A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

But he never expected that Dong Zhuo had two strategists unknown to him, each of whom harbored the desire to destroy his Yuan clan.

One of them is Li Ru, a ruthless man who came from an ordinary family but possessed extraordinary talent and gained the Wei family's approval through his own efforts.

This is a character who sees aristocratic families as enemies. He doesn't care about so-called ethics and morality. Born in Xiliang, he only recognizes knives.

Another was Wei Ya from the Wei family. He believed that if Dong Zhuo, a bold and ambitious border commander, were to seize power, he would surely unleash a powerful force to destroy and annex the surrounding foreign tribes.

Non-my family, its heart must be different.

When their written language is destroyed, their ancestral temples are removed, their clothing is ruined, and their history is lost, then after several generations, all will be Chinese.

The royal family, living deep within the palace walls, would never have such a cruel and ruthless heart.

Moreover, even Dong Zhuo regarded him as an obstacle on his path forward.

If it weren't for Yuan Wei's interference, he would have become a military general under Zhang Huan, instead of being dependent on eunuchs and treated as a pawn to be discarded by the Yuan family at any time.

……

Urged on by Yuan Wei, Dong Zhuo led his army to Chang'an.

Ding Yuan also arrived in Chang'an with Lü Bu and his personal guards. Because his troops had been seized, he arrived even faster than Dong Zhuo.

After arriving in Chang'an, Yuan Wei, in order to counterbalance Dong Zhuo, recommended Ding Yuan to be appointed as the Commander of the Imperial Guards, thus giving him control of the garrison in Chang'an.

Ding Yuan came from an ordinary background, and to become a high-ranking official like the Nine Ministers and the Commander of the Imperial Guard was already the pinnacle of his life.

He was deeply grateful to Yuan Wei and remained utterly loyal to him.

After Dong Zhuo entered the capital, his first thought was to take over the city's defenses.

But the city's defenses are now under Ding Yuan's control. He has just been appointed to the high position of Commander of the Imperial Guards, so how could he possibly relinquish his power so easily?

The two sides naturally clashed.

On this day, Dong Zhuo hosted a banquet for Ding Yuan, secretly ambushing three hundred axemen. They were waiting for Ding Yuan to smash his cup as a signal, at which point the three hundred axemen would rush out and chop Ding Yuan into mincemeat.

After several rounds of drinks, Dong Zhuo took the cup in his hand and examined it carefully.

"Ding Jianyang, are you going to give up the city's defenses or not?"

"Dong Zhuo, I am the Commander of the Imperial Guards, personally appointed by His Majesty and the Empress Dowager. It is my duty to take charge of the city's defenses."

"You, a mere border soldier, dare to attempt to take over the defenses of the capital? What are you trying to do?!"

"Do you want to rebel?"

Ding Yuan sneered.

"Since you won't listen to reason, then don't blame me for being impolite!"

Dong Zhuo smashed the cup in his hand, and three hundred axemen stepped forward, surrounding Ding Yuan and the burly men behind him.

Dong Zhuo originally thought Ding Yuan would be terrified, but to his surprise, Ding Yuan remained calm and composed.

"Is this all you're relying on, Dong Zhongying?"

"Where is my son, Fengxian?"

The burly man behind Ding Yuan stood up. "Fengxian is here!"

Upon closer inspection, Dong Zhuo realized that although the burly man was dressed in a scholar's robe, he was all muscle and did not look like a civil official at all, but rather like a military general.

Whose virtuous civil official is wielding a halberd?!

Because of King Chungmu, the Han Dynasty took pride in being able to wield the halberd.

However, using the halberd makes one vulnerable to being attacked and ganged up on.

Anyone who dares to use such a weapon without the true strength to dominate a region is simply asking for trouble.

Even if this guy really was a fierce general, Dong Zhuo wasn't afraid.

This is his territory, and he acts like he has no one else.

And even if you're incredibly strong, these are 300 axemen, each one an elite member of his Xiliang army. Do you think you're the Loyal and Martial King?!

The development of events quickly stunned Dong Zhuo. Even with Ding Yuan on his back and needing to hold the halberd in one hand, Lü Bu was still invincible in the world.

Even with three hundred axemen, Lü Bu and Ding Yuan still managed to break through and escape.

"You actually murdered nine high-ranking officials in Chang'an! I will definitely report you to the emperor at tomorrow's court assembly, Dong Zhongying! You just wait!"

Although Ding Yuan was unharmed thanks to Lü Bu's protection, his beloved mustache was chopped in half with a single blow.

After escaping Dong Zhuo, Ding Yuan looked at Lü Bu with dissatisfaction, "Didn't you say you were brave and invincible? Didn't you say you could take on a thousand men single-handedly with your halberd?"

"How can you not even protect me? Do you know how precious my beard is? I've been growing it for over ten years!"

"After you return, you will receive 50 lashes!"

Lu Bu gripped the halberd tightly in his hand, but dared not resist.

When he was young and naive, he was deceived by Ding Yuan and adopted as his son.

Constrained by the father-son relationship, no matter how wrong or unwilling he was, he could not resist.

Otherwise, a traitor who betrays his father will have nowhere to hide in the whole world!

"Yes, Godfather."

……

The Dong residence.

Dong Zhuo was furious, but he did not blame the executioners, as he could see that they had done their best.

"You may all leave. This time it's all my fault for not properly investigating Ding Yuan's strength. The compensation for all the brothers who were killed will be doubled, and for the wounded brothers, I will provide all the medicine, and each of them will receive an additional ten thousand coins."

Back in the backyard, Dong Zhuo's eyes gleamed.

Born in Xiliang, he admired brave warriors the most, and Lu Bu really appealed to his sensibilities.

He called Li Ru and Wei Ya to his side, saying, "Ding Yuan has an adopted son who is extremely brave."

"One man protected Ding Yuan as he fought his way out from among my 300 axemen. His halberd swung like the wind. Neither he nor Ding Yuan had a single wound. On the contrary, over a hundred of my axemen were killed or wounded."

"What a pity that such a valiant general is relegated to the hands of that good-for-nothing Ding Yuan!"

Both Li Ru and Wei Ya were surprised; this was actually a master who could wield the halberd with ease.

Although the Fangtian Halberd is a variant of the Fangtian Halberd, it is only more ornate in appearance; in reality, they are almost identical.

Such a record is rare even in the history of the Wei family.

"I didn't expect Ding Yuan to have such a capable person under his command. It should be easy to find out if he is a master who can use the halberd."

Wei Ya was very interested in Lü Bu. "Leave this matter to me."

"Alright, I'm entrusting the Bitter Sea to you. I trust you."

Dong Zhuo was overjoyed.

This is Chang'an City, and his intelligence is extremely outdated, far inferior to that of Wei Ya, who comes from the Wei family.

Wei Ya left the Wei Dong Mansion and went directly to the Yan Gong Mansion.

The Yan family must have records of masters who could wield the halberd so skillfully.

Sure enough, after he entered the mansion and stated his needs, someone immediately handed him information about Lü Bu.

Lü Bu, also known as Lü Fengxian, was from Jiuyuan County, Wuyuan Commandery. He showed great martial talent from a young age, killing several bandits with his bare hands when he was ten years old. As a result, he was favored by Ding Yuan and adopted as his son.

As Lü Bu grew older, his martial prowess increased, causing great harm to the army.

After Ding Yuan's eldest son was born, he feared that Lü Bu would take away the eldest son's status and political resources, so he suppressed Lü Bu severely. Except when he was leading troops, he was not allowed to have military power, and Ding Yuan also claimed all of Lü Bu's military achievements.

Ding Yuan's current power is entirely due to the military achievements made by Lü Bu, which he has falsely claimed.

In order to appease Lü Bu, Ding Yuan appointed him as chief clerk, ostensibly to make him both a scholar and a warrior.

As Ding Yuan's eldest son grew older, Ding Yuan became increasingly cruel to Lü Bu, frequently beating and scolding him, and subjecting him to military punishment, which caused resentment among many in the army.

But Ding Yuan had a father-son relationship with Lü Bu and had shown him great favor. He used this to bind Lü Bu to his son, hoping to keep Lü Bu loyal to his son and help his son rise to a high position.