Chapter 29: Encirclement Hunting

  The next day, everyone saw Wang Ju coming out of Long Fei's room and couldn't help but smile secretly, but no one said anything. Since this had already happened, other things like the wedding could be omitted. After washing his face and eating breakfast, Long Fei went to find Wang Yun, who had just returned from court. As soon as he entered the door, he sighed sorrowfully and cried out that heaven was unjust.

  "Governor Cai, who made you so angry!" Long Fei stood in front of Wang Yun without warning: "Is Dong Zhuo going to do something?"

  "Alas! What a miscarriage of justice!" Wang Yun was heartbroken and indignant: "The Imperial Secretary, Lu Zhi, almost suffered the death penalty for just speaking out a bit too much. If it weren't for Cai Yong's strenuous intercession, Lu Zhi would have been dead without a doubt. As it is, he was beaten half to death, and will probably spend the rest of his life bedridden. What a pity that such a great Han minister should end up in this state!"

  "Lu Zhi, Cai Yong!" Long Fei nodded: "They are both great Confucian scholars of our time! Unfortunately, they were born in the wrong era! In today's world where fists do the talking, it's not suitable for them!"

  Wang Yun wiped away his own tears: "What does Long Zuo Shi want with me?"

  Long Feng said: "In order to successfully assassinate Dong Zhuo, can Wang, the Imperial Tutor, obtain an official position for me in the court or create an opportunity that would allow me to get close to Dong Zhuo?"

  "Does the strong man want to take action now?"

  Long Fei shook his head: "Don't you still have Cao Cao? Let him try first, I'm also preparing for the worst, getting close to Dong Zhuo and gaining his trust before making a move won't be too late!"

  Wang Yun hesitated for a long time: "It's easy to plot for an official position, but it's not that easy to get close to Dong Zhuo. Does Long Zhen really have the confidence to make Dong Zhuo look at you with new eyes and take you under his wing?"

  Long Fei nodded. Wang Yun clapped his hands and said, "Good! That's settled then. Tomorrow, Dong Zhuo will be going out of the city for a hunt. At that time, Long Zhen can go with me. If there's an opportunity, just take action and I'll take care of the rest."

  Back in the backyard, Long Fei roughly told his entire plan, Wang Ji hurriedly said: "No way, this is too dangerous, Dong Zhuo has been through many battles and kills people without blinking an eye. As long as he suspects something, Brother Fei will be in grave danger, I won't let you go!"

  Zhoa Yun nodded: "Sister-in-law is right, this is too risky, but I'm willing to go with brother!"

  "I'm going too!" Wang Wei said immediately.

  Long Fei glanced at him: "You can't go, this time I'll only take Second Brother with me, everyone else stays here. Cui Er continues to investigate the news about Master, Taren brothers are in charge of protecting you all, remember to be extremely careful and it's best not to leave the Situ Manor, it's relatively safer here." Everyone still wanted to follow him, but Long Fei refused, so they had no choice but to give up.

  The next day, as expected, the weather was fine. Wang Yun had prepared two sets of his family's clothes for Long Fei and Zhao Yun to change into, disguising themselves as his family members to follow him to the gathering point. Dong Zhuo's hunting excursion outside the city was no less grand than an emperor's procession, with colorful silk banners, various ceremonial instruments, and officials big and small packing the south gate of Luoyang like sardines. Wang Yun continually bowed and greeted the officials, while Long Fei and Zhao Yun closely followed him, inseparable from his shadow. They also got to know all sorts of civil and military officials of the Eastern Han dynasty.

  "Marquis Wen has arrived early!" Wang Yun said with great courtesy to a tall and stately young man wearing golden armor, with a precious sword hanging from his waist, and an icy expression.

  "Wang Situ has arrived, but why did Wang Situ bring two family generals? Does he also want to show off his skills in the hunting circle?" As soon as he heard the name of Wen Hou, two words appeared in Long Fei's mind: Lü Bu. Upon closer inspection, Lü Bu was indeed a talented individual, not only with good looks but also with a first-rate physique. Standing among the officials, he stood out like a crane among chickens.

  Behind Lü Bu, the eight generals were also majestic. The first person had a slightly dark complexion and was not tall, but due to wearing armor, he appeared somewhat sturdy. This man's face was as calm as water, ignoring everything around him, quietly standing with his eyes fixed on the front. Beside him stood another person with a dignified appearance, wearing a suit of silver armor, holding a long spear, and looking majestic. Seeing Long Fei look at him, he responded with a slight smile.

  "Haha!" Wang Yun laughed and said: "How can an old man like me have such skills? Everyone who came today is just a foil to Duke Wen. Who doesn't know that Duke Wen's martial arts are exquisite? I'm afraid there's no one in this world who can be Duke Wen's opponent."

  "Hahaha..." Lü Bu burst into loud laughter: "Wang Zifu is right, with me, Lü Bu around, no one else can get first place!"

  "Your Majesty has arrived……!" A long, loud shout, drums and music sounded in unison. Whether it was a civil official or a military general, they all flocked to Yu's side, knocking their heads to welcome him. Wang Yun led Long Fei and Zhao Yun to their seats, hastily kneeling down. Long Fei stole a glance, from the city gate, first came a team of black armored cavalry, over a hundred in number. All were robust men, sitting on high-quality black horses, marching in unison. Next came a large group of servants, holding various objects, from jade cups for drinking to cushions and tents for rest, even two servants carrying a wide wooden desk followed behind the troops. After they passed by, a group of stunning beauties emerged, wearing beautiful clothes with water sleeves, heavily made-up, walking with elegance and poise. These should be the singing girls, provided for Dong Zhuo's entertainment during his rest.

  Behind the group of song girls was a huge carriage pulled by eight horses. The carriage was as big as a house, inlaid with all kinds of jewels, and the curtains were made up of strings of pearls, shining brightly under the sunlight. On both sides of the carriage, there were five golden armored guards holding long spears, wearing golden helmets, riding white war horses to guard the two sides of the carriage.

  At the very back was a group of infantrymen. This team of infantrymen was completely different from others, with high spirits and bright armor. Various weapons emitted a cold light. There were two rows of each type of soldier: knife-shield hand, long spear soldiers, bow-and-arrow hand, totaling about 100 people. The long column marched for over ten minutes before finally stopping.

  Someone hastily crawled under the carriage shaft, and the officials shouted in unison: "Welcome Your Majesty!"

  The curtain was lifted, and two bright and beautiful women in their 20s supported an old man with white hair, a big belly protruding from his body, which was less than 1.6 meters tall, and a face full of whiskers appeared before everyone. Long Fei couldn't help but want to laugh when he saw this, this pig-like creature was actually the emperor? That small-eyed, big-mouthed, garlic-nosed face with stars all over it made him feel sick no matter how he looked at it. And that belly, who knows what he ate to get so fat. If killed, it should yield 200 kilograms of meat.

  "Get up, all of you!" Dong Zhuo stepped on the back of the man under the carriage and climbed down from the horse-drawn vehicle with difficulty. The crowd thanked him and slowly got up, stirring up a cloud of dust that choked people.

  Lü Bu walked up to the man, clasped his fists and said: "Uncle, it's almost noon, let's hurry up and set off!" Only then did Long Fei realize that the guy was not the Emperor but Dong Zhuo.

  "Hehe, don't be impatient, my son!" Dong Zhuo smiled slightly and swept his gaze over the group of officials: "Today's hunt, everyone must work hard. I will report to His Majesty that whoever kills the most prey will be heavily rewarded by His Majesty!"

  "Thank you, Grand Preceptor!" The officials again hastened to express their gratitude.

  "Who hasn't come?" Dong Zhuo asked again. Lü Bu immediately widened his eyes and scanned the entire group of officials. After looking around, he didn't wait for Dong Zhuo's order and beckoned to a sturdy subordinate: "Gao Shun, I command you to lead a thousand men and horses to capture all those who haven't come. We'll deal with them when our righteous father returns from hunting!"

  Everyone was terrified, but Dong Zhuo smiled and nodded. He turned to face the carriage and said: "Your Majesty, it's almost noon, we can set off now!"

  A child's voice inside the carriage said: "Since that's the case, let's set off! Taishi can ride with me!"

  "Thank you, Your Majesty!" The crowd supported Dong Zhuo and slowly helped him onto the carriage. The group followed the carriage to the Tiger Hill outside Luoyang City. This was the imperial hunting ground. Since Emperor Wu, all emperors of the Han Dynasty built a hunting ground next to the capital to showcase their military prowess. Chang'an had the Weilin Garden, while Luoyang had the Tiger Hill. Thousands of animals such as rabbits, deer, and foxes were raised here year-round, specifically for the emperor's annual winter and spring hunts.

  There were already soldiers surrounding the hunting ground, and a team of cavalry rushed past to startle the hidden beasts. Someone set up nets around the perimeter to prevent the animals from escaping. Everything was ready, and the carriages of Emperor Xian of Han and Dong Zhuo arrived. The crowd knelt down again to welcome them, with Dong Zhuo getting off the carriage first, followed by Liu Xie. Eunuchs and palace maids laid out prepared cushions and low tables on a piece of grassland. A eunuch set up a canopy to enclose the area, leaving only one exit, and palace maids brought in fine wine and food. Dong Zhuo and Emperor Xian of Han led the three dukes and nine ministers into the enclosure, while others could only stay outside "in the wind and dew".

  Wang Yun was the Minister of Works, and because of this relationship, Long Fei and Zhao Yun were also fortunate enough to follow him in. The singing girls were dancing on the empty ground, with musicians sitting beside them. Long Fei thought to himself: This emperor really knows how to enjoy himself! Thinking about when I had to survive in the wilderness, eating earthworms, sleeping in caves, and constantly being on guard against sneak attacks... this emperor is really good at enjoying life, it's suffocating just thinking about it!

  While drinking, watching the singing and dancing, everyone kept flattering Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo was laughing heartily. But next to him, Emperor Xian of Han Liu Xie sat quietly by himself, unhurriedly eating the food in front of him, sipping the fine wine mouthful by mouthful, as if all this had nothing to do with him.

  "Uncle, you were the first to surround and hunt today. What reward are you prepared to give?" Lü Bu asked with a smile.

  Dong Zhuo smiled and looked at Liu Xie: "What does my son want? Fine horses, gold, silver, jewels, beautiful women, land, as long as my son speaks up, his father will definitely grant it to him!"

  "Thanks to the king!" Lü Bu hastily offered a toast to Dong Zhuo: "Yesterday, I saw a black horse in your majesty's stable and I really liked it. Would your majesty be willing to give it to me as a gift?"

  "Hahaha……" Dong Zhuo burst out laughing: "My son's eyes are not bad, this horse is one that I just brought back from Xiliang, it's not only a fine horse but also a rare and precious Akhal-Teke horse, comparable to your Red Hare. I'll name him Yu Feng, let everyone bear witness, whoever gets first place in this hunting competition, I will reward this precious horse to him!"

  "Thanks, Uncle!" Lü Bu said without any politeness, as if it was only natural. Long Fei secretly smiled and thought to himself that while he might not be a match for Lü Bu in terms of martial arts, when it came to catching wild beasts, ten Lü Bus wouldn't be his equal. With this in mind, he decided to start by getting a good horse from Dong Zhuo first!