Chapter 42: On Meritorious Acts and Rewards

  In 183 AD, a year that should have been uneventful in history, two major events occurred in this space-time continuum.

  It started with the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which affected the nine provinces of the Great Han and posed a great challenge to the rule of the Han Dynasty. Later, Emperor Ling lifted the party ban, appointed He Jin as General-in-Chief, and reappointed Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun and others, dividing the army into two routes to exterminate the Yellow Turban bandits.

  Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun successively eliminated the Yellow Turbans on both the northern and southern routes, making a great name for themselves. Huangfu Song was enfeoffed as Left Chariot Riding General, Governor of Ji Province, and Marquis of Huaili. Zhu Jun was enfeoffed as Right Chariot Riding General and Administrator of Henan. Dong Zhuo, who should have been demoted, was instead enfeoffed as Inspector of Liang Province due to his connections. Cao Cao was enfeoffed as Chancellor of Jizhou, while Sun Jian, who had distinguished himself in the siege warfare, was enfeoffed as Commandant of a Separate Army due to his bravery in battle. Xun Yu, Xun You, and Zhang Rui were all rewarded with various titles and positions. Only Liu Bei was enfeoffed as County Magistrate of Anxi.

  Everyone received the imperial edict and prepared to return to Beijing to thank them. This naturally included Zhang Rui, who had personally beheaded Zhang Jiao. This time, Zhang Rui's performance in the Southern Route Army and his personal beheading of Zhang Jiao also made a big name for himself. He was considered one of the fastest-rising young men in both the Northern and Southern Armies, and he would soon receive an audience with the Emperor. During this period, Zhang Rui's social engagements suddenly increased, but Zhang Rui remained as apathetic as ever, showing no interest in people who didn't suit his taste.

  The Xun brothers have always been busy, and Xun Yu's excellent mobilization ability in the Yellow Turban War, as well as his coordination ability, naturally attracted attention. The strategy of Xun You breaking through Guangzong was also widely talked about by people.

  "Little brother, are you really not going to join us? We two have already decided to follow Meng De. You should know that a thousand-mile horse is easy to find, but a Bo Le is hard to come by. What are you still considering? In the past when we discussed the world together, you also said that Meng De was a wise ruler. Moreover, news from within the capital says that the Emperor wants to restrict the power of the great generals and will set up the eight Western Garden Commanders. With Meng De's current strength, he is definitely going to be one of them."

  Xun Yu was discussing with Zhang Rui on horseback about the issue of going or staying, Xun You still had an expression that didn't care about him. This guy's character is really suitable for proposing such a sinister plan, making Zhang Rui think of Jia Xu. And Cao Cao, this guy rode his horse and pretended to walk in front, but actually stretched his ears very long, involving Zhang Rui, how could Cao Cao not care?

  "Big brother, I understand what you're saying. Meng De is a rare enlightened ruler and I know that too. It's just that I'm not mentally prepared yet, can I think about it some more? Besides, am I not always with you guys now?"

  Zhang Rui did not refuse Xun Yu, nor did he agree with him. Zhang Rui still decided to meet Yuan Shao first and then talk about it. After all, this historical figure Zhang Rui had never seen before. Cao Cao was a wise lord, but being by his side was more dangerous than being by Yuan Shao's side. Cao Cao was jealous and intelligent, with no major shortcomings, and could not be easily fooled. Working for him required extreme caution, even if one's talents were fully utilized. In contrast, Yuan Shao was easier to fool - just say some nice words to flatter him, and he would be settled. Although historically Yuan Shao lost to Cao Cao, if Yuan Shao had Zhang Rui as his assistant, it is possible that he might have had a chance to fight back, since at the time Yuan Shao's power was much stronger than Cao Cao's.

  It's been a long time since I've figured it out, how could Zhang Rui make up his mind before the current situation is clear? Sun Jian and Zhang Rui have never met, let alone that Liu Bei, Zhang Rui wouldn't even consider him. In this period of time, the one who has come to find Zhang Rui the most is none other than Liu Bei, Zhang Rui simply treats him as Tang Seng, saying that he is a descendant of Zhongshan Jingwang, and will only talk about his great revenge, it's so annoying that it can drive people crazy.

  Perhaps Cao Cao didn't worry about Liu Bei at all, anyway, whenever Liu Bei came to visit Zhang Fei, Cao Cao never stopped him, and this guy always took the opportunity to visit Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in Liu Bei's camp. Liu Bei naturally also knew Cao Cao's little move, but he didn't stop it either, the two seemed to have a tacit understanding, as if they were saying that both sides would rely on their own abilities, and see who could poach the other's wall corner first.

  "Zhi Bo brother, I am a descendant of the Han clan, a descendant of Zhongshan Jingwang, and I have the great ambition to support the Han dynasty. And we two are like old friends, I feel deeply comforted that Zhi Bo brother can help me, if Zhi Bo brother can lend me a helping hand, I will repay him with the etiquette of a teacher..."

  "Get out..." A word floated out of the room. Liu Bei shook his head helplessly, there was no way to deal with talented people who were so willful. He turned and left for Xun Yu's camp.

  "Wen Ru brother, I am a descendant of the Han family, a descendant of Zhongshan Jingwang, with a great ambition to support the Han dynasty. And we two are like old friends, Wen Ru brother's words make me feel comforted, if Wen Ru brother can help me, I will treat him as a teacher..."

  "Get out..." Another word floated out of the room. Liu Bei shook his head helplessly and turned to walk out of Xun Yu's camp.

  "Gong Da brother, I am a descendant of the Han family, after Zhongshan Jing Wang..."

  "Get out..." Another word floated out of the room.

  Cao Cao, outside the camp, covered his mouth and secretly laughed. This naive little boy only knew a few words, repeating himself over and over again, not to mention the three people inside the camp. However, when he smiled, he didn't even notice the dark circles under his eyes or think about how they got there. It seemed that this guy wasn't much better than the young Liu Bei. Cao Cao entered Liu Bei's camp, explaining his intentions and trying to win him over, but Guan Yu directly expressed his disapproval, while Zhang Fei simply gave Cao Cao a black eye. As a result, Cao Cao could only sneak back to his own camp at night, or else he would lose face in front of the soldiers.

  "Eh, Meng De, what are you doing hiding in the dark here?" Just then, Huangfu Song happened to be passing by.

  "Hmm, General Huangfu, if I say it's too dark outside, would you believe me that I came here to relieve myself?"

  "Hey, isn't there a latrine in the camp? How can you be so unsanitary? Urinating on the flowers and grass is also not good! Hurry up and finish, then quickly return to the camp." Huang Fu said this as if he was hiding something, and hastily walked away.

  "Alas, the good wine that Yizhen and I drank two days ago, there was clearly another bottle left, how could it be gone? We agreed to drink together in two days, what's going on here? How can I explain this to Yizhen? Who just came to my camp?" Zhu Jun began investigating the disappearance of the good wine.

  Liu Bei walked to the edge of Dong Zhuo's camp, among the many camps, only Dong Zhuo's large camp was dark and gloomy. Dong Zhuo had felt something was off since he returned from Guangzong, but Liu Bei couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. To be precise, it was when Dong Zhuo looked at his own eyes, they seemed too aggressive, yet he hadn't done anything to provoke him.

  Shaking his head, Liu Bei decided not to think about it anymore and quickly walked past Dong Zhuo's large camp, heading towards his own camp.

  In Dong Zhuo's camp, Dong Zhuo sat alone in the camp, with a piece of paper on the table, only to see the names of Zhang Fei, Zhu Jun, and Zhang Rui written on it. Dong Zhuo looked at this paper with a sinister smile...