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

"Understood."

Gan Ning also had an extremely keen sense of the situation and immediately realized the importance of their surprise force.

Which generals will our lord assign to us?

Gan Ning asked.

Cheng Yu's face showed approval. The fact that Gan Ning could ask this question meant that he understood their strategy.

"Both Qingzhou and Yanzhou need great generals to guard against Jizhou and Youzhou. Our lord also needs great generals to block the Xuzhou army and reduce suspicion from Xuzhou."

"There are only two generals who can be assigned to us. One is General Huang Zhong, who has been with our lord for a long time. General Huang Zhong is unparalleled in archery and no one can defeat him. He is also rare in the world in infantry combat. Even the two Xiahou generals would need to join forces to resist him."

"And there is General Yue Jin, whom the lord has just promoted. General Yue Jin is brave in battle, always the first to charge into battle, and is extremely skilled in siege warfare."

"Neither of these generals has publicized their abilities. Although General Yue Jin is brave, he has only been a general for a little over a month. Many lords do not yet know them, so there is no need for them to appear on the front lines."

"So when will we go to war with Xuzhou?"

Gan Ning asked, he couldn't wait any longer, only such a battlefield was suitable for him, Gan Xingba.

This battle must make Gan Ning's name known throughout the world!

"Wait, wait for the right opportunity. We cannot start an unjust war; we need a sufficient pretext."

"That excuse will come soon."

Cheng Yu looked at the starry sky and it seemed as if he saw an imperial star streaking across the sky.

Three days later, an imperial edict arrived in Yanzhou from distant Chang'an.

The imperial edict rebuked Tao Qian for failing to uphold his duties as a subject and appointed Cao Cao as General Who Guards the East, granting him the authority to establish his own government and oversee the military affairs of the five provinces of You, Ji, Qing, Yan, and Xu.

"How is that possible!"

Even the people in the governor's mansion of Yanzhou found this imperial edict somewhat unbelievable.

On what grounds? Why did Dong Zhuo bestow such a high-ranking official position upon Cao Cao?

This directly granted Cao Cao the right to oversee the military affairs of five provinces, meaning that Cao Cao's conquests of Xu Province, You Province, and Ji Province were all in accordance with the law.

Years later, people around the world realized what Cao Cao had given in exchange for the position of General Who Guards the East.

Shortly after Cao Cao was appointed General Who Guards the East, an imperial edict was issued throughout the territory ruled by Emperor Xian of Han.

Emperor Xian of Han, or rather Dong Zhuo, tore off the veneer of friendship with the aristocratic families. With the support of Li Ru, Jia Xu, Liu Xie, and Wei Ya, he began to fully promote the academy system under his command.

The powerful clans organized several assassination attempts to kill Dong Zhuo, but all of them were thwarted by Lü Bu, who was protecting Dong Zhuo.

With his gun in hand, Dong Zhuo launched a massive purge of the court, eliminating a large number of officials from powerful families.

Only those officials who, despite coming from prominent families, maintained their integrity and were spared.

The smell of blood lingered in the imperial court for three months, and the population of Chang'an City decreased by 30%.

Dong Zhuo became the common enemy of all the powerful families in the land!

"Master Dong, do you regret it?"

Wei Ya's expression was complicated; he hadn't expected Dong Zhuo to go to such lengths.

This was utterly ruthless, almost completely eliminating any possibility of Dong Zhuo unifying the country.

Even the escape route he prepared for Dong Zhuo would be extremely difficult to achieve.

"What's done is done, what's there to regret?"

Dong Zhuo smiled nonchalantly.

"I was originally from a good family in a border region. I joined the army in my youth and risked my life for the Han Dynasty."

"My idols are General Zhang and General Duan. They are the pride of Liangzhou people."

"Even if they are as strong as they are and win every battle on the battlefield, they still have to bow their heads and behave themselves in the court, just because they are not born into a noble family."

"No matter how much blood I shed, how many injuries I suffer, or how many merits I achieve, it's all less important than a casual remark from those powerful families: 'This is so-and-so of mine.'"

"Then I will willingly give up my credit and let these so-called elite talents be promoted and given higher titles."

"General Zhang died of illness, General Duan sought refuge with eunuchs to survive but was still demoted, and General Huangfu escaped by serving as a lackey for a powerful family."

"Hahahaha!"

"I can't believe that the person I saw in the hospital bed back then was actually Zhang Shuai, who was as tough as steel on the battlefield."

"His face was withered and he couldn't even speak. His home was so poor that there wasn't even a servant except for a few old soldiers."

"Throughout his life, Marshal Zhang participated in no fewer than a hundred battles, large and small, and made countless contributions. When I cleaned Marshal Zhang's body, there wasn't a single patch of good flesh on his body. Was it worth it for me to do all that for him?"

"Zhang Shuai patted me on the shoulder without saying anything, but now I understand."

"Why are there so many questions about what's worthwhile or not in this world?"

"I still remember that even on his deathbed, Commander Zhang was still asking me if his soldiers were alright."

"Is that okay?"

"That's good."

"That's wonderful!"

"Back then, Zhang Shuai's troops were implicated because Zhang Shuai refused to side with either the eunuchs or the powerful families. They were sent to the most brutal battlefields, had their weapons confiscated, and all of them died on the battlefield."

"Nobody dared to tell Zhang Shuai the truth; everyone was saying, 'Everything's fine!'"

"They were just sent to the western front to participate in the imperial war and couldn't come back to see him."

"I know that after I kill these powerful families, new powerful families will be born."

"But with the Wei family around, it would take at least 200 years before a great family like the Yuan family exists today."

"In the past 200 years, those who served in the army and those who came from neighboring counties must have had a much better life."

"I've avenged Zhang Shuai this time!"

Dong Zhuo drew his sword, a sword he had never parted with, because it was a gift from Zhang Huan.

"And isn't this sea of ​​suffering a backup plan prepared for me?"

Dong Zhuo laughed heartily. Wei Ya's actions had not escaped his and Li Ru's notice. Li Ru quickly analyzed the situation and understood Wei Ya's purpose.

"The battlefields of empires, the wars between great empires—how I long for them!"

"Originally, I could have sent you, Lord Dong, to the Parthian Empire. With the help of many vassal states, we could have gathered the defeated lords, destroyed the Parthian Empire, and established your own vassal state there."

"However, now that you've done this, those vassal states will definitely retaliate fiercely, and we can't go there anymore."

Wei Ya sighed, but it was precisely because Dong Zhuo possessed such charisma that he remained under Dong Zhuo's command.

"It's alright, the Sea of ​​Bitterness should have already prepared a second path, right?"

Dong Zhuo waved his hand; he trusted Wei Ya, just as Wei Ya trusted him.

"The region east of the Roman Empire, southwest of the Parthian Empire, and north of the new royal dynasty."

"After the Parthian Empire was destroyed by the Han Dynasty, this place will become the front line battlefield between the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty's vassal states."

"This is the only way to survive. Without supplies, we have no place to stand. Only here will the feudal states established by those aristocratic families be willing to provide us with supplies."