Chapter 34: Lü Bu Surrenders to Dong Zhuo

  Dong Zhuo's face turned somewhat unsightly upon hearing this, but Li Ru, who was standing beside him, stroked his whiskers and nodded slightly towards Dong Zhuo. Dong Zhuo immediately smiled and said: "General, please speak, I am willing to listen."

  Zhang Liao stood in the tent, turning his head to look at Hao Meng with eyes full of hatred: "Dong Gong, my general ordered me that the first thing is to hand over Hao Meng to us. The second thing is that the combat effectiveness of our Pingzhou army is not inferior to that of Xiliang army, I hope Dong Gong will treat us equally after accepting us."

  Qiu Shui looked at Hao Meng with a face full of disdain and stood up, cupping his hands in respect. "Your Excellency," he said coldly, "Hao Meng is a traitor who has betrayed you before. If he can kill Ding Yuan today, it's likely that one day he will turn against you to your disadvantage."

  Originally drinking in the camp, Hao Meng heard Zhang Liao's words and was filled with anger, but after hearing Qiu Shui's words, cold sweat directly wet his back, and he knelt down to the ground, crying out to Dong Zhuo: "I am loyal to my lord, please don't listen to others' words." While speaking, he kowtowed heavily on the ground, and the generals in the big tent looked at him with disgust, thinking that this person was not worthy of being a military officer, it's really shameful.

  Although Dong Zhuo was also filled with disgust for the person who assassinated his former master, after all, he was a newly surrendered man and already a member of the Western Liang army. If they were to kill him now just to merge the Bingzhou army, wouldn't that make people laugh at them? Who would dare surrender afterwards?

  Li Ru stood up, smiled at Zhang Liao and said: "General, this statement is wrong. Hao Meng is now a general in my Western Liang army, how can he be killed without reason? How can our lord face the heroes of the world?"

  Zhang Liao had actually thought of letting Dong Zhuo's army hand over Hao Meng when he entered the military camp, but it was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

  Dong Zhuo looked at Zhang Liao with a difficult expression in his eyes. After all, Lü Bu was the world's most powerful general, and whoever got him would be unstoppable. Moreover, there were more than 600,000 elite troops from Bingzhou, which was a rare treasure indeed.

  Li Ru looked at Hao Meng, who was still kowtowing on the ground, and walked to Dong Zhuo's side, whispering two sentences in his ear. Dong Zhuo's face immediately turned into a smile.

  Others may not have heard, but the autumn water did. As the golden armor corpse king, his hearing and eyesight were far superior to others. He listened clearly, and after listening to Li Ru's words, a chill ran through Autumn Water's heart. Indeed, he was worthy of being a famous strategist in the Three Kingdoms, for in that instant, he had already thought of a plan.

  Dong Zhuo burst out laughing and said to Zhang Liao: "General, I'll send someone to Pingzhou's large camp first, how about we discuss it in detail?"

  Zhang Liao heard this and was filled with doubts, but a man under another's roof dare not raise his head. He cupped his hands in respect and said: "I will go back and report to my general at once."

  "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!" Hao Meng exclaimed gratefully and urgently to Dong Zhuo after seeing that he had not accepted the conditions of the provincial army.

  Dong Zhuo burst out laughing and said, "General, you are now a man of Xiliang, how could I not care about you?" Then he turned to Qiu Shui and said, "Qiu Shui, in my army, only you and Lü Bu are familiar with each other. Tonight, you will lead three thousand soldiers to the Pingzhou camp to discuss with Lü Bu."

  Li Ru hastily added: "Your Excellency, General Qiu Shui is not familiar with the Pingzhou army after all. Why not send General Hao Meng to go with General Qiu Shui as well, so they can keep an eye on each other?"

  Hao Meng's face turned pale upon hearing this, Hao Meng knew how much the Xiliang fierce tiger looked down on him, if he went with him, wasn't that sending himself to death? His eyes instantly filled with hope as he gazed at Dong Zhuo, hoping that Dong Zhuo wouldn't agree.

  However, Dong Zhuo seemed to have ignored Hao Meng's gaze and said to him: "Not bad, among the Pingzhou army, only you are familiar with it. You can go with Qiushui to the Pingzhou army."

  Yes! Autumn water shouted in obedience.

  Hao Meng heard Dong Zhuo's words and his eyes turned dull and lifeless, as if he had become a statue.

  Just as Autumn Water was about to leave, Li Ruo held up a wine cup and said with a smile: "General Autumn Water, please wait." Autumn Water heard Li Ruo's voice and looked at him with a confused expression, as if asking what else there was.

  "Your Excellency, General Autumn Water has gone to Pingzhou's large camp and is still short of one thing." Li Ru whispered to Dong Zhuo.

  "What thing is it that our family would spare for Lü Bu's Red Hare horse, let alone other things? Just speak up." Dong Zhuo asked with a majestic wave of his hand.

  Li Ru smiled slightly and said: "My lord, this is Ding Jianyang's head."

  Just after finishing this sentence, Dong Zhuo and Qiushui were stunned for a moment before reacting, Dong Zhuo burst out laughing: "What was I thinking? Alright, Qiushui will take Ding Jianyang's head along with it."

  Nuo! Autumn water cupped his hands in response, and then walked out of the military camp. Hao Meng also followed Li Ru's gesture to the guards and was led out of the tent.

  Ding Jianyang, as Lü Bu's adoptive father, returning his body this time is simply buying people's hearts. After all, Ding Yuan was not killed by our Western Liang army. Now that I have brought the head and the murderer together, it's up to you, Ping and Zhou armies, to deal with the rest.

  ..........

  When Lü Bu arrived at the camp of Pingzhou, he saw that although the entire army was somewhat disheveled, each and every one of them wore armor and held weapons, fully prepared for battle. They looked like an elite force, without a hint of defeat. This Lü Bu was indeed a talented general, no wonder he could contend with Cao Cao in Yan Province for many years, and several times almost killed him.

  "You wait outside and don't cause any trouble." Autumn Water arrived at the gate of Bianzhou Military Camp and instructed his subordinates.

  Yes! The three thousand soldiers shouted in unison, truly an elite army.

  Zhang Liao was even more impressed by Qiu Shui's performance, and he dared to enter the main camp alone, which can be described as having the courage of a tiger.

  "General, please come with me." Zhang Liao bowed respectfully and gestured to Qiushui with a wave of his hand.

  After nodding slightly with a calm expression, he dismounted his horse and handed over the weapon to the general beside him. With two wooden boxes in hand, he followed Zhang Liao into the Pingzhou camp.

  Lü Bu and his generals were sitting in the camp, waiting for Zhang Liao's news. The whole camp was filled with tension, not a single sound. When they received the news that Zhang Liao had arrived with the Xiliang Tigers, the entire camp seemed to have come alive, and the faces of the generals also showed a slight change, unlike before.

  Lü Bu's eyes flashed with joy for a moment, then he shouted solemnly: "Come quickly."

  "Is Elder Brother all right?" Just as Autumn Water had not yet entered the camp, Autumn's voice came from outside. When the generals in the big tent heard Autumn Water's voice, they were all tense and grasped their hands tightly. After all, today Western Liang's fierce tiger and Lv Bu's subordinates had already witnessed this general's strength, and their hearts were filled with tension.

  Lü Bu saw Qiu Shui entering the camp with a majestic gait, and his face broke into a cold smile: "General, you really have guts, daring to enter my great camp alone. Don't you fear that with just one order from me, my entire army will rush in and kill you?"

  The generals in the camp heard Lü Bu's words and were startled, all nervously covering their precious swords at their waists, waiting for Lü Bu's command. Meanwhile, Qiū Shuǐ gazed at Lü Bu with both eyes, and the two exchanged a look that lasted for a moment.

  Haha! The two peerless warriors burst out laughing at each other after a moment of mutual gaze, both seeing admiration in the other's eyes.

  Lü Bu smiled, then said in a cold voice: "I respect General, but I have already spoken the ugly words beforehand. If you don't agree to our conditions, we would rather see both our armies perish together like jade and stone."

  Qiu Shui didn't respond, but instead handed the two wooden boxes in his hands to Zhang Liao. Zhang Liao took the boxes and hastily ran to Lü Bu's side, handing the wooden box over to him.

  Lü Bu looked at the wooden box in front of him with a puzzled expression, and the other generals were also full of questions, all staring at Lü Bu, wanting to know what was inside.

  Lü Bu placed the wooden box on the desk and slowly opened it. The generals in the army took a deep breath when they saw what was inside.

  "Father!" When Lü Bu opened the wooden box and saw that it was actually Ding Yuan's head inside, he let out a loud wail. Two streams of scalding tears flowed down from his eyes. The main generals in the army also knelt down on one knee, facing Ding Yuan's head, and roared: "My lord!"

  Although Lü Bu was resentful of Ding Yuan in his heart, when he saw Ding Yuan's corpse, the hatred in his chest had vanished without a trace. In his mind, only the memory of Ding Yuan being attracted to Lü Bu's bravery and admiring him remained, as if it were still yesterday.

  Qiu Shui quietly waited for the general to pack up his emotions, then Lü Bu's eyes turned red with gratitude and he bowed his hands to Qiu Shui: "Thank you, General."

  Qiu Shui Bai said: "General, don't you want to see what's in another box?"

  The generals in the camp heard what Qiu Shui said and looked at another box with even more confusion, and Lü Bu was also filled with confusion, and slowly opened it.

  Lü Bu's eyes widened in anger, his breathing unstable, and he slammed his hand on the table, roaring: "Hao Meng, I'd like to eat his flesh and tear his bones apart."

  The various generals in the tent also glared with anger, staring at the box on Lü Bu's desk.

  "Bring me the head of this beast and hang it on the gate!" Lü Bu flung the wooden box out of the camp, furiously shouting at the soldiers outside.

  The soldiers outside the gate had never seen Lü Bu so angry before, not even when their military rations were burned or their commander was killed. He quickly picked up the wooden box on the ground, but when he saw that it contained Háo Méng's head, he spat at it fiercely and thought to himself, "No wonder General Lü is so furious."

  Hū hū! Lü Bu's rapid breathing, showing the anger in his heart. Lü Bu closed his eyes and quickly calmed himself down, hoarsely shouting: "Wen Yuan, you go and sew the lord's head and body together, so that the lord can rest in peace."

  Yes! Zhang Liao took orders and respectfully stepped forward, stretched out his hand to take the wooden box containing Ding Yuan's head, and retreated.

  When Qiushui led the army to the Pingzhou military camp, he directly beheaded Hao Meng, took his head, and handed it over to the Pingzhou army at that time. This move can be said to have bought people's hearts, and after the Pingzhou army joined the Xiliang army, the two armies would not have too much estrangement.

  However, doing this would definitely result in a scolding from Dong Zhuo when I return to the open, after all, as the leader of an army, things that are supposed to be done openly must be done properly, otherwise how can the soldiers under him wholeheartedly exert their efforts.

  The next day, the whole of Luoyang received news that Bianzhou's army had surrendered to Dong.

  Nowadays, the whole Luoyang is filled with fear of the Western Liang army. After all, Dong Zhuo originally had 300,000 troops, and now he has added more than 60,000 troops from Pingzhou, a total of 360,000 troops, which are also elite soldiers who have been fighting against foreign tribes for many years. The whole Luoyang is in a state of panic after knowing this news.

  Dong Zhuo can be said to be the number one warlord in the world today.

  In AD 189, Dong Zhuo swallowed up the entire Bingzhou army led by Lü Bu and others, and can be said to have grasped great power, with his authority overwhelming the imperial court. The curtain of chaos throughout the land was also opened from this point on.