The Three Kingdoms: Home Travel

Leaving aside how things are going with the three women in the family, let's just say that Jiang Zhe and Cao Cao found a restaurant, sat down, and ordered some dishes.

"What does Shouyi want to discuss with Cao Cao?" Cao Cao went to fetch a jar of wine and poured some for himself and Jiang Zhe.

"Does Mengde know Dong Zhuo?"

"Dong Zhongying?" Cao Cao asked in surprise. "I've heard a little about him from He Jin. After the defeat in the campaign against the Yellow Turbans, this man accepted tribute but wasn't dismissed. I heard he's leading troops here. Is Shouyi worried?"

Jiang Zhe couldn't say it outright, so he could only vaguely say, "Mengde, be careful of this person!"

"Why worry!" Cao Cao laughed. "Now that we are leading the troops of Luoyang, if Dong Zhuo dares to act rashly, I will be the first to capture him!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhe felt somewhat relieved. This was the future overlord of the Three Kingdoms; even Dong Zhuo couldn't compare to him.

"Alas!" Cao Cao sighed, "External threats have not been eliminated, and internal strife has already begun..."

Seeing Cao Cao sigh, Jiang Zhe recalled a question from before and asked curiously, "Mengde, what are your ambitions?"

"Ambition?" Cao Cao said with a smile, "Don't laugh at me, let me tell you... I am determined to betray the world!"

(Here, "负" means to carry on one's back.)

"Hahaha!" Before Jiang Zhe could speak, a loud laugh came from the next table. "Judging from your words, you have grand ambitions!"

"And who are you?" Jiang Zhe looked at the man curiously, only to see the man turn around, stroking his fine beard and smiling at Cao Cao.

"My apologies, my apologies... I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Xun You, courtesy name Gongda, currently serving as a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate. This man who speaks so boldly must be the Cao Mengde that is being talked about in the capital..." He then glanced at Jiang Zhe and said, "Chief Secretary Jiang, we have met before, do you remember me?"

Jiang Zhe thought for a long time, then suddenly realized that it was the person who had been watching him the whole time when he saved those two young emperors...

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, brother..." Cao Cao said with a smile, inviting Xun You to take a seat.

Xun You, without any ceremony, sat down and said, "I just heard that senior officials in the court, such as Huangfu, all say that Dong Zhuo has the ambition of a wolf. Mengde, you must be wary!"

Mengde nodded.

The three chatted and laughed for a long time, enjoying their time together.

Jiang Zhe returned home drunk, only to find a beautiful figure waiting in front of Wang Yun's residence. He immediately sobered up, exclaiming, "Xiu...Xiu'er?"

"My husband has been gone for some time now, and I was a little worried, so I..."

Jiang Zhe quickly took off his coat and draped it over Xiu'er, saying, "It's so windy here, you should wait inside! Never mind, I'll come back earlier next time."

"My uncle once said that social obligations are unavoidable, otherwise it's difficult to have a stable official career. Husband, it's alright..."

"Alright, alright." Jiang Zhe took Xiu'er's hand, noticing it was a little cold, glared at her, and pulled her inside. "How did your chat go?"

It would have been better if she hadn't said anything, because as soon as she did, Xiu'er pouted and said, "My husband is so fond of women, I am very worried..."

"What are you talking about!" Jiang Zhe broke out in a cold sweat, glanced around, and pulled Xiu'er into the house. "Did you two have a fight?"

"Tch!" Xiu'er said, somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. "Does my husband think I'm bullying him?"

"No, no, I meant, did she bully you?"

"..." Xiuer rolled her eyes at Jiang Zhe and began to remove her makeup in front of the bronze mirror.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Zhe felt a surge of interest and leaned closer, saying, "Xiuer, would you like your husband to help you...?"

"What a wicked person!" Xiu'er, both ashamed and delighted, let Jiang Zhe do his thing.

"Xiuer, how about we go back to Xuzhou?"

Xiuer pressed Jiang Zhe's hand and asked in surprise, "Why? Could it be that my husband has angered Uncle?"

"No, that's not it..." Jiang Zhe looked at Xiu'er's questioning gaze, "I was just saying, just saying..."

Xiuer frowned, looking thoughtfully at Jiang Zhe as he walked towards the bed.

Late at night, Jiang Zhe stared at the dark rooftop and suddenly wondered, if Dong Zhuo hadn't entered Luoyang, would history have been different? Without the deposed emperor, without Yuan Shao and Cao Cao fleeing, there would naturally have been no chaotic world that followed.

In this way, wouldn't it be enough for me to simply keep Dong Zhuo out of Luoyang?

Historically, Dong Zhuo relied on his merit in protecting the emperor, but now that merit has been taken by himself, Dong Zhuo has no chance of entering the palace...

Could history be changed because of this? Jiang Zhe frowned and turned over. It would be good if there were no more chaos, but at the same time, he would lose the "ability" to seize the initiative.

Ugh……

"My husband, get up..."

"Huh?" Jiang Zhe shook his head and asked, "What time is it?"

"It must be around 9 AM..." Xiu'er wasn't sure, because she was being held in Jiang Zhe's arms and hadn't gone out.

"Damn it! That old man's going to lose his temper again!" Jiang Zhe muttered to himself and started getting dressed.

Xiuer chuckled as she watched Jiang Zhe frantically trying to straighten his clothes, then knelt on the couch to help him tidy them up.

"I'm going now!" Jiang Zhe kissed Xiu'er hard on the cheek.

Xiuer smiled and watched Jiang Zhe walk out.

At that time, Dong Zhuo was only two days away from Luoyang. In addition, the court also learned that not only was Dong Zhuo about to arrive in Luoyang, but Ding Yuan was also about to arrive.

At one point, Dong Zhuo bribed someone close to Empress He to slander her, saying, "Empress Dowager, Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo have both led their armies to Luoyang. I wonder what Your Majesty will do?"

Empress He asked in surprise, "Both of them were sent by my elder brother He Jin on his orders, out of concern for the Han Dynasty. What is there to do with them?"

"Empress Dowager..." the man said, "Now that Wang Yun has rescued the young emperor and the Prince of Chenliu, his prestige has greatly increased. Moreover, he is a senior official in the court. If he is not kept in check, I fear there will be great disaster in the future!"

"Nonsense!" Empress He roared. "Minister Wang saved my two sons, and I am naturally grateful! If you continue to spout nonsense, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!" the man pleaded. "Your Majesty, have you heard that the late Emperor once issued a secret edict..."

"..." He then accidentally knocked the teacup over his shoulder. "What's written on it?"

"Establish Crown Prince Xie!"

"What?!" Empress He slumped onto the couch, gritting her teeth as she said bitterly, "His Majesty shows absolutely no mercy!"

Seeing this, the man added fuel to the fire, "The Empress Dowager must know about Wang Yun. He is most loyal to the royal family. Previously, the late emperor gave a secret edict to Jian Shuo, but Jian Shuo died. However, this secret edict..."

"Could this imperial edict be with Wang Yun?"

"That's not the case. It's just to be on the safe side. Wang Yun is extremely loyal to the late emperor. If he finds out..."

"Hmph!" Empress He snorted. "Without an army or any power, what are they plotting?"

"Wang Yun has no military power, but..."

"But what?" Empress He's heart skipped a beat.

"Ding Yuan was a close friend of Wang Yunhou..."

"How dare Wang Yun collude with a foreign official?" Empress He was shocked. Recalling the good things Wang Yun had said about Ding Yuan in court, she gritted her teeth in anger. "I have treated my nephew-in-law with great respect, but this scoundrel has repaid me in this way!"

The man was overjoyed to have persuaded the Empress Dowager and said, "Dong Zhongying is a trusted confidant of General He Jin, the Empress Dowager's brother. He would certainly not act rashly and would definitely follow the Empress Dowager's lead. However, this Wang Yun thinks highly of his merits..."

"You need not say another word!" the Empress Dowager said, her eyes blazing. "Order Ding Yuan to establish his camp a hundred li outside Luoyang! Order Dong Zhuo to proceed to Luoyang immediately!"

"Yes!" The man, having achieved his goal, happily withdrew.

"debate……"

"Hahaha! What a brilliant plan!" Far from Luoyang, a burly man, shirtless, drank wine from a large bowl.

A young man in front of him smiled but remained silent.

"As expected of my son-in-law!" the man laughed heartily, then asked, "Zhang Xian, do you think that woman will fall for his trap?"

The young man smiled and said, "If there's something in it for everyone, there's bound to be something in it for everyone. Empress He is so eager for her son to ascend the throne, how could she possibly believe Wang Yun's words? In my humble opinion, Wang Yun is probably not far from being sidelined..."

"Hmph! Very well! Prince Shi is highly respected in the court. If he were here, I would be in a difficult position! But we are all military men, so even if we enter Luoyang, we will be helpless..."

"Is Prince Shi the only remaining sage among the court?"

"Excellent!" The man laughed several times, then asked suspiciously, "Zhang Xian, how did you know that the late emperor left behind a secret edict?"

"This imperial edict is in my son-in-law's hands. It's quite a strange story. During the eunuch rebellion, I suggested delaying the procession. It was at that time that I sent several groups of spies to Luoyang overnight, originally just to gather information about Luoyang. Unexpectedly, they obtained this item..."

"Very well..." the man thought to himself, "To avoid any unforeseen complications, we should quickly destroy this matter and let Wang Yun carry out this disaster!"

"Heh, wouldn't that be a waste? This thing has a great use in Confucius's life..."

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