Three Kingdoms: Start by marrying Cai Yan, then vie for supremacy.

13

Being valued by both men and infiltrated into their army made subsequent operations easier.

"Hmm?" Li Jue and Guo Si's expressions immediately darkened upon hearing this. "Is Mr. Jia looking down on us?"

As they spoke, the two slowly drew their swords from their waists, their expressions full of threat.

"No, no, no! How could I dare! I promise, okay?" Upon seeing this, Jia Xu immediately backed down and waved his hands repeatedly in agreement.

"Haha! That's more like it! Sir, please!" Li Jue and Guo Si immediately beamed with joy, sheathed their swords, and gestured for Jia Xu to enter.

Jia Xu sighed helplessly, then took his servant, disguised as a steward, and set off with Li Jue and Guo Si.

Meanwhile, in Bingzhou, Cao Cao learned of Dong Zhuo's death and immediately mobilized all his troops, except for those guarding the northern passes, totaling 150,000, and marched towards Hedong.

At the same time, he sent a message to Cao Ren, who was stationed at the Fenyin ferry, ordering him to collect and build boats to begin crossing the river.

Cao Ren led 40,000 vanguard troops across the river, ordered to attack Xia County.

"Heh heh! Who would have thought this golden opportunity would arrive so swiftly! If we can seize this chance, let alone occupy Chang'an, this vital region of the Three Auxiliary Regions, we might even be able to swallow up Dong Zhuo's hundreds of thousands of troops!"

On the official road, Cao Cao rode his horse and smiled at Xun Yu and Cheng Yu who were accompanying him.

"Indeed! Wang Yun's plan actually succeeded in deceiving everyone! Even Li Ru can be wrong sometimes, how interesting!" Xun Yu clapped his hands in delight. Thinking of the upcoming audience with the emperor, his eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Smooth sailing is suspicious. I have a vague feeling that there are other forces stirring up trouble in the dark." Cheng Yu stroked his long beard, and a few wrinkles appeared between his brows.

"Heh, most likely it's the gentry of Guanzhong and those high-ranking officials in the court, right?" Cao Cao chuckled dismissively. "These people have long hated Dong Zhuo to the bone, but they don't have the guts to take action themselves. Now that someone's stepping forward, they're naturally happy to go with the flow—if it succeeds, they can eliminate a major threat; if it fails, it will at least annoy Dong Zhuo. Either way, it won't harm themselves. Who wouldn't do such a deal?"

As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to remember something and slapped the saddle: Didn't he just send Cheng Yu to get involved? Thinking about it this way, he felt at ease.

"I suppose so." Cheng Yu nodded slightly, but still felt there was something fishy about it. However, this feeling was like looking at flowers through a fog, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it, so he decided to put aside his doubts for the time being.

Inside the Golden Palace of Chang'an, Wang Yun looked down at the assembled officials below. Those ministers who had mocked his castration, those who had once held higher ranks than him, were now prostrate before him. A strange, uncontrollable smile curved his lips, and none of the officials in the hall dared to utter a word of warning, intimidated by this chilling grin.

"Urgent report—!" A messenger rushed into the hall, shouting hoarsely, "Li Jue and Guo Si have led an army of 300,000 to the city walls!"

The crowd shouted

The man caught a glimpse of Wang Yun sitting beside the emperor above him, but swallowed his words.

Wang Yun immediately frowned and demanded an answer.

His anger intensified: Li Jue and Guo Si actually dared to...

A leopard can't change its spots.

My decision was indeed wise.

These two traitors must not be spared.

Upon hearing that Wang Xiang had spoken, the messenger could only report tremblingly: "The rebels claim they want to purge the court, saying that Grand Tutor Wang has murdered loyal officials and held the emperor hostage. Therefore, they intend to attack Chang'an to rescue His Majesty. They also say... if we don't want to be slaughtered after the city falls, we must hand over Grand Tutor Wang."

After saying this, the messenger breathed a sigh of relief.

The young emperor on the dragon throne secretly observed Wang Yun's expression.

The Grand Tutor's face was ashen.

He was clearly furious.

"boom!"

Wang Yun suddenly slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Li Jue and Guo Si, those two traitors! Where is Lü Bu? Go and take their heads!"

"General Lü is defending the city walls... but the enemy outnumbers us, and we fear we cannot hold out for long."

The messenger responded in a low voice

"Useless! The number one warrior in the land can't even handle two clowns?" Wang Yun roared in fury.

The civil and military officials in the palace secretly grumbled: Even if Lü Bu had three heads and six arms, what could he do against an army dozens of times larger? Wasn't this disaster all sown by Wang Yun's tyranny and domineering ways? How many heads have rolled in these past few days as he used the opportunity to eliminate dissidents?

The officials outwardly obeyed, but inwardly they wished for Wang Yun's swift death—both because of his ruthless methods and because he monopolized power.

Just then, someone noticed a strange smile appearing on Wang Yun's lips.

The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment.

He should have been furious at that moment.

Why did he smile instead?

Why did Wang Yun's smile look so strange?

"Let's go! Let's go up to the city wall and take a look!"

He raised his arm, about to lead the civil and military officials and the emperor to inspect the city, but a strange expression suddenly appeared on his face.

The young emperor finally couldn't help but ask, "Why does Grand Tutor Wang keep showing such a strange laugh?"

"When has this old minister ever laughed?" Wang Yun asked, his face full of confusion, but as soon as he finished speaking, that eerie smile reappeared.

"Look! Here it comes again!" the young emperor exclaimed, pointing at his face.

Wang Yun raised his hand to his face in bewilderment, and suddenly blood seeped from his seven orifices. The young emperor was so frightened that he retreated repeatedly: "Grand Tutor! Why are you bleeding?"

The assembled officials stared in disbelief. Wang Yun's body stiffened, and with a muffled "uh" sound, he fell straight forward. His head slammed heavily against the steps, rolling down the stone steps and leaving a glaring trail of blood.

"Grand Tutor!!"

The guards rushed forward to help him up, but when they turned him over, they found that Wang Yun's eyes were wide open, his face was bluish-purple, and he was already dead.

"This...this is dead?" The emperor and his officials retreated in horror.

"Could it be poisoning?"

"Looks like it."

"Who exactly is this person?"

The ministers murmured amongst themselves, secretly applauding: Well done! This scourge should have been eliminated long ago!

During this period, Wang Yun repeatedly made things difficult for them, openly and secretly harassing them.

What's even more chilling is the suspicious circumstances of Wang Yun's death, especially the fact that he was completely unaware of those three eerie laughs, which makes it even more terrifying.

"Hiss! Who could have done this? Such methods are truly terrifying! If they were used on us..."

"Who says it isn't!"

"Grand Tutor Wang has offended someone he shouldn't have!"

"Good riddance! If he hadn't acted so recklessly, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Exactly! That eunuch held a grudge after we mocked him a few times back then, and now that he's in power, he's retaliating. He should have died long ago!"

"He's nothing but a petty, vindictive person!"

"Such a bizarre way of dying is quite interesting; it certainly made him infamous—infamous for eternity!"

The court officials whispered amongst themselves, their words revealing not only fear of the murderer but also a great deal of mockery and glee towards Wang Yun. In just a few days, this high-ranking official had become the target of widespread condemnation.

"He's... dead?"

Emperor Liu Xie gazed at Wang Yun's corpse, feeling not fear, but rather a sense of relief. "Perhaps... I can use this to reclaim my power?"

Just as his thoughts were wandering, an urgent report suddenly rang out from outside the hall. A soldier, his robe stained with blood, staggered into the hall: "Your Majesty! The city's defenses are about to collapse! Li Jue and Guo Si have threatened that if Wang Yun is not handed over, they will slaughter the entire city after the city falls!"

"What?!"

These words struck like a thunderbolt, causing all the officials to change color. Liu Xie forced himself to remain calm and said, "Bring Wang Yun's corpse with me to the city wall! I want to negotiate with the rebels myself!" With that, he turned and left.

9/11

The ministers exchanged glances and then followed in the footsteps of the emperor.

At the foot of the East Gate tower, Liu Xie and his ministers looked at the dark mass of the Western Liang army outside the city and saw Li Jue and Guo Si leading the army.

"Li Jue and Guo Si! I have arrived!"

The young emperor's voice pierced through the city walls.

The two men raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, surprised that the young emperor actually dared to show himself. They spurred their horses forward to within two hundred paces of the city and ordered their messengers to shout: "Hand over the culprit Wang Yun and open the city gates to welcome our army! Otherwise, on the day the city falls, slaughter the entire population! There will be no room for negotiation! Make a decision quickly!"

Liu Xie immediately responded, "No need to wait! Wang Yun can be handed over to the two generals right now! I can also order the city gates to be opened! All you need to do is promise not to harm the people in the city!"

The messenger rode back to report, and Li Jue and Guo Si looked at each other and laughed: "This young emperor is quite decisive? That old scoundrel Wang Yun has also accepted his fate?" They then ordered the soldiers to go back and confirm, determined to personally end their enemy's life.

"The general has ordered! Hand over Wang Yun first, then open the city gates!"

On the city tower, Liu Xie looked around at his ministers, and they all nodded in tacit approval—at this critical moment of life and death, no one was willing to fight like a cornered beast.

"Granted. Send Wang Yun's body out and open the city gates."

With the imperial edict issued, the city gates were opened. When the soldiers carried Wang Yun's corpse to the rebel ranks, Li and Guo stared wide-eyed: "How could he be completely dead? When did this old bastard breathe his last?"

Li Jue and Guo Si noticed something amiss and went forward for a closer look. The person in front of them was Wang Yun, but his face was bluish-purple and his body was beginning to stiffen!

It's obviously dead.

Not far away, Jia Xu and ** exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.

It seems the bodyguards completed their mission admirably.

This scourge is finally dead, which is a relief to our lord and his mistress, Diao Chan.

"We must find an opportunity to cut off this scoundrel's head and send it back; this is the lord's order!" ** whispered to Jia Xu.

Jia Xu nodded slightly: "There will be an opportunity later, I will make the arrangements."

"Really dead? Could it be a murder? How could the young emperor be so ruthless?" Li Jue and Guo Si looked at each other and whispered to each other.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers escorting the body immediately explained, "His Majesty did not do it! It was Grand Tutor Wang who suddenly laughed wildly three times in court, then bled from all seven orifices and died! Rumors say it was a murder, but to this day we do not know who did it."

"Oh?"

Li Jue and Guo Si looked alarmed and cautiously took a few steps back, keeping their distance from Wang Yun's corpse, as if afraid of being contaminated by the deadly poison.

"Damn it! Throw this thing far away and let's go into the city! Now it's our turn to shine! Hahaha! From now on, Chang'an City is ours!" Li Jue raised his eyebrows triumphantly and laughed nonstop.

"That's right! Let's go into the city!" Guo Si was also full of fighting spirit.

Immediately afterwards, the army marched in a mighty procession toward Chang'an.

However, Li Jue and Guo Si did not rush into the city, but instead sent out vanguards to scout ahead.

Only after confirming there was no ambush did they lead their men into the city.

"The second phase of the plan is complete. Now let's look at the third step." Jia Xu exchanged glances with **, nodded in tacit agreement, and then followed.

On the other side, seeing the young emperor open the city gates and let Li Jue and Guo Si into the city, Lü Bu looked at Chen Gong in a panic: "Master Gongtai, what should we do now?"

Chen Gong immediately replied, "The only way is to leave Chang'an and pass through the passes to reach the Central Plains. However, I've heard that Lord Wu, Lu Feng, has already sent Zhao Yun to control Hongnong Commandery and the area around Henan Yin, so it will probably be difficult to leave the pass from here."

He continued, "In my opinion, it would be better to start from Chang'an, pass through Lantian, follow the official road to Shangnan, and head straight for Nanyang. We can use this prosperous land as a base to then pursue our ambition of dominating the world. What do you think, Fengxian?"

Chen Gong harbored great ambitions. He realized that although Lü Bu was exceptionally brave, he was also simple-minded, and if properly guided, he might achieve great things. He resolved to wholeheartedly assist this fierce general and help him grow.

With Lü Bu's unparalleled martial arts skills and his elite cavalry, capturing Nanyang should be a piece of cake.

"Alright! As you say! But I need to pick up my family first." Lü Bu nodded in agreement. He knew that Chang'an was no longer a place to stay for long. Li Jue and Guo Si already had a long-standing grudge against him, and now that Dong Zhuo had been eliminated, the two of them would never let him go.

"Family members?" Chen Gong asked, slightly surprised.

"Exactly!" Lü Bu replied confidently, "My wife, Lady Yan, my concubine, Wang Rong, and my daughter, Lingqi, are all at Meiwu now."

"Wang Rong?" Chen Gong was genuinely stunned this time: "Isn't that Dong Zhuo's..."