The Three Kingdoms: General Yu She, reincarnated a hundred times.

……

The news of the great victory at Xingyang had already reached Dong Zhuo's hands. Upon hearing of the triumphant return of generals such as Yu She and Lü Bu, Dong Zhuo personally went out to welcome them.

But amidst billowing smoke and brightly colored flags, a large army slowly returned to camp.

The first rider was Lü Bu, who, relying on the speed of his Red Hare horse, carried a wooden box and was the first to meet Dong Zhuo.

"Godfather!"

He then dismounted, knelt on one knee, and presented the wooden box in his hand.

"As Zichuan predicted, the traitor Cao has been executed."

Behind Lü Bu, generals such as Yu She, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji, Xu Rong, and Li Su also rushed to pay their respects.

"Prime Minister, we have successfully completed our mission!"

"Okay, okay!"

Dong Zhuo opened the wooden box and saw that the face inside was ferocious and the eyes were not closed in death. It was indeed Cao Cao. How could he not be overjoyed?

He put down the wooden box and personally helped Yu She and Lü Bu up, one on each side.

"Cao Cao is a truly despicable villain. He failed to assassinate me and instead harbored rebellious intentions. He led the rebel army and invited all the lords of the world to attack me. He claimed to be upholding the Han dynasty, but in reality, he was a traitor!"

Fortunately, thanks to Zichuan's strategic brilliance and Fengxian's martial prowess, this traitor Cao Cao has been eliminated, removing a major threat to my heart and severing one of the arms of the warlords beyond the pass. This is truly gratifying.

Dong Zhuo then looked around at his generals and smiled at them.

"In this battle, you all exerted your utmost efforts to eliminate the enemy for the country. Your contributions are invaluable and you deserve to be rewarded."

Currently, it is inconvenient to proceed with the relocation of the capital. However, once we arrive in Chang'an, I will certainly petition the Emperor in the court to reward you for your contributions!

Official titles and ranks, we will not hesitate to bestow them!

The generals were overjoyed and bowed repeatedly in greeting.

"I am willing to devote my life to assisting the Prime Minister in achieving great things."

……

When Dong Zhuo arrived in Chang'an with a great victory, he hung Cao Cao's head at the gate of Weiyang Palace. The entire court was terrified.

From then on, Dong Zhuo became even more arrogant, appointing himself Grand Tutor, placing him above all other officials. He wanted to emulate Jiang Ziya and call himself "Shangfu" (a title of high rank), but Cai Yong dissuaded him and put the matter aside for the time being.

When he traveled, he rode in a carriage with a blue canopy and golden flowers, which was almost of the standard for an emperor. When high-ranking officials met him on the road, they had to bow down in front of the carriage.

Officials of the Imperial Secretariat no longer needed to go to the palace; they could go directly to Dong Zhuo's residence to handle government affairs, thus completely transferring real power to the Dong family.

He also appointed his younger brother Dong Min as General of the Left and Marquis of Hu, and his nephew Dong Huang as Attendant-in-Ordinary, in charge of the Imperial Guards.

All members of the Dong clan, regardless of age, were granted the title of Marquis. Dong Bai, the granddaughter, was granted the title of Lady of Weiyang.

The generals who made great contributions in Xingyang were also rewarded. Lü Bu was enfeoffed as Marquis of Wen and his salary was increased by 2,000 shi. Yu She was enfeoffed as Marquis of Duxiang and his salary was increased by 2,000 shi. Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji and others were all promoted to Commandant. Xu Rong and Li Su were enfeoffed as Marquis of Guannei. Everyone was rewarded.

He then ordered people to begin constructing the Mei Fortress 250 li away from Chang'an, employing 250,000 laborers.

Its city walls were high and thick, and palaces were built inside. It stored grain for twenty years and selected beautiful women to live there. Gold, jade, colored silk, and pearls were piled up like mountains.

The waste of manpower and resources is immeasurable.

……

Meanwhile, when news of Cao Cao's death reached the allied forces, the lords were not surprised at all!

They guessed that Cao Cao might be defeated because he was alone, but they did not expect him to be defeated so decisively. Not only was his entire army wiped out, but Cao Cao himself also died.

"Disobeying my advice has led to this disaster!"

Yuan Shao gritted his teeth and said hatefully, it was unclear whether he hated Dong Zhuo for killing his childhood friend Cao Cao, or hated Cao Cao for not listening to him and seeking his own death.

Today, Yuan Shao clearly had no interest in holding a grand banquet. He waved his hand and dismissed the other lords.

Upon arriving at his own camp, he ordered a sacrifice to be prepared, bowed twice, and wept bitterly. Turning to the crowd, he said:

"When I first raised an army with Mengde, I asked him, 'If things don't go smoothly, where can we defend our territory?'"

Mengde asked, "What are your intentions?"

I said, "If we control Hebei to the south, block the defenses of Yan and Dai to the north, and combine them with the forces of the desert, then we can contend for the world from the south. Perhaps we can succeed?"

Mengde replied, "I will employ the wisdom and strength of the world and govern it with the Way; there is nothing I cannot accomplish."

My words still ring in my ears, this event seems like yesterday, yet now Mengde did not heed my advice, and has died suddenly in an instant. I cannot help but shed tears!

Many people tried to persuade him, and Yuan Shao wept bitterly. He then ordered people to bring Cao Cao's family members to him for support. At that time, Cao Cao had an eldest son, Cao Ang, who was fourteen years old. He was kind, filial, polite, valued righteousness over personal safety, and had the spirit of a hero.

Shao admired his father's character and loved him dearly. He took him under his wing, gave him earnest advice, and treated him like his own son.

All the feudal lords praised him as a virtuous successor.

Yuan Shao then, in the name of Cao Ang, gathered together Cao Cao's former troops, including Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren, two generals who had escaped from Xingyang. In order to support the young emperor, they followed Yuan Shao.

……

After Cao Cao's death, none of the warlords still had the desire to march west to attack Dong Zhuo. They argued incessantly every day over the control of Luoyang, and some even secretly gathered troops to fight each other because of past personal grudges.

As for the hundreds of thousands of people in Luoyang, they were the old, weak, women and children that Dong Zhuo had left behind. The feudal lords provided for them for a few days, then passed the buck to each other and abandoned them like worn-out shoes. Gradually, they cut off the food supply and left them to fend for themselves.

There was only one person who, seeing the people suffering, could not bear to abandon them; that person was Liu Bei.

He frequently traveled between the camps of various warlords such as Gongsun Zan, Kong Rong, Tao Qian, and Yuan Shao, pleading earnestly for grain for the people.

The feudal lords, unable to refuse, initially gave him some money, but over time, they became increasingly annoyed. Apart from Gongsun Zan, who still tried to support Liu Bei to some extent, the other feudal lords began to avoid him altogether.

When Liu Bei returned to Luoyang empty-handed and saw the people who were looking at him with great expectation, he was speechless and overwhelmed with sorrow, weeping bitterly.

The people were shocked when they saw this and rushed forward to comfort them.

"General Liu, why have you come to this?"

"General Liu has worked tirelessly for us in recent days and has suffered many humiliations. We are deeply grateful."

Even if we haven't received any grain today, it's because those nobles are stingy; what does it have to do with General Liu?

"General Liu, please don't feel guilty. We are all used to being hungry, so missing a meal won't make a difference."

"Yes, as General Liu instructed, we planted turnips in the field more than a month ago, and they are growing well. We think that if we persist for another month or two, we will be able to fill our stomachs."

This is all thanks to General Liu.

"Uncle Liu, don't be sad. Here, take this. My mother said that you won't be sad if you eat your fill."

……

As the little girl handed him half a muddy straw cake, and as the people gathered around him offered words of comfort, Liu Bei was overwhelmed with emotion and could not stop crying.

He took the grass cake, chewed it, and reached out to pat the girl's head. "Yes, you won't be sad if you're full."

"Wait, Uncle Liu will definitely get you some food."

After speaking, Liu Bei stood up, wiped away his tears, and rallied himself. Looking back at the emaciated and sallow-faced people, a determination seemed to have been made in his eyes.

"When I return, I will surely provide you with a full meal tonight."

Then, amidst the expectant gazes of the people, he turned and left Luoyang, heading straight for Gongsun Zan's camp.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei hurriedly followed, and the three of them rode away. When they reached Gongsun Zan's tent, Liu Bei suddenly stopped.

……