Chapter 42 Blackmail

  Yuan Shao watched as Yan Liang left, and a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

  The Western Liang army's northern expedition this time is really great, it's simply too good.

  The gentry of Hebei Province suffered a disaster, what does it have to do with me? It would be best if they were killed off completely, that would be wonderful.

  At the same time, Gongsun Zan, Liu Dai, Zhang Miao and other princes also received news that the Western Liang army had entered Hebei Province. Some people were delighted while others were worried. The most anxious one who couldn't eat or sleep was still the Governor of Hebei Province, Han Fu.

  West of the village, inside an estate.

  Luo Zheng sat at the head of the hall on a golden horseback chair and asked: "Where are the troops of the vassals now?"

  "General He, Cao Cao's army has returned to Chenliu and Yuan Shao has led his troops back to Bohai. Han Fu's large army is rushing towards Guantao overnight, while the other lords' armies are unaware of their movements."

  Luo Zhen furrowed his brow and said: "Yuan Shao has returned to Bohai?"

  He immediately understood what was going on and revealed a knowing smile, "Yuan Shao is not a good thing either, he actually wants to borrow this general's knife to harm Han Fu, the abacus is quite loud, hum!"

  The captain of the Hou team was unclear and didn't ask questions easily.

  Just then, amidst the sound of hurried footsteps, a young servant rushed in hastily.

  "General, an envoy from Hebei Governor Han Fu seeks an audience."

  The little schoolboy bowed his hands and loudly reported.

  "Who is Han Fu's envoy?"

  Luo Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then immediately shouted: "Bring him over."

  The little schoolmaster departed, and soon afterwards a scholar with a worn and dusty appearance walked in.

  "Have seen the general."

  The scholar's expression was calm and composed, he cupped his hands together in a polite greeting.

  Lu Zheng didn't move and calmly said: "Who are you?"

  Wen Shi replied: "I am Geng Wu, and I have been appointed as the chief historian under Governor Han."

  Lu Zhen turned it over in his mind, but he had never heard of him. He thought to himself that he must be some unknown person. His face sank and he sternly asked: "Han Fu has enjoyed the salary you provided, yet he did not think about repaying the country. Instead, he dared to raise an army for rebellion. The crime is unforgivable. Now General Lu leads the army to punish the rebels, yet you still dare to come see General Lu. Don't you fear that General Lu will have you dragged out and beheaded?"

  Geng Wu calmly replied, "General, there's no need to be alarmed. I have come this time without malicious intent, but rather to fulfill the governor's orders and establish a good relationship with you. My family does not wish to be enemies with you, and we are willing to provide the necessary grain and fodder; would it be possible for you to leave Hebei Province?"

  Luo Zheng coldly smiled and said: "A joke! If this general wants to leave, what can Han Fu do to stop me?"

  Geng Wudao said: "I don't know how General can spare the Ji Zhou aristocratic families?"

  Luo Zhenling's expression changed, and he sneered: "Letting General Zhou leave Ji Province is not impossible. However, General Zhou has a few small conditions, it depends on whether Han Fu is willing to agree or not."

  Geng Wu asked: "I don't know what conditions the general has?"

  Ruo Zhen said: "Very simple, let Tian Feng, Ju Shou and Zhang Heng come to discuss with the general again."

  "This..."

  Geng Wu was stunned and didn't know what kind of medicine Luo Zheng was selling in his gourd.

  Luo Zheng also immediately understood, Han Fu didn't want Ji Zhou to be killed by himself, so he specially sent someone to negotiate with him. Since that's the case, why not take advantage of the situation and get a few great talents from Hebei back.

  Jizhou has many talented and outstanding individuals, but Luo Zhen can only appreciate three of them: Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and Zhang He.

  The rest are either mediocre or didn't leave a deep impression, can't remember their names.

  Luo Zheng said coldly: "If you can't make a decision, it's best to go back and discuss with your family elders as soon as possible. If General Ben doesn't see the sincerity of your family before leaving Changshan Prefecture, he will surely kill all the scholars in Jizhou."

  Geng Wu shivered and hastily said: "I will now return to report back to my family's elder."

  "Get out!"

  Luo Zheng waved his hand and several bodyguards immediately took Geng Wu away.

  Li Meng asked: "General, who are Tian Feng, Ju Shou and Zhang He?"

  "Go ahead and try, you won't understand anyway, just remember it for next time."

  Li Meng scratched his head and stopped asking questions.

  Luo Zheng waved his hand and shouted: "This general's words count, tonight all soldiers are released from their duties, brothers can find a woman to have some fun, but only for tonight, and no indiscriminate killing of innocent people, cruel slaughter of lives, nor harming civilians."

  "Long live the General!"

  The crowd of military schools immediately showed fervent eyes and shouted in unison.

  "Tell the officers and men that this is a one-time thing, and from now on, I will never again issue such an order. The other generals are not allowed to follow suit, and if anyone disobeys, they will be beheaded without pardon."

  "Roger."

  The crowd of military school students immediately became solemn and extinguished the luck in their hearts.

  "Go!"

  Luo Zheng waved his hand and dismissed the crowd of military officers, then turned around and went into a side room.

  Dozens of imperial guards were divided into two groups and took turns standing guard.

  Xu Chu, this evil fellow, remained guarding the gate and did not go out to look for Leizhenzi.

  In the dimly lit cabin, a single lamp shines like a bean.

  Gan Qian sat by the window, gazing out at the night, desolate and silent.

  The world is desolate, especially for women, who are often at the mercy of fate.

  Especially in this male-dominated era, the fate of beautiful women is often tragic. They are lucky if they become playthings for men; what's worse is being treated like commodities, constantly being snatched away by men, suffering humiliation and ultimately meeting a miserable end.

  When Luo Zhen first arrived in this place, he was very disgusted with some of the ideas and practices of this era.

  But after integrating into this era, I quickly accepted some things.

  For example, when a man takes a concubine, from another perspective, it may not be a bad thing for women.

  It's better to be a concubine of a powerful man than to be snatched away and humiliated by others.

  The door was pushed open and Luo Zheng strode in, his eyes fixed intently on the woman sitting by the window.

  Gan Qian hastily stood up, bowed her head and waited for her fate to be decided.

  Luo Zheng walked over, sat down on the couch with a big smile, and beckoned to Gan Qian, "Come here."

  Gan Qian didn't dare disobey, and with a gentle movement of her lotus feet, she walked over.

  Luo Zheng stretched out his hand and pulled, Gan Qian let out a soft cry and fell into his arms.

  "What is the beauty's name?"

  Luo Zheng smiled and asked, one hand embracing Gan Qian's soft waist, the other gently stroking her smooth long hair, then slid down along her back to explore further, lightly brushing over her plump buttocks, feeling exceptionally good.

  "Xiao Nu Zi Gan Qian."

  Gan Qianyu's face turned bright red, her eyes revealed sorrow, and a crystal tear rolled down.

  Luo Zheng couldn't bear to see a woman cry, and his heart felt somewhat uncomfortable.

  The big hands behind Gan Qian also stopped moving and no longer moved randomly.

  Gan Qian was a clever woman, and she immediately sensed that the man seemed somewhat unhappy. She became flustered, hastily wiping away her tears, but didn't dare to stand up. With a forced smile, she said: "Let me serve you, General, and help you rest!"

  After saying this, his head hung down again, and his face turned a little red.

  Luo Zheng smiled and said with a somewhat uncertain smile, waving his hand, "Don't be in a hurry, General will listen to what you have to say."

  Gan Qian was stunned for a moment, but didn't know what to say.

  Lu Zhengdao said: "Tell me about your family background and what happened to you."

  Gan Qianxin didn't understand, but she didn't dare ask more questions. She could only speak softly and tell her own life story.

  Living in a chaotic world, almost all women will have similar experiences.

  Family broken and people dead, displaced and lost their homes.

  Gan Qian's experience was no exception, it just had a few more twists and turns.

  The only consolation is that I was not kidnapped by mountain bandits, which can be considered a blessing in disguise.

  Lu Zheng quietly listened to her speak, and the long-suppressed anger in his heart was gradually soothed by her soft words.

  Since coming to this era, in order to survive, he had to abandon some of the humanity and become ruthless and indifferent to life, struggling to live on, and gained a little self-preservation power.

  Suddenly calm down and listen to Gan Qian talk about her life experience and encounters, it turns out that the distorted things in human nature have been eliminated.

  "Go to sleep!"

  Luo Zheng stroked Gan Qian's soft and smooth black hair, then stood up and left the side room.

  Gan Qian felt a bit bewildered and at a loss, unable to comprehend why this man would let her off.

  Outside the door, Xu Chu stood like a post at the entrance.

  Seeing Luo Zheng come out, this villain was somewhat bewildered, "Master, how did you..."

  The words didn't come out below, but everyone knew what this rascal wanted to express.

  Luo Zheng waved his hand and said calmly: "Zhong Kang, go get the horse, let's take a walk."

  Xu Chu responded with a "yes" and immediately went to bring over his warhorse.

  In the Zhuangzi's hut, lamps were lit everywhere, and men's gasps for breath and women's voices could be heard all around.

  The house was insufficient, and the soldiers were impatient, so they used the sky as their blanket and the earth as their bed, and started a field battle.

  The soldiers were all very surprised to see Luo Zheng approaching on horseback.

  The general was supposed to take a concubine tonight, why didn't he go to the bridal chamber, and instead came out for night patrol?

  "General."

  "See General."

  Several dozen Western cavalrymen on the battlefield saw Luo Zheng and hastily scrambled up to salute him.

  Ugly and sinister instruments stood upright under the flickering bonfire, reflecting a few points of lustre.

  The woman lying on the ground was so ashamed that she didn't dare to see anyone, and quickly turned her body over, curling up into a ball.

  Luo Zheng furrowed his brow and scolded: "Be careful, don't let anyone get killed."

  "General, rest assured, I have taken note."

  Several Western cavalrymen scratched their heads and chuckled a few times.

  Luo Zheng urged his horse forward and saw soldiers patrolling and guarding in the distance, only then did he nod.