Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

Li Ru was so frightened he almost jumped up, and hurriedly waved his hands, saying, "My lord, you mustn't! You mustn't!"

"Why?" Dong Zhuo stared wide-eyed.

Li Ru leaned closer, lowered his voice, and began to analyze the points one by one on his fingers:

"My lord, think about it. Liu Ce received these three provinces from the late Emperor Liu Hong himself! The titles of Governor of Youzhou, General of the Cavalry, and Commander-in-Chief of the military affairs of three provinces were written on the imperial edict and stamped with the imperial seal! If we were to issue an edict in the name of His Majesty to revoke his Jizhou and Bingzhou... what if Liu Ce disobeys the edict? They have a strong and well-equipped army, and we can't defeat them. The imperial edict would become nothing more than toilet paper, and the court would lose face!"

Dong Zhuo was taken aback and said, "He dares to defy the imperial decree?"

"How could he dare?!" Li Ru exclaimed anxiously. "They have a strong and well-equipped army. Can we possibly defeat them? Besides, they've already taken the deposed emperor and empress dowager to Youzhou! What if Liu Ce refuses to recognize the emperor we installed in Zhuo County?"

Dong Zhuo's expression changed.

Li Ru continued, "Liu Ce is a member of the Han imperial family, the late emperor's recognized younger brother, and his prestige is extremely high! If he doesn't acknowledge His Majesty, who will the people of the world believe? Moreover, what if Liu Ce honors Liu Bian as emperor in Zhuo County, and with the Empress Dowager's support, establishes another court? What will we do then?!"

"Even if he doesn't install another emperor, as long as he spreads the word that we're going to poison the Empress Dowager and depose the emperor, we'll immediately become enemies of the world! Those feudal lords are just looking for an excuse to attack us!"

As he listened, Dong Zhuo began to sweat.

Yeah! That's the real killer!

Although Liu Bian has been deposed, he is the eldest son of the late emperor, so his claim to the throne is legitimate! The Empress Dowager is also in his hands! If Liu Ce establishes a separate court in Youzhou, our side will become a "pseudo-dynasty"!

He wiped his forehead, still shaken, and said, "That was close...that was close...thank goodness you reminded me. Now...what do we do? Give him a reward?"

Li Ru shook his head and said, "My lord, Liu Ce is already the King of Yan, with a fief of 20,000 households and control of three provinces. What should we reward him with? Add a few thousand more households? Does he lack that? Give him a nominal position? He won't care. The best way now is..."

He paused for a moment and then said, "Let's wait and see, and not provoke the Prince of Yan. Let's stabilize Luoyang first, recruit soldiers, and expand our strength. We should be grateful if he doesn't attack us. Once we're strong enough, we can figure out how to deal with him."

Dong Zhuo nodded repeatedly, saying, "Ah...yes, yes, yes! That's the plan! You're a smart kid!"

Li Ru breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself: You've finally calmed down.

After a long silence, Dong Zhuo sighed deeply, leaned back on the couch, and murmured, "Liu Ce, oh Liu Ce... what kind of monster are you...?"

...

In Luoyang, there lived an old man who was so worried that he couldn't sleep at night.

Wang Yun was extremely loyal. Seeing Dong Zhuo acting arrogantly and domineeringly in Luoyang, he was so anxious that his hair fell out in clumps.

He devised a plan: under the pretense of celebrating his birthday, he secretly invited a group of loyal ministers to his home for a banquet.

On the surface it was a birthday celebration, but in reality it was a rant and rant against Dong Mingzhu.

That evening, Wang Yun's residence was brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and dozens of tables of food and drink were set up.

The attendees were mostly familiar faces: Yang Biao, Huang Wan, Shi Sunrui, Zheng Tai... and a few younger ones, such as Cao Cao, the Commandant of the Cavalry.

The group of old men each sat at a table, initially pretending to eat and drink, exchanging pleasantries like "May your happiness be as boundless as the Eastern Sea."

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Wang Yun suddenly slammed his chopsticks on the table, buried his face in his hands, and burst into tears!

Everyone was startled and quickly asked, "Master Zi, what's wrong?"

Wang Yun raised his head, tears streaming down his face, and said, "I think of the Han Dynasty, I think of the late Emperor, I think of that traitor Dong Zhuo running rampant... I... my heart aches!"

This crying immediately set the tone!

The old men in the room looked at each other, thinking about all the mess Dong Zhuo had made in the past few months: deposing the emperor, killing ministers, seizing palace maids, and robbing imperial tombs... The more they thought about it, the more frustrated and heartbroken they became, and they all started to cry!

Some wiped away tears, some slapped their thighs, some beat their chests and stamped their feet, and some cried so hard they couldn't catch their breath.

What should have been a joyous birthday banquet turned into a scene of mourning for an old Han Dynasty official, a truly tragic sight.

Wiping away his tears, Yang Biao cried out, "That old traitor Dong Zhuo has wreaked havoc on the court! Our Han Dynasty's four-hundred-year reign is about to be destroyed in his hands!"

Huang Wan slammed her hand on the table and howled, "Back when the late emperor was alive, things were a bit absurd, but nothing this outrageous!"

Shi Sunrui cried, tears streaming down his face, saying, "I have failed my ancestors..."

The wailing was deafening, almost lifting the roof off the house.

Just as the whole room was filled with crying, someone suddenly burst out laughing!

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The laughter was crisp and bright, like silver bells, drowning out all the crying.

Everyone looked up and saw...

The one laughing is Cao Cao, Cao Mengde!

The guy sat in the corner, holding a wine glass, laughing so hard he was doubled over, almost laughing until tears streamed down his face.

Wang Yun was so angry his face turned green. He slammed his hand on the table and pointed at Cao Cao's nose, yelling, "Cao Aman! We are all old ministers of the Han Dynasty, we cry because we care about the country! You're not sad at all, and you even dare to laugh? What kind of heartless bastard are you!"

The other old men also glared angrily, wishing they could poke Cao Cao through the air with their eyes.

Cao Cao wiped away the tears of laughter, waved his hand, and said, "Stop howling! You bunch of old men, crying from morning till night, will you cry Dong Zhuo to death? What good is crying! It's a complete waste of tears!"

Wang Yun was both angry and anxious. He slammed his fist on the table and cursed, "Cao Cao! Your ancestors were loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty. When the country is in peril, you not only don't grieve, but you dare to mock us? How can you face your ancestors of the Cao family?"

Cao Cao stopped laughing, stood up, took a few steps forward, leaned close to Wang Yun, and said in a low voice:

"I laugh at your incompetence! I, Cao Mengde, have long wanted to behead Dong Zhuo, but I lacked a suitable weapon and a good opportunity!"

Wang Yun's eyes lit up instantly, and he grabbed Cao Cao's arm, saying, "Mengde, do you have a brilliant plan?"

Cao Cao glanced around and said in a low voice, "There are too many people around here, please let me speak with you in private."

Wang Yun understood, pulled Cao Cao into a secret room, dismissed the others, and nervously asked, "What brilliant plan does Mengde have?"

Cao Cao bluntly stated, "That old scoundrel Dong Zhuo trusts me so much that I can freely enter his residence, all because I'm waiting for an opportunity to kill him! All I need now is a good, reliable sword. I've heard you have a Seven-Star Sword, capable of cutting through iron like mud. Lend it to me! Tomorrow I'll go to the Prime Minister's residence and stab that old bastard to death!"

Wang Yun was so excited he almost knelt down, grabbing Cao Cao's hand and saying, "Mengde is truly a loyal and righteous man! On behalf of our ancestors, I thank you!"

He quickly ordered his servants to fetch a brocade box from the storeroom. When they opened it, a gleaming short knife lay inside.

The blade is jet black and inlaid with seven gemstones; it is the legendary Seven Star Sword.