After settling his family members, Cao Cao sorted out his belongings. He first recruited thousands of local warriors in Pei State and spent a lot of money to hoard food and grass. Then he sent a letter to Yuan Shao, asking Yuan Shao where the allied forces were gathering. At the end of November, Yuan Shao wrote back saying: The gathering place of the allied forces was set at Chenliu Jujube, and an envoy was sent to bring the seal. Cao Cao looked through the article and found the words "General Fenwu". It turned out that Yuan Shao proclaimed himself a chariot general in Bohai, ranking above the Three Dukes. He generously rewarded allies from all over the country and promoted them as generals and governors. I am afraid that even the emperor's authority was slightly less than that of the emperor.
Cao Cao couldn't help but sneer at the idea of attacking a king without a king, and stealing power with a master of power. However, he had made up his mind and immediately led his troops to Suanzao. He crossed the river westward, passed through Chen State, and first arrived at Chenliu County. Continue to recruit soldiers and horses. From time to time along the road, we can see wealthy families relocating, hurried trains, and groups of people. They see Cao Cao's flag in the distance and take a detour. Apparently they are afraid of war and want to be like Cao Cao. Songban was looking for a pure land where no one would disturb him. In the cold wind of winter, Cao Cao walked against the flow of people. He realized clearly and sadly that he had taken the first step to destroy the Han Dynasty.
When Cao Cao approached Chen Liu, the number of troops under the banner of King Qin gradually increased, and there was a different scene. In and around Chenliu County, flags covered the sun and drums beat loudly. There were military camps everywhere. The new soldiers were being trained by the veterans to familiarize themselves with orders and practice swordsmanship. Heroes gathered around the military camp to sign up for the recruited officers. Asking for war, the soldiers and civilians continued to discuss and criticize the government.
Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu, knew that Cao Cao was coming and hurriedly went out of the city to greet his close friends. Cao Cao asked him how many allies had arrived so far. He introduced: Zhang Chao, the prefect of Guangling, Qiao Mao, the prefect of Dongjun, and Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, had arrived at Chenliu. The governor of Yuzhou, Kong Yi, has stationed troops in Yingchuan, and the prefect of Hanoi, Wang Kuang, has also stationed troops in Hanoi. Prime Minister Bao Xin of Jibei, Yuan Yi, the prefect of Shanyang, and Zhang Zi, the prefect of Nanyang, who have been confirmed to participate in the alliance, are still on the way, but the most important leader of the alliance, Chao Qi, General Yuan Shao has not yet arrived, and the late general Yuan Shu, who claims to also participate in the fight against Dong, has not yet made any move. The movements of Han Fu, the pastor of Jizhou, and Chen Chong, the pastor of Bingzhou, are also unclear. Even so, there are now nearly 100,000 soldiers stationed in Chenliu, plus the governor of Yangzhou Chen Wen's supply of food and grass was already a force that could shake the world.
The force of a hundred thousand troops stretched for nearly ten miles, and Chenliu was adjacent to Henan. The officials in Luoyang soon learned the news, some were overjoyed, and some were furious.
On October 12, after Dong Zhuo received Qiao Mao's message, he ordered it to be hung under the plaque in the hall, and ordered Li Ru to summon the minister's desk. He read it in front of everyone, and repeated it back and forth on the stage. Everyone was frightened after hearing this. .
When Dong Zhuo finally stopped, he stood up and approached Zhou Ao, and asked in a gentle voice: "I treated Yuan Shao like this, but Yuan Shao used his sword recklessly. Am I not caring about the overall situation?" Zhou Ao heard the tone and knew that the Taiwei had killed him. He humiliated himself and replied hastily: "Yuan Shao did not understand the good intentions of the Taiwei. This is because Yuan Shao is cunning and good at making false claims, so that we were all deceived by him. There are currently a raging group of thieves in Guandong, but I am sure If they have different minds, the Taiwei can send envoys to appease them, divide them, and then break them."
These words could not appease Dong Zhuo. He turned his head and looked at everyone again and said coldly: "Although I am a rough man, I also know that if you want your horses to do their best, you need to feed them fodder. I wonder what the people in Guandong want? "No one dared to answer, so Dong Zhuo himself went on to say: "I'm afraid what you are asking for is the head on my neck!" He asked Lu Bu to carry a wooden box from the backyard, took out letters one after another, and read them in front of everyone. Reading, it turns out that these are letters exchanged between Zhou Ao and Yuan Shao.
It turned out that when Dong Zhuo convened a meeting with his officials, he had secretly ordered Lu Bu to search Zhou Ao's residence. As expected, he found Yuan Shao's letters and an unfinished reply from Zhou Ao, in which Zhou Ao reported the situation around Luoyang. , as well as Dong Zhuo's military arrangements, and also said that he contacted hundreds of officials in Beijing, tried to assassinate Dong Zhuo, and urged Yuan Shao to send troops quickly. What made Dong Zhuo even more angry was that Zhou Ao was called a thief in his book because he used Zhou Ao so highly, and he ridiculed Zhou Ao for being fat, saying that he was rowing in Zhuolong Garden like a cow walking on the Yaotai, which made people laugh.
Dong Zhuo threw down the letter and asked Zhou Ao again: "By practicing the way of the saints, are you teaching this false way?"
Zhou Ao lowered his head and knelt down, unable to speak. He was not afraid of death. He just missed his wife and daughter at home and wanted to ask Dong Zhuo to spare the lives of his people. However, thinking of his repeated actions, he found it difficult to say it. In the end, he could only kowtow. The land is at Dong Zhuo's disposal. Dong Zhuo didn't want to look at him again, so he asked Lu Bu to take him out of the garden. That day, the owl's head was hung on the city gate, and all the property in the palace was looted. The men were killed on the spot, and the women were turned into camp prostitutes.
When Wu Qiong returned to the mansion, he was covered in cold sweat. Seeing Zhou Ao's end, he also thought that Zhou Ao's letter had leaked the assassination plan. If he continued to pursue it, not only would the assassination plan be completely defeated, but Xun You and others might even be implicated. He thought about it again and again, and finally He made a decision in his heart, sewed a sheathed knife into his sleeve robe, and added a layer of cowhide inside the robe, deciding to assassinate Dong alone when the court dismissed the next day.
It was cold in winter, the north wind was howling, and all the officials wore thick shirts to keep out the cold, so Wu Qiong didn't show any signs of strangeness. At the court meeting, Dong Zhuo used yesterday's events as an excuse and in accordance with Qiao Mao's message, ordered the Chancellor to ask Wu Qiong to issue documents and send troops to plunder the residences of Yuan Wei, Cui Lie, Ding Gong, and Liu Hong. If there were any contacts with Yuan Shao, The evidence of communication between Qiao Mao and others was all taken into prison. Searching the Sangong's residence without a warrant is a rare event in hundreds of years. However, everyone also knows that this is a moment of life and death and dare not argue. As for whether they will give in and hurt innocent people afterwards, they cannot Interfering.
After the meeting, Wu Qiong asked to see Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo was about to take a nap. Hearing that he wanted to meet him for something, he put on a warm robe and invited him to come in to see him. Wu Qiong entered the room and saw a fire burning in Dong Zhuo's room. The table next to the bed was piled with letters and bamboo slips, and there was a saber on the bed. According to Cai Yong, the general of the five senses, it was sharpened like clay. Xiang Yu's sword. Taiwei Dong Zhuo, wearing a warm robe, was lying on the bed, playing with a civet cat with a stone ball.
Seeing Wu Qiong's arrival, the civet cat opened its mouth and let out a "meow", jumped off the bed and ran into the garden. Dong Zhuo's face was peaceful, with soft curves in his wrinkles and the corners of his mouth. He waved to Wu Qiong and said with a smile: "Deyu, What do you have to report?" He took out a box of noodle cakes from the table, handed it to Wu Qiong and said, "This is the sophora honey cake just made in the kitchen, it is very sweet, you can try it."
Wu Qiong's face did not change, he put the noodles back on the table, and said seriously to Dong Zhuo: "Now Yuan Shao is intensifying his weapons in Guandong, Chen Liu's army is pressing down on the country, and the government and the public are in chaos. This is the time when the country is going to survive. If Ming Gong wants to eliminate the chaos, , you should always keep it in mind and don’t relax.”
After Dong Zhuo heard this, he hurriedly saluted him, promised to do his best for the affairs of the court, and said with emotion: "I don't know how many hearts in the court now belong to Yuan Shao. Only Deyu is worried about me, which makes me moved." So he asked him again. Said: "Deyu's remarks must be a strategy to suppress the rebellion."
Wu Qiong then said: "If it is to quell the rebellion, I don't have any strategy, but the rebellion in Guandong has existed since ancient times. In the past, the Duke of Zhou conquered the east, the Qin Dynasty conquered the country, the emperor unified the empire, and the chaos of the seven kingdoms was all caused by Guanxi destroying Guandong. Only During Shizu's time, there was great chaos in Guanzhong, so Shizu was able to use the power of Hebei to conquer the world. Now the rebels in Guandong are powerful, and Duke Ming occupies Guanzhong, why not move the capital to Xijing, use the stronghold of Weihan to resist the rebels, and wait for them to be like the Six Kingdoms? Attack, if Ming Gong defeats them one by one, the world will be in peace again."
Dong Zhuo thought about these remarks and realized that what he said was the truth. The problem that had troubled him for many days was suddenly solved. He was very happy and did not plan to take another lunch break. He discussed the capital move with Wu Qiong for an hour and finally praised Wu Qiong. Said: "Deyu is my Zhang Liang."
Seeing that it was late, Wu Qiong got up and asked Dong Zhuo to leave. Dong Zhuo also came out of the bed as usual and said, "It's cold and windy today, so I'll see you off." Dong Zhuo only wore pajamas and a robe, wearing He walked Wu Qiong to the corridor with clogs and patted his back affectionately.
Seeing that there were no guards around, Wu Qiong knew that the long-awaited opportunity had arrived. He pulled out the sharp blade from his sleeve, quickly turned around and stabbed Dong Zhuo, but with his back to Dong Zhuo, he missed the vital point and cut Dong Zhuo's sleeve robe. Dong Zhuo was taken aback, but he reacted quickly. He held Wu Qiong's knife-holding wrist tightly with one hand, and pressed Wu Qiong's other hand with the other hand. Wu Qiong, an ordinary scholar, could not compete with Dong Zhuo's strength. He was able to kick and hit Dong Zhuo's lower body with all his strength, but for the moment there was nothing he could do against Dong Zhuo.
Dong Zhuo finally calmed down. He pinned Wu Qiong tightly and shouted for the guards to come and arrest him. At this time, three guards came. They saw the two men shaking on the ground and were at a loss for a moment. Dong Zhuo shouted: "Cut it down." Hand! Cut off the hand!" Then they slashed Wu Qiong's hand with their knives, first cutting off a few fingers and then the palm. Wu Qiong cried out in pain and could only push her head against Dong Zhuo's forehead. Dong Zhuo couldn't bear the pain and could only let go of his hand and retreat. At this time, the guard saw the right opportunity and stabbed Wu Qiong's chest with a knife. Wu Qiong finally exhausted his last bit of strength and lay on the ground, looking at Dong Zhuo with wide eyes.
Dong Zhuo stood still panting, and it took him a long time to recover from the pain in his forehead. He looked at Wu Qiong with sadness and anger. He trembled his lips and sighed: "You also want to rebel!" Wu Qiong looked up with his head raised. Tian loudly said: "Tie Dong! You are not my monarch, and I am not your subject, so why should you be on the contrary? You have destabilized the country and usurped the throne, and your sins have been great. Today is the day of my death, so I must ask for it before I die." To eliminate thieves for the country! What a shame! I can’t tear your car apart in the street, so how can I apologize to the gods of heaven and earth!”
After he said this, he vomited a few mouthfuls of blood, and then died.
Dong Zhuo was dazed for a long time. When he returned to his palace, his blood was running cold.
