Chapter 291 Death of the Golden Goat
Xiahou Yuan's talent for raiding was demonstrated ahead of time. In just two days, he raided Pei State from Pengcheng, catching Tao Qian off guard and causing his troops to flee.

Although Tao Qian's head was not chopped off, the crisis of Yu's invasion of Xuzhou was resolved and he could no longer form a fighting force.

For a moment, Cao Cao had a different idea: "Yuzhou is a good place, Yanzhou is not bad either, after taking Qingzhou..."

Cao Cao's eyes suddenly became sharp. This action was very dangerous and would fundamentally offend Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

If you are not careful and make a mistake in operation, it will be game over.

But if it succeeds, Cao Cao will become a powerful prince who controls four states.

Great things can be expected!

...

In September of the third year of Chuping, Cao Cao sent Guo Jia as an envoy to present a memorial to the Han court, requesting to be the governor of Xuzhou.

The memorials submitted by Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu arrived almost at the same time.

At this time, the atmosphere in Chang'an City was quite subtle.

Liu He, son of Liu Yu, governor of Youzhou, returned with three thousand elite cavalry.

Emperor Liu Xie appointed Liu He as Weiwei, commanding the Southern Army that guarded the imperial palace, and all 3,000 Youzhou cavalry were incorporated into the Southern Army.

Dong Zhuo objected and refused to allow Liu He to lead his troops into the city.

Unexpectedly, Wang Yun teamed up with Lu Bu to secretly let the Youzhou cavalry enter the city.

Liu Xie finally had a guard force that was completely loyal to him, and the combat effectiveness of the Youzhou cavalry was not weak, second only to the elite Xiliang cavalry.

Wang Yun and his party immediately thought that their opportunity had come and launched an impeachment against Dong Zhuo in the court.

Dong Zhuo didn't waste any time and mobilized Han Sui and Ma Teng's troops to march straight into the Sanfu area.

The Xiliang rebels had no military discipline and plundered Sanfu, and then engaged in a fierce battle with the troops of Wang Yun, Dong Cheng, Lu Bu and others.

Both sides suffered over 10,000 casualties. Lu Bu led the remaining troops to flee eastward, Wang Yun committed suicide, and Dong Cheng became a prisoner.

Dong Zhuo did not execute Dong Cheng because of his status as a relative of the emperor, but retained his position as General of Cavalry.

It can be seen that Dong Zhuo is very nostalgic and hopes to get Dong Cheng's support.

Afterwards, Dong Zhuo wanted to enter the palace but was stopped by the Southern Army.

The Youzhou cavalry could not exert their combat effectiveness in the palace, but if Dong Zhuo wanted to enter, he had to carry out another bloody massacre.

However, Han Sui and Ma Teng had suffered heavy casualties and were afraid that Dong Zhuo would destroy their own bridges, so they did not agree.

Upon seeing this, Dong Zhuo ordered Dong Cheng to trick his way to the palace.

Dong Cheng refused to obey, so Dong Zhuo killed him.

He also ordered Dong Yue and Dong Yu to launch a powerful attack.

Inside the Weiyang Palace, Emperor Liu Xie was extremely frightened. Seeing this, Jin Yang, who had become the Imperial Guardsman, stood up.

"stop!"

Wearing his official uniform, Jin Yang climbed up the palace wall, holding a wooden trumpet, and shouted to Dong Zhuo's army below: "Does Grand Tutor Dong want to go to war with General Zhennan?"

Left General Dong Yu immediately stopped the attack and sent someone to ask Dong Zhuo in the rear for instructions.

Half an hour later, Dong Zhuo arrived in front of the battle array in a two-horse carriage and loudly demanded, "Who are you?"

"Jin Yang, courtesy name Shanbian, nephew of General Zhennan, current Huangmen Ling!"

"So you are from General Zhen'an's clan." Dong Zhuo has become fatter since his son was born. "Please come down and have a chat."

Jin Yang had someone send him down the palace wall in a basket.

Dong Zhuo had long known that there was something fishy about the guards around Liu Xie, but he didn't expect that they were Jin Mao's men.

It seems that nothing that happened in Chang'an could be hidden from Jinmao's eyes and ears.

In order to show his respect to Jin Mao, Dong Zhuo ordered his men to help him up, then he folded his hands and bowed, saying, "How are you, General Zhennan?"

Jin Yang had an expression of ready to die. He returned the greeting first, then said, "My uncle is doing well!"

This statement makes Jin Mao, a young man of only 24, seem like he is 54.

"After we parted in Luoyang, I didn't have the chance to meet General Zhennan."

Dong Zhuo sighed and said, "I heard that General Zhennan is only 24 years old and a hero, but I cannot regard him as my confidant. It's a pity."

Before, Jin Mao sent an envoy to Chang'an to ask for an official position, but Dong Zhuo did not stop him at all, and even had a confrontation with Wang Yun.

Jin Yang naturally remembered all of this, otherwise he would not have dared to come to see Dong Zhuo alone.

Who in Chang'an doesn't know about Dong Zhuo's cruelty?
"I wonder what General Zhen'an wants to tell you?"

Dong Zhuo was very humble.

Even though Wang Yun's party was defeated, there were still loyal ministers of the older generation such as Yang Biao and Zhu Jun in the court, and Jin Mao was eyeing them covetously outside.

Recently, the news of Jinmao opening a border market has already spread to Chang'an. Dong Zhuo knows Jinmao's purpose, but he has no way to deal with it.

Now, the 100,000-strong Zhennan army under Jin Mao's command is not comparable to Cao Cao's rotten fish and shrimp selected from the Yellow Turbans.

If a full-scale northern expedition was launched, Dong Zhuo would have no choice but to flee back to his hometown in Longxi.

Hanzhong County is not far from the Sanfu area, not to mention that the Di and Qiang people near Wudu County are all loyal to whoever feeds them and have long been bribed by Jin Mao.

By then, if Jinmao could get a lot of support, maybe even Dong Zhuo’s hometown of Longxi would be in danger.

It was the first time that Jin Yang saw Dong Zhuo so low-key.

When did Dong Zhuo not draw his sword to threaten or directly chop people?
For a moment, Jin Yang was stunned. It took him several seconds to react. With trembling hands, he took out a bamboo tube letter from his arms.

Only then did Jin Yang realize that the person he was facing was Dong Zhuo!
Dong Zhuo asked Dong Yu to take the letter personally. When he opened it, a look of joy appeared on his face.

But when he saw the end, Dong Zhuo couldn't help but frown again.

Although Jinmao's letter expressed the intention of an alliance, the conditions were very harsh, which was to guarantee Liu Xie's autonomy, or in other words, co-ownership.

In other words, although Jin Mao no longer directly owns Liu Xie in the future, he will have to give him whatever official position he wants.

Otherwise, the alliance will break down and everyone will have to fight another battle based on their own abilities.

It is impossible to fight again, and it is impossible to agree to this condition.

Dong Zhuo thought about it and realized that Jin Mao would never come to Chang'an to participate in government affairs. Even if he pretended to agree, it would not be a big deal.

It won’t be too late to turn the table after you get the benefits in the letter.

Another point!
Dong Zhuo looked at the ignorant Golden Goat and instantly thought of a good idea.

He put the letter back into the bamboo tube, carefully kept it, and said to Jin Yang with a pleasant face: "I already know what General Zhen'an meant."

"He means what I mean."

"From now on, you will be the Weiwei, in charge of the Southern Army, and our two families will be friends forever."

Jin Yang was stunned, and then he remembered what Jia Fang had told him: "Once Dong Zhuo finishes reading this letter, it must be destroyed, otherwise it will become a serious problem!"

"Grand Master..." Jin Mao trembled and asked for the letter: "The letter..."

Unexpectedly, Dong Zhuo interrupted deliberately and said, "Please rest assured, I will definitely write back to General Zhennan and give it to you tomorrow."

Then, Dong Zhuo gave Dong Yu a look, and the latter understood what he meant. He ran to the palace wall and shouted loudly: "General Zhen'an has ordered that Huangmen Ling Jin Yang be appointed as Weiwei and in charge of the Southern Army!"

"Why don't you open the palace gate?"

Jin Yang was dumbfounded. The Youzhou cavalry on the palace wall looked at Jin Yang deeply and then returned to Weiyang Palace to report.

"Your Majesty, General Zhennan is colluding with Dong Zhuo and wants us to open the palace gates. Please give your instructions!"

"Impossible!" Liu Xie screamed, "There is no way my uncle would harm me!"

"This is Dong Zhuo's conspiracy! It must be Dong Zhuo's conspiracy!"

Liu Xie’s face turned pale. He tried to stand up, but he staggered and almost fell.

Upon seeing this, Weiwei Liu He rushed forward to help Liu Xie, preventing him from falling to the ground.

"You tell me!" Liu Xie desperately grabbed Liu He's sleeve and shouted heartbreakingly, "It's fake! It's all fake!"

Liu He sighed, looked down at Liu Xie and shed tears silently: "Your Majesty..."

A sickly blush suddenly appeared on Liu Xie's pale face. He stood up abruptly, swung his sleeves, and shouted at Liu He: "Speak! This is all fake! Fake!"

Liu Xie's faith completely collapsed from this moment on.

His most trusted uncle turned out to be a bad guy with evil ambitions. It was a waste of his trust in him to the point that he risked his life to pass on the late emperor's will.

The result was a painful stab in the back.

No one can accept this fact.

"Your Majesty!" Liu He adjusted his mentality, stood up, and said with a determined look on his face: "The Southern Army swears to defend Your Majesty to the death. If the thief Dong wants to set foot in the palace, he must step over our corpses first!"

"We will defend till death!" "We will defend till death!"

The three thousand Youzhou cavalry were all Liu Yu's confidants and were extremely loyal. The power of their shouting in unison pulled Liu Xie out of his emotion.

Liu Xie took a deep breath, and then another deep breath, and then gritted his teeth and said, "Let Huangmen Ling come to see the emperor!"

"Here!"

After a while, the Golden Goat stumbled into the palace, his official hat fell off, his official uniform was askew, and he didn't even have time to take off his shoes and sword.

Seeing this, Liu He took a step forward and shouted loudly: "How dare you!"

"Golden Sheep dares to bring a sword into the palace. Is he going to assassinate Your Majesty?"

Jin Yang lowered his head, hurriedly untied the sword from his waist, knelt on the ground with a plop, and cried out, "Your Majesty! I am innocent!"

To say that Jin Mao was of much use to Jin Yang was not the case. Instead, it was Liu Xie who made Jin Yang feel a closer and more genuine favor than she felt from Jin Mao.

Therefore, Jin Yang put Liu Xie first in his heart and Jin Mao second.

Liu Xie asked coldly: "Then tell me, what is going on?"

The eloquent and boastful Aries, at this moment, stutters and doesn't know what to say.

Jin Mao’s letter was true, and the alliance with Dong Zhuo was also true, but how could he tell Liu Xie about this?
Jin Yang himself doesn't know the reason behind this, let alone explain it.

Seeing Jin Yang's speechless look, Liu Xie's face was filled with despair: "Even you want to betray me?"

"In this vast world, who else can I trust?"

As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes. Liu Xie had never felt so desperate as he did right now.

At this moment, Jin Yang was completely panicked, and he spilled out everything he knew like a bamboo tube pouring out beans: "Your Majesty! There is still a way! I still have a way!"

"Inside the city...right inside the city!"

"Yihongyuan! Yes! Yihongyuan!"

"My uncle has arranged things in Chang'an City. Yihongyuan is the spy. The leader is called Jia Fang, the third son of Jia Xu, the military advisor and chief priest!"

Jia Xu!?
Liu Xie's eyes widened as wide as ever. How could he not know which generals were under Dong Zhuo's command?

This is confirmed!

Jin Mao had been in collusion with Dong Zhuo for a long time, otherwise he would not have accepted Dong Zhuo's enthronement, or even Dong Zhuo's abnormal behavior when he asked for an official position most recently.

Everything is explained clearly!

"Is God going to destroy me, the Han people?"

Liu Xie cried out to the sky, his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

Jin Yang wanted to step forward, but Liu He stopped him sternly: "You traitor! Get away!"

Half an hour later.

Liu Xie finally woke up.

The first time he saw the prostrating golden goat, Liu Xie became furious: "What are you still doing here?"

"Oh, right."

"You want me to appoint you as Weiwei, right?"

"Okay! From now on you are the Weiwei!"

Liu Xie shouted angrily: "Liu He!"

"Chen is here!"

"Give him the seal!"

"Here!"

Liu He took off the green ribbon and silver seal from his waist without hesitation and threw it in front of the Golden Sheep.

"Pick it up!"

Liu Xie struggled to stand up and screamed hysterically: "I told you to pick it up!"

The Golden Goat trembled all over but said nothing.

Liu Xie didn't know where he got the strength from, but he walked forward quickly, bent down to pick up the seal on the ground, and forced it into Jin Yang's hand.

"Jin Weiwei, go and open the palace door for Grand Tutor Dong!"

The Golden Goat raised his head, tears already streaming down his face.

On one side is the emperor, on the other side is Jin Mao. Either of them is more important than his life. Jin Yang doesn't know what to decide.

Suddenly, a blessing came to my mind.

Jin Yang seemed to have returned to a certain noon when Xi Zhicai was reading "Records of the Grand Historian".

The Golden Sheep asked curiously, "What are you reading, sir?"

Xi Zhicai lay on his back, supporting himself with one hand and holding up a bamboo slip with the other, and said casually, "Cut the meat to feed the tiger, cut the meat to feed the tiger."

The Golden Sheep asked again: "What does this mean?"

Xi Zhicai explained casually: "It means literally, cut off the flesh from your body and feed it to the tiger, there is no return."

"Hey!" Jin Yang asked with a smile, "Who would be so stupid?"

Xi Zhicai kept his eyes on the bamboo slips and said, "You don't understand. Sometimes, some people have no choice but to take this path of no return."

"It is not uncommon throughout history."

My thoughts return to the present.

Jin Yang seemed to understand why the gentleman said that.

As if he had made up his mind, Jin Yang kowtowed to Liu Xie resolutely and said, "Your Majesty, I have never had any second thoughts!"

"If you don't believe me, I will die to prove my point!"

Liu Xie was no longer rational and shouted, "Okay! Go to hell! Go to hell now!"

Without any regard for the consequences.

Liu He felt that it was inappropriate, but he didn't dare to stop it.

When Jin Yang stood up again, the tears on his face had not yet dried, but he smiled and said, "This year spent with Your Majesty is the happiest time of my life."

"Your Majesty, please believe that what I said before is all true. My uncle... my lord has never betrayed the Han Dynasty, but he has his own difficulties."

Then, Jin Yang kowtowed to Liu He and said, "Please take good care of His Majesty and don't let His Majesty catch a cold at night. His Majesty likes to kick the quilt."

"And your majesty likes to grill meat, with alternating fat and lean meat, your majesty..."

"Is that enough?" Liu Xie interrupted Jin Yang's mumbling and shouted, "Don't be so hypocritical here. If you want to die, then go and die now!"

Jin Yang did not show any dissatisfaction. He entered the time of a saint, neither sad nor happy. He kowtowed three times to Liu Xie.

Then, the Golden Sheep stood up, kowtowed three times and bowed nine times toward the south, and muttered in a low voice: "I'm sorry, my lord."

The Golden Goat stood up and walked out of the palace with ease.

After a while, there was a huge noise outside, and Dong Zhuo's roar could be faintly heard.

A waiter rushed in with a horrified look on his face, knelt down tremblingly and said, "Weiwei Jinyang tried to assassinate Dong Zhuo, but was stabbed to death by the Xiliang soldiers!"

Liu Xie lost his balance and almost fell, but fortunately Liu He helped him up.

Tears rolled down his cheeks uncontrollably, and Liu Xie felt as if a piece of his heart was missing, and he was heartbroken.

Beautiful scenes appeared before my eyes, which were the laughter and joy between me and the Golden Sheep.

However, before Liu Xie could feel sad, the thirty-two guards who had come with Jin Yang, who were once his personal guards, came to Liu Xie and kowtowed in silence one after another.

After the last person finished knocking, Liu Xie came to his senses. He grabbed the last person's sleeve and shouted, "What are you doing?!"

The thirty-two men remained silent until the leader shouted, "Guards, charge!"

This was Jin Mao's order, to protect the Golden Sheep without any mistakes. Now that the Golden Sheep is dead, there is no need for them to exist.

"I'm not allowed!"

Liu Xie was completely panicked: "I won't allow it!!"

However, no one paid any attention to Liu Xie, and the thirty-two people rushed out of the palace gate in unison.

This time, the chaos outside was even worse.

The battle lasted for more than an hour.

Liu Xie collapsed in Liu He's arms, his eyes dull.

(End of this chapter)