The Horse of the Three Kingdoms Treads the World

() With the arrival of reinforcements from Xiliang and news of discord within the Kwantung Allied Forces, Dong Zhuo's desire to advance eastward again became more and more intense.

After being forced to leave Luoyang City, Dong Zhuo, including the Xiliang generals, could not swallow this breath, and Dong Zhuo was even more worried that this would make warlords from all over the world respond to the Kwantung Allied Forces, thus posing a threat to himself.So now that the morale of the army is slowly beginning to recover, and when conflicts and problems appear within the enemy, he naturally has the heart to fight again.

But this is a big event after all, even Gao Zhuo didn't dare to order eastward rashly, so on the first day of August, he called together many trusted generals and counselors under his command, and asked them whether they should go east. Eastward, and the question of how to proceed eastward.

As soon as Dong Zhuo put forward this point of view, all the generals immediately responded: "My lord is wise! Now our army in Xiliang is well equipped and morale is high, it is a good time to go east again. And now those rebels are even more contradictory. Cong Sheng, even if we send troops, I'm afraid they will be difficult to deal with."

"My lord, since we were forced to abandon Luoyang, the soldiers have been hit hard. Now, as long as the lord proposes the idea of ​​going east, we will definitely be able to boost the morale of the army, so that we can completely wipe out those rebels in one fell swoop!"

"My lord, as long as we send troops, the last general is willing to be the vanguard and will lead his troops to open up the situation for the army!"

"My lord, please also be the vanguard of the last general! The soldiers under your command have been waiting for this day for a long time, so please issue the military order as soon as possible!"

"My lord,..." The generals all enthusiastically challenged Dong Zhuo, which made Dong Zhuo very satisfied. From this point of view, the morale of the army is very usable, so his idea of ​​going east should not be a problem.However, when Dong Zhuo set his sights on the two most trustworthy counselors——Ma Yue and Li Ru, the smile on his face was subdued, because the two men didn't show any positive signs, but seemed a little Worried, it seems that there is something to say but it is difficult to open it.

"Wen You, Zhong Ling, what do you two think about this?" Dong Zhuo immediately asked the two of them.The two of them had a great influence on Dong Zhuo. Even when all the generals under his command were eager to fight, he could not ignore the views and opinions of these two.

Li Ru and Ma Yue looked at each other when they heard the words, and then Li Ru said: "My lord, in my opinion, it is too early to send troops now, and it is a bit hasty. I think that our top priority now is to defend the army." Alright Chang’an, train your troops diligently, and it’s not too late to move eastward when the real opportunity arises.”

"Oh? Do you think it's not the right time to go east?" Dong Zhuo frowned and asked, obviously displeased with Li Ru's blatant disagreement with him.

"Brother Li is very true, and I think so too." Ma Yue immediately said: "Although we are safe inside, there are still many courtiers of the Han Dynasty in Chang'an City. If the lord goes eastward with all his strength, , I'm afraid there will be some trouble behind us.

"Also, although the Kwantung Allied Forces now have a lot of suspicions and conflicts, after all, this is the case when there are no foreign enemies. But once we send troops to attack, they may not necessarily fight anymore, but will unite as one , so as to compete with us again. Therefore, in my opinion, we should focus on stability, and sit and watch their internal disputes worsen, and even send troops after the swords and soldiers meet, so that nothing will be lost!"

"Ma Zhongling, don't you say that you are too ambitious for others, and destroy our prestige! Whether it is a soldier or a general, our Xiliang army is superior to those in the Central Plains in terms of combat power. Why should we be afraid of him? If it is like you We are procrastinating, I am afraid that at that time, people all over the world will look down on us, and at that time our enemy will not only be the Kwantung Allied Forces, but also people from all walks of life all over the world. When the time comes, we Wouldn't the situation be worse?" As soon as Ma Yue's words fell, a general stood up and objected loudly, obviously compared with Li Ru, Ma Yue's status was still lower.

"Although people from all states and counties in the world will indeed rise up one after another, it is impossible for them to be united, so there is nothing to be afraid of. What's more, what I said next is also the truth. The discordant Kwantung Allied Forces are united again, and it will be another bitter battle to take back Luoyang. My lord, even if all of our Xiliang Army are good at fighting, we may not be able to deal with an enemy ten times stronger. How long." Ma Yue argued with reason.

After Dong Zhuo pondered for a while, he had to agree with Ma Yue's statement.If they send troops, it will inevitably cause the Kwantung Allied Forces, which already have conflicts, to shake hands temporarily and make peace. By then, the situation will remain the same as before, and the Xiliang Army's chances of winning may only be about [-]%.

Moreover, Ma Yue even mentioned that their internal affairs are still unstable. If they are eager to move east at this time, I am afraid that those officials who are interested in the court will hold them back, and the problem will not be small at that time.

Seeing Dong Zhuo's hesitation, those generals who wanted to make meritorious deeds and wash away their previous defeats couldn't bear it any longer: "My lord, although what Ma Zhongling said has some truth, it's just his speculation. No one can say for sure. As for what changes will happen to those courtiers, it will be even more difficult for the general to accept. They are powerless now, and this is Chang'an, not Luoyang, where they have been entrenched for many years. what threat?

"If the lord is really worried about them, you can leave a group of troops to guard Chang'an, and keep an eye on them. As long as we have troops staying in Chang'an, forgive them for not daring to do anything. Naturally, this worry about the future will no longer exist! "

When he said this, Dong Zhuo was really moved again.After all, he also wanted to recover the previous defeat, which was related to whether he could fulfill a certain major ambition.If the Kwantung Allied Forces could be wiped out in this way, the warlords from all over the world would no longer dare to contend with Dong Zhuo and the Xiliang Army. At that time, he would directly proclaim himself emperor, which would not be too difficult.

After treating the emperor as a puppet and the courtiers as slaves, Dong Zhuo's ambitions have further expanded. He is no longer satisfied with just being a grand master, but controlling the court as a courtier. That highest position.And this point, in fact, some generals under his command are well aware of it, and everyone is working hard for it, because they also want to be the important ministers who founded the country, and that is a great event for future generations.

Li Ru looked at Dong Zhuo's somewhat excited rosy face, and at the positive appearance of the generals, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.Although he still wanted to say something, he finally swallowed it back.At this point, even if he and Ma Yue strongly opposed it, it would be difficult to change Dong Zhuo's determination.

So when he saw that Ma Yue seemed to want to say something, he quickly gave the other party a wink, signaling him not to say any more.If you continue to oppose, you may offend those generals, and even make the lord feel disgusted. He doesn't want Ma Yue to suffer such unfair treatment.Because what Ma Yue said just now made Li Ru trust him a little bit more and made him a confidant, so he was a little bit more protective in his words and deeds.

It's just that he didn't know that Ma Yue was just making a gesture.After he saw that Dong Zhuo and the people under his command were determined to send troops, he no longer planned to speak out against it, and it was enough for him to express his attitude.Moreover, in fact, Ma Yue is the one who most hopes that the Xiliang Army can move east again, because in this way he can fish in troubled waters and achieve his wish.

Dong Zhuo saw that the two counselors who opposed the most fiercely did not speak anymore, so he nodded in satisfaction and said, "Since everyone thinks that we should go east again, then so-and-so has decided that we will send troops on the second day of September. During these few days Here, all walks of life must be prepared, food, supplies, and armaments must be prepared, we must fight this battle!"

"Here!" All the generals responded loudly, all of them seemed very excited. For the generals, only fighting can reflect their value, and now a new round of opportunities to display their value is coming.

After coming out of Dong Zhuo's mansion, Ma Chao looked at his younger brother curiously: "Second brother, didn't you plan to take advantage of Dong Zhuo's army's eastward advance? Are you opposed to their eastward advance? Aren’t you afraid that Dong Zhuo will give up this idea, and our overall plan will come to nothing?”

Ma Yue looked around and was sure that no one could hear what they said, then he smiled and said, "I have predicted that this eastward march is inevitable, so I objected to Dong Zhuo. In this way, they will not It would be suspicious that we would take advantage of this opportunity to attack. This is the strategy of retreating."

"So that's the case. Then what's your intention to tell them that those courtiers might do something?" Ma Chao asked again immediately.Of course, he also knew a series of things that Wang Yun and others were secretly planning, so he still couldn't understand Ma Yue's self-disclosure.

"I did this on purpose. In fact, even if I don't mention this matter, Dong Zhuo, especially Li Ru's astuteness, can immediately think of it. And I raise this question because of Dong Zhuo!"

"Dong Zhuo? Is there any close connection between this matter and him?" Ma Chao asked with some doubts.

"Of course. I think now Li Ru should be persuading Dong Zhuo to stay in Chang'an and guard the key point?" Ma Yue said with a smug smile.

At the same time, in Dong Zhuo's study, Li Ru made his suggestion to Dong Zhuo just as Ma Yue expected: "Father-in-law, if you really want to send troops this time, please stay in Chang'an by yourself." Just in case! Only you, father-in-law, can deter those courtiers, otherwise, no matter how many people there are, there may be unexpected accidents!" After saying this, Li Ru bowed deeply.