Liu Bian at the start, so you're called Dong Zhuo, right?

Chapter 137 Stormy Gathering in Luoyang

The man did not answer, but instead looked into the mansion.

"General, won't you invite me in for a seat?"

He Jin had sobered up a bit by now. After thinking for a moment, he sheathed his sword and said, "Very well, let me hear what good plan you have."

After saying this, He Jin staggered into the mansion.

A smile flashed in the man's eyes, and he quickly followed.

In He Jin's residence, few lights were on, but the smell of alcohol was extremely strong.

The man followed He Jin into the side room.

He first glanced at the broken wine cup on the ground, then at the gloomy look on He Jin's face.

"The general is not happy."

He Jin sneered.

"If that's all you can say, then you can get lost."

The man remained calm and composed, instead letting out a soft sigh: "The general is the emperor's brother-in-law, the Grand General, and a minister entrusted with assisting the late emperor. Logically speaking, the person the new emperor should rely on most should be the general."

"But what about now?"

"The Western Garden was given to Gongsun Zan, the Imperial Guards were given to Cao Cao, and the key to power fell into Xun Yu's hands."

"The general clearly has the Northern Army under his control, yet he seems to be left out in the cold, only able to watch but unable to reach out."

He Jin was already seething with anger, and upon hearing this, his face grew even uglier.

"So what?"

"He is the emperor, how could I possibly rebel?"

Upon hearing this, the man chuckled softly.

"General, you have misunderstood."

"Who ordered the general to rebel?"

"If the general does not fight for anything, over time, people inside and outside the court will feel that the Northern Army is nothing special in the general's hands."

"By then, with Gongsun Zan in charge of the Western Garden and Cao Cao in charge of the Imperial Guards, others will naturally think: Why can't the Northern Army be commanded by someone else?"

Upon hearing this, He Jin sobered up considerably.

He slowly raised his head and looked at the person in front of him.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

The man finally stopped laughing, and his voice also lowered.

"General, there is no need for you to contend for the throne."

"But General, we must fight for one of us who can't live without you."

"The general must make the new emperor feel that he cannot be separated from the Northern Army if he wants to secure his position."

"And since they cannot do without the Northern Army, they naturally cannot do without the general."

"As long as the general takes this step firmly, he will not always be the one speaking in court."

He Jin stared at him, the drunkenness in his eyes finally completely dissipating.

"—How do I get it?"

The man leaned forward slightly and spoke in an even lower voice.

"General, there's no need to rush."

"First, we must crush the Northern army."

"Then we'll gradually bring back those in the capital who can speak on behalf of the general."

"If His Majesty wants to reclaim power, then General, you will stabilize the army for him; if His Majesty is temporarily unable to attend to matters of state, then General, you will handle the military affairs that need to be done for him."

C

"Over time, whoever controls the troops will naturally be the one to whom the court will look to for their approval."

As He Jin listened, the tightness in his chest actually dissipated somewhat.

He slowly sat up straight and stared at the person who had just arrived.

"What's your name?"

The man smiled, cupped his hands, and said, "I am but a humble scholar, my lowly name is not worthy of disgracing the general."

He got up and walked out of the mansion.

"If the general truly wishes to remember,"

"Only tonight, someone spoke a few words of truth on behalf of the general."

The next day, at Chengde Hall.

Since Liu Bian had already decided to feign weakness, he had to make sure the performance on the surface was convincing.

But play is play, and the knife must be hidden in the sleeve.

Luoyang must not be left without a vacuum.

If the exterior is made to look weak, then the interior must be reinforced.

As the orders were relayed, commotion soon broke out in Luoyang City.

However, all these activities took place at night, and very few people knew about them.

Starting on the third night, many inconspicuous cars appeared in the city.

The truck was piled high with timber, hemp rope, nails, stones, and oil cylinders.

But at night, these things were delivered, cartload after cartload, to the most important city gates, corner towers, and passageways in Luoyang.

During the day, the craftsmen simply said, "The old door was damaged, and we are repairing it during the national mourning period."

At night, however, they were reinforcing the door bolts, thickening the door panels, re-nailing the crossbeams, and repairing the arrow piers.

On Cao Cao's side, while outwardly he was still investigating old routes and patrolling night roads, he was secretly reorganizing the city's elite guards into new units.

The old and weak should move to the back, and those who dare to fight should move to the front;

A seasoned night watchman, with steady hands and sharp eyes, scaling the wall.

Needless to say, Gongsun Zan's side is even more complicated.

On the surface, he was "injured in the shoulder and back and stayed in seclusion," and indeed, Xiyuan had been much more well-behaved these past few days.

But every night in the latter half of the night, a few more people wearing old cloaks would appear on the city wall.

Walk along the city wall.

Measure the edge of the stack once.

Make a note of the field of vision.

Those people didn't speak or leave their names; they just glanced at each other, and the second night they never took the same route again.

By the fourth day, they had already mentally mapped out the most important gate towers, arrow towers, and blind corners in Luoyang.

Meanwhile, east of Jiwu in Chenliu, there was a dilapidated tavern beside the old road.

It was getting dark, and there weren't many people left in the tavern.

A few traveling merchants sat in a corner, drinking three bowls of turbid wine, but their eyes never left the doorway.

Then suddenly a chorus of gasps erupted from the crowd outside.

It looks like some animal has gone mad.

The group got up and rushed out, only to see a crazed ox on the side of the road overturning a wooden cart and scattering pedestrians.

But the next moment, a tall and somewhat frightening figure suddenly rushed up from the side and grabbed the bull's horns tightly with both hands.

The bull struggled desperately, but the man's arm muscles bulged, and he plowed two furrows in the ground with his feet, eventually forcing the mad bull to lower its head little by little.

Exclamations arose from all around.

The man was burly, with shoulders and back as thick as a wall. When his short jacket was torn, what was revealed was not fat, but layers of iron-cast bones.

After he pushed the ox over, he took a deep breath and was about to turn around to pick up the two thick, short old iron halberds on the ground when the "trading merchants" next to him exchanged glances.

This must be the person.

The leader did not rush forward, but instead went over and picked up an iron halberd for the man, presenting it to him with both hands.

"What strength this brave man possesses!"

The man glanced at him, took the halberd, and said in a rough, hoarse voice, "Enough with the nonsense."

"What are you up to, lurking around in the corner watching me for so long?"

Upon hearing this, the man laughed instead.

"Brave warrior, please don't misunderstand."

"We have come on behalf of others to ask the brave warrior a question."

"What did you say?"

"Would you be willing to go to Luoyang, slay the bandits, achieve merit, and receive a government salary?"

The man had already turned around, but when he heard the words "Luoyang," he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Luoyang? Whose person?"

"The Emperor's people."

The alleyway fell silent the moment those words were spoken.

The man slowly turned his head and stared at the group of people for a long time.

After a long while, he suddenly grinned.

"OK."

"I'll go see what kind of thieves are in Luoyang City that's worth this trip for me."

On the fifth night, the name was quietly sent into the Chengde Hall.

After reading the short report, Liu Bian paused his fingers on the paper for a moment before finally letting out a slow breath.

After searching for so long, I finally found it.

Cao Cao, standing to the side, saw his expression soften slightly and smiled as well.

"Your Majesty, this person has been on your search for two years. Is he really as fierce as people say?"

'

Liu Bian folded the paper and placed it under the lamp, his voice unusually relaxed.

"It should be more ferocious than the rumors suggest."

Meanwhile, on the western side, Dong Zhuo had already made his move.

It wasn't a grand, high-profile arrival from the east.

Instead, under the guise of reorganizing the army, changing garrisons, escorting supplies, and reporting military achievements, they moved the most elite cavalry units and the old camp eastward in batches.

It doesn't look good.

But it's close every day.

Jia Xu received the secret letter on the night of the seventh day.

"Both of the first two bags were accurate."

"Luoyang is in chaos; we may proceed."

After reading it, his expression didn't change much; he simply rubbed the edge of the letter lightly with his fingertips.

He then turned his gaze to the man kneeling beneath the table and asked, "You just said, how is Luoyang now?"

Upon hearing the question, the man quickly kowtowed and repeated what he had just said: "Sir!"

"Luoyang is now in chaos!"

"The city seems to be holding on, but in reality, the new emperor is overwhelmed with other matters. The Western Garden is unstable, the Chang Le Palace is under intense scrutiny, and even the General's Mansion is not peaceful—"

"If it had been any later, they might have dragged themselves down with them!"

Jia Xu sat under the lamp, listening to the man recount his story one by one, his expression remaining calm throughout.

He chuckled softly only after the man finished speaking.

"it is good."

"very good."

Then, he slowly folded the secret letter and turned to look east.

"Your Highness... no, it should be His Majesty."

"In the end, you still got caught up in the game."

",