Chapter 631: Yuan Hong
Chapter 631: Yuan Hong
September 25, 2017
Zhang He's lord might be furious, but Dong Zhuo's mood was far from pleasant, especially now that he was stuck at the final hurdle in Julu.
He had never anticipated being stopped at the last moment, and seeing the Governor's Mansion of Julu County only made his heart sink.
What troubled Dong Zhuo even more was Lu HaiKong's arrival. The man had come straight to Julu after its fall, and Dong Zhuo was on edge.
He didn't believe Lu HaiKong was here for sightseeing.
Although Lu HaiKong's group was small, only a few thousand, and they moved slowly, constantly showing goodwill and assuring Dong Zhuo of their harmless intentions, he remained vigilant.
But there was nothing he could do to stop Lu HaiKong from coming.
On the evening of the second day after Dong Zhuo conquered Julu, Lu HaiKong and his party arrived.
Despite his reluctance, Dong Zhuo couldn't afford to be discourteous. He arranged campsites for Lu HaiKong's troops and prepared meals for them, catering to their every need.
However, Dong Zhuo avoided meeting Lu HaiKong, making various excuses to dodge him.
Dong Zhuo was well aware that Lu HaiKong's visit was likely related to Zhang Jiao. He was determined not to let Lu HaiKong get his hands on Zhang Jiao, so he refused to meet until he had a plan to deal with Zhang Jiao.
Jiuzhou, Julu, near the Governor's Mansion.
Dong Zhuo, who had previously declined Lu HaiKong's request for a meeting due to military affairs, was now in his study within a grand estate.
Seated in the study, Dong Zhuo showed no interest in the books. Instead, he furrowed his brows and turned to Li Ru beside him, asking, "Have you taken care of Lu HaiKong's party?"
"Everything is arranged," Li Ru nodded.
"What was his attitude when I declined his request to meet?"
"He was calm, as if he had expected this situation from the start," Li Ru recalled.
Hearing this, Dong Zhuo's brows furrowed. "Regardless, we must keep Lu HaiKong at bay until we deal with Zhang Jiao. We can't let him get his hands on Zhang Jiao!"
Li Ru hesitated for a moment before speaking, "My lord, we could join forces with Lu HaiKong. We have the foundation for an alliance..."
"I know that. With Lu HaiKong's help, our mission to eliminate Zhang Jiao would be much smoother. But you know how unpredictable Lu HaiKong is. Not long ago, he proposed an alliance, and before we could agree, he led his legion to Guangping, disregarding our situation. Under such circumstances, can we afford to ally with him?"
Lu HaiKong's previous actions had left a bad impression on Dong Zhuo, who now had no intention of cooperating unless absolutely necessary.
"Forget it, let's talk about something else. How are your preparations going? Are you confident about dealing with Zhang Jiao?" Dong Zhuo shifted the topic to his primary concern.
"It's challenging. I've sought many people, even the high-ranking members of the Yellow Turban Army know little about the sorcery within the Governor's Mansion. The only useful intelligence we have is that an eccentric might be needed to capture the mansion." Li Ru couldn't help but feel a headache when the Governor's Mansion was mentioned.
"An eccentric?" Dong Zhuo was taken aback, then suddenly remembered, "Isn't Lu HaiKong an eccentric?"
"Yes, that's why I suggested working with him. But if you don't trust him, we can find another eccentric."
"Hmm, unless it's absolutely necessary, keep Lu HaiKong out of this. By the way, it seems Lu HaiKong brought Liu Bei and his men. Two of Liu Bei's generals are quite capable, almost on par with Fengxian. There's also a skilled general under Cao Cao and a good one under Sun Jian." Dong Zhuo's eyes flashed with interest.
"What do you mean, my lord?"
"Don't play dumb. You know what I'm getting at. Find a way to bring them over. Lu HaiKong probably brought them for Zhang Jiao. Let's accept his offer and kick him out!" Dong Zhuo's eyes gleamed.
"Won't this anger Lu HaiKong?"
"He didn't care about angering me in Qu Liang, so why should we be afraid now?" Dong Zhuo frowned and spoke coldly.
"Alright, Li Ru will take care of it!"
Jiuzhou, Bohai Prefecture, inside the hidden Governor's Mansion.
Yuan Hong, the former handsome young man, now a middle-aged scholar, discussed matters with his subordinate.
Before them hung a map of the entire Jiuzhou.
This map was no ordinary one; it was covered in various markings and labels.
This map, which appears chaotic and incomprehensible to those uninformed, holds a secret that only Yuan Hong and the middle-aged man beside him can decipher. To them, it is not merely a map but a blueprint for the future of Yuan Hong's forces.
If the plans on this map are realized, they will be able to completely control Ji Province within five years at most and three years at the least.
It's worth noting that the Ji Province in this world is almost ten times larger than its historical counterpart, with a population of over seventy to eighty million, several times that of the entire Eastern Han Dynasty at the end of its reign. If Yuan Hong can seize control of Ji Province during the chaos, he will essentially have the qualification to contend for supremacy.
At that time, by capturing You Province and Bing Province in the north, he can essentially replicate Yuan Shao's path. Though this is a distant future, Yuan Hong and the middle-aged scholar under his command are pragmatic individuals. When these two come together, they certainly won't indulge in mere aspirations.
The two men have been making preparations for their grand plan countless times, and now they are simply reviewing before officially starting their development.
After discussing on the map for a moment and confirming that there are no missing plans to be executed in the initial stage, the two men paused.
"Teacher, we'll have to trouble you from now on."
"My lord, your words are too kind. This is my duty!"
In the 16th year of the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out.
After Yuan Hong had the map in front of him collected, he picked up the tea brought by the person below, took a light sip, and a hint of anticipation appeared on his face.
"Let's see, Guan Hai should have arrived at Bohai by now, right?"
The middle-aged scholar smiled calmly, "If everything goes well, Yan Liang should have been captured by General Zhang as well. Congratulations, my lord, on gaining two tiger generals!"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Hong couldn't help but smile, "We should thank Lu HaiKong. If he hadn't suddenly taken Guangping and killed Zhang Daosheng, it would have been much more difficult for us to capture Guan Hai and Yan Liang, even with their preparations."
The middle-aged scholar couldn't help but remind him, "But by doing this, won't we offend Lu HaiKong? As far as I know, Lu HaiKong is a former mountain bandit with a strong bandit nature. What if he finds out that we..."
"Rest assured, teacher, he won't find out. Even if he does, he can't do anything about it." Yuan Hong interrupted the middle-aged scholar's words confidently.
In Yuan Hong's opinion, whether it's Guan Hai or Yan Liang, they can both strengthen his current lack of generals. For these two, offending Lu HaiKong is a small price to pay.
As long as his general's camp is strengthened, coupled with his vast wealth, his forces can easily develop and surpass Lu HaiKong to become the true number one Outsider in the world. The mere thought of this brought a hint of a proud smile to Yuan Hong's face.
However, before his smile could fade, an urgent knock came from outside.
"My lord, the Commander has an urgent military report to make to you!"
The guard's voice outside sounded slightly urgent, causing Yuan Hong's smile to grow even more radiant. "It seems Guan Hai has arrived. Let him in."
A moment later, a tall and robust man entered. As he did, Yuan Hong's smile froze, for the Commander's expression was extremely solemn.
"My lord, I've just received news. There's been a murder on the Bohai Highway, and our men who were escorting Guan Hai, over a hundred of them, including General Yuan, have all been killed. It's said that the perpetrator is Guan Hai himself!"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Hong's face turned grim.
He never expected such a turn of events. The duck, which was supposed to be cooked, had flown away just as it was about to reach his mouth.
"What happened? Wasn't Guan Hai supposed to be severely injured and near death? How did he suddenly recover and go on a killing spree?"
"I don't know about that, my lord, but I've ordered the area within a ten-mile radius of the crime scene to be sealed off. We'll definitely find them."
The Commander said this, but Yuan Hong's face remained stern.
He was well aware that it was impossible. Now that Guan Hai had escaped, it was highly unlikely that he would be found. Even if they did find him, there was currently no one available who could capture Guan Hai, as all the forces capable of doing so had been dispatched elsewhere.
This realization left Yuan Hong in a foul mood, but today was not a good day for him.
Before Yuan Hong could recover from the anger of Guan Hai's escape, the Commander hesitated for a moment and then continued his report.
"My lord, there's more. Zhang Hao has sent word that the attempt to capture Yan Liang has failed. They encountered Lu HaiKong, and Zhang He got into a conflict with Lu HaiKong and was captured. Lu HaiKong has asked you to go to Julu."
As the Commander finished speaking, Yuan Hong's face turned completely dark...
(End of Chapter)
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