Bronze door through time and space

Chapter 609: Victory and then defeat
In Yan Xu's opinion, Lu Zhi would actually be fine from the beginning, because he was a talent chosen by Liu Hong and was the key to bypassing the court and reaching the local areas. How could he possibly cut off his own hands and feet?

As for why he was escorted back to Beijing for refusing to bribe Huangmen Zuo Feng, it was just a play.

All the eunuchs who could survive in the palace were shrewd men, and Zuo Feng was certainly not a fool. He directly demanded a bribe from the commander of an army, especially at the critical moment of a war. Neither Zhang Rang nor Zhao Zhong dared to be so arrogant.

So it is most likely that Liu Hong deliberately arranged it in order to pull Lu Zhi out of this vortex.

The biggest chaos in the world, and also the greatest achievement, was the rebellion of the Yellow Turban Army, and Zhang Jue, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang were the leaders of the rebellion.

If Lu Zhi led his troops to annihilate the three brothers of the Zhang family and most of the elite troops of the Yellow Turban Army, this achievement would be great enough to shake the entire court. At least Liu Hong would be able to gain more military power and would not be limited to the capital.

The most important thing is that Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were all royalists, or at least loyal to the Han Dynasty. With these merits, they were able to guard one side and become the three swords that Liu Hong used to break the constraints of the aristocratic families on imperial power.

Under such circumstances, court officials and aristocratic families would definitely not sit idly by and would inevitably engage in political games with Liu Hong.

At the critical moment when the Yellow Turban Army was about to be closed in, Liu Hong escorted the commander-in-chief Lu Zhi back to the capital for such a ridiculous reason. It was obvious that Liu Hong was at a disadvantage in the game, so he had to use this method to protect Lu Zhi.

Judging from the fact that Dong Zhuo was replaced, this time it was Yuan Wei, the representative of the aristocratic family, and He Jin, the representative of the external relatives, who gained the upper hand.

However, this peach is not so easy to pick. If Dong Zhuo wants to take advantage of it, he has to see whether Zhang Jue is willing.

In comparison, although Lu Zhi seemed to have lost the opportunity to make great contributions and was framed and imprisoned, he also gained a higher reputation and a noble reputation. With just one more opportunity, he could not only rise again but also go further.

But for Liu Hong, this was a last resort. You know, although doing so saved Lu Zhi, it also made his reputation worse.

The whole world despised the eunuchs, especially the Ten Attendants, but this was no different from scolding Liu Hong, because without his permission, the so-called eunuchs were just a bunch of eunuchs and had no power at all.

Wei Zhongxian was so awesome, he was already nine thousand years old, but the new emperor could do whatever he wanted.

During the late Han Dynasty, the eunuchs and relatives of the emperor's wife competed for power, which was actually a means for the new emperor to take back power after he ascended the throne.

Because all the power of eunuchs came from the emperor, or the imperial power, they became a knife used by the emperor to weaken court officials and aristocratic families, and a rope used to restrain foreign relatives. They did all kinds of dirty work that offended people, so how could they have a good reputation?

As to whether this speculation is true or not, it is actually not important. At least Liu Bei has learned something new and Yan Xu is happy to brag, so it doesn't matter.

Liu Bei received the military order and led his troops north with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

One day, they suddenly heard a loud shout from behind the mountain. Liu Bei was also an experienced warrior, so he immediately notified the central army and prepared for battle. He, Guan Yu and Zhang Zong immediately looked up from a high hill and saw that the Han army was defeated and was heading east with the flag with the word "Dong" on it. Behind them, the Yellow Turbans were coming from all over the mountains and plains, with the words "General Tiangong" written on their flags.

"It was Zhang Jue. Dong Zhuo was defeated." Liu Bei didn't know whether he was mocking Dong Zhuo's incompetence, or sympathizing with the Han army that was exhausted by one incompetent general, or the imperial court that caused all this to happen. In short, his tone was very complicated.

"Humph!" Guan Yu snorted coldly, holding the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade tightly, and said to his brother. "Brother, look at me chopping off his head!"

It is hard to say whether the dog head belongs to Zhang Jiao or Dong Zhuo. Liu Bei could only smile bitterly. At this time, the central army issued an order to attack quickly!

"We will definitely win this battle!" Liu Bei put aside all distractions, shouted loudly, and three of them rode out on horseback to lead the army.

Zhang Jue, wearing an apricot yellow Taoist robe and holding a Taiping staff, defeated Dong Zhuo and was chasing after him in high spirits when he suddenly encountered three people charging at him. The Yellow Turban Army, which had already lost its formation, immediately fell into chaos.

"Don't panic! Look at my Yellow Turban strongmen!" Zhang Jue, his face turning green and his cheeks flushed, shouted loudly. In order to stabilize the morale of the army, he forcibly used his magic power to summon more than a hundred Yellow Turban strongmen from the clouds.

Unlike the weakened version of the Yellow Turban strongman in Qu Shuai's hands, the Yellow Turban strongman summoned by Zhang Jue is ten feet tall, as strong as copper or iron, with two thighs like city gate pillars, and swinging iron fists as big as casserole pots. Each punch can really hit a small pancake, without any luck. As long as they get close to the body, no one will survive. Throwing an armored vehicle into the era of cold weapons will have the same effect.

"Stop being so arrogant!" Guan Yu opened his eyes and shouted, dragging his sword backwards, and galloping over. A green dragon sword shadow flashed by, and a Yellow Turban warrior was cut off on the spot. The released shock wave also knocked the Yellow Turban soldiers who were cheering loudly around to the ground and vomited blood, clearing out the area directly.

Since the three brothers developed inexplicable emotions that day, their martial arts increased greatly, especially Guan Yu, who had comprehended the Green Dragon Slash. He himself did not know that there were so many mysteries in it. When he used it this time, the power really increased dramatically. Immediately, they were eager to fight and went straight to the flag of General Tian Gong.

Zhang Fei was no worse. With a loud roar like thunder, the surrounding Yellow Turban soldiers were knocked to the ground and had no power to resist. They were torn to pieces by the wielding snake spears. Even the Yellow Turban strongman who was invulnerable to swords and spears was sent flying by his spear, shocking everyone.

Cao Cao was eager to make a contribution, so he also led his troops to the scene. Seeing Guan and Zhang display their prowess, he was so excited that he rushed straight into the enemy camp. However, he did not expect that it was not the case at all.

The 50,000 Yellow Turban Army under Zhang Jue were not only the best and strongest soldiers selected from hundreds of thousands of believers, but they also believed in what he said at the beginning. Therefore, they fought bravely and dared to fight to the death. Otherwise, no matter how bad Dong Zhuo was, he had fought his way up from the bottom, was rough and resourceful, and had made many military achievements. How could he be so vulnerable?

Tens of thousands of brave warriors, plus more than a hundred Yellow Turban strongmen, were beyond the ability of the fledgling Cao Cao to resist. He was immediately killed and defeated repeatedly, and began to doubt his life.

Fortunately, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun arrived with their troops in time. The two were indeed worthy of being the famous generals of the late Han Dynasty. They responded calmly and even though they were at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, they still managed to stabilize the situation and helped Guan and Zhang who were charging into battle to draw away a large number of Yellow Turban Army's troops.

Dong Zhuo, who was fleeing in a panic, came to his senses and realized that he would not be able to explain to the court if he was defeated. So without waiting to regroup, he led hundreds of his personal soldiers to counterattack.

At this time, Dong Zhuo was not yet the fat man who would indulge in pleasure in the future and burn for a long time even if he lit a sky lantern. He was still in his prime. Mustering up his remaining courage, he shot bows left and right on horseback. Relying on the strong bow and powerful arrows, he went upstream and killed his way into the Yellow Turban Army.

Faced with the rapidly changing situation, Zhang Jue became angry and anxious. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and became listless. He just stared at the sky, not knowing what he was thinking.

Upon seeing this, the surrounding soldiers hurriedly took him to retreat, but they didn't know that once General Tian Gong's flag was retreated, the Yellow Turban Army, who fought only by relying on their courage, could no longer muster up the energy.

They had been fighting for most of the day without any food or water, and were ambushed repeatedly. Their morale immediately plummeted, and they followed the flag in retreat.

This was also the shortcoming of the Yellow Turban Army. Relying on their faith, they were fearless and brave, but they could not withstand setbacks. Whenever there was any change, they would retreat. So they retreated for more than fifty miles before they could stabilize their position. The Han army was also unable to fight again, and the two sides set up camps ten miles apart.

(End of this chapter)