Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 50 Door-to-Door Delivery
Although this was Wei Xiaobao's first day as an official in the Han Dynasty, he had been an official in the Qing Dynasty for so many years. He had participated in so many morning court sessions as a eunuch and an official. Naturally, he was familiar with the interests and rules of the court. He followed suit in the Zhangde Hall and did not make too many mistakes, except that his open-crotch sitting posture occasionally attracted strange looks from others.

It's just that everyone knew that he was Lu Zhi's student, and that he was close to Liu Xie, and was the Xiyuan Cavalry Captain appointed by Liu Xie. Naturally, there was not much to say. What's more, he took the initiative to sit in the last seat, which made many people feel that he was not a person who was proud of his achievements and arrogant because of his favor. The group of upright and famous scholars who secretly opposed Dong Zhuo actually had a better impression of him.

After the court was dismissed, Liu Xie left Wang Yun alone. Wei Xiaobao knew that he would have to order Wang Yun to sell his Diao Chan to Lu Bu, and he couldn't help feeling depressed again.

Dong Zhuo was not very happy at first, but when he heard Liu Xie say that there were many new things in Situ's mansion and he wanted to ask Wang Yun, he gave up the idea. He also felt that Liu Xie was so playful that he would be easier to control.

Before Wei Xiaobao returned to his bedroom, Liu Xie had already sent someone to inform him: "New things will soon arrive at the Situ Mansion. Tell him to go and take a look."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Zhang Jue is such a cautious and clever fellow that he doesn't even trust the messenger. But it's funny how he describes Lü Bu as a novelty. But in my opinion, Lü Bu isn't a novelty at all."

Besides the righteous Guan Yu, Wei Xiaobao's only Three Kingdoms hero was the ingenious Zhuge Liang. Although many later generations praised Lü Bu as unrivaled, Wei Xiaobao disliked him. Firstly, Wei Xiaobao grew up in a brothel and wandered the streets of Yangzhou. His frail frame was often bullied by older children, so he had little respect for the power of force. Secondly, Wei Xiaobao placed a high value on loyalty, and he despised people like Lü Bu. And now, with the incident of Diao Chan, Wei Xiaobao couldn't muster the slightest affection for Lü Bu.

After Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, he had no place of his own and initially camped in the city. Later, when Yuan Shao and Dong Zhuo fell out, Dong Zhuo captured Yuan Shao's family and occupied Yuan Shao's house. After Wei Xiaobao learned where Dong Zhuo lived, he didn't dare ride a horse, so he changed his clothes and rode a donkey.

Perhaps Dong Zhuo thought he was powerful, or perhaps he was concerned about the reputation of the Yuan family in Luoyang. In any case, Dong Zhuo did not arrange too many guards outside his residence, which gave Wei Xiaobao an opportunity to take advantage of.

When Wei Xiaobao was a child, he often escaped from Lichunyuan to play in order to avoid his mother's supervision. Climbing over the wall and breaking into the house was a skill he used to master.

While dodging the pedestrians in the courtyard, Wei Xiaobao pondered, "If I were Dong Zhuo, where would I hide the Seven-Star Sword? From Wang Yun's description, although it's called the Seven-Star Sword, it seems to be about the same size as my precious dagger. I guess Dong Zhuo would carry it with him as well. I carry it for self-defense. He has his godson, Lu Bu, and today I saw him carrying a long sword at court. There should be no need for him to carry a dagger as well. Oh right! When we went to search Oboi's house to search and confiscate his property, we found the precious dagger in Oboi's secret room. Oboi and Wu Sangui, two big villains, both had secret rooms, so Dong Zhuo would definitely hide the dagger in his secret room as well."

Wei Xiaobao wandered around and soon spotted someone carrying a plate of wine and fruit into a room. He thought, "That should be Dong Zhuo's study, and the secret room should be inside. It looks like Dong Zhuo has guests in his study. I'll go over there first and then go in and look for him when he sends them away."

Sure enough, when Wei Xiaobao reached the window of that room, he heard someone inside saying, "How come the military advisor has the time to summon me today?"

Wei Xiaobao heard a familiar voice, pried open the window and looked inside, and immediately understood.

There were two people sitting opposite each other in the room, and the person who had just spoken was Tang Zhou.

Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "So it was you, little bastard, who betrayed and informed on the matter. No wonder Dong Zhuo took action so early! He Lingsi, He Lingsi, your death was not unjust at all. How dare you trust a fence-sitter like Tang Zhou?"

Wei Xiaobao also knew the other person. It was Jia Xu, whom Lu Zhi had pointed out to him by the river that day.

Jia Xu said, "My lord, please take your men hunting outside the city after the court is dismissed. I also have half a day to spare."

Tang Zhou asked, "Why didn't the military advisor go with them?"

Jia Xu said, "I opposed Li Ru's proposal to depose Liu Bian and enthronize Liu Xie as emperor. My lord has already formed an opinion of me. It is not appropriate for me to go with him on hunting and playing."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Even if Jia Xu isn't smarter than Zhuge Liang, he's probably not much behind. How come he looks just as dumb as He Lingsi now? How could he say such things to Tang Zhou's face? Tang Zhou betrayed He Lingsi and defected to Dong Zhuo. Aren't you afraid that Tang Zhou will complain to Dong Zhuo and say bad things about you?"

Tang Zhou said, "Military Advisor, you're worrying too much. If it weren't for your strategy, how could our Lord succeed Lu Zhi in attacking the Yellow Turbans and regain control of Bingzhou's military affairs?"

Jia Xu said, "It's a shame our lord lost. You and Zuo Feng suffered in Jizhou in vain, and in the end, it helped Huangfu Song." Tang Zhou said, "If we hadn't attacked the Yellow Turbans earlier, we wouldn't be leading the Xiliang army into the capital today."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "So you two have known each other for a long time. You two went to Guangzong to frame Lu Zhi so that Dong Zhuo could take control of the military power."

Tang Zhou continued, "It's a pity that Emperor Guangzong didn't kill Wei Xiaobao that day. This time when we got rid of Empress Dowager He, he still escaped."

Wei Xiaobao was shocked. "So Tang Zhou wanted to kill me from the beginning, just because I mocked him for having no balls? Or because I almost killed his brother? Since Zhang Liang is dead, I guess Tang Qin couldn't escape Guangzong County either."

Jia Xu said, "Tang Qin was forced into the river by Zhang Liang, so no one else is to blame. When I accompanied my lord to welcome the emperor, I met Wei Xiaobao once. I didn't know it was him at the time, but I thought he must have some extraordinary qualities to be able to stay by Lu Zhi's side, considering his frivolous demeanor. I never imagined he was the fox demon you mentioned. No wonder he was able to save the emperor; he must have relied on his divination skills to find the deposed emperor and Your Majesty by the river."

Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "Your grandfather's Tang Zhou, your brother was forced to jump into the river by Zhang Liang, so why do you blame me? But since your brother also jumped into this river, isn't that like he was scouting the way for your godfather? If I were really a fox demon, I would cast a spell right now to throw you into the river as well, so that your family can be reunited."

Tang Zhou said, "This guy is full of nonsense. His magic is probably fake. Anyway, Zhang Jiao's magic can't be taken seriously. The magic water he gave his followers to drink was actually ginseng. There is no magic at all."

Jia Xu said, "Regardless of whether he is true or false, this man has now been granted the title of Xiyuan Commandant by His Majesty. I have summoned you today precisely for him."

Tang Zhou was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth. He said, "What? This unlearned and unlearned playboy actually became the captain of Xiyuan?"

Jia Xu continued, "He has only an empty title. How can our lord allow him to control the military?"

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "No wonder Dong Zhuo agreed to give me an official position. Turns out it's all for show. I'm the Manchu Commander of the Plain Yellow Banner of the Cavalry Battalion and can even command the troops of the Cavalry Battalion! Damn it, my Qing Dynasty is still better! It's a thousand times, ten thousand times better than your shitty Han Dynasty."

Wei Xiaobao didn't know that he was a Han Chinese and came from the Han Dynasty. He was just angry with Dong Zhuo, so he cursed him in his heart without any reason.

Jia Xu continued, "Your Majesty, if you listen to Li Ru's slander and support Liu Xie as the throne, you will not only gain nothing for yourself, but will also give Yuan Shao in Bohai a pretext to attack you. If I'm not mistaken, Cao Cao, who recently escaped, has already defected to Yuan Shao. Soon, Yuan Shao will undoubtedly contact various other princes and attack you under the pretext of supporting the king."

Wei Xiaobao secretly admired in his heart: "This Jia Xu is really not simple. He already knew that Yuan Shao would lead the eighteen princes to fight Yuan Shao. If he could guess that there would be eighteen princes, then he is really amazing! It seems that I am still a little more capable than you, because I knew there would be eighteen princes."

Jia Xu continued, "The Lord has shown us a favor. At this critical moment, we must repay him. You must also put aside your personal grudges and find a way to meet with Wei Xiaobao and win him over to us, so that we can use him as a pawn to monitor His Majesty."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "This man is just like what Lu Zhi said, he only helps Dong Zhuo bully the emperor. Although the current emperor is not the same as before, Jia Xu only helps his master. In this respect, he is the same as me, Wei Xiaobao, who only has one master in his heart. Xiao Xuanzi, Xiao Xuanzi, although I am still the incense master of Qingmu Hall and the White Dragon Envoy of the Shenlong Sect, you are the only good friend in my heart. You see, I even gave Diao Chan to Lu Bu because I was afraid that you could no longer be emperor. When you find out about my identities in the future, please remember my loyalty and don't kill me."

Tang Zhou nodded and said, "Since the military advisor has advised against it, and this matter concerns the lord, I am willing to go see Wei Xiaobao. I will kill him after Yuan Shao calms down."

Wei Xiaobao stuck out his tongue and cursed in his heart, "Damn it! They wanted to bribe me, and then they wanted to destroy the bridge after crossing it. Luckily I overheard them. But it's better if they bribed me. I can pretend to surrender and take this opportunity to look for the Seven Star Sword in Dong Zhuo's house."

Thinking of this, Wei Xiaobao quietly slipped to the backyard and climbed over the wall. He then returned to the palace, changed into his official uniform, and rode back to Dong Zhuo's residence. Standing at the door, he shouted, "Wei Xiaobao, the captain of the Western Garden, requests an audience!"

Wei Xiaobao continued to shout loudly while cursing in his heart: "I've delivered the goods to your door, why don't you come out and pick up your grandfather!"

(End of this chapter)