Han Dynasty Achievements

Chapter 161: Cherish Yourself in Important Matters and Forget Morality in Small Gains

Chapter 161: Cherish Yourself in Important Matters and Forget Morality in Small Gains

Yuan Shu looked at everyone's timid expressions and his face became terribly gloomy.

But he was also afraid that Dong Zhuo had an ambush and a trap waiting for him.

After waiting for a while and seeing that no one spoke, Yuan Shu snorted coldly, stood up, waved his hand and left.

When Tian Feng saw Yuan Shu leaving, his eyes turned cold and he turned away.

At a time like this, if you are indecisive and afraid to risk your life, how can you accomplish anything great?

The remaining three people, Xu You, Yuan Huan and Guo Tu, looked at each other, and no one spoke.

In fact, they all knew that Dong Zhuo had abandoned Chen State and fled to Liang State for some purpose, and it was not a small one! If they did not step up the attack now, they would allow Dong Zhuo to recruit soldiers and continue to grow stronger!

But no one dares to take responsibility for Dong Zhuo's trap!

They dare not, and Yuan Shu cannot!

After a long while, Yuan Huan finally spoke up, looking at Xu You and said, "Ziyuan, do you think we should march now?"

Xu You's eyelids rolled up, and he said calmly: "It doesn't matter whether I feel it or not, it still depends on the attitude of the lord."

Seeing that Xu You was unwilling to tell the truth, Yuan Huan glanced at Guo Tu and pretended to think: "Ziyuan, what I mean is that we must advance now and not give Dong Zhuo time to catch his breath. As for Dong Zhuo's trap, we just need to divide our troops and advance. There is no need to worry too much."

"I underestimated him."

Xu You looked at Yuan Huan calmly and said, "Aren't you worried that Dong Zhuo will defeat you one by one?"

Yuan Huan sensed that Xu You had some thoughts, and immediately said sincerely, "Ziyuan, you and I are all counselors of the lord, and we should share the lord's worries. Ziyuan, please speak frankly if you have anything to say."

Xu You glanced at Guo Tu, thought about it, snorted coldly in his heart, and said to himself: I'll let you guys see it!

Xu You folded his hands, lowered his eyes, and looked down at the two people. He said, "Dong Zhuo abandoned Chen State and fled to Liang State. In addition to money and food, the most important reason was that he was alone and knew that he was no match for the lord, so he had to withdraw. Secondly, because Chen State and Pei State are connected to Xuzhou, Dong Zhuo is a tiger and wolf. He wants to establish a foothold in Liang and Pei to compete with the lord, and at the same time, he has his own troops and establish himself in the court."

Yuan Huan listened and said quickly: "Then, what's wrong with dividing the troops to pursue?"

Xu You chuckled and said, "Dong Zhuo abandoned Chen State and went to Liang and Pei. He no longer has the heart to attack you. If we chase him, the traps are another matter. If the old villain no longer holds on, but goes east to Xuzhou and joins forces with Tao Qian, will you give up Yuzhou and chase him all the way to Xuzhou?"

Yuan Huan and Guo Tu were both stunned and couldn't help but look at each other.

Guo Tu raised his hand and asked, "What does Yi Ziyuan mean?"

Xu You folded his hands, looked conceited, and said: "Draw troops from Xuzhou and encircle Dong Zhuo. As long as Dong Zhuo is destroyed, Yu and Xu will be in the hands of the lord!"

Yuan Huan was secretly shocked. Xu You actually wanted to withdraw troops from Xuzhou? Yuan Shu would never agree to give up Xuzhou, which was within his grasp!

Xu You could see it, so he folded his hands and said in a tone of instruction, "The imperial court is now without soldiers and food, and Dong Zhuo is isolated and helpless. This is the best time to destroy him! If we miss this opportunity, when the summer tax arrives, Dong Zhuo will have a strong army and horses, and it will be difficult to destroy him. You two, please think about it."

After saying that, Xu You turned around and walked away leisurely.

Yuan Huan and Guo Tu glanced at each other, waited for Xu You to leave, and walked quickly towards the side door.

Before they could get close, Yuan Shu came out.

He looked normal, with cold eyes, staring at the empty door.

Yuan Huan bowed in front of him, observing his expression, and said cautiously: "My lord, what Ziyuan said does make some sense."

Yuan Shu was quite tall and handsome. He glanced at him and said coldly, "Do you also think we should withdraw troops from Xuzhou?"

Yuan Huan's heart suddenly tightened, and Guo Tu immediately said: "My lord, I think it is not possible. If we withdraw troops from Xuzhou, then Tao Qian will occupy Xuzhou again and will definitely send troops to support Dong Zhuo, which will be very unfavorable to the situation!"

Yuan Huan took a breath and continued, "My lord, I think we should divide our forces and attack, so as not to give Dong Zhuo a chance to catch his breath!"

Yuan Shu was still thinking about Xu You's words, and said bitterly: "Dividing the troops will indeed allow the old thieves to be defeated one by one. Tomorrow, I will personally lead the troops and attack Suiyang directly!"

tomorrow?

Yuan Huan and Guo Tu looked at each other. After two days, who knows where Dong Zhuo has run off to?

He wanted to give some advice, but in a blink of an eye he understood Yuan Shu's intention and swallowed his words back.

Yuan Shu was still afraid.

At the same time, Dong Zhuo's army was divided into four groups and plundered Liang State under the banner of "suppressing the rebellion". They killed and confiscated the property of the noble families who surrendered to Yuan Shu, and looted their money and food.

Inside Ningling City.

Dong Zhuo took a bath and came out of the back hall, feeling relaxed. Seeing Jia Xu, Niu Fu and others, he smiled and said, "I have checked the account books. Hua Xiong and Zhang Ji have done very well. Very good!"

In just one day, they obtained tens of thousands of dan of grain and tens of millions of coins. If they could reach Suiyang, they would have no shortage of food or military pay.

Jia Xu looked at him and said, "Mr. Dong, there is no time to lose. We must reach Suiyang as soon as possible to prevent Yuan Shu from catching up."

Dong Zhuo was greedy for pleasure, but he also knew military affairs. As soon as he sat down, he said, "Wenhe's words make sense. Order all soldiers to rest for an hour and then set off immediately."

Jia Xu said nothing more, but sat aside and ate politely.

Dong Zhuo also ate with relish, eating meat and drinking wine with big mouthfuls.

An hour later, Dong Zhuo personally led an army of 30,000, left Ningling, and headed straight for Suiyang, the capital of Liang State.

As soon as the army left, Ningling was in a mess, with ruins everywhere and wailing sounds everywhere.

Dong Zhuo rode non-stop and at an incredibly fast speed.

They burned, killed and looted along the way, specifically targeting the wealthy families, leaving no grass growing wherever they passed.

When we arrived in Suiyang, the city was almost empty.

How could Dong Zhuo be willing to accept this? He marched eastwards, invaded Pei State, stationed in Pei County, and scattered his army in all directions to "suppress the rebellion" throughout Pei County.

The noble families of Pei State had no time to escape, and many of them were trapped in the city and escorted to Pei County.

Dong Zhuo did not start a massacre, but instead posted notices and reassured the people.

When ordinary people were somewhat calm, hundreds of people were standing trembling in fear in the backyard of Pei County.

These were all the captured people from the noble families. They looked at each other, and stared at the door in fear.

I don’t know how much time had passed, but Dong Zhuo, dressed in casual clothes, with a big belly, a kind face and a smile, walked out.

"Mr. Dong!"

Someone immediately shouted, "I have never been a bandit. I am loyal to Your Majesty and the Han Dynasty. Please understand, Lord Dong!"

The others were equally flustered and could not remain calm, so they all started shouting at the same time.

"I once reported the news to the court, and I have a letter as evidence. Please examine it carefully, Lord Dong!"

"General, General, I am from the Shanyang Han family. I have taken refuge here and have nothing to do with the traitors. Please investigate!"

"I have donated money to the court and fought against Yuan Shu's rebels. The court has issued a commendation order..."

"I am Xun Shi from Yingchuan. I am a relative of the imperial court's Minister Xun. I have never rebelled. I beg the Grand Marshal to show mercy..."

A group of people presented facts and reasoned, and they all said they were wronged.

Dong Zhuo's smile did not fade. When they stopped for a while, he smiled and said, "I have a list of the traitors who joined the thieves. Would you like to see it?"

Almost everyone's expression changed immediately, their eyes were filled with fear, and no one dared to speak.

Jia Xu watched coldly from the side, feeling disdain in his heart. These people, well-dressed but treacherous, seemed respectful but were actually despicable.

Dong Zhuo glanced at the crowd, smiling and saying, "This list of mine has no real evidence. I summoned you all here to ask you to donate money to help me fight the rebellion."

Everyone was secretly shocked, and many of them quietly shrank their heads, trying to hide in the crowd.

Dong Zhuo's eyes turned cold and he held his head high without moving.

In the silence, Niu Fu pulled out more than twenty people from behind.

"Mr. Dong, Mr. Dong, please forgive me. I am willing to pay and atone for my sins!"

"Mr. Dong, Mr. Dong, I was forced to do this. I am loyal to the court..."

"Dong Zhuo! You can't kill me. My Liu family has been a scholarly family for generations, and we have people in the court!"

"Dong Zhuo, you old villain! If you kill me today, someone will cut you into pieces tomorrow!"

These people struggled and shouted desperately.

Under the gaze of more than a hundred people, these people were forced to their knees on the ground, and the soldiers behind them hacked at them without saying a word.

In the blink of an eye, more than twenty people were torn apart, heads rolled, and blood flowed everywhere.

Several heads rolled in front of more than a hundred people, scaring them so much that they turned pale and retreated in fear.

More than twenty lives that were just screaming and shouting lost their lives in the blink of an eye.

Hundreds of people were silent, not daring to breathe, staring at the corpses in fear, trembling.

Dong Zhuo looked down at them with a cold gaze and an unfading smile on his face. After they digested the news, he said with a smile, "What do you think about helping to pay for the suppression of the bandits?"

The living people stared at Dong Zhuo's smile and felt it was extremely vicious. A chill rose from the bottom of their hearts, invading their bones and spreading throughout their bodies.

The man in front, under Jia Xu's gaze, raised his hand tremblingly and said: "Eunuch Dong, I am willing to donate 5 million yuan and 3,000 dan of grain..."

Jia Xu looked at him and said calmly, "Mr. He, the He family is a great family in Pei State. Does this damage their status?"

The man trembled and said hurriedly: "I am willing to help, I will donate 50 million and 10,000 shi of grain..."

Dong Zhuo nodded in satisfaction and turned to the person next to him with a smile.

"I am willing to donate. I will donate 60 million and 10,000 shi of grain..."

Dong Zhuo smiled and looked at the others.

"I will donate 40 million and 8,000 shi of grain..."

"I will donate 70 million and 12,000 dan of grain..."

"I am willing to help. I will donate 80 million and 3,000 shi of grain..."

Under Dong Zhuo's gaze and the smell of blood, no one dared to resist and reported the amount one by one.

As soon as he said one, Niu Fu had someone take it away and sent soldiers to take it.

In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred people left, and no one had the courage to protest.

Dong Zhuo was in high spirits. He made a simple calculation and laughed with Jia Xu, saying, "Wenhe's plan is still the best! This way, I won't have to worry about money and food anymore!"

Jia Xu remained calm, looking towards the south, and said, "Lord Dong, Yuan Shu should be catching up."

Dong Zhuo laughed loudly and said, "I have 30,000 elite soldiers, Wen He to help me, and other brave generals such as Niu Fu, Zhang Ji, Hua Xiong, and Guo Si. Why should I be afraid of a small Yuan Shu?"

Asking for a monthly ticket~