Chapter 69: Tears of a Famous General

After the morning court, at the General’s Mansion.

Dong Zhuo, a man with a broad back, a face full of flesh and an extremely tough character, stood in front of He Jin in a flattering manner.

"General, has Lu Zhi been dismissed from office?"

He Jin nodded and said: "If you conceal the defeat and don't report it, no matter how great your achievements are, you will be dismissed from office."

"Well, then mine. Hehe."

He Jin nodded, and before Dong Zhuo could be happy, He Jin spoke again: "I have fought for you to be the General of the Central Army, but you are not the only commander-in-chief of the Northern Army."

"Ok?"

The smile on Dong Zhuo's face froze instantly: "General, what do you mean by that?"

"An army can only have one commander-in-chief. How can there be two?"

He Jin said, "The Ten Eunuchs strongly recommended Ye Feng, the anti-rebel captain, as the commander. Although Yuan Huai and I strongly opposed it, His Majesty has a good impression of that young boy Ye Feng, so I will let you two lead an army each. Whoever captures Xindu first and kills Zhang Jue will be the first to achieve great merit and will be rewarded handsomely."

"You have to fight for your reputation and achievements this time, so that I can recommend you for the position of Xiliang Governor in the future."

"Don't let yourself be outdone by that brat."

Dong Zhuo nodded heavily and said, "Thank you for the promotion, General. I have been through hundreds of battles and made the Qiang tribe tremble with fear in Xiliang. It is easy for me to deal with such a small rebel."

"I'll take my leave now. I'll wait for the imperial court's order to march north to fight the enemy."

After he finished speaking, he clasped his fists and turned around. But at the moment he left the study, a different light flashed in Dong Zhuo's eyes.

Half a month later, Guangping City.

Lu Zhi, who was preparing to wipe out the remnants of the Yellow Turbans in one fell swoop, suddenly received an imperial order to punish him.

The team leader was Ye Feng’s old acquaintance Zhang Feng.

After reading the decree, Lu Zhi collapsed to the ground, looked in the direction of Luoyang City, and shouted sadly: "Your Majesty, it's unjust, unjust!"

"The Han Empire will eventually be defeated by these treacherous villains."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.

Dong Zhuo, who was with the yellow-robed eunuch Zhang Feng, shouted: "To slander your majesty is a capital crime."

"Go forward left and right and take it down!"

Lu Zhi laughed bitterly, his old eyes full of ridicule and disdain.

Ye Feng did not expect that even after conquering Guangping, Lu Zhi still could not keep his position as the commander-in-chief.

Lu Zhi, Huang Pusong and Zhu Jun can be said to be the pillars of the army in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. However, even though they were loyal, they still could not gain a foothold in the court. This might be a sign that the country was about to perish.

Seeing the famous general getting old, Ye Feng, who originally didn't want to speak, felt a little compassion in his heart: "Wait a minute!"

Dong Zhuo looked at the young Ye Feng and said with disdain, "Does Captain Ye want to plead for Lu Zhi?"

"I advise you not to meddle in other people's business, otherwise it will easily lead to trouble for yourself."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhang Feng. He knew from all the way that Zhang Feng was a face-saver and had a bad temper, so he was waiting for a conflict between him and Ye Feng.

If Zhang Feng went back and said something bad about Ye Feng, perhaps the position of head coach would become his.

By then, won’t he alone be credited with the credit for quelling the rebellion by the Northern Army?
But Dong Zhuo didn't know that Ye Feng had given Zhang Feng a lot of things last time.

At this moment, Zhang Feng completely regarded Ye Feng as his own, so how could he give him a cold face?
Seeing that the imperial guards he brought with him stopped where they were and did not listen to Ye Feng's orders at all, he immediately said with a cold face: "Marshal Ye has given the order, so why should you act rashly?"

"Still not letting go?"

Several imperial guards were startled, and quickly let go of Lu Zhi and apologized to Ye Feng.

Dong Zhuo was shocked when he saw how close Zhang Feng and Ye Feng were. Is Ye Feng so well connected?

But Ye Feng took out a bag from his arms and said, "Brothers, you are all tired. Rest for a night and leave tomorrow."

"Lu Zhi is in the city and can't go anywhere. Why rush?"

Zhang Feng wanted to decline politely, but Ye Feng stuffed it into his hand and immediately smiled: "Marshal Ye is a good fighter and a good man."

"Brothers, please step back. We have been traveling for days. Let's rest for one night and leave tomorrow."

Dong Zhuo wanted to interrupt, but seeing that there were no trusted people around, he knew it was unwise to make an enemy of Ye Feng at this time, so he could only suppress his anger: "Captain Cao, where is the camp? Take me there and gather the generals!!"

Cao Cao looked down upon Dong Zhuo who was so arrogant as soon as he arrived. Besides, Dong Zhuo was not the commander-in-chief, so why should he be afraid of him?
He sneered and clasped his fists, saying, "Your Majesty's decree did not divide us into two camps. Since the capture of Guangping, we have been under Marshal Ye's command."

"If General Dong wants to go to the military camp, there are soldiers outside to lead the way. Why should I move?"

Dong Zhuo glared at Cao Cao fiercely and left in anger.

After Dong Zhuo left, Ye Feng stepped forward to help Lu Zhi up and said softly, "General Lu, don't take it to heart. I think someone spread the news of the defeat in advance. When Your Majesty made the decision, he didn't know that we had conquered Guangping."

"Once the matter is clarified, I can naturally be reinstated."

Liu Bei had mixed feelings. It was not easy to find an organization, and with the support of his mentor, he would definitely be able to achieve something.

I never thought that this thigh would fall down after just two days of holding on to it.

At this moment, hearing Ye Feng's words of comfort, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes: "Yes, Captain Ye. No, Marshal Ye is right!"

"Perhaps before my master arrived in Luoyang, an imperial decree would be sent back to reinstate you!"

Lu Zhilao's eyes were full of bitterness. He shook his head slowly and said, "I know your Majesty best. He likes to show off and is unwilling to admit his mistakes."

"The imperial decree has already been issued for my case. Even if it is wrong, it will never be changed."

"Half of my legs are in the coffin. It doesn't matter if I am an official or not. I am just afraid that there will be treacherous officials in the court who will deceive people."

"Dong Zhuo was once my subordinate. When we conquered the Qiang people, he killed innocent people and took credit for it. I dismissed him from office, but he gave He Jin a large sum of money. Eventually, the emperor transferred me away and let him take over."

"When it comes to fighting, he's just a layman. What skills does he have?"

"Fortunately, Zhang Rang, one of the Ten Eunuchs, has finally done a good thing. The battle situation in Hebei is handed over to Fan Zhi. I believe he will accomplish my ambition, wipe out the rebels, and restore peace to Jizhou."

"You must assist Fan Zhi wholeheartedly, help him capture Xindu and kill Zhang Jiao."

Cao Cao, Liu Bei and others nodded heavily.

Lu Zhi patted Ye Feng on the shoulder and said, "Bo Ji (Cai Yong's courtesy name) and I have been good friends for many years. He asked me to take good care of you when we went north."

"I didn't expect that you would save me when we first met, and now I can return to Beijing in a dignified manner thanks to your help."

"In fact, I feel like I'm being taken care of by you."

"What a waste of life!"

"But money can make you wise, but it can also blind you. Don't get too close to the Ten Attendants, or you will..."

Before he finished speaking, Suoran shook his head and said, "I am already a prisoner, and I still need to instruct you."

“Ridiculous, ridiculous”

"I thought I, Lu Zhi, could lead the army when I was in power and govern the country when I was in power, but I didn't expect to end up like this."

"Is the Han Dynasty's national fortune really going to run out?"

“Will it really decline after hundreds of years?”

The last two sentences were almost a roar of grief from Lu Zhi, and even a few tears flashed in the corners of his old eyes.
(End of this chapter)