Chapter 194

Diao Chan was beautiful, skilled in singing and dancing.

Ma Yunlu possessed martial arts and could accompany Gu Yi on his campaigns.

The sisters Cai Zhaoji and Cai Zhenji were learned and talented.

Especially Cai Zhaoji; her own scholarship was likely no less than that of the great Confucian scholars of the age.

If these four were brought into the residence, it would naturally be of great benefit.

It would not tarnish Gu Yi's reputation.

As for the matter of taking Cai Zhaoji and Cai Zhenji, Dong Bai planned to go to the Cai residence personally to discuss it in detail with Cai Bojie and his wife.

Although Cai Bojie's primary wife had long since passed away, he still had several concubines by his side.

However, these concubines were already quite old.

Among them, one concubine was the most favored by Cai Bojie and had been elevated to the position of primary wife, managing the Cai residence for him.

She was effectively the stepmother of Cai Zhaoji and Cai Zhenji.

Although Cai Bojie was currently somewhat reluctant to marry his daughters to Gu Yi as concubines,

as long as Dong Bai went to plead the case and had Cai Zhaoji and Cai Zhenji's stepmother whisper in Cai Bojie's ear,

it was likely that Cai Bojie would soon relent.

In this way, everything would be ready.

"My good Bai Er, how should your husband thank you?"

Gu Yi asked with a smile.

"If you really want to thank me, husband, then naturally..."

Dong Bai blinked her large eyes.

Gu Yi understood in an instant.

Beautiful sounds soon rang out in the room once again.

South of Changancheng

Lu Fu

Lu Bu was currently drinking frantically.

Unpleasant things had been washing over him like a tide recently, one after another.

Xu Rong, the leader of the Luoyang Imperial Guard faction next door, had become a General of the West, commanding the military affairs of Liangzhou.

The suppression of the Luoyang Imperial Guard faction by the Xiliang loyalists was naturally no longer as fierce as it had been before.

But at the same time,

the situation of the Bingzhou faction had become increasingly difficult.

Especially for Lu Bu, the leader of the Bingzhou faction.

Within the entire Dong Zhuo army, ever since the Battle of Hulao Pass, he felt as if he had become a marginalized figure.

In the campaign to pacify Liangzhou, there was basically nothing for the Bingzhou faction to do.

The only ones used were Gao Shun and the Trapping Battalion, who had been borrowed by Gu Yi in advance.

But in reality, Gao Shun and the Trapping Battalion had not achieved any particularly outstanding merits during the pacification of Liangzhou.

When pacifying Liangzhou, the main reliance was on speed.

Gao Shun and his Trapping Battalion were infantry.

In terms of speed, they naturally could not be compared with cavalry.

However,

Lu Bu, who possessed cavalry, was treated as a transparent person by the high command of the Dong Zhuo army.

They had no intention of using him at all.

That would have been fine,

as Lu Bu, for better or worse, still held the titles of General of the Household and Commander of the Imperial Guards.

Even if he were doing poorly, he wouldn't be unable to eat or starve to death.

But the brothers who followed him were treated absolutely miserably.

Zhang Liao, the number two figure of the Bingzhou faction, was slightly better off.

He had previously been promoted to Garrison Commander of Hulao Pass and had officially become a general of miscellaneous rank.

Gao Shun was also doing okay; he had followed Gu Yi to pacify Liangzhou and was promoted to Captain.

But what about the remaining high-ranking officers of the Bingzhou faction?

Almost all of their positions were uniformly those of battalion commanders.

Looking at the entire Dong Zhuo army, they didn't count for anything at all.

With the high-ranking generals of the Bingzhou faction doing so poorly, the ordinary soldiers were even less worth mentioning.

Wei Xu, Song Xian, Hou Cheng, and others had approached Lu Bu more than once, hoping, both openly and privately, that Lu Bu could find a way to slightly improve the soldiers' treatment.

But how was Lu Bu supposed to bring that up?

Was he supposed to go to the Xiliang loyalists, crying and begging them to let them off?

Never mind whether Lu Bu could swallow his pride.

Even if he truly had no shame and went to kneel and beg the Xiliang loyalists,

it was unlikely they would stop the suppression.

Everyone was fighting for the interests of their own faction; how could there be any reason to stop just because someone asked?

Lu Bu had long since grown accustomed to the suppression by the Xiliang loyalists.

But the incident that happened a week ago was truly unbearable for him.

A week ago, Hao Meng, a subordinate general under Lu Bu, had a conflict with a subordinate general under Li Jue at a restaurant.

Both of them held the rank of battalion commander.

The matter eventually escalated.

Hao Meng was sentenced to thirty lashes, while the subordinate general under Li Jue suffered no consequences at all.

An order had originally been given to keep this matter quiet and not let it spread.

But someone, no one knew who, suddenly made the matter known throughout the city.

The soldiers of the Bingzhou faction under Lu Bu naturally learned the truth of the matter.

Being hot-blooded, they had already suffered enough humiliation in their daily lives!

Upon hearing this, how could they possibly endure it?

Consequently,

led by the three generals Wei Xu, Song Xian, and Hou Cheng,

these soldiers of the Bingzhou faction launched a serious protest!

They came to Lu Bu, hoping he would step forward and lead them in a confrontation with Li Jue.

But Lu Bu knew that even if he really led them to confront them, it wouldn't change any facts.

Therefore, he rejected the request of the Bingzhou soldiers.

This completely blew the lid off the pot.

The soldiers of the Bingzhou faction were now filled with resentment toward Lu Bu as well.

They hated Lu Bu for his inaction!

Facing the verbal abuse from the Bingzhou soldiers,

Lu Bu, peerless under heaven, had no reaction at all, simply lowering his head deeply and responding with silence.

In the end,

it was Gao Shun who stood out and helped Lu Bu disperse the crowd.

Only then was the matter prevented from escalating further.

But even so, Lu Bu's heart was filled with frustration and helplessness.

If he were facing an enemy,

the Fangtian Huaji in his hand would definitely have fallen without hesitation!

But unfortunately,

what he was facing were his Bingzhou brothers who had shared honor and disgrace with him for many years.

Even someone as strong as Lu Bu could not bring himself to take action against his own brothers.