Chapter 608: Compromise
Chapter 608: Compromise
September 25, 2017
Ever since Liu Bei and his group left, Li Ru knew that they had fallen into a trap, a complete disaster!
However, Li Ru understood that they didn't fall into the hands of Lu Haikong, or at least not entirely.
Li Ru's eyes were fixed on Tan Tai Mingjing, and his gaze appeared calm, but only Tan Tai Mingjing, who was being stared at, could sense the chill in Li Ru's eyes.
The reason Li Ru was staring at Tan Tai Mingjing at this moment was because a strong intuition told him that this time, their misfortune was definitely related to this man.
In fact, Li Ru's guess was entirely correct. The current situation was largely orchestrated by Tan Tai Mingjing.
While Li Ru was wholeheartedly assisting Dong Zhuo in planning the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Tan Tai Mingjing, as a strategist-like figure under Liu Bei, was also working to secure benefits for Liu Bei.
Originally, Tan Tai Mingjing's plan for Liu Bei was to gain an opportunity for advancement through Lu Zhi. However, after Lu Zhi's downfall, Tan Tai Mingjing quickly connected Liu Bei with Huangfu Song.
Everything was going smoothly. Liu Bei's performance on the battlefield was exceptional, and his status as a member of the imperial family caught the attention of Huangfu Song.
If things continued this way, Tan Tai Mingjing was confident that after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he could secure a position as a county governor for Liu Bei. Although it couldn't compare to Lu Haikong and Dong Zhuo's ambitions for the position of governor, it was still a very good start, and it was undoubtedly several times better than the situation in the historical records of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
However, Dong Zhuo transferred Li Ru, who disrupted the plan and severely injured Huangfu Song, directly thwarting Tan Tai Mingjing's schemes. In this situation, how could Tan Tai Mingjing possibly endure it?
The problem was that Tan Tai Mingjing, or Liu Bei, had too little power in their hands. On one hand, Dong Zhuo had twenty thousand Xi Liang cavalry under his command, and on the other, he was cooperating with the Yellow Turban Army. Tan Tai Mingjing was hesitant to make a move, fearing the consequences.
He could only watch as Li Ru gradually helped Dong Zhuo gather the hundreds of thousands of troops in Qu Liang, and he didn't dare to take action against Li Ru, even though he could have easily defeated him.
Liu Bei's forces were weak, and his status was low. Even if Tan Tai Mingjing had the ability to ruin Li Ru's plans completely, what difference would it make? The hundreds of thousands of troops in Qu Liang were not for Liu Bei to control, and taking action would only offend Dong Zhuo. Let's not forget that Dong Zhuo had already risen to the position of commander-in-chief of the Jiuzhou battlefield, and offending him at this time would definitely lead to dire consequences.
So, Tan Tai Mingjing could only prepare in secret, planning for Liu Bei and waiting for the opportunity to strike.
In fact, Tan Tai Mingjing wasn't just waiting idly. During this time, he had done quite a lot, and even when Sun Jian went to confront Lu Haikong, Tan Tai Mingjing's shadow was behind it.
He didn't intend to use Lu Haikong to defeat Dong Zhuo. Instead, he wanted to utilize Lu Haikong's side to gain merit for Liu Bei's advancement, but Lu Haikong's attitude was too resolute, and he directly drove Sun Jian away, causing Tan Tai Mingjing's plan to stall before it even began.
However, fate was kind to him. Just when he was at a stalemate, Lu Haikong's side directly presented this opportunity, giving Tan Tai Mingjing the perfect chance, and it was because of this that the current situation came to be!
As Li Ru and Tan Tai Mingjing stared at each other, Lu Haikong spoke up with a cold tone.
"General Dong, although I believe you have no connection with the Yellow Turban Army, it's obvious that you're keeping a traitor like Ding Yuan and allowing him to do as he pleases. You have greatly disappointed me!"
Dong Zhuo's face darkened, and he was about to say something when Li Ru approached and gently pulled him aside without leaving a trace.
"General Lu, this matter has nothing to do with my master. It's Li Ru's fault for not thoroughly rooting out the spies within the army, leading to the situation today!"
"However, please understand, General Lu. It has only been half a month since General Huangfu was assassinated. Although we are determined to bring all traitors to justice, time is ultimately limited. If we can't complete some tasks, please forgive us, General Lu and everyone present. Li Ru will carefully capture all the traitors in Qu Liang."
"But rooting out the traitors in Qu Liang will take some time. If General Lu continues to suppress the Yellow Turban Army, we may not be of much help. In that case, we won't be a hindrance to General Lu's time."
Upon hearing Li Ru's words, both Lu Haikong and Dong Zhuo were taken aback, not expecting Li Ru to have such an attitude and directly back down.
Lu Haikong stared deeply at the scholar before him, feeling puzzled. Li Ru's sudden change of heart was indeed too abrupt.
In reality, if given the choice, Li Ru would never want to make this compromise. But when Liu Bei and his group left, Li Ru realized that he had made a huge mistake, and continuing to clash with Lu Haikong at this point would only bring harm to them.
As Li Ru spoke, Lu Haikong couldn't help but pause for a moment.
Li Ru's concession made Lu Haikong hesitate about whether to continue. If given the option, Lu Haikong also didn't want to persist, even though he could make Dong Zhuo look bad. However, it might also lead to a more delicate situation.
Since Li Ru was willing to back down, Lu Haikong didn't want to take things too far, as it wouldn't benefit either of them!
After a brief pause, Lu Haikong's gaze turned to Dong Zhuo, clearly indicating he wanted Dong Zhuo to give his approval.
In this situation, Dong Zhuo was extremely reluctant, but what could he do?
Trusting Li Ru and having Lu Haikong capture Ding Yuan, Dong Zhuo lost his shield. To stop Lu Haikong, he had no choice but to confront him. The thought of clashing with Lu Haikong made Dong Zhuo feel apprehensive.
Not to mention that Lu Haikong had already drawn his sword, and hadn't Liu Bei and the others step forward? It was clear they were well-prepared. In this situation, Dong Zhuo finally nodded in Lu Haikong's gaze.
"General Lu, I'm afraid I won't be able to campaign for a while. The heavy responsibility of suppressing the Yellow Turbans can only be temporarily entrusted to you..."
"General Dong, regarding the suppression of the Yellow Turbans, my General Cao and General Sun Jian are willing to lend a helping hand to General Lu. I hope you will grant this request!"
Before Dong Zhuo could finish his words, Tai Mingjing stepped forward and bowed.
Instantly, Dong Zhuo's face, already dark, turned purple. He was extremely reluctant to bow to Lu Haikong. Tai Mingjing's actions, half-threat and half-plea, infuriated Dong Zhuo. He couldn't help but feel a surge of murderous intent, wishing to draw his sword and slay everyone before him.
However, despite this surge of murderous intent, Dong Zhuo had no choice but to reluctantly nod, as Li Ru kept signaling him to do so. Finally, Dong Zhuo uttered two words.
"Approved!"
As soon as Dong Zhuo gave his approval, a faint smile appeared on Tai Mingjing's face.
In a 1691 book, there was a mistake-free version!
In reality, for Tai Mingjing, if possible, it would be best to support Lu Haikong to take over as the overall commander of the Jiuzhou battlefront, removing Dong Zhuo from power.
But for some unknown reason, Lu Haikong was eager to annihilate the Yellow Turban Army and had no patience to consider replacing Dong Zhuo.
Therefore, Tai Mingjing never intended to harm Dong Zhuo. With Li Ru present, they couldn't completely defeat Dong Zhuo. In this situation, Tai Mingjing sought the opportunity to campaign alongside Lu Haikong.
For some reason, Tai Mingjing seemed to understand Lu Haikong very well and was clear about his situation.
In his opinion, Lu Haikong was definitely capable of capturing Guangping and even Jule. Thus, Lu Haikong was on a path filled with merits, and Tai Mingjing naturally wanted to join him. And now, they had achieved this, riding on Lu Haikong's wave of success.
"Alright, since it's approved, let's go. I'm in a hurry, and can't spare more time here!"
Lu Haikong glanced at Dong Zhuo and led his army straight into Qu Liang City. As they passed by Liu Bei and the others, he paused briefly, "I'll give you one day. I'll wait for you outside Guangping City."
After saying this, Lu Haikong looked deeply at Tai Mingjing, then led his army into Qu Liang City. Tens of thousands of troops marched through Qu Liang towards Jule City.
The commotion in Qu Liang City came to an end. Lu Haikong and Dong Zhuo had a falling out but didn't engage in a physical fight. Both sides exerted their utmost self-control, but neither was satisfied with the outcome.
Dong Zhuo couldn't stop Lu Haikong, and Lu Haikong had a falling out with an ally.
This was unavoidable. Although Lu Haikong could bypass Qu Liang to avoid conflict, it would take at least three to five extra days. Moreover, bypassing Qu Liang wouldn't completely resolve their conflict. If Lu Haikong took three to five days to go around Qu Liang, Dong Zhuo might find a way to stall him, preventing him from attacking Guangping or causing trouble.
The reason for their conflict wasn't about bypassing Qu Liang or not, but Dong Zhuo's unwillingness to let Lu Haikong act at this time, and Lu Haikong's impatience to wait before taking action. This was the main reason for their disagreement.
For his own interests, Dong Zhuo needed to delay the battle by at least ten days.
Dong Zhuo could afford to delay, but Lu Haikong couldn't. On one hand, Xi Zhicai's anger over the incident fueled Lu Haikong's impatience. On the other hand, Lu Haikong vaguely felt that Zhang Jiao wasn't dead, only severely injured, and this might be his only chance to slay Zhang Jiao.
Therefore, Lu Haikong was even more unwilling to delay. Who knew what would happen in ten days? Don't forget, Zhang Jiao was still manipulating Lu Haikong!
In this situation, Lu Haikong, persuaded by Tai Mingjing, directly led his army over, forcefully pushing through Qu Liang and causing a rift with Dong Zhuo.
This forceful action secured him time and intimidated Dong Zhuo, making his determination clear.
However, this also meant that Lu Haikong, who had finally gained an ally, lost him just as quickly.
To avenge Xi Zhicai, eliminate his hidden danger, and end the Yellow Turban Rebellion sooner, Lu Haikong paid a heavy price...
(End of Chapter)
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