Chapter 24: The fierce generals will gather [Seeking votes and reading]

Before Dong Zhuo's men arrived, a murderous aura from the gathering of soldiers had already poured into the palace.

Liu Bian, who was sitting in the main seat, became paler and paler. On the contrary, Liu Xie, who was younger than him, showed no fear.

A tall and fat figure appeared outside the hall.

It was Dong Zhuo.

He stopped at the palace gate and looked around the palace.

When the Grand Commandant Cui Lie saw Dong Zhuo, he shouted, "Dong Zhuo, you have committed a rebellious act that is intolerable to heaven and earth. You have offended the emperor and why don't you withdraw your troops and apologize?"

Dong Zhuo sneered and asked, "You are important officials, but you failed to correct the royal family, which led to the turmoil in the court and the murder of the general by the eunuchs. I came here to protect the stability of the court and punish the traitors. What reason do you have for me to withdraw my troops?"

"I came to Luoyang because of an imperial decree from the court."

"General He asked me to go to Luoyang to purge the eunuchs."

"I came a little late, and the general was killed by the eunuchs. The whole court, both civil and military officials, are mostly incompetent, otherwise how could this happen?"

"Cui Lie, if you dare say another word, I'll chop off your head!"

Lu Zhi said in a deep voice: "Shut up, Dong Zhuo, and come forward to see the emperor!"

This time Dong Zhuo cooperated very well. He stepped into the hall and kowtowed solemnly to Liu Bian and the queen mother.

The Queen Mother and Liu Bian looked panicked and remained silent.

Dong Zhuo looked at him coldly, and saw that the young Liu Xie sitting beside him was quite calm. He stared at him for a moment, then stood up and said to himself:
"I am here with my troops to purge the Queen Mother and Your Majesty of the treacherous people around me. I came in a hurry. I hope the Queen Mother and Your Majesty will forgive me.

"The Grand Tutor can testify for me. In addition to the secret decree of the General, the Grand Tutor also sent me a message, asking me to lead troops to Luoyang to help him and eliminate the eunuchs. I respect the Grand Tutor and General He, so I came here to obey the order. Grand Tutor, am I right?"

Cao Cao stood beside Yuan Shao, his face expressionless, not revealing any emotion.

The scene before him was exactly what he had expected.

In Luoyang now, no one can gain absolute advantage.

Dong Zhuo had gained some advantage on the surface, but his troops were not enough to retake the city gate.

It was Li Ru who suggested to Dong Zhuo that he come to apologize.

Cao Cao glanced at the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei.

He tried to drive the tiger away, but ended up being bitten by the tiger.

"I have done my duty for the court, and many of my subordinates have died in battle, but I have been wrongly accused."

Dong Zhuo said loudly: "Master Yuan, I want to ask you, am I right?"

"What Dong Zhuo said is true. I did communicate with him. I hope he can lead his troops to Luoyang to eliminate the accumulated troubles in the court and restore peace and order to the country." Yuan Wei said slowly.

Dong Zhuo led his army to attack Luoyang and entered Chongde Hall openly, which was beyond Yuan Wei's control. However, Yuan Wei still suppressed his anger and endorsed him.

This situation seems absurd and ridiculous, but the situation is stronger than people.

Fighting lasted all night, and the balance was barely maintained. Both sides needed time to buffer and make other arrangements in an attempt to turn the situation around.

The one who assessed the situation and took advantage of it was Cao Cao who was standing next to him.

The next step is mutual compromise.

Dong Zhuo, Lu Zhi and court officials represented by Yuan Wei repeatedly entangled and competed for interests.

After a while, Cao Cao said he was going out to inspect the palace defenses and left Chongde Hall first.

He could foresee the outcome.

Near noon, the emperor and the empress dowager issued an edict, allowing Dong Zhuo to lead his troops into the city. Not only was he not guilty, but he was also allowed to take over part of the defense of Luoyang and the imperial palace. In fact, it was the part that Dong Zhuo had occupied, and he could not give it up again.

This way he could maintain his authority over the palace.

Cao Cao was given the power to take over the garrison area east of the imperial palace.

Lead the Xiyuan Army to ensure the safety of the palace.

The further increase in power did not make Cao Cao very happy. The more important personal change came from plug-ins.

The reputation is growing all the time.

[6027…6086…Your military strategy, sneaking into Chencang, has been upgraded; your reputation has exceeded , and you have gathered good generals and counselors, which will further boost your own luck and reputation…]

[Your military luck is condensed into a military symbol; your literary talent is blessed by the national luck and improved.]

[When reputation reaches 10000, hidden talents will appear.] Cao Cao returned to the carriage outside the palace and raised his hand to rub his brow.

----

A team that set out from Luoyang arrived at Qiao County, hundreds of miles east of Luoyang, after several days of rapid travel.

The team had carriages, horses, and supplies, including things obtained from the seizure of the Ten Eunuchs' property.

In the lobby of the Cao family's old house, Cao Song was reading the handwritten letter given to him by his son Cao Cao.

Cao Song was in his fifties and his courtesy name was Jugao.

He was the adopted son of Grand Chamberlain Cao Teng. He entered the officialdom through family connections and served successively as Inspector of the Imperial Guards, Minister of Rites, and Minister of Agriculture, holding a high and powerful position.

Three years ago, Cao Song was able to become the Grand Marshal, one of the Three Dukes, by bribing eunuchs and donating money to the Western Garden.

The official position was not obtained in a legitimate way, but that was the prevailing trend in the court at that time. The emperor personally allowed the sale of official positions and titles, and one could not get promoted without paying money.

Judging from his resume, Cao Song was no mediocre person. He held many positions and was eventually promoted to the position of Grand Marshal.

He is good at seizing opportunities and observing the situation.

In the end, he was dismissed from office because of the Yellow Turban Rebellion that broke out across the country.

He sat in the inner house, reading the letter from Cao Cao, and a smile gradually spread across his lips.

Cao Cao's letter meant that he predicted that the world would be in chaos in the next few years, so he was asked to accumulate strength at home and prepare.

Although Cao Song had served as the Grand Marshal and had seen many big scenes, he was still shocked by the plan revealed in Cao Cao's letter.

"Come here, tell all the relatives to come over and meet. Also call Cao Ren and the others. Meng De said to ask them to go to Luoyang to help."

Cao Song issued orders one after another.

There were constant sounds of horse hooves in Cao's mansion all day long.

After a while, one of Cao Song's concubines came to the inner hall.

Cao Song was writing a letter and sent someone to deliver it. When he saw his concubine coming over, he put down his writing and said, "I'm sorry to bother you."

I asked, "Is there any news about Meng De?"

Cao Song's concubine was very fat, but he loved her very much. She left her name in history and was recorded in history books.

According to the development of history, Cao Song would die in an attack three or four years later.

At that time, Cao Song went to see Cao Cao and was attacked on the way. Historical records record: In order to avoid the enemy, Song dug through the back wall and tried to get his concubine out first. But the concubine was fat and could not get out, so both he and the concubine were killed.

What it means is that when they were attacked, Cao Song and his concubine wanted to climb over a mud wall to escape, but the concubine was too fat and couldn't make it, so they both died.

Cao Song chatted with his fat concubine and then came into the courtyard.

At this time, there were carriages parked in the courtyard of Cao's old house, and the axles were pressed on the ground, leaving deep marks.

The carriages were covered with straw raincoats and were escorted back from Luoyang.

When Cao Song opened the straw raincoat and lifted up the boxes in the car, he was immediately shocked.

There were more than a dozen large carts, all filled with precious treasures, more than just tens of thousands of taels of gold.

Cao Song knew that these were all the proceeds of the Ten Eunuchs, who had embezzled a huge amount of money over the years, but when these properties came into his hands, Cao Song was overjoyed.

This is the foundation for survival in troubled times.

Although the Cao family was quite wealthy, they had never seen so much wealth.

How much can be done with this wealth?
My eldest son is so good at stealing money... Cao Song thought.

Luoyang.

Cao Cao led a large army back to his own residence.

Because the turmoil had not yet subsided and chaos in the city could reappear at any time, Diao Chan also came to Cao's mansion.

Cao Cao got off the car and saw a strong man as strong as an iron tower standing in the outer courtyard of his mansion.

"Dian Wei."

At the same moment, a purple halo appeared in the plug-in entry, showing Dian Wei's message.

Cao Cao took a look and was a little surprised.

(End of this chapter)