Battle Royale of the Sinners

The arrangement for the deployment was completed by Dong Zhuo and Wang Yun.

Zhu Jun, Huangfu Song, and Dong Zhuo would be the commanders of their own private armies.

Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song had 75,000 elites as their private force. They used to have only 50,000 men. However, He Jin and He Xing escaped from Luo Yang, leaving their 50,000 soldiers behind. Thus, the two generals took them in and turned them into their subordinates.

Dong Zhuo had 250,000 mixed force of militias and elite soldiers with him, so he did not need to conscript more soldiers. But he was not an honest man either as he would take only 100,000 elites with him to cut the cost of his provision supplies while to rest of his militias would be transferred to Liu Ping, who insisted that he would accompany the troops as well.

As a result, 400,000 soldiers were preparing their crusade against Zhang Jiao and Zhang Tong. Before the end of August, they would deploy and march to Julu!

…

…

Later that day.

Cao Cao and Lu Zhi met up at Cao Cao's private resident.

When Lu Zhi stepped inside Cao Cao's Manor, he was surprised. All servants and subordinate of Cao Cao had been preparing to move out of the Capital. All he had to do was a signal or an order, then all servants and his private troops would begin sneaking out of the city.

"I see that you're leaving. Where are you going if I may ask?"

Questioned by Lu Zhi, Cao Cao shrugged and served his guest a simple tea.

"I've contacted my family in Chen Liu. I'll restart my new life there."

Lu Zhi grinned after he heard the word "Restart".

"It's not a restart, it's 'Building a new army", isn't it?"

Cao Cao paused and gave Lu Zhi a wry smile. "Please don't spread it."

"I know, Ha-ha! Well, let's get to the point. What do you want to do, Mengde?"

The easygoing face of Cao Cao turned solemn. He gazed into the eyes of Lu Zhi.

"We've found the third prince Liu Xie. One of He Jin's agent is hiding the child somewhere in Julu City."

Lu Zhi mentally trembled the moment he heard the news about the third prince, and he was in the city of his disciple no less!

"Yuan Shao has already taken Dowager He and He Jin to Nanpi City. I think he is planning to make Ji Province as his home base after he secures the prince."

"Then, what's that has to do with me?"

"I've heard that Zhang Tong is your disciple. So I have a favor to ask you."

This time, it was Lu Zhi's turn to get serious. He was laid back since he had arrived in Cao Cao's Manor. Once he realized that Cao Cao had something to do with Zhang Tong, his face changed.

"Speak."

"Please tell your disciple, do not give the prince to Yuan Shao or kill the prince!"

"…"

Both of them stopped talking. Cao Cao knew that Lu Zhi was not a simple person. He would understand his intention with a few words.

"What do you take me for? Do you think I will sell out my disciple for you?"

Lu Zhi understood Cao Cao's intention. Cao Cao wanted to create a friction between Tong and Yuan Shao so that they could slow down their domestic development and would waste their times glaring at each other's throat.

This was a cunning move of Cao Cao. If both armies were at odd, Cao Cao could buy times to build his own army and catch up with them.

"There is no free meal in this world. What will you exchange for this favor?" Lu Zhi asked.

This middle-aged minister was sharp. He bargained the requested favor for Cao Cao's favor on the spot. If his prediction was right, it should be something about the new edict of Liu Ping or Cao Cao could give him a surprise.

Nodded Cao Cao, he replied. "I'll help Zhang Tong for two favors. First, my newly established army will sabotage Liu Ping's supply bases during his crusade. Two, I will lobby all warlords in every province to form a coalition against Liu Ping!"

Listening to Cao Cao's proposal, Lu Zhi narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought. This cunning fox was worthy of Sima Fang's praise. Sima Fang was the one who recommended Cao Cao into the imperial court, so he should not be a simple person.

'It seems that Cao Cao's two favors are his initial plans. But since I've shown up here, he wants to reap more profits from the plans he has prepared.'

'I can refuse it right away, but I don't know what kind of back up plans he has.'

'He can easily side with Liu Ping if I were to refuse, then his new army will join forces with the Imperial Troops.'

'Tong has 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers and Ding Yuan has roughly 50,000 men. Fighting against 400,000 will be difficult. But if Cao Cao force were to add into those 400,000, Tong wouldn't stand a chance.'

'So this is that kind of proposal, huh? The proposal that you cannot refuse? Such a nasty tactic.'

'I have no choice, I'll give you this one.'

Lu Zhi opened his eyes and slightly nodded. "Deal. But you'll have to fulfill the first favor before I can fulfill mine."

Cao Cao was elated. All his initial plans were successful. Now, he would move into the next phase of his plan.

…

Before the meeting up with Lu Zhi…

Cao Cao had been evaluating Tong during the time he was in Luo Yang. He had been paying close attention to Julu's development long before Liu Ping took the throne. He predicted that if no one had interfered with Julu City development and Tong were to rebel, the northern plain would fall into Tong's hands within 2 to 3 years at the latest.

If Cao Cao wanted to vie for the supremacy or get more promotions, he had to weaken this force before they got too strong. Without a hindrance, Tong would rise in ranks in the imperial court and his influences would cover the entire northern plains, or he could take down the three Northern provinces, Ji, Qing, You, and declare a new country on top of the Han Empire.

Tong's progress had to be slowed down no matter what!

Therefore, Cao Cao had devised a plan to give Tong more enemies to work with.

It started when he got the tip-off from Dowager He that she found out about the location of her son, which happened to be in Julu City.

Coincided with his goal, Cao Cao incited Yuan Shao to take away He Jin and Dowager He Xing to Nanpi along with his family, so that both Yuan Shao and Tong's border could get more activities. His friend, Yuan Shao, was an ambitious and unyielding man. He should be a good opponent to Tong for the time being.

But Cao Cao lacked the motivation to start a war between the two forces, it was possible that Tong could simply hand over the prince to Yuan Shao and form an alliance instead of killing each other.

So Cao Cao waited for an opportunity.

Then Lu Zhi arrived. Cao Cao immediately put his plan into motion by coaxing Lu Zhi into holding onto the prince within Julu.

With Lu Zhi's help, the northern lords would be busy for sometimes.

In addition, Liu Ping wanted to kill Zhang Jiao and Zhang Tong, then Julu City would definitely rebel against the Han Dynasty. If Tong and his family were to survive this, it might take Tong 5 years to a decade in order to lick his wounds, which was enough if Cao Cao wanted to catch up with Tong's progress.

However, Liu Ping had to be kept in check. Cao Cao also could not let him loose or the damage to the country would be extended to the other provinces. Thus, Cao Cao added another plan on top of his initial plan.

Ha planned to form a coalition against Liu Ping, which could put a reign on this power-crazed Emperor. Cao Cao could also take advantage of the weakened Tong Army to wither down his force further. If possible, Cao Cao wanted Yuan Shao to defeat both Liu Ping and Zhang Tong in this upcoming wars as Cao Cao was more confident that Yuan Shao was an easier opponent than Zhang Tong or Liu Ping.

…

"Thank you, minister Lu. By the way, are you planning to serve someone other than Liu Ping in the future? Once Liu Ping is dealt with, why don't you come with me?"

Cao Cao tried to recruit Lu Zhi to be his follower.

Lu Zhi shook his head. "I'll have to decline this offer. Sorry about this."

Sighed and nodded, Cao Cao gave up persuading Lu Zhi. He already had an intel that Lu Zhi was working under Zhang Tong in Julu for a period of time. He wanted to take away one of Tong's hand to slow down his progress, but he failed.

'That Zhang Tong boy is scary. How did he make this stubborn man loyal to him? Was it his talent or was it something else?' Cao Cao thought.

"That's unfortunate. Well, my offer stays in case you change your mind in the future."

Lu Zhi snorted, stood up, and cupped his fist. "If there isn't anything else, I'll excuse myself. I have things to take care of."

"Sure, thank you for stopping by. Next time, please visit me in Chen Liu." Cao Cao said with a smile.

…

…

Lu Zhi rushed back to his family manor. Liu Ping had just declared that his disciple's family were traitors as he feared. He had to take his family away from the Capital as soon as possible or troubles would seek them.

But luck was not on his side, the moment he reached his family residential areas, imperial troops already surrounded the buildings.

The face of Lu Zhi whitened as a sheet.

'Am I too late!?'

Lu Zhi dove into the onlooker crowds and managed to get through the people to the front row. Then he had a clear look at the scene.

The soldiers had not raided the residents yet, which relieved him.

After a good observation, Lu Zhi spotted Liu Ping who also noticed him.

"Teacher Lu, so there you are." Liu Ping called out Lu Zhi with a bright smile.

Lu Zhi knelt down and asked. "Your Majesty, what did I do to be graced with your visit?"

"Oh, nothing much. You see, I'm here to invite you to join me in this crusade against Zhang Jiao. But when I have arrived, I was informed that you weren't here, so I decided to wait for you outside of your manor."

The corner of Lu Zhi's eyebrows twitched. Liu Ping's words were just a ruse. With all the soldiers around the perimeters, I was not hard for Lu Zhi to understand the situation. The real meaning behind his words should have been "If you don't show up, I'll slaughter your entire family".

Lu Zhi raised his head up and looked into the eyes of Liu Ping. His eyes were cold and he did not bother hiding his killing intent. It was clear that Liu Ping was here to exterminate his family, yet he was holding back his action. It seemed that he was up to something.