Chapter 55 You are no match for Cao Cao [Read more]

North Gate of Luoyang.

Dong Zhuo, wearing armor, fell off his horse, and the ground made a thud due to his heavy body.

Surrounded by many soldiers, he walked towards the mansion that was attacked by Zhang Liao.

The house was under martial law, and under the light of torches, it was as bright as day.

Dong Zhuo stopped on the doorstep and looked back toward the main entrance of the mansion.

There was an obvious indentation on the ground, which was a pair of horseshoe prints.

At that time, Zhang Liao urged his horse to move forward, and the man and the horse became one, integrating the forces of his troops and smashing the main gate of the mansion with one kick.

That blow left a hoof print on the bluestone outside the mansion, with cracks around it and all of it filled with tiny gravel.

"What a great horsemanship."

Dong Zhuo strode into the courtyard.

There was blood everywhere in the yard.

There were dilapidated doors and windows, and densely packed crossbow arrow marks nailed to the walls.

Strangely, no arrows were left.

"Were the arrows here taken away by our people afterwards, or did the other side take them away themselves?" Dong Zhuo asked.

Li Ru understood what he meant.

If the opponent is able to collect the arrows after the battle, it shows that the victory was easy and his heart was at peace.

"They were taken away by the enemy. When our people came to check, there were very few arrows left here."

Dong Zhuo snorted and entered the inner house.

At the entrance of the main hall, there was a staggering amount of scarlet blood, as thick as if it had been spilled.

"This is where Captain Liu was killed. When we found him, his body was lying here, with his head rolling to the side. He was captured alive by the enemy generals and then beheaded in public."

Captain Liu was the commander Dong Zhuo left behind to guard the north gate.

The fat on Dong Zhuo's cheeks trembled slightly, and he angrily said, "The other party is under Ding Yuan's command, and it's Lu Bu again?"

This was his guess after inspecting the scene and judging the bravery of the enemy's generals.

"No, some of the soldiers who fled said that he was a very young general."

Li Ru thought for a moment and said, "According to what the soldiers said, it should be Zhang Liao, a member of Ding Yuan's army. He is a brave man and many people know him."

Dong Zhuo waved the whip in his hand as if to vent his anger.

"Go check out the place where Jia Xu disappeared."

The group left the mansion and headed in the direction where Jia Xu disappeared.

Dong Zhuo walked into the house where Jia Xu was captured and asked: "Who let Jia Xu stay here?"

Li Ru smiled bitterly and said, "Jia Xu was worried about that mansion, so he chose this place himself."

Dong Zhuo looked around the house but found nothing valuable.

But among the people who captured Jia Xu, there was one who was extremely powerful and terrifying.

The guards guarding Jia Xu in the courtyard were Dong Zhuo's personal guards, all of whom had broken bones and tendons.

The direction of death of several people was different, which showed that the enemy appeared and killed many people in an instant. Some guards were killed before they could even adjust their positions to face the enemy.

Dong Zhuo's face became increasingly gloomy, and the generals around him did not dare to speak easily, and the atmosphere was depressing.

They left the house and went to see the city gate.

This time even Dong Zhuo gasped.

"How did this city gate break?"

"The people defending the city said that one of the enemy's men was in the team attacking the city and he suddenly used force to collide with the enemy, causing the accident." Li Ru also felt a chill.

This doesn't seem like human power at all.

The city gate, which was thicker than a person, was covered with cracks.

The lower part of the city gate, which was riveted with iron, was almost broken, which was a shocking sight.

"Looking at this strength, he should be a general at the level of military strategist, and he is born with supernatural powers. If we face him head-on, his armor might be shattered." Li Ru said.

"In your opinion, who will the other party be?" Dong Zhuo asked.

Li Ru: "Before, the Lord asked me who was secretly dealing with us, and I suspected several people."

"We entered the palace last night, and I made some other arrangements. I learned that Cao Cao, the captain of the Western Garden Army, was not in the palace commanding his troops. He only appeared at the East Gate this morning."

"The team we sent to coordinate with Yao Jun and seize the East Gate was also slaughtered by the Xiyuan Army."

Dong Zhuo asked, "Are you saying that the one who is secretly dealing with me is the descendant of Cao Cao, the eunuch?"

"This is Luoyang. Some information is hard to find out."

Li Ru: "So we can't be sure yet, but he is the most suspicious." A general walked out from behind Dong Zhuo and asked:
"Sir, let me lead the people to capture Cao Cao. We will know whether it is true or not after a try."

"If it is really him, this person has amazing means, so he must be prepared. The brave general who rushed the city is most likely his man. You are no match for him."

Li Ru said: "Besides, it is not appropriate for Luoyang to go to war with the Xiyuan Army directly now."

The general who came out had a strong physique and grinned:

"No matter how brave a person is, he can be killed by a crossbow. A person's bravery is nothing in front of thousands of soldiers."

"Your Excellency has just entered Luoyang, and it is time to establish your authority and intimidate all parties. I will capture Cao Cao and make him kneel outside the court tomorrow so that all the ministers passing by can see him. This will intimidate the court for your Excellency."

This man was under Dong Zhuo's command and was also one of his relatives, Dong Lue.

"How many of our Liangzhou warriors can Cao Cao defeat? A thousand soldiers, or two thousand?" Dong Lue asked.

Li Ru frowned, "We are in control of the palace and have just gained the upper hand. Your Excellency must not act rashly. All parties are watching us. If we are not careful, it will be irreversible."

"If it is really Cao Cao who is plotting against you, this man is extremely intelligent and we should not act rashly. Even if you want to deal with him, let me think and decide before taking action."

Dong Zhuo had always relied on Li Ru, so he suppressed his anger and said, "I'll do as you say!"

----

Cao Mansion.

Jia Xu read through everything Cao Cao gave him.

Then he picked up his pen and wrote a new article, saying to the outside, "I want to see General Shang again."

There was a team of guards at the door:

"The general has ordered that if you ask to see him again, he can take you there directly. But you have to wait. The general has not been able to rest for days and has fallen asleep.

If the general wakes up, we will take you there."

Jia Xu agreed and also fell asleep in the room.

At dawn, he was awakened by his personal soldiers, who said that Cao Cao wanted to see him.

Led by the personal soldiers, he passed through many courtyards and saw the light on in Cao's study from afar.

Dian Wei was standing at the door, eating donkey ears as snacks.

Jia Xu entered the study and saw Cao Cao sitting in the main seat with a young tiger lying at his feet.

As soon as he came in, the tiger cub stared at him with bright eyes and bared its teeth.

"sit."

"The upper army must be careful. If Li Ru suspects you, Dong Zhuo may harm you at any time."

Jia Xu casually reminded and handed what he had written to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was looking at a broad-backed bronze sword that was as wide as a palm.

A famous sword from the Warring States Period sent by Yuan Wei.

Made of bronze, less than three feet long, the sword is covered with dark diamond-shaped patterns.

Jia Xu was sitting on a low mat opposite and could still feel a chill coming from the sword, and he even seemed to hear the sound of the sword ringing.

"Dong Zhuo has too many enemies. He will soon be attacked by his ministers and their attention will be drawn to him."

Cao Cao put down his sword and picked up what Jia Xu had written.

This was Jia Xu's formal move against Dong Zhuo, as well as his suggestion on how to form a hegemonic government.

"Dong Zhuo is heavily guarded, so it's not easy to kill him, but it's not that difficult to weaken him."

Jia Xu said calmly: "The ones I gave to the upper army were Dong Zhuo, Li Ru, and the relatives of Dong Zhuo's generals. Their temperaments and preferences."

“Dong Zhuo had a habit of using tyrannical means to destroy a problem if he couldn’t solve it and found that it was not going to work.

He knew that this problem of his would bring bad things, so he relied heavily on Li Ru and even married his daughter to him.

Cao Cao buried his head in reading what Jia Xu had written.

The first half is about controlling Dong Zhuo and also a means to accelerate his downfall.

Cao Cao read it and asked Xiao Xiang to come in. He said, "Have someone copy the first half of this advice and send it to Yuan Taifu. He is more anxious to deal with Dong Zhuo than we are."

Cao Cao thought of the female assassin in Yuan Wei's hands who almost killed Dong Zhuo.

If Jia Xu's plan went according to plan, the female assassin would be enough of a headache for Dong Zhuo.

The second half of the article written by Jia Xu is about how to build the intelligence system of the Bafu.

He has a suggestion that can quickly take shape as an intelligence framework, which is quite efficient.

Cao Cao read it and said, "You chose the position of controlling the intelligence system of the Bafu, so there is a problem about you that needs to be solved now."

Jia Xu: "Please let the army know clearly."

(End of this chapter)