21. The Era of Heroes Begins (2)
21. The Era of Heroes Begins (2)
Dong Zhuo was not satisfied with just deposing Liu Bian.
The seeds of future trouble must be cut early.
By having Li Ru poison the Deposed Emperor Liu Bian and his mother, the Empress Dowager He, the political faction that had overcome the Yellow Turban Rebellion completely vanished into the shadows of history.
"Rebellions are breaking out everywhere."
"They are spreading in Yan Province and Yu Province, and even in the frontier of You Province!"
Messengers delivered news of the rebellions.
Dong Zhuo began to feel the burden as news of rebellions arrived day after day.
Rebellions were occurring all over the country.
It was enough to remind one of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Since Dong Zhuo had been severely shaken by the Yellow Turbans once before, it was only natural that he felt a great burden.
"First, you should appoint members of the Clear Stream faction as local officials. If it is the Clear Stream faction, who fought against the eunuchs to eradicate corruption, they can be trusted."
Minister of Education Wang Yun suggested.
At those words, the strategist Li Ru strongly opposed.
"That will not do. They could all easily jump on the bandwagon of rebellion and turn into enemies! What the Minister is saying right now is an act of driving our own allies into a threat!!"
Li Ru twisted his face.
What a crafty old man.
Li Ru had seen through Wang Yun's scheme to use the appointment of Clear Stream faction members as local officials as a noose to tighten around the neck of Dong Zhuo's army.
Wang Yun was a person who could never be trusted.
And unlike other high-ranking officials who only spouted empty theories, he was a very terrifying person. This was because he possessed a sinister nature that was far from nobility and integrity.
"I do not know what you are afraid of. Are you afraid of Clear Stream bureaucrats who cannot even swing a sword properly? To be afraid of old bureaucrats who were exiled to the provinces by the eunuchs' schemes."
Wang Yun made Li Ru shut his mouth.
Afterward, Wang Yun explained to Dong Zhuo that if he appointed Clear Stream faction members as local officials, he could hold their public opinion in his hands.
"Ahem."
Dong Zhuo's ears perked up.
What he needed right now was a 'massive public opinion' that was very favorable to him and could turn the hearts of the Han people.
If it were the Clear Stream faction, it was possible.
If it were the old bureaucrats, famous for their clean and noble character, who had been exiled to the provinces by the eunuchs, they certainly had such power.
'I am not someone to be scared of mere literati who cannot even swing a sword. Besides, am I not the powerful official who executed the Ten Eunuchs and General-in-Chief He Jin? If I deeply promote the Clear Stream bureaucrats who were exiled by them, they will surely follow me.'
Killing two birds with one stone.
Catching two rabbits with one trap.
He needed a mediator to extinguish the sparks of the increasingly fierce local rebellions. So, Dong Zhuo accepted Wang Yun's suggestion and decided to select Clear Stream bureaucrats as local officials.
Dong Zhuo decided to show a friendly stance.
He appointed Yuan Shao, who had left while insulting him, as the Prefect of Bohai, and appointed other figures as local officials as well, trying to create his own Han Dynasty.
"Elder, Yuan Shao will never try to cooperate with you. Send people who can keep her in check to her surroundings."
Once again, Li Ru stepped forward.
To prevent things from going according to Wang Yun's intentions, he intended to send observers around the people he recommended.
To keep Yuan Shao in check,
He sent Han Fu, who had served as Secretariat and Censor-in-chief, to be the Governor of Ji Province to monitor her. Furthermore, he transferred various figures from Luoyang to the provinces.
"These puppies don't know how scary a tiger is. Since I'm not stepping up, they seem to think they are scary. Such insolent bastards."
Dong Zhuo made a bored expression while resting his chin on his hand.
If he had his way, he wanted to wipe them all out.
He wanted to lead an army majestically and place all 13 provinces under his feet.
However, Li Ru absolutely opposed it.
He said that leaving Luoyang and moving was the worst possible move, and that it would be moving exactly as the rebels wanted, so he must remain as immovable as Mount Tai.
"Grandfather!"
The door opened and Dong Bai appeared.
Boldly, the young girl ran on two feet in the inner court where the officials were gathered and approached Dong Zhuo.
Even if she was a young child, there were strictly national laws and imperial etiquette, so what kind of rude behavior was this? Wang Yun frowned at the presence of the girl who had appeared suddenly.
"Oh my, our Baek-ah!"
Dong Zhuo burst into a hearty laugh.
It was to the point where one would wonder if he even knew how to make such a laugh.
"How is the palace this grandfather gifted you? Isn't it quite splendid? It is a palace I prepared by selecting and selecting it myself just for you."
What happened to the previous owner of the palace...
The faint bloodstains on the palace pillars would speak for that instead.
Dong Zhuo gifted the palace to his granddaughter.
He had gifted a palace that only the imperial family could own, and only those who had marital relations with the imperial family could own, to a child who was still young.
Isn't it absurd?
Wang Yun bowed his head and ground his teeth.
"I want to go out to the streets with Grandfather. Can I? Grandfather is busy, though."
"Why wouldn't you be able to? We can go right now."
Even the great Dong Zhuo was nothing more than a kind-hearted old man in front of his granddaughter.
Anything his granddaughter wanted,
Even if she wasn't satisfied with the position of a feudal lord, he could give her even more than that without hesitation.
Lee Seong-hwi was receiving intensive training from Lu Bu.
Compared to his potential, his practical ability was too lacking.
Lu Bu, who couldn't bear to watch that sight, worked Lee Seong-hwi to death, saying that even though she showed obvious signs of disliking it, she couldn't stand seeing her subordinate get beaten up by others.
"Huff! Huff! Th-this...! This woman with only big breasts...!!"
Lee Seong-hwi ran away desperately.
It was because Lu Bu was rushing at him from right behind, swinging her Painted Halberd.
If he got caught, he would really die.
Despite having breasts larger and more superior than others, why was she so fast? Lee Seong-hwi was running with all his might.
"You're working hard again today, I'll cheer for you."
The only conscience of the Lu Bu army.
A black-haired beauty who acted as an older sister figure, and the pinnacle of the most perfect heroine Lee Seong-hwi dreamed of.
A wise mother and good wife, a wife of shared hardships.
The beauty that all men would dream of was Zhang Liao. And Lee Seong-hwi had set a goal to conquer her as well, following Lu Bu someday. Lee Seong-hwi got distracted by her cheering.
"Where are you looking awayyy!!"
Lu Bu let out a bizarre roar.
At the sight of Lee Seong-hwi whose gaze was fixed on Zhang Liao,
Lu Bu poured out her anger as if punishing a husband who had an affair.
But it was unavoidable.
Zhang Liao, who possessed a pitiful beauty, was so beautiful that it would be no exaggeration to call her the greatest beauty in Luoyang.
"Surrender...!"
Lee Seong-hwi finally collapsed.
Even though he trained in his own way and had a potential of 100 in martial arts... he eventually collapsed in front of the Unrivaled Under Heaven.
It was training with too high a difficulty.
To run with all his might for half a day was close to torture that was impossible for an ordinary human.
"How weak. In Bing Province, this level of training is received as a basic. If this were Bing Province... you would surely have had a hard time even keeping your life."
Lu Bu snorted.
She didn't forget to look at the collapsed Lee Seong-hwi with a pitiful gaze.
"He is a Luoyang person. It's difficult to master it like us in a short time."
Zhang Liao approached Lee Seong-hwi.
She handed him a towel soaked in cold water so he could wipe off his sweat.
Lee Seong-hwi accepted the towel with trembling hands.
What kind of beautiful goddess's good deed is this? It is a beauty of a different dimension from the ferocious wild boar-like woman.
Did I choose the wrong main heroine?
Lee Seong-hwi seriously started to think that he wanted to create the Zhang Liao army, not the Lu Bu army.
"Mun-won, is that okay?"
"Yes. Thanks to Bong-seon-nim stepping up. It was a bit difficult, but I think I got over it well."
Lu Bu and Zhang Liao talked.
Lee Seong-hwi, who had been lying on the dirt floor, got up and asked about the content of their conversation.
What kind of trouble had Zhang Liao experienced?
If that were the case, the guards who secretly followed her would not have just stood by.
There were one or two soldiers who admired Zhang Liao, who was a beauty close to perfection within the Lu Bu army to that extent. Even generals and military officers secretly harbored romantic feelings.
"Those Dong Zhuo army bastards, they don't know their place and are pestering Mun-won. They must have thought it would work if they put their rank forward. I beat them up thoroughly and made them crawl on all fours."
"Well done."
The 'Lu Bu army' that slaughtered Ding Yuan and surrendered was like a force subordinate to the Dong Zhuo army.
It was the Dong Zhuo army, but it was a separate organization that was not the Dong Zhuo army.
It could be seen as an independent corps composed of soldiers from Bing Province who followed Lu Bu as the Commander-in-Chief and followed the Inspector of Bing Province, Ding Yuan.
They surrendered to Dong Zhuo.
However, that did not mean there was any reason to be swayed here and there by the generals under Dong Zhuo.
"I am glad that the beautiful Mun-won-yang is okay."
"Hehe. Thank you."
"It is nothing, it is nothing. Don't you have this younger brother? You should use a capable younger brother in cases like this. I can fight any ruffian easily. Furthermore, isn't it the duty of a younger brother to protect his older sister?"
How could this smile be so beautiful!
It was as if a bright white moon was shining brilliantly from within the clouds.
Lee Seong-hwi let out a dazed laugh at the sight of Zhang Liao, who was covering her mouth with her hand and smiling softly.
"It seems you had enough rest if you can joke around."
Lu Bu picked up the Painted Halberd again.
Lee Seong-hwi had to swallow dry saliva at the sound of air being cut.
He likes to joke around, but he doesn't like to die.
To show jealousy openly just because he had a sweet atmosphere with Zhang Liao! The sight of her blushing and being jealous is cute.
And too... scary.
It feels like she might kill him at any moment.
"Uwaaaak!"
How is he supposed to beat a warrior with 108 martial arts armed with a Painted Halberd!
Besides, Lee Seong-hwi had a martial arts of 100, but compared to generals with a martial arts of 90, he was just a weakling who was barely on par.
The chance of winning against Lu Bu was 0%.
It seemed like the best thing to do was to just run away and drag out time like this.
"Where are you running!"
Bu-wa-a-ang!!!
Lu Bu swung the Painted Halberd horizontally.
Then, the sound of the air being cut echoed in his ears.
Was this a martial arts game?
The Unrivaled Under Heaven, who had reached a realm beyond human, was close to such a monster that should not be discussed with human common sense.
Scary. Too scary.
Unless the Liu-Guan-Zhang sisters rushed at her at the same time, it would be impossible for anyone to win against her.
"Don't just run away, try fighting! You won't improve your skills if you just keep avoiding like that, you idiot!!"
But those words did not reach Lee Seong-hwi's ears.
Because the words to fight back were no different from the words to die.
"If you show me that you have the upper hand against me even a little bit, I will let you hold Zhang Liao's hand."
"Guaaaa!!"
Lu Bu suggested tentatively.
Hearing that, Lee Seong-hwi drew his sword and rushed at Lu Bu without the slightest hesitation.
Five minutes later,
He had to be beaten and collapse by the Unrivaled Under Heaven who was engulfed in jealousy.