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

The Zhao residence.

Night had fallen, but the people in the mansion could not sleep.

Zhao Zhong sat in front of the bed, his face full of coldness.

During the day, he was still the same Zhao Changshi, the Grand Chamberlain, second only to the emperor.

In just half a day, everything has changed.

"Dismiss the Imperial Attendant...reclaim his seal..."

"All former officials and their old schemes have been confiscated..."

These words echoed in his mind over and over again, as if someone were sawing away at his brain.

He didn't hate Emperor Ling of Han; he hated that damned crown prince.

That's how people are; they only hate those they can afford to hate.

Now that he's fallen from power, everyone wants a piece of his pie.

Guo Sheng, that smiling wolf, has already stood beside Zhang Rang.

Zhao Zhong suddenly realized: if he retreated any further, he might not even be able to save his life in the end.

There was no way to retreat.

Then let's just go all out.

He suddenly raised his hand, and with a "crash," a jade cup on the table was swept to the ground and shattered into several pieces.

The maidservants serving in the room were so frightened that they immediately knelt down, not daring to even raise their heads.

Zhao Zhong acted as if he hadn't seen it.

He stared at the broken glass, then suddenly smiled:

"Since the Crown Prince has taken everything from me, then I will take everything from him as well."

He murmured to himself, as if talking to someone else, or perhaps to himself:

"It's time to set this fire burning."

He looked up, his voice suddenly turning cold:

"Someone come here."

The curtain was lifted, and the trusted eunuch strode in and knelt down readily.

"My lord."

Zhao Zhong stared at him:

"Summon Feng Xu and Xu Feng."

The eunuch bowed his head and replied:

"Here you are."

Zhao Zhong added:

"Tell them to come tonight."

"Don't go through the main entrance."

-

Before long, two more figures appeared in the room.

First salute:

"I have met Attendant Zhao."

Zhao Zhong gave a cold laugh:

"There's no need for formalities, and you don't need to call me a servant."

"Now I am just an ordinary person."

Xu Feng quickly cupped his hands in greeting:

"Attendant Zhao, let that little brat laugh for a day or two longer."

"Once the Yellow Turban Rebellion succeeds, we will be the founding fathers of the nation."

Zhao Zhong's smile faded slightly: "The Yellow Turbans..."

"How is Zhang Jiao's side doing now?"

Feng Xu lowered his head, but his eyes swept around in the shadows:

"Reporting to Lord Zhao..."

He changed his form of address, but his voice lowered.

"Zhang Jiao's influence has grown even stronger in the past two years. Incense offerings have been continuously received in the border areas of Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Youzhou. The positions of altar masters and incense leaders are clearly defined, and the routes are also densely woven."

"They have no shortage of manpower or food; what they lack is only—an opportunity to start a fire."

Zhao Zhong gave a soft "heh," as if he had heard a long-lost joke:

"opportunity?"

"Opportunity is never something you wait for."

He raised his hand, tapping his knuckles on the table, making Feng Xu's heart tighten:

"It was forced out of me."

Xu Feng quickly replied, his tone laced with ruthlessness:

"Does Lord Zhao mean to let Ji Province make the first move?"

Zhao Zhong didn't answer, but instead asked a question:

"Where is Huangfu Song?"

Feng Xu raised his eyes: "According to the pace of travel, we can enter Henan tomorrow, and reach the border of Jizhou in two days."

Zhao Zhong's eyes gleamed with the light of lamplight:

"it is good."

"Then let him—not get in."

Feng Xu's heart skipped a beat: "Lord Zhao, Huangfu Song is a famous general with foreign troops at his disposal. If we were to harm him—"

Zhao Zhong looked up at him, his gaze not angry, but colder than anger:

"Am I still afraid to touch him?"

"Do you think the Crown Prince will let me go?"

"My dismissal was just the beginning. Next came the confiscation of my property, the interrogation, and—the taking of my life."

The room fell silent for a moment, and all three of them fell silent without prior agreement.

Zhao Zhong's smile vanished, a ruthless glint flashing across his face:

"So, it's not me who wants to harm him."

"He must die."

A flicker of excitement crossed Xu Feng's eyes: "What about Cao Cao?"

Zhao Zhong didn't even look up: "Cao Cao must die too."

"His dog nose sniffs way too fast."

"If he doesn't die, the waters of Jizhou will never be clean."

Feng Xu's Adam's apple bobbed, and he said in a low voice:

"Does Lord Zhao intend to employ people from the Way of Peace?"

Zhao Zhong nodded, as if it were something perfectly ordinary:

"use."

"But don't let them feel like they're working for me."

He raised his hand and pulled out a thin piece of paper from a hidden compartment under the table. The paper had only a few lines of text on it—not regulations, not accounts, but roads, pavilions, and the names of post stations and ferry crossings.

"Give this road to the people of Jizhou."

Tell them: Inspector Huangfu Song is ostensibly here to crack down on counterfeit documents, but in reality, he's here to cut off their lifeline.

"Those who have severed their life force should not be allowed to live."

As for Cao Cao—

Zhao Zhong's finger stopped at a certain point on the paper:

"He's still catching his breath in Jizhou."

"Those surrounding him should stop 'surrounding without killing'."

"I want him dead."

Feng Xu frowned: "Didn't you say before that it would be better to surround them and cut off their communications? Now you've changed it to killing them, are you afraid—"

Zhao Zhong interrupted him, his calm tone sending a chill down one's spine:

"The message was cut off to put the Crown Prince in a hurry."

"The killing was to blind the crown prince."

"As soon as Huangfu Song arrived, the Crown Prince was no longer in a hurry."

"If the Crown Prince isn't in a hurry, he'll slowly skin us alive."

He looked up at the two of them, his voice as low as a venomous snake slithering on the ground:

"At this point in the game, being slow means certain death."

Feng Xu remained silent for a moment, then finally asked the most crucial question:

"How does Lord Zhao want them to kill? Huangfu Song has soldiers and elite cavalry by his side—"

Zhao Zhong raised his hand to interrupt him:

"Don't kill in the middle of the battlefield."

"Kill them on the way."

"Kill them at the post station."

"Clear one post station in advance; you don't need to kill the entire group, just kill Huangfu Song."

Zhao Zhong paused for a moment, then continued:

"If we can't find an opportunity to take action."

"Let's stall Huangfu Song for now and kill Cao Cao first."

"Delay for three days—"

A light shone in Zhao Zhong's eyes:

"That's enough for Ji Province to completely bury Cao Cao."

Xu Feng licked his lips, suppressing his excitement:

"At that time, we can also arrange a group of 'bandits,' so that even if the imperial court investigates, they won't be able to trace it back to us."

Feng Xu still hesitated: "Lord Zhao... if this gets out, it will implicate us—"

Zhao Zhong stared at him, then suddenly asked:

"You think we shouldn't hold hands now?"

"If the Crown Prince can dismiss me today, he can investigate you all tomorrow."

"Now that you've eaten meat with me, don't even think about remaining innocent."

Feng Xu's face turned pale, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he ultimately lowered his head:

"...Here you go."

With everything in order, Zhao Zhong looked up at the window.

He suddenly remembered something and slowly said:

"There's one more thing."

"Send Ma Yuanyi to the capital."

Xu Feng was taken aback: "Ma Yuanyi?"

"But things are too tense right now, so Zhang Jiao has put him in charge of the money and supplies line for the time being..."

Zhao Zhong shook his head:

"He should come precisely because he is in charge of finances and supplies, and has been responsible for liaising with us in the past."

"I want him to bring Zhang Jiao's 'meaning'."

Feng Xu's heart skipped a beat: "Lord Zhao wants to...discuss starting a rebellion in Luoyang?"

Zhao Zhong smiled, but there was no warmth in his smile:

"discuss?"

"I wasn't discussing this with them."

"I'm telling them: If you don't move now, you'll never move."

"They thought they were waiting for destiny."

"But fate—"

Zhao Zhong raised his hand and gently adjusted the wick; the flame shot up with a "whoosh."

"It was ordered by a person."