Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

At the same time, Dong Zhuo arranged a residence for Lu Bu in Hulao Pass.

Chen Gong also lived there, but he was unwilling to serve Dong Zhuo, so without an official position, he could not move around Hulao Pass at will.

However, just when Chen Gong was reading and practicing sword in his residence as usual, Lu Bu came back in a furious look and smashed things in the house to vent his anger.

Seeing this, Chen Gong stood outside the house and watched Lu Bu vent his anger quietly. Only when Lu Bu gradually calmed down a little did he walk in and asked.

"Why is Fengxian angry?"

Feeling angry and aggrieved, Lu Bu glanced at Chen Gong and answered with a sullen face.

"I fought desperately for my adoptive father and killed enemy generals. Even if I have no merit, I have worked hard. How can you treat me like this? This is too much! This is too much!!!"

Chen Gong, who was completely unaware of this, was immediately puzzled. Before this, Chen Gong had also reminded Lu Bu to be on guard against Dong Zhuo, but Lu Bu did not take it seriously and boasted that he and Dong Zhuo had a deep father-son relationship.

How come the relationship between the two sides seemed to have suddenly deteriorated so much in just one day?
Immediately, Chen Gong began to ask in detail.

Lu Bu, who was having trouble venting his anger, told Chen Gong everything that had happened today under his guidance.

After Lu Bu finished speaking, Chen Gong couldn't help but take a breath and said in amazement.

"This can really be said to be: the way to use troops is to attack the heart first and the city second. Zhao Zilong is the trusted and beloved general of Liu Xuande, a relative of the Han Dynasty. So this plan was probably devised by the famous national scholar Li Zikun, and his reputation is well-deserved."

"What does Gongtai mean?" Lu Bu asked, seeing that Chen Gong seemed to be answering a question that was irrelevant.

Chen Gong pondered for a moment and replied, "In my opinion, Dong Zhuo and Wen Hou have both fallen into the trap set by Li Zikun, a national scholar, to sow discord between them."

Lu Bu recalled the situation, but was still confused. "What kind of plot is this?"

Chen Gong said this with amazement still in his tone.

"Dong Zhuo, Li Ru and their ilk were watching the battle from afar on the tower of Hulao Pass, so they could only vaguely see the fake communication between Wen Hou and Zhao Zilong, and they thought that the mutual respect between Wen Hou and Zhao Zilong was a secret conspiracy."

"And Marquis Wen is not someone who is willing to bow his head and explain easily. Even if he explains, Dong Zhuo may not believe it. In this way, the discord between Dong Zhuo and Marquis Wen will lead to the intensification of the conflict between the Xiliang Iron Cavalry and the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry."

After a pause, Chen Gong continued.

"Next, Li Zikun must have a backup plan to continue to alienate and intensify the conflict. If I were to come up with a plan, when the allied forces attack the city, they would only attack the section of the city wall where the Xiliang Iron Cavalry and the Sili elite are stationed, and not attack the section of the city wall where the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry are stationed."

"If this continues, as the casualties of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry and the Sili elite continue to increase, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry will not suffer any losses. How can Dong Zhuo, who is already suspicious, tolerate Marquis Wen?"

Having said this, Chen Gong couldn't help but applaud and said.

"Great, great, great! This plan is truly ingenious, and captures the essence of attacking the heart. What's even more amazing is that Li Zikun came up with this plan when Wen Hou was fighting with Guan Yu and the others, and he even missed the opportunity to kill Wen Hou, a great enemy. This shows Li Zikun's quick wit and confidence."

As Lu Bu listened to Chen Gong's long analysis, he felt his head buzzing.

At the beginning I could barely understand it, but the more I listened, the more I felt like ants were crawling all over my body.

However, even though Lu Bu didn't quite understand what was said, Chen Gong spoke so much with such confidence that Lu Bu instinctively felt that Chen Gong might be right.

If he had no certainty, Chen Gong wouldn't have been able to say so much.

"So, I actually fell into a trap?"

Lu Bu whispered in surprise, and thinking back to Zhao Yun's genuine modesty, he felt unbelievable.

However, Chen Gong still thought that Lu Bu was a teachable boy, so he came to his senses in time, nodded and said.

"That's right! And this strategy of sowing discord is also an open conspiracy. The current conflict between Wen Hou and Dong Zhuo is due to this."

However, Lu Bu thought that Chen Gong was persuading him to bow to Dong Zhuo. After thinking for a while, he stood up angrily and said.

"Humph! Even if it was due to the scheme of those Guandong rats, I was already fighting hard outside and was surrounded by Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. If I hadn't run away..."

Lu Bu's tone paused, his expression became even uglier, and he said with his neck stiff.

"If I hadn't found an opportunity to break through the encirclement, I would have suffered a small loss. What's wrong with that? Even if I fell into a plot to alienate you, it's because my foster father is old and confused. The fault lies with him!!"

Looking at Lu Bu's reaction, Chen Gong couldn't help but sigh inwardly, feeling that Li Ji's strategy of sowing discord was really aimed at Lu Bu's character weaknesses.

Chen Gong had already analyzed the situation clearly for Lu Bu, but Lu Bu was still unwilling to take the initiative to give in.

But at this moment, the gold, silver, treasures, medical officers and medicinal materials that Dong Zhuo sent to Lu Bu were all delivered to Lu Bu's residence.

Moreover, a minor official in charge of this matter, according to Li Ru's instructions, said many words to appease Lu Bu.

Lu Bu, who originally had an indignant look on his face, obviously relaxed a lot. After the clerk left, Lu Bu grabbed a handful of gold, silver and jewelry and stuffed them into Chen Gong's hands, saying proudly.

"What Gongtai said just now is absolutely right. Now it seems that my foster father has come to his senses and realized that someone is deliberately trying to alienate the relationship between us as father and son." Chen Gong looked at Lu Bu's smiling face and spoke with a frown.

"Marquis Wen, you are so confused! If Dong Zhuo hadn't sent these personal belongings, the situation wouldn't have gotten so bad. But Dong Zhuo sent these things, and his intention was nothing more than to temporarily stabilize Marquis Wen."

"This further proves that Dong Zhuo no longer trusts Wen Hou and has even become completely suspicious of him. He just has to keep Wen Hou stable due to the situation."

Hearing this, Lu Bu's face changed slightly and he said, "Gongtai, stop bluffing."

"If Lord Wen doesn't believe it, he can go visit Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo would never dare to meet Lord Wen alone."

"And if Dong Zhuo really knew that he had fallen into a plot to alienate the people and believed that Wen Hou was loyal, then Dong Zhuo should have personally visited Wen Hou's residence to greet him instead of sending these material things."

Hearing this, Lu Bu's face changed noticeably. Realizing that what Chen Gong said was probably true, he fiercely threw the night pearl he was admiring in his hand to the ground.

For a moment, all kinds of thoughts emerged in the angry Lu Bu's mind, but he was hesitant to make up his mind.

After a moment, Lu Bu looked up at Chen Gong and asked, "According to Gongtai's opinion, what should I do now?"

"That depends on Marquis Wen's heart. Is he loyal? Or is he rebellious?" Chen Gong asked.

After Lu Bu hesitated for a while, he spoke.

"My foster father and I have a deep relationship, and he has treated me well. How can I become resentful and turn against him just because of some petty schemes of Guandong rats?"

Of course, Lu Bu said this, but the anger in his eyes clearly showed that he was very dissatisfied with Dong Zhuo's suspicion and guard against him.

Upon hearing this, Chen Gong did not answer immediately. Instead, he stood up and paced back and forth for nearly an incense stick of time. When Lu Bu was already getting a little impatient, he finally spoke.

"I have weighed the matter over and over again. If Marquis Wen wants to make peace with Dong Zhuo, he must take some actions and take the initiative to show his determination."

Lu Bu's expression changed for a while, and then he nodded and spoke reluctantly. "Then I will go and explain it to my foster father. Keep your head down."

"Absolutely not!"

Chen Gong quickly spoke out to dissuade him.

"Now Dong Zhuo has become suspicious and wary of Wen Hou. If we only tell him with words, it will not only fail to alleviate his suspicion, but will also break the harmony maintained on the surface. Moreover, Dong Zhuo will certainly not believe Wen Hou's self-defense."

Lu Bu's eyes flashed with anger, and he said, "This is not okay, and that is not appropriate either. What is the best solution?"

Chen Gong said slowly, "Take off the head of a Guandong lord and we can prove it."

"Good plan!"

Lu Bu, who originally felt confused, suddenly thought this was a good plan.

Compared to bowing his head, Lu Bu felt that fighting was easier. Moreover, as long as he killed enough princes from Guandong, Dong Zhuo would never suspect that he was secretly colluding with them. This was undoubtedly the best, most direct and simple way to prove himself.

Chen Gong continued.

"Marquis Wen had a fight with the princes of Guandong today and was injured. The princes of Guandong would not expect that Marquis Wen would attack the camp while injured. Therefore, Marquis Wen could do the opposite and lead the elite troops to attack the camp in person. It would be best if he could retrieve the head of a prince of Guandong."

"Attack the camp? Then which prince should we attack?" asked Lu Bu.

"If we just attack a small vassal with a low sense of existence, it will not be of much significance..."

Chen Gong pondered for a moment, then analyzed each one for Lu Bu and said.

"The leader of the alliance, Yuan Shao, must be in the center of the allied camp, so he has no chance. The other two vice-leaders, Yuan Shu and Liu Bei, are also in key locations in the camp, making them difficult to attack. Besides them, there are Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, Cao Cao and the like."

"Among them, Cao Cao is the best. First of all, Cao Cao's army only has 5,000 newly recruited soldiers with average combat power. More importantly, Cao Cao once assassinated Dong Zhuo and has been a long-time friend of Yuan Shao. As long as Cao Cao is killed, Wen Hou will naturally be able to prove his determination."

After hearing this, Lu Bu nodded repeatedly and looked up at Chen Gong deeply.

Lu Bu believed that he was not a stupid person, and he had not forgotten the personal grudge between Chen Gong and Cao Cao.

However, Lu Bu was also a man who had been in many battles, and although he had not studied much about strategies, he could still understand that there was nothing wrong with Chen Gong's analysis.

Cao Cao was not only a good friend of Yuan Shao, but also an enemy who had once attempted to assassinate Dong Zhuo.

Cao Cao's head is enough to prove Lu Bu's determination.

Therefore, Lu Bu did not expose Chen Gong's thoughts, but nodded and agreed.

"Okay, I will secretly send scouts to the outside of the pass to investigate the location of Cao Cao's camp, and then report to my adoptive father to attack the camp and retrieve Cao Cao's head to present to him." (End of this chapter)