Chapter 99

Diaochan was beautiful and skilled in song and dance.

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

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

Especially Cai Zhaoji, whose own scholarship was likely no worse than the great Confucian scholars of the age.

If these four were brought into the residence, the benefits would naturally be numerous.

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 legal wife had long since passed away, he still had several concubines by his side.

However, these concubines were already quite old.

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

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

Although Cai Bojie was temporarily unwilling to marry his daughters to Gu Yi as concubines,

as long as Dong Bai went to plead her 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 husband truly wants to thank me, 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 Luoyangcheng

Lu Fu

Lu Bu was currently drinking heavily.

Unpleasant things had been crashing down on him like a tide recently.

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

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

When it came to the campaign in 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 reliance was mainly on speed.

Gao Shun and his Trapping Battalion were infantry.

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

After all, Lu Bu still held the titles of Colonel and Commandant of the Capital.

No matter how poorly he fared, he wouldn't go hungry or starve to death.

But the brothers who followed him were treated extremely poorly.

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 officially became a general of a 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 battalion commanders.

Looking at the entire Dong Zhuo army, they didn't amount to anything at all.

With the high-ranking generals of the Bingzhou faction faring 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 that Lu Bu could find a way to slightly improve the soldiers' treatment.

But how could Lu Bu bring this 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 beg the Xiliang loyalists,

it was unlikely they would stop the suppression.

Everyone was fighting for the interests of their own faction; how could it just stop?

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 of Li Jue at a restaurant.

Both of their positions were battalion commanders.

The matter eventually escalated.

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

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

But for some reason, someone suddenly spread the news until the whole city knew.

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

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

Hearing this, how could they endure it any longer?

And so,

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 to confront Li Jue.

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

Thus, he refused the request of the Bingzhou soldiers.

This completely blew the lid off.

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,

the peerless Lu Bu had no reaction at all, only hanging his head deeply and responding with silence.

In the end,

it was Gao Shun who stepped forward to help Lu Bu disperse the crowd.

Only then did the matter not escalate further.

But even so, Lu Bu’s heart was filled with grievance and helplessness.

If he were facing an enemy,

the halberd in his hand would surely fall without hesitation!

But unfortunately,

he was facing the Bingzhou brothers who had shared his honor and disgrace for many years.

Even someone as strong as Lu Bu could not bring himself to harm his own brothers.