Luoyang.
It's getting late, and the lanterns are starting to turn on.
In the Chancery, Li Ru finally finished handling the day's government affairs and was getting ready to move around when Dong Min walked in from outside the hall.
"Sir, let's go to Cai Mansion for a drink."
Dong Min had a smile on his face, and there was still a bit of alcohol on his body. It seemed that he had had a drink at noon.
"Today is the wedding day of Cai Shizhong's eldest daughter?"
Li Ru said in a daze, feeling that time was flying by.
"That's right, sir, don't you remember?" Dong Min laughed and said, "Cai Shizhong is also very interesting. All our old brothers from Xiliang have invited us to a banquet. When we first entered the capital, these Guandong families looked down on us, but now we are not treated as honored guests. ."
There was a sense of pride and elation in his speech and behavior.
"Forget it, Shuying, you go first and go after I change my clothes." Li Ru said.
After all, Cai Yong was the Emperor Wenzong of the time and someone Dong Zhuo valued, so Li Ru felt that he should give him some face.
"Okay, then I will wait for you at Cai Mansion."
Dong Min cupped his fists and smiled, then turned around and left the palace.
Li Ru's residence is right next to the Chancellor's Desk. In order to be able to consult him at any time, Dong Zhuo built a courtyard for him between Sangong's Mansion and the Secretariat's Desk. Dong Zhuo knew that Li Ru didn't like luxury, so he didn't add much decoration and just maintained a quiet and quiet style.
After coming out of the Chancellor's Desk, Li Ru walked back to his home in a few steps. Just as he was about to change his clothes, he suddenly remembered something.
"Somebody come!"
A servant came over, bowed and said, "What are your orders, Master?"
"Who is stationed today?"
"The master returning home is General Xu Wenyao."
Hearing this, Li Ru nodded.
Xu Rong acted steadily, so there was nothing to worry about.
Cai Yong married his daughter, and almost all the senior generals of the Xiliang Army went to the banquet. After a meal of wine, everyone would definitely come home drunk. Li Ru was afraid of delaying the city's defense, so he asked.
After knowing that Xu Rong was on duty, he felt more relieved.
Although there were troops stationed on all sides of Luoyang, and it was unlikely that the enemy would invade Luoyang overnight, the cautious habit he had maintained for many years still made Li Ru subconsciously ask.
Moreover, Li Ru is actually not worried about threats from the outside, but from within.
As Dong Zhuo's expedition took longer, some people in Luoyang City began to become more and more restless.
Not to mention others, just the old guys Zhu Jun, Yang Biao, and Wang Yun were all holding back their energy and preparing to cause harm, and Li Ru didn't want to give them an opportunity to take advantage of them.
After thinking about it, Li Ru was still a little worried, so he immediately took off his belt badge and handed it to the servant.
"Pass my order to mobilize another thousand troops from outside the city tonight and enter the city to garrison!"
"As you command!"
The servant took the token with both hands and turned around.
Li Ru felt completely relieved and began to prepare to take a bath and change clothes, and rushed to Cai Mansion for a banquet later.
…
Xu Rong's mansion.
Starting from the afternoon, Xu Rong secretly ordered his trusted soldiers to start quietly gathering in the mansion.
He was the city gate captain and had the responsibility of patrolling the city defense. The transfer of dozens of people at a time did not attract anyone's attention.
By the time night fell, a thousand men and horses had gathered in the mansion. These were all the troops Xu Rong could use!
Seeing that the troops and horses were all ready, Xu Rong walked back to the hall, cupped his hands to Xun You and said: "Mr. Xun, the troops and horses are all here, you can take action at any time!"
Hearing this, Xun You turned around and nodded.
At this time, Xun You was full of ambition, but there was no trace of dullness at all. Xu Rong unleashed all the sharpness he had hidden in his daily life, and the blazing light in his eyes almost made Xu Rong dare not look at him.
Thief Dong, I failed to kill you last time, so I will kill all your minions this time and collect some interest first!
"Thank you for your hard work, General Xu, but I still have to trouble the general to send someone to inquire about the news and see if all our guests are here." Xun You waved his sleeves and ordered in a tone that left no room for doubt.
Zhang Heng had already given him the command of this operation. Not to mention Xu Rong, even Chen Gong had to obey his orders.
"only!"
Xu Rong clasped his fists, turned around and ordered a village commander to check the news.
Xun You spoke to Chen Gong and Tai Shi Ci again: "Everyone, this operation is divided into three steps. First, please ask General Xu to replace our people with soldiers who will be patrolling tonight. After all the guests of the Cai Mansion have arrived, , kill directly.
The second step is much easier. In the Cai Mansion, no one of Dong's minions, men, women, old or young, will be left alive! Remember, you have to act quickly.
Finally, after he succeeded, he immediately led his army out of the city, rushed to meet Captain Zhang, and fled far away.
The Xiliang army is stationed a few miles north of the city, so we have at most an hour after we start taking action. Once the time is up, no matter what, we have to leave the city immediately. Once caught up by the Xiliang army outside the city, the consequences would be disastrous. "
Finally, Xun You prepared for the worst.
"The rendezvous place agreed upon by Captain Zhang and I is the Zhu clan gathering thirty miles south of the city. If we don't act in time and we don't have time to retreat, and we are still targeted by the Xiliang army in the end, we will just change our route and go all the way. If you go west, you must not go south to meet Captain Zhang, do you understand?"
Hearing this, the three of them all looked solemn, cupped their hands and said, "As ordered!"
It has to be said that Xun You is still a kind person. Even if he has the worst plan, he still thinks about how not to implicate Zhang Heng.
That's right, after Zhang Heng thought about it for more than ten days, he finally fled south, leaving Guangcheng Pass and heading straight to Nanyang.
The road was smooth. Although the enemy was pursuing them very fast, as long as they gave themselves a time difference of two hours, they would be enough to get rid of the pursuers.
It seems dangerous, but it is the safest route.
Xun You said to Chen Gong again: "Brother Gongtai, could you please lead a hundred elites to the city gate first to ensure that the city gate is wide open so that we can retreat quickly."
"good."
Chen Gong nodded.
"Ziyi, when you take action, you lead two hundred people as the vanguard and use your bows and crossbows to clear the way. You must kill all the guards guarding Cai Mansion inside and outside!"
Xu Rong did not get bows and arrows, weapons of mass destruction on the battlefield, but he did get dozens of hard crossbows. But fortunately, in small spaces such as street fighting, crossbows can often kill with one hit, which is much easier to use than bows.
"Follow your orders!" Taishi Ci said, cupping his fists.
"General Xu, after Ziyi takes action, leave a hundred people to guard outside, and immediately lead the remaining 600 people into Cai Mansion and start killing the rebels!"
"Yes!" Xu Rong said, cupping his fists.
"Everyone, if what we do today succeeds, we will eliminate thieves for the country, but if we fail, we will be doomed. Please go forward bravely later and risk your life!" Xun You said, bowing to the three of them and bowing to the end.
"You are here...to encourage you all!"
"mutual encouragement!"
The three of them bowed and saluted, with determination in their eyes.
