Chapter 497

"The City Lord of Bai Yun City pays his respects to the Grand General."

Su Li presented his calling card to request an audience with He Jin.

Because He Jin had personally summoned Su Li, the guards at the Grand General's mansion did not obstruct him much and immediately went inside to report to He Jin.

"The Grand General invites you in; Lord Su, please follow me."

Soon, an NPC who had reached the level of an Initial-tier General emerged from the Grand General's mansion to lead Su Li inside, while Zhao Yu remained at the gate to stand guard.

"So you are Su Li, the Lord of Bai Yun City who slew the rebel leaders like Zhang Jiao?"

"Truly a man of talent and extraordinary bearing!"

"Someone, bring a seat!"

In the main hall of the Grand General's mansion, Grand General He Jin sat in the seat of honor, his large belly protruding, his face beaming with smiles and glistening with oil.

Besides Grand General He Jin, there were several others present, all dressed in bright and magnificent attire; they were likely disciples of noble families.

These noble disciples were also observing Su Li along with He Jin.

Su Li sat down on the chair that had been brought for him, cupped his hands toward He Jin, and said, "I heard the Grand General's summons and have come to answer it. If there has been any negligence, I hope the Grand General will not take offense!"

"I had imagined that the one who slew Zhang Jiao and his cohorts and crushed the Huang Jin Army would be a fierce, burly man with a tiger's back and a wolf's waist."

"I did not expect Lord Su to be so refined and handsome; you look more like a scholar. This truly exceeds my expectations."

"Benchu, it seems your title as the most handsome man in Luoyang is about to change hands!"

He Jin smiled as he looked at a handsome, tall, and upright noble disciple.

Benchu?

Su Li's eyes flashed slightly, and he tentatively asked, "Could this be the world-renowned Yuan Benchu, whose family has held high office for four generations?"

The handsome man replied, "Indeed. I have heard that Lord Su has broken both the Huang Jin and Heishan armies, shaking the world with your fame. Benchu is impressed."

It really is this guy, Yuan Shao...

Su Li remained calm on the surface, but inwardly, he was already grumbling.

Yuan Shao—this man could now be considered the greatest warlord of the Eastern Han, the future hero of Hebei in history.

Indeed, anyone qualified to sit at the same table as He Jin was no ordinary person.

Yuan Shao said he was impressed, but Su Li detected a hint of contempt in his eyes.

It seems that Yuan Shao, born into a family of four generations of high officials, still looked down upon Su Li, a mere extraordinary being.

Grand General He Jin, coming from a family of butchers, did not care much about Su Li's background.

Conversely, noble scions like Yuan Shao were quite obsessed with the backgrounds of others.

"This was obtained during the campaign against the Heishan Army. I have brought it specifically to present to the Grand General to help fund the military expenses across the regions; consider it a small token of my sincerity."

Su Li did not engage in excessive conversation with Yuan Shao. Ju Shou had devised a plan, suggesting he defect to Grand General He Jin to balance the court situation and thereby gain benefits.

Therefore, increasing He Jin's favor was the current top priority.

With a wave of his hand, several large chests of gold coins and some jewelry and jade ornaments appeared in the hall via his spatial arm ring.

"On behalf of the soldiers in the army, I thank you for your kindness, Lord Su. Since you are so sincere, we shall work together on great matters in the future. If you have any needs, just tell me."

He Jin found that Su Li was quite savvy; openly bribing him under the guise of military expenses was quite clever.

He immediately signaled the guards nearby to accept the wealth and began to view Su Li as a member of his own faction.

In fact, besides Su Li's high reputation, He Jin had also had someone inquire about Su Li's attitude.

He learned that Su Li's subordinates had once turned the Eunuch Zuo Feng away from their gate.

He Jin believed this clearly showed that Su Li did not want to associate with the Ten Eunuchs and was therefore trustworthy.

Su Li followed He Jin's lead and said, "The Grand General is wise. I do indeed have a matter recently that requires the Grand General's trouble!"

He Jin was curious: "What matter?"

"I have broken two major rebel leaders, the Huang Jin and the Heishan, and slain over a million enemies. My military achievements are illustrious, but the Ten Eunuchs will surely obstruct me and prevent the court from rewarding me."

"If the Grand General could help me advocate for this, I would be most grateful."

He Jin's eyes moved; he naturally understood what Su Li meant and immediately asked, "With your military achievements, what official position do you want?"

"Actually, my request is not high; a Commandery Governor will suffice."

Su Li said calmly.

But to those around him, including Yuan Shao, everyone widened their eyes.

Good heavens, Su Li was visiting for the first time and dared to ask for the position of a Commandery Governor.

The Great Han court had not yet established Provincial Governors; Provincial Inspectors only had the duty of supervising the regions, whereas a Commandery Governor was a figure with real power over local military and political affairs.

Now that Su Li was asking for the position of Governor, he was undoubtedly wanting to become a local warlord with real power.

Yuan Shao and the others were so shrewd that they saw Su Li's ambition at a glance.

However, as Grand General, He Jin did not care much; he was currently focused on toppling the Ten Eunuchs, so he smiled and said, "With your military achievements, serving as a Governor is... barely acceptable..."

Although to outsiders, the reason the Jizhou Huang Jin Army was broken was entirely due to the Five Schools Camp led by Lu Zhi, and Su Li and his group were merely supporting forces.

Even with the credit for slaying Zhang Jiao and his two brothers, it was not enough to request the position of Governor.

However, Su Li also had the credit for killing the Heishan Army leader, Zhang Niujiao.

Adding the two together, and most importantly considering the wealth just received, it was not entirely impossible to appoint Su Li as a Commandery Governor.

However, at this moment, another guest close to He Jin suddenly said, "There are thousands who have performed meritorious service in suppressing the Huang Jin and Heishan rebels, yet there are only a hundred or so commanderies in the world. If everyone dares to request to serve as Governor, wouldn't the world fall into chaos?"

"May I ask, Lord Su, you have only been in our world for a few months; how are you qualified to serve as a Governor?"

Seeing that He Jin hadn't said anything and seemed to have the intention of agreeing, but this guy was now speaking up to obstruct him, Su Li's expression darkened: "May I ask who you are?"

The guest immediately replied loudly, "I am the Colonel of the Tiger Guards, Yuan Gonglu."

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