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Chapter 602: Li Ru's Move
Chapter 602: Li Ru's Move
September 25, 2017
As soon as Chen Ping spoke, the entire camp fell into an eerie silence.
Sun Jian's face turned ashen, and in the next moment, a powerful and resilient aura of iron and blood surged from his body, pressing down on Chen Ping.
Chen Ping narrowed his eyes, and a peculiar aura slowly spread out, making the atmosphere tense in the camp that only housed the two of them.
"General Sun, what are you trying to do?" Facing Sun Jian's aura, Chen Ping's face remained calm, unaffected by the situation.
"Dong Zhuo has been spreading rumors in Qu Liang City, blaming Governor Lu for the assassination of Generals Huangfu and Zhu Jun. He's even gone as far as to say that Governor Lu is in cahoots with the Yellow Turbans. Are you aware of this, General Sun? I came here to clear Governor Lu's name, but he doesn't even want to meet me. Is he sure about that?" Sun Jian stared at Chen Ping, speaking each word with determination.
"Apologies, but my lord is busy with important matters and has no time for such trivialities."
"Trivial?" Sun Jian's anger turned into a bitter smile. "Dong Zhuo has colluded with the Yellow Turbans, assassinating Generals Huangfu and Zhu Jun, and now he has control over the tens of thousands of troops in Qu Liang. What if he suddenly turns against the Yellow Turbans? Is that also a trivial matter?"
"General Sun, you should be responsible for your words. Don't speak without evidence." Chen Ping replied calmly.
"Without evidence? What more evidence do we need? Even a fool can see that there's something wrong with Dong Zhuo! Regardless, I must see Governor Lu today. If he doesn't take action, the tens of thousands of troops in Qu Liang will be completely finished."
"Apologies, but today, you won't be seeing anyone. You must leave Handan immediately, right now, and quickly!"
At Chen Ping's calm and commanding tone, Sun Jian finally lost his temper.
"I won't leave today. I don't believe that it's so difficult to meet Governor Lu."
As soon as Sun Jian finished speaking, his aura surged, and with his formidable strength of 95 in Strength, the powerful aura overwhelmed Chen Ping.
Just as Sun Jian's aura reached its peak, a ghostly and divine aura rose in the distance from Sun Jian's camp.
Sun Jian's aura was already quite formidable, but compared to this new aura, it was still lacking. When the terrifying aura collided with Sun Jian's, his face turned pale!
"General Sun, you're quite bold. Have you forgotten where you are? Even if you're a mere commander, you shouldn't be so reckless, not even General Huangfu and Zhu Jun would dare to act so brazenly here, let alone Dong Zhuo!"
Under the suppression of the ghostly and divine aura, Sun Jian's face turned pale. He wasn't just realizing Lu Haikong's terrifying strength now, but he was also understanding that Lu Haikong's determination to avoid him.
Dong Zhuo and Lu Haikong had conflicts in Wucheng, and they almost came to blows. He knew this, and he originally thought he could use Lu Haikong's strength to deal with Dong Zhuo and give Zhu Jun justice.
But in this situation, a thought arose in his mind. Perhaps the relationship between Lu Haikong and Dong Zhuo wasn't as simple as he had imagined.
Chen Ping glanced at the pale-faced Sun Jian and turned to leave.
After Chen Ping left, the ghostly and divine aura gradually subsided, and Sun Jian's pale face gradually regained its color.
After waiting in the camp for about ten minutes, Sun Jian, with his face still ashen, emerged and left with his men.
Ji Zhou, Zhao State, Handan!
Soon after Sun Jian's departure, the news reached Lu Haikong. Knowing that Sun Jian had left, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
"Dong Zhuo, I've driven away your man, and that's my declaration of allegiance. If you can't satisfy me, we're not playing games anymore!"
In fact, Lu Haikong had been aware of Dong Zhuo's actions from the start, but he chose to ignore them, or perhaps he felt it wasn't the right time to take action.
Dong Zhuo, or rather, Li Ru, was very clever. From the beginning, he had stepped on Lu Haikong's bottom line. Although they used Lu Haikong to divert attention, the rumors they spread were baseless.
Moreover, they never provided any evidence, and as the rumors escalated to their peak, Dong Zhuo's official stance remained restrained and controlled. Lu Haikong now understood that this was to prepare for his exoneration later on.
This wasn't just Lu Haikong's speculation; in fact, even before Sun Jian's arrival, Dong Zhuo had already sent someone.
That person was Lu Bu, who arrived in Handan before Sun Jian and his men, riding swiftly to meet with Lu Haikong.
Upon his arrival, Lu Bu sincerely apologized to Lu Haikong for the previous incident and assured him that they would quickly clear his name.
He also subtly promised that after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Dong Zhuo would use his influence to help Lu Haikong secure the position of Governor of Bingzhou.
This was obviously Li Ru's doing, allowing Sun Jian to come and playing this move before Sun Jian's arrival, just to see Lu Hai Kong's attitude and to see if there was any possibility of cooperation between Dong Zhuo and Lu Hai Kong.
If Lu Hai Kong was willing to cooperate, Dong Zhuo's next move would be much smoother, and he would have one more ally in the future.
At this moment, Li Ru played this move, surprising Lu Hai Kong, who hesitated for a moment. In the end, he chose Dong Zhuo's side, or rather, Lu Hai Kong took a neutral stance very subtly.
Although he drove Sun Jian away at this time, appearing to stand with Dong Zhuo, he was actually still observing. If Dong Zhuo's subsequent actions couldn't satisfy him, then what measures Lu Hai Kong would take were uncertain.
What Lu Hai Kong didn't expect was that Dong Zhuo's move came much faster than he had anticipated.
As soon as he drove Sun Jian away, Dong Zhuo received the news and immediately took action.
It was clear that this group of people had been prepared from the start. On the eighth day after Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were assassinated, Dong Zhuo finally began to deal with the insider. And Dong Zhuo's first move was a shocking big move, directly taking down the deputy general originally under Lu Zhi's command, who was currently following Huangfu Song, Zong Yuan.
In the version of the 1619 book, it was all correct!
When he made this move, many people were confused, not understanding why Dong Zhuo wasn't using Lu Hai Kong as a shield? Why did he suddenly take action within the army?
But whether they were confused or not didn't matter. What was important was that on Zong Yuan's side, Dong Zhuo had both the person and the evidence. Not only were large amounts of Yellow Turban Talismans found in Zong Yuan's tent, but Dong Zhuo even caught Zong Yuan when he was meeting with members of the Yellow Turban Sect.
With this move, Dong Zhuo directly turned Zong Yuan into an ironclad case, one that couldn't be overturned.
Subsequently, Dong Zhuo pressed on, starting with Zong Yuan's line and digging deeper. In just two days, he completely uprooted the Yellow Turban Sect's informants in Qu Liang.
Dong Zhuo played this move beautifully and incredibly. It's easy to find a scapegoat, but to catch a group of people with solid evidence, that's not just beautiful, it's extremely impressive.
At first, people suspected that Dong Zhuo was finding a scapegoat, but faced with solid evidence, they had to believe that Dong Zhuo was genuinely dealing with the insider and not just finding a scapegoat or eliminating opposition.
During this process, Dong Zhuo also investigated the circumstances of Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun's assassinations, and it turned out that Zong Yuan was behind it all, with solid evidence.
When the evidence came out, it directly proved that Dong Zhuo and Lu Hai Kong were both framed by Zong Yuan.
Dong Zhuo handled the case decisively, and the evidence he presented even left Lu Hai Kong unsure if Dong Zhuo was framing him or if he had genuinely solved this ironclad case.
However, when Lu Hai Kong saw this play unfold, he finally understood that even if everything was planned by Dong Zhuo, they never intended to firmly pin the hat of collusion on his head from the start.
When Lu Hai Kong was brought out, on the one hand, it was to use him as a decoy to draw fire, making it easier for Dong Zhuo to take certain actions. On the other hand, when Lu Hai Kong was brought out as a decoy, Dong Zhuo was actually calculating his reputation.
After all, Lu Hai Kong had recently saved the Han Army and killed Zhang Liang, and his reputation among the Han Army in Qu Liang was at its peak, even surpassing Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun.
When Li Ru used Lu Hai Kong as a decoy to draw fire, he was already calculating that when he later cleared Lu Hai Kong's name, he would also clear Dong Zhuo's name, riding on Lu Hai Kong's prestige.
Even during this period, as Li Ru pushed waves behind the scenes and used various means, there were still many in the Han Army who firmly believed in Lu Hai Kong's innocence.
But as the rumors intensified and under immense public pressure, they struggled to breathe. At this time, Dong Zhuo reached an understanding with Lu Hai Kong, and Dong Zhuo, with his swift and decisive actions, dealt with Zong Yuan. Those who firmly believed in Lu Hai Kong's innocence now had an outlet for their emotions, and Dong Zhuo's suspicions were immediately cleared. Dong Zhuo had won them over.
As for those swayed by the rumors, what difficulty would Li Ru face in dealing with them?
With this move, Li Ru not only cleared Dong Zhuo's suspicions and gained control of Qu Liang's tens of thousands of soldiers, but he also won over Lu Hai Kong as an ally.
"It must be said that this guy's cultivation is high. No wonder he's the one who assists Dong Zhuo. He's more difficult to deal with than I expected."
A figure stood on the city wall, gazing down at Qu Liang City, his eyes revealing a hint of an unknown emotion...
(End of Chapter)
(End)
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