The Three Kingdoms: Home Travel

After Dong Zhuo incorporated those 40,000 to 50,000 troops, he became increasingly arrogant, entering and leaving the palace without any restraint.

He no longer took He Hou's words to heart.

At that time, Bao Xin, the military officer of the rear army, came to see Yuan Shao and said that Dong Zhuo must have ulterior motives and should be eliminated quickly.

Shao said, "We have no soldiers at our disposal, how can we eliminate them?"

Bao Xin shook his head and sighed, then threw himself into Mount Tai.

Finally, seeing that he had military power in his grasp, Dong Zhuo's ambition grew. In addition, he was dissatisfied with Empress He. He privately said to Li Ru, "I have been thinking about this for a long time. I want to depose the emperor and install the Prince of Chenliu. What do you think?" Li Ru said, "Now the court is without a ruler. If we do not act now, things will change. Tomorrow, in Wenming Garden, we will summon all the officials and tell them about the deposition and installation. Anyone who does not comply will be executed. Then the exercise of our power will be today."

Zhuo Xi was delighted. The next day, a grand banquet was held, inviting all the high-ranking officials and nobles.

Since Dong Zhuo took over He Jin's remaining troops, all the officials feared him, and none dared to fail to appear. After all the officials had arrived, Dong Zhuo slowly dismounted at the garden gate, drew his sword, and entered the banquet. After several rounds of wine, Dong Zhuo ordered the wine and music to stop, and then said sternly, "I have something to say; all officials, listen carefully." Everyone listened intently. Dong Zhuo said, "The emperor is the master of all people; without majesty, he cannot uphold the ancestral temples and the state. The current emperor is weak and cowardly; he is not as intelligent and studious as the Prince of Chenliu, who is suitable to inherit the throne. When the late emperor passed away, he secretly issued an edict, which was to establish Prince Xie as the crown prince!"

"I never imagined that former General He Jin, with his wolfish ambitions, would commit treason and usurp the throne! Today, I intend to depose the emperor, install the Prince of Chenliu, and restore order to the Han Dynasty! What do you, my ministers, think?"

Upon hearing this, none of the officials dared to utter a sound.

Wang Yun was startled and dropped his wine cup.

One of the men at the table pushed aside his chair, stood before the banquet, and shouted, "No! No! Who are you to dare utter such arrogant words? The Emperor should speak first!"

"The emperor's legitimate son has committed no wrongdoing. How dare you presume to depose him! We are unaware of the late emperor's will. How can we know whether it is true or false? Do you intend to usurp the throne?" Zhuo looked closely and indeed saw that it was Ding Yuan, the governor of Jingzhou.

Zhuo angrily shouted, "Those who obey me live, those who defy me die!" He then drew his sword, intending to kill Ding Yuan.

At that moment, Li Ru saw a man behind Ding Yuan, who was tall and imposing, holding a halberd and glaring angrily. Li Ru hurriedly stepped forward and said, "We cannot discuss state affairs at this banquet; it will not be too late to discuss it in the capital tomorrow."

Everyone tried to dissuade him, but Ding Yuan glanced at Wang Yun and rode away.

Dong Zhuo, still enraged, coldly questioned his officials, "Is what I said fair and just?"

Lu Zhi said, “Your Excellency is mistaken. In the past, when Tai Jia was unwise, Yi Yin banished him to Tong Palace; the King of Changyi had only been on the throne for twenty-seven days and had committed more than three thousand evils, so Huo Guang reported him to the ancestral temple and deposed him. Although the current emperor is young, he is intelligent and benevolent, and has not made the slightest mistake. As for the matter of the secret edict, as Lord Ding said, we do not know whether it is true or false! Furthermore, you are only the governor of an outer prefecture, and have never participated in state affairs. Moreover, you do not have the great talents of Yi Yin and Huo Guang. How can you force the issue of deposition and enthronement? The sage said: If one has the will of Yi Yin, it is permissible; if one does not have the will of Yi Yin, it is usurpation.”

Dong Zhuo was furious and drew his sword to kill Zhi.

Attendant-in-Ordinary Cai Yong advised, "Minister Lu is highly respected throughout the country. If we harm him now, the whole nation will be terrified."

Dong Zhuo stopped when Cai Yong advised him against it.

Wang Yun, fearing that Dong Zhuo might truly ruin Lu Zhi's reputation, said, "The matter of deposing and establishing an emperor cannot be discussed under the influence of alcohol; let us discuss it another day." Thereupon, all the officials dispersed.

After leaving Luoyang, Ding Yuan thought to himself, "Dong Zhuo commands 80,000 troops. Although I only have 30,000 men, I have many good generals, so I have nothing to fear!"

Therefore, Ding Yuan led his army to challenge Luoyang City to battle.

Dong Zhuo was indeed furious and personally led a large army to confront Ding Yuan.

As the two armies faced each other, Dong Zhuo saw a general in front of Ding Yuan's army wearing a golden crown that tied his hair up, a battle robe with a hundred flowers, Tang Ni armor, and a lion-mane belt. He rode his horse and brandished a halberd, following Ding Jianyang to the front of the battle. He looked very imposing. This man was Ding Yuan's adopted son, Lü Bu, Lü Fengxian!

Dong Zhuo then looked at the generals behind him, all of whom exuded a murderous aura and were fierce warriors. He was secretly alarmed.

Ding Yuan pointed at Zhuo and cursed, "The nation is in misfortune; eunuchs wield power, causing immense suffering to the people. You have rendered no service whatsoever, how dare you speak of deposing and installing emperors, attempting to disrupt the court! Fengxian, take this scoundrel's life!"

"Hmph!" Lü Bu snorted coldly and shouted, "Gentlemen, follow me!"

"Yes!" Several generals behind Lü Bu shouted. Who are you? They were Hao Meng, Cao Xing, Cheng Lian, Wei Xu, Song Xian, and Hou Cheng.

Ignoring Dong Zhuo's soldiers, Lü Bu led six fierce generals straight towards Dong Zhuo's central army.

Seeing the seven men charging about as if they were nothing, Dong Zhuo was furious and shouted, "Who are you, you little brats, daring to be so insolent!"

It is said that Dong Zhuo was also a fierce general. Seeing Lü Bu and others so arrogant, he was indignant and entrusted his army to Li Ru to go forward and fight Lü Bu.

"Clang!" The spear and halberd clashed, and Dong Zhuo felt a weight in his hand, and his expression changed immediately.

"Hmph!" Lu Bu sneered. After fighting Dong Zhuo for several rounds, he felt the pressure on his hands gradually subside and knew that his opponent was powerless. He then shouted, "Leave your head behind!" With that, he swung his halberd straight at Dong Zhuo's face.

Suddenly, Lü Bu felt a void beneath him; it turned out his horse was an ordinary breed. How could it withstand Lü Bu's repeated battles with Dong Zhuo? With a burst of strength, Lü Bu broke the horse's bones and it collapsed to the ground.

When Dong Zhuo saw the halberd coming towards him, his eyes widened in fear. Suddenly, he saw Lü Bu's horse fall to the ground, and he was overjoyed. When he saw Lü Bu roll to his feet and look at him coldly, Dong Zhuo nodded to himself, thinking, "Truly brave and valiant!"

Li Ru didn't know much about military affairs, but he could see that his side was already showing signs of defeat, so he hurriedly sounded the retreat.

Dong Zhuo glanced at Lü Bu, then spurred his horse and rode away.

Lu Bu slammed his halberd into the ground, coldly watching Dong Zhuo withdraw his troops. "I'll take your head tomorrow!"

Thus, Dong Zhuo's army suffered a great defeat and retreated into Luoyang. For several days, Lü Bu challenged him to battle outside the city, but Dong Zhuo simply held Luoyang firmly and refused to come out.

As a result, Jiang Zhe became somewhat depressed.

He had already packed his bags and was just waiting for an opportunity to leave Luoyang. But now, to prevent Ding Yuan from causing trouble, Dong Zhuo ordered that all the gates of Luoyang could only be entered but not left.

Thus, Jiang Zhe could only anxiously wait at Wang Yun's residence.

Upon hearing that it was a battle between Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo, Jiang Zhe suddenly remembered someone, the man known as the strongest warrior in the Three Kingdoms, Lü Bu!

Feeling somewhat anxious, Jiang Zhe returned to his room and saw Xiu'er embroidering by the bed. He asked, "Xiu'er, do you know someone named Lü Bu?"

"Lü Bu?" Xiu'er paused for a moment, then recalled, and said, "I don't recall ever hearing of him. What brings you here, my husband?"

"...It's nothing, it's nothing." Jiang Zhe was a little puzzled. Xiu'er wouldn't lie to him. Could it be that the historical accounts of Diao Chan and Lü Bu were just nonsense?

"Husband?" Xiu'er looked at Jiang Zhe with a puzzled expression, then said, "Are we still unable to leave Luoyang today?"

"Don't even mention it!" Jiang Zhe said, sitting down next to Xiu'er with a sullen expression. "Dong Zhuo and Ding Yuan are fighting fiercely; how are we supposed to get out?"

"Husband, don't worry!" Xiu'er smiled slightly, put down her embroidery, and gently hugged Jiang Zhe, saying, "Relax, everything will be alright..."

"Hey!" Jiang Zhe chuckled, pinching Xiu'er's smooth cheek as he said, "Isn't that something I said before?"

"Husband!" Xiu'er pouted and scolded, "You're not allowed to bully me!"

Seeing Xiuer's shy and hesitant expression, Jiang Zhe was somewhat moved. Suddenly, he heard a loud shout, which sounded like Wang Yun's voice.

"I said I wouldn't see him, and I won't! Go and tell him!"

Jiang Zhe and Xiu'er exchanged a glance and quietly walked out.

Seeing the steward of Wang Yun's residence shaking his head as he walked over, Jiang Zhe quickly called out to him, "Old steward, what's going on?" He gestured towards Wang Yun's study.

"Ah, it's Young Master!" The old butler turned and glanced at Wang Yun's study, then walked to Jiang Zhe's side and whispered, "It's like this, Cai Zhonglang came to visit, and I informed the master, but for some reason, the master ordered that he not be allowed to enter..."

Jiang Zhe opened his mouth, surprised, and said, "Is that so?"

The old steward nodded and said, "How could that be false? Cai Zhonglang is right outside the door right now!"

"Take me to see it!"

The old butler led Jiang Zhe to the front gate. Jiang Zhe was a step or two behind and, sure enough, saw Cai Yong standing at the gate. He was immediately puzzled. Weren't Old Man Wang and Uncle Cai close friends? How could this be?

The old steward hurried a few steps and said awkwardly to Cai Yong, "Lord Cai, the master is unwell today and truly cannot see our distinguished guest..."

"...Is that so?" Cai Yong sighed deeply, cupped his hands to the old steward, and said, "Please tell Zishi, Yong..."

"Uncle?" Jiang Zhe called out.

"Is it Shouyi?" A glimmer of light appeared in Cai Yong's eyes, and a hint of life returned. "Long time no see. Why don't you ever visit my residence..."

Jiang Zhe felt a little embarrassed, thinking to himself that if this happened a few more times, Xiu'er might get jealous.

He just scratched his head and chuckled.

"Yong recently acquired a new zither called Jiao Wei. If Shouyi has nothing else to do, he may go and see it..."

"What are you looking at!" A sudden shout interrupted Cai Yong's words. Wang Yun walked out with a stern face, glared at Jiang Zhe, and said, "Go back!"

"Zishi..." Cai Yong frowned and called out to Wang Yun, but Wang Yun ignored him.

"This..." Jiang Zhe looked at Wang Yun, then at Cai Yong, and was completely baffled. What was wrong with these two?

"I told you to go back, didn't you hear me?" Wang Yun shouted at Jiang Zhe. "And another thing! Stay away from the Cai residence from now on!"

"Zishi!" Cai Yong exclaimed angrily, "Even if Zishi misunderstands me, there's no need to implicate Yong's daughter!"

"Hmph!" Wang Yun snorted coldly and went inside without glancing at Cai Yong once.

"Uncle Cai, why is that?" Jiang Zhe asked Cai Yong curiously.

"Alas!" Cai Yong shook his head and said, "A few days ago, Dong Zhuo came to see me alone, telling me about how I had treated him kindly many years ago. The next day, he actually promoted me in the name of Empress He. I suppose Zishi has misunderstood me..."

Well! Jiang Zhe was speechless. The old man had just been demoted recently. Now that you've been promoted, especially after meeting Dong Zhuo, how could the old man not misunderstand?

"I never imagined that Dong Zhongying, who was so devoted to the Han Dynasty back then, would now be like this... Alas! Shouyi, I can no longer visit you now. If you miss him... well, then come visit your uncle when you have time!"

Missing? Jiang Zhe felt a chill. How could he not understand what Cai Yong meant? Thinking of Cai Yan's gentle and lovely appearance, it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted. It's just that he had Xiu'er by his side, and he wanted to go out and hunt... cough!

Just as Jiang Zhe was about to speak, Wang Yun shouted from inside, "Shouyi! I summon you! Come quickly! Do not speak to him again!"

Cai Yong's eyes darkened, and he waved his hand, saying, "Shouyi, your uncle is calling you. Go quickly! I know Zishi's temper; if you're late, he might punish you..."

Seeing Cai Yong's somber expression, Jiang Zhe hesitated for a moment before saying, "Then I'll take my leave. Uncle, you should also return home soon... If I have the time, I will definitely come to visit you!"

"Hehe, good!" Cai Yong smiled with satisfaction and said, "A seat will definitely be reserved for Shouyi at the Cai family banquet!"

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