Chapter 5: A Different Realm of Superiority and Inferiority

  In 190 AD, the Han Dynasty, Weiyang Palace, main hall.

  Spring breeze got meaning, with great power in hand, even the public words and deeds were strictly controlled, Dong Zhuo walked out of the Golden Hall with satisfaction. The black and red official uniform that was loose to the extreme could not hide Dong Zhuo's increasingly fat body. As he entered his fifties, Dong Zhuo's hair and beard were all white. If he knew that one sentence, he would sigh exceptionally, "Time is a butcher knife, cutting people old one knife at a time."

  In his early years, he could draw a strong bow of ten stones and intimidate the Qiang people with his heroic name. Dong Zhuo was no longer the same as in those days. He had been lost in the glory and power of the capital city, sinking into the wine color every day, getting fatter and almost unable to walk.

  "Ah...", Dong Zhuo, who was standing at the gate of the policy hall, suddenly had an itchy nose, "Achoo!——", a loud sneeze burst out, "Boom!" The officials bowed their heads even lower, fearing that Dong Zhuo would kill them on a whim. Dong Zhuo, still bothered by his sneeze, rubbed his nose and shook his head before walking away;

  "The discussion is over! The tide has receded!", after a long, uniquely ancient Chinese shout, the isolated and helpless young Emperor Han Xian of Liu left under the escort of eunuchs; after Dong Zhuo and the emperor had both left, the officials also dispersed.

  The little yellow gate at the entrance watched Dong Zhuo leave and quietly walked towards the inner hall. Only Dong Zhuo was allowed to wear his sword and shoes into the hall, while everyone else had to take off their shoes and place them in a designated area outside the hall, where the little yellow gates waited to help the officials put on their shoes again.

  "Today is the birthday of Grand General Situ Wang, and a wine feast has been prepared in his mansion. I'd like to invite Your Excellency Taifu to join us for a gathering!" said Little Huangmen, who was attending to Taifu Yuan Hua in a low voice. "Hmm? Has Dong Zhuo been invited?" asked Yuan Hua. "No..." "He must come!", "He must come!", many people responded.

  After everyone left, only one person remained there, staring at the small yellow door in front of him after putting on his shoes; a man wearing the same uniform, not tall, possibly less than 170 cm. His skin was somewhat dark, and his figure was slightly obese, making his limbs look short, his eyes were very small but emitted a captivating brilliance, with a long beard under his chin, which set off an extraordinary temperament...

  Cao Cao!

  "Little eunuch! I've been waiting for you for half a day! Don't you have any messages to pass on to me?" Cao Cao stared at the little yellow gate in front of him, his gaze sharp enough to cut people, making the little eunuch feel like he had been struck by lightning, not daring to look back at him, hastily lowering his head and shaking it.

  Cao Cao raised his chin: "Just now you whispered to everyone, but only didn't say it to me, Cao Cao. Are you looking down on me, Cao Cao?"

  Xiao Huangmen's eyes rolled over and he fell silent, immediately kowtowing to the ground without another word. Cao Cao didn't want to make things difficult for him either, his eyes rolling upwards as he turned around and walked away.

  "The people invited by Grand General Sito Wang are all old ministers of the former emperor, I'm afraid their purpose is not just to celebrate his birthday...", several officials were talking to Taifu Yuan Hui when they saw Cao Cao rushing up from behind: "Taifu, please wait!", The few people immediately bid farewell and left, leaving Yuan Hui there;

  As those people left, Cao Cao sighed: "Alas! Everyone is a subject of the same dynasty, but some gentlemen are ashamed to be with me, Cao Cao!" Yuan Huan ridiculed: "Meng De really has insight!" And why did these officials treat Cao Cao like this? It was because Cao Cao was quite favored by Dong Zhuo, and he could often enter and exit the inner courtyard of the prime minister's mansion at will!

  Without paying attention to Yuan Shao's sarcasm, Cao Cao bowed and said: "If Taifu doesn't despise me, I'd like to be with you! May I walk a few steps with Taifu?" He had been friends with Yuan Shao and his nephew Yuan Shu since childhood, and he still maintained some respect for Yuan Shao.

  "At your service!", they bowed to each other, "Please!", "Please!"

  After walking a few steps, Cao Cao asked: "Yuan Taifu, is today the birthday of Grand Minister Wang?", "Meng De not only has good eyesight, but also has good hearing!", Cao Cao had long been despised by Yuan Huan, as he was an eunuch, while the Yuans were a family of four generations with three dukes, imagine that for four generations, each generation had someone who reached the position of San Gong, this is a huge momentum; now Cao Cao actually fawned on Dong Zhuo even more, which made him look down upon.

  Everyone saw that Yuan Shao's words were all venomous, and Cao Cao was not very happy either. However, he was after all a deep and cunning person, so he suppressed his displeasure and still wore a smiling face: "You see, why did the little eunuch who conveyed messages for Minister Wang invite all of you but deliberately didn't invite me, Cao Cao? You should know that I hold all of you former officials of the previous emperor in high esteem! Especially Minister Wang!"

  "I have a question for you in return while answering yours!", "Please enlighten me, sir!"

  "Just as you said, why didn't Governor Cao invite you when he invited other guests?" Yuan Huan threw the question back at Cao Cao with a hint of mockery.

  Cao Cao stopped in his tracks, a cold smile spreading across his face: "Well asked!", "Since it's good, then please don't hesitate to enlighten me!"

  "I suppose it's because the guests are all from noble families, recipients of imperial favors! While I, Cao Cao, am in your eyes a eunuch's descendant, unworthy and base. How can a lowly person like me be on par with esteemed gentlemen like yourselves?" Cao Cao said with an unchanged expression.

  "Hahaha! ", Yuan Huan sneered: "Oh my! Cao Mengde can say something to this level, it's already very impressive! However! ——There are some other reasons!"

  "Oh? Ah! Lord Yuan really wants me to say it all out? ", Cao Cao's small eyes narrowed, and he smiled; "Of course, you want to travel with the old man! If traveling together is not sharing the same path, then what's the point of being a walking corpse?"

  "Fine! I'll say it then! The invited guests are all former ministers of the late Emperor, and also core members of the imperial party led by Wang Yun. And yet, in your eyes, I, Cao Cao, am a man of low character, willing to be a hawk or dog, stooping to serve a usurper!"

  "Alas! Why don't you speak up? What's your humble opinion? How do you intend to yield? Whose hound are you serving? And whose thief are you?" Yuan Huan was still using his words to provoke Cao Cao, unaware that he had already fallen into Cao Cao's trap;

  "Traitor Dong Zhuo!" Cao Cao suddenly shouted loudly, almost scaring Yuan Huan to death. The golden hall doors were flanked by soldiers from the Western Liang army, who were familiar with Cao Cao and didn't pay attention to him. Traitor Dong Zhuo had long been accustomed to being cursed.

  "Shh! Keep your voice down!", Yuan Huan trembled with rage, pointing at Cao Cao. He couldn't believe that Cao Cao would be so bold!

  "What's wrong, Lord Yuan? Haven't you and other high-ranking officials already gnashed your teeth in hatred for the traitor? Are you still worried about it? Why can't you speak out loud under the bright sky and within the imperial palace? Ah? Don't you consider the Golden Throne Hall a sacred place? So many dignified officials are trembling with fear, their faces pale! This is what I call distinction between high and low, a different kind of atmosphere! A small sneeze has turned those who think themselves superior into rats!"

  "Ah, you! You! You!" Yuan Huan was momentarily stunned and felt deeply humiliated by Cao Cao's words.

  "Hahaha!" Cao Cao's loud and arrogant laughter echoed as he turned around and walked away, finally venting his anger!

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  Since Dong Zhuo dominated the capital alone, Wang Yun, who was unwilling to serve him, claimed illness and did not go out. Wang Yun's reputation was great, so Dong Zhuo also dared not to move him for a time, and ignored him.

  King Yong, who was beating the gongs and drums to welcome the guests, said at the banquet: "Today is not my birthday, I invited everyone to come just to ask you all to discuss - to eliminate the national thieves!"

  Wang Yun was of unusual appearance and had a dignified air about him, which earned him great respect from others.

  "The mountains and rivers are lost, the sun and moon have no light; the ancestral temple is destroyed, the great thieves usurp the country; the Son of Heaven is humiliated, the ruler and ministers are ashamed; within there are Dong's bandits, running amok in the court; outside there are groups of heroes, claiming hegemony in the wild; alas, the rites are ruined, music is broken, my heart is torn apart."

  "Wooo!" Whether it was out of false or pretended emotions, everyone covered their sleeves and wept. Just a moment ago, people were still drinking and eating with great enthusiasm, but in the blink of an eye, they turned into loyal subjects worrying about Dong Zhuo's fate. It seemed as if they couldn't express their loyalty without crying out loud, as if crying like this could kill Dong Zhuo!

  It is often said that one's true nature is revealed in times of crisis. Cao Cao, who had come uninvited, was thoroughly disappointed with these people. "Haha! A room full of big men! All acting like women!"

  "How dare you speak so lightly?" King You was dissatisfied;

  "Cao is incompetent! With a snap of the fingers, he can take down Dong's head and hang it on the gate of Changle Palace!", Cao Cao was full of heroic spirit, at this time he still had hope for the great Han.

  "Expel that reckless bandit Cao Aman!", Wang Yun shouted, his eyes rolling; after a bit of pulling and tugging, Cao Cao was driven out.

  Outside the house, "General Cao, my master says please go to the inner courtyard and wait for a moment! People are talking nonsense and it's not good to speak!" The servant explained to Cao Cao, "Hehe! It's really like something Wang Zifu would do!" Whether it was disdain or something else, Cao Cao said a sentence and followed the servant.

  Inside the palace, Taifu Yuan Huan and others were still talking about Cao Cao, "This inferior person dares to speak wildly, I think he is pretending to celebrate my birthday, but actually spying on us for Dong Zhuo!" The chaotic meeting ended in chaos, no one dared to challenge Dong Zhuo's position, not even the current head of the famous Yuan family, Taifu Yuan Huan, who remained silent about the matter of eliminating bandits. This made Wang Yun feel both heartbroken and helpless, he had pinned his hopes on Cao Cao!

  Cao Cao came here to borrow a treasured sword - the Seven Stars Sword! To use it to assassinate Dong Zhuo, because Dong Zhuo always wore an inner armor, and Wu Fu was annihilated for not piercing through Dong Zhuo's inner armor. Cao Cao thought more than him;

  For nearly a year, Cao Cao has been getting closer and closer to Dong Zhuo, flattering him, just to gain his absolute trust, in order to assassinate him!