Free Web NovelChapter 57: Dong Zhuo Dominates the Capital
Zhou Tai immediately found a battle to fight and loudly thumped his hard chest, saying, "Rest assured, my lord, I promise not to disappoint you!"
Having said that, he excitedly went out to practice military exercises!
Xi Zhicai, puzzled, asked, "My lord, why are you so certain that the time will be ripe in four months?"
He, relying on his strategist talent, could only predict that an opportunity might arise within half a year.
He never expected his lord to predict so accurately, especially as his lord was an extraordinary man born as a military general!
Long Chen left a meaningful smile and said, "Zhi Cai, when it comes to strategy and tactics, I am inferior to you, but when it comes to the grand strategy, hehe, I dare claim second place, no one dares claim first..."
Although he couldn’t pinpoint historical dates as accurately as in his previous life, he could at least mention the month of significant historical events...
Sili Province, Luoyang.
After the death of Emperor Ling of Han, the Ten Attendants aimed to make Liu Xie the emperor and plotted to eliminate He Jin first.
Upon learning this news, He Jin, together with Yuan Shao, who was from a prominent family for four generations, discussed eradicating the eunuchs.
However, they were stopped by Empress He, who, owing her position as Empress to the help of the eunuchs.
Faced with this situation, He Jin decided to directly install Liu Bian as the emperor to act against the Ten Attendants.
They would make their move when the time was right!
He Jin and others helped the crown prince ascend the throne and handle state affairs in front of the emperor’s coffin. Empress He was in charge of court affairs, and He Jin controlled the court as the Grand Marshal.
Dong Taihou, urged by Zhang Rang and others, also attended the court sessions, appointing the prince as King of Chenliu and highly rewarding the eunuch Ten Attendants, intending to share power with Empress He.
He Jin sent Dong Taihou back to her hometown of Hejian and poisoned her on the way.
He then falsified an edict to call in outside troops, aiming to eradicate the eunuchs.
However, the Ten Attendants had planned in advance, falsely announcing Empress He’s will to summon He Jin into the palace.
He Jin, ignoring Chen Lin and Cao Cao’s dissuasion, entered the palace alone and was killed in the Jia De Hall by Zhang Rang and other eunuchs.
Yuan Shao and Cao Cao entered the palace, killing the eunuchs. A fire broke out inside the palace, and in the chaos, Zhang Rang and Duan Gui abducted the young Emperor Liu Bian and Prince Liu Xie from the palace.
Cao Cao sent troops to pursue Zhang Rang and Duan Gui and search for the young emperor.
All the Ten Attendants perished in the melee. freewebnσvel.cѳm
The young emperor and Prince Chenliu hid in the grass until dawn when they were found by the ministers led by Minister Wang Yun.
As they were about to return with the young emperor, Dong Zhuo, the governor of Xiliang, suddenly appeared in the distance.
Having long harbored ambitions and following the advice of his chief counselor, Li Ru, he took advantage of the chaos in Luoyang and led his troops into the capital...
Dong Zhuo’s Xiliang Iron Cavalry was like an insurmountable mountain, blocking Luoyang. Everyone was uncertain about their future.
Dong Zhuo’s 200,000 troops camped near the capital, fully armed and ready.
Every day, they entered the city, the armored soldiers cleared the way, and they wreaked havoc among the people.
In order to demonstrate his power and intimidate the officials, Dong Zhuo even considered deposing the young emperor Liu Bian and installing a new emperor, Liu Xie.
Upon hearing this news, Minister Wang Yun regretted letting Dong Zhuo into the capital!
The young emperor Liu Bian was at a loss and lived in constant fear.
If Dong Zhuo continued to dominate Luoyang, the Han dynasty would collapse any day now!
"We must drive Dong Zhuo out of the capital. But whom should we seek?" frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
But Wang Yun was concerned that after other warlords expelled Dong Zhuo, they might monopolize Luoyang, just as Dong Zhuo did. This was something he didn’t want to see.
And most importantly, Dong Zhuo’s 200,000 Xiliang Iron Cavalry was incredibly ferocious and unstoppable.
Therefore, Wang Yun decided they must find a hero who was both loyal to the Han Dynasty and had formidable strength to assist in resisting Dong Zhuo’s forces!
At this moment, Wang Yun thought of his son-in-law - General Who Guards the South, Prefect of Jiujang County, Long Jieming.
Years ago, Wang Yun knew that Long Chen had a strong determination to support the Han Dynasty. Moreover, Long Chen had shown great brilliance during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, displaying formidable strength!
This man was the best choice to protect the capital!
So, after recommending Long Chen to the young Emperor Liu Bian and receiving his approval (after all, Long Chen was Wang Yun’s son-in-law, practically family!), Emperor Liu Bian issued a decree summoning Long Jieming to the capital.
Wang Yun (Prince Advisor) penned thousands of words in a letter after finishing, handed the decree to his guard, instructing: "Quickly send this letter to Prefect Long in Jiujang County..."
As for why they didn’t dispatch a palace eunuch to deliver the decree, they were afraid of alerting the crafty Dong Zhuo. If he found out, it could cost them their lives!
...
Yangzhou, Jiujang County.
Inside the barracks, Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin were grumbling.
"Gong Yi, do you think our lord is deceiving us? He said four months, but now that time has come, why isn’t the timing ripe?"
Jiang Qin smiled and said, "Wait a bit longer. It’s only just passed four months. How can it happen so soon?"
"Besides, have you forgotten our lord is a warrior too? How could he calculate the timing so accurately?"
"If he were that amazing, wouldn’t he be a god!"
Zhou Tai nodded with a grunt, "True! However amazing our lord is, he couldn’t predict it this accurately!"
He sighed, "Ah, training every day... my bones are getting rusty! I wonder when we’ll get to the battlefield!"
As warriors, they naturally longed to engage in battle, as it was their primary path to earn merits and receive titles.
Meanwhile, Long Chen was inspecting the effectiveness of farming in the fields and was quite pleased.
The farming methods were indeed impressive. Within these few months, the grain production in his territory had increased by tens of thousands.
The soldiers and civilians no longer needed to worry about grain supplies and had gathered a considerable amount to support future expeditions...
Just then, a messenger hurried over from a distance, dismounted from his horse, and knelt before Long Chen.
"Report—"
"What’s the matter?"
"Messenger sent by the Grand Minister Wang is at the Prefect’s residence!"
At that moment, Long Chen’s eyes narrowed. If one looked closely, they would notice a gleam of light shooting through his starry eyes, reaching the sky!
"Alright, I understand. Thank you!"
Long Chen patted the knight’s shoulder and quickly mounted his all-white lion horse, riding off in a flash, leaving the messenger touched, witnessing such a kind and loving lord, further cementing his resolve to give his life for Long Chen’s cause...
Long Chen returned to the Prefect’s residence without a moment’s rest. Because he knew the time was ripe!
As soon as Wang Yun’s guard saw Long Chen, he immediately knelt down, respectfully handing over the sealed decree from his waist to Long Chen.
Crying out, "Lord Long, our lord is in danger! Please read this decree!"
In earlier years, he had the fortune to be close to Long Chen alongside Wang Yun when Wang Yun was the Inspector of Yuzhou...
Long Chen reassured, "Rest assured, I have a plan."
After saying that, Long Chen opened the decree only to find a golden decree inscribed with a golden dragon inside.
After reading the content of the decree, the brilliance in Long Chen’s eyes shone even brighter!
The contents of the decree essentially allowed him to lead a formidable force to the city of Luoyang in the Sili Province to enter the capital and protect the emperor!
Most of the content detailed Dong Zhuo’s villainous acts, emphasizing the imminent danger in Luoyang! The princes and the Emperor were in peril!
What surprised him was that this was a decree personally issued by the Emperor Liu Bian.
He couldn’t help but admire his father-in-law’s ability to involve the Emperor Liu Bian in this. However, this decree represented the will of the Han Dynasty’s supreme ruler.
Without it, entering the capital rashly would only lead to suspicion or dissatisfaction from others. With the decree, his entry would be seen as a righteous act recognized by the emperor, capturing the hearts of the people.
Stowing away the decree, Long Chen asked the guard to rest for a while, declaring that he would soon head north to protect the Emperor.
This delighted the guard, who almost fainted from joy. However, after rushing non-stop to reach Jiujang County, his stamina was severely depleted!
After arranging for the guard’s rest, Long Chen immediately ordered Military Advisor Xizhi Cai, General Zhou Tai, and Jiang Qin to the Prefect’s residence.
Xu Chu, who was following behind Long Chen, rubbed his hands together with a beaming smile, asking, "My Lord, is the time ripe?"
Arching his eyebrow, Long Chen countered, "Eh, Zhongkang, when did you become so astute? Quite unexpected!"
Xu Chu hurriedly scratched the back of his head, grinning foolishly, "It’s just that seeing Your Lordship’s joyful expression, I couldn’t help but feel that way!"
"True, Zhongkang, that’s progress. But if you could read more military books, it would be even better!"
"Because to become a commander, reading those books is indispensable!" Long Chen said, taking his seat.
Hearing this, Xu Chu became nervous, waving his hands vigorously, his head bobbing like a drum.
Anxiously he said, "No no no! My Lord, please don’t say that. Those books might be treasures for scholars, but for me, they are just plain water!"
"And whenever I read them, I feel sleepy..."
Long Chen laughed, pointing at Xu Chu, "You, my dear..."
"Moreover, My Lord, in this life, I just want to serve as your personal guard or maybe let me take the frontline, I promise to make hundreds of holes in those enemy soldiers!"
Eyes gleaming, Xu Chu exclaimed excitedly.
