Chapter 10 The Xiliang Army’s fight for the throne, Baihu fanned the flames!

"The murderer who assassinated Lord Dong has been executed. Although we still don't know who his accomplices are? Who is the mastermind behind the scenes? But it's only a matter of time before we can force them to reveal the truth. The culprit Cao Cao has been arrested, and we need to face our future life!"

After offering incense and offering sacrifices at Dong Zhuo's funeral hall, the Xiliang army generals knew that it was time to get down to business. However, the generals had their own plans and avoided talking about other things.

The White Tiger disguised as "Wang Fang" could only decisively and bluntly break this window paper.

"Yes! After Mr. Dong's death, the brothers were in a panic and panic. The three armies cannot be without a commander for a day. In order to avoid any trouble, we need to choose a new leader as soon as possible!" Li Jue said impatiently.

Guo Si also said immediately: "A country cannot be without a king for a day, and a family cannot be without a master for a day. Dong Gong is dead, and our Xiliang army is leaderless. We must elect a new leader to take control of the situation!"

"Who is the new leader who can take on the responsibility?"

"Of course it depends on military achievements, and the one with the most virtue will get the position!"

"Then among all the generals of our Xiliang Army, whose military achievements, reputation and virtues rank first among all the generals?!"

"This……"

All the generals of the Xiliang Army wanted to speak for themselves, but they also knew that a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind, so they looked around but did not speak first.

At this time, Bai Hu, disguised as Wang Fang, said: "In this case, why don't we all vote to decide the candidate! The one who is popularly elected is the new leader of our Xiliang Army, and everyone must obey!"

"Old Wang's suggestion is good!"

Bai Hu, disguised as Wang Fang, continued, "I think my military achievements, martial arts, experience, etc. are all first-rate among the generals of the Xiliang Army. But if I want to command all the generals, I am still not virtuous enough.

But General Niu can. He has top military achievements and martial arts experience, and he is also the son-in-law of Lord Dong. As the saying goes, a son-in-law is half a son. General Niu Fu is the most suitable person to take over Lord Dong's position!"

"Well, General Niu is good, I agree!"

Niu Fu looked at Wang Fang and gave him a look that said "you know"! He is so loyal! When I get promoted, I will book Yihongyuan to let you have fun. This is the friendship between comrades!

After Wang Fang threw out his suggestion, other generals immediately spoke up:

"General Li Jue is one of Lord Dong's most trusted generals. He is the commander of our elite Xiliang Army, the Flying Bear Army. This shows Lord Dong's high hopes for him! I think General Li Jue is the most qualified to succeed Lord Dong!"

Li Jue straightened his back and was in high spirits. He secretly took note of this general. This was the hero who supported him!

"General Guo Si's military achievements and prestige are both top-notch. I vote for him!"

"General Zhang Ji loves his soldiers and is deeply loved by the people. He is the best!"

"Fan Chou..."

After voting by the generals of the Xiliang Army, five candidates stood out and were equally matched - Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fu, Feixiong Army commander Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou!
In fact, some people wanted to vote for themselves, but they also knew that their military achievements, military command, and martial arts prestige were not as good as those of the five generals. Therefore, they chose to stand on the right side wisely, and when the person they depended on in the future came to power, they would definitely reward and promote the person who voted for them.

This caused the five generals to confront each other, and the situation became tense in an instant!

There were also generals like Duan Wei, who were only a little bit behind in the votes, and they felt unwilling to give up, thinking that they could also compete.

"We only need one Xiliang army leader, but now there are five of them, all with equal military achievements, prestige and experience!" White Tiger, disguised as 'Wang Fang', sighed and said, "How should we choose now?"

"Then let's compete in martial arts. Whoever is the strongest will be the leader of our Xiliang Army!"

"Lord Dong's martial arts are not the best in Xiliang, but he has won our recognition and support! The commander looks at the overall quality, not the individual's bravery. I think we should compete in commanding troops in battle!"

"How about we each lead our troops to fight a duel?"

"..."

The White Tiger disguised as "Wang Fang" sowed discord and guided the rhythm with a few words, making the atmosphere of the Xiliang army tense and full of gunpowder. If this continues, it is estimated that they will kill each other and both sides will suffer losses!
This is also the result Liu Bian wants to see!

However, there are still people with sharp eyes among the high-ranking officials of the Xiliang Army. Li Ru, who had been silent all this time, spoke in a deep voice at this time:

"Everyone, after Lord Dong's death, the Xiliang Army is leaderless. At a time when people are in panic, the generals are still fighting for the throne. This will only make our Xiliang Army become a pile of loose sand, giving other ambitious people an opportunity to take advantage!

We should unite as one and work together to maintain absolute control after Mr. Dong's death and avoid being defeated one by one!"

...

"That being said, a country cannot be without a king, and the army cannot be without a commander! Military advisor, if we don't choose a leader quickly, who should we listen to when we have different opinions and conflicts in the future?"

White Tiger, disguised as Wang Fang, said at the right time: "In order to avoid fighting each other in the future, it is better to cut the Gordian knot now while the other enemies have not reacted, choose a new leader as soon as possible, and unify the Xiliang army!"

...

"Old Wang is right!"

"General Wang's words are in line with the principles of 'speed is of the essence' and 'prompt decision'!"

"The military advisor's words are indeed sound, but they are only suppressing the danger and temporarily shelving it. However, this kind of suppressed contradiction will also explode one day. It's like boiling water. If you keep the lid pressed down when the kettle is boiling, the pressure will accumulate more and more, and it will eventually explode!"

"Rather than a big explosion in the future, it is better to choose a new leader for our Xiliang Army as soon as possible while the contradictions are not too deep. As the saying goes, we must first stabilize the country before we can resist foreign aggression. Only when we have the support of the people can we unite as one!"

"..."

The rebuttals of these generals left Li Ru speechless for a while. He wanted to unite the generals of the Xiliang Army and avoid being defeated one by one. But what Wang Fang and other generals said was not without reason.

The generals of the Xiliang Army are all brave and outstanding commanders. If there is no leader who is popular among the people, and there are different opinions in the future, the result will be that everyone will fight on their own and the army will become a loose mess!
Thinking of this, Li Ru sighed in his heart!
After knowing Dong Zhuo's death, these generals had already started to harbor ulterior motives and all wanted to take the throne, so the struggle for the throne was inevitable!

But in Li Ru's opinion, these generals of the Xiliang Army, even his brother-in-law Niu Fu, are not the best candidates!
Looking at the Xiliang army generals who were in a state of turmoil, Li Ru poured cold water on them and said:
"As you said, what's the point of choosing a new leader for the Xiliang Army? We are just foreign generals. After Lord Dong's death, our official positions, military posts, fame, and status are not enough to gain a foothold in the court!

“How will the new chief take over Dong Gong’s position?
“No matter how incompetent Mr. Dong was, he had served as Yulin Lang, Jun Sima, Guangwu County Magistrate, Northern Commander of Shu County, Commander of the Western Regions Wu Ji, Governor of Bingzhou, Governor of Hedong, General of the Central Army to Suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Governor of Bingzhou, and Governor of Xiliang.

"Mr. Dong has made steady progress step by step. He has held both military and political posts, from county magistrate to governor, and finally to his current position as Sikong. Even so, the officials in the court still do not recognize him. Generals, who has Mr. Dong's qualifications?
"Even if you work hard to get a leadership position, what's the point? You are just entertaining yourself and admiring yourself. You don't have enough foundation, reputation, or work experience to be recognized by the officials and officials in the capital!"

Upon hearing this, the generals of the Xiliang Army blushed!

Although what Li Ru said was unpleasant to hear, it was indeed the truth!
Dong Zhuo's resume was not comparable to theirs. At best, they were just generals under Dong Zhuo! They lacked sufficient political qualifications!

How to replace Dong Zhuo? !

When Dong Zhuo acted recklessly to depose and enthrone, scholars and learners criticized him verbally and penetratingly. Some accused him of being autocratic and harming the country, some said he was causing chaos in the government, and some accused him of condoning his subordinates to plunder the people and engage in warmongering. But no one said that Dong Zhuo's resume was not good enough!
Li Jue seemed to be extremely angry and said in a deep voice: "We in the Xiliang Army have 200,000 Xiliang Iron Cavalry. As long as we select a new leader and conquer them by force, who dares not submit? Kill them all!!!"

"Kill without mercy!!!"

This statement was recognized by many generals!

However, Li Ru was so angry that he laughed. The more the generals said so, the less qualified they were to take over the power and succeed Dong Zhuo. Their cunning and political vision were too poor: "Kill without mercy?! How many people can General Li kill?! If it arouses public anger, heroes from all over the world will come to attack, and a million strong troops can be gathered in an instant to enter the capital to purge the emperor. Do you believe it? How can you resist it?

"Lord Dong has 200,000 Xiliang cavalry under his command. He took advantage of He Jin's death to control the five schools of the Northern Army and the Xiyuan Army. With such power, he dare not kill without mercy, because he knows that force cannot conquer everyone!

"If this arouses public outrage and causes a huge uproar, our Xiliang Army will not be able to face the general trend of the world and the siege by many heroes!

"Therefore, Lord Dong needs to employ and promote famous scholars, both to win people's hearts and to silence the gossips of the world! Even Lord Dong's actions of deposing and enthroning were all done with the approval of Grand Tutor Yuan Wei!
"Even if there are generals who can completely control the 200,000 Xiliang Iron Cavalry, and there are no people with ulterior motives or calculations among them, they can't reach the power of Lord Dong when he was in power! Lord Dong is still like this, are the generals stronger than Lord Dong?!"

Li Ru's earnest advice finally calmed down the Xiliang army generals. It was like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads, chilling them to the core, and finally making them sober up from the struggle for power and interests!

This made Baihu, who was disguised as 'Wang Fang', feel regretful!
But he also knew that generals with strong limbs and simple minds could be bewitched and instigated, but it would be difficult for Li Ru, a resourceful and far-sighted counselor, to make them lose their judgment!

Baihu has already developed murderous intention towards Li Ru!
If the Xiliang army wants to cause internal strife, resourceful counselors like Li Ru must be killed, otherwise there will be trouble in the future.

After hearing this, Bai Hu pretended to ask, "Military Advisor, what you said makes sense! Listening to your words is worth ten years of reading! But in this case, where should our Xiliang Army go? Should we just roll back to Xiliang in disgrace?"

Naturally, the generals could not accept this, so they all looked to Li Ru, hoping that he could come up with some advice and make a decision that would convince them all!

Hearing this, Li Ru was silent for a moment, then said quietly:

"Mr. Dong was also a capable official, but his career was full of setbacks and difficulties until an opportunity came, which enabled Mr. Dong to rise to prominence. Do you know what that opportunity was?"

After hearing this, the generals of the Xiliang Army thought about it for a long time and then shook their heads, saying they didn't know.

Li Ru did not keep the secret and said bluntly: "After Dong Gong was recruited by Minister Yuan Wei as a clerk, he became a former official of the Yuan family. His official career has been rising rapidly since then!"

This statement shocked the generals of the Xiliang Army!

They also knew that Dong Zhuo was an old official of the Yuan family, which was why Yuan Shao summoned foreign troops to the capital to kill the eunuchs, and Dong Zhuo was among them. The Runan Yuan family had three officials in four generations, and their students and old officials were all over the world. This was the power of the Yuan family!

Li Ru must have a purpose for suddenly talking about this matter!

Sure enough, after seeing the generals' shock, Li Ru said what he meant by his words:
"The Yuan family is Mr. Dong's backer, which is why he was able to rise to prominence.

"Now that Lord Dong is dead, our Xiliang Army is leaderless. No matter which general we are, they are not qualified to take Lord Dong's place and it is difficult for them to take charge of the power. Anyone who takes the position will not be able to convince everyone and will not be what everyone wants!
"In this case, we must find a strong enough backer to survive this crisis! And Mr. Dong's former master Yuan and the current Grand Tutor Yuan Wei are undoubtedly the best candidates!
"Grandmaster Yuan Wei, are there any generals who are dissatisfied?!"

Upon hearing this, all the generals of the Xiliang Army fell silent!

And this silence is already a tacit agreement!

Although Dong Zhuo reaped the fruits of Yuan family's rule and Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu fled the capital, Dong Zhuo seemed to have gained the most benefits. However, the generals of Xiliang Army all understood that if Dong Zhuo wanted to govern the government, he still needed to rely on those famous scholars.

The Yuan family of Runan has students and former officials all over the country. There is no telling how many of them are famous figures in the court, and how many complicated relationships there are with the aristocratic families that are closely connected with the Yuan family.

Therefore, if Dong Zhuo wanted to stabilize the government, he still had to rely on the Yuan family.

Even Dong Zhuo couldn't escape the control of the Yuan family, let alone the generals of the Xiliang Army? No! As generals under Dong Zhuo, they didn't even have the qualifications to talk to the Yuan family!
This in itself is a kind of surrender!
The white tiger disguised as 'Wang Fang' was also silent!

Liu Bian was worried that the Xiliang army would be united and have a strong will, which would lead to the risk of another dethronement. Therefore, he secretly fanned the flames and sowed discord. Baihu also did a good job!

It was only because of the existence of Li Ru, a resourceful and cunning scholar, who was like a think tank for the generals of the Xiliang Army, that Bai Hu's plan to sow discord failed. In the end, Li Ru even placed his hopes on the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei.

Could it be that the Yuan family ended up being the biggest beneficiary?
They had laid a net of traps and devised a plan to conceal their true intentions, and spent so much effort to assassinate Dong Zhuo. It was all in vain, wasn't it?!
Baihu couldn’t accept it, and I believe their Majesty couldn’t accept it either!
With this in mind, White Tiger disguised as Wang Fang said:

"Military Advisor, Mr. Dong has been somewhat disrespectful to Yuan Wei since he entered the capital. He even stabbed the Yuan family in the back and has been fighting for power with them. Now that we are desperate, will he agree to seek refuge with Yuan Wei?"

The generals of the Xiliang Army were also a little worried!

If they are in a different position and are betrayed by someone, and it is their former subordinates (clerks), they will definitely find ways to kill them!

and many more!

Could it really be Yuan Wei who is behind this?!

Li Jue's mind was opened up at this time, and he suddenly had an idea and asked:
"Mr. Dong's death was caused by Cao Cao, but could it be that the accomplice and the mastermind behind Cao Cao is the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei? After all, Mr. Dong stole the fruits of the Yuan family!"

...

"That's right! If we were betrayed, we would have tried every possible means to kill them. Yuan Wei might have been secretly targeting Mr. Dong."

Guo Si also said: "It is said that the Yuan family was the mastermind behind the chaos in the capital! But they schemed hard, but in the end, Mr. Dong took the cake!"

...

"Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were childhood friends, and they grew up together. Yuan Shao was forced away by Lord Dong. Maybe that's true?!

"Cao Cao's move meant that Yuan would definitely treat the Cao family well in the future, and even make them a great promise. This is why Cao Cao was able to bear all the consequences alone!"

Zhang Ji also guessed.

...

After being guided by Baihu, the generals of the Xiliang Army suddenly began to think about things.

However, Li Ru was resourceful, and as Dong Zhuo's strategist and son-in-law, he knew a lot of inside information that the other generals didn't know. After a moment of silence, he shook his head and said:

"After Lord Dong entered the capital, he was promoted to the position of Sikong. Only the Grand Tutor Yuan Kui, who was in charge of the Shangshu affairs, could do it! And later, when Lord Dong deposed and enthroned the emperor, he also consulted with Grand Tutor Yuan Kui and obtained his consent! This in itself is a compromise!
"Since Yuan Wei has agreed to depose and enthrone the emperor, if he fails, he will be in trouble both inside and outside. Therefore, all the officials in the court may want to assassinate Lord Dong, except Grand Tutor Yuan Wei!"

...

"Military Advisor, what if something unexpected happens? The court officials are all old foxes. We, the border guards, can't beat them! If they sell us out, we will have to help them count the money. We will die with regrets!"

Baihu, who was disguised as 'Wang Fang', asked worriedly.

The generals of the Xiliang Army also had the same concern.

"In that case, I will go to the Taifu's residence in person." Li Ru thought for a moment and said, "I will personally negotiate with the Taifu to decide the direction of our Xiliang Army!"

Hearing this, the generals of the Xiliang Army looked at each other and nodded.

Now they share the same fate, and are all grasshoppers on the same rope, so they are not worried that Li Ru will sell them out.

Moreover, with Li Ru's resourcefulness, he would surely be able to detect whether Taifu Yuan Wei was willing to accept them sincerely or was he just pretending to be nice? Or did he want to keep a distance from the Xiliang army to avoid suspicion?

The decision has been made!
……

(End of this chapter)