Free Web NovelChapter 181: Linked Scheme: Recruit Long Chen!
As if the people he was brutalizing were not humans but lambs and calves. (In fact, even animals weren’t treated this harshly...)
Grand Chancellor Wang Yun sat in his seat, his fists tightly clenched, with a fiery anger in his chest that had no outlet.
The rest of the officials either had cold sweat beading on their foreheads or were drenched as if they had just emerged from water.
Dong Zhuo’s actions appeared to be a punishment for these rebels.
In reality, it was a warning to the officials not to defy his orders or rebel, lest they suffer the same fate...
One day,
Dong Zhuo summoned the officials to the provincial hall, where they sat in two rows.
After several rounds of drinks,
Lu Bu, clad in beast-faced armor with interlocking chains, suddenly stormed in,
radiating confidence and might!
Standing over nine feet tall, he was like a towering mountain, casting a heavy shadow over the officials.
Lu Bu strode directly to Dong Zhuo’s side and whispered a few words in his ear.
Dong Zhuo patted his big belly and laughed heartily:
"I see!"
This laughter was like the voice of death, casting a dark cloud over the officials’ hearts.
Immediately, Dong Zhuo ordered Lu Bu to drag away Minister of Works Zhang Wen from the hall.
Zhang Wen’s face was filled with panic, turning pale as he screamed in horror:
"Chancellor! Chancellor! I am innocent! Innocent!!!"
Seeing this, the officials were all shocked.
Shortly after, a servant carried a large red tray,
On the tray was Zhang Wen’s head, his face frozen in disbelief, extreme fear, and terror.
He couldn’t believe that as one of the Three Excellencies, he could still be ruthlessly killed by Dong Zhuo...
The head was presented to Dong Zhuo.
The original jade tray was stained crimson with Zhang Wen’s blood...
Such a horrifying and terrifying scene,
left the officials paralyzed with fear.
Dong Zhuo was very pleased with their reactions and said with a smile:
"Do not be surprised why I killed this Zhang Wen!"
"This Zhang Wen did not follow the rules and secretly allied with Yuan Shu, plotting to kill me."
"Fortunately, my spies intercepted their letters, which clearly revealed their conspiracy!"
"To ensure the Emperor’s peace and to reassure the officials, I had my son Fengxian (Lu Bu) execute him!"
Hearing this,
the officials cursed inwardly!
What a thief crying "stop thief!"
If someone were to kill you, that would truly bring peace to the Emperor and relief to us all!
After a pause, Dong Zhuo waved his hand and said:
"All of you are innocent; I will not kill you. There’s no need to fear me."
"Someone, fill everyone’s cups! Let us continue drinking and enjoying ourselves!"
However, after witnessing such an event, how could the officials remain seated?
Dong Zhuo now dared to kill a minister like Zhang Wen on a whim, so if they defied him, wouldn’t they be doomed?
Before long, the officials quietly dispersed.
Among them, Wang Yun was deeply worried.
Dong Zhuo’s repeated outrageous actions made Wang Yun’s heart race.
After returning to his residence,
he pondered over the events of the day, unable to sit still. ƒreewebɳovel.com
Until late at night, he walked into his backyard garden with a cane, standing by the arbors and shedding tears to the sky.
"The people are in dire straits, and the court is in imminent danger."
"Traitor Dong Zhuo seeks to usurp the throne; the civil and military officials are helpless."
"What is to become of this world?!"
At this moment, Wang Yun desperately wished Long Chen were by his side, so they could discuss strategies together.
Just then,
a man in light blue robes approached from afar, startling Wang Yun.
Wang Yun quickly shouted:
"Who dares eavesdrop on my words?!"
"Master Wang, it is I!"
Drawing closer, it turned out to be Yang Xiu!
Previously, when former Grand Commandant Yang Biao was in danger, Wang Yun had helped his family.
Thus, Yang Xiu had been staying at Wang Yun’s residence.
Yang Xiu was known for his humility, eagerness to learn, remarkable talent, extensive knowledge, and exceptional intelligence.
Seeing it was him, Wang Yun immediately asked:
"Did you hear what I just said?"
Yang Xiu, waving his feather fan and looking every bit the refined gentleman, nodded and replied:
"Indeed, I did!"
"Do you have any strategy to overthrow the traitor Dong Zhuo?"
After a moment of contemplation, Yang Xiu waved his fan calmly and said:
"Lord Wang, Dong Zhuo has an adopted son named Lu Bu, who is exceptionally brave, like a demon descending to earth!"
"However, I observe that both Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu share a fatal weakness!"
Hearing this, Wang Yun’s eyes gleamed, and he exclaimed:
"They are both greedy and lustful!"
"Precisely! Lord Wang, we can exploit their weaknesses. If we can sow discord between them, it could weaken their power, and possibly even overthrow Dong Zhuo."
A gentle smile appeared on Yang Xiu’s handsome face.
Wang Yun nodded repeatedly, his mind racing!
Suddenly,
He pointed to the bright moon in the sky and exclaimed:
"If we could use an incredibly alluring woman to create tension between them, it might achieve our goal!"
Wang Yun had thought of the chain plan!
Yang Xiu nodded secretly, recognizing the plan’s potential!
However, it would require someone skilled to execute it!
Realizing this,
Wang Yun sighed deeply, "Alas, my adopted daughter Diao Chan is not here. If she were, with her beauty, not only Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu but even the Emperor would be distracted!"
Yang Xiu’s ears perked up, having heard of Diao Chan’s legendary beauty.
But now she was married to Long Chen of Jiujiang County!!
A true golden couple, perfectly matched!
In fact, Long Chen’s beauty was renowned throughout the Han dynasty!
It was said that Long Chen’s appearance surpassed that of ancient handsome men, representing the pinnacle of beauty in his era.
Thinking of Long Chen, Yang Xiu’s eyes sparkled. He respectfully suggested:
"Lord Wang, have you considered having your son-in-law march into Chang’an to reclaim the Emperor?"
Wang Yun sighed,
He had indeed thought of it, but Yangzhou was too far from Chang’an.
Moreover, after the last campaign against Dong Zhuo, Dong Zhuo had tightened security in the city.
They were almost completely cut off from the outside world.
How could they inform Long Chen of this...
After explaining these reasons, Yang Xiu cupped his hands and said:
"Do not worry, Lord Wang, this can be easily resolved!"
"My family has a mystical bird, called the Qingluan bird, which is as swift as lightning and extremely intelligent."
"If we let this bird deliver a message, it can travel back and forth within a few days!"
"And it is highly adept at disguises, ensuring that Dong Zhuo will not detect it!"
Hearing this, Wang Yun was overjoyed.
He wrote a letter overnight, handed it to Yang Xiu, and instructed him to ensure it safely reached Long Chen.
In addition,
Wang Yun also made a backup plan, continuing with the chain scheme!
For this, he chose another songstress from his household, whose charm was around 90.
Most importantly, she was very seductive!
Extremely tempting!
She was the most attractive woman in his household, besides Diao Chan!
Later, Wang Yun invited Lu Bu to his residence for a banquet, during which he introduced the songstress.
Though Lu Bu had seen many beauties, he had never encountered such a seductive and tempting woman.
Combined with his drunken state,
He blushed instantly, falling in love at first sight.
Wang Yun remained silent, but he was inwardly delighted...
Then he presented the woman to Dong Zhuo, igniting Lu Bu’s hatred for his adoptive father.
The seed of hatred was quietly planted.
However, Wang Yun knew this wasn’t enough; he needed to further escalate the conflict.
He had the songstress whisper in their ears...
But eventually, Dong Zhuo, following Li Ru’s advice, gave the songstress to Lu Bu.
It should be noted that in the original story, Dong Zhuo was so captivated by Diao Chan that he never sent her away, keeping her at Meiwu for his pleasure.
This highlighted the significant difference between Diao Chan and the songstress!
To be fair, Dong Zhuo had long indulged in the palace, accustomed to having concubines,
His tastes were quite refined!
Though the songstress was beautiful and tempting, she couldn’t completely captivate Dong Zhuo.
However,
Dong Zhuo’s action temporarily appeased Lu Bu, but Lu Bu’s hatred for him did not diminish.
Because... Dong Zhuo had already... done that... with the songstress...
Everything that could happen, happened!
This meant that Lu Bu, who was proud and arrogant, was now essentially picking up the pieces, which he found unbearable.
Now, all that was needed was a spark to ignite the gigantic bomb between him and Dong Zhuo...
...
...
In Yangzhou.
In Jiujiang County.
Long Chen was overseeing the training of soldiers in his territory’s camp.
By now,
The once few thousand new recruits had mostly become hardened soldiers in the army!
Their combat strength far surpassed what it had been before, and Long Chen was confident that if they faced the same enemies again, they could achieve victory with fewer casualties and in a shorter time.
As Long Chen was training the soldiers, a personal guard came rushing from a distance at great speed, clearly having urgent news to report.
"Report!"
"Reporting to the lord, the lady has instructed me to ask you to go to the prefectural office; she has important matters to discuss with you!"
Upon hearing this, Long Chen raised an eyebrow!
The lady?
Is it Chan’er! What urgent matter does Chan’er need to discuss with me?
With questions in his mind, Long Chen immediately mounted the Ice Dragon King, who was feasting on a large meal of blood.
He rubbed its thick neck and softly said:
"Old buddy, let’s hurry back to the prefectural office; Chan’er has something to tell me!"
The Ice Dragon King, a five-star magical beast, was highly intelligent and had almost reached the point of telepathic connection with Long Chen.
Hearing about Chan’er, the Ice Dragon King let out a few joyful dragon roars.
Then, with a gust of wind, it sped off.
Its speed increased several times in a short time.
Along the way, people could only see a blur of their passing!
Fast!
Too fast!!!
Upon arriving at the prefectural office, Long Chen immediately dismounted the Ice Dragon King and strode into the office.
He wanted to see what urgent matter Diao Chan had!
When he opened the door,
He saw an exceptionally beautiful woman, dressed in a light and elegant dress, sitting in her place, with her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed.
A hint of worry was visible between her brows.
