Chapter 1261: The Schemers
Chapter 1261: The Schemers
November 22, 2017
Sili Military Headquarters, Chang'an City!
On the fourth day after the assassination attempt on Qin Mu, just as the matter had reached a certain point and everyone thought it was about to gradually come to a close, the situation changed once again.
Another assassination attempt occurred!
The white-robed female assassin struck again, accompanied by the same group of shadow assassins. However, their target had changed; they were no longer after Qin Mu.
Under the leadership of the white-robed female assassin, within just two days, over a dozen officials in Chang'an City had been assassinated.
In fact, those assassinated officials were not high-ranking; they were merely small fry. Nevertheless, their deaths infuriated Dromar.
Normally, Dromar wouldn't care about the lives of these underlings, but now he had to. These underlings were connected to Qin Mu's plan, even though they themselves were unaware of it. They were, in fact, the plan's executors, and with over a dozen of them dead in just two days, nearly half of Qin Mu's projects were at a standstill.
It was clear that the perpetrators knew Dromar's weak spot. At this moment, Dromar didn't actually care about Qin Mu's life or death. What he cared about was whether Qin Mu's plan could proceed smoothly and whether Li Ru could be resurrected.
When Qin Mu was previously targeted, Dromar had taken it seriously, but not overly so. After all, he knew that Qin Mu's strength was not to be underestimated, and killing him wouldn't be that easy.
Therefore, in response to the assassination attempt on Qin Mu, Dromar merely made a public statement. He questioned Lu Hai Kong and conducted an investigation, then quickly swept the matter under the rug.
The reason he could do this was that it hadn't crossed Dromar's bottom line. This time, however, it was different. The plan had been directly disrupted, and Dromar couldn't possibly tolerate it!
After this latest assassination attempt, Dromar dispatched investigators while also sending people to demand an explanation from Lu Hai Kong.
This time, things were completely different from the last. Previously, Dromar had only sent a team to question Lu Hai Kong, and they had returned after a mere formality. This time, Dromar ordered Lu Bu to lead the Black Demon Cavalry to Hangu Pass and then demand an explanation from Lu Hai Kong.
Dromar's stance brought smiles to many faces.
This was exactly what they wanted—Dromar and Lu Hai Kong at odds with each other. Only when these two clashed would their interests be maximized.
Of course, the current situation wasn't ideal. Dromar had taken this stance, but Lu Hai Kong hadn't shown any clear signs of hostility. The tension between the two sides wasn't yet palpable.
Wang Yun and his allies naturally hoped that Lu Hai Kong would directly and resolutely confront Dromar, ideally leading to an all-out war between the two sides.
However, their wishful thinking was just that—wishful. Although Lu Hai Kong was in seclusion, he had plenty of schemers under his command who wouldn't directly oppose Dromar without a good reason.
Facing Dromar's fury, Lu Hai Kong's side sent envoys to negotiate peacefully, hoping to resolve the incident amicably.
They claimed, "This matter has nothing to do with us. We are not responsible for the assassinations in Chang'an!"
In response to Lu Hai Kong's reluctance, Dromar put on a show, not insisting on blaming Lu Hai Kong. Both sides compromised, and a direct confrontation was averted.
In this situation, Wang Yun was deeply disappointed, but Qin Mu expressed that this was to be expected.
After all, compared to Wang Yun, Qin Mu knew much more about Dong Zhuo and Lu Hai Kong. He was well aware that Lu Hai Kong definitely knew of his existence and truly wanted to get rid of him. However, Lu Hai Kong feared Dong Zhuo or wanted to preserve Dong Zhuo's power to deal with the foreign forces. So, even if Lu Hai Kong wanted to kill him, he would try to reach an understanding with Dong Zhuo.
Under these circumstances, Lu Hai Kong would not easily provoke Dong Zhuo.
The same went for Dong Zhuo; although he appeared tough, he was also afraid deep down.
After all, their opponent was Lu Hai Kong. In a real fight, winning or losing didn't matter; what mattered was that their plan would be completely ruined. He couldn't afford to fail in saving Li Ru's plan, so Dong Zhuo didn't dare to openly confront Lu Hai Kong.
In this situation, neither side would genuinely clash.
However, Qin Mu didn't want things to end here. At the very least, he couldn't let Lu Hai Kong and Dong Zhuo sit calmly at the negotiation table, or else his situation would become less than ideal.
So, after Dong Zhuo and Lu Hai Kong settled down, Qin Mu took action once again.
This time, he made his move on both sides. In Chang'an, he continued with the same strategy, using Wang Yun's people to assassinate those working for Qin Mu, while Qin Mu himself pressured Dong Zhuo.
On the other side, Qin Mu played a little trick, causing Dong Zhuo's people to detain Lu Hai Kong's merchant caravan!
It must be said that Qin Mu's methods in sowing discord were far superior to Wang Yun's.
Please... You... Collect... Six... Nine... Book... Bar (Six//Nine//Book//Bar)
With this troublemaker around, the tension between Dong Zhuo and Lu Hai Kong escalated significantly over the next few short days. The tension between the two sides grew, and eventually, on the eighth day after Qin Mu's assassination, a fierce battle erupted at Hangu Pass between Lu Bu, whose Strength Value had broken through the hundred mark, and Dian Wei, a brave general under Lu Hai Kong's command.
With his Strength Value now over a hundred, Lu Bu's combat power had increased significantly, and he directly injured Dian Wei, even nearly killing him.
Dian Wei's injury enraged Lu Hai Kong, who had rarely suffered such a significant loss. Lu Hai Kong's anger reached its peak, and he even demanded that Dong Zhuo hand over Qin Mu.
Dong Zhuo, of course, refused, and the two sides completely clashed!
Qin Mu felt that things had progressed to a satisfactory point.
The conflict between the two sides had been stirred up to a certain degree, and with the current situation, it was impossible for Dong Zhuo and Lu Hai Kong to sit calmly at the negotiation table. Now, Qin Mu could focus on his plan.
In the current situation, Dong Zhuo would definitely hand over all resources, even the army, to Qin Mu, allowing him to carry out his plan with full force.
With this, Qin Mu could wrap things up in just over a dozen days!
Indeed, as Qin Mu predicted, Dong Zhuo, while confronting Lu Hai Kong, granted him authority, even putting most of the army under his command. In this situation, Qin Mu's plan was a complete success.
Creating the situation he desired and obtaining what he wanted, a smug smile appeared on Qin Mu's face, "As expected, whether it's Lu Hai Kong or Dong Zhuo, they both have character flaws. As long as I grasp their character flaws, I can easily manipulate them like puppets. All that's left is a smooth finale."
(End of Chapter)
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