22. The Era of Heroes Begins (3)
22. The Era of Heroes Begins (3)
Dong Zhuo didn't just show his side as a tyrant.
He employed the Qingliu faction figures who had been exiled, and in particular, kept veteran officials like Wang Yun-nim and Cai Yong-nim by his side, receiving much counsel from them.
He had the young civil official Sima Lang manage internal affairs, and while carrying out reforms in his own way, he tried to lay the foundation for a country that was solely for himself.
However,
"Dong Zhuo is a traitor!"
"Get out, you barbarians!"
The Confucian scholars raised their voices.
They issued a statement strongly condemning the atrocities of not only deposing the Emperor and Empress Dowager but even poisoning them.
The Han people do not serve barbarians.
As the Dong family, who carried barbarian blood, were appointed one after another as feudal lords and high-ranking officials, Han society fell into great shock. And that shock turned into anger and attacked Dong Zhuo.
"These damn bastards...!"
Li Jue ground his teeth.
Not knowing who they owe their lives to!
Watching the Confucian scholars raising their voices in opposition, Li Jue vented his anger.
If they hadn't raised an army,
Luoyang would have been slaughtered by the Inspector of Bing Province Ding Yuan, or looted on a massive scale by the Baibo Bandits and Black Mountain Bandits, leaving it in ruins.
We are the soldiers who came to save Luoyang.
The soldiers of the Dong Zhuo army sincerely thought so.
"Wait, Li Jue. The Chancellor said not to step in."
"Damn it! I know, I know!"
Dong Zhuo, who had enthroned Liu Xie, ascended to the position of Chancellor of State himself.
It was the highest official position a subject could attain, and Dong Zhuo would openly say that by threatening the Emperor to ascend to the position of Chancellor, he himself had become the supreme being.
It became the era of Dong Zhuo, the one above ten thousand.
By putting his name on the position of Chancellor, which had been left vacant until now, he had officially declared that Luoyang and the entire Han Dynasty were in his grasp.
"What is it, you bunch of losers."
The gazes of Li Jue and Guo Si turned.
There was Lee Seong-hwi, who was returning after getting beaten up by Lu Bu.
"You're a turncoat who betrayed your lord to join us, yet you hold your head so high! You arrogant bastard."
Li Jue showed his displeasure.
At those words, Lee Seong-hwi countered head-on by putting forward the fact that he was a General of the Feathered Forest.
"Where are you acting up when your rank is lower? Why don't you bow your head first."
Lee Seong-hwi launched a counterattack.
As he pressured them by bringing up his rank, Li Jue, having nothing to say, shut his mouth tight.
That was exactly what he was dissatisfied with.
He didn't like that a turncoat who killed his lord and joined them had risen to the high military position of General of the Feathered Forest. Moreover, he himself was one of the Five Colonels, which had less clout than the General of the Feathered Forest.
'I've fought for my life at the bottom my whole life... why is such a young guy already occupying the position of General of the Feathered Forest!'
He couldn't understand Dong Zhuo's intentions.
He wanted to argue it out to feel better, but he was too afraid of Dong Zhuo to voice his complaints.
"Remember this. That I am watching you. Especially Dong Min-nim, he won't let you be."
Dong Min, who had been the Commandant of the Imperial Carriages, was appointed as the General of the Left, one of the Four Direction Generals, after the Dong Zhuo army occupied Luoyang, and he also rose to the rank of a feudal lord.
Among the Dong clan, he had the highest prestige.
Dong Min regarded Lee Seong-hwi, who had tried to kill him, as an eyesore, and had once told Li Jue and Guo Si that he would kill him someday.
"I'm so scared I might pee my pants."
Lee Seong-hwi said sarcastically.
What on earth is this guy relying on to act so cocky?
At the sight of Lee Seong-hwi, who was even relaxed despite his threats, not only Li Jue but even Guo Si wore bitter expressions.
"Just do your own work. Wasn't your role to disperse those Confucian scholars over there? What are you doing? Hurry up and chase them away."
"Ugh."
At Lee Seong-hwi's words, Li Jue groaned.
He hated this damn guy, but he hated those ungrateful Confucian scholars raising their voices over there even more. If he could, he wanted to draw his sword and slash them madly.
"Disperse them all!!"
Li Jue shouted loudly.
Then, soldiers wearing armor rushed in. He gave orders to suppress the Confucian scholars by force and have them all escorted to the Court of Judicial Review.
The Dong Zhuo army was a force that had run wild in the frontier.
They committed all kinds of evil deeds in Luoyang, just as they had done in their own neighborhood.
Whether it was racing through the marketplace on carriages and warhorses, or immediately killing or beating citizens if they offended them even slightly, they became the target of people's finger-pointing.
They were a vulgar group from the frontier.
Since such things had entered Luoyang and seized power, it was natural that public order in Luoyang hit rock bottom.
"If you guys ever do the same thing as those damn bastards, I'll really kill you all with my own hands."
Lu Bu called her lieutenants and warned them.
She declared that if they participated in the despicable and vulgar acts of the Dong Zhuo army, she would beat them to death with her own hands. At those words, the military officers nodded and accepted it.
"Gao Shun, please discipline the soldiers."
"Yes. Understood."
At Lee Seong-hwi's words, Gao Shun nodded.
He said his unit would enforce military discipline. He was even granted the authority to immediately behead anyone who violated military law even slightly.
"The guy who rose from Commandant of the Imperial Carriages to General of the Left just by having a good brother is especially problematic. I heard he kills citizens indiscriminately and even reports to the court by claiming their heads are those of bandits."
"Crazy bastard."
At Lee Seong-hwi's words, Lu Bu ground her teeth.
He ruthlessly hunted innocent citizens.
That act was no different from the Inspector of Bing Province Ding Yuan. Luoyang had to tremble in fear at the insane brotherhood of Dong Min, who took the lead in committing evil deeds, and Dong Zhuo, who condoned him.
"Is it really okay to stay in the Dong Zhuo army?"
Perhaps feeling doubtful, Lu Bu turned her head and looked at Lee Seong-hwi.
At her question, Lee Seong-hwi nodded and said as if to confirm.
"Wait. The time will come."
The time for raising an army was still far off.
There were still many mountains to cross before the Lu Bu army appeared to the world as a single warlord force.
Kill Dong Zhuo, who has become the traitor of the world.
Dong Zhuo had not yet become the pinnacle of traitors. Now is the time to endure and wait. Even if you kill Dong Zhuo now, there isn't much to gain.
"The arrangements spread by Minister of Education Wang Yun are gathering one by one."
Prefect of Bohai Yuan Shao.
Governor of Ji Province Han Fu, Inspector of Yuzhou Kong Zhou, Prefect of Chenliu Zhang Miao, Inspector of Yanzhou Liu Dai.
These are the local officials Dong Zhuo appointed himself.
And these local officials will soon form the 'Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition' and launch a war to oust the Dong Zhuo army from Luoyang.
A war that will begin in Guandong.
We must use that war to get closer to Dong Zhuo, and then, when he lets his guard down, aim for his neck.
"Acting emotionally is not good. The Imperial Guard led by Hua Xiong and Xu Rong are guarding Dong Zhuo's side, and the strategist Li Ru is always watching us."
Even if they rebelled because they couldn't overcome the torrent of emotions, the chances of success were not high since they had already been absorbed into the Dong Zhuo army.
Overall, Dong Zhuo does not trust anyone.
He cherishes his relatives and direct subordinates very dearly, but he was busy being wary of and suspicious of everyone else from the start.
Would Dong Zhuo really trust the current Lu Bu?
No. He would be doubting and doubting again, thinking that someone who betrayed their lord once wouldn't hesitate to do it twice.
'According to the story development, Dong Zhuo will adopt Lu Bu as his foster daughter... If she enters as Dong Zhuo's foster daughter, she could approach him more easily, but the problem is the notoriety.'
The one with three fathers.
-Zhang Fei-
This saying alone would be enough.
Wasn't it Lu Bu's painful point to be called a 'Daddy-chosen', a servant girl with three fathers every time?
She had already killed the Inspector of Bing Province Ding Yuan.
She might think, since she already has two fathers, it wouldn't be a problem to have one more.
But if she killed another foster father here, it was obvious that some cheeky bastard would tease her for being a girl with three fathers.
"So, in the end, it means we have to get close to Dong Zhuo and take his head. That shabby old man is incredible when it comes to suspicion. Well, he must know that he has become the most damnable person in the world, so that's why."
Lu Bu said, clicking her tongue.
Dong Zhuo especially watched the Lu Bu army.
He hired the maids of the mansion where the Lu Bu army generals stayed as spies, and every move of the generals was being reported.
Sometimes holding meetings like this, and the news that the Lu Bu army was reluctant to mingle with the Dong Zhuo army while enforcing military discipline, must have reached Dong Zhuo's ears.
"Wait."
Lee Seong-hwi said to Lu Bu.
Lu Bu trusted Lee Seong-hwi firmly, so she nodded at his words and suppressed her anger.
Dong Zhuo paid special attention to his own safety.
He entrusted security to Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji, but he mainly entrusted it to Xu Rong and Hua Xiong.
No one could kill Dong Zhuo.
Knights with will and great cause had their eyes flashing, but they had to swallow the bitter taste at Dong Zhuo's thoroughness, which showed absolutely no gaps.
"What! Lu Bu, you want me to adopt that girl as my foster daughter?"
At Li Ru's words, Dong Zhuo made a listless expression.
To adopt the girl who killed her own foster father as a foster daughter, what kind of absurd talk was that? Even though it was a suggestion from his favorite strategist, Dong Zhuo made a face that showed he didn't like it.
"It is to keep her close so she cannot betray us. Surely that woman has some shame, would she harm her foster father again?"
The Han Dynasty often adopted sons and daughters.
This was because it was common for children to die early.
Of course, in most cases, it was about picking a bright child from a collateral branch and registering them as an adopted son, but he decided to use it as a means to solidify loyalty by adopting a favorite subordinate as an adopted son.
Lu Bu was naturally the latter.
If he could keep Lu Bu, the Flying General of Bing Province, known as Unrivaled Under Heaven, close, the Dong Zhuo army could remain an invincible force in the world.
"Look here, son-in-law. I'm absolutely not doubting you... but no matter what, isn't it too much to ask me to take that wild boar of a woman as my daughter? Even if I seem broad-minded, I'm a person with a sense of disgust, you know."
The blood of Ding Yuan on the Painted Halberd is still vivid, yet he is asking to adopt the woman who killed her foster father as a foster daughter.
Even for Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu was equally scary.
The venom of a woman who killed her foster father without hesitation made even the great warlord of Xiliang tremble.
"Think of it in reverse. Didn't Lu Bu kill her foster father for success? It is no exaggeration to say that she acts blindly for success. That means, if you keep letting her succeed, won't she be loyal to the end?"
Li Ru explained like flowing water.
At those words, Dong Zhuo reacted as if it made sense, but still wore a displeased expression.
She is a Ye, and I am a Dong.
It's a chaotic world where even blood relatives betray each other, so how long would a fake family relationship last?
Dong Zhuo wanted to argue like that.
However, knowing that Lu Bu, called the Flying General, was a very outstanding fierce general, Li Ru's proposal was a frightening yet tempting one.
"Do as you please. Adopting Lu Bu as a daughter is nothing. Anyway, Hua Xiong and Xu Rong are guarding my side like an iron wall! But don't tell me to meet Lu Bu alone. I feel like that ignorant woman would tear my throat out even with her bare hands."
"Thank you, sir."