Liu Bian at the start, so you're called Dong Zhuo, right?

Chapter 127 The Great General and the West Garden

Five days later.

Jia Xu was not the first to arrive in Wuwei.

It is a letter.

The letter was delivered tucked inside an ordinary military report, sealed only with a layer of plain oil paper, without even a signature. When the personal guards brought it into the central command tent, Dong Zhuo was sitting at his desk drinking, on which were spread out the recently delivered grain registers, military reports, and surrender documents from various counties of Liangzhou.

"General, you're from Luoyang."

Dong Zhuo raised his eyes, put down his wine cup, and reached out to take the letter.

open.

The letter contained only eight characters.

The weather in Luoyang has changed; it is advisable to prepare the horses and look eastward.

Dong Zhuo stared at those eight characters for a long time, then suddenly smiled.

The laugh wasn't loud, but it made Niu Fu, Li Cui, and the others in the tent subconsciously hold their breath.

Having served Dong Zhuo for a long time, they knew when their lord was truly angry and when he was truly happy. A laugh like this was mostly not from drinking; it was from a sudden surge of inner strength.

"The weather in Luoyang has changed—" Dong Zhuo gently folded the paper between his fingers, his voice low, "What a change in weather."

Niu Fu tentatively asked, "General, is Luoyang really in chaos?"

Dong Zhuo did not answer immediately, but read the eight characters again before saying calmly, "If there hadn't been chaos, this letter wouldn't have been delivered to me."

"If it's just a minor disturbance, there's no need for me to prepare for the future."

As he spoke, the smell of alcohol in his eyes had completely dissipated, replaced by a gradually rising light.

"Pass it on."

"The military will continue as usual these next few days; there's no need to make a fuss."

"But the elite cavalry will be counted separately, the military rations will be calculated separately, and any broken armor and crossbows will be replaced within three days."

Upon hearing this, Li Jue's eyes immediately lit up.

"The general is..."

Dong Zhuo glanced at him.

That one glance, though brief, immediately made Li Cui swallow the rest of his words.

"I'm talking about reorganizing the army."

Dong Zhuo said calmly, "Liangzhou has just been pacified, and the morale of the army is high. It is only natural to organize the army and prepare cavalry."

As for whether or not to go east, consider this:

He pressed the letter against the candlelight, watching the corner of the paper slowly curl up, turn black, and shrink into ash.

"We need to see first how chaotic things have become in Luoyang."

Ashes settled on the corner of the table.

Dong Zhuo waved his hand, stood up, and walked outside the tent.

The night in Wuwei was deep, with camps stretching out in the distance, one after another, and the campfires reflected on the armor plates, casting a faint reddish glow.

He stood in the wind, looking eastward, and didn't move for a long time.

Meanwhile, in Luoyang, the chaos was not yet due to open warfare.

It's something else, something even more annoying: people's hearts are starting to flutter.

With the Crown Prince overseeing the state affairs and holding court in the Zhangde Hall, the volume of official documents exchanged between the Secretariat and the Chengde Hall suddenly doubled. On the surface, the court appeared stable and the established order was maintained; however, everyone knew in their hearts that with His Majesty's illness so severe, the pillar supporting the throne had begun to sag.

At this time, He Jin also changed his tune.

He was originally a Grand General, holding military power, and was also Empress He's elder brother, making him the head of the imperial relatives.

Previously, when the Crown Prince's position was unclear, he had kept his guard up; but now that Liu Bian was in charge of the country, and the Eastern Palace and the General's Mansion were practically one entity, his previously suppressed thoughts began to surface little by little.

He first spoke to someone above him, and his tone was more forceful than before.

Then there's the Ministry of Personnel, the Northern Army, and the Western Garden. Whenever there's military affairs, imperial guard duties, or city defense, he can't help but chime in.

Later, even some military reports in Chengde Hall that should have been sent to the Crown Prince for review first began to be pressed down with the seal of the General's Mansion first, as he felt that "having seen them myself, I was essentially checking them for the Crown Prince."

To put it bluntly, once they have power in their hands, the more they hold onto it, the more comfortable they feel, and they begin to think that because they have made great contributions and have a lot of power, they should speak more and make more decisions.

His actions were never as meticulous as Liu Bian's.

The further you go, the more pronounced its bold and unrestrained nature becomes.

That afternoon, in Chengde Hall, Liu Bian was reviewing the list of those responsible for the meals and shifts at Zhangde Hall with Xun Yu when Cao Cao strode in from outside. His expression wasn't bad, but he was clearly suppressing his anger.

"Your Highness."

Something's happened.

Liu Bian looked up: "What is it?"

Cao Cao placed a newly acquired troop mobilization warrant on the table.

"The Northern Army's Central Camp, the City Gate Commandant's troops, and several squads of personal guards secretly dispatched by the General's Mansion have all been mobilized just now."

"Where are you going?"

"West Garden".

The hall fell silent.

Liu Bian's eyes immediately darkened.

"Who gave the order?"

Cao Cao looked up at him, seemingly hesitant.

"General He."

Xun paused, raised his head, and his voice, though still steady, had turned colder.

"What does he want to do?"

Cao Cao sneered.

"What else can we do?"

"It is said that such a big thing happened in Zhangde Hall, and the old connections of the West Garden, the Forbidden City, and the eunuchs must be involved."

"The Crown Prince, as regent, needs to maintain stability and cannot take action, so this general took the man into custody for His Highness."

"Whose?"

"Jian Shuo's men, and several families of eunuchs who had old dealings with the palace," Cao Cao paused, his tone even harsher, "He also said..."

"What did you say?"

"It is said that the West Garden was originally the emperor's personal guard. Now that His Majesty is seriously ill and the Crown Prince is overseeing the country, if Jian Shuo and his gang of eunuchs are allowed to hold the reins, sooner or later a second Zhangde Palace will emerge."

As soon as those words were spoken, even the wind in Chengde Hall seemed to grow colder.

Liu Bian slowly stood up.

Where is he now?

"Outside the North Camp of the West Garden"

"Are there many people going?"

"Quite a few," Cao Cao said. "And the commotion hasn't been completely suppressed. Rumors are already circulating in the west of the city; people outside are saying that the General intends to take advantage of His Majesty's illness to get rid of those people in the palace."

Upon hearing this, Xun Huo's expression finally changed.

"Foolish!"

This was one of the few times he spoke harshly.

He looked at Liu Bian and said very quickly, "Your Highness, we can't delay any longer."

"If He Jin had only taken a few eunuchs from the outer quarters, it would have been fine; but now he's targeting the West Garden and Jian Shuo."

"The people in Jian Shuo's hands are not ordinary palace maids, but soldiers."

"If he's pushed too far, he might just accuse us of 'foreign troops invading the palace.'"

Xun didn't continue speaking after that.

Because it goes without saying, all three people in the hall understood.

If Jian Shuo were to close the palace gates, shut down the West Garden, and use the emperor's personal troops to defend himself under the pretext of "protecting the emperor," then today's matter would no longer be about He Jin sharing the burden of the Crown Prince.

Rather, it was the General's Mansion that arbitrarily mobilized troops from outside the palace and disrupted the palace.

Once this charge is substantiated, not only will Yuan Shao and Jia Xu be tempted to use it, but even those in the court who were originally observing will instantly erupt in anger.

Liu Bian got up and walked out of the hall.

"Wang Ming, prepare the horses."

Wang Ming hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting: "Yes, sir."

He then hurriedly ran outside.

"Mengde, take the Eastern Palace guards ahead and head to the Northern Camp of the Western Garden. Stop He Jin for me. Remember that."

Liu Bian raised his eyes, his voice cold and flat.

"It's not about helping him arrest people."

"First, hold down his hand."

Cao Cao immediately turned around and strode away.

Xun Huo immediately followed half a step: "Your Highness, I will accompany you."

Liu Bian did not refuse, but paused for a moment before leaving the palace, raising his hand to grasp the imperial seal on the table.

Only after grasping it did he truly realize that his father hadn't thrown this seal into his hands so he could sit and listen to the government.

He was brought in to salvage this situation that was about to spiral out of control.

Outside the North Camp of the West Garden, the sky had already darkened.

But with torches illuminating the area, the camp gate was as bright as day.

He Jin, clad in full armor, sat on his horse with a grim expression. Behind him were soldiers dispatched from the General's Mansion, and further out were the troops of the Northern Army's Central Camp, pressing down layer upon layer, completely blocking the entrance to the Northern Camp.

Inside the camp gate, troops had already been arrayed in the West Garden.

An arrow is nocked, a sword is drawn.

Jian Shuo himself did not show up; instead, several of his trusted military officers came out. However, all of them had tense expressions, indicating that the people inside had given a strict order to the camp gates not to let anyone in.

He Jin sat on his horse, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his heart filled with anger.

He truly felt that he was venting his anger on behalf of the Crown Prince, the Empress, and the Eastern Palace.

Blood has been spilled in Zhangde Hall, and Emperor Ling of Han is so ill, yet the Crown Prince is still investigating medicine, food, and nightly reports, peeling back layer by layer. When will he ever finish?

This kind of thing should be dealt with severely, and Jian Shuo and his eunuch faction should be crushed!

Just as he was about to speak again, a sudden, even more rapid sound of hooves came from behind him.

As soon as He Jin turned around, he saw Cao Cao leading the Eastern Palace guards to the firelight ahead of him.

"Mengde, what brings you here?"

Cao Cao reined in his horse, his face extremely cold. He even skipped the dismounting ceremony and said loudly, "General, His Highness has given an order."

"No further movement is permitted in the West Garden tonight!"

Upon hearing this, He Jin's face immediately darkened.

"presumptuous!"

"I am the Grand General of the court, holding the reins of power within the palace. It's one thing for the Crown Prince to be overly cautious due to his youth, but you dare to stop me?"

Cao Cao did not retreat at all, but stared at him and said, word by word.

"General."

"If you really breach this camp gate today, tomorrow the news in Luoyang will not be about the Crown Prince overseeing the country and the attack on Zhangde Hall, but rather—the Grand General is mobilizing troops to invade the palace."

These words, like a needle, pierced He Jin's heart.

But precisely because he had plunged in, He Jin's pent-up energy suddenly surged up.

"Offending the palace?"

He sneered and pointed to the West Garden Camp Gate.

"It was these remnants of the eunuch clique who first used military force to bolster their own position!"

"His Majesty is ill, and the Crown Prince is overseeing the state. If Jian Shuo is allowed to continue holding power in the Western Garden, neither of us will know how we die!"

Just as Cao Cao was about to speak again, a commotion suddenly broke out inside the camp gate.

The next moment, a sharp signal suddenly pierced the darkness of the night, and the camp gate slowly closed.

Xiyuan has closed.

Cao Cao's expression immediately changed.

He Jin also suddenly looked up.

On the camp wall, a row of torches suddenly lit up, illuminating the armor plates with a cold, gleaming light.

Immediately afterwards, a loud voice rang out from within the camp, shaking the night sky: "The Grand General has mobilized troops from outside to invade the Western Garden, intending to alarm the Emperor!"

"By order of the Grand Eunuch Jian, from tonight onwards, the camp will be closed to protect the Emperor. No one may enter without the Emperor's personal edict!"

"Bullshit!"

Upon hearing these two sentences, He Jin's attendants angrily began to curse.

Just then, Liu Bian's carriage finally arrived.

He heard those two sentences spoken in the West Garden, and at that moment, only one thought occupied his mind.

It’s over.

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