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

Back in Luoyang, time suddenly flew by.

By the seventh month of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, grain prices in Luoyang had finally stabilized.

This was the first secret report sent to the Crown Prince's Palace by the Heavenly Merchants Association—not a report of victory, but a report on grain prices.

Liu Bian looked at the thin bamboo slip over and over three times, and suddenly laughed.

Xun Yu was grinding ink on the side, and looked up at him.

"What is Your Highness laughing at?"

Liu Bian handed over the bamboo slips, saying, "Sir, please take a look."

Xun Yu took it and glanced at it.

"Grain prices in Jizhou tripled in March. They fell in April, then rose again in May. After June, they stabilized."

He paused, his gaze falling on the last line of small print:

"The number of followers of the Taiping Dao decreased by 30% in Jizhou, 20% in Yanzhou, and 50% in Yuzhou."

Xun Yu raised his head.

Liu Bian leaned against the armchair, his smile faint, yet more relaxed than any smile he had shown in recent days.

"Sir, tell me, why do people believe in the Way of Peace?"

Xun Yu thought for a moment: "Because we can't survive."

"And now?"

Xun Yu did not answer.

The sounds of bustling city life drifted in from outside the window—a long queue had formed in front of the Tianshang Association's free clinic tent, which Ding'an was distributing in packets, free of charge.

Soap and paper, things that were once only available to aristocratic families, are now affordable for ordinary people in Luoyang.

This isn't charity. It's buying and selling. It's about rules. It's about ways to survive, and there's more than one way.

Liu Bian stood up, walked to the window, and opened it.

"They believed in Zhang Jiao because Zhang Jiao gave them the hope of 'living'," he said softly. "Now we've given them that hope. They no longer need to believe in the 'death of Heaven'."

A breeze blew in, carrying the scent of early summer grass.

Looking at the figure standing by the window, Xun Yu suddenly realized that the eleven-year-old crown prince had grown a little taller.

-

The battle report from Ji Province arrived in Luoyang seven days later.

The courier was covered in dust, and two of his horses had died from exhaustion. He knelt in the Deyang Palace, his voice hoarse:

"General Lu decisively defeated Zhang Jiao—the city of Guangzong fell, Zhang Jiao burned the city and fled, but fell ill on the way and died in his chariot!"

A loud commotion erupted inside the hall.

Emperor Ling of Han suddenly stood up, his crown tassels jingling loudly.

"Where is Lu Zhi? Where is Lu Zhi?!"

"General Lu, in pursuit of the remaining enemy forces, has entered Julu. The victory report is here—"

Emperor Ling of Han snatched the victory report, unfolded it, and scanned it quickly.

But as he finished scanning, he suddenly stopped.

Liu Bian stood beside the throne and saw his father tap the victory report with his finger, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"Dong Zhuo..." Emperor Ling of Han murmured, "During the siege, Dong Zhuo was the first to scale the walls?"

Liu Bian's heart skipped a beat.

First to arrive?

Dong Zhuo?

—Wasn't he a deputy general? Wasn't he supposed to have retired to the position of deputy general and be under Lu Zhi's command?

Emperor Ling of Han handed the report of victory to the attendant and said, "Read it."

The attendant took it and read it aloud:

"...Your subject Lu Zhi bows his head: In the Battle of Guangzong, thanks to Your Majesty's great fortune and the soldiers' valiant efforts, Zhang Jiao was beheaded."

"During the siege, Deputy General Dong Zhuo led the elite cavalry of Xiliang, braving arrows to be the first to scale the city's west gate. One of his generals, named Lü Bu, styled Fengxian, charged into the enemy ranks with a halberd, beheading the enemy general defending the city amidst the horde of men, causing the enemy forces to scatter."

"I pursued them relentlessly, beheading over ten thousand. Zhang Jiao burned the city and fled in the night, but fell ill and died en route. The remaining rebels at Julu will be pacified in no time."

When the name was read out, "surname Lü, given name Bu, courtesy name Fengxian," Liu Bianren was dumbfounded.

Lü Bu.

—Fengxian.

That name struck him like a thunderbolt.

He suddenly recalled the accounts of this person from his previous life when he read "Romance of the Three Kingdoms": the three heroes fighting Lü Bu at Hulao Pass, shooting the halberd at the gate, fighting Cao Cao at Puyang, and seizing Xuzhou from Liu Bei...

Those are all fictional tales. But now, they've come down from the good news, into his ears:

"He charged into the enemy ranks with his halberd, beheading the enemy general guarding the city amidst the horde of men."

Liu Bian's fingertips felt slightly cold.

He stood beside the throne, his face still respectful, but his heart was churning with turbulent emotions.

Emperor Ling's voice interrupted his thoughts:

"Dong Zhuo was the first to charge, and he deserves credit. Lü Bu slew a general, and he deserves credit. Lu Zhi..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the small print on the victory report: "Pursuing the remaining enemy, they have entered Julu."

"Good." Emperor Ling of Han emphasized those two words. "All very good."

Liu Bian understood the meaning behind those two words.

—They're all good. But sometimes "they're all good" means "it's hard to tell which one is the best."

After the court session ended, Liu Bian practically floated back to Chengde Hall.

Now that things have come to this, he shouldn't be afraid of anything.

Among the Ten Attendants, he brought down Zhao Zhong, the highest-ranking official.

Dong Zhuo, the border general who only had three thousand cavalry in history, is no longer a threat in his eyes.

Moreover, he has the Heavenly Merchant Guild, Cao Cao, Xun Yu, Kong Rong, and Lu Zhi, to whom he has just owed a favor. As long as he plans ahead and makes preparations, that wolf can't cause any trouble.

In the past few months, he had even almost forgotten the name.

But Lu Bu...

Liu Bian tapped his fingers lightly on the bamboo slips.

Wasn't Lü Bu under Ding Yuan's command? Shouldn't he have followed Ding Yuan first, then killed Ding Yuan and surrendered to Dong Zhuo? How come he's directly under Dong Zhuo's command? How come so early?

Did I, this butterfly, change something?

He suddenly remembered the records he had read in his previous life:

Dong Zhuo's Liangzhou army was originally just a group of roughnecks from the borderlands, capable in battle but lacking in spirit. Until Lü Bu appeared—that man's bravery was like a fire that burned the entire army to its core.

From then on, the Xiliang army truly became a force to be reckoned with.

It wasn't Dong Zhuo who gave it to Lü Bu.

It was Lü Bu who gave the Xiliang army its spirit.

Liu Bian closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He was not afraid of Dong Zhuo.

But he couldn't help but fear—the person who could turn Dong Zhuo into Dong Zhuo had already appeared.

He rose, paced back and forth in the hall a few times, and suddenly shouted:

"Wang Ming, go and invite Cao Cao."

Before long, Cao Cao entered the palace.

He is now the commander of the Eastern Palace guards. He is fully armored and enters the room with the sound of his boots clattering, creating a gust of wind.

"Your Highness summoned me?"

Liu Bian looked at him and suddenly asked, "Mengde, do you know Lü Bu?"

Cao Cao's brow furrowed: "Lü Bu?"

"As Lu Zhi's report of victory said—a general under Dong Zhuo charged into the enemy ranks with a halberd and beheaded the enemy general amidst the multitude."

Cao Cao's eyes lit up.

"A match for ten thousand men," he blurted out. "This is a true match for ten thousand men."

Liu Bian looked at him: "Has Mengde ever seen such a person?"

Cao Cao shook his head, then nodded.

"I have never seen it, but I have heard of it."

He walked to the desk, a rare excitement in his eyes.

"When I was young, I accompanied my father to Luoyang to see a variety show from the Western Regions."

"There was a man of Hu strength who could lift a tripod and carry a 500-jin stone lock around the arena three times without changing his expression. The whole arena gasped in amazement, but I thought—"

He paused, then looked at Liu Bian:

"To be strong enough to lift a tripod is to exert brute force. To be able to take the head of a general amidst ten thousand troops is to kill with your life. That is not just strength, but eyesight, courage, horsemanship, halberd skills, and the decisiveness of that instant."

His voice lowered, as if he were talking to himself:

"A warrior capable of defeating ten thousand men... I thought I had only ever seen such things in books. I never imagined that someone could actually do it."

Liu Bian looked at him and suddenly asked, "Would Mengde like to meet him?"

Cao Cao was taken aback.

Then he laughed.

"I would like to," he said, "but I am now the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Palace Guards, not the General Who Conquers the West. If Your Highness allows me to meet him, I will go. If Your Highness does not allow it, I will not go."

Liu Bian remained silent.

Cao Cao looked at him, and suddenly said:

"Your Highness, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."

"speak."

"I have met Dong Zhuo."

Cao Cao's voice lowered.

"Last year he distinguished himself in Yingchuan and was brought to the capital to present the captured prisoners. I took a peek from afar at the city gate—that man's eyes were different from those of ordinary generals."

Liu Bian's brow furrowed: "How is it different?"

Cao Cao was silent for a moment, then slowly said:

"When an ordinary general achieves merit, his eyes show joy. But when he achieves merit, his eyes show—it's not enough."

Liu Bian's pupils contracted slightly.

"Your Highness, Dong Zhuo has gained another warrior capable of defeating ten thousand men."

Cao Cao looked at him.

"The Xiliang cavalry were already valiant, and now with this added weapon... I dare to say that this wolf will bite sooner or later."