Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 90 How could the Crown Prince be involved in such a matter! ( words, two chapters in one)

(4,000 words, two chapters in one)

Dong Zhuo's army was stationed in the parade ground east of Xindu City.

Xindu City is the provincial capital. Not only is the city wall high and the moat deep, but its scale is also larger than that of ordinary cities. Therefore, it is not difficult to find a place as a temporary training ground for an army of 20,000 people.

In Dong Zhuo's military camp, Dong Zhuo had taken off his armor and was shirtless. Although his abdominal muscles did not have obvious lines, his strong body still contained terrifying power.

"Yuancai, don't run, come to this family!"

The one standing opposite Dong Zhuo, who was called "Yuan Cai", was Hua Xiong, a man with a muscular body and well-defined muscles. He looked at the "bear" in front of him and his face turned pale.

He didn't dare to fight Dong Zhuo not because Dong Zhuo was the General of the Eastern Army, but because he really couldn't beat him!

Seeing that Hua Xiong was still standing there and didn't dare to rush towards him, Dong Zhuo frowned, a look of anger appeared on his face, and he suddenly let out a roar, the roar shook the air around him slightly, and then he exerted force with his legs and rushed towards Hua Xiong like a mad black bear.

Hua Xiong felt a strong gust of wind blowing towards him, and subconsciously wanted to dodge, but it was too late. He was immediately knocked away by the bear-like figure, and fell to the ground with stars in front of his eyes.

"Boring, Zhiran, you go!"

Dong Zhuo felt bored when he saw that Hua Xiong was no match for him. He swung his arms and cast a fierce look at Li Jue who was watching the show on the side.

The army has been really boring recently. Military affairs are handled by the Chief Secretary Li Ru, and he no longer needs to worry about how to defeat the Yellow Turban Army. Although these days are leisurely, they seem boring, so he entertains himself with wrestling in the camp every day.

However, when Li Jue saw that Dong Zhuo had chosen him, he panicked and quickly waved his hand, saying, "General, my leg injury hasn't healed yet, so I'm afraid I won't be able to satisfy you. Furthermore, if the Yellow Turbans suddenly attack, my injury will worsen and affect the battle, which is not a good idea."

Are you kidding? When Dong Zhuo was serving as the military commander in Liang Province, he was the leader of his team. How could he not know how brave Dong Zhuo was?
Moreover, Dong Zhuo had just lifted him up and thrown him six or seven meters away yesterday. He must be tired of living, so he went to fight Dong Zhuo again.

Dong Zhuo's eyes flashed like lightning, and he fixed his eyes on Guo Si who was standing beside Li Jue. He glared at him and shouted, "Guo Aduo, come here!"

When Guo Si heard the roar, his body trembled violently and a trace of fear flashed across his face.

He was also unwilling to fight with Dong Zhuo. It was still unknown who would live and who would die in the fight on the battlefield, but in this flesh-and-flesh fight, with Dong Zhuo's physique and strength, it would be difficult for him to find an opponent.

Apart from Dian Wei and Xu Chu, who were by the side of the crown prince and had not yet joined the fight, the only two soldiers who could defeat Dong Zhuo were Lu Bu and Zhang Fei.

Even Guan Yu only had a slight advantage in the early stages, as his explosive power was not strong enough to last, and he ended up in a draw with Dong Zhuo. Others such as Sun Jian, Huang Zhong, Gao Shun, etc. were all defeated.

Just as Guo Si decided to take a beating rather than leave, one of Dong Zhuo's staff members rushed into the training ground, his steps hurried, as if he had something important to tell him. He walked quickly to Dong Zhuo's side, bent slightly, and whispered something in his ear.

Although everyone did not hear clearly what the staff said, they saw Dong Zhuo's brows slightly frowned, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes, and then he nodded slightly, his face returned to calm, and he put on his clothes slowly and left with his staff.

Looking at Dong Zhuo's departing back, Guo Si couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and secretly felt lucky that he had escaped.

……

In the military tent, Dong Zhuo walked in through the curtain, smelling of sweat. Although he was wearing clothes, there were obvious water stains on his clothes, which showed that he had not yet taken a shower and went straight back to the tent.

"The Crown Prince's son, Guo Tu, pays homage to the Eastern Guard General."

A slightly pungent smell of sweat quietly penetrated Guo Tu's nostrils. Guo Tu's nose twitched slightly, his face remained unchanged, he suppressed the discomfort, and slowly leaned forward to salute.

After being in the army for a long time, not to mention the low-level soldiers, even the captains and lieutenants in the army have few opportunities to bathe, so some smells are normal, and he can also tolerate them.

Dong Zhuo naturally noticed the subtle change in Guo Tu's expression, but he paid no attention to it. Instead, he stood up and strode to Guo Tu, looking down at him condescendingly, and asked fiercely, "Why did you borrow my armor?"

Guo Tu felt the stench of sweat coming towards him, raised his head, and looked calmly at Dong Zhuo who was looking down at him, not afraid of meeting his ferocious expression at all.

Dong Zhuo, who was as strong as a bear, stood in front of the thin Guo Tu, just like a bear looking down at a chick.

"Do you know what crime should be punished for hiding armor?" Dong Zhuo narrowed his eyes, his eyes full of scrutiny and warning.

Upon hearing this, Guo Tu couldn't help but have a strange smile on his face.

Many laws and regulations of the Han Dynasty were revised several times during the Later Han Dynasty. Which revision did not involve the Yingchuan Guo family?

In other words, the Yingchuan Guo family was the leader of almost every law editing team.

In this generation of Yingchuan Guo family, the head of the family, Guo Hong, served as the Inspector of the Imperial Capital, and Guo Tu was also well-known for his in-depth study of "Xiao Du Law". Dong Zhuo actually asked him if he knew these legal provisions?
According to the "Two-Year Law" compiled and improved during the reign of Empress Dowager Gao, anyone who privately kept armor would be charged with the crime of "theft."

In other words, if ordinary people secretly kept one or two sets of armor, they would usually be fined, tattooed or caned, and then sentenced to hard labor in the city, but would not be sentenced to death.

However, if the number of armors is large, the sentencing will be based on the value of the armors. If the value reaches the standard for the death penalty for the crime of "theft", the individual will be sentenced to death.

As to whether his family members and clans would be implicated, it had to be decided jointly by the emperor and the Secretariat.

However, if an official secretly keeps armor, even if it is just one set, the official himself will be punished lightly by being "abandoned to the market" or "beheaded". If the number exceeds a certain limit, then he will not have to worry about the safety of his wife and children after his death, and can directly win the whole family's elimination game.

Among the crimes that Dou Xian, Marquis of Guanjun, was held accountable for when the Dou family fell, was "privately storing armor and weapons." When the powerful minister Liang Ji was executed by Emperor Xiaohuan, he was also charged with "privately storing armor and weapons and plotting against the law."

Although the convictions in these two typical cases contain a strong color of political purge, they also reflect the connection between "armor" and "treason" in the judicial system.

Dong Zhuo seemed to suddenly remember that Guo Tu came from a judicial family. He frowned slightly, touched his chin unconsciously with his right hand, and realized that he had asked a stupid question.

How could a capable official be such a fool as not to know the consequences of secretly storing armor?

But Dong Zhuo frowned precisely because he realized this, and tentatively asked, "Could it be that Your Highness has a use for this batch of armor?"

Guo Tu clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned slightly white. He took a deep breath, completely ignoring the smell of sweat mixed in it. He had to force himself to calm down.

If he didn't have a request for the General of the Eastern Army, he really wanted to give this guy a hard slap in the face!

Reckless man! How could the Crown Prince be involved in such a matter? In any case, the Crown Prince is only a neutral and uninformed judge, and cannot personally intervene. Otherwise, what is the point of having these ministers?
"How could Your Highness be involved in such a trivial matter? Although I am the Crown Prince's bastard, not everything I do concerns Your Highness. Does the Eastern Army General understand this?"

For some reason, Dong Zhuo felt that Guo Tu's eyes became particularly sinister, and he even sensed a hint of "kindred spirit" in Guo Tu.

"Yes, yes!"

Just as Dong Zhuo was about to continue speaking, the tent curtain was suddenly opened from the outside, and Li Ru, dressed in a Confucian robe, walked into the tent with a smile on his face, his steps brisk, and he echoed what Guo Tu said.

Dong Zhuo was stunned and was about to speak when Li Ru, who was standing beside him, stopped him.

"My name is Li Ru, courtesy name Wenyou, and I'm the Chief Clerk to the General of the Eastern Palace." Li Ru stood between the two men, his eyes narrowed to a slit, and took over the conversation, saying, "I've heard that the Crown Prince's son, Guo Gongze, is a close confidant of Your Highness and a man of integrity. I believe he has a legitimate purpose in requesting the armor from the General of the Palace. I'll send someone to deliver it tonight."

Li Ru generously agreed to Guo Tu's request and lent him more than 1,300 sets of leather armor.

Guo Tu glanced at Li Ru, who had made the decision for Dong Zhuo, and saw that although Dong Zhuo looked surprised, he did not refute Li Ru's words. It was obvious that Li Ru was quite trusted by Dong Zhuo.

Moreover, why send Jia at night? Of course, it is to conceal the truth.

"Then Tu would like to thank the Eastern Army General and the Chief Secretary first."

Guo Tu smiled, bowed to the two of them to express his gratitude, and then turned and left.

But before leaving, Guo Tu looked at Li Ru meaningfully, with a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

Compared to the "kindred spirit" he and Dong Zhuo felt towards each other, he always felt that he and Li Wenyou seemed to have more common topics.

After Guo Tu left, Dong Zhuo's face was calm, with a smile on his face. He no longer had the frown and unnecessary talk that he had just had. He raised his right hand, patted Li Ru's shoulder and said, "Wenyou, you and I are getting along better and better."

Dong Zhuo was not a stupid man. How could he not know that Guo Tu would not come to borrow more than 1,300 sets of armor for no reason, and he specifically asked to borrow the more than 1,300 sets of armor stripped from the corpses of the Yellow Turban Army, with the exact number.

Dong Zhuo's extra words were just to shirk responsibility and indirectly show his loyalty to the prince.

When Li Ru heard Dong Zhuo's praise, although he couldn't help showing a bit of pain on his face because of the pain in his shoulder, he was still quite pleased with Dong Zhuo's praise.

He was also a person who was well-versed in the Five Classics. He had an excellent level of knowledge in both the modern and ancient texts. He was more than qualified to be a doctor of the Five Classics teaching and educating people in the Imperial College.

However, he was not willing to be just a doctor who spent the whole day with the Five Classics. Instead, he was more interested in mundane affairs and political intrigues, as if he could find the meaning of his existence and the pleasure that others could not understand in them.

Dong Zhuo, on the other hand, appeared to be a naive and unwise Liang Province ruffian, but in reality he was not. Many people were deceived by his appearance and mistakenly believed that he was just a ruffian, and even Yuan Wei did not see through him.

"A gentleman hides his talent and waits for the right time to act." Dong Zhuo was able to hide his edge in the sheath. Such a person is far superior to the gentlemen of ancient times. Only he, Li Ru, is worthy of putting aside his regional prejudice and devoting himself to serving him.

Of course, this was also because Dong Zhuo lacked wise men under his command. Therefore, if he had surrendered, he would have been more trusted and valued as a Yuancong under Dong Zhuo.

However, despite Dong Zhuo's praise, he did not get carried away. Instead, he frowned slightly and reminded: "This is probably still not safe enough. Why don't you go and pay a visit to the Grand Secretary..."

"General, the water is ready, it's time to take a bath." The voice of Dong Zhuo's personal guard suddenly came from outside the tent.

Dong Zhuo nodded slightly to Li Ru with a smug smile on his face, and Li Ru also smiled back. It seemed that Dong Zhuo had already prepared to bathe, change clothes and report to the prince immediately after the incident.

They did not think that Guo Tu had the guts to ask to borrow armor privately, and they certainly did not think that the prince would be unaware of it given his methods.

If you borrow money, even if it is a mistake, you will just be reprimanded.

If I don't lend it, it will ruin the prince's plan and I might even be disliked by the prince.

Li Ru bowed and saluted, saying, "The General of the Central Army is very thoughtful and far-sighted, but it is Ru who is worrying too much."

Dong Zhuo laughed heartily and clapped Li Ru's shoulder with his right hand. Seeing the pain on Li Ru's face, his smile was filled with a hint of mischief. He then held Li Ru's hands tightly and said, "This is not a lie. I still need Wenyou's advice from time to time."

Although his hand movements were a bit humorous, these words came from the bottom of his heart. No one can guarantee that they can think things through every time. This is why people in high positions must have their own staff.

This is why Li Ru is so trusted by him.

Of course, there is another important reason.

Liang Province had few wise and resourceful people. He had originally wanted to recruit Jia Xu, who was retired at that time but now held the high positions of Henan Yin and Prince's Household Director, and was deeply trusted by the Prince.

The rest of the wise and resourceful men were mostly scholars from the Central Plains, who looked down on warriors like him from Liangzhou. The staff they recruited were mostly mediocre people, which made Li Ru, who put aside the prejudice of his place of origin, even more valuable.

Furthermore, he was surrounded by a group of Liangzhou roughnecks who could charge into battle but were completely clueless when it came to strategy. He couldn't even feel superior to them in terms of strategy, only receiving unanimous praise from a bunch of roughnecks who clearly didn't understand a single word he said. It was truly boring.

Li Ru is such a person who can not only give him advice, but also provide him with a sense of superiority that makes him happy both physically and mentally.

(4242 words)
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PS: The book slightly changed the relationship between Li Ru and Dong Zhuo in the official history, making him Dong Zhuo's trusted adviser.

In official history, Li Ru was not Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, and there is no record of his background, but he was definitely a member of a noble family somewhere.

In the second year of the Zhongping reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty (185 AD), officials of Heyang County erected the "Han Heyang Magistrate Cao Quan Stele" to commend the achievements of Cao Quan, the magistrate of Heyang. Li Ru donated gold coins to the construction, and his name is engraved on the back of the stele as "Zheng Doctor Li Ru, Outstanding in Literature." The stele now exists in the Forest of Steles in Xi'an.

Those who could become doctors were all scholars with certain profound attainments in the study of the Five Classics. Moreover, their family backgrounds would not be too bad, and they could even easily sponsor 500 gold. Obviously, they were not from ordinary aristocratic families.

As for the fact that he had served as the Langzhongling of Hongnong, this does not mean that he had a direct relationship with the historical Liu Bian. It is also possible that he was dispatched by Dong Zhuo as his own man to watch over the Shaodi who was deposed as the King of Hongnong.

In history, Li Ru served in Li Jue's army and was recommended by Li Jue. He was also sent to poison the young emperor. It was obvious that he was also a person trusted by Dong Zhuo and others.

(End of this chapter)