyone and instead headed straight for the military camp outside the city, seeking the protection of Cheng Lian. Although Lü Bu had left, the servants he had left in his residence were mostly fierce men, who, taking advantage of the location of the hall, tenaciously resisted Hao Meng's attack.

Late tonight, chaos suddenly broke out in the prefecture, with shouts of battle rising and falling, waking many people up.

The officers and soldiers, having experience in warfare, quickly closed their doors to prevent anyone from accidentally entering and endangering their families.

For most people, the key was to avoid personal harm, regardless of whether the rebellion succeeded. Besides, if they went out and were falsely accused of being rebels, they would have no grounds for complaint.

As for the soldiers in the city, although they knew that someone was causing trouble, they did not know the specific situation and had no orders from Lü Bu. They were afraid of being held responsible, so they dared not act rashly.

Tang envoy Xue Xia, who lived near the prefecture, was awakened at the first sign of the turmoil. He remained calm and directed his attendants to reinforce the houses and wait for the situation in the city to change.

As time went on, almost all the officials in the city knew about the rebellion, but because they did not know the details, no one dared to intervene.

The night was long. Unrest had raged in the prefecture for some time. An army rushed into the city, whether to quell the unrest or to aid the rebels was unknown. All that was known was that after the army entered the city, the unrest abruptly subsided, and various noises rose from every corner before gradually fading away.

As dawn broke, while Xue Xia was worried about Lü Bu's situation, Lü Bu sent a messenger to summon him.

Upon learning that Lü Bu was unharmed, Xue Xia was overjoyed and happily headed to the prefectural capital.

Inside the mansion, the body had already been moved away by armored soldiers, and the ground was now covered with congealed reddish-brown blood.

When Xue Xia arrived at the residence, he found Lü Bu with disheveled hair, sitting directly on the table with an extremely gloomy face. The civil and military officials around him were trembling with fear, lest Lü Bu's anger implicate them.

Xue Xia bowed slightly, greeted Lü Bu, and then sat down on the left or right side of the table.

"My lord, I have beheaded Hao Meng!"

A short while later, Cheng Lian carried Hao Meng's bloodied head straight into the main hall and reported back to Lü Bu.

Lu Bu glanced at Hao Meng, whose eyes were wide open in death, and coldly asked, "Hao Meng was a foolish man, and the rebellion was not committed by him alone. Have you captured any of Hao Meng's subordinates and interrogated them to find out who his accomplices were?"

Cheng Lian cupped his hands and said, "My lord, all of Hao Meng's confidants have been executed. Does Deputy General Cao Xing know the details?"

"What is Cao Xing like?" Lü Bu asked.

Cheng Lian said, "When Hao Meng rebelled, he wanted to persuade Cao Xing to join him. However, Cao Xing remembered the kindness shown to him and angrily denounced Hao Meng's rebellion. He then led his troops to fight Hao Meng and cut off one of Hao Meng's arms, but he himself was wounded several times. Now he is bedridden and has been carried outside the mansion by his servants to await orders."

"Summon Cao Xing!"

"promise!"

Upon receiving the order, Cao Xing was seen lying on a stretcher and being carried into the hall by his attendants.

Upon seeing the injured Cao Xing, Lü Bu's expression shifted slightly, and he asked with concern, "How are your injuries?"

"It's nothing serious. After a little rest, I'll be able to continue serving you, my lord," Cao Xing said.

"Good lad!"

Lü Bu nodded appreciatively and asked, "You are Hao Meng's deputy general. Do you know who instigated Hao Meng to rebel?"

"Yuan Shu!"

Cao Xing truthfully stated: "Hao Meng said that Yuan Shu promised to appoint him as the governor of Yan Province, but he also harbored resentment towards you, so he was instigated by Yuan Shu and decided to plot against you."

"Does Hao Meng have any accomplices?" Lu Bu asked, scrutinizing the civil and military officials around him with murderous intent.

"Chen Gong!"

Cao Xing pointed to Chen Gong, who was in the deputy seat, and said, "According to Hao Meng, if he kills the general, Chen Gong will support him as the governor of Yan Province and receive rewards from Yuan Shu."

Upon hearing this, all eyes turned to him. Chen Gong blushed instantly, opened his mouth, and said weakly, "My lord has treated me with great kindness, how could I betray him? Hao Meng is nothing but a madman who was instigated by Yuan Shu to start a rebellion. Now he claims that I am his accomplice, which is nothing more than an attempt to mislead others."

Last night, Chen Gong prepared for the uprising, but Hao Meng was unable to capture the prefecture. In the end, under Cheng Lian's siege, Hao Meng was defeated and fled back to his camp. Seeing that the situation was not good, Chen Gong abandoned the uprising.

It was thought that with Hao Meng's death, there would be no way to verify the testimony, but unexpectedly, Hao Meng revealed the truth to Cao Xing. Fortunately, there was no concrete physical evidence, and the testimony alone was not convincing enough.

Lu Bu remained silent, only staring intently at Chen Gong, until Chen Gong became increasingly uneasy. Only then did Lu Bu say calmly, "Mr. Chen, you did not conspire with Hao Meng to commit treason last night at your residence. This was merely Hao Meng bluffing!"

Seeing that Lü Bu was not going to pursue Chen Gong's responsibility, Xue Xia was stunned. When Cao Xing testified against Chen Gong just now, Chen Gong's expression and statement must have been suspicious. He wondered whether Lü Bu believed Chen Gong or deliberately ignored him.

Seeing that Lü Bu had already judged Chen Gong, Cao Xing could not continue to testify. He could only vaguely say, "Hao Meng has resented you for a long time. I have repeatedly advised you that you have great courage and should not disobey me. I did not expect Hao Meng to be so arrogant!"

Lu Bu patted Cao Xing on the shoulder and said approvingly, "You are a brave man. Go back and take good care of your injuries. After you have fully recovered, you will succeed Hao Meng as General."

"Thank you very much, my lord!" Cao Xing said gratefully.

"Hao Meng is dead after his rebellion, but his family is still alive. They await your orders, Your Excellency!" Cheng Lian said.

"Hao Meng's wife is beautiful. I will now bestow her upon you as a concubine, and all her children shall be executed." Lü Bu said in a deep voice, "The subsequent rewards will be paid from the treasury when the city is at peace."

"As ordered!"

Hao Meng's wife's beauty was well-known, so Cheng Lianxi was overjoyed to have her.

Not long after Cheng Lian took his leave, Lü Bu finished talking with everyone and sent them away one by one, leaving Tang envoy Xue Xia behind under the pretext of discussing marriage.

Lu Bu looked at Xue Xia, forced a smile, and said, "My subordinates have rebelled, causing you alarm."

"The general quelled the rebellion effectively, and Xia Wei was not alarmed!"

Xue Xia hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What is the general's decision regarding his wife and daughter?"

Lu Bu gestured for Xue Xia to sit down, and sighed, saying, "As you say, Yanzhou is a place of constant warfare, with powerful enemies eyeing it from the outside and treacherous people within. I intend to send my wife and daughters to Chang'an, and trouble the King of Tang to take good care of them."

Before the turmoil, Lü Bu might have hesitated. But after Hao Meng's rebellion, Lü Bu had to seriously consider Xue Xia's advice. After all, compared to the peaceful Guanzhong Plain, Yanzhou was a truly turbulent place.

Moreover, Hao Meng's rebellion made Lü Bu realize that Yuan Shu had always coveted him and would even use underhanded tactics to incite his subordinates to rebel. Under these circumstances, Lü Bu decided to side with Zhang Yu, and sending his wife and daughters was a way of showing his stance.

Xue Xia bowed with delight and said, "I will write a letter to the King of Tang so that he can arrange for soldiers to escort you as soon as possible."

"Thank you for your trouble, Lord Xue!" Lü Bu said.

"It's your job!"

Xue Xia recalled Cao Xing's accusation against Chen Gong and asked, "May I ask, General, Chen Gong was just accused by Cao Xing of conspiring with Hao Meng. Why did you ignore this? Is Chen Gong perhaps a confidant of yours?"

Seeing that Xue Xia was an outsider, Lü Bu hesitated for a moment, then sighed deeply and said truthfully, "How could I not know that Chen Gong might be conspiring with Hao Meng? It's just that Chen Gong has many former subordinates, and I cannot govern Yan Province without Chen Gong's assistance. If I were to follow Cao Mengde's example in harming Bian Rang, I fear that all the powerful figures in Yan Province would unite against me!"

Lü Bu was welcomed to Yanzhou by Chen Gong, but he had no real power base and relied heavily on Chen Gong for connections. Therefore, although Chen Gong did not command troops, his influence was so great that Lü Bu was hesitant to act against him.

"If Chen Gong is truly an accomplice of Hao Meng, General, are you not afraid that Chen Gong will repeat his past actions?" Xue Xia asked doubtfully.

"How could I not worry that Chen Gong would betray me and defect to Yuan?"

Lü Bu stroked his beard and recited, "Therefore, I will entrust military power to my trusted generals, and honor Chen Gong with his position."

With that, Lü Bu smiled and said, "Chen Gong dares not betray me now simply because he has no troops under his command, yet he intends to offer Yanzhou to Yuan Shu as a gift. However, the reason I do not turn against him is that if I kill Chen Gong, I will lose the hearts of the people of Yanzhou!"

The relationship between Lü Bu and Chen Gong was complex. Lü Bu controlled the military, while Chen Gong represented the powerful clans of Yan Province. If Lü Bu killed Chen Gong, it would signify a falling out between Lü Bu and the powerful clans of Yan Province, leaving Lü Bu with nowhere to go in Yan Province. Therefore, the fact that Chen Gong did not openly rally people against him indicated that the two could still cooperate.

Although Chen Gong had a high opinion of Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shu had promised him rewards, this was on the condition that Chen Gong had some use. Chen Gong had no military power, and now that he had betrayed Lü Bu and joined Yuan Shu, he would find it difficult to be valued by Yuan Shu.

Therefore, Chen Gong advised Lü Bu to surrender to Yuan Shao and secretly plotted Hao Meng's rebellion. Lü Bu knew Chen Gong's intentions, but in order to rule Yan Province, he was forced to sleep in the same bed with Chen Gong but harbor different ambitions.

As for why it is said that Lü Bu could not establish himself in Yanzhou without Chen Gong.

The reason is simple: Yanzhou had been through many wars, and few people in the prefectures and counties were loyal to the government. Most people had become servants of powerful clans. Therefore, in Yanzhou, where powerful clans were the dominant units, Lü Bu needed to rely on the intermediary Chen Gong to collect military provisions.

In short, Lü Bu and Chen Gong complemented each other perfectly; the absence of either one would have made the Yan military group ineffective.

Seeing Xue Xia deep in thought, Lü Bu laughed and said, "If the Tang emperor were to conquer Yanzhou, Chen Gong would surely betray Chen and defect to Tang!"

(End of this chapter)