noffsinger Chapter 27 Dong Zhuo: My son Fengxian, I will appoint you as the Marquis of Wen!
Chapter 27 Dong Zhuo: My son Fengxian, I will appoint you as the Marquis of Wen!
Why was Yuan Shu allowed to remain at Sishui Pass?
This was the unspoken understanding between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.
The warlords of Guandong attacked Dong Zhuo for nothing more than fame and fortune.
Yuan Shu naturally understood this principle as well.
However, at present, the allied forces have not gained an absolute advantage in their fight against Dong Zhuo.
It could even be argued that Dong Zhuo's side had a greater advantage.
If the allied forces hold out at Hulao Pass for just two or three months, they will automatically collapse.
however!
All of this is based on the premise that intelligence is not well developed.
According to Yuan Shao, there were already signs of rebellion in Dong Zhuo's rear areas, Guanzhong and Liangzhou.
The Western Liang army left behind in the rear consisted mostly of second- or third-rate troops.
The one in charge of commanding them was Niu Fu, Dong Zhuo's second son-in-law.
To be honest, Niu Fu is a complete waste.
In terms of talent and intelligence, he was far inferior to Li Ru, the eldest son-in-law of Dong Zhuo.
In terms of military command ability, he was no match for Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji, and others.
He was able to rise to a high position because of his outstanding appearance, which attracted Dong Zhuo's second daughter.
When one person attains the Tao, the chicken and the dog ascend to heaven.
Dong Zhuo's two sons had already passed away.
Having lost his son, Dong Zhuo could only treat his son-in-law as his daughter.
Even someone as mediocre as Niu Fu was given important responsibilities.
But a fool is a fool.
Historically, after Dong Zhuo was killed by Lü Bu, the generals of Xiliang wanted to support Niu Fu to succeed Dong Zhuo.
Unexpectedly, Niu Fu was killed by his subordinates in a rebellion.
The Western Liang army then entered a state of division and fragmentation.
Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji were all unwilling to submit to each other.
Like childhood friends who have been friends for many years, who doesn't know how capable each other is?
Normally, everyone's status is about the same, so there's no problem with playing together.
But if one day, one of them suddenly rises above the rest, who can stand that?
The once-mighty Western Liang army was eventually defeated one by one due to the division and separatism among its generals, and thus faded from the stage of history.
Ultimately, it's because Niu Fu is just too incompetent.
Otherwise, as long as he unites the forces of the Xiliang generals, even if his overall strength is weaker than during Dong Zhuo's time, he can still dominate the Guanzhong region.
(The area west of Hangu Pass is called the Kansai region.)
at the moment.
Yuan Shao received reliable intelligence that a rebellion was about to break out in Liangzhou and Guanzhong.
At that time, Dong Zhuo would no longer be able to continue fighting against the warlords of Guandong.
Retreating to Chang'an or negotiating peace with the allied forces would be the option that best serves Dong Zhuo's interests.
In other words.
If Yuan Shao leads the allied forces to Hulao Pass, he can seize the biggest prize of this anti-Dong Zhuo coalition, as well as fame and fortune.
Under such circumstances, Yuan Shao certainly did not want Yuan Shu to go to Hulao Pass with him.
The best option was undoubtedly to persuade Yuan Shu to volunteer to stay at Sishui.
Unfortunately, Yuan Shu was unaware that a major upheaval was about to occur in Dong Zhuo's rear.
Otherwise, no matter what, Yuan Shu would not have been so foolish as to fall for Yuan Shao's trick.
Seeing that Yuan Shu had voluntarily stayed in Sishui.
The warlords Tao Qian, Kong Rong, Sun Jian, Kong Zhou, Zhang Chao, and others, under the pretext of assisting Yuan Shu, cooperated with Yuan Shu to remain in the Sishui Pass area to contain Dong Zhuo's army inside Sishui Pass.
The remaining warlords followed Yuan Shao and Cao Cao to Hulao Pass.
as predicted.
One day later.
Intelligence has arrived from the front lines.
Dong Zhuo has led his main army, including generals such as Lü Bu, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji, to garrison Hulao Pass.
Upon receiving this news, Yuan Shao ordered his army to set out and establish a large camp twenty miles outside Hulao Pass.
……
Hulao Pass
Looking out from a high vantage point at the allied camp twenty miles away, Lü Bu, wielding his halberd and clad in beast-face armor, smiled disdainfully.
"All the feudal lords are nothing but a rabble before this general!"
Lü Bu's outrageous remarks greatly displeased Li Jue, Guo Si, and others behind him.
But at this moment they no longer dared to confront Lü Bu directly.
The last time, the four of them tried to teach Lü Bu a lesson with their personal guards, but Lü Bu easily turned the tables and killed them. It was truly a disgrace.
At a time when people are in need, even Dong Zhuo would not protect the four generals of Xiliang, but would favor Lü Bu.
Before Lü Bu could finish speaking, a round of applause rang out.
Dong Zhuo's fat face trembled as he chuckled and said:
"My son is brave and commendable."
"With you here, those thieves are nothing to worry about!"
"However, I've heard that among those thieves, there are a few who are highly skilled in martial arts."
"My son, do you dare to fight them?"
Dong Zhuo deliberately used a provocation tactic to provoke Lü Bu.
Lu Bu was proud by nature and very confident in his martial arts skills, so how could he withstand such provocation?
His face was flushed, and he patted his chest, saying:
"Don't worry, Godfather, I will bring you the heads of those men and serve them to you with wine!"
Dong Zhuo's eyes lit up as he said:
"Is my son telling the truth?"
"If my son can take the heads of the three generals of the allied forces, I will make you the Marquis of Wen!"
"You bastard!"
Everyone gasped in shock.
Yes, Lü Bu has not yet been granted a marquisate; he is only known as the Flying General.
The enfeoffment of a marquis occurred after Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an.
Don't think that the position of a marquis is easy to obtain.
Among the allied forces, only Sun Jian was granted the title of Marquis of Wucheng for his military exploits in killing Zhang Mancheng, the leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Nanyang.
Even warlords like Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, Gongsun Zan, and Tao Qian did not hold the title of marquis.
Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji, and other generals who followed Dong Zhuo to the capital did not receive this honor.
It's easy to imagine how much of a shock the title of Marquis Wen caused to everyone!
The eyes of Li Jue, Guo Si, and the others immediately turned bloodshot.
They were panting heavily, envious of everything Lü Bu possessed.
Little did they know, Dong Zhuo was merely using people to advance his cause.
After Lü Bu killed Ding Yuan, he led the Bingzhou army to join Dong Zhuo, seemingly enjoying a prosperous future.
But actually?
Of all the people in the Bingzhou faction, only Lü Bu could be considered to be highly valued.
Others, such as Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, currently held only the rank of centurion.
Once the allied forces retreat, even Lü Bu's favor may not be as great as before.
Of all those present, only Li Ru was fully aware of this.
Moreover, the suggestion to motivate Lü Bu with the title of Marquis Wen was originally made by Li Ru.
Therefore, when Li Ru heard that Dong Zhuo wanted to reward Lü Bu, he only smiled and did not say anything.
Lu Bu had no idea about these intricacies.
It cannot be said that Lü Bu was completely brainless, but his mental capacity was clearly no match for that of Dong Zhuo and Li Ru.
Upon hearing that Dong Zhuo intended to bestow upon him the title of Marquis Wen, the halberd in his hand seemed to ignite with heat.
He will surely kill all the generals of the allied forces!
……