Chapter 219 The Strategy Begins to Take Effect

End of February, Luoyang.

Jin Mao, the governor of Yangzhou, submitted a memorial to the emperor, requesting him to issue an imperial decree to check the population and land area of ​​the entire country.

This matter had long been publicized by people arranged by Jin Mao, and even the young emperor Liu Xie heard about it.

The opinions of the civil and military officials in the court were quite unified, but they were kept secret.

Who hasn’t had some scandals? Jinmao is too ignorant. Can the unspoken rules be brought to the table?
Dong Zhuo originally thought so, but the development of things was beyond everyone's expectations.

The brothers Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao actually formed a united front and cheered for Jin Mao, as if they were going to do it themselves if the emperor did not agree.

This matter immediately changed.

You know, the Yuan family is the best at concealing its population, land, etc., but the Yuan family was the first to come out and support.

Who would believe that there is no ghost?

Dong Zhuo quickly summoned Li Ru to discuss countermeasures.

Li Ru was not clear about the underlying reasons and behaved extremely poorly in front of Dong Zhuo, which was only slightly better than being clueless.

"Humph!"

Dong Zhuo slapped the things on the table and shouted angrily, "Wenyou, what are you doing?"

Li Ru was almost scared to death. Dong Zhuo didn't care whether he was his son-in-law or not. When he got angry, he would kill him without hesitation.

He prostrated himself on the ground, trembling as he begged, "My Lord, give me three days, and I will figure out what's going on."

"Three days?" Dong Zhuo roared like an angry old lion, still retaining his power, "I'll only give you one day!"

"Well... I'll do it right away. I'll do it right away."

Li Ru fled the palace in a panic, not even realizing that he had lost his official hat. He drove recklessly all the way until he arrived at Jia Xu's residence.

"Wenhe, save me! Wenhe, save me!"

Jia Xu was on vacation today. He finally had the chance to enjoy half a day of leisure with his wife, but then something happened again.

However, Jia Xu was very good at cultivating his energy, so he didn't have too many emotions.

When on duty, Jia Xu usually looks a little thin in armor, not like a general. But now that he has put on the Confucian robe, he has the temperament of a scholar.

"Greetings to the Doctor."

"Oh, what time is it?" Li Ru was so anxious that he scratched his ears and cheeks, and grabbed Jia Xu's hand and tried to pull him onto the carriage frame.

"What are you doing?" Jia Xu broke free from Li Ru's hands. After all, he was a military general, much stronger than a scholar like Li Ru.

Since he couldn't get Jia Xu to the palace to meet Dong Zhuo, Li Ru had to find another way.

He jumped up and down and lamented, "What a disaster! What a disaster!"

"In such a huge city like Luoyang, only Wenhe can save me!"

Jia Xu still looked indifferent, and said: "It's no use for you to be anxious, why don't you sit down and have a cup of tea. I don't have the ability to save you, so I can only leave it to God's will."

Li Ru had no choice. Although he was a big shot in front of Dong Zhuo, he might not be as good as Jia Xu in terms of human rights.

This person is the master!

He was able to serve in Dong Zhuo's army for many years, and was in a position that was just right, neither too high nor too low.

If he goes up a little bit, his life will be in danger at any time like Li Ru. If he goes down a little bit, he will become cannon fodder, which is even more dangerous.

All we can say is that Jia Xu had a sharp eye. Perhaps he saw through Dong Zhuo's character from the very beginning. He didn't want to be too close to him, but he didn't dare to be too low-key and die in vain.

The ability to grasp the scale is enough for Li Ru to learn for his entire life, but he may not be able to master it.

It is worth mentioning that Li Ru recommended Jia Xu to Dong Zhuo more than once, but Jia Xu was too talented to be recognized by Dong Zhuo.

Therefore, to a certain extent, Li Ru could not do anything to Jia Xu. Even if he used dirty tricks, he might not be able to harm the opponent, but instead harm himself.

Li Ru followed Jia Xu into the house obediently.

Make tea, pour tea, and drink tea.

All of Jia Xu's actions were very slow, and Li Ru had to endure it even though he was sweating from anxiety.

"Wenhe, please say something!"

Li Ru couldn't help it and told the whole story like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube.

"Wenhe, save me, I will definitely repay you!"

Jia Xu didn't want anything in return from Li Ru, he just hoped that he would not be recommended to Dong Zhuo all the time.

In Li Ru's eyes, he lost miserably every time he played games with Jia Xu.

In fact, in Jia Xu's eyes, he felt exhausted every time he played a game.

You could be living a peaceful life, but someone is trying to push you into trouble every now and then. The key is that you can't say it out loud, and this person is quite smart.

It can be said that Jia Xu recognized Li Ru from the bottom of his heart, otherwise, he would not have talked to him so much.

Of course, the main purpose of the chat is to calm Li Ru down and stop him from always looking for trouble.

"Why are you so panicked, Doctor? Aren't you still talking to me peacefully?"

Jia Xu smiled and said, "Drink some tea first, calm down, and then you can come up with a solution."

Li Ru picked up the bowl and took a big gulp, but the scalding hot tea scalded him and made him bark like a dog.

"Ahem, Prime Minister...just give me one day."

Li Ru stuck out his tongue and complained, "You still want to make fun of me."

Jia Xu held the tea bowl, blew it gently, took a sip carefully, and said, "It won't take a day to say a few words."

"Doctor, please be patient."

Li Ru immediately understood the hidden meaning, and his tongue was no longer numb. He said anxiously, "What's Wenhe's plan? Tell me quickly!"

Jia Xu blew on the tea with a "whoosh" sound.

Li Ru knew that it was useless to be anxious at this moment. Although he was anxious in his heart, he had to endure it as much as possible on his face, looking extremely ferocious.

Finally, Jia Xu took another sip of tea and said, "The governor of Yangzhou just wants a title, so just give it to him."

"These are all trivial matters. The Prime Minister will understand."

Li Ru nodded repeatedly, and suddenly realized that something was wrong: "This is still a small matter, then what is the big matter?!"

Jia Xu picked up the tea bowl again, but this time he did not sip it. He pointed at the bowl with his other hand and said, "The Prime Minister is just like this bowl of tea, boiling inside but looking calm outside."

"If you pour boiling hot tea down your throat in one gulp, it will only hurt yourself. The doctor ordered that you look beyond the phenomenon to the essence."

"You should drink tea slowly, and do things slowly."

Li Ru seemed to be thinking about something.

Suddenly, he realized: "I understand!"

"The Guandong coalition is what the Prime Minister is most worried about!"

"Wenhe is a man of great talent!" Li Ru said with regret, "but he cannot be used by the Prime Minister."

Jia Xu immediately put down his tea bowl and waved his hand, saying, "Why does the doctor-in-chief look at me like this? Now I am also one of the lieutenants, with a high position and power. How can I not be considered as helping the prime minister to relieve his worries?"

Li Ru shook his head and didn't want to argue. Jia Xu was his teacher in this regard, so whatever he said would not make sense.

"Kwantung Allied Forces..."

Li Ru calmed down and his IQ began to return: "Yangzhou Mu and Guandong coalition forces... um... Yuan Shao... Yuan Shu?"

Unfortunately, there was too little useful information, and Li Ru could not guess the details. He only knew that something big must have happened to the Guandong coalition forces, which led to Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao joining forces.

As a disciple and former official of the Yuan family who was supported by the Yuan family, Dong Zhuo knew the inner workings of the Yuan family very well.

Outsiders might not be able to see that Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were not on good terms, but Dong Zhuo saw it clearly.

Two people who were unlikely to join forces suddenly joined forces. This must be related to Jin Mao! Finally, Li Ru turned his attention to Jia Xu.

However, this time Jia Xu spread his hands and said, "I am not a god, I cannot predict the future."

"No!" Li Ru said decisively: "You are!"

Jia Xu refused to admit it. Are you kidding me? Is this something he can admit?

The two argued for a while, and Li Ru still wanted to know what Jia Xu thought about this matter.

"It doesn't matter what I think."

Jia Xu said seriously: "The Prime Minister's opinion is the most important!"

"You don't even know what the Prime Minister is thinking, how can I know what to do?"

Li Ru thought so too, so he returned to the palace to report to Dong Zhuo.

Since the beginning of the year, Dong Zhuo has been acting recklessly. Not only has he stayed overnight in the palace, but he has also exercised all the rights in the harem that the little emperor cannot exercise.

Except for a few important concubines, no palace maid could escape Dong Zhuo's clutches.

The ministers wanted to join forces, but they were unable to do anything because their swords were not as sharp as Dong Zhuo's.

Dong Zhuo was well aware of this, but he was not afraid of these internal officials. Instead, he was worried about the external officials, especially Jin Mao.

In fact, Dong Zhuo was not afraid of the Guandong coalition forces. Half of the princes were defeated by Jin Mao, so his actual combat power remains to be discussed.

On the contrary, it was Jin Mao, who was able to destroy the coalition forces, that made Dong Zhuo feel alarmed.

In a war, we are not afraid of the enemy having more people than others, but we are afraid of the enemy having more people and they are all elite. Jinmao is such a type.

Even though Dong Zhuo had 30,000 troops under his command when he entered Luoyang, he only had 5,000 of his own troops.

After a series of mergers and integrations, Dong Zhuo currently has 200,000 troops under his command, half of whom are newly recruited soldiers who have not received much training.

Among the other half of the 100,000 people, half are soldiers from Bing and Liang states, who are considered the elite among the 200,000. The other 50,000 are from the second echelon, including the five schools of the Northern Army and the eight schools of the Western Garden.

The news that Jin Mao's troops were all professional soldiers had spread throughout the world, and Dong Zhuo only had 50,000 elite troops to fight back.

If it were a head-on confrontation, Dong Zhuo would have nothing to fear.

One side is mainly composed of cavalry, and the other side is mainly composed of infantry. Dong Zhuo does not believe that he can lose to Jin Mao in the wild.

But Luoyang is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces water on one side.

If Jin Mao got close to him, Dong Zhuo had no confidence that he could stop him. He knew very well how difficult the mountain Qiang and Hu were to deal with.

Therefore, Dong Zhuo regretted very much why he had provoked Jin Mao.

"It's all Li Ru's fault!"

Dong Zhuo thought so in his heart, but he did not blame him on the surface, otherwise he would not have reached his current status.

Night falls.

As usual, Dong Zhuo would have started the party long ago, but today he unexpectedly delayed the party, causing people in the palace to guess who was going to die this time.

It was not until Li Ru hurried into the palace that everyone realized, "So Dong the thief is so afraid of the governor of Yangzhou."

Dong Zhuo also knew this, but compared to his actual predicament, he never cared about what others thought.

"Wenyou is finally here."

Dong Zhuo, who was paunchy, stood up from the throne, opened his arms with a smile, and shouted to his left and right: "Come here, give the doctor a seat!"

The eunuchs were executed, and the people who replaced the eunuchs in the palace were all from the gentry. Ever since the Guandong coalition was launched, Dong Zhuo had never treated these people well.

The few people on duty were angry but dared not say anything. They compromised and brought a kneeling stool for Li Ru. They even glared at Li Ru before leaving.

"Hmph!" Dong Zhuo snorted coldly. His order was to bring a chair over, not to kneel on a stool.

Dong Zhuo bluntly said: "Those who pretend to obey but secretly disobey should all be killed!"

The few people who left were trembling all over. They didn't dare to stay any longer and fled for their lives.

Li Ru was not surprised and did not pay much attention to it, nor did he keep Dong Zhuo waiting for long.

"My Lord, I have figured out what you told me to do during the day."

Li Ru was about to continue speaking when Dong Zhuo interrupted him: "Eyebrows?!"

Dong Zhuo, who had just been cheerful, suddenly changed his expression: "You didn't even think carefully about what I told you to do, and you just had an idea? Are you going to betray me too?"

It was still warm in early spring, but Li Ru found the heat unbearable. Cold sweat soaked his forehead and also wet his lower body. If possible, Li Ru would like to resign and escape like those nobles.

But he can't!

His life and property all depend on Dong Zhuo, and he will die if he leaves Dong Zhuo.

"My lord, please listen to my explanation!" Li Ruqiang said calmly, "I am just guessing about this matter, so I dare not say it too confidently, but it will definitely be useful to you, my lord!"

Dong Zhuo's back softened, he leaned back, waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."

Li Ru tried his best to control his tone and said, "If the governor of Yangzhou wants the title, then give it to him!"

"We must also use the name of the emperor to restore the reputation of the governor of Yangzhou!"

"In this case, the governor of Yangzhou is a supporter of the emperor and a natural ally of the lord. If the Guandong coalition forces want to attack the lord, they must consider the role played by the governor of Yangzhou."

Seeing that Dong Zhuo had been lying there without any movement, Li Ru was secretly worried. He thought that Dong Zhuo had not accepted his suggestion, so he could not continue.

Li Ru was thinking about whether to resign.

Suddenly, Dong Zhuo stood up abruptly, like a wild boar turning over, and asked with a sharp look in his eyes: "Why don't you continue talking, Wenyou?"

Li Ru suppressed his uneasiness, cupped his hands to cover his face and said: "If the lord can give the Yangzhou governor enough authority, it will be like planting a nail in the south!"

"As long as the governor of Yangzhou accepts the imperial decree, no matter how he explains it, it can only mean that he has formed an alliance with us."

"Then if the Guandong coalition wants to advance smoothly, they must consider whether Yangzhou Mu will attack them from behind."

"Whether this succeeds or not, it will have an effect!"

Dong Zhuo laughed and said, "Wenyou said it well!"

"As long as we sow distrust among the princes, this coalition will be a joke and will collapse sooner or later!"

...

Xiangyang County, Jingzhou.

While Dong Zhuo was worried, Sun Jian and Yuan Shu were ecstatic.

Jin Mao followed Xun Yu's strategy and wrote letters to each of them.

The letter to Sun Jian only said one thing: I believe you.

Jin Mao hoped that Sun Jian could still cooperate with him as before. When Sun Jian was fighting in the front, Jin Mao would provide support from the rear.

Even if you can't make it outside, you can always go back to the south. Jingzhou and Yangzhou are so big, there is always a safe place to settle down.

Without any worries, Sun Jian felt refreshed.

Even though Jin Mao asked him to pretend to be friendly with Yuan Shu at the end of the letter, Sun Jian did not think much about it and just thought that this was the correct alliance relationship.

It was much simpler for Yuan Shu. Jin Mao used only one tenth of the power he had in licking Xun Yu to make Yuan Shu extremely happy.

He told everyone he met: "Yangzhou Mu is such a good man. He supports me in becoming the leader of the Guandong coalition!"

Yan Xiang and Yang Hong spoke out to dissuade Yuan Shu, hoping that he would not fall into his trap. Even a child could see through such a low-level sugar-coated bullet.

However, Yuan Shu, who was feeling elated, would not listen to so much nonsense.

"From childhood to adulthood, I am a hundred times better than Yuan Shao, the bastard!"

"How can you mediocre people understand me? Only the governor of Yangzhou understands me!"

"From now on, if anyone dares to speak ill of Yangzhou Mu behind his back, I will be the first one to not forgive him!"

(End of this chapter)