Dong Zhuo was very surprised by Dong Huang's arrival.
There was a turmoil in Luoyang City. As a subordinate of Liu Bei, it was definitely not a normal situation for Dong Huang to appear in Bingzhou at this time.
"Huang, why are you here?"
Dong Huang handed Liu Bei's letter to Dong Zhuo.
"I am sending a message to you on behalf of the Lord. Uncle, the Lord hopes that you can abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side, and serve the Emperor and the court, instead of sticking to your status as an old official of the Yuan family and continuing to work for Yuan Wei."
Dong Zhuo was shocked, but said nothing. He took the letter from Dong Huang, opened it and started reading.
The content of Liu Bei's letters is not complicated.
Mainly helping Dong Zhuo analyze the situation.
In the current situation, the alliance between the Yuan family and the He family has fallen into decline. One-third of their power has been wiped out by Liu Bei. The remaining two-thirds have many vacillators, so there is no one left. No matter how many iron rods are played, every village has its own Xiao Jiujiu.
In this case, Yuan Wei and He Jin actually don't have many bargaining chips to use. When the time comes, Liu Bei will try every means to obtain the status of righteousness and use troops against Yuan Wei and He Jin, striving to wipe out all their forces.
Liu Bei believed that Dong Zhuo was a professional who could clearly tell which one was stronger and which one was weaker between his Liangzhou soldiers and Yuan Wei and He Jin's army, as well as the strength comparison between the two sides, and Liu Bei also revealed his guess.
That is to say, Yuan Wei must ask Dong Zhuo to send elite Bingzhou soldiers to Luoyang to help him strengthen his troops, trying to use Dong Zhuo's Bingzhou soldiers as the main force to fight against Liu Bei's Liangzhou soldiers, so as to increase the possibility of victory.
As a supporting measure, Yuan Wei was in Luoyang inciting He Jin to retreat instead of advancing, and used leaving Luoyang to attack the Xuzhou Yellow Turban Army as an action to cover up the true purpose. The main purpose was to recruit troops, and he secretly sent Dong Zhuo here in a serious manner. The army was included in Ho's march.
In this way, they could obtain the effectiveness of Bingzhou soldiers without mobilizing Dong Zhuo himself.
Liu Bei had guessed all this, but Liu Bei did not intend to hinder their actions. On the contrary, he was willing to add fuel to the flames.
He would convince the emperor to allow He Jin and Yuan Wei's plan and give Yuan Wei the opportunity to mobilize Bingzhou soldiers and horses to join He Jin's army, but he needed Dong Zhuo to be on his side and arrange Bingzhou soldiers and horses as his internal agents to do him a favor .
Liu Bei not only wanted to destroy Yuan Wei and He Jin's troops, but also guessed that Yuan Wei and He Jin would most likely be in the army by then, so he hoped that the Bingzhou soldiers could stir up civil strife in He Jin's army when he needed it, and take advantage of the chaos to kill them. He Jin and Yuan Wei died.
In return, after winning the victory, Liu Bei would use the power he seized to legitimize and rationalize the matter for Dong Zhuo, making everyone in the world speechless and establishing Dong Zhuo's image as a loyal minister.
The benefactor rebelled, so the officials endured heartache and reported his treasonous behavior. This is the only reasonable explanation for Dong Zhuo's rebellion.
Then, he would appoint Dong Zhuo as a former general and Bingzhou shepherd, guarding the border for the Han Dynasty, majestic and truly in charge of the government.
Liu Bei hopes that Dong Zhuo can arrange for absolutely reliable and down-to-earth people to do this, and try to keep people from knowing as little as possible, so as not to make it difficult to operate.
And the benefits of doing so are not just Dong Zhuo's official position.
If Dong Zhuo can really do this and is really willing to serve the imperial court and rebel against the Yuan family, then Liu Bei, as the leader of the Zuo family's Spring and Autumn Period, can ensure that the next generation of the Dong family enters the circle of scholars, and the next generation completes the process. With a gorgeous turn, he can directly enter the circle of first-class scholars, and he can also leave Liangzhou and settle in the prosperous land of Guandong. After three generations, he can permanently change his background.
He will make the Dong family become a scholar family of the Han Dynasty in two generations, and turn around in three generations to become a noble family that everyone envies.
This condition is for your cooperation, for you to do your best to kill He Jin and Yuan Wei for me, and for you to be my unbreakable alliance partner, isn't it a loss?
As for the helpers Dong Zhuo chooses, Liu Bei will also arrange some good Luoyang positions for them as rewards afterwards. The benefits will definitely be enough, but it depends on whether the person has the ability and whether they can seek wealth in danger.
After Dong Zhuo read Liu Bei's letter, he endured his shock, found a piece of ground and sat down, and then looked at Dong Huang, who was standing beside him.
"Do you know the content of this letter?"
"The Lord didn't let me see it, how could I see it?"
Dong Zhuo nodded, said no more, and fell into deep thought.
Liu Bei guessed everything.
Previously, Yuan Wei did write to him and asked him to prepare to select elite soldiers and generals to sneak into Luoyang. He would arrange for these elite soldiers and generals to enter He Jin's army, live a serious life, strengthen He Jin's military strength, and become their The trump card against Liu Bei.
Liu Bei has a strong army and they need more troops to ensure victory.
Yuan Wei did not say what reward he would give Dong Zhuo after this victory, as if this was what Dong Zhuo, as an old official of the Yuan family, had to do, and there was nothing else worthy of discussion.
What Yuan gave him was his. If Yuan didn't give it to him, he couldn't ask for it or rob it.
Dong Zhuo was very dissatisfied with this, and many of the dissatisfactions he had felt since following the Yuan family also overlapped and erupted at this time.
In fact, before this, Dong Zhuo was entangled in the confrontation between Liu and Yuan.
Because he is indeed more optimistic about Liu Bei than Yuan Wei. He feels that Liu Bei will win in the end, so he is debating whether to do it in a positive way or not. He will not send anyone to deal with Liu Bei and act neutrally, and wait for the dust to settle. Dong Huang's relationship helped him to plead for mercy and save his wealth and life.
Even if I can't keep my position for a while, if I ask Dong Huang later, I will definitely have a chance to make a comeback. I'll save my life first.
This is his plan, and he plans to put it into practice.
Suddenly, Liu Bei's letter changed his stance and status.
Liu Bei clearly asked him to stand on his side, ask him to provide help to him, and even play a decisive role in starting a civil strife, striving to kill Yuan Wei and He Jin, and maximizing Liu Bei's possibility of victory.
It seems that even though Liu Bei already had the intention to kill at this time, he still wanted to solve the biggest problem at the minimum cost.
To be fair, this requirement is quite harsh, but the rewards Liu Bei can give are also quite tempting.
He was able to elevate the Dong family from a humble warrior family on the frontier to a noble family in Guandong within two generations. He could turn around in three generations and permanently change the humble origins of the Dong family.
This is a promise that only a leader like Liu Bei can make, and it is also a promise that people can trust.
If it were anyone else, such words would not be believed and have no credibility.
To be honest, Dong Zhuo has been suffering from the troubles caused by his humble background for most of his life. He is always thinking about getting rid of his original background, and he is also imagining that if he was born into a noble family, he would be better than he is now.
But he knows that this situation is difficult to happen. He is just a dog of the Yuan family. The Yuan family promotes him because of his strength, not his change of origin.
Only with a humble background can he be controlled, otherwise he will escape control. In order to maintain control over him, the Yuan family will never give him a chance to change his origin.
But now, the opportunity for change has arisen.
As long as he agrees to Liu Bei's request and exchanges Yuan Wei or He Jin's life, he can summon a better future, and the Dong family will take a completely different path.
Dong Zhuo thought about it, constantly weighing the pros and cons, and considering various possible sudden situations.
In the end, he had to admit that the promise Liu Bei gave him was the best and fastest way he could choose to change his background.
Even such a promise, no one would give him, only Liu Bei would give him this promise at this moment.
Opportunities must not be lost, and they will never come back. Such conditions can allow Liu Bei to successfully bribe anyone at any time and in any place.
Dong Zhuo's heart beat violently.
If he agreed, he would betray the Yuan family, become a knife in Liu Bei's hand, and be bound to Liu Bei from then on.
If he doesn't agree, he will have no chance, and he might offend Liu Bei for it. In the end, even if Dong Huang pleads for mercy, his political life will come to an end, and he will have no other hope in his life.
Liu Bei said that he was given a choice, but in fact, he was not qualified to choose.
Taking a deep breath, Dong Zhuo made his decision.
He stood up and looked at Dong Huang in front of him.
"Uncle, I..."
"You don't need to say anything. You go back and tell Liu Qiaoqi that I agree to his request. I will do my best to complete what he asked for. I just need to know how to contact him privately. Do you understand?"
Dong Huang blinked.
"The Lord also said that if my uncle didn't agree, he asked me to try my best to persuade him..."
"I really have to be ruthless to agree to this kind of thing, but now that I've decided, I won't go back on my word, and you don't need to persuade me. Huang, now it seems that it was really hard for me to let you follow Liu Qiaoqi in the first place. It was a very correct decision.”
Dong Zhuo's tone was very strong.
Dong Huang then smiled.
"Then this is the best. Before I left, Junhou told me that if my uncle agreed, he would let his people go directly to Luoyang City to meet him after arriving in Luoyang. Of course, the speed must be fast and not slow. Delay will lead to change.”
"Okay, then as soon as possible, Juan, you go to have a rest first, have something to eat, and wait for me to explain some things and make some preparations. We will have the manpower ready soon. It is still early now, and you will be able to join my team soon." Let’s set off together.”
Dong Zhuo arranged for Dong Huang to eat and rest to regain his strength. Dong Huang nodded and went to eat without caring about other things.
After Dong Huang left, Dong Zhuo walked around the room, thinking about it, and finally selected the executor of this action.
"Go and summon Lu Bu, the chief registrar, and Li Su, the school captain, are here!"
(End of chapter)
