Chapter 636

It was afternoon, outside the Jiade Hall in the Southern Palace of Luoyang.

Regular Attendant Zhao Zhong was pacing back and forth anxiously outside the hall.

The eunuchs and palace maids on duty outside the Jiade Hall all lowered their heads, eyes on their noses, noses on their mouths, mouths on their hearts, as if they didn't even dare to breathe.

For more than half a month, the atmosphere in the imperial palace had been extremely oppressive.

The Emperor was in a bad mood and often had people beaten to death for offending the dragon's face.

The Small Yellow Gates who were active in the palace in the past were all more honest than the next.

Just like the Small Huangmen Zuo Feng standing in front of the Jiade Hall at this moment.

The once majestic Ten Regular Attendants, Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and others, were also all in danger.

Just like Zhao Zhong at this moment, like an ant on a hot pot.

Just as Zhao Zhong was pacing back and forth in front of the Jiade Hall uneasily.

In the distance, Zhang Rang, with several young eunuchs, walked in from the Jiade Gate on the south side with a solemn expression.

The Jiade Gate faced the direction of the Jiade Hall, which was also the palace where Liu Hong lived most of the time.

If it were any other year at this time, Liu Hong would have already moved to the Western Garden to live for a long time.

But ever since the Taiping Dao rebelled, Liu Hong had exhausted the money and grain stored in the Western Garden for many years.

Making the Western Garden suddenly desolate.

Plus, the war at the front was unfavorable, and Liu Hong no longer had the mood to play.

Seeing Zhang Rang walking toward him, Zhao Zhong immediately went up to meet him.

"Why did Lord Zhang take so long to come back?" Zhao Zhong asked, looking at Zhang Rang.

Zhang Rang stopped his steps, then gently waved his sleeves.

The young eunuchs following in front and behind immediately lowered their heads and walked toward the distance.

"Lord Zhang, how did it go? What did that Duan Yu say?" Zhao Zhong asked with a nervous expression.

Zhang Rang inhaled, then sighed.

Seeing Zhang Rang sigh, Zhao Zhong immediately became heartbroken.

"Why is Lord Zhang like this? Could it be that Duan Yu... could it be that Duan Yu is going to side with Yuan Kui and others?" Zhao Zhong asked with a panicked expression.

Zhang Rang shook his head with a gloomy face: "Not that."

"It's just..."

It's just that Zhang Rang didn't know how to describe it.

Just before going to Duan Yu's mansion, Zhang Rang still felt that everything should be a matter of course and easy to grasp.

Persuading Duan Yu should not be difficult.

But the longer he stayed at Duan Yu's place, the more he felt that he had been persuaded by Duan Yu's reasons.

And he felt more and more that what Duan Yu said made sense.

The more Zhang Rang stammered, the more anxious Zhao Zhong, standing opposite, became.

"Lord Zhang, what time is it? If you have anything to say, just say it directly." Zhao Zhong said eagerly: "What exactly is going on? You should say it. If it really doesn't work, we have to think of a countermeasure."

Zhang Rang sighed and said: "Duan Yu agreed to dispatch troops to Yingchuan."

"Ah?"

Zhao Zhong was stunned and said: "This... isn't this good news?"

"Why is Lord Zhang still sighing?"

Zhao Zhong looked completely puzzled.

"Duan Yu agreed to dispatch troops to Yingchuan, but it was not without conditions."

"Ah?"

Zhao Zhong was stunned again.

Then he widened his eyes and said with an angry expression: "That Duan Yu... is that Duan Yu trying to coerce us?"

"He... how dare he do this."

"It's a pity that you and I still spoke well of him in front of His Majesty!"

"The world is going downhill, and people's hearts are not what they used to be, this..."

"Lord Zhao!" Zhang Rang interrupted Zhao Zhong and said: "Can you listen to me finish?"

Zhao Zhong's face stiffened.

That expression was as if to say, then you should speak; you stammered and didn't say a complete sentence.

Zhang Rang sighed and said: "This matter is also my fault; I was too anxious, which is why I showed weakness in front of Duan Yu."

"I originally wanted to use Yuan Kui and Yang Ci and others to pressure Duan Yu, to let Duan Yu obediently go to Yingchuan and other places to quell the rebellion."

"But... but I didn't expect to let it slip."

"Let Duan Yu notice."

"Duan Yu is worried that Yingchuan and other places are full of clans and pure-stream party members, and that these people will make trouble for him behind his back, so he is even more afraid to go to Yingchuan, but wants to go to Jizhou instead." Zhang Rang said with a sigh.

Hearing Zhang Rang say that Duan Yu wanted to go to Jizhou, Zhao Zhong's eyes rolled around.

Zhao Zhong's hometown was in Anping Kingdom, Jizhou.

And Zhang Rang's hometown was in Yingchuan.

Seeing Zhao Zhong stop talking, Zhang Rang looked up at Zhao Zhong, with a flash of light in his eyes.

"Lord Zhao, we are now on the same boat; we prosper together and suffer together."

"Lord Zhao, Jizhou has Duan Yu's father-in-law, Colonel Dong, there. Lord Zhao, you aren't thinking of anything, are you?" Zhang Rang reminded him.

Zhao Zhong, who had reacted, shook his head hurriedly: "What is Lord Zhang saying?"

"Then... how did Duan Yu agree to go to Yingchuan to quell the rebellion?" Zhao Zhong asked: "Did Lord Zhang give Duan Yu any benefits?"

Zhang Rang nodded and said: "I promised Duan Yu that as long as Duan Yu wins the first battle and can pacify the rebel troops in the Yingchuan area, I will recommend Duan Yu to His Majesty as one of the Four Town Generals."

"Ah?" Zhao Zhong was startled.

Four Town Generals?

In the Eastern Han military system, the Grand General commanded all the troops in the world and controlled all the troops within the Han Dynasty.

Below that were the General of the Cavalry, the General of the Chariots and Cavalry, and the General of the Guards.

The Four Town Generals were divided into front, rear, left, and right, but these generals were not permanently established.

They were only established in wartime, and when facing a national war.

Below the Four Town Generals were the miscellaneous generals.

Duan Yu's General Who Breaks the Qiang also belonged to one of the miscellaneous generals.

Under normal circumstances, the General of the Cavalry, the General of the Chariots and Cavalry, and the General of the Guards, although they ranked in the front, were all nominal generals without military power, unless they were the kind sent out.

And military power was mostly held by real-power captains and the Colonels added during wartime.

Just like the recently added Lu Zhi, Dong Zhuo, Zhu Jun, and Huangfu Song.

But in order to control military power, the Emperor would dismiss these Colonels after the war, consolidate military power in the hands of the Grand General, and add some miscellaneous generals who sounded high-ranking but had no real power.

Those with great merit were added as General of the Chariots and Cavalry or General of the Guards, which were top-tier military ranks, but still without military power.

But the Four Town General title that Zhang Rang promised Duan Yu was different.

Duan Yu was currently the real-power Governor of Liangzhou.

Originally, he combined military power and political power.

If he were to be added as a Town General, it meant that he could, within his scope of authority, even command the military systems of Bingzhou, and even all of Zuofufeng.

It was precisely because of this that Zhao Zhong was so surprised.

"Lord Zhang, this... will His Majesty agree?"

Zhao Zhong, who knew the joints of this, looked at Zhang Rang.

Zhang Rang shook his head: "If it were normal times, His Majesty would definitely not."

"But now His Majesty lacks money." Zhang Rang said helplessly: "His Majesty thinks highly of Duan Yu; we only need to submit memorials, persuade His Majesty a lot, and give His Majesty more money."

"Of course, Duan Yu naturally won't pay this money, but we have to pay it."

Zhao Zhong's face turned green.

All along, it had always been them, the Ten Regular Attendants, receiving money from others to help them get things done.