Chapter 22: The Death of Wang Yun

  In Chang'an City!

  Because of Qin Xu's small butterfly wing power, the Chang'an City, which had been defended for two months without being breached in history, changed hands overnight, and Li Jue, Guo Si and other remnants of Dong Zhuo occupied this great Han capital.

  "Two generals, Chang'an City has fallen, the soldiers are exhausted from the long journey, we must be on guard against Lü Bu's counterattack!" Just as Li and Guo were gazing up at the tightly closed gates of the palace, a middle-aged scholar with a slightly clear voice seemed to pour a basin of cold water over their enthusiasm.

  At this time, the sky was just bright, Li Jue and Guo Si led their troops to surround the palace, claiming that they wanted to see Emperor Xian of Han Liu Xie. However, the army behind the two men was as the literati said, with low morale, and even a bit decadent. This made the momentum brought by the tens of thousands of troops slightly reduced.

  Although the Western Liang army was once Dong Zhuo's army, and before his death, he was also a powerful and influential figure, but after all, it was still a regular imperial court army. Even when Dong Zhuo was alive and did such big things, changing emperors and burning down the palace, he never dared to lead troops like Li Jue and Guo Si, surrounding the palace city with soldiers.

  The prestige of the great Han for 400 years was indeed not something that one or two heroes could eliminate overnight. Looking at Liu's ears, from having nothing to relying on a single name of a Han family member, he established a foundation of one-third, showing the energy contained in these two words "Great Han".

  Even if Dong Zhuo's move to change the emperor shocked the world, he still had to find a reason and claimed that he was following the will of the previous emperor. He also followed the example of Huo Guang and Zhou Gong, giving himself a great justification. This led to eighteen vassals, either with righteous indignation or hidden intentions, launching a punitive expedition against him, forcing him to abandon Luoyang and move the capital to Chang'an.

  So, no matter how Li Jue and Guo Si, both subordinate generals, promised their troops to take down Chang'an, when they actually arrived at the palace city of Chang'an, morale was inevitably somewhat dampened. This is also why the several thousand-strong garrison of Chang'an Palace City could hold out for an entire night, while the Western Liang army never launched a fierce attack.

  "The words of the military advisor are very good! The reason we rose up in arms is just as the military advisor said before, it was to avoid being harmed by treacherous people." Li Jue showed great respect for this middle-aged scholar, and bowed his fist on horseback, saying: "As long as this little emperor hands over Wang Yun that old traitor, and rewards our meritorious service of clearing the ruler's court, we will naturally continue to protect the Liu family's throne, without any second thoughts."

  Li Jue's words were spoken very loudly. On the one hand, it was a response to Wen Si's words, and on the other hand, it was also said for the soldiers behind him and the guards on the city wall of the palace to hear.

  As the former Li Jue, who was once under Dong Zhuo's command as his first great general, Li Jue was able to gain Dong Zhuo's appreciation, proving that he still had some strategic thinking. At this moment, the morale of the soldiers was low and they were holding out in front of the palace, if things dragged on for a long time, it would be very detrimental to their own military spirit. If they couldn't control the situation in time, they might fall into chaos before even taking the palace.

  Guo Si, who was standing beside Li Jue, also chimed in: "That's right! The Emperor is young and has been deceived by treacherous officials, to the point where they want to kill us all! Kill off the Great Han's most capable warriors! We can't just sit around waiting for death, we are clearing away evil from the Emperor's side! This isn't rebellion!"

  There was no precedent for the two armies to change their minds, and they were also besieged by Lü Bu's army for more than two months. With grain and grass exhausted, they had no choice but to borrow Qiang soldiers to come and assist in the attack, which allowed the Xiongnu to find an opportunity to move south. When Guo Si said this, it seemed reasonable and justifiable. The troops behind the two men gradually calmed down as the news spread from one person to ten and then to a hundred.

  Li Jue looked at his old partner of many years with a nod of approval, but the faint unease in his heart still couldn't be shaken off.

  Chang'an City is too easy to get to!

  On the one hand, there was indeed a clever strategy, using an empty camp as a decoy, which caused Lü Bu's night raid to fail, and then setting up an ambush, catching Lü Bu off guard. On the other hand, Wei Xu, a brave general under Lü Bu's command, defected and opened the gates of Chang'an, making it seem like taking the city was a matter of course after a string of victories.

  But Li Jue clearly knew that the loss of ambushing Lü Bu would not shake the foundation of Lü Bu's army. Although Wei Xu rebelled and hurt Lü Bu, besides the original Youzhou Wolf Rider Yu Lin Rider under his command, there were also seven powerful generals led by Zhang Liao and Hou Cheng, as well as the elite among the elites, Gao Shun's Trap Array Camp had not appeared yet.

  Li Jue had actually made preparations for a big battle, but unexpectedly, after encountering Lü Bu, Lü Bu seemed to have only symbolically resisted for a while before abandoning Chang'an and leaving. This made Li Jue, who had always resented Lü Bu for stealing the attention of Dong Zhuo, put in great effort to study Lü Bu, and he thought he understood Lü Bu's temperament very well.

  Moreover, after the city was broken, Li Jue's first decision was to go to Lü Bu's mansion. The empty scene of the grand General Wu's mansion made Li Jue feel wave after wave of unease again.

  After a long time, he was really afraid of being killed by Lü Bu, as the article said. Lü Bu's military power and the combat effectiveness of his army, as well as the influence of Lü Bu's assassination of Dong Zhuo in Chang'an City, made Li Jue extremely uneasy, to the point that when he learned that Lü Bu's final destination was Hebei, this unease reached its limit.

  The Hebei was one of Lü Bu's major strongholds back then. Moreover, Chang'an is only about 800 li away from Hebei, and with Lü Bu's cavalry speed, it would take only two or three days to make a round trip.

  This worry, along with Guo Si's ecstatic order to pursue Lü Bu when Chang'an fell, caused Li Jue to hesitate repeatedly.

  Things are not normal and become strange, I don't know if Li Jue knows this sentence.

  "Two generals! The Son of Heaven has come out!" Just as Li Jue was lost in thought, the officers and soldiers around him suddenly burst into a commotion, with the sound of Manchu troops shouting and rushing about filling his ears.

  "Your Majesty!?" The three people in front of the formation, Li Jue, Guo Si and the middle-aged scholar, had different expressions. Guo Si was overjoyed, Li Jue temporarily threw away his worries that he couldn't figure out, with a face full of surprise and joy. Only the middle-aged scholar's face remained very calm, with a hint of worry hidden beneath.

  "Isn't it Li Jue and Guo Si, the two generals under the city?" The speaker was Dong Cheng, who had just sent his daughter into the palace.

  It was the result of discussions among the ministers trapped in the palace that Dong Cheng and Li Jue, along with Guo Si, would negotiate. Dong Cheng and Dong Zhuo were from the same hometown and a collateral branch of the same clan, and had previously served as generals under Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fu. Dong Zhuo was familiar with Li Jue and Guo Si when he was alive; on the other hand, Dong Cheng was also the nephew of Empress Dowager Dong, who supported Emperor Xian's ascension to the throne. When Dong Zhuo was killed, all those close to him were either captured or killed, except for this person. It can be said that Dong Cheng is the best negotiator in this situation.

  "Dong Zhuo is dead, the world has just been settled, and the revival of the great Han dynasty is at hand. The court above embodies the heart of heaven and cannot bear to punish you for your reckless actions. Why do you not cherish the kindness of the court, send remnants of troops to sneak into Chang'an, disregard the dignity of the Son of Heaven, and are you not afraid of being ridiculed by future generations?"

  I don't know where Dong Cheng got his courage from, or what he relied on, but he actually cursed out loud in front of the two armies.

  A group of courtiers hiding behind a low wall heard that Dong Cheng, who had been pushed out by them, was speaking in such a manner. One by one, they looked at Dong Cheng with eyes full of astonishment and incomprehension.

  There are tens of thousands of troops down there! Speaking like this, aren't you afraid of really provoking the two rebels outside the city and having them storm into the palace?

  Haven't you been a remnant of Dong Zhuo's party? Even if you don't shed tears when seeing your relatives, at least say some intimate words. Although you are the only one who escaped the net, is this the time for you to show loyalty to the young emperor?

  Moreover, regardless of the shock and anger in the hearts of the many court officials, no one knew what kind of madness Dong Cheng was suffering from. The young Emperor Liu Xie had tears streaming down his face, and Wang, the Imperial Tutor, was overjoyed to see such a loyal subject.

  Li Jue and Guo Si, along with a crowd of Western Liang soldiers, unexpectedly fell silent after Dong Cheng spoke these words.

  "General Dong!" Li Jue's face was solemn, and he glanced back at the dense Western Liang army behind him before shouting loudly: "We are not rebelling! Dong Tai Shi was executed for his chaotic governance, we are all soldiers of the Great Han, there is no doubt about it!"

  "Since you have no intention of rebelling, then why do you surround the palace with your troops?" Dong Cheng asked loudly. His righteous and stern demeanor made the officials who had just complained about him feel a bit unnatural in their hearts. At this moment, they all secretly resented that this rebel who broke into Chang'an was so eloquent, allowing Dong Cheng to gain an advantage!

  When Li Jue surprisingly said this, several of the braver officials in the crowd cautiously poked their heads out from behind the city walls, wondering what else Li Jue could possibly say when he had the upper hand.

  "We are all Han loyalists, and now that the Emperor is in power, we want to lay down our arms and return to our fields. But how can this be when there are traitors by the Emperor's side who do not think of the hardships we have endured for the country? They only care about the two words 'Western Liang' and want to kill us! Li Jue's face turned red with rage, and he shouted loudly: "If we are treated like this, we will have no way out. We are forced to take a risk and ask the Emperor to execute the traitors, starting with Jue and others, and at the same time thoroughly investigate our merits and re-grant rewards to calm the army's hearts!"

  "Who is the little man?"

  With the Western Liang army withdrawing their bows to show their sincerity, the officials felt at ease, and their eyes involuntarily turned towards Grand Tutor, whose face had already turned iron-green.

  It's true! The high-ranking officials only then remembered that the source of all these events was not you, old Wang, who after killing Dong Zhuo took control of the imperial court alone, but because you couldn't tolerate others' criticism, kept changing your orders.

  Watching the heavy ministers and even the emperor's eyes gradually turn cold, Wang Yun's usual bright and shining eyes also dimmed.

  No!

  I, Wang Yun, have executed Dong Zhuo, a merit for the country!

  I, Wang Yun, hold the reins of power, and my achievements are for the great Han!

  I am Wang Yun...

  At this time, whether it was the courtiers or the emperor, even Huang Wan, the prefect of the imperial guard who had always been on good terms with Wang Yun, seemed to have agreed to selectively forget Wang Yun's previous achievements, and the blame in their eyes made old Wang feel as if he were in a dream.

  Dong Zhuo, who dominated the world, died in my King Yuen's plan! Lü Bu, unparalleled in the world, was also suppressed by King Yuen and couldn't spread his wings! The two strongest people of the great Han dynasty were defeated under King Yuen, but how could King Yuen's ending be like this? How could it be like this? How can it be like this?!

  "Down with the corrupt officials! Execute the treacherous official Wang Yun!"

  "Down with the corrupt officials! Execute the treacherous official Wang Yun!"

  Under the instigation of Li Jue and Guo Si, tens of thousands of Western Liang soldiers outside the palace walls shouted in unison, causing Emperor Xian of Han Liu Xie and his courtiers to be frightened and uneasy, their anxiety overflowing from their words.

  Looking at the familiar scene under the city wall, Wang Yun's face slowly calmed down. Just a few days ago, when Dong Zhuo was killed, wasn't it the same? It's just that the name has changed now! Thinking of this, a hint of a smile appeared on Wang Yun's face.

  He made a deep bow to Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, and nodded his head at the various courtiers who had either been friendly or fawning towards him.

  Wang Yun walked towards the short wall of the palace.

  Under the astonished gaze of Li Jue, Guo Si and other Western Liang soldiers, as well as the important officials of the Great Han court.

  A figure, like a shooting star, flashed across the sky of the Han Dynasty, which was already struggling to survive.