Chapter 6 Entering Chang'an City for the First Time

  When the two horses were less than half a foot apart, the two men reined in their mounts.

  The other party then bowed again and expressed his welcome: "Dong San Ye heard that brother rate led the army to come east to assist Xiang Guo, overjoyed, early on in the city to prepare some small wine and dishes, is to replace Xiang Guo to thank Ma brother." Dong Hui is the younger brother of Dong Zhuo, while their eldest brother although died early, still retain the name, so the military also called "three generals" or "three grandfather".

  Ma Tengyi replied, "Younger brother and Dong Sanye are too polite. Liangzhou is the foundation of the Prime Minister's family, and I am just a substitute for taking care of it. It is already a blessing to be able to do so. Now, I suddenly hear that there are bandits in various counties in Shandong who want to rebel against the Prime Minister. Although my troops are weak and my generals are few, I must take the lead in charging forward for the Prime Minister. How can I not day and night drive my horses, wishing I could fly to Luoyang with wings on my sides?" The old man's tone was sincere and his expression solemn, a typical loyal minister. It made me involuntarily praise him: what a Ma Shoucheng! This shameless speech could be spoken with an unchanged face and a steady heart, truly a model for later generations!

  The two of them continued to exchange some aimless pleasantries, with Old Man naturally launching into a lengthy complaint about how poor and turbulent Liangzhou was, and how difficult it was for local officials. The other party immediately offered some consolation, saying that although the three auxiliary regions of Chang'an were vast, populous, prosperous, and strong, in recent years the weather had been unseasonable, and on top of that there had been the Yellow Turbans' rebellion, whose remnants had yet to be pacified; moreover, both the northwest and west were plagued by invasions from foreign tribes, making it impossible to defend against them all, so being an official was equally difficult. Both men let out long sighs, their hearts full of worry for the country and its people, a sentiment that could move heaven and earth.

  "Hey, Big Brother Zhang, who is that person? So many words..." I stared blankly at them chattering for half a day, but I still couldn't figure out who the elegant Confucian general opposite me was, and could only quietly ask Pang Rou behind me.

  Ruo Ge stared blankly for a moment, then looked at me with a slightly surprised and benevolent gaze, saying in a low voice: "Didn't I tell you earlier, sir? Chang'an City is under the control of Dong Zhen, assisted by Niu Fu, Li Meng, Li Su, and others. Niu Fu led his troops to the east, Li Meng was a famous military officer, only Li Su was roughly familiar with both civil and martial arts, and he's considered a talented individual."

  "Yeah, yeah, brother, I also heard it." Behind him, Ma Dai poked out his head and responded somewhat inappropriately, affirming what Pang Rou said while also seemingly downplaying my strong and reliable memory?

  My wrist exerted a slight force, and the whip in my hand lightly fell onto his increasingly sturdy waist: "Is this Li Su?" The reason I was surprised is that this person looked too proper, while my vague impression of Li Su's general head portrait in the game was extremely lewd and dark - so it's true that you can't be toyed with by the game.

  Watching Li Su and Ma Teng's intimate conversation, I felt quite bored: these two people who had never met before became like old friends as soon as they met, chatting and laughing together, seemingly having no secrets from each other. The world of adults is really hypocritical!

  Li Su slowly turned his horse around and rode alongside his father, leading the way towards the city gate. His guards followed closely behind, also entering the city.

  Pang De hastily arranged his troops and led them into the city in an orderly manner.

  The problem of soldiers being unable to enter the city that I have been worried about seems to be completely ignored by the other party - probably underestimating Lao Ma's ambition.

  It is said that the western and eastern gates are more dilapidated, but they have completely left us, a group of countrymen from the Great Northwest Prairie, stunned. After all, it is the old capital of the Han Dynasty, and the noble atmosphere formed by the accumulation of prosperity and luxury over 200 years is not something we can compare or bear.

  "Damn it!" My old man suddenly cursed and made me feel uneasy. "Chang'an is really a great place!"

  Li Su smiled and asked: "Brother, what makes you say this?"

  Ma Teng pointed with the whip in his hand to the left and right scales of the city's houses: "This is the grandeur of Xishi, my brother has never seen it before, but my younger brother says that Dongshi is ten times better than this. Although there are many cities in the world like sand and stones in a river, only today's Luoyang can be compared with this great city of Chang'an. My younger brother is an official here, the best place in the world, the thick blessings, really make my brother jealous."

  "The city is grand, the population is numerous, but the trivial matters that bother people are ten times more complicated than before. What's more, I'm just doing things for Third Master, and can't enjoy any benefits from Chang'an; Brother is in charge of a region in the northwest, why should he envy me, a small official under someone else?" Li Su replied calmly, unmoved by his father's praise.

  The old man suddenly stretched out his hand and slapped Li Su's back, then laughed and scolded: "You little brat, pretending to be a saint! Don't think I don't know your virtues! If you're dissatisfied with Chang'an City being too peaceful and can't eat good food normally, come to my Longcheng and be my chief historian, how about that? Let you also experience the good days that I've had!"

  Li Su's body looked really bad, almost scattered under the old man's palm. He bowed his head on the horse and panted, bitterly smiling: "Old brother, spare me, I don't want to go back to that place in Xiliang again. Although my official position is lowly, I'm not willing to go there again. Brother, don't tease me anymore, even if it's Pingzhou's old home, I don't want to go back. You can enjoy it yourself."

  The two of them burst out laughing together. But I felt a cold sweat slowly trickling down my neck, and wondered if Father was being deliberate or not, speaking so unguardedly and recklessly. If we weren't careful and the other side suspected us, wouldn't we be completely annihilated and left with no place to bury our bones?

  This journey is an adventure, a gamble, and even more so, a reckless bet that risks everything: if we win, it's a huge profit with both fame and fortune; but if we lose, it means death, shame, and our bodies will be left to rot. Therefore, as I've been traveling east on this road, I've always had some trepidation, feeling like I'm walking on thin ice. Especially now, looking at Li Su in front of me with his calm and sinister smile that doesn't reveal any emotions, it makes me secretly break out in cold sweat.

  Li Su is not an unknown person. He and Lü Bu are said to be from the same hometown, both from remote areas in the north. I am not clear about his specific life events, but I know two things, one of which is very important: turning against Lü Bu.

  He first served Dong Zhuo, with thick gold and heavy interest persuading Lü Bu to rebel against Ding Yuan. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he even used the thousand-mile precious horse Chì Tù to entice Lü Bu. At that time, Dong Zhuo had just entered the capital, his power was not yet stable, and Ding Yuan confronted him as the governor of Bingzhou, which was not a low position. If they fought head-on, they might have been able to fight several battles, and there might have been a chance for a comeback. Unfortunately, during the stalemate, Lü Bu betrayed him, beheaded Ding Yuan, and presented his head to Dong Zhuo, and most of the Bingzhou army also belonged to Dong Zhuo.

  It can only be said that the second time was for the Han room. Wang Yun is considered the mastermind, pulling east and west to provoke and separate, Li Su himself decided to rebel because he was not reused by Dong Zhuo, deceiving Dong Zhuo to let Lü Bu cut off his head, and the merit cannot be ignored. However, this Li advisor, although seemingly repeatedly coming up with strategies and even having made significant contributions such as persuading Lü Bu to surrender, the reward is far from sufficient to commend his merits, at least so it seems for now.

  It is also heard that Dong Zhuo, although being brutal and coarse, was quite capable of promoting old officials. Therefore, he had once moved some Confucian scholars, and 'old official' Li Su served him as his former subordinate and trusted aide, but his merits were not properly rewarded, no wonder he would rebel later on.

  Or would you say that his achievement in persuading Lü Bu to surrender and submit was just a small feat in Dong Zhuo's eyes?

  So what counts as merit?