They Really Dismissed Lu Zhi?
They really dismissed Lu Zhi? Xiahou Dun stood there with her mouth hanging open like a complete idiot, utterly dumbfounded. It made no sense to chase off a general while the rebellion was still raging. The rebel forces hadn’t been driven to the brink of collapse either. They had simply put out the most urgent fires by winning in the five contested regions of You, Bing, Yan, and the others. The Yellow Turbans still held four full provinces, including Ji and Qing.
Nor was Lu Zhi some incompetent commander whose poor character dragged down morale. If anything, he was excellent. Wasn’t he the one stubbornly pinning down Zhang Jue in the rebels’ home base of Ji Province? Thanks to him, the other regional commanders could suppress the Yellow Turbans without worrying about enemy reinforcements. As for his personality… he was a rather strict old man, but even so, serving under someone like Lu Zhi was pretty decent. At the very least, he didn’t come here to suppress a rebellion only to plunder the common people or demand bribes from his subordinates.
In contrast, the Yellow Turbans focused on rescuing the people they themselves had plundered, winning the public’s hearts. And bribes? He would roar at any underling who brought him one and send them packing, while flatly refusing any superior who expected one. He was an old man respected throughout the army. In conclusion, Xiahou Dun’s head could not process Lu Zhi’s dismissal no matter how she turned it over.
“Come on, what did that old man do wrong? He was handling everything without a single flaw.”
“It’s precisely because he has no flaws that he was dismissed. From the Ten Eunuchs’ point of view, a man like him would be more than enough with just Huangfu Song as a Central Commander.”
Cao Cao answered with a cold smile.
“Aman, what the hell does that mean?”
“This dismissal is proof that the Ten Eunuchs and the Taliu Faction are already thinking about what comes after. Among the three Central Commanders, isn’t Lu Zhi the one who would be most troublesome for them if he gained real power?”
Yes, the Ten Eunuchs would find Lu Zhi the most irritating of the three. Zhu Jun possessed enough ability to hold the rank of Central Commander, but he was the type who easily submitted to those in power. He had shown exactly that during this Yellow Turban Rebellion. He was a loyal and competent general who had suppressed Jing and Yu Provinces before heading to mop up the remnants in Yang, yet even in the midst of such busyness he still found time to offer bribes to the Ten Eunuchs and high officials under the pretext of sending reports.
“Of course Lord Zhu has his excuses. He rose from nothing in the remote Kuaiji Commandery of Yang Province. Without any powerful backers, what else can he do but obey when told to bite and offer tribute when told to pay? Wonyang, to be honest… if I were in Zhu Jun’s position, I would have done the same.”
“Even so, that man goes way too far! I mean… I’m not saying he’s a bad person, but I’ve never seen anyone so spineless in my entire life.”
“Hahaha!! That’s true enough.”
Xiahou Dun’s words weren’t entirely wrong. Even taking his lack of backing into account, Zhu Jun was not the sort of man with the iron will to join the Qingliu Faction in exterminating the Taliu Faction and the Ten Eunuchs.
And then there was Huangfu Song. For better or worse, he was a soldier born and bred. Capable yet not arrogant, obedient to orders while still producing results, uninterested in politics yet upright and loyal. That was how the world evaluated Huangfu Song. As if to prove those words correct, he was producing the most noticeable achievements among the three Central Commanders. Zhang Jue had selected elite troops from the Ji Province Yellow Turbans and sent them to Yan Province, but Huangfu Song had rescued Yan in a single breath and even had the leisure to assist Zhu Jun in suppressing Yu Province. Since he had now moved on to quell the rebellion in Xu via Yu, it wouldn’t be long before Xu Province returned to Han hands as well.
Despite displaying the most outstanding performance among the three, the Ten Eunuchs did not fear Huangfu Song much. He was so rigidly obedient to orders that even Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun found him stiflingly inflexible. Therefore, neither of them bothered to discuss him.
“Seriously, the rebellion isn’t even over yet and those bastards are already…”
“It’s regrettable about Lord Lu Zhi… but what can we do? There’s nothing we can do about it, so shall we worry about something else instead?”
“What else?”
“Just as our Bangyeol predicted, Liu Bei has become a leader without any backing, hasn’t she?! To think you foresaw that and tried to slip away from her… Hmph! What excellent judgment! However, I have no intention of simply watching a fine talent run away.”
Zhao Yun had already become “our” Zhao Yun in Cao Cao’s mouth.
“Ah, right. You said that guy would desert carrying his own unit’s loot.”
“Exactly! Since the Liu Bei army is here, the main camp at Nusang Village should be empty. Everyone stuffed themselves and drank at the feast until they’re all nicely drunk… Aha! They’re probably trying to flee right about now, don’t you think?”
“What?! We don’t have time to sit around here! Aman! Let’s go catch him right now!”
“Hahaha!!! No need~ Zhao Yun will come to me on his own.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
Why would he come here? Cao Cao gave a chilly smile as she watched the bewildered Xiahou Dun.
“Well, to put it simply… Zhao Yun isn’t the only one who can play tricks. Anyway! Shall we just wait here comfortably?”
It would be nice if he came on his own two feet, though~ Cao Cao stretched lazily while speaking words that Xiahou Dun still couldn’t understand.
A long time after being transmigrated into an erotic game I had never even touched before.
Late at night, when everyone was about to fall asleep.
The location was the suppression army’s barracks, where they were holding a celebratory feast after their great victory against the Yellow Turbans. More precisely, it was inside the Liu Bei army’s section of the camp, where they had carved out a small space for yet another drinking party.
The guy currently tearing into meat in that tent was me—the poor bastard who had been possessed.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Zhang Fei, the hairy brute who had been gulping liquor like a dog and was now one step away from crawling around on all fours like one. Guan Yu, the cold beauty who scolded him while helping the drunkard into the tent, only to let out a girlish scream when a caterpillar dropped from a leaf. Liu Bei, her massive breasts jiggling as she went around comforting every single person who had fought in the battle. And the volunteer soldiers drinking as if they were living only for today.
Everyone was carousing without the slightest tension, beneath a pitch-black night sky that held not a single trace of moonlight.
Perfect. This was the exact moment I had been waiting for.
I had already told the uncles from Dontou Village the moment I met them. The suddenness had caused a bit of commotion, but it was still far better than too many people knowing and risking discovery.
“…Captain, are you really going through with this?”
“Of course. The carts.”
“I loaded all five using only the expensive stuff.”
The Liu Bei main camp at Nusang Village was now completely empty since the volunteer army had been invited here. I had secretly sent some of the uncles back to bring the loot to a nearby location.
“Horses.”
“I picked out the sturdiest ones and set them aside.”
“Security.”
“Once it gets darker, I arranged for only our boys to stand guard on the road toward Luoyang.”
The plan was flawless.
I took a deep breath and looked up to see twenty strong young men gathered with expressions even more tense than when they had been crossing blades with the Yellow Turbans.
People call those who risk their lives for their country loyal subjects. They call those who convert all their loot into rice and distribute it to the starving masses gentlemen. And if someone knowingly walks a path of obvious hardship, they call him an idiot. If he drags his own people into that hardship with him, they call him a son of a bitch.
I was neither a loyal subject nor a gentleman, but I was most definitely not an idiot, and even more certainly not a son of a bitch. I could not allow myself or the men who followed me to suffer under Liu Bei.
I had felt some hesitation until now, but… good grief, hadn’t Liu Bei declared that she would give all the loot to the starving people of Zhuo Commandery? The moment I heard that, my decision was set.
I would desert.
It was the era of extreme corruption and bribery. This was not some romantic age where merit without money earned you a minor post and money without merit earned you a major one. It was simply the end of the world.
In such an age, there had been one saint who earned merits honestly and sold his loot to buy rice for the starving people.
And beneath that saint was one son of a bitch who did not want to suffer and was now attempting to desert with five carts full of that loot.
“Tonight, we desert no matter what.”
“…By the way, Captain. Or rather, Zhao Yun.”
“Uncle Bae? What is it?”
“Look, this is the last thing I’ll say… You’re really not thinking of joining Lord Cao’s command?”
Why did this uncle keep harping on about Cao Cao? I stayed quiet to urge him to continue, and Uncle Bae spoke with an earnest expression.
“There’s no need to travel all the way to Luoyang. If you just stay under the Defense Officer, won’t she grant you a post herself? That’s what I’m saying. The road is dangerous and crawling with Yellow Turbans. Even if you arrive safely, with that money, what more could you buy than a county magistrate position?”
If I hadn’t known Cao Cao’s future history of purges, I might have agreed… But that woman becomes completely insane later. She will purge anyone without hesitation for her own benefit, and she will even kill people simply because they displeased her.
But how could I explain that to these uncles? Even if I told them, they wouldn’t believe me.
“Uncle, I have my own plans, so please trust me this time as well. You’ve never lost anything by following my words so far, right?”
Uncle Bae nodded with a gloomy face.
“Yeah… I’ve said my piece many times…. Zhao Yun, don’t hold it against me, alright?”
…?
“Uncle? What are you—”
Uncle Bae pulled a thick club from inside his clothes. Sensing the ominous atmosphere, I looked around and saw the other uncles holding clubs, surrounding me.
…What the hell?
Thwack!Thump!!!Crack!Whack!!
“Guwaaaak!!!”
The sudden clubbing came without warning. Unarmored and drunk, I couldn’t resist at all and collapsed. My vision slowly blurred. The last thing I saw before losing consciousness… were the faces of the Dontou Village uncles, a complicated mixture of reluctance and relief.