Chapter 294 Dong Zhuo surrenders and wants to form an alliance with Jin Mao
It is cold winter in December.

Chang'an Meiwu is covered with snow.

As soon as Dong Zhuo left the court, he ordered his men to ride back to Meiwu as fast as possible to see his son who was not even a year old.

Along the way from Chang'an to Meiwu, one or two stiff human figures could be seen lying motionless from time to time, but Dong Zhuo turned a blind eye to them.

The warm room was a building specially built by Dong Zhuo for Diao Chan and his son. Even though the wind outside was so cold that it felt like it could freeze people's bones, it was as warm as spring inside the warm room.

"Xu'er."

Dong Zuozhuo was wearing a cloak and took two steps at a time, breathing out cold air, and came to the outside of the warm room like a meatball. Before he arrived, he shouted so loudly that half of Meiwu could hear him.

When I opened the door, the warm wind wanted to escape and the cold wind wanted to rush in, forming several cyclones.

Dong Zhuo pretended to pat the snow off his body, carefully stepped over the threshold and came into the house.

I saw the stunningly beautiful Diao Chan, wearing thin clothes and holding a fat baby in her arms.

Seeing Dong Zhuo coming, Diao Chan slowly stood up. Her body, which had just given birth, became more plump, and her body moved like waves as she moved.

"The Grand Master is back."

Hearing Diao Chan's soft and tender voice, Dong Zhuo only glanced at it and then turned his gaze to the baby who was still sleeping.

Dong Zhuo tiptoed to Diao Chan's side. As if he didn't smell her body fragrance, he carefully took the baby and wanted to get close to her.

Unexpectedly, the baby was awakened by the coldness of Dong Zhuo's hands and started crying.

"Wow wow wow!"

Dong Zhuo was in a panic, wanting to throw it but not daring to. Fortunately, Diao Chan was quick to catch it, thus avoiding a tragedy.

It was also strange that the baby stopped crying when he was in Diao Chan's arms, yawned a few times and fell asleep again.

"hey-hey."

Dong Zhuo stood aside with a silly grin, scratching his ears and cheeks but not daring to touch them, which made Diao Chan laugh out loud.

Dong Zhuo seemed unable to see Diao Chan's beautiful smile, and only had eyes for the baby.

After staring at it stupidly for half an hour, Dong Zhuo finally walked out of the warm room reluctantly to deal with important matters.

Diao Chan was left alone in the warm room, feeling melancholy: "Could it be that my beauty has faded?"

Since his son was born, Dong Zhuo has never touched Diao Chan again, and he didn't even look at her, which made Diao Chan very distressed.

Wang Yun is dead and the beauty trap has been used. Now Diao Chan wants to spend the rest of her life like an ordinary person, if for nothing else, just for her newborn son.

It doesn’t matter who the son’s biological father is. What’s important is that Diao Chan feels that regaining Dong Zhuo’s favor is the most important thing.

Otherwise, if something unexpected happens in the future, her son will have no one to rely on.

It would be better for Diao Chan to believe that the world is at peace than to believe in Dong Zhuo’s kindness.

the other side.

Dong Zhuo came to the study. In order to save money, there were only two pots of charcoal in the study, and the warmth could not be compared with that in the warm room.

Therefore, Dong Zhuo was too lazy to take off his cloak.

Li Ru had been waiting in the study. When he saw Dong Zhuo pushing the door open, he stood up and saluted.

Dong Zhuo walked with his hands behind his back and frowning, wondering: "It's fine if Liu Yan and Liu Biao are involved, but why is Cao Cao also involved?"

It turned out that Guo Jia had arrived in Chang'an on behalf of Cao Cao. The emperor agreed to Cao Cao's request, appointed him as the governor of Xuzhou, and appointed Guo Jia as the Minister of the Imperial Household, and kept him in Beijing.

This was originally a trivial matter. In Dong Zhuo's eyes, Cao Cao was not even a big deal, so there was no need to try to win him over.

Jin Mao, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Gongsun Zan and others who are shown in the front are the ones who need the most attention.

However, Guo Jia was too jumpy.

A small Yellow Gate Minister was invited by Liu Yan today and by Liu Biao tomorrow. Even prominent families like Yang Biao sent out invitations.

Guo Jia accepted everyone who came to him, and in just half a month, he became a popular figure in Chang'an City.

What puzzled Dong Zhuo the most was that Guo Jia was deeply trusted by Emperor Liu Xie and was summoned to the palace many times.

I don’t know what kind of magic potion Liu Xie was fed.

In Dong Zhuo's view, everything Guo Jia did must have been instructed by Cao Cao.

Jin Mao in the south continued to exert pressure, causing Han Sui and Ma Teng to leave one after another. Later, another manifesto was received, which alienated the court and caused the royal family faction headed by Liu Yan and Liu Biao to attack Dong Zhuo one after another.

I already have enough troubles, and Guo Jia wants to interfere. I really don't know how to write the word death.

"Wenyou, is it possible for Cao Cao to move westward?"

Dong Zhuo became murderous.

Dong Zhuo also benefited from the incident in the palace caused by Jin Yang.

Liu He was executed, and the elite cavalry of Youzhou was brought under Dong Zhuo's command with a little trickery. Finally, no one in Chang'an dared to stand up and oppose Dong Zhuo.

There were only people like Liu Yan and Liu Biao who dared to act weird in the court, and that was all.

"It is naturally impossible to go west." Li Ru became more and more adept at his job as the Shangshu Ling, and he was confident from the inside out.

"Cao Cao controls Xuzhou, Yuan Shu is to the west, Tian Kai (the governor of Qingzhou appointed by Gongsun Zan) is to the north, and the General Zhennan is to the south. It is difficult to provoke any of them."

"No matter how ambitious Cao Cao is, it will be difficult for him to achieve anything."

Dong Zhuo listened, but his frown didn't relax. He snorted coldly: "It's hard to achieve anything?"

"Wenyou, you are wrong!"

"Cao Cao must have made some move, otherwise how dare he interfere in the affairs of the court?"

"Do you really think I'm easy to mess with?"

Dong Zhuo misunderstood this point.

It was indeed Cao Cao's intention for Guo Jia to come to Chang'an, but it was not Cao Cao's intention for Guo Jia to visit everywhere. It was entirely a personal behavior.

Of course, it doesn't matter.

Li Ru followed Dong Zhuo's train of thought and thought of a possibility: "If Cao Cao wants to move, he will not dare to cross the river in the south and can only go north..."

Li Ru's eyes lit up and he asked, "Is Yuan Shao going to take action against Gongsun Zan?"

The news that Liu Yu was killed by Gongsun Zan had already reached Chang'an, otherwise, Dong Zhuo would not have dared to kill Liu Yu's son Liu He so easily.

"It must be so!"

Dong Zhuo stared towards the northeast and said, "Liu Yu is deeply loved by the people. Gongsun Zan is tyrannical and persecuted him. He will surely be retaliated against!"

"If I were Yuan Shao, I would definitely seize this opportunity to mobilize a large army and defeat Gongsun Zan in one fell swoop, which would bring peace to the north."

Li Ru continued, "Cao Cao took the opportunity to occupy Qingzhou and took over two states. In this way, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu took over four states, and Cao Cao had two states. This would give him the power to compete with Jin Mao!"

"My Lord!" Li Ru bowed and said, "For now, we should quickly form an alliance with Yuan Shao so that we can resist Jin Mao."

Dong Zhuo sighed deeply and said, "Yuan Shao is not an ordinary person. Ordinary official positions cannot satisfy him. Even the position of one of the Three Dukes would be of no use to him."

Li Ru knew this was the truth. Not to mention Yuan Shao's family background, just his current sphere of influence, plus the power he would gain after destroying Gongsun Zan in the future, made it seem like the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry was not enough.

"Either don't give it to me, or give it to me as much as possible!" Li Ru gritted his teeth and said, "You can make Yuan Shao the general!"

Dong Zhuo raised his head suddenly and said angrily to Li Ru: "Wenyou, do you know what the general means?"

The general means the power over all the troops in the world. In theory, he can command all the troops in the world. He is above the three officials. Not only can he be on equal footing with Dong Zhuo, but in theory he can also command the troops under Dong Zhuo.

Li Ru naturally knew it, and bowed, "My lord, do you have a better way?"

"Do you still want to appoint Jin Mao as the general?" Jin Mao?

In an instant, it became clear to Dong Zhuo, and he seriously considered this possibility.

It is not impossible to really appoint Jin Mao as the general, but there are many disadvantages, which need not be explained.

But there are benefits.

First of all, Dong Zhuo was taught a lesson by Jin Mao twice and knew very well how powerful he was. Compared with the alliance of Yuan Shao in the north, he was much stronger.

Whether in terms of military or economy, the Jinmao area is far ahead of the rest of the country.

Previously, Han Sui and Ma Teng had entered the Pass, causing misery for the people of Sili. Common people fled southward one after another, and half of the population of more than two million escaped.

Only a few landlords and powerful people fled to the north, while most of the common people and powerful people fled to the south.

No matter how harsh the new policies in the south are, we can tell whether they are good or bad by looking at the people's wishes.

What are the benefits of forming an alliance with Jinmao?
First of all, the Sili area will always be stabilized. Even if there are only more than one million people left, if you are careful, you can organize an army of hundreds of thousands.

By then, if Dong Zhuo goes west to defeat Han Sui and Ma Teng, he will be able to occupy Liangzhou and Bingzhou, and together with Sili, he will have three states.

Despite the small population, there are many Qingzhou men who can serve as soldiers, and the people are tough and strong, so with a little training they can become a strong army.

With the cultivation of the fertile land in Guanzhong, Dong Zhuo will be able to return to his peak in a few years.

Now, Dong Zhuo no longer has his previous arrogance, nor does he fantasize that the Western Liang Army is invincible and can pacify the world.

He just wanted to lay a foundation for his son Dong Xu.

"Wenyou's words make sense!"

After thinking it through, Dong Zhuo's frown finally relaxed and he said happily: "We should form an alliance with General Zhennan."

"If General Zhennan had been appointed as the Grand General earlier, wouldn't there be so many problems?"

Dong Zhuo said with regret: "I regret it now. I was so blind."

Li Ru was stunned and stammered, "My Lord...how do you know that Jin Mao...General Zhennan is willing to form an alliance?"

"I've heard that General Zhennan loves his soldiers like his own sons. What's more, that person is his most proud clan member."

Dong Zhuo sneered and glanced at Li Ru, saying, "Have you been with those scholars for too long that you have forgotten the concepts of the people of Xiliang?"

"As long as there are enough benefits, let alone clan members, even brothers will turn against each other in the face of benefits, right?"

After being warned by Dong Zhuo, Li Ru lowered his head in a hurry, not knowing how to respond.

Dong Zhuo frowned again, feeling an inexplicable feeling in his heart.

Judging from Li Ru's appearance, he seemed to have been really corrupted by the Guandong samurai. No wonder he came to Meiwu less frequently recently, and the awe in his tone was gone.

"Go down and tell Cai Yong to come see me."

Dong Zhuo said impatiently: "Also, draft an imperial edict to confer the title of Grand General to General Zhennan."

"Here."

Li Ru was so frightened and panicked that he didn't know how to leave the study.

It was not until the cold wind blew that Li Ru woke up. Thinking back to everything, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Dong Zhuo's series of defeats did give the outside world confidence in his civil and military affairs, but Li Ru knew Dong Zhuo's character very well.

Being able to seize opportunities at critical moments, if Dong Zhuo had not been assisted by outstanding talents, he would have achieved great success long ago. How could it have been the turn of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others?
At the same time, although others may not know about Dong Zhuo's cruelty and ruthlessness, how could Li Ru not be aware of it?

Of course, Dong Zhuo was still very good to his family members. Even though Dong Cheng was seeking his own death, Dong Zhuo still forgave him.

"Clap!"

Li Ru slapped himself twice hard, trying to wake himself up.

These days, Li Ru was indeed deeply trapped in the sugar-coated bullets of the gentry and could not extricate himself, which led to his embarrassment in front of Dong Zhuo today.

"The lesson of Lu Bu is still before my eyes. How could I make such a low-level mistake?"

After thinking it through, Li Ru started to do things again, using his previous vicious methods.

In the study.

When Dong Zhuo heard that Cai Yong was coming, he quickly ordered someone to help him up from the couch. He came to the door panting and opened the door for Cai Yong himself.

"Cai Yong pays respect to the Grand Master."

"Bo Ji, why are you so polite?" Dong Zhuo smiled and supported Cai Yong, saying, "It's cold outside, come in and warm up."

Cai Yong folded his hands and bowed before entering the study.

"Come, sit down." Dong Zhuo welcomed him warmly.

Cai Yong was fifty years old, no younger than Dong Zhuo, so he bowed again and asked, "Why did the Grand Master summon me?"

Cai Yong is now writing the history of Han for Dong Zhuo, serving as the Left General of the Central Army and Marquis of Gaoyang. However, because he is trusted by Dong Zhuo, he is excluded by the gentry.

Dong Zhuo was in no hurry to talk about business, but instead talked about family matters and reminisced about the past.

"I heard your daughter has been widowed for more than half a year. Has she remarried?"

Cai Yong's beloved daughter, Cai Yan, whose courtesy name was Wenji, was a famous talented woman. Her husband died just two years after she married Wei Zhongdao, and she is now a widow at home.

"Learn more from the Grand Master's concern." Cai Yong bowed and said, "Wen Ji does not want to marry again."

Dong Zhuo said with regret, "I heard that Wen Ji never had any children. It's a pity that such talent can't be passed down."

Cai Yong lowered his head and did not answer.

Dong Zhuo's eyes turned and he had a perverse idea. He asked, "Does Wen Ji admire heroes?"

"General Zhennan is young and promising. Soon, I will present a petition to appoint him as the Grand General."

"If we can achieve a marriage, it would be a good story."

Cai Yong understood what Dong Zhuo meant, that he simply wanted to use his daughter to win over Jin Mao and make a political marriage.

Cai Yong also understood why Dong Zhuo's own daughter was not used. It would be strange for a person like Jin Mao to be interested in Dong Zhuo's daughter.

The current Jinmao is no longer the Yangzhou country bumpkin of his early years, but a super prince who can beat Dong Zhuo to death.

The person who will unify the world in the future may very well be Jin Mao.

Although Cai Wenji was a widow, it was still unfair for her to marry Jin Mao as a concubine, and she definitely could not become his wife.

But Cai Yong couldn't guess what Dong Zhuo meant.

Isn’t Dong Zhuo worried that Cai Yong’s daughter will become Jin Mao’s person after he marries her?
Although he had doubts, Cai Yong did not speak them out. He said, "Thank you for your kindness, Grand Master. I will ask Wen Ji when I get home."

Dong Zhuo nodded with satisfaction, as if praising his own intelligence, and then asked: "Bo Ji, do you know what etiquette is required to confer a title of general?"

"I want to appoint General Zhennan as the Grand General. What should I do if General Zhennan does not come to Chang'an?"

Dong Zhuo didn't dare let Jin Mao come to Chang'an, because that guy would bring a large group of people with him, and then Dong Zhuo would no longer have the final say.

Cai Yong then remembered that Dong Zhuo had indeed said this before. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "This is against etiquette."

Seeing Dong Zhuo frowning again, Cai Yong added: "I will go back and look up the classics. I'm sure I can find a way to have the best of both worlds."

Dong Zhuo relaxed his brows and said with a smile, "Then I'll trouble you, Bo Ji."

“This is what I should do.”

(End of this chapter)