Three Kingdoms Mythology World.

Chapter 2652 Sending Lin Mu to the National Treasury
"Buzz!~~~~" Just after Li Ru had startled Liu Bian and Liu Xie and then escorted them back to their palace, a strange fluctuation rippled out from a large hall not far away.

"Hahaha!!~~~" The next moment, Dong Zhuo's familiar and extremely excited laughter resounded throughout the palace.

Dong Zhuo finally obtained the Yongzhou Cauldron, a national treasure of China!
Such commotion, of course, could not be kept secret from the ministers who had just left.

Yang Biao, Lu Zhi, and the others who were anxiously waiting outside the palace, upon witnessing this scene, all assumed that Dong Zhuo had killed the deposed Emperor Liu Bian, and their expressions changed drastically.

After leaving the banquet, they did not return to the mansion, but waited nearby...

Dong Zhuo finally made his move!
They were well aware of how much of a threat Liu Bian posed to Liu Xie's throne. Even if Liu Bian hadn't died, Dong Zhuo would never have let him leave the capital.

However, after waiting for a long time, they did not sense any unusual signs of Liu Bian's death.

Although Liu Bian was a deposed emperor, he had once held the position of emperor, and his death was definitely accompanied by unusual celestial phenomena, as there have been such cases in the past.

"Gentlemen, news has just arrived that the deposed Emperor Hongnong, Liu Bian, attempted to assassinate the Emperor but was stopped by Prime Minister Dong. Currently, Prince Liu Bian has been imprisoned in the Cold Palace and is under strict guard." Xu Rong brought this information to Yang Biao and the others' location.

It was clear that Dong Zhuo knew that Yang Biao and the others were unwilling to leave and were waiting outside.

Yang Biao, Lu Zhi, and the others glared angrily at Xu Rong. Liu Bian attacking Liu Xie...is that even possible...?

That traitor Dong Zhuo always resorts to such disgusting tactics.

However, there is good news: Dong Zhuo really did not kill Liu Bian.

As long as you are alive, there is hope!
And so, the first night after the deposed emperor and empress passed by in such a thrilling manner.

Dong Zhuo's first act of controlling the imperial court was to move government affairs directly back to his residence.

Indeed, all the memorials submitted from the prefectures and counties were sent to Dong Zhuo's residence, where he made all the decisions and revisions. As for Emperor Liu Xie, he never even saw a single one of them.

After that, he began to promote his cronies and eliminate his opponents.

The position of Commandant of the Capital Region was filled by Xuan Fan, one of Dong Zhuo's confidants. Although his strength and cultivation were inferior to those of Hua Xiong and Xu Rong, he possessed good command abilities and was very obedient.

To prevent trouble at home, Gai Xun, the Prefect of Jingzhao, was dismissed and replaced by Sima Fang. Sima Fang was no ordinary man; he was the son of Sima Jun, the Prefect of Yingchuan, and the father of Emperor Xuan of Jin, Sima Yi!
That's right, it's Sima Yi, who's on the list of the greatest strategists in the world!
Sima Fang had eight sons, namely Sima Lang, Sima Yi, Sima Fu, Sima Kui, Sima Xun, Sima Jin, Sima Tong, and Sima Min, all of whom were famous. Because each of their courtesy names contained the character "Da," they were collectively known as the "Eight Worthies." He was very strict with his sons, even after they reached adulthood, demanding that they "not dare to advance unless instructed to, not dare to sit unless instructed to, and not dare to speak unless pointed out." Emperor Xuan of Jin, Sima Yi, was his second son.

It is said that Sima Fang was a capable man from a very wealthy family. He was previously the magistrate of Luoyang, the capital city of Luoyang!
This position is both extraordinary and ordinary. After all, Luoyang, the capital, is the largest county in the entire land. Yet, it's also quite ordinary; he has virtually no power. Luoyang is a hub for powerful figures from all walks of life, and anyone could easily hold a higher position. So what can he do? He's relegated to the sixth position, hence his extremely low profile…

When Dong Zhuo entered the capital, he warmly welcomed him and even provided him with some conveniences. That's why Dong Zhuo appointed him as the Prefect of the Capital.

The five battalions of Shen Du were all commanded by his trusted confidants Niu Fu, Hu Zhen, Duan Wei, Dong Min, and Zhang Ji.

Li Jue commanded the Imperial Guards.

Hua Xiong, Xu Rong, Fan Chou, Guo Si, and others also received promotions and made a fortune...

Dong Zhuo completely seized control of the military power in the entire capital city of Luoyang.

It is worth mentioning that Dong Zhuo appointed Huangfu Song as the Commandant of the City Gates, intending to summon him to the capital. Unfortunately, Huangfu Song completely ignored him.

At this moment, Huangfu Song and the dismissed Gai Xun were working together to bring down Dong Zhuo. Meanwhile, they were also frantically searching for Empress Dowager He.

Once Empress Dowager He is found, the banner against Dong will be raised!
This time, Huangfu Song was more shrewd. He not only ordered the major clans to search, but also mobilized the newly returned outcasts to search as well. These outcasts all hated Dong Zhuo intensely and knew about the plot of the uprising against Dong Zhuo, so they all worked very hard to find him.

Unfortunately, they still ended up with nothing.

Let's return to Dong Zhuo's actions. Besides eliminating dissidents and promoting his cronies, he also promoted many people, such as the Yuan family.

Yuan Shu was directly appointed as the General of the Rear.

Yuan Wei remained Grand Tutor, assisting Emperor Liu Xie. However, Dong Zhuo never gave Yuan Wei the opportunity to enter the capital and meet Liu Xie. This position was merely nominal. Yuan Shao, who had a fierce conflict with Dong Zhuo, also received a reward from Dong Zhuo, being appointed Governor of Bohai.

Other members of the Yuan clan also received different promotions and entered official positions.

To be honest, Dong Zhuo was actually quite kind to the Yuan family. Well, he only agreed to treat them after he realized they posed no threat… If they had been a threat, like those previous armies, he would have eliminated them first before discussing preferential treatment!
Clearly, Dong Zhuo knew how terrifying the Yuan family was and that their so-called loyalty was fake, hence his actions!
There were also Wang Yun, Yang Biao, Lu Zhi, and others, who were renowned officials, and Dong Zhuo treated them well.

Then there were Dong Zhuo's family members; his mother was Lady Chiyang, and the others also received various titles and honors.

In short, Dong Zhuo's dominance of the capital proved the saying: "When one attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!"
As for Lin Mu's faction, Dong Zhuo did not promote Lin Mu, but he promoted Cai Yong, Xun Shuang and others.

The strangest thing is that Dong Zhuo actually summoned Lin Mu to the palace and ordered him to lead a troop of soldiers to search for the national treasury!
That's right, Dong Zhuo actually arranged for Lin Mu to go to the national treasury.

Lin Mu, who was found by Xu Rong in the side room, was stunned when he heard the news... What is Dong Zhuo doing!

Upon receiving the order, Lin Mu did not refuse and immediately followed Xu Rong into the palace. Then, under Li Jue's arrangement, he led five thousand men to inspect all the main halls within the palace.

With a strange look on his face, Lin Mu began a large-scale, thorough inspection of all the main halls.

"Is Dong Zhuo going to use the name of a lucky general? Or is Dong Zhuo testing me?!" Lin Mu rode his tall horse absentmindedly through the palace gardens.

"It should be both... Li Ru is no simple man, we can't be careless."

"Liu Bian is safe now, so let's not alert him for the time being," Lin Mu thought to himself.

After figuring things out, Lin Mu had a thought, and Liangzhou Ding exerted its power to protect the dragon's fortune and prevent any abnormalities from occurring.

The main halls of the palace were in a state of disarray, indicating that Dong Zhuo had conducted a rough search but had not found the national treasury.

As for the items in the main hall, they could not possibly escape the clutches of the Xiliang army.

For safety reasons, or perhaps because he had discovered something, Dong Zhuo replaced some of the Imperial Guards with Xiliang Army soldiers.

Lin Mu doesn't know exactly which ones were replaced yet. Xi Zhicai might know...

And so, Lin Mu led five thousand soldiers around the palace, but unfortunately, he gained nothing.

Behind Lin Mu's group, Li Ru and Li Jue followed at a distance, constantly observing Lin Mu.

"Strategist, why doesn't our lord just kill Lin Mu?" Li Jue asked, a murderous glint in his eyes.

"It's not that easy," Li Ru shook his head. He certainly wanted to kill Lin Mu... but the chances were extremely low.

He had a premonition that the chances of successfully killing Liu Bian and Liu Xie were higher than those of killing Lin Mu.

Lin Mu is a man who hides his true nature very deeply!
“Since we’re not going to kill him, then we’ll keep him under surveillance. It seems Lin Mu hasn’t been in contact with outsiders lately, just a few close confidants. But after meeting them once, they all went back to Yangzhou,” Li Jue said solemnly.

“The most difficult thing to deal with is that they don’t interact much with outsiders…” Li Ru sighed softly.

"Strategist, since you're afraid he'll come to rescue Liu Bian, why did you still bring him into the palace? Isn't that just handing meat to our mouths?" Li Jue asked in confusion.

“I want him to move…” Li Ru said quietly, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Thus, with both sides harboring their own ulterior motives, the search for the national treasury began.

"Forget it, we can't find any clues for now, let him stay here." After following Lin Mu for most of the day, Li Ru finally left.

(End of this chapter)