The 8th time Li Ru presented a plan to Dong Zhuo, Pang De held wine to boost morale.

  Luoyang, the Prime Minister's residence.

  But see pavilions and kiosks, houses like a forest. Rare flowers and strange grasses, flying birds and running beasts, beautiful women and lovely people are all the embellishments of Dong Chang's leisure life.

  In the grand hall, a stout man with a wide body had a beautiful woman on his left and a lovely one on his right. His face was slightly red, and he reeked of alcohol. From time to time, he would say: "Looking around the world today, who dares not to surrender to me?"

  He claims to be king and emperor with a clear conscience, everyone knows it in their hearts, and they all try their best to flatter him.

  Li Ru, a strategist under Dong Zhuo's command, raised his wine cup and said: "The achievements of the Prime Minister will be remembered for thousands of years to come and will surely be passed down through the ages!"

  Dong Zhuo burst out laughing and said: "Where is my son Lü Bu?"

  A man in golden helmet and silver armor, exceptionally majestic, hastily stood up from his seat, bowed and said: "Your son is here."

  Dong Zhuo nodded in satisfaction and pointed at Li Ru, saying: "Fengxian, you also heard what Li Ru just said. You need to make a greater effort!"

  Lü Bu was momentarily stunned and didn't know how to respond, looking very embarrassed. ?? Tiger Leopard Riders 8

  Li Ru hastily said: "Chancellor, General Lü is so brave and mighty, worthy of being called 'an enemy of ten thousand people', he must be able to assist the Chancellor in completing his great undertaking!"

  Hearing Lao Tzu say this, Lü Bu reflected for a moment, then hastily said: "For the sake of Father's great cause, I will certainly rush into boiling water and walk through fire, and am willing to die ten thousand times."

  Dong Zhuo looked up at the sky and laughed loudly several times: "Haha!"

  Lü Bu returned cautiously to his seat, poured wine to toast Li Ru, and Li Ru hastily reciprocated.

  At a time when all the officials were drunk and unconscious, a soldier suddenly reported: "Prime Minister, Ma Teng has sent someone to request an audience!"

  Dong Zhuo, who was drunk, said in a rather scattered manner: "Which Ma Teng?"

  "Your Excellency," Li Ru hastily said, "Ma Teng of Xiliang's Wuwei Commandery!"

  "So it was that scoundrel! Go and bring him up here!"

  Ma Teng's messenger, as soon as he saw Dong Zhuo, hastily bowed down to the ground, panting and said: "I report to the Prime Minister, Han Sui, under the pretext of borrowing supplies, has raised troops in Jincheng, attacking Xiliang, this is rebellion! My general sent a letter with a small star, riding at night, galloping fast, adding whip, please Prime Minister investigate clearly."

  As soon as he heard the two words "rebellion", Dong Zhuo immediately became flustered. He beckoned with his hand and said, "Hurry up and bring it over."

  Dong Zhuo tore open the letter and saw that Ma Teng had poured out his heart, explaining the situation with emotion and reason, requesting the Prime Minister to send troops to assist him.

  Dong Zhuo thought that Han Sui was indeed going to rebel and hastily asked Lü Bu: "Fengxian, do you still remember what you said just now?"

  Lü Bu hastily got up and said: "How dare I forget!"

  "Alright! Now I'll give you 50,000 elite soldiers to help Ma Teng and conquer Wuwei!"

  Lü Bu readily accepted the order, but Li Ru hastily stopped him, saying: "Please reconsider, Chancellor!" ?? Tiger and Leopard Cavalry 8

  Dong Zhuo, upon hearing this, immediately became enraged and said: "What is there to think about? Han Sui is already rebelling! Am I supposed to hand over the position of Chancellor to him?"

  Li Ru hastily walked to Dong Zhuo's side, whispered a few words in his ear, and Dong Zhuo twitched his high nose twice before saying to Ma Teng's envoy: "Hurry back and tell Ma Teng to quickly dispatch troops for battle. I will send Xu Rong to assist him, and with a pincer movement from both front and rear, Han Sui's defeat is certain!"

  Ma Teng's messenger was overjoyed upon hearing this and, after lavishing praise on Dong Zhuo, hastily returned to Xiliang with all due haste.

  Dong Zhuo said to Li Ru: "He's gone, you can speak now."

  Li Ru glanced around and then nodded at Dong Zhuo again.

  Dong Zhuo nodded in agreement and said loudly: "Everyone, let's stop here for today. You all go back first, and we'll continue tomorrow!"

  After thanking him, everyone left one after another.

  Lü Bu was often by Dong Zhuo's side, and at this time he was thinking about whether to leave as well. Dong Zhuo saw him still standing there and said: "Fengxian, you go down and rest too!"

  Lü Bu accepted the order with a smile, but his heart was filled with a chill.

  Li Ru then said to Dong Zhuo, "The letter only contains one-sided words from Ma Teng! Now in Yong and Liang provinces, it is not just Ma Teng and Han Sui who have their own armies and do not listen to orders. Compared to raising a tiger as a disaster, it would be better to let them attack each other, while the Prime Minister sits back and collects the benefits of the fishermen!"

  Dong Zhuo nodded slightly and said: "That makes sense! However, if Han Sui defeats Ma Teng, it will be difficult to control."

  Li Ru said: "The Prime Minister is worrying too much. Although Han Sui's strength is stronger than Ma Teng, he has not yet reached the point where one battle can determine victory or defeat. Moreover, even if Han Sui defeats Ma Teng, the Prime Minister can still let Li Jue, Guo Si, and Hu Zhi lead an army under the banner of the Emperor to attack him together. Even if Han Sui has extraordinary abilities, he will surely be defeated!"

  Dong Zhuo then said with a sigh of relief: "You are indeed my Zhang Liang."

  Li Ru saw Dong Zhuo's unusual excitement and took the opportunity to speak: "The Prime Minister has a grand ambition, but please do not reveal it to the court officials, lest they harbor different intentions."

  "What's the meaning of this?"

  Li Ru did not expect that Dong Zhuo, upon hearing this, would not get angry. Instead, he hastily said: "For example, when the Chancellor is slightly drunk, he likes to refer to himself as 'Gu' (a term used by emperors). Some things will eventually belong to the Chancellor anyway, so why must he be in such a hurry?"

  Dong Zhuo stroked his beard and smiled, saying: "The Prime Minister already knows."

  Li Ru slightly bowed his waist, with a smile on his face. At this time, compared to Lü Bu, he was the lucky one...

  Kinjo District, horse farm.

  The groom is having a drinking contest with Pongde.

  Looking at the slightly drunk Pound, Ma Fu said: "General Pound has a good capacity for wine!"

  Pang De looked up at the sky and laughed loudly: "Don't mock me, everyone gets drunk in their own way! My capacity for wine is far inferior to yours."

  The groom saw him suddenly full of worry and roughly guessed what he was thinking about, but he didn't dare to say it directly.

  Since he became Xiao Ma Chao's master, people generally kept a respectful distance from him. Today, Pang De rarely brought fine wine to share with him, and they should have had a good drink together. However, Ma Fu didn't know the principle of not visiting the Three Treasures Hall for no reason.

  Ma Fu didn't respond, and Pang De also knew he was in an awkward situation, so he avoided the topic and asked: "What do you think of the current situation?"

  The groom stood up and stretched his waist, saying: "The trend of the world is that it will eventually unite after a long division, and it will divide again after a long unity. In my opinion, the fate of the great Han dynasty is approaching!"

  "How bold!" Pong De leapt up and directly placed his sword on the coachman's neck.

  Ma Fu gently pushed open the treasure sword and said: "I'm sure General Pang has already seen it, why do you still need to deceive yourself?"

  Pang De sheathed his sword and said with a hint of despair, "The trend of the world is not something that can be changed by people like us. I only wish to use my own strength to defend our great Han dynasty to the death."

  Ma Fu heard this and was very respectful of Pang De, but what could he say at this time?

  The wheels of history have already traveled this far, and it is by no means an easy task to change the predetermined course.

  Pang De saw Ma Chao fall silent and smiled: "Alright, let's drop the subject. In your opinion, will Dong Cheng send troops to help us?"

  Ma Fu gently shook his head and said: "General Pang has already figured it out in his heart, why bother asking me again."

  Pang De patted the horseman's shoulder and said, "You are younger than me, but your ability far surpasses mine. I just don't understand why you're willing to be a horseman."

  Ma Fu heard that Pang De's words were not simple, and this was originally the time when he should show his loyalty. However, Ma Fu was really too lazy to say those grandiose words, so he just muddled through: "People are born between heaven and earth, and their pursuits are naturally different. Why must we use our own hearts to measure others' pursuits?"

  "What is your pursuit then?"

  The groom shook the wine jug in his hand and said, "One jug of wine is enough!"

  Pang De burst out laughing and said: "Your pursuit is indeed unique, but also beautiful! I am a rough man, only seeking to report to the imperial court, protect the people, be loyal to the monarch, and bring glory to my family."

  "What a great ambition! Cheers!" The groom held up the wine jug, and Pang De drank it all in one gulp, threw the wine jug to the ground and said: "As a soldier, I am ashamed that I could not defeat the bandits!"

  Pan De was already drunk and they had indeed drank a lot of wine, so the coachman quickly had someone escort him back to the mansion.

  The horseman was walking alone towards the colorful clouds, bathing in the evening breeze.

  Nor did he know how long he had walked, when the cart driver suddenly felt that the sky was already filled with stars. He simply lay down on a piece of grassland and carefully thought about everything that happened after his soul passed through.

  But as he thought back to the moment when the mysterious woman appeared, the crisp footsteps made Ma Fu immediately collect his thoughts, and he knew that his "old friend" had arrived.

  The woman was still dressed in black, with a light gauze draped over her, and the gentle breeze made the gauze flutter, which was really captivating.

  Looking at the mysterious woman not far away, Ma Fu stared at her without blinking, thinking she would be embarrassed, but what he didn't expect was that she seemed to ignore him and continued to gaze intently into the distance.

  This made Ma Fu quite perplexed, and he coughed twice before saying: "Miss, are you here to ask me for the Heavenly Book again?"

  The woman did not respond.

  The groom said somewhat awkwardly: "If you like standing there, just stand there, don't disturb my beautiful dream!"

  After finishing speaking, the horseman closed his eyes to rest, but in his mind, he couldn't help but think of the woman's figure.

  All dressed in black, slender and elegant, with long hair flowing...

  It was unclear why, but the groom suddenly felt that there was a woman standing not far away, and his life seemed no longer lonely.

  But she was a terribly frightening woman and Mafu didn't trust her at all.

  After lying down for half an hour, when Ma Fu opened his eyes again, he found that the place was already empty.

  "Was everything that just happened just my own imagination?"

  The groom scratched his head and walked towards the stable with a puzzled expression.

  Originally, Ma Teng was specially arranged to have a mansion, but Ma Fu felt that Ma Teng had reservations about him. If he stayed in the mansion, he would definitely be monitored everywhere, so he politely declined.

  The soldiers who had gone to Luoyang returned to Wuwei, and when he told Ma Teng the original words of Dong Cheng, Ma Teng was overjoyed and laughed at Pang De: "Dong Cheng is indeed not beyond my expectation, this is very good! Pass down the order from General, today reward all soldiers, tomorrow go out with troops!"

  Pang De said in a low voice: "I beg the general to reconsider! I think there's a trick here!"

  "It's no use worrying about that anymore! Han Sui's great army has already arrived at An Yi, if we don't send troops now, they will kill all the way to Wu Wei!"

  "Shouldn't General leave some soldiers to guard the city, in case of a sneak attack by bandits?"

  Ma Teng laughed and said, "In Xiliang, no one has dared to have such a big nerve to launch a surprise attack on General's city! However, in order to prevent someone from taking advantage of the situation to make trouble, General will leave behind one or two thousand old and weak soldiers to guard the city."

  Ma Teng had already made up his mind to engage in a fierce battle with Han Sui. Pang De said nothing more.

  Pang De couldn't persuade Ma Teng, so Ma Chao naturally didn't say a word.

  Moreover, as for Ma Teng allowing or not allowing him to follow the great army to attack Han Sui, he was also uncertain in his heart.

  However, when Ma Teng held a banquet to reward his generals, Ma Chao was also among the invited guests.

  After three rounds of wine, Ma Teng said: "This general plans to let Chao'er go into battle, what does everyone think?"

  The generals all exclaimed: "General, you are divine and brave, you can go into battle!"

  Ma Teng laughed and said: "Good! Can't all of you see that Chao Er is worthy? Chao Er, why don't you hurry up and toast everyone a cup?"

  The little horse was also heroic and generous, raised his wine glass to gesture to everyone, and then drank it all in one gulp.

  "Dad, what about my master?"

  Ma Teng had already guessed that Ma Chao would ask this, and loudly said: "He is your master, the disciples have all gone to the battlefield, how can the master retreat behind? What do you say?"

  As he said this, Ma Teng gave Ma Fu a meaningful look.

  Xiao Ma Chao was overjoyed and danced with joy, while the groom said calmly: "I will definitely swear to protect General Shao with my life!"

  Ma Teng said: "This is very good, this is very good!"