Collaboration of 63

  Inside Dong Zhuo's camp, Dong Zhuo had his military officer accompany Zhao Yun and others to drink wine and eat meat, while he personally entertained Gao Fei in the main tent.

  Two people sat down, one in the main seat and the other in a secondary seat. Dong Zhuo, with a joyful face, raised his wine cup and said to Gao Fei: "General Gao is a young hero, first pacifying the Yellow Turbans and then repelling the Xiongnu rebels. Such a talented and promising person is indeed rare. We are from the same hometown, so we should be closer friends. General Gao, don't you think that's right?"

  Gao Fei nodded and smiled: "That's exactly what I mean."

  "Haha, no need to say anything else. Let's finish this cup of wine and I'll talk to General Gao about something serious."

  Cao Cao raised his cup and immediately clinked it with Dong Zhuo's, then drained it in one gulp.

  Dong Zhuo put down his wine cup, dismissed all the idle people in the camp, and a sly glint appeared in his eyes. He asked in a low voice: "Zi Yu, I don't consider you an outsider either. Among the Han army's generals, there are Huangfu Song, Zhou Shen, you, and me - four people from Liangzhou. Moreover, people from Liangzhou occupy half of the army. In my opinion, only you and I can achieve great things. As long as we join forces, we will certainly be able to secure a position in both the court and the countryside. Now that the Ten Eunuchs are abusing their power and rebels are rising up everywhere, if we cannot seize the opportunity to gain an advantage in this turbulent time, it's likely that we will find it difficult to stand firm in the future. What do you say?"

  Cao Cao understood Dong Zhuo's meaning, which was to win him over. However, Dong Zhuo spoke ambiguously and with hidden meanings, his true intentions not entirely clear. He felt that Dong Zhuo was intentionally probing him and had already clearly pointed out that he and Dong Zhuo were the only two who could achieve great things together. This meant that if he submitted to Dong Zhuo, they would be allies; otherwise, they would be enemies.

  He knew what kind of person Dong Zhuo was, so he thought carefully and said slowly: "I understand what Mr. Dong means, I also saw the situation in the main account of the central army today, General Huangfu's weakness really pains me, although the Yuan family has been a noble family for four generations, they can't be ridden on by the Yuan family and shit on their necks, ah! The majestic Han Dynasty's car and horse general, was actually forced to be speechless by a scoundrel, it really pains us people from Liangzhou!"

  Dong Zhuo sneered and said, "Yuan Shu is not worth worrying about. He's just a young master of a noble family. How can he compare to us who have relied on our military achievements and fought with every sword and spear? Although Huangfu Song is currently the most powerful official in Liangzhou, his character makes him hard to escape others' jealousy. We warriors are heroes in war, but when it comes to speaking at court, we don't have enough confidence. If you can join forces with me, relying on our achievements in quelling this rebellion in Liangzhou, we'll be able to stand firm at court."

  It's not hard to hear from Dong Zhuo's words that this is Dong Zhuo's dissatisfaction with the imperial court as a military man. He understands history, studies history, and deeply knows the contradictions between scholars and military men in various dynasties. This contradiction has existed for thousands of years in feudal monarchies, not just for one or two days, nor for one or two years.

  Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor An of Han, the western border has been unstable, and the Qiang people's raids have been enough to affect the empire's political nerves. The war against the Qiang began to escalate continuously, and the military rose with the emergence of local warriors, and famous generals emerged one after another. "Liangzhou Sanming" - Huangfu Gui, Zhang Huan, and Duan Jie were their representatives.

  Border warriors can charge and break through on the battlefield, behead and capture flags, make meritorious deeds for the country's border, but to have a say in the imperial court, convert military merit into political power, it is not an easy thing, which also makes them very worried. Where is the way? They are thinking, they are groping.

  Why not give up being a warrior, put down the sword and halberd, and become a scholar? Huangfu Gui had been a private school teacher for 14 years, settled down to study "Poetry" and "Changes", teaching more than 300 disciples; Zhang Huan used to worship Zhu Chong, a famous Confucian scholar at that time, specializing in "Ouyang Shangshu", having his own unique insights on "Mou's Chapter Sentences", writing over 300,000 words of "Shangshu Notes"; Duan Ye also "valued integrity and loved ancient learning".

  However, once the war started, some people couldn't sit still and volunteered to go into battle. In the eyes of the court officials, no matter how well-read you were in classical literature, you were still a military man; if you didn't go to fight, what else could you do?

  Or communicate with the gentlemen emotionally, whatever the gentlemen hate and despise, hoping that they will truly regard themselves as one of their own. Like Huangfu Gui not associating with the powerful eunuch Liang Ji, calling him a mere figurehead; during the Party Censorship disaster, he still wanted to submit a memorial to attach himself to the party... However, in the end, it was still "although a famous general, his reputation was not high". As for Zhang Huan, his learning and achievements were not bad, but he eventually fell into the trap of being a eunuch's pawn in suppressing Dou Wu, "raising his halberd to cut off the loyal and heroic", how could this make the gentlemen accept him?!

  Or become a "recognizer of the times", entangled with the powerful and wealthy, like Duan Jun, willing to sacrifice oneself as an official eunuch to capture Taixue students; catering to the emperor's preferences, spending money to buy a title. But in the end, one loses both wealth and reputation, ending in personal and financial ruin.

  It can be seen that the military needs to normally go out and enter, become an independent political force, but in "Liangzhou Sanming", it is still not possible.

  But history has proven everything, Dong Zhuo, the northwest wolf from Liangzhou, usurped the power of the great Han in his unique way, relying on the intimidation of military force, abolishing the old and establishing the new, regarding imperial power as a plaything in his hands, the ancestral warrior's dream of listening to politics in the court was greatly advanced by him.

  Gao Feng looked at Dong Zhuo in front of him, thinking that the cruel and ruthless villain he would become later was simply a different person. He saw Dong Zhuo looking at him with an expectant gaze, awaiting his response. After careful consideration, if there was no Dong Zhuo, the Eastern Han would not have reached its true name and demise. However, the corrupt government of the Eastern Han had too many ills, he didn't need to think about supporting the Han, but rather needed a great storm to sweep across the land, overthrowing the Great Han and establishing a new regime. This was what he wanted to do, and it was also the ambition he had set for himself since the late Han era.

  "Dong Zhuo was the one who started the chaos at the end of the Han dynasty. Without Dong Zhuo, there would be no warlords vying for power later on, and I wouldn't have been able to benefit from it either. Those who achieve great things don't need to be bound by conventional rules. Since Dong Zhuo has invited me with such enthusiasm, I'll just go along with it for now. Now that I've arrived in this era, there's no need to follow the course of history. I can use my unique approach to establish my own prestige and territory. If Liangzhou is Dong Zhuo's base, then so be it. I'll head to the northeast, far away from the conflicts in the Central Plains, and focus on consolidating my own territory. When the time comes for a change in the world, I'll lead my army to compete with the other warlords for dominance." Gao Fei's heart let out its strongest cry. He didn't want to continue living under someone else's control like this for several months. Even traveling from Shanggui to Jicheng required orders - he was really fed up with these days without any personal freedom.

  "Good! Since Lord Dong thinks so highly of me, I will be impolite if I don't comply. But what clever strategy does Lord Dong have?"

  Dong Zhuo was overjoyed to hear Gao Fei's prompt response, and immediately called out: "I once heard Cao Mengde mention to Huangfu Song that you have a special private army, all of whom are selected from the strong men of Liangzhou, with combat effectiveness not inferior to that of the Qianghu people. Is this true?"

  Gao Fei thought there was nothing to hide, so he nodded and said: "That's right, this Flying Feather Brigade is indeed carefully selected and trained by me. The soldiers are all capable of taking on ten men alone."

  "Haha, very well! Since that's the case, I'll go to Huangfu Song this afternoon and persuade him again to let you lead troops to Ji City. Once we defeat the rebels, we can take advantage of our victory and pursue them. I have some reputation among the Qiang people, so I can use my previous good faith to win them over. That way, only North Palace Bo Yu's Xiongnu followers will be left, and Bian Zhang and Han Sui will be easy to deal with. Once the rebellion is put down, I'll petition to garrison Liangzhou, and as for you, you can ask the Ten Eunuchs for an official position in court. With you inside and me outside, we can work together and firmly grasp control of Liangzhou. Who will dare look down on us then? The Emperor indulges in music and women, and if this continues, I estimate he won't live much longer. Once a new emperor ascends the throne, we'll have a chance to make great achievements and completely change the image of military men in court."

  Cao Cao couldn't help but admire Dong Zhuo's persuasive power, his words were bold and stirring. However, he also had to be on guard, even close brothers would settle accounts clearly, let alone him and Dong Zhuo who were nothing to each other, only half-fellow provincials. He feared that Dong Zhuo, a man as ferocious as a tiger or wolf, when his desire for power reached a certain level, would turn around and devour him. The principle of "one mountain cannot contain two tigers" was clear enough. Nevertheless, he decided that cooperating with Dong Zhuo was not a bad deal, he could take this opportunity to accelerate the course of history, letting chaos arrive earlier.

  "After listening to the adults' words, I was suddenly enlightened. Let's not say anything else, let's drink until we're drunk and then stop. Come on, let's take a deep breath and finish this bowl of wine!"

  Dong Zhuo lifted the wine jug in front of him, embracing it with his arms and laughed: "That bowl is too small, let's use the wine jug. However, before we drink, I want to make one thing clear."

  "Please go ahead, sir!"

  "I have a daughter under my knee, who is excellent in both appearance and figure. I've asked someone to inquire about you, and you're currently eighteen years old and not yet married. My daughter is seventeen this year and is now waiting for marriage, with a beauty that can topple cities and states. I'd like to arrange for my daughter to marry you, so that our relationship as father-in-law and son-in-law can be even closer. What do you think?"

  "Dong Zhuo, you old lecher, actually think of marrying your daughter to me? Your daughter is indeed a national beauty, I should not have refused, but if I married your daughter, then I would become your son-in-law. My status would change from an equal partner to your son-in-law, this kind of losing business I won't do." Gao Fei was very unhappy in his heart, feeling that Dong Zhuo's calculations were really loud, but he wouldn't be moved by beauty. Moreover, the history books didn't say that Dong Zhuo's daughter was particularly beautiful, looking at Dong Zhuo's face, it wasn't hard to imagine what his daughter looked like.

  "This... Mr. Dong's good intentions I shouldn't have refused, it's just that I already had someone in mind, so..."

  "Oh, well, in that case, let's just forget I said anything. But if you've taken a liking to her, she must be a beauty. I wonder where she's from and what her family background is like?" A hint of something unusual flashed across Dong Zhuo's eyes, as if he had been stirred by lust.

  He thought for a moment and then said: "His name is Huang Yueying, a native of Jingzhou!"

  "Huang Yueying?" Dong Zhuo took a sip of wine, silently repeating the name in his mind several times. He thought to himself that if he had the chance to meet her again, he would definitely take a good look and see where his own daughter fell short compared to others.

  Gao Fei felt refreshed, Huang Yueying was Zhuge Liang's wife, younger than Zhuge Liang and a famous ugly woman. At this time, whether Zhuge Liang was born or not is a problem, let alone Huang Yueying? Even if Dong Zhuo wanted to find her later, he might not be able to find her, with a difference of twenty or thirty years in between. Moreover, Dong Zhuo would not have lived that long either.

  Two men drank happily, but because of recent events, they didn't get drunk. After Dong Zhuo's banquet ended, he had Gao Ying wait in his military camp while he personally went to see Huangfu Song. In short, it is unknown what method or words Dong Zhuo used, but Huangfu Song issued an order for Gao Ying to lead two thousand of his own troops along with his two thousand private soldiers to converge on Ji City and prepare to attack.

  After receiving the order, Cao Cao hastily ordered Lu Xiang and others to return to Shanggui with their troops. He also ordered Pei Yuanshao and Xiahou Lan to continue guarding Shanggui, waiting for Hua Xiong to transport grain from Chen Cang. He left Zhao Yun as his personal bodyguard.

  Dong Zhuo was very generous, since he had already taken Gao Shun as his own, there was no need to hide, and immediately ordered the soldiers under his command to set up another camp on the edge of their military camp, being prepared for any situation, waiting for Gao Shun's army to arrive.

  By dusk, the newly built camp was completed. Gao Fei and Zhao Yun were left to guard the empty camp, which looked desolate.

  "Your Excellency, why is Dong Zhuo suddenly being so good to us?" Zhao Yun followed Gao Fei up the watchtower and gazed out at Ji City in front of him, asking in puzzlement.

  Gao Fei smiled and said: "Nothing, Dong Zhuo wanted me to be his son-in-law, but I refused. However, since the deal didn't work out, he naturally treated me with kindness."

  Zhao Yun suddenly smiled and said, "My lord, you're treating this marriage as a business transaction. Since Dong Zhuo is willing to marry his daughter to you, and you don't have a wife yet, why not just marry her?"

  Gao Feng smiled and said: "The reasoning behind this is very complicated. In short, a thousand words can be summed up in one sentence - I don't want to become Dong Zhuo's son-in-law!"

  Zhao Yun understood and didn't ask anymore, standing there without saying a word.

  After a long while, Zhao Yun suddenly pointed at a swift horse riding in the dusk and said to Gao Fei: "My lord, look! That person seems to be Cao Cao!"

  Gao Feng looked up and saw Cao Cao approaching, so he went down from the watchtower with Zhao Yun to welcome Cao Cao at the gate of the camp. He bowed his hands and said: "Brother Mengde's sudden visit, is there something going on?"

  Cao Cao brought out a jar of wine from behind and smiled: "Come to drink with you, didn't finish drinking during the day, let's drink at night."

  Before Highfly could answer, a man appeared walking in the dusk and said loudly: "How can you drink without calling me?"

  Gao Feng, Cao Cao and Zhao Yun looked over together, but saw Sun Jian walking towards them wearing casual clothes, with a smile still on his face, holding a jar of wine in his hand.