Chapter 69: Executing Dong Zhuo Again, the Fires of War Rise Across the Nine Provinces

This sudden turn of events completely shattered Dong Zhuo’s beautiful dream.

What is going on?

Are He Jin and the lords of the imperial court all useless?

To think they actually let the juniors of the Gu family stabilize Luoyang!

Dong Zhuo cursed loudly.

And as he woke from this beautiful dream, he quickly realized his current predicament.

It’s over!

This was Dong Zhuo’s first thought.

With his small force, there was absolutely no possibility of charging into Luoyang city.

On the contrary, his current situation was extremely dangerous.

The news of Gu Xi’s death would soon spread throughout the world, and if the aristocratic families sold him out while Luoyang was out of control...

Then he would undoubtedly die.

How could he not panic?

Li Ru’s expression at this moment was also extremely grave.

He had considered many scenarios and had never underestimated the descendants of the Gu family.

But he had never expected the lords of the imperial court to be so useless, to be so quickly controlled by a group of juniors.

This was completely beyond his expectations and made their current situation incredibly difficult.

Jia Xu stood out once again at this moment, offering another strategy to Dong Zhuo.

"My lord, at this juncture, why not return to Liangzhou?"

Hearing this, Dong Zhuo frowned immediately, and Li Ru also revealed a look of deep thought.

"My lord."

Jia Xu was calm and composed; he bowed to Dong Zhuo and continued, "With Gu Gong dead, I anticipate that once the various units in Liangzhou hear this news, they will surely fall into chaos again."

"At this moment, great chaos is about to arise in the Central Plains."

"My lord can fully utilize this opportunity to return to Liangzhou and expand your strength."

"You can secure your position and also plan for the future."

In truth, Jia Xu had never wanted to get involved in these matters.

But Dong Zhuo and Li Ru had long been blinded by greed; he could not stop them and could only help Dong Zhuo make adjustments afterward.

Regarding the current situation, he was even somewhat happy.

The Central Plains were on the verge of great chaos.

With this little strength, why get involved here?

Hearing this, Dong Zhuo frowned and fell into deep thought.

"My lord!"

Just then, Li Ru’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "Why not publicize this matter?"

"Hmm?" Dong Zhuo looked at him immediately.

Li Ru smiled and continued, "My lord, the aristocratic families of the world will never sit by and watch Luoyang be controlled by the descendants of the Gu family!"

"As long as we spread this news."

"The various aristocratic families will surely react."

"If they still refuse to show themselves, wouldn't that give my lord an opportunity?"

He was unwilling to return to Liangzhou.

Seeing Dong Zhuo reveal a look of deep thought, Jia Xu sighed helplessly and said nothing more.

Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Dong Zhuo nodded immediately: "Good!"

Human hearts have always been like this.

Once the floodgates of greed are opened, trying to suppress such thoughts again is harder than ascending to heaven.

At a time like this, Li Ru was clearly still very capable.

He did not directly summon the lords of the world to save the king.

The Gu family’s reputation among the people was simply too great; they had to first spread the news of Gu Xi’s death to lower the people’s expectations of the Gu family.

In an instant, various messages spread rapidly in all directions like flowing water.

Gu Chen naturally would not let Dong Zhuo go.

But as the duration of the "Strength Talisman" ended, he no longer possessed the power to sweep away all enemies.

Moreover, Dong Zhuo’s subordinates were truly not weak.

Li Jue, Guo Si, Niu Fu, and others were all fierce generals, and they commanded elite Qiang cavalry.

Gu Chen attacked several times in succession but could do nothing against them.

However, Gu Yi could still clearly feel that Gu Chen’s strength was slowly growing stronger with each battle.

This truly shocked him, and his heart held even greater expectations for Gu Chen.

As the news continued to spread, it instantly caused the already unstable foundation of the Great Han to shake once more.

—Gu Xi is dead?

When the people in various regions heard this, no one was willing to believe it.

How could Gu Xi die?

Everyone firmly believed that before the state was restored, Gu Xi would never encounter any problems.

Because he was an immortal.

He was meant to descend to the mortal world to save humanity; how could he die?

But even if they refused to believe it, what could they do?

Gu Xi would never appear again.

And as time passed, no matter how much they refused to believe it, they had to accept this reality.

The blood and tears of ten thousand people!

Countless sounds of wailing echoed throughout the entire Great Han.

Was the foundation of the Great Han really stabilized?

Clearly not.

The problem of the displaced people had not been fundamentally solved.

The reason they were able to settle down was entirely due to their hope in Gu Xi.

The most critical point was—the aristocratic families would not stop.

Once they confirmed Gu Xi’s death, many began to take steps to reclaim the land that had been forcibly requisitioned.

This was destined to cause another rift in the hearts of the people.

A desperate person might not cause great chaos.

But what about ten?

What about a hundred?

What about a thousand or even ten thousand?

The appearance of Zhang Jiao had already planted the seeds of rebellion in everyone’s hearts.

And these seeds would gradually sprout as hope was extinguished.

But in this dazzling era, there would naturally be those who perceived the current situation of the world and used this opportunity to recruit soldiers and buy horses.

—The times create heroes!

That is exactly what this refers to.

And just as Li Ru had anticipated, faced with the situation in Luoyang, the aristocratic families would not give up either.

They acted both openly and secretly.

Openly, they naturally sent people to the capital with legitimate reasons to enter Luoyang and scout the situation.

But how could Gu Chen let anyone enter Luoyang?

He was determined to guard all of Luoyang and wait for the other Gu family descendants to return.

In secret, they naturally supported Dong Zhuo.

Although they did not send troops directly, they provided Dong Zhuo with grain and fodder.

They also sent people to secretly establish contact with Dong Zhuo and spread the news of Gu Xi’s death.

Dong Zhuo was the white glove they had chosen.

At least for now, no one was willing to tear through this final layer of the Great Han’s window paper and be the first to stick their neck out.

Gu Yi had been watching all of this, and he was not overly surprised.

In fact, in the original history.

The reason Dong Zhuo was able to enter the capital was due to the influence of the aristocratic families.

At that time, Dong Zhuo was much more powerful than he was now.

As the Governor of Bingzhou, his subordinates were all elites.

Under those circumstances, these people had not anticipated the threat of Dong Zhuo, let alone now.

The prejudices in people’s hearts are like a great mountain.

The current aristocratic families were already stronger than in history, so why would they care about Dong Zhuo?

To them, whether it was Dong Zhuo or He Jin, they were merely blades in their hands.

When needed, they would be sharpened; when not, they would be discarded.

This was the arrogance of the current great noble clans.

They did not even care for imperial power, let alone these people.

The entire Great Han realm was surging with unrest.

Though it appeared calm, in reality, it only needed a fuse to completely ignite the entire world.

Yuzhou, Qiaoxian.

"Father."

"I foresee that the world will soon fall into chaos, and I intend to gather wealth and recruit troops to serve as the foundation for our clan."

Cao Cao looked at Cao Song with a solemn expression and said earnestly.

Upon hearing of Gu Xi’s death, he had immediately led his men back to his hometown to find Cao Song.

For Cao Cao.

How could he not see who the two sides competing in the Battle of Henei really were?

Cao Cao had reached a firm conclusion.

With Gu Xi dead, the Great Han was destined to face great chaos.

He had to seize the coming opportunity.

Hearing this, Cao Song could not help but nod, acknowledging: "My son has great ambition, but son, have you truly thought this through?"

Although he had resigned from office, Cao Song was no ordinary man.

He had sat in the position of Grand Commandant of the current dynasty.

If not for Liu Hong’s sudden death and his fear that Gu Xi would purge those who bought offices after taking power, he would not even have resigned now.

He naturally knew that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were together.

Now that Cao Cao had chosen not to join forces with the noble clans like Yuan Shao, it already represented his stance.

"Father."

Cao Cao lowered his head and analyzed earnestly: "Now that Lord Gu is dead, there is no one left in the world who can suppress the great noble clans; they will certainly want to carve up the power of the imperial court."

"Now, the situation in Luoyang has changed."

"I believe this is a contingency plan left by Lord Gu."

"Although I cannot determine who will win or lose in the current events, for our Cao clan, carving up power with the noble clans will not bring us any benefits."

"Only by using the name of suppressing rebellion can we recruit troops and expand our influence."

"Then, no matter who wins."

"Our Cao clan can remain in an invincible position."

His expression was extremely serious.

Hearing this, Cao Song finally set his mind at ease, nodded with satisfaction, and praised: "My son has the bearing of a prime minister."

"I am old, and I will naturally support you."

"You should rest for a few days; I will notify the entire clan to rise up with you!"

Zhuojun.

A single sentence Gu Xi had once said in passing had completely changed the fate of Liu Bei.

Since that day, whether it was Lu Zhi or his uncle Liu Yuanqi, both had held greater expectations for him.

Now, he even possessed a force of nearly three thousand men.

Aside from the thousand men Lu Zhi had handed over to him, the rest were troops he had slowly assembled during this time by clearing out bandits and recruiting.

Among them, two men were particularly extraordinary.

Liu Bei had even sworn an oath of brotherhood with them, emulating the figures of Gu Cheng and Ban Chao from the past, vowing never to betray one another in life or death.

One was named Guan Yu, and the other was named Zhang Fei.

When he heard the news of Gu Xi’s death, Liu Bei was stunned.

He remained silent for a long time, and in the end, he only let out a long sigh.

"Big Brother."

Hearing Liu Bei sigh, Zhang Fei behind him immediately asked in a loud voice: "Lord Gu died on the battlefield; he was a great hero, what is there to sigh about?"

"Lord Gu spent his life for the Han, yet he failed to complete the great cause in his heart; naturally, it is worth a sigh."

Before Liu Bei could speak, Guan Yu, who was to the side, suddenly spoke up and also let out a long sigh.

"Indeed."

Liu Bei nodded slightly, turned to look at his two sworn brothers, and said: "Lord Gu showed me great kindness; I originally intended to follow Lord Gu for the rest of my life to revitalize the Han house."

"Yet I did not expect Lord Gu to die so suddenly."

As he spoke, his tone paused slightly, his gaze became increasingly firm, and his tone suddenly changed: "Second Brother, Third Brother!"

"With Lord Gu dead, I foresee the world will surely fall into great chaos."

"I wish to carry on the will of Lord Gu and revitalize the Great Han."

"Are you two brothers willing to follow me?"

Liu Bei’s tone was extremely resolute.

Hearing this, Guan Yu did not hesitate at all and immediately nodded: "A great man born into this world should naturally achieve immortal merit, just like the Marquis of Zhongwu and the Marquis of Huan."

"Since Big Brother wishes to carry on the will of Lord Gu, how could I, your brother, not follow?"

Zhang Fei’s round eyes were extremely bright; he stared intently at Liu Bei, cupped his hands, and echoed: "I am the same!"

"Good!"

Liu Bei immediately reached out and grabbed the hands of his two brothers, saying with some excitement: "The three of us brothers shall carry on the will of Lord Gu together and revitalize the Great Han."

Liangzhou.

Gu Wei was currently following Huangfu Song to suppress the rebellion.

Huangfu Song came from a family of generals; his father, Huangfu Jie, had served as the Administrator of Yanmen, managing the military and political affairs of a commandery, and his uncle, Huangfu Gui, had also reached the rank of General Who Pacifies the Liao.

Both of these men had been promoted by Gu Xi in the past and could be considered allies of the Gu clan.

Moreover, this type of general family was different from noble clans like the Runan Yuan clan or the Hongnong Yang clan.

In fact, this could be considered the norm for the current Great Han.

Whether it was the position of Administrator of Yanmen or General Who Pacifies the Liao, these were positions that those people looked down upon.

This was also one of the reasons why Gu Xi chose Huangfu Song.

Gu Wei was his most valued descendant, and sending him to Huangfu Song’s side already indicated his attitude.

When he heard Gu Wei explain the connections, Huangfu Song naturally did not hesitate and immediately led his troops straight toward Luoyang.

At the same time, Gu Tao also moved from Yanzhou, heading straight for Luoyang.

Gu Tao now had a full five thousand men.

As the strongest warrior among the sixth generation of the Gu clan, Gu Xi had once given him three thousand men when facing the Yellow Turbans.

As for the remaining two thousand men.

They were the Yellow Turban elites he had recruited while suppressing the rebellion.

This was a very powerful force.

Gu Tao’s martial prowess was already extraordinary, and from a young age, he had studied the military treatises passed down by the Gu clan.

The soldiers under his command possessed immense combat strength.

But in the current situation, how could the noble clans hidden beneath the surface simply allow the Gu clan descendants to rush to Luoyang?

To them, Luoyang was a place that had to be taken!

But after detecting the movements of the Gu clan descendants.

A familiar scene occurred once again: rebel armies rose up everywhere, directly blocking the forces from all sides that wanted to rush to Luoyang.

Although on the surface it was still the Great Han imperial court suppressing the rebels, in reality, all four sides were playing a game in the shadows.

And as time passed.

It was the fourteenth day of the second month in the third year of Zhaoning.

Dong Zhuo acted as if he had received some signal, calling upon the lords of the world to resolve to "protect the King."

As the news spread, the regional governors and great clans from all over began to move.

They headed straight for Luoyang.

—The situation changed in an instant!

With the death of Gu Xi, the fragility of the entire Great Han realm was completely exposed within ten days.

Facing Dong Zhuo, his enemy, Gu Chen never gave up on charging at him.

He seemed to have discovered that his strength was increasing day by day, and every day he personally led his army to attack Dong Zhuo.

Luoyang.

The sounds of battle were constant.

"Dong Zhuo, pay with your life!"

Gu Chen held a long spear, spurred his horse, and charged straight at Dong Zhuo.

"Junior! You are courting death!"

Niu Fu, who had been guarding Dong Zhuo’s side, roared at this moment and headed straight to meet him.

The horse-lance in his hand swept toward Gu Chen.

"Well come!"

Gu Chen showed no fear, holding his spear as he met the charge!

Clang!

The sound of weapons clashing rang out instantly.

What was shocking was that Gu Chen was now not the least bit inferior.

In an instant, a look of shock appeared on Niu Fu's face.

This was not his first time crossing blades with Gu Chen.

Over these past few days, he had already fought Gu Chen many times.

He could clearly feel just how fast Gu Chen’s progress was, which even made him feel a sense of dread.

"Good brat, I cannot let you live!"

He roared in anger and charged again.

The two of them fought like this amidst the battle formation.

After fighting for a full several dozen rounds, Niu Fu gradually fell into a disadvantage.

But just at this moment, Li Jue and Guo Si charged up from the side.

Gu Chen did not linger in the fight and immediately led his troops in retreat.

"He actually managed to beat Niu Fu!"

Gu Yi had been watching all of this, and his heart was also filled with immense shock.

Gu Chen’s progress was too great!

One must know, he no longer had the blessing of the "Strength Talisman," this was his own true strength!

From the beginning, he could only last one round against Niu Fu.

In less than a month's time, he now possessed the strength of a battle general.

Although not top-tier, it was nonetheless extraordinary.

How could Gu Yi not be surprised?

He could now finally see the specific effect of this "Wall-Breaking Card."

Clearly, it was only when facing pressure.

That the attributes would constantly rise!

Actually, thinking about it carefully, it was only natural.

The effect of the "Wall-Breaking Card" is to break through the lower and upper limits of attributes; without pressure, how could the attributes rise rapidly?

People only make significant progress when they feel pressure and constantly break through.

This is an unchanging truth!

Thinking about it, this was also because Gu Chen had an unyielding personality.

If it were any descendant with a less firm will, living in the comfortable environment of the Gu clan, their attributes would likely only get lower and lower.

This judgment made Gu Yi truly look forward to Gu Chen even more.

This is an era where heroes emerge in great numbers!

With Gu Chen’s unyielding personality, if he does not die, to what extent will his attributes grow?

He found it simply unimaginable!

Gu Yi had already made preparations; if Gu Chen encountered danger, he would draw a prop and protect Gu Chen no matter what.

This was absolutely a potential stock that would be invincible!

"Brothers."

Upon returning to the city, Gu Chen immediately called over the other Gu Shizi and voiced his thoughts.

"Dong Zhuo has still not retreated!"

"I suspect that a new turn of events has occurred in the world."

"If things continue like this, it is by no means a good strategy."

"These past few days I have attacked the rebel Dong daily, which has already made him weary; tonight I have decided to lead the entire army in a night raid on Dong Zhuo."

"What do you brothers think?"

Gu Chen’s expression was extremely serious.

He had clearly become the backbone of the group.

Hearing this, the others did not hesitate and immediately nodded: "This plan is feasible!"

Who could fail to realize the problem?

Dong Zhuo only had a few thousand troops.

To dare to drag things out like this, and with the Gu Shizi from all four directions not even sending news.

Clearly, a change had occurred!

"Good!"

Gu Chen seemed to have already thought everything through and immediately made arrangements.

He left almost all the Julu descendants in the city.

No matter what, he had to maintain control over Luoyang.

Only these people could put his mind at ease.

Watching all this, Gu Yi’s heart beat faster and faster!

As expected!

Not only was his martial attribute rising, but even his ability to judge the situation was improving!

That very night.

—Gu Chen personally led several thousand men from Luoyangcheng, charged straight out of the city, and launched a night raid on Dong Zhuo’s camp!

This indeed exceeded Dong Zhuo’s expectations.

In fact, Jia Xu had warned him, saying that Gu Chen’s continuous attacks might be a prelude to a night raid.

Dong Zhuo was quite concerned at first.

But as the days passed, he stopped caring so much!

Outside Luoyang.

The sounds of battle erupted everywhere!

Dong Zhuo’s subordinates were all Qiang cavalry.

Under the sudden attack, it was impossible for them to unleash their full strength.

And most crucially, upon breaking into Dong Zhuo’s camp.

Gu Chen had people set fires.

The raging fire burned the heavens, illuminating the entire night sky.

The Qiang cavalry fell into complete chaos.

Startled warhorses ran wildly through the camp.

Originally, Dong Zhuo still had thoughts of a counterattack, but the moment the fire started, he knew he could not fight!

"Retreat!!"

Under the night sky, Dong Zhuo roared in anger.

Niu Fu and other trusted aides protected him, wanting to lead Dong Zhuo out directly.

But from start to finish, Gu Chen’s main target was him!

Dong Zhuo was a person who loved to enjoy himself.

His main tent in the crude military camp was simply too conspicuous.

Seeing that Dong Zhuo was about to escape.

Gu Chen did not waste any words, holding his spear and leading his men in a charge.

"The junior is too arrogant!"

Niu Fu was enraged and charged up directly.

The scene of his defeat to Gu Chen today was considered a humiliation!

But for Gu Chen.

From the moment he defeated Niu Fu, Niu Fu could no longer catch his eye.

And this time, Gu Chen was not moving alone!

Every single Gu Shizi wanted to avenge Gu Xi!

This included the central army that had returned from the Battle of Henei.

The crowd swarmed forward.

Facing this situation, Li Jue and Guo Si also had to lead men to intercept them, seeking to protect Dong Zhuo.

Seeing that Dong Zhuo actually had a chance to escape.

Gu Chen did not hesitate at all.

He raised the long spear in his hand, his sharp gaze fixed on Dong Zhuo, and threw the spear directly.

This was something he had done every day since he began practicing martial arts.

He had long since achieved the skill of hitting a willow leaf from a hundred paces.

Not to mention that his strength had now taken a leap forward?

A sound of something piercing the air rang out instantly.

With a "pfft" sound,

the next moment, that sharp long spear pierced directly into the abdomen of Dong Zhuo.

The powerful force carried Dong Zhuo right off his warhorse!

"My lord!"

Li Ru’s expression changed drastically, and he immediately wanted to stop to check on Dong Zhuo.

But how could Dong Zhuo still have a path to survival after such a strike?

He only spat out two mouthfuls of blood before his entire body collapsed just like that, without even being able to speak a word!

"You brat, you are courting death!!"

Niu Fu was completely enraged, and the horse lance in his hand thrust straight toward Gu Chen’s face.

Gu Chen had no weapon at the moment.

How could he block this strike?

"Ziyan!"

The expression of the Gu Shizi beside Gu Chen changed drastically, and he hurriedly stepped forward, wanting to block Niu Fu.

But compared to a battle general of this caliber, his martial prowess was clearly still far too lacking.

Especially while Niu Fu was in a state of violent rage.

A single strike knocked him directly off his horse.

He was instantly trampled by the warhorse, spitting out mouthful after mouthful of fresh blood.

And the people around them also rushed up at this moment.

"Brother!"

Gu Chen’s expression changed drastically, and he wanted to jump off his warhorse to help his brother up.

However, before he could take any action,

that Gu Shizi threw the ring-pommel saber in his hand directly to Gu Chen, and using all his strength, he roared:

"Ziyan, we disciples of the Gu clan die when we must die."

"Do not worry about me!"

"Kill the enemy and avenge our grandfather!"

Blood was constantly overflowing from the corners of his mouth, yet his voice was incredibly loud and clear.

Disciples of the Gu clan never fear death!

Even if their talent is insufficient, they can still sacrifice themselves for the family.

Gu Chen caught the ring-pommel saber and stared blankly at his brother lying on the ground, his eyes turning red once again.

He yanked hard on the reins.

Holding the ring-pommel saber, he charged straight at Niu Fu to kill him!

The entire Qiang cavalry had no will to fight at this moment.

Dong Zhuo had been shot and killed by Gu Chen, and this had happened right before everyone's eyes.

This was already enough to affect morale, not to mention that they were already in the middle of a retreat.

The situation had changed drastically!

Gu Chen kept his eyes locked on Niu Fu, first engaging him with the ring-pommel saber.

Then, he seized an opportunity to pick up the long spear of a fallen soldier nearby and charged straight at Niu Fu to kill him.

His spear strikes were like a dragon, and before ten rounds had passed, he had cut Niu Fu down from his horse.

Clearly, his strength had grown stronger once again!

PS: Begging for monthly tickets at the end of the month!

(End of chapter)