Chapter 40: Seizing Military Power

  Originally, Qiu Shui and Lü Bu discussed it and then let their subordinates disguise themselves as a servant of Wang Yun's mansion. In the early morning, they secretly came out from Wang Yun's mansion and ran to Qiu Shui's mansion. As for what was discussed, no one else would know. The fake servant was actually the servant killed by Lü Bu last night, and now his body is in Qiu Shui's mansion. Now that he is dead, there is no evidence, so others will not suspect anything.

  "Report! General, my lord, we have found a large quantity of gold, silver and precious jewels in the mansion, as well as countless weapons and armor." Just then, a soldier came running out from the main gate of the mansion, kneeling on one knee to report.

  Nowadays, there is no family that does not have privately raised soldiers. If they have privately raised soldiers, how can they not have weapons and armor? Not to mention Wang Yun, this great Han minister, who is also a prominent figure in his family, how can he be lacking?

  Dong Zhuo heard the report from his subordinates, and his anger surged. He strode into the mansion with a flick of his sleeve, his face burning with rage. After all, he had just been told that someone was planning to assassinate him, and now they had found large quantities of weapons and armor in the mansion. How could Dong Zhuo's mind not be filled with wild thoughts?

  Outside the mansion, boxes of jewelry emitted dazzling light, and hundreds of sets of armor and weapons shone with a cold glow. Among them were dozens of military crossbows, which cast a dazzling brilliance under the sunlight. Dong Zhuo saw the hundreds of sets of armor and weapons scattered throughout the courtyard, his eyes filled with a chill and anger.

  Li Ru was also shocked and frightened by this, and he didn't think that he had still underestimated the power of the aristocratic families. Now in Luoyang City, there are countless aristocratic families, if they were really forced to desperation, the power formed by these aristocratic families would be unstoppable. If during Dong Zhuo's ascension to the throne, the various aristocratic families organized private soldiers to attack the palace from inside and outside, while most of the Western Liang army was outside the city, it would have been disastrous... Thinking about this, Li Ru's back was already drenched with cold sweat, his heart filled with fear, and he didn't dare think about it anymore.

  "Who is the traitor?" A cold and piercing voice came from Dong Zhuo's mouth, at this time the mighty Dong Zhuo of Western Liang had returned, without his usual decadence.

  "Reporting to Your Excellency, when I heard the news at that time, I was suddenly enraged and accidentally...". Autumn Water's face turned bright red with embarrassment. Autumn Water understood that Dong Zhuo would not investigate this matter now, after all, a large number of weapons and armor were found in Wang Yun's mansion, as well as over a hundred private soldiers. Dong Zhuo had already begun to suspect his own safety.

  At this time, Wang Yun also came up under the guidance of Qiushui. It was seen that Wang Yun had lost his usual spirit, and his pale face was filled with despair. A piece of cloth was stuffed into his mouth, and he was making a low humming noise.

  Dong Zhuo and Li Ru no longer considered such matters at this time, after all, the danger had been eliminated. However, the power of the aristocratic families made the two men apprehensive. Wang Yun's roots were not in Luoyang, but in Pingzhou Jin Yang (now Taiyuan). Even so, it was enough to make Dong Zhuo and Li Ru fearful. Wouldn't the aristocratic families rooted in Luoyang be even more powerful? Thinking of this, Dong Zhuo couldn't wait to gather his troops, after all, only in a large army would he feel at ease.

  "Drag him out and behead him in public!" The stern order came from Dong Zhuo's mouth.

  No! The soldiers under his command heard this and pushed Wang Yun away, the dignified old minister of the Han dynasty was beheaded without going through the imperial family's inquiry, how sad and lamentable is the decline of the Han dynasty!

  Wang Yun heard Dong Zhuo's order and let out a final mournful howl.

  After that, Dong Zhuo and Li Ru hastily returned to the mansion. After all, they only knew today that the aristocratic families were not to be underestimated. They went back to gather the generals to discuss this matter. The wealth seized from Wang Yun's mansion was given to Qiushui with a wave of Dong Zhuo's hand.

  In Luoyang City, various big families heard that Wang Yun's assassination of Dong Zhuo had failed and he was killed, causing panic among the people.

  In the grand hall of Dong Zhuo's mansion, it was packed with civil and military officials, and the entire atmosphere was filled with oppression.

  Dong Zhuo's gloomy black face gazed at the assembled generals without uttering a word.

  Li Ru saw Dong Zhuo's expression and stood up, looking at him with a serious face, saying: "Your Excellency, now that the aristocratic families in Luoyang are hiding such great energy, we must be on our guard!"

  "Does the son-in-law have a good plan?" When Dong Zhuo heard his advisor and beloved son-in-law speak, his face slightly improved, after all, most of Dong Zhuo's subordinates were generals, and among the civil officials, there was only Li Ru.

  Li Ru stroked his black goat beard under his mouth, bowed his head and pondered for a moment before saying: "Your Excellency, when dealing with aristocratic families, one must not be too hasty, lest they jump the wall like a desperate dog. One must take their time to plot against them!"

  Dong Zhuo's face was filled with disappointment upon hearing this, but he also knew that these aristocratic families had deep roots and would not be easily resolved. However, Dong Zhuo also felt a sense of unease from this matter.

  Dong Zhuo then ordered Qiu Shui to take over the 100,000-strong army left behind by He Jin. Although its combat strength was not as good as that of the Western Liang Army, it was still considerable. The other generals were also ordered to lead their armies to set up camp in Luoyang City.

  Only the 100,000-strong army of Autumn Water and Lü Bu's Bingzhou Army were stationed outside Luoyang for training, after all, the 100,000-strong army that took over Luoyang could not guarantee its loyalty, and Lü Bu's Bingzhou Army was also a hidden danger under Dong Zhuo's command, with factions vying for power, perhaps this is Dong Zhuo's way of controlling people!

  Although Dong Zhuo trusted Qiushui, he would also directly hand over the 100,000-strong army to be led by him, after all, people's hearts are changeable, having grasped such great power, how could one not think of taking another step forward.

  Qiu Shui is the chief general, and Hua Xiong is the deputy general. Among them are Qiu Shui's 200,000 troops and Hua Xiong's 100,000 Western Liang troops, plus the 1 million soldiers in Luoyang. Now Qiu Shui can be said to be the general with the most troops under Dong Zhuo's account, and he is worthy of being Dong Zhuo's number one great general.

  Hua Xiong's injuries have now fully recovered. If Autumn Water is the number one general under Dong Zhuo, then Hua Xiong is Dong Zhuo's most loyal and trusted subordinate.

  Hua Xiong followed Dong Zhuo on his southern and northern expeditions for many years, several times risking his life to save Dong Zhuo from the midst of chaos, and can be said to have been loyal and devoted. If Hua Xiong's military command ability was not slightly inferior, he would have long since led an army independently.

  Dong Zhuo appointed Hua Xiong as his deputy, but it was inevitable that he would not dare to let Qiu Shui control the tens of thousands of troops alone. After all, how many soldiers did Dong Zhuo have in Luoyang? Qiu Shui alone controlled such a large number of troops, and as the master, how could he not be on guard?

  In these few days, a major earthquake occurred in Luoyang City, where a large number of Western Liang soldiers were training and their voices shook the sky. Dong Zhuo even shouted on the imperial court that Wang Yun was raising private soldiers with the intention of rebelling, and his family was confiscated and exterminated. At the same time, he coerced the young emperor to order the major families in Luoyang City to hand over their armor and weapons, lest someone harbor evil intentions.

  This is also what Dong Zhuo fears, forcing too much, lest the dog jumps over the wall. The larger families have at least a thousand suits of armor and weapons, while the smaller ones have at least a hundred. At the very least, these are still within the bottom line of those families, without touching their interests too much. If Dong Zhuo were to forcibly conscript the family soldiers of various major families, you can be sure that all the major families would immediately unite to resist.

  The loss of armor and weapons was just a matter of money, which could be bought back immediately, so the major families in Luoyang also gritted their teeth and accepted defeat.

  Time flies quickly, during this period, Qiu Shui rarely went to the military camp. After all, being in charge of 130,000 troops, if he was too attentive, it would be inevitable that people would say something about him. In the military camp, Qiu Shui sent two people, Qiu Shun and Qiu Wu, to train with Hua Xiong, while his 20,000 troops and Hua Xiong's 10,000 cavalry were dispersed and reorganized with the 100,000 troops in Luoyang. Although some combat effectiveness would be lost, it could guarantee their loyalty.

  Dong Zhuo was very satisfied with Qiu Shui's performance these days. Qiu Shui is now either practicing martial arts at home every day or going to the military to drink and socialize with Lü Bu, showing a attitude of not caring about military power.

  However, Dong Zhuo did not know that the 20,000 soldiers summoned by Qiu Shui were all elite and loyal, and now they have been dispersed and reorganized into the main army. Qiu Shui has full control over the 130,000-strong army. Although Hua Xiong is still in the army, his expertise lies in charging into battle, but when it comes to training the army, it mainly relies on Qiu Shun and Qiu Wu, the two generals summoned by Qiu Shui.

  Of course Hua Xiong is somewhat capable, and in the army he also has some prestige, but what if Hua Xiong were gone? Hehe...

  Qiu Shui looked at the treasured sword in his hand, its blade sharp enough to cut hair and iron like mud. This was indeed a treasured sword, one that didn't lose out to Qiu Shui's own spear. The name of this sword was the Seven Stars Treasured Sword, originally used by Cao Cao when he attempted to assassinate Dong Zhuo, thus making the Seven Stars Sword famous throughout the land. Now, it had been found by Qiu Shui during his search of Wang Yun's residence.

  Recently, Qiū Shuǐ has been quite fruitful. Apart from this treasured sword, Lǚ Bù now trusts Qiū Shuǐ extremely. After the Dìàn Jiān incident, the two can be said to have a fraternal bond.

  In the autumn water, he often went to find Lü Bu to hone his martial arts skills. Lü Bu discovered that Autumn Water carried a giant bow with him and later found out that Autumn Water was also an archery expert, but in fact, he just knew how to shoot and shot relatively accurately, without any skill at all.

  Lü Bu then gave his archery skills to Qiú Shuǐ. According to Lü Bu, he had also acquired them by chance, and they were the arrow techniques of Li Guang, the Flying General of Han Dynasty, which recorded various bow and arrow techniques.

  Especially Lü Bu, who surprisingly surpassed his predecessors and created his own unique path, no longer following the traditional archery methods recorded in history books. He independently established his own unparalleled "Hegemonic Arrow" style, where one arrow would shoot out, exuding an aura of invincibility, making it impossible to evade. This was Autumn Water's impression after witnessing Lü Bu's archery skills.

  After all, Lü Bu's gate-shooting halberd is well-known in history. If it weren't for Lü Bu being disdainful of sneak attacks on the battlefield, then during the Battle of Tiger Trap Pass, if Lü Bu had shot a few arrows, there would be only a handful of people in the world who could withstand them. Probably only historical figures like Huang Zhong and Taishi Ci, who were skilled archers, could have withstood them.

  Qiu Shui, in return for the gratitude, also gave a gift to Lü Bu, a "Returning Spring Formula" that he no longer needed. This formula was recorded on a secret book obtained by Qiu Shui in the Zombie Master's world.

  The Rejuvenation Technique, after cultivation, the physical strength and spirit are greatly restored to that of a normal person, and the physical endurance is even stronger. It has the effect of cultivating one's body and nature, prolonging life and increasing longevity. The most important thing is that after cultivation, there will be a clear and cool energy in the body, which automatically circulates between the body and the mind, making people calm and composed at all times, especially for those with violent temperaments.

  This is also what Autumn Water Awakens thought, that one day he would have to leave this world, and Lü Bu in the original history was defeated and died.

  Lü Bu has been treating him with genuine brotherly affection, even sharing his archery skills without reservation. Autumn Water is deeply moved and truly regards Lü Bu as a brother.

  Qiu Shui will teach the Autumn Water Return to Spring technique to Lü Bu, who is a meticulous and discerning individual. On the battlefield, Lü Bu has exceptional vision and can often spot opportunities for victory, making him a naturally talented military commander. However, he tends to become hot-headed in the heat of battle, and if he were to learn the Autumn Water Return to Spring technique, he would become an even more formidable leader.

  A figure as brave and domineering as Xiang Yu, with a calm heart at all times, Lü Bu's future will be unpredictable!