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

Chapter 128 Please Unsaddle

It's not that Xiyuan Pass is finished.

The formal recognition is over.

Once He Jin is branded as "deploying troops from outside to invade the palace," even if the camp gates are not breached in the end, tonight's events will be enough to drag the entire Eastern Palace into the mud.

Under the torchlight, He Jin was still on horseback. The gates of the West Garden camp were closed, and crossbows were drawn on the camp walls. Crowds of onlookers poured out from the west side of the city.

If we had been any later, the news circulating in Luoyang tomorrow would not have been about the attack at Zhangde Hall or the Crown Prince overseeing the country, but rather about the Grand General forcing the emperor to abdicate with his troops.

As soon as Liu Bian got out of the carriage, Xun Huo whispered to him, "Your Highness, save the title first."

"It's not about opening the camp gates, but about cutting off He Jin's pretext."

Liu Bian suddenly turned his head to look at him.

Xun spoke rapidly, yet remained composed: "Whoever loses their reputation first tonight will lose. The most important thing right now is not Jian Shuo, but that the General is still on horseback, leading his troops to block the entrance to the West Garden."

"Your Highness must first help him dismount from his horse."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bian's gaze suddenly sharpened.

He got it.

If He Jin were still on horseback, the West Garden could continue to shout "Foreign troops have invaded the palace"; if He Jin dismounted, withdrew his troops, and awaited punishment, then half of this label would be removed.

This step, however, had to be done by him personally.

Liu Bian stepped forward, his voice suddenly rising to a crescendo, drowning out all the commotion inside and outside the camp: "General He Jin, heed the imperial decree!"

The sound was so sudden that even He Jin was stunned for a moment.

The next moment, he subconsciously reached out to cup his hands, but halfway up, he suddenly realized that Liu Bian was not the Crown Prince today, but the Regent.

He Jin's expression changed, but he still bowed on horseback and said, "Your subject is here!"

Liu Bian stared at him, his eyes chillingly cold.

"I know the General's concern for the Emperor."

"But without the imperial edict from the Zhangde Hall, you arbitrarily mobilized the Northern Army, the Central Army, and your personal guards to surround the West Garden at night. What is the reason for this?!"

This sentence was delivered squarely to He Jin's face in front of the West Garden camp walls, the East Palace guards, the Northern Army soldiers, and the eyes and ears of the entire street.

The fire in He Jin's chest suddenly flared up.

"Your Highness, I am the first."

"Shut up!"

Liu Bian's voice was even louder than before.

"If you truly care for your father, you should first and foremost uphold your proper role!"

"The bloodshed at Zhangde Hall a few days ago has already unsettled the people in the city."

"Are you leading troops to block the camp to relieve my worries, or to confirm the words 'The Great General has violated the palace' for the sake of the world?!"

These words were like a knife, completely blocking He Jin's next sentence.

The surroundings fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone was looking at He Jin.

Looking at this great general of the court, riding on his horse, his face turned pale and then flushed.

At that moment, Xun stepped forward half a step, speaking softly but just right to offer a way out of the stalemate: "General, you are worried about the Emperor and have acted rashly. There is still a way to turn things around."

"General, please dismount, withdraw your troops, and await your orders."

He Jin suddenly turned to look at Xun Huo, his eyes almost spitting fire.

But the next moment, he saw Liu Bian again.

Liu Bian offered no advice or leeway, but simply stared at him coldly, the imperial seal in his hand gleaming coldly in the firelight.

He Jin suddenly understood.

If he doesn't dismount tonight, Liu Bian will really dare to seize the imperial seal and force him down in front of everyone.

At that point, it won't just be a matter of losing face for one night.

It is the root of the General's Mansion.

a long time.

After a long time, when the crossbows on the camp walls seemed about to snap, He Jin finally gritted his teeth, turned over, and dismounted.

Liu Bian's anger did not ease; instead, it sank even deeper.

Because he knew that this invitation had stabilized the capital, but it also meant that He Jin's reputation had been tarnished by his own actions.

After dismounting, He Jin gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I have acted improperly and beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Liu Bian didn't look at him, but simply raised his hand and waved: "The Northern Army retreats twenty paces, the Central Camp retreats thirty paces, and the General's personal guards immediately withdraw from the West Garden Gate!"

"Those who disobey orders will be treated as rebels!"

This order came faster than anything else.

Cao Cao immediately spurred his horse out, leading the Eastern Palace guards to push back several groups of troops.

But that's not enough.

Because on the other side of the camp, Jian Shuo's pot was still on the fire.

Seeing that the time was right, Xun Huo immediately whispered a reminder: "Your Highness, it's time to arrest Jian Shuo."

Liu Bian looked up at the tightly closed camp gate, his voice suddenly growing colder.

"Jian Shuo, heed my decree!"

No one answered from inside the camp.

Liu Bian sneered, took three steps forward, stood in the brightest spot of the torch, and raised the Imperial Regent's Seal high in his hand.

"By imperial decree of my father, I have been appointed to oversee state affairs and administer government affairs."

"Tonight, the General has withdrawn his troops. If the Western Garden still dares to close its camp and refuse entry, then it is not protecting the Emperor."

"This is defying the edict of the regent and using the emperor's personal army to bolster his own power!"

The hat was instantly transferred from He Jin's head to Jian Shuo's head.

The military officers on the camp wall all changed their expressions.

They dared to close their camp under the pretext of "foreign troops invading the palace," but dared not actually bear the crime of "resisting the regency order."

A low commotion soon broke out in the camp.

A moment later, a voice finally rang out from inside the camp gate, no longer as forceful as before: "Please give your decree, Your Highness—"

Liu Bian quickly reviewed what Xun Yu had told him on the way and said, "First, open the camp gates, but the Western Garden soldiers are not allowed to leave the camp."

"Secondly, Jian Shuo removed his sword and rode out of the camp alone to apologize."

"Third, the list of all those involved in the Zhangde Hall, the West Garden, and the outer residence of the Central Eunuch tonight shall be immediately sent to the Chengde Hall for verification."

The camp remained silent for a long time.

Finally, accompanied by a dull winch sound, the gate of Xiyuan Beiying slowly opened.

At that moment, everyone outside the camp seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

But Liu Bian was far from relaxed.

Because he saw things more clearly than anyone else—tonight's game was stable.

The price was that He Jin had to dismount in public, Jian Shuo got the fig leaf of "excessive protection of the emperor", and the Crown Prince had to leave a gap on both sides between the General's Mansion and the West Garden.

This saved the capital.

However, this also sowed the seeds of deeper hidden dangers.

An hour later, in a side room of the Yuan residence.

Yuan Shao sat under the lamp, toying with a teacup in his hand. After hearing the report, he remained silent for a long time.

After a long pause, he slowly chuckled.

"The General—has he really dismounted?"

The man whispered, "Yes. The Crown Prince issued the order in public, and the General dared not disobey."

"it is good."

"What a remarkable Xun Wenruo."

"This person is really amazing; he actually managed to put the lid back on the pot that was about to explode."

He said it was a compliment, but there wasn't much warmth in his tone.

Because he also understood—

Xun Yu's move tonight saved the capital and also saved He Jin.

The only way to save him is precisely the one that will hurt He Jin the most.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shao gently picked up a brocade pouch that was placed on a small table to the side.

That brocade pouch was one of the three that Jia Xu left him before leaving the capital.

The first one only had four characters written on it:

Please dismount.

Yuan Shao stared at the four characters for a moment, then suddenly chuckled softly.

It turned out to be the case.

First, use the mole planted next to He Jin to stir up the fire in this great general's heart and his desire for merit through the case of Zhangde Hall.

Then, through Jian Shuo's hands, the accusation of "foreign troops invading the palace" was firmly established.

Finally, the Crown Prince was forced to personally intervene and, in front of the entire capital, invite He Jin down from his horse.

Because He Jin didn't die tonight, but he lost face, lost prestige, and also lost his momentum of "the Grand General venting the Crown Prince's anger first".

From now on, in the Northern Army, the Western Garden, the Palace, and the Outer Court, who will still regard him as the great general who can control the situation with a single word?

And all of this was actually orchestrated by the Crown Prince himself.

This is where the real poison lies in the first trick.

It wasn't just Jian Shuo who dragged He Jin down.

Instead, it was He Jin's stupidity that created an invisible yet indelible rift between the Crown Prince's Palace and the General's Mansion.

Yuan Shao slowly put down the brocade pouch, his gaze falling on the other two unopened pouches beside him, his eyes gradually darkening.

Wenhe, oh Wenhe.

Even though you're not in Luoyang, the game is still going your way.