Chapter 39: The Frustrated Wang Yun

  "Your Excellency! Something's gone terribly wrong! The Western Liang army has surrounded our mansion!" a flustered little servant burst into the room, shouting to Wang Yun who had just finished dressing in his official robes and was about to head out for court.

  Whoa! Wang Yun's face suddenly turned pale, he stretched out his finger and trembled as he said: "What did you say?"

  "Master, the Western Liang army has surrounded our mansion!"

  Listening to the cries of the little servant, Wang Yun was stunned on the spot like a thunderbolt. After a moment, as if he had thought of something, he roared at the wretched servant in front of him: "Go and see if that slut is still there!"

  "Old man, which one are you talking about?"

  Bang! Wang Yun's heavy palm slapped onto the young servant's face, and he bellowed: "And that one, it was just yesterday that I took in as my adopted daughter!"

  The little servant was slapped and covered his face in grievance, but when he heard Wang Yun's roar, he quickly got up and ran towards Diaochan's boudoir.

  "Could it be that this lowly maid secretly leaked out my plan?" King You stood alone on the spot, his eyes dull and muttering to himself.

  "Old master, no one, there's no one in the side room!" Just then, Xiao Si hastily ran to Wang Yun and reported.

  Bang! When Wang Yun heard the report from his subordinate, he suddenly sat on the ground, staring blankly at the sky with his eyes wide open, muttering to himself: "Is it really the end of the Han Dynasty? Is it really the end of the Han Dynasty?" The second half of the sentence was already somewhat hoarse, like a mad tiger's roar.

  Qiu Shui led the soldiers to stand in front of Wang Yun's mansion, looking at the exceptionally luxurious mansion in front of him, and shouted: "Come on, let me go in."

  Now! A loud roar rose up, and the brave warriors, upon hearing Autumn Water's command, swiftly drew their own weapons and charged strongly into the gate.

  Bang! The gate was burst open by a sturdy and powerful warrior.

  "Do not let anyone go, if there is resistance, kill them without hesitation!"

  Roar! When the soldiers heard Autumn Water's command, they shouted in unison and charged into the mansion. Although Wang Yun's mansion had secretly gathered many household troops, unfortunately these household troops were no match for the ferocious Western Liang army, and soon the entire mansion was taken over.

  "Report to the General, Wang Yun's mansion has been captured and all the people have been arrested, not a single one escaped." A refined soldier ran in front of Qiu Shui and knelt down on one knee to report.

  Qiu Shui nodded slightly after listening, dismounted his horse and walked into the mansion with a majestic gait. At this time, the entrance of the mansion was still flowing with fresh blood, and the ground, pillars were all splattered with pieces of blood flowers. In the courtyard, dozens of corpses lay horizontally, these were all the family soldiers who resisted after the Western Liang army broke into the mansion.

  The other servants and maids in the mansion were all huddled together on the ground, some crying, some pale-faced, some had fainted, and some of them had already shown signs of urinary incontinence.

  At this time, Dong Zhuo's mansion, after hearing the sound of troops outside the city, had already put on armor and gathered his generals to ask what was happening.

  "Report! My lord, General Autumn's lieutenant, General Autumn Wu, has an urgent military report to present." A messenger ran up to Dong Zhuo and knelt down.

  Dong Zhuo nodded slightly and then turned to his son-in-law, Li Ru, with a worried expression, asking: "Son-in-law, looking at the sound of troops in Luoyang City, could it be that those aristocratic families are plotting against me?"

  Li Ru looked at Dong Zhuo, who had become somewhat dispirited and gained weight in just a few days, and shook his head disappointingly: "Father-in-law, please be at ease. At present, the mansion is inside and outside with the elite Flying Bear Army under your command, and each city gate is held by our Western Liang generals. I reckon the commotion outside should be caused by our Western Liang generals."

  Today, it seems calm on the surface, but in reality, the waves are already surging. Can't you see, Father-in-law? Now, he has begun to indulge in the pleasures of Luoyang City. Li Ru is extremely disappointed. Dong Zhuo was once a renowned general, but now his eyes are dull and his spirit is exhausted. He spends every day indulging in nights with palace concubines, and Dong Zhuo is gradually becoming more and more decadent.

  Clang! The armor-clad generals walked, their armor colliding with a loud noise. Autumn Wu walked into the great hall and bowed to the man wearing a black python robe with a full beard and a stout build: "My lord, General Autumn has received a secret report that Wang Yun plans to invite you to a banquet and assassinate you there. Now General Autumn has led his troops to capture Wang Yun."

  Bang! Dong Zhuo slammed his hand on the table and roared: "It's true, Wang Yun actually wants to harm our family, we must chop Wang Yun into pieces." Although Dong Zhuo had some doubts about the truth of this, he thought that Qiu Shui and the other generals under his command were not in harmony, and he only had 20,000 soldiers. Moreover, Qiu Shui was from Xiliang and had saved Dong Zhuo's life several times, so Dong Zhuo trusted him very much.

  Li Ru stroked his beard, narrowing his eyes as he thought about how his father-in-law had taken up residence in Luoyang, where the entire court was dissatisfied with him. Especially after the abolition of the emperor, if it weren't for fear of his powerful army and many generals, they would have already made their move. And especially that Wang Yun, who had always been known to be extremely stubborn, yet had been frequently trying to curry favor with his father-in-law over the past few days. Li Ru had already had suspicions, but after hearing the report from Qiu Shui's subordinate general today, he suddenly understood everything.

  "Father-in-law, Wang Yun is an old minister of the Han court. He wouldn't be showing favor to you without a reason. I think we should go and investigate." Li Ru said in a low voice, his face gloomy as he spoke to Dong Zhuo.

  Dong Zhuo nodded slightly after hearing this, and shouted towards the outside of the door: "Someone come! All generals follow me to take a look." After finishing speaking, he swung his sleeves and walked out majestically. Dong Zhuo was indeed a martial general, even though he was old now, he was still extraordinary.

  Dong Zhuo was born into a wealthy and powerful family in the region of Bingzhou, adjacent to the lands inhabited by the Xianbei and Qiang peoples. Historical records describe Dong Zhuo as 'fond of chivalry in his youth' and 'coarse, fierce and cunning'.

  Dong Zhuo was young and robust, with extraordinary strength, well-versed in martial arts, riding a fine horse, able to carry two bows and arrows, shooting left and right. His ferocious and cruel nature, combined with his strong physique, made the local people fear him, not only did the villagers dare not provoke him, but even the surrounding Qiang people did not dare to slight him.

  Dong Zhuo was a generous and open-minded person, who treated money like dirt and often rewarded his subordinates with the wealth he obtained. This led to his subordinates being deeply grateful to him, and after his death, they even avenged him by counter-attacking Chang'an. Although there were other reasons, it cannot be denied that Dong Zhuo had a unique charm.

  It is recorded in history that when Cao Cao assassinated Dong Zhuo, he thought to himself: "Dong Zhuo is a powerful man, I must take advantage of his unpreparedness and attack him." Afterwards, when Dong Zhuo fell asleep, Cao Cao dared to make his move. Although he was unsuccessful, this incident shows that Dong Zhuo's physical strength was extraordinary.

  Although the tiger is old, its prestige still exists.

  "You bunch of cruel and ruthless people will one day get what's coming to you!" Wang Yun knew he was doomed, so he let loose with a loud curse.

  Qiu Shui heard Wang Yun's curses outside the door and glanced at the surrounding generals, "You go and shut this old man's mouth for me."

  No!

  Qiu Shui looked at the white-haired old man in front of her, but she didn't feel a shred of sympathy. If a country needs to sacrifice women to survive, then that country has no need to exist.

  Looking back on those years during the Warring States period, with a territory of only two provinces, an army of just one million, and a population of just a few million, they dared to contend with the Xiongnu nomads.

  The Ming dynasty, which lasted for 276 years, did not surrender to the enemy, did not pay compensation, did not cede territory, and did not offer tribute. The emperor guarded the country's gate, and the king died for his country. Due to the Qing dynasty's influence, the Ming dynasty was slandered as much as possible, making it seem like the most useless dynasty. However, upon careful comparison, one can discover that the Ming dynasty is actually the most dignified dynasty in Chinese history! Of course, the Qin dynasty, known as the "Iron and Blood Empire", also shares this distinction. Compared to the Han and Tang dynasties, which were considered the strongest, the Ming dynasty holds its own without shame.

  But what about the Han Dynasty now? The Xiongnu invades the border year after year, and the civil and military officials of the Manchu dynasty do not care. Huaxia does not need such a weak and incompetent dynasty to rule.

  "As a great Han general, you're willing to be Dong Zhuo's lackey? You won't die a good death! Ugh!" Wang Yun opened his mouth wide and gnashed his teeth at Qiu Shui, but just as he was about to shout again, the generals on either side of him covered his mouth. He let out a muffled cry, his face turned bright red from being choked, his eyes filled with murderous intent as he glared at Qiu Shui, unable to swallow him whole.

  "Hum! Autumn water looked at the old matchmaker who was scolding and also rose up a fire of anger, stretched out her hand and directly slapped Wang Yun's face."

  Bang! Wang Yun was slapped so hard that he saw stars, and several of his teeth were almost knocked out.

  "You old rascal, you still have the face to say that if it weren't for your aristocratic families controlling the government and disregarding the lives of the people, the Great Han would not be in its current state. Your families monopolize land, accumulate wealth, and don't think about repaying the country. Instead, you scheme against each other every day. The borders of the Great Han are invaded by wolves from the grasslands year after year. Have you ever thought about that?! Hmph!" Autumn Water scolded Wang Yun harshly, then turned her head and walked out the door, not wanting to see these hypocritical people again.

  Qiu Shui turned around and didn't care about the dying man anymore. At this moment, Qiu Shui suddenly received a report from his subordinate soldiers that Dong Zhuo had led a group of generals to Wang Yun's mansion. Qiu Shui hurried over, after all, he was still mixed up with Dong Zhuo for now.

  Dong Zhuo's somewhat stout body rode a Western Liang warhorse, under the protection of the Flying Bear Army, arrived at Wang Yun's mansion.

  Autumn Water, clad in armor, had just stepped out to greet Dong Zhuo when the latter dismounted his horse, his face full of ferocity, and asked: "Autumn Water, where is Wang Yun, that scoundrel?"

  "I report to Your Excellency, this morning, a servant from Wang Yun's residence came to my place to reveal a secret, saying that Wang Yun is planning to invite you to a banquet today and assassinate you during the feast. After hearing this, I hastily led troops to capture everyone in Wang Yun's residence."

  Qiu Shui immediately pretended to be ashamed and said, "Please, Your Excellency, punish your subordinate for moving the great army without authorization." After finishing speaking, Qiu Shui directly prepared to kneel on one knee.

  Dong Zhuo hastily stretched out his own majestic hand to grab Qiushui, saying: "General, with a heart as red as blood and loyal, what crime is there? Haha!" After finishing speaking, the gaze he directed at Qiushui was filled with trust.

  "Thank you, sir."