The Counterattack of the Villains

Luoyang Imperial Palace.

On the bed in Dong Zhuo's palace, which was bigger than Lu Bu's house, Dong Zhuo was playing games with five beauties dressed in gauze.

Li Ru quickly walked into the palace and came to the big bed with the gauze curtain drawn up.

He was the only one under Dong Zhuo who could enter the palace without notification.

At this time, Li Ru had a look of joy on his face and said in a brisk tone: "I am reporting to the Grand Master that General Lu won a great victory at Hulao Pass and completely defeated the coalition forces of the princes. He has now returned to the court with his troops."

When Dong Zhuo heard this, he immediately pulled away the beauty, opened the curtain and said happily: "Fengxian, my son really did not disappoint me, where are they?"

Li Rudao: "According to the person sent by General Lu to report the news, the army was already thirty miles away when he set out, and it should be less than twenty miles away from Luoyang now."

Dong Zhuo waved his hand and said: "Very good, go and labor the army in person, and order us to go down and have all the civil and military officials of the court go to the city gate to greet my son."

"Let Fengxian have a good rest today. Tomorrow I will personally promote him to a higher position."

Li Ru bowed happily and said: "No."

The allied forces of the princes were defeated, and there was no force in the world that could threaten them. As long as Lu Bu, the God of War, was around, they would have no worries from now on.

…

Twenty miles east of Luoyang City, Li Mu was riding a red rabbit horse and was walking in front. Diao Chan was sitting in front of him, wrapped in his arms.

All his generals, except Zang Ba and Hao Meng who stayed at Hulao Pass, followed him.

The 280,000-strong army meandered for more than 20 miles, looking like a long dragon when viewed from the sky.

The eight strong generals have now become the ninth strong generals, with one more Zhao Yun.

Under Li Mu, the concept of a strong general is a general who can lead an army on his own, and has certain requirements for force, strategy, and ability to command troops.

Although Gao Shun's ability to command troops is not weak, he can only command small-scale troops such as the trapped camp, and he cannot handle large-scale army operations.

Moreover, his own physical strength cannot reach the level of a Nine-Skill General. He relies on the formation of the trapped camp to temporarily obtain the strength of an unparalleled general.

Therefore, although his status under Li Mu is not low, he cannot be classified as a strong general.

Gao Shun himself is very self-aware and has no objections to this. As long as he can continue to lead the camp, he will be satisfied.

When there were still fifteen miles away from Luoyang, Li Mu stopped at a fork in the road.

He called Zhang Liao and said: "Wen Yuan, please go and take Diao Chan to Zhuangzi outside the city."

Zhang Liao cupped his fists and responded, "Yes."

Li Mu lowered his head and said to Diao Chan, who turned back to look at him: "You should take shelter outside the city for now. When the big things are settled tomorrow, I will bring you back and marry you."

Diao Chan nodded lightly and warned softly: "General, please be careful in everything."

Li Mu smiled and said: "No one in this world who can hurt me has been born yet. Don't worry, I will take good care of your adoptive father for you. Go ahead!"

While talking, Zhang Liao had already ordered his men to give up a horse. Li Mu put his hands on Diao Chan's slender waist and lifted it gently.

Diao Chan's light and weightless body floated towards the horse's back beside her. She adjusted her posture gracefully in the air and landed firmly on the horse's back.

Lifting the horse's reins, Diao Chan smiled at Li Muyan again, and then said to Zhang Liao: "General Zhang, please lead the way!"

"Yes, madam, please come with me."

Zhang Liao turned his horse's head and trotted towards the fork road on the left. Diao Chan immediately urged the horse to follow, and Li Mu ordered the army to continue moving along the official road.

When they arrived five miles outside the city, Cheng Lian, Song Xian and others led the army to the camp, while Li Mu only led Zhao Yun and Yu Lin into the city and returned to Lu Mansion.

The Yulin Cavalry was stationed inside the city, while the other armies were stationed outside the city. Only Dong Zhuo's personal army of 5,000 men was stationed in the city like the Yulin Cavalry, serving as a city defense camp.

Cheng Lian and others would secretly pull the army out of the camp at the darkest moment before dawn, ambush near the Xiliang Army camp, and surround it.

When the dynasty begins in the morning, they will launch a surprise attack on the Xiliang army camp.

Li Mu did not want any of the Xiliang troops to surrender, and they allowed the Xiliang troops to surrender during the war.

But after the battle, these Xiliang troops would be trapped and killed, but those Han troops, Li Mu, were willing to recruit them.

Just because the reputation of the Xiliang Army was so bad that the people of Luoyang hated it, Li Mu didn't want his reputation to get worse, so he couldn't accept a Xiliang Army.

When he arrived at the gate of the city, Li Ru took the courtiers headed by Situ Wang Yun, Sikong Yang Biao, Shangshu servant Sun Rui, Zhijin Wu Fuwan and others to greet him.

At this time, a person behind Li Ru was holding a tray with a wine pot and a wine glass on it. This was a ceremony to welcome the triumphant general. This glass of wine was the so-called "celebration wine."

In addition, there is a chariot with a canopy in front of the city gate.

Except for Li Ru and a small number of courtiers who had taken refuge with Dong Zhuo, who were all smiling, the other courtiers in the audience were expressionless.

A few months ago, when they heard that the Eighteenth Route Lords Alliance was attacking Dong, they were all extremely excited, thinking that Dong Zhuo was going to die.

They were waiting day and night for the allied forces of the princes to break through Hulao Pass, enter Luoyang and cut off Dong Zhuo's head.

But they never expected that the entire eighteen princes and half a million troops would be defeated by one Lu Bu.

Even the heads of Jiangdong Sun Jian, the second largest force in the alliance of princes, and his generals were sent back to Luoyang, which made the courtiers despair.

And now they have to pinch their noses to meet the bandits who defeated King Qin's army. How can the courtiers look good?

Among the people, only Situ Wang Yun's face remained normal.

Originally, in his serial plan, after Diao Chan went to Hulao Pass to meet Lu Bu, she should return to Luoyang and wait to marry Dong Zhuo.

But she never returned. According to the people who secretly monitored her, Lu Bu took her to Hulao Pass.

This incident really caught Wang Yun off guard, but he carefully sorted out his strategy and found that the matter was not completely out of control, so he suppressed it and waited to see what would happen.

Originally, there were only three days left for Dong Zhuo to welcome Diao Chan. If Lü Bu had returned to school a few days later, he would have had another excuse for Dong Zhuo.

But now that Lu Bu has returned in time, there will be no problem. As long as he goes to see Lu Bu tonight, everything will be the same.

In short, no matter whether Lu Bu comes back or not, he will have a way to achieve his ultimate goal and make Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo turn against each other.

"Congratulations to General Lu on his triumphant return. Please take a full drink of this glass of celebratory wine, General."

Li Mu dismounted from his horse ten feet away in front of Li Ru and walked forward. Li Ru immediately met him with his men carrying drinks, and with a smile, he picked up the wine glass and handed it to Li Mu.

Li Mu took the wine glass and drank the celebratory wine. The courtiers who had taken refuge with Dong Zhuo sang their praises. Then Li Ru respectfully invited Li Mu to get on the carriage, and then the team headed back to the city.

The courtiers followed on foot on both sides of the carriage, and two thousand Yulin riders followed closely behind.

When the car drives along the main road of Luoyang City and reaches the center of the city, the labor force will come to an end.

Li Ru and all the court officials went back to their respective homes, while the driver took Li Mu back to Lu Mansion.

When Li Mu and Zhao Yun returned to Lu Mansion with Yiqu Yulinqi, Zhang Liao had already returned to the mansion from another city gate.

Mrs. Yan and Lu Lingqi left the city secretly, taking only two personal maids with them, as well as the housekeeper and all the servants.

He ordered the butler to prepare wine and food and deliver them to the pavilion in the backyard. Li Mu, Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun ate and chatted at the stone table in the pavilion.

"Zilong, during the dynasty tomorrow, you and Wenyuan will lead the Yulin Cavalry to launch a surprise attack on the North City Gate, seize the city gate as quickly as possible, and assist Cheng Lian in entering the city."

"After the army enters the city, it will be divided into two groups. Gao Shun will lead the army into camp and work with you to encircle Dong Zhuo's personal camp."

"Cheng Lian led his troops to attack the palace and annihilate the Imperial Guards. They are all confidants chosen by the Dong thieves from the Xiliang army and will not be used by me."

"After the imperial palace is captured, Yu Linqi will be appointed as the imperial guard in the future."

Zhao Yun expressed his understanding, and Zhang Liao asked: "How does the lord plan to deal with Dong Zhuo?"

Li Muxuan smiled and said: "Do you need any more plans to deal with Dong Zhuo? Just kill him casually. Your Majesty and I have already established a connection. If you kill Dong Zhuo in the main hall, Your Majesty and all the officials will just applaud him."

Zhao Yun was quite surprised when he heard this, but Zhang Liao was not surprised because he already knew about this when Li Mu took out the edict written by the young emperor.

There were more than 3,000 imperial guards and they were spread throughout the palace. Li Mude stayed in Deyang Palace to protect the young emperor and the officials and had no time to take the initiative to kill them.

What if when he ran out to kill the guards, someone rushed to the main hall and killed all the officials? Who would keep the court running?

After all, this is not a later generation with an imperial examination system. All the courtiers need to do is to issue an emergency encore to replace the officials.

Let's not talk about him. There won't even be anyone to manage taxation. How can Li Mu support the army?

Therefore, he could only defend Deyang Palace, prevent any of Dong Zhuo's soldiers from entering, and then wait for the army outside to enter the palace.

…

When night fell, Wang Yun came to the door as expected.

He invited the people to the hall and dismissed all the servants, leaving only Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun. Then Li Mu asked: "Wang Situ came to visit at night, what do you want to do?"

Wang Yun pretended not to be concerned and said: "General, why do you need to ask questions knowingly? Is my daughter okay?"

Li Mu made a look of surprise and said: "Oh, you said Chan'er, she is very good. She can be with the one she loves and doesn't have to marry someone she hates. It's naturally very good."

Hearing Li Mu's words, Wang Yun was secretly happy. He didn't know if he knew clearly now. The person he said Diao Chan hated was Dong Zhuo.

Thoughts were running through his mind, but he asked with a look of surprise on his face: "General, what do you mean?"

"Haha..." Li Mu chuckled meaningfully and said slowly: "Why does Wang Situ pretend to be ignorant?"

Wang Yun frowned and said, "If you have something to say, general, you might as well say it directly. I really don't understand what the general means."

Li Mu looked at him steadily, his sharp gaze sending chills all over Wang Yun's body.

Li Mu suddenly said in a cold voice: "If Bu and Chan'er hadn't truly loved each other, there would probably be one more Wang Situ among the people who would die tomorrow."

Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun, who were kneeling behind the eucalyptus table on the right, looked at Wang Yun with surprise in their eyes.

Wang Yun's expression changed drastically, and he said cautiously: "Why did the general say this?"

Li Mu sneered and said: "It seems that Wang Situ really regards Bu as a fool, who can't even see through such a simple plan."

Fortunately for Zhao Yun, he didn't understand anything, so naturally he didn't have many ideas.

But Zhang Liao was confused and didn't know what Li Mu meant by "plain strategy".

He already knew that Diao Chan was Wang Yun's adopted daughter, but he couldn't figure out how this had anything to do with the strategy.

A flash of fear flashed across Wang Yun's eyes, but he still said harshly: "The general has killed me."

Li Mu withdrew his gaze, stood up and walked out of the table, walked to the hall door, turned his back to Wang Yun and said: "First of all, I deliberately praised Chan'er for her 'closed moon' appearance, so that Dong Zhuo would know her."

"Then accept Dong Zhuo's betrothal gift, and the first step of this plan will be completed."

Wang Yun's body began to tremble slightly, while Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun listened attentively.

Just listen to Li Mu continue: "Then let Chan'er run to Hulao Pass and appear in front of me. With Chan'er's beauty, no man in the world can ignore her, and I am the same."

"After I regard Chan'er as a forbidden love, I marry her to Dong Zhuo. In this case, Dong Zhuo and I will inevitably have a rift. If you try to persuade me to kill Dong Zhuo again, I will probably not refuse."

"What a serial plan, Wang Situ, are there any mistakes or omissions in Bu's inference?"

Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun suddenly realized this, and looked at Wang Yun with a somewhat evil look.

In order to achieve his goal, he did not hesitate to use his daughter to set up a trap, and he even wanted to take advantage of his lord. He was really an unscrupulous bastard.

Fortunately, Mrs. Diao Chan had to meet her husband, and the Lord was as wise as the sea, so he could easily see through Wang Yun's plan, otherwise Xili Hutu would have become a knife in the hands of others.

Wang Yun had already slumped down at the eucalyptus table at first, thinking that his plot had been seen through by Lu Bu. Even if he didn't kill him, he would probably have nothing to do with the court and power in the future.

But suddenly he realized something again and sat up straight again, his face looking happy and worried at times.

He noticed that from the beginning, Li Mu called Dong Zhuo by his first name and did not call him his adoptive father.

And the phrase "The person whose head will fall to the ground tomorrow" is also a key point.

Who will be killed tomorrow?

He said with twinkling eyes: "It seems that everyone in the world has misjudged the general. Not only is the general's military power unparalleled in the world, he can be called the God of War in the world. His wisdom is also outstanding. I admire him."

"What I did was to eliminate thieves for the country. Although I was suspected of taking advantage of the general, I had no ill intentions towards the general."

"If this happens, not only will Chan'er and the general stay together, but I will also recommend the general to be General Fenwu, be granted the title of Marquis of Wen, and be in charge of the government together with me."

Wang Yun's words are really not that of Hu Nong Li Mu, because he did so in the original history.

General Fenwu is one of the senior generals, equivalent to the commander-in-chief of various armies.

In the original history, after Lu Bu killed Dong Zhuo, he was not only promoted to General Fenwu and granted the title of Marquis of Wen, he was also promoted to the third division of Jiajie and Yibi.

Jiejie means borrowing, and Jie is the emperor's talisman. Jiejie is the same thing as the gold medal "As if I am here in person" given by the emperor in later generations, and it represents the emperor.

The so-called three divisions are Sikong, Sima and Situ, which is equivalent to putting Lu Bu on an equal footing with Wang Yun, Yang Biao and others.

After listening to Wang Yun's words, Li Mu laughed and said: "Bu Zao has been in contact with His Majesty. In the past, he has succumbed to being a thief and endured the humiliation. He is just waiting for today. If he wants to be promoted to a noble position, why do you need your recommendation, Wang Situ?"

"What?" Wang Yun was shocked and speechless, "The general and Your Majesty have been in contact for a long time? Is this true?"

Li Mudao: "Wang Situ will know tomorrow whether it is true or not. Bu hates being plotted and used by others. Wang Situ should be happy. If you hadn't saved Chan'er's face, you would have died."

Wang Yun's face turned green and white, and finally he smiled bitterly and said: "If you had known that the general was on your majesty's side, why would I have bothered to do this? The general has hidden it well enough that everyone in the world has been hidden from you."

"But I don't understand. With the general's bravery, it is easy to kill Dong Zhuo. Why have you endured it until now?"

Li Mu finally turned around, glanced at Wang Yun disdainfully, and said, "This is the difference between Bu and Wang Situ."

"You people are short-sighted and only do things for the present without considering the consequences. This was the case with Cao Mengde's assassination, and the same is true with your serial plan."

"Wang Situ might as well think about how many followers Dong Zhuo has, and how many soldiers and horses they control?"

"Once Dong Zhuo dies and his generals rebel, who else can act as a check and balance?"

"The only result at that time is that the city of Luoyang will be destroyed, and all of you will inevitably die. If you die, it will be clean. Where will your Majesty be placed?"

Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun nodded repeatedly and looked at Wang Yun with a bit of disdain.

Paying attention to the beginning and not the end will only make things worse and will not be of any use at all.

Wang Yun's face turned red and he was speechless.

Li Mu, this is really not alarmist, it is true both in the original history and in the novel.

Lu Bu was deceived by Wang Yunyi and killed Dong Zhuo with a slap on the head. As a result, Li Jue and Guo Si, under Jia Xu's persuasion, led a large army to counterattack the capital, and the Xiliang people in the city also took the opportunity to rebel.

As a result, not only Lu Bu himself was defeated and fled, leaving only a hundred cavalry to follow, but Wang Yun's entire family was also massacred.

Just listen to Li Mu continue: "But now it is different. Li Jue, Guo Si and others all died in Hulao Pass, and more than 300,000 troops were in my hands."

"Early tomorrow morning, my capable generals will lead a large army to attack the Xiliang army camp and eradicate them in one fell swoop. Then I will kill Dong Zhuo during the dynasty, and your majesty will truly have peace of mind."

Wang Yun suddenly realized and said with surprise: "So General Lu has been holding back for a long time, just waiting for the day when the world's heroes unite to attack Dong, and Dong Zhuo sends you to lead the army to fight?"

After finishing speaking, he said in confusion: "But how did General Lu know that there would be an alliance of princes to challenge Dong?"

The corner of Li Mu's mouth curled up and he asked, "Wang Situ, does he know the reason for this alliance of eighteen princes?"

Wang Yundao said: "It is said that Yuan Shao got your Majesty's secret edict and was ordered to summon the rebel army to fight against the thieves. But this is impossible. It is impossible for him to get your Majesty's secret edict, so the secret edict is probably..."

Before he could say the word "fake", a flash of lightning suddenly flashed in his mind, and he looked at Li Mu in surprise and admiration.

Zhang Liao on the side couldn't help but said: "Yes, the secret edict is true. His Majesty wrote it himself and handed it to the lord. The lord took it out of the palace and sent someone to send it to the Bohai Sea to Yuan Shao."

Hearing this, Zhao Yun looked at Li Mu with extremely respectful eyes.

The depth of planning and far-reaching thought behind this plan is simply astonishing.

Wang Yun said in admiration: "The general is far-sighted and I am convinced of it. Compared with the general, my so-called serial plan is really just a trick that makes people laugh."

"But since Yuan Shao was ordered to fight against thieves, why did the general defeat them?"

Li Muleng snorted: "Do you really think that the eighteen princes are here to fight against the rebels and rescue His Majesty? Yuan Shao and those princes are not ambitious people."

"The reason why they obeyed the imperial edict so happily is because they want to become the second Dong Zhuo. How many of them really want to help the Han Dynasty?"

"There shouldn't be any princes in this world. The Yin and Shang Dynasties, and the lessons learned from the Western Zhou Dynasty, aren't they enough to arouse the vigilance of future generations?"

Wang Yun's eyes flashed slightly and he said cautiously: "What about the general? After destroying Dong Zhuo and the Xiliang army, the general has hundreds of thousands of troops in his hands. There is no one in the world who can compete with him. What are the general's plans?"

Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun's eyes were also focused on Li Mu.

Li Mu curled his lips disdainfully and said: "Bu knows what Wang Situ means, holding the emperor hostage to order the princes is nothing more than a small talk."

"What I want to do is to wipe out the princes in the world, so that there will be no more wars in the world, so that the people will have enough food and clothing, and live and work in peace and contentment."

"The specific matters will be discussed in detail with Wang Situ and the court officials after Dong Zhuo is executed tomorrow. Please come back today with Wang Situ!"

"Rebirth of the Great Era of Fighting Waves"

Wang Yun frowned. Li Mu seemed to have answered his question, but it seemed that he didn't.

In other words, the answer Li Mu gave was not the answer he really wanted to know.

Because after Li Mu answered this question, there was a deeper question.

What will happen after he wipes out all the princes in the world? Will he continue to be loyal to the Han Dynasty, or...