Chapter 20

Inside the room,

Gu Yi sat opposite Zhang He.

Before Zhang He could react, Gu Yi spoke first:

"Junyi, you are a man of ability."

"But under Han Fu, you will never have a day to shine; do you know the reason?"

Asked this by Gu Yi, Zhang He was stunned.

He had always thought that he wasn't valued because he was young.

Once he had enough seniority, he would be promoted and valued.

But now, looking at Gu Yi's sincere gaze,

Zhang He kept questioning himself in his heart: what was the real reason Han Fu didn't value him?

"Junyi, you are not from a noble family, nor are you from a military lineage."

"Although you can't be considered a commoner,"

"relying on your original background to get ahead is just wishful thinking."

"Among those valued under Han Fu, which one doesn't have a higher birth status than you?"

"Under such a lord, how could you possibly be valued?"

"I..."

As the words fell, Zhang He wanted to retort.

But after thinking about it carefully, it seemed that this was indeed the truth.

None of the people Han Fu valued were from humble backgrounds.

In Zhang He's view, the abilities of these people were very average, even pathetic.

Yet these guys firmly occupied the important positions in Jizhou.

Besides this,

Zhang He thought about being captured today.

Originally, Zhang He was not on the coalition's list of generals to fight.

If he hadn't quietly followed behind Yan Liang and Wen Chou to charge out,

Han Fu probably would never have thought of giving this opportunity to Zhang He.

"Junyi, you are a smart man; I’m sure I don't need to spell it out for you."

"Among those warlords in the Guandong coalition, the rest are of the same nature as Han Fu."

"If you defect to them, I fear you will only end up as cannon fodder."

"I have said all I can; the decision of where to go is yours to make."

Having said that, Gu Yi made a move to stand up and leave.

He believed that under the influence of the [Eloquent and Persuasive] feature,

as long as Zhang He wasn't crazy,

he would definitely make the right choice.

Sure enough,

just as Gu Yi stood up, a flash of determination crossed Zhang He's eyes.

Subsequently, he said in a loud voice:

"Zhang Junyi will follow your orders from now on, Mr. Gu!"

"I hope you can help me become famous throughout the world!"

Zhang He was still young at this time; as a military general, what he craved most in his heart was fame.

Gu Yi seemed to have given Zhang He nothing,

but he had given Zhang He the most important thing!

Fairness, damn it, fairness!

With Zhang He's excellent ability, leaving his name in history was not difficult.

What was difficult was that his room for advancement and his channels for promotion had been cut off!

In sharp contrast to the Guandong warlords,

the military generals under Dong Zhuo mostly had the same background as Zhang He.

Some were even worse off than Zhang He.

Without a doubt,

for Zhang He at this moment, joining the Dong Zhuo army meant a bright future.

If he didn't join the Dong Zhuo army, even if Gu Yi really let him return to the Guandong coalition, he would only receive exclusion and oppression.

Of course,

rather than saying Zhang He was acknowledging Dong Zhuo as his lord, it was better to say he had set his sights on Gu Yi.

Even if he achieved military merit in the future, he would become Gu Yi's hardcore loyalist.

Having accepted Zhang He, Gu Yi was in a great mood.

The second person he went to persuade was Han Hao.

Compared to the immature Zhang He, Han Hao was a bit older.

But Han Hao was also more clear-headed.

His original lord was the Administrator of Henei, Wang Kuang, a man with no great ambitions.

He had no talent and no fame.

The reason Han Hao followed Wang Kuang

was simply because his official position was Attendant of Henei,

and he hadn't had the opportunity to seek another wise lord before.

But now it was different.

Han Hao had become a prisoner; he understood that only by following the Dong Zhuo army could he have a future.

Therefore, under Gu Yi's solicitation, Han Hao quickly chose to surrender.

Like Zhang He, Han Hao also nominally acknowledged Dong Zhuo as his lord, but in reality, he followed Gu Yi.

Besides Zhang He and Han Hao,

Gu Yi didn't have much interest in the remaining few.

In the end,

except for Sun Jian's loyalist Zu Mao and Gongsun Zan's loyalist Yan Gang,

the remaining few generals all chose to surrender.

But these two who didn't surrender also possessed great value in Gu Yi's eyes.

Zu Mao was one of the "four founding generals" under Sun Jian.

The other three were Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Han Dang.

Compared to the other three, Zu Mao's fame was the least prominent.

In history, Zu Mao died at the hands of Hua Xiong while trying to rescue Sun Jian.

But in this life, due to Gu Yi's butterfly effect, Sun Jian did not engage with Hua Xiong.

Zu Mao also luckily kept his life.

It was a pity that he escaped the disaster at Sishui Pass but couldn't escape Hulao Pass.

As for Gongsun Zan's great general Yan Gang,

this person might have average ability,

but in Gongsun Zan's heart, he was an irreplaceable right-hand man.

Besides this, Yan Gang was the commander of the elite White Horse Volunteers under Gongsun Zan!

His importance to Gongsun Zan was self-evident.

... ===== CHAPTER 39 =====

In the Hulao Pass council hall. ===== CHAPTER 40 =====

Dong Zhuo looked at the unyielding Zu Mao and Yan Gang and said with a smile:

"Gu Yi, how do you think this old man should deal with these two stubborn guys?"

Having said that, a fierce glint flashed in Dong Zhuo's eyes!

Old Dong's temper could not be called very good.

The Guandong warlords, although they always claimed to be an army of justice,

in reality, if viewed from Dong Zhuo's perspective, these guys were completely a group of rebels!

After Liu Hong passed away, the supreme power of the Great Han fell into the hands of He Jin and the Ten Eunuchs.

Both dreamed of killing the other and holding absolute power!

Dong Zhuo entering the capital was at the invitation of He Jin, so he could be considered to have formal procedures.

But unexpectedly,

before Dong Zhuo entered the capital, He Jin had already died at the hands of the Ten Eunuchs.

The Ten Eunuchs were also killed by Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and others at almost the same time.

Luoyang City suddenly fell into a power vacuum.

With such massive authority right before his eyes, how could Dong Zhuo not take it?

But at the same time,

the Guandong aristocratic group led by the Yuan family viewed Dong Zhuo and his group of Xiliang warriors with contempt.

The Yuan family believed that Dong Zhuo entering the capital was because of the Yuan family's push.

After entering the capital, Dong Zhuo should have honestly followed the Yuan family's instructions.

But here was the key point!

Dong Zhuo controlled tens of thousands of troops and was already the strongest warlord on the frontier.

Even if the Yuan family did help with his entry into the capital,

why should he have to look at the Yuan family's face for everything?

The Yuan family's goal was to turn Dong Zhuo and the Xiliang warlords into a puppet, a puppet that served only their Guandong aristocratic group.

Come on! Our Old Dong also has ambitions, okay?

And he has big ambitions!

The conflict between the two sides inevitably erupted.

And after that, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and others, with the help of their family, went far away to Guandong to recruit troops and form a coalition to crusade against Dong Zhuo.

To put it bluntly, the conflict between Dong Zhuo and the Guandong aristocrats could not be resolved.

And Dong Zhuo, who held the Han imperial court, and the Xiliang army were indeed equivalent to the regular army of the imperial court at this time.

Actually, not all warlords in the world opposed Dong Zhuo.

For example, Liu Biao.

His position as Inspector of Jingzhou was appointed by Dong Zhuo.

When the various Guandong warlords participated in the crusade against Dong Zhuo,

Liu Biao, this member of the Han imperial clan, had just entered Jingzhou alone not long before.

Historically, before Dong Zhuo passed away,

Liu Biao nominally always respected Dong Zhuo as the Chancellor of the Great Han.

It was not until the later period of Li Jue and Guo Si's administration, when Zhang Ji led troops to attack Wancheng, that Liu Biao officially broke with the Xiliang army.

And now,

the Guandong coalition was smearing Dong Zhuo and the Xiliang army everywhere.

Even a clay figurine has a bit of a temper, let alone Old Dong?

As prisoners, Old Dong had already given Yan Gang and Zu Mao a chance.

These two still refused to surrender.

Old Dong didn't mind using their heads as a sacrifice to heaven!

Looking at Old Dong, whose murderous intent was gradually boiling, Gu Yi advised:

"My lord, don't be impatient; these two have other uses."

"If used properly, they could even allow you to gain a fierce general whose martial prowess is no less than Guan Yu and Zhang Fei!"

"What!?"

Even with Dong Zhuo's composure, he couldn't help but exclaim upon hearing this.

After the last battle ended, Dong Zhuo immediately sent scouts to find out some information about Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

These two, although still a distance away from Lu Bu in terms of martial arts,

were still worthy of being called top-tier generals of the age.

Who would complain about having too many fierce generals?

If he could exchange Yan Gang and Zu Mao, who were extremely chicken-rib-like figures to Dong Zhuo, for a top-tier fierce general, it would naturally be the best thing.

Thinking of this, Dong Zhuo immediately said:

"Gu Yi, you are truly my lucky star!"

"If you need anything, just tell me; go ahead and do it boldly, I will give you my full support!"

Dong Zhuo liked Gu Yi more and more.

Deep in his heart, he had already earmarked him as his future grandson-in-law.

As the saying goes, the bond between generations is strong!

Old Dong's son was already gone.

For his granddaughter Dong Yuan, Old Dong usually showed infinite doting.

Therefore, for this talented future grandson-in-law Gu Yi, Old Dong also felt very close.

He had completely subconsciously treated him as one of his own.

Now,

Gu Yi had made another contribution at Hulao Pass.

Old Dong decided that after returning, he would let him have contact with his granddaughter Dong Yuan.

He would strive for them to get married soon and give Old Dong a big, fat great-grandson!

Thinking of this, the smile on Old Dong's face became even more unstoppable.

The gloomy mood brought about by the Guandong coalition for many days was also swept away.

As for how to deal with Yan Gang and Zu Mao, it was all handed over to Gu Yi.

At the same time,

outside Hulao Pass,

in the coalition camp,

Gongsun Zan and Sun Jian found the alliance leader Yuan Shao together.

As soon as he entered Yuan Shao's tent, Gongsun Zan couldn't wait to speak:

"Alliance leader, when exactly can we exchange back the captured great generals?"

"I don't care about others."

"But my commander of the White Horse Volunteers, Yan Gang, is my trusted good brother!"

"If he can't come back, then I can only go and discuss the exchange of prisoners with Dong Zhuo privately!"

As the words fell,

the atmosphere in the tent instantly turned cold.

... ===== CHAPTER 41 =====