Chapter 27: Qián Zhuō is used for subjugation

  Li Xiaoru's originally relaxed face gradually turned serious. The hint of a smile that had been on his face since he saw her completely disappeared.

  Alas! I, Li Xiaoru, thought myself to be clever all my life, yet there came a day when I became so muddled that I couldn't even see my own heart. Truly, those who are in the midst of it are confused indeed!

  When I think about it, even if I can forgive myself for the failure, I will never be willing to die in such a humiliating way.

  "Thank you, great master, for striking me with a wake-up call! Wen You almost missed out on his lifelong reputation! I couldn't see my own future clearly and nearly dragged Ping Sheng down with me, making him suffer this unjust fate along with me! I'm truly ashamed in front of you!"

  The last sentence was said to Xurong (now renamed Xuyi), who is still worried about having to embroider two more hours of flowers today.

  Xu Yi reacted and hastily shook his head, saying: "Military strategist, you must not speak like this. Throughout my life, I have been fortunate to receive your guidance and support, which has often saved me from my own recklessness. Otherwise, after many years of battles in Xiliang, my body would have long been buried in some unknown place."

  "This life was originally given by the military strategist, no matter whether it is embroidered flowers or what kind of humiliation, I, Xu Rong, am willing to accompany the military strategist and take on this life together. As long as the military strategist has an order, this life can be taken back by the military strategist at any time."

  How come these two people look like they have a deep affection for each other but also seem to be quite ruthless!

  Sun Ce coughed lightly, interrupting their renewed affection: "Mr. Li, General Xu, don't be in a hurry to self-criticize just yet. As the saints have said, 'A matter that doesn't concern you, if you care about it, will only lead to chaos.' You're simply living in the mountains without realizing where you are."

  Li Xiaoru said with doubt, "'A matter that does not concern oneself, yet being concerned about it will lead to chaos.' Has any sage ever said this? Which sage was it? From which classic book did it originate? Young master must have read extensively and is truly a man of great talent! The words you speak always carry deep meaning, making Wen You feel as if his ears are being opened, and he deeply admires your talent!"

  Sun Ce couldn't help but feel embarrassed and thought to himself, "Damn it, didn't Confucius say that? I thought all those famous quotes were said by that wise old man Confucius. Now the truth is out!"

  He said hastily: "This, I also only heard from my sworn brother Zhou Yu Zhou Gongjin, he likes to read books the most. Mr. Li can go ask him next time."

  As for the origin of that classic phrase, such a complicated question isn't my specialty. Let Zhou Yu deal with it later. Anyway, he likes reading books, so just give him another chance to read through ten thousand volumes.

  Li Xiaoru listened, and a look of disappointment appeared on his face: "So that's how it is! I just don't know when I can meet your talented younger brother Gong Jin. Wen Youxian deeply yearns for it! But in today's world, there may not be a peaceful place for me to stand anymore!"

  The common people regard us as rebels, and Li Jue and his men despise us, only wanting to kill these traitors who refuse to collude with them. With so many heroes in the world, who would dare to take us in? What should we do?"

  "Haha, here's our chance!"

  Sun Ce's heart was filled with excitement, but his face remained calm. He bowed and said, "Mr. Li, I have an impolite request to make of you. If you don't mind my current weak strength, I'd like to ask you to join me, along with General Xu Yi, in the Jiangdong army's ranks, to help me achieve my dream of pacifying the world."

  "Bo Yu wants to tell you that the ideal of me and my army is to pacify this chaotic world, and give the people a new life of peace and tranquility."

  "Sun Ce knew that, sir, you are a wise man with great ambitions. Unfortunately, the Dong Zhuo you encountered is not a wise ruler. What kind of person he is, you know better than I do, so I won't say more. I just want to tell you that I am not yet a powerful and wise ruler, but my followers and I will never give up our ideals. I wonder what Mr. Li thinks?"

  As I gazed at him with eager eyes, Li Xiaoru gradually fell into memories of the past.

  "The young man before me, his eyes are filled with a firm and resolute light. His goal is to bring order to the world, just like my own ideals when I was younger. It's just that back then, I didn't know my own strength and wanted to prop up the Han dynasty which had already fallen."

  With a fiery passion, I joined the majestic and powerful Liangzhou Army. At that time, the Liangzhou Army was truly an elite force! The officers and soldiers were united in their determination, fearless of death. They slaughtered those rebellious Qiang people, causing blood to flow like rivers, striking fear into the hearts of all who heard about it.

  The great morale of the Chinese people! Every battle makes my heart thrilling for a long time, and I am deeply proud to have joined an iron-blooded army.

  "I just don't understand why the heroic and invincible Liangzhou army, which we once admired and joined with great enthusiasm, has become like this! My heart is so bitter!"

  In the Liangzhou army, only I and Xu Ping were later joined from outside states. Because we are not local people of Liangzhou, they all look down on us. They make it difficult for us everywhere. In the military camp, only he sympathized with me! We often get together to drown our sorrows in wine, and become close friends, finally, we even became sworn brothers!

  Later on, I was favored by Miss Dong who occasionally visited the military camp for entertainment and became the son-in-law of the Dong family. I was also promoted to be a military advisor accompanying the army. At first, I also wanted to use my elevated status to help the Liangzhou Military Group become the real number one military in the world.

  At that time, I worked hard to help my father-in-law with his plans and strategies, truly doing my best. My father-in-law also listened to my advice, almost entrusting all important matters to me for handling. At the time, he treated me like a biological son, trusting my words so much that it was almost like he was following my every instruction. Seeing Liangzhou's gradual growth in strength, I truly felt a great sense of accomplishment."

  I also used the power in my hands to recall Xurong from the front line where the killing was the most brutal, and promoted him to Zhonglang Jiang. That front line was simply like hell.

  The ferocity and bravery of the Qiang people made the entire battlefield a place without safety. In those years, at the front line, more than a dozen lieutenants who led the troops were killed in battle. Not to mention the soldiers who always charged forward at the forefront. In fact, based on his merits, he should have been promoted to Zhonglang General long ago. But just because he was not from Liangzhou, he remained as a lieutenant for ten years and could not be promoted.

  But after he came back, he no longer called me brother as before. He became very respectful to me, but estranged from me. I knew it was because of the change in our status, and we could never go back to what it used to be.

  He regards me as a benefactor, someone who needs to be repaid for his kindness. He is no longer the fellow sufferer of years ago, with whom I could drink wine together at night and drown my sorrows in liquor!

  As long as he is by my side, I know he is still alive and well. I am at peace then.

  I also want to repay the kindness of my father-in-law Dong Zhuo with all my might! We are such people, so we can become brothers!"

  But what I regret most is advising Dong Zhuo to enter the capital! My father-in-law has changed completely since entering the capital, and he has become increasingly indulgent in comfort and pleasure due to his sudden and drastic expansion of power. He can no longer listen to my advice, becoming more and more arrogant and tyrannical, making decisions on his own, and being dissolute and unscrupulous.

  He not only sent his generals to plunder the people everywhere, but also slaughtered innocent civilians and claimed military merit. He raped palace maids at will, and in the entire imperial palace, there was nothing he dared not do.

  He even dared to murder Empress He, and after the young emperor discovered this, he ordered me to poison the young emperor. Alas, alas, alas, who can I tell my sorrows to? Not even Ping Sheng, I'm afraid of implicating him."

  He finally burst into tears at the thought of it: "He even said that as long as I didn't go, he would kill me and let me die in place of Emperor Shao. I was just a dog raised by Dong Zhuo, good at wagging its tail. At that time, I really lost all hope for the entire Liangzhou army."

  I know that the Liangzhou army has been completely corrupted from top to bottom, leaving only greed and slaughter for the sake of slaughter. My years of effort have ultimately been defeated by power and beauty.

  But I don't want to die, not defeated on the battlefield against a cruel and evil enemy. I am not willing to let my years of hard work be defeated by power, desire, and a woman, so at that time, I began to arrange a peaceful retreat for myself.

  When I told Ping Sheng about the plan, he strongly opposed it, saying that heroes should die on the battlefield. But how could I let my only friend and brother in life make a futile sacrifice for that huge, hopeless creature that had lost all its ideals?

  For him, it was just a tragedy. All these years, he had long been accustomed to listening to me, and with this, I finally half-forcedly persuaded him.

  Everything that happened later was indeed as expected. Ping Sheng was sent to resist, and the Liangzhou army, which had been driven to rebellion by Wang Yun's stupidity, was a group of mad dogs who had been nurtured by Dong Zhuo's indulgence and had an uncontrollable wild nature. In fact, originally, it would have been enough to just slightly comfort them, and then use a few dozen warriors and a few cups of poisonous wine to do the job well. But in the end, it was brewed into a catastrophic war. Who is willing to be killed easily by others? Wang Yun drove them to rebellion, but he himself was completely unprepared, spending his days showing off his military prowess in front of those flattering ministers, boasting about his great contributions to the country and the people.

  The glory of being a high-ranking official had finally addled his simple mind, which only knew how to fight for power and profit in the imperial court. The easily won victory was actually unsteady, but he didn't realize it at all. Maybe if given more time, he would have adapted to the sudden great power that came upon him, and perhaps he would have done better. But who would give you a chance to rearrange things in matters of life and death?

  You lost and you will never have a chance to turn over.

  Under their own pre-arranged plan, the two of them managed to escape unscathed. However, the two loyal body doubles who took their place were gone forever.”

  "I originally thought that I would spend the rest of my life dying in this desolate wilderness. But now, this young man who has suddenly appeared before me has given me hope to fulfill my dreams once again, rekindling the flame of hope that was about to be extinguished in my heart. Should I believe him? Or will he also succumb to the corrupting influence of power, just like Dong Zhuo, and be consumed by its greedy nature?"

  "Power is a poisonous honey-coated pill for men, it's the most toxic thing in life! No matter what he says, his words are always so reasonable. This person must be a man of strong will, as long as you remind him often when you're by his side, he shouldn't end up like Lianzhou. At worst, we can just pull off another 'golden cicada sheds its shell'! We can't let ourselves and Xu Ping be silently buried in the wilderness, despised by future generations!"

  He finally came to his senses, cleared his mind, and stood up to bow to Sun Ce: "The great young master does not consider us as rebels fleeing in secret, but is willing to truly treat Wen You with kindness, and enlighten Wen You's foolishness. If the great young master does not despise Wen You's stupidity! Wen You is willing to repay the kindness of his lord with his remaining life."

  "It's done."

  Sun Ce was overjoyed. He laughed and stood up, grasping Li Xiu's arm, and ordered the guards to untie Xu Yitao: "Today, I, Sun Ce, have received the help of Mr. Li and General Xu, it is like a tiger adding wings! If we can achieve our ideals in the future, you two will certainly be credited with great merit. I will definitely make your names famous in history, and your fame will last for thousands of years!"

  Sun Ce knew what Li Xiu and Xu Rong wanted most now.

  If it were written in history books, Xú Róng died in battle at Xīnfēng, and Lǐ Rú was bound by his subordinates and sent to Lǚ Bù. In the end, Lǚ Bù didn't even give a glance to this former military strategist and friend who had collaborated closely with him, and directly ordered his execution.

  As for these 'rebellious' servants, they must also be Li Ru's arrangement.

  "It's likely that Lü Bu had just seized Diao Chan, Dong Zhuo's concubine, and felt ashamed to face this former comrade-in-arms who knew his secrets. So he didn't even give him a chance to die with honor."

  In this case, it's really true that seeing is believing. Lü Bu's reaction was also within Li Xiu's calculations.

  Otherwise, he was afraid that Lü Bu would see through his plan as soon as he saw him. After all, at the time, two people, one as a military advisor and the other as the leader of the imperial guard.

  Every day in Dong Zhuo's mansion, it was natural to be familiar with each other. Li Ru arranged a dead soldier as a substitute and deceived others, but it was unlikely to deceive Lü Bu. However, Li Xiangru did succeed, really good calculation.

  Even if they don't die like this, they have already lost their reputation and will never be able to show their faces again. Not to mention that Li Xianyu also poisoned Emperor Shao of Han. Although he was just following Dong Zhuo's orders, who would care about your grievances outside?

  It's just that everyone wants to kill him and use his head to gain merit from the Han court. Killing a treacherous minister who betrayed the country would bring fame, which is something any Han subject would be delighted to do."

  "Now, Sun Ce has given them the most desired opportunity to turn things around! And it's even possible that they will be famous for thousands of years to come. I don't believe you two won't be deeply moved!"

  A powerful assistant is meant to be utilized, letting them shine brightly for me. Not to let them go to waste, buried in desolate mountains and withered waters. Or being beheaded by some foolish people with superhuman wisdom and abilities, only to exchange it for two cups of cheap wine as a reward.

  Their value should not be reflected in this way.

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