I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 48 Merging Two States

When Dong Zhuo, the newly appointed general and governor of Xihe, arrived in Xihe County at the end of the year, his soldiers felt homesick and exhausted.

Dong Zhuo then distributed rewards and used private money to buy pigs and sheep from Hedong and other places, supplemented them with warm turbid wine, and had fun with the soldiers.

After drinking the last glass with a minister, Dong Zhuo staggered and shouted, smelling of alcohol: "My dear friends, let's have a good time today. I'm going to take a rest first."

Some veterans made fun of Dong Zhuo because he was not as drunk as before, but Dong Zhuo just laughed and scolded him and didn't take it seriously.

When he returned to the camp, his footsteps instantly became calm.

Someone in the tent immediately came up to him and said, "Uncle!"

The person speaking was Dong Huang, the son of Dong Zhuo's deceased brother. He was brought into the army by Dong Zhuo when he came of age, but due to lack of qualifications, Dong Zhuo was not promoted suddenly.

"Did the journey go smoothly? No outsiders discovered you when you came back, right?"

"Uncle, don't worry, I came back with the wine convoy, no one noticed." Dong Huang complained casually, "Just be careful in Luoyang. This army is your own territory, why should you be so cautious? Sneaky, It’s like being a thief.”

It turned out that he actually went to Luoyang.

Dong Zhuo heard this and said angrily: "Is it because I was too gentle to you in the past?"

Dong Zhuo was very frightening when he was angry. Dong Huang hurriedly lowered his head and admitted his mistake.

Dong Zhuo's only son died of illness, but he was still somewhat tolerant of his nephew.

He quickly put away his angry expression and explained: "Not all of these five thousand people are of the same mind as us. Remember, be careful to avoid making big mistakes."

Dong Huang repeatedly claimed that it was true.

Dong Zhuo comforted him: "My brother entrusted you to me before his death, so I have to be strict with you, so that I can feel more at ease when you are not by my side in the future."

Seeing that his nephew realized his mistake, Dong Zhuo got to the point: "We are going to Luoyang. What did your third uncle say? The letter was unclear. Did you ask carefully this time? I wanted to return to the east of the river, but why did it become the west of the river!" "

Dong Zhuo once served as the governor of Hedong. Although Hedong is adjacent to the Xihe River, it is located in Sili and close to Luoyang. It is rich and prosperous. It is simply the white moonlight in Dong Zhuo's heart.

Dong Zhuo's third brother, Dong Min, had previously held He Jin's thigh tightly through Yuan Shao and successfully became the captain of Fengche.

Dong Huang said: "This time, Yuan Shao recommended my uncle as the governor of Xihe. The general originally wanted to recommend my uncle as the governor of Bingzhou, but the edict to appoint Ding Yuan as the governor had been issued, so he had to settle for the next best thing. .”

"Third uncle said that it is a blessing in disguise. If the governor of Bingzhou had not been given to Ding Yuan, my uncle might not have been able to become a rear general during this trip."

Dong Zhuo was quite satisfied with the rear general he finally obtained, and he still said: "The desolate land of Xihe is not as good as Youfufeng! The only advantage is that you don't have to be constrained by Huangfu Song."

"The third uncle only said that he must win if he puts down the rebellion. He will work for him in Luoyang, and the governor of Xihe is just a springboard. If you retreat, you can become a general to conquer Liao and a general of the Huns; to advance, with the help of a general, you may not be unable to defeat Hedong. It is not a bad idea to serve as a prefect; even to serve as a general in the court."

Even though there was no one in the camp, Dong Huang still lowered his voice: "Your Majesty intends to build a new army in Luoyang, but this new army cannot be built without the old generals. If my uncle makes meritorious service again, he may not be unable to win."

Dong Zhuo sneered and said, "Thanks to your third uncle for daring to think that I, a warrior from Liangzhou, am not subject to suspicion. How dare you think of the leader of the new army?"

"What the third uncle means is that the situation has changed a bit now. There are rumors that Gai Xun, a native of Dunhuang, is expected to become a third prince. If it comes true, my uncle may not be able to join the court and become a Taiwei like Duan Jiong. I am the third prince of the Dong family. The list begins with my uncle."

Dong Zhuo shook his head. He had gone through several ups and downs, including being dismissed from office and jailed. Now he only felt that the military power in his hands was what he could truly rely on.

Duan Jiong must be fierce enough. He was the first and only Liangzhou native to become a Taiwei, twice.

How is the result? Because of the quarrel between the scholars and the eunuchs, in prison, a glass of poisonous wine...

Dong Zhuo had emphasized this point with Dong Min before, but now he felt that there was something wrong with Dong Min's thinking.

He also asked about Dong Cheng who could have some relationship with the Queen Mother. Dong Huang replied: "Although Dong Cheng is distantly related to Dong Zhong, he is not taken seriously. Earlier, when Dong Zhong opened the Cavalry General's Palace, the personnel were not uniform, but Still haven’t summoned Dong Cheng to help.”

Dong Zhuo knew it and just continued to maintain his original attitude. In fact, he had long understood that if Dong Cheng could attach himself to the Queen Mother or Dong Zhong, how could he join his army and be only qualified to be a subordinate of his son-in-law Niu Fu!

……

In the blink of an eye, another new year has arrived.

After the busy New Year's Day meeting, officials finally ushered in the holiday.

The chaos in Bingzhou did not escalate further. Dong Zhuo did a good job in Bingzhou. Even though the court clearly stated that it wanted to keep the Huns in Qiangqu, he completed the task almost perfectly.

Dong Zhuo immediately sent troops to station in the southern Xiongnu royal court.

Qiang Qu, who suddenly felt a sense of security, actually became brothers with Dong Zhuo, and at the end of the year, he sent an extremely disgusting memorial to the court, full of flattery, and he didn't know who taught him.

Even so, Qiangqu Chanyu's statement also made the court understand his gratitude.

Liu Bian only wanted his loyalty.

But the campaign to conquer Xiutuge had to be suspended.

The continuous heavy snowfall in the north made it difficult to travel in various places. The weather was cold, and the soldiers had to keep warm in their houses.

The same is true in Youzhou to the east of Bingzhou. The snow-covered winter hindered Cao Cao from leading Gongsun Zan and Zhang Yan to quell the rebellion.

But it was not all bad, and Xianbei had to stop taking advantage of the situation in the border counties of Youzhou.

Liu Yu's counterinsurgency work has generally been smooth. He is known to be popular and quickly mobilized supplies after taking office. He also wrote to the central government to borrow some money and food from Qingzhou and Jizhou, which was enough to ensure that the army had no worries.

Military operations were completely left to Cao Cao. Liu Yu only made one request to Cao Cao - the army was not allowed to invade the people.

A boss with this kind of decentralization not only did not hold back, but also arranged money, food and materials clearly. It was too late for Cao Cao to be happy, so he would not refuse Liu Yu's request.

Then, he realized how difficult it was to fulfill Liu Yu's request.

Cao Cao is not a person who has never led troops. Cao Cao has long known that the military discipline of the Black Mountain Army is corrupt. After all, he is a bandit.

However, the military discipline of Youzhou County soldiers was worse than Cao Cao expected. In a nutshell, they were no different from the Black Mountain Army.

Especially when dealing with the Hu people under his rule, Gongsun Zan's direct line was the main one. This was so cruel that even the Black Mountain Army had to call him the Patriarch.

In fact, Cao Cao didn't care much about this issue, just don't let him see it.

But now he must stand clearly on Liu Yu's side.

(End of this chapter)