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The wind swept across the empty square before the palace, swirling up fallen leaves, playing with them wantonly, then whistled away into the distance, dropping the fluttering leaves back to the ground.
"Hmm heh, hahahaha..."
Dong Zhuo suddenly burst into laughter, shaking his head and rocking his body with unrestrained joy. After a long while, he caught his breath and said, "Wenyou! This plan is excellent! Let the whole world witness the true faces hidden beneath the sanctimonious exteriors of these self-proclaimed loyal and brave men!"
"Illustrious Lord, does this mean you approve?" Li Ru sought confirmation.
Dong Zhuo was still laughing. "Approved! Approved! Hahaha..."
Dong Zhuo's ready agreement surprised Li Ru somewhat.
Originally, Li Ru had only wanted to borrow the Imperial Seal to test and counsel Dong Zhuo, but he hadn't expected Dong Zhuo to be so decisive.
Abandoning the Imperial Seal meant Dong Zhuo had completely cast aside his identity as a Han minister. In other words, it severed the last emotional ties to the Han dynasty.
Earlier, Li Ru had been somewhat concerned after seeing Dong Zhuo lose his composure before Jiade Hall. So he had originally thought to use the matter of the Imperial Seal to offer some counsel and comfort. He truly hadn't expected Dong Zhuo to agree so readily, without a trace of reluctance.
In truth, Dong Zhuo was simply following his nature.
Back in Liang Province, whenever Qiang or Hu visitors came, Dong Zhuo would unhesitatingly spend his wealth to entertain them, even slaughtering the plow oxen on his estate without a second thought. This was his habit, his way of thinking.
Li Ru bowed solemnly with clasped hands. "Your servant will surely not fail the Illustrious Lord's trust!"
Dong Zhuo nodded, stretched his neck, and continued walking forward.
The palace grounds were quite spacious. Northwest of the central axis, along the western side, was a place called the Cloud Terrace.
The Cloud Terrace was within the White Tiger Gate of the palace. Originally built during the Zhou dynasty, it had four tall pavilions and served as a treasury for storing precious artifacts and books. At that moment, several soldiers were moving items out—seemingly some books and scrolls, maps and registers.
Seeing this, Dong Zhuo didn't speak, only glanced at Li Ru inquiringly.
Li Ru bowed. "Does the Illustrious Lord remember Fei Qian, Fei Ziyuan, the disciple of Gentleman Cai?"
Dong Zhuo thought for a moment and remembered. He let out a "Ha!" and said, "Is that the cheeky, troublesome young man who asked to go to Bingzhou and then swindled two hundred sets of armor from me?"
Li Ru smiled slightly. "Exactly that man. A few days ago, we received his report. Fei Ziyuan, together with Wang of Hedong, fought the White Wave bandits on the Fen River. They beheaded two major commanders, killed over two thousand, captured three thousand, and also rescued several thousand commoners who had been coerced by the White Wave."
Of course, these figures had been coordinated with Wang Yi for the memorial. Fei Qian wouldn't mention that Yong'an had been overrun by the White Wave, and Wang Yi's account would gloss over that part, leaving it vague.
Li Ru continued, "This young man is quite interesting. Instead of asking for official rank or salary, he requested some old archives and maps. The Chancellor has already approved..." Since the treasures in the Cloud Terrace had already been moved out, leaving only some old books and maps that were about to be discarded, and since Fei Qian had asked for them, Li Ru was happy to make use of waste. He treated it as a reward for Fei Qian's victory over the White Wave.
Dong Zhuo nodded, then shook his head, somewhat puzzled. "I have no recollection of this."
Li Ru was also puzzled. Suddenly, a faintly uneasy feeling arose in his heart. He hesitated and said, "Yesterday, around the weishi hour, I asked the Illustrious Lord to approve some memorials..."
Dong Zhuo reached up and rubbed his thick neck, thinking that perhaps something like that had happened. But why couldn't he remember the details?
After thinking for a while, Dong Zhuo couldn't figure it out, so he set the matter aside for the moment. "What is Fei Qian, Fei Ziyuan's current position?"
"Well... Left Bureau Division General, concurrently Protector of the Xiongnu General of the Household, also Separate Section Commandant, acting as Grand Administrator of Shang Commandery..." After listing Fei Qian's titles, Li Ru laughed at himself.
Dong Zhuo was taken aback, then laughed heartily, patting his belly. "Promote him to Acting Protector of the Xiongnu General of the Household." Previously, Niu Fu had been defeated by the White Wave army. This time, Fei Qian's thorough victory over the White Wave vented some of his anger. Additionally, Dong Zhuo still harbored some goodwill from Fei Qian's request to go to the bitter cold land of Bingzhou. And since Dong Zhuo looked favorably upon Cai Yong, he essentially regarded Fei Qian as somewhat his own man.
Li Ru was stunned. This promotion was too great. The position of Protector of the Xiongnu General of the Household was a crucial border post spanning the northern lands. To give it to a mere twenty-year-old?
Dong Zhuo said in a deep voice, "If I wish to give, he cannot refuse. If I wish to take, he cannot hide." With that, he glanced at Li Ru.
Dong Zhuo's thinking was very simple: if he wanted to give something, the other party couldn't refuse. And if he didn't want to give it, no amount of wanting would get it! In Dong Zhuo's eyes, this General of the Household position for Fei Qian was really nothing. Because he wasn't giving Fei Qian actual troops. It was like giving Yuan Shu the title of General of the Rear—both were empty titles.
A General of the Household with troops was a true General of the Household. One without troops was worse than a Commandant with real power!
Of course, if Fei Qian could actually raise troops like Yuan Shu, that would be his own ability. But could Fei Qian have the Yuan family's vast wealth and grain reserves?
Li Ru thought for a moment and understood Dong Zhuo's meaning. He put the matter aside for the time being. But it was precisely because of Dong Zhuo's words that Li Ru found it difficult to bring up another matter he had intended to use this opportunity to discuss.
Li Ru's eyes shifted. He decided to set it aside for now. This matter could wait until they reached Chang'an.
××××××××××××××
South of Luoyang, on the official road, dust billowed.
A coalition force of about five thousand infantry and cavalry was advancing slowly southward.
Within the army, Lü Bu sat lazily on his horse, swaying and bumping along at the rear. His face was expressionless, but his eyes darted about incessantly.
Lü Bu's languid demeanor was entirely different from his energetic, joyous galloping in Henei. Even the restless snorts of dissatisfaction from Red Hare beneath him seemed to go unnoticed.
Lü Bu had thought that joining Dong Zhuo in attacking and decisively defeating Wang Kuang at Xiaoping Ford would count as meritorious service for his advancement. But he hadn't expected that this mission to intercept Sun Jian would be commanded by Hu Zhen.
And he himself had only been appointed Cavalry Supervisor.
Damn!
Just a Cavalry Supervisor!
And under Hu Zhen's command!
Who was Hu Zhen? What abilities did he have?
Just a local Liang Province upstart with a bit of family standing! Yet he strutted around as if the Chancellor Dong was first in the empire and he was second. The very sight of him was disgusting!