(All rights reserved. Reproduction is prohibited!) First published in Adventurer's Paradise.ezla.com.tw)
Just as Jizhou was still thinking hard about how to defeat the Yellow Turban bandits, Liangzhou had already planned to change the governor's position.
"This is…"
"A pig's head, Meng Tuo's head!”
The sack groaned as it was thrown onto the table by the burly man.
"Big brother, are you really…"
"Second brother, you can't be a real man without poison, let alone this blood-sucking bug that everyone in Liangzhou hates. Moreover, with Meng Tuo's death, your reputation in Liangzhou is the greatest.”
Dong Zhuo found a chair and sat down. He stretched comfortably and yawned as if he had done something very satisfying.
"Ma Teng doesn't have such ambitions. I only hope that the Qiang and Han tribes can coexist peacefully.”
Faced with Ma Teng's lack of ambition, Dong Zhuo secretly cursed and replied,"I hope so too, but…Second brother, the world is in chaos now. Every state and county has their own troops. When will the various races be able to fuse…"
“... I can only do my best."
"What do you mean by doing your best? Even if you don't bully others, others will still bully you. There are ways to do things in a chaotic world. In a chaotic world, one must use powerful strength to subdue it. When the world is unified and the people are stable, there will be hope for integration…"
"But big brother, it's not like you don't know my personality…"
“... However, in Liangzhou, only you and your father have such influence. If you can't be ruthless, others can!”
Dong Zhuo couldn't help but shake his head. He and Ma Teng were known as the "Twin Heroes of Qiang and Liang". Their literary and martial arts skills were not inferior to his. However, he didn't expect Ma Teng to be so weak.
"Big brother, you should sit on the provincial governor's seat!”
Han Sui, who had been sitting at the side, finally spoke. Her words shocked the two of them.
" I've thought about it for a long time. Big Brother Dong was born in the Qiang Tribe and is the young master of the Qiang Tribe. His reputation is not inferior to Second Brother Ma's. Moreover, Big Brother Dong has a strong personality and is ambitious. He is indeed the best candidate to sit on the position of Provincial Governor…" "Think about it. With the support of me and Second Brother Ma, the position of Provincial Governor will definitely be yours. You can also use Liangzhou as your base and take advantage of the chaotic territory to expand your forces to realize your ambition of integrating the various races.”
After Han Sui finished speaking, she looked at the two of them quietly, as if she wanted them to make up their minds.
"Big brother is the most suitable, but... Shouldn't the officials of the imperial court be appointed by the central government? How could it be self-proclaimed by a local military clan? If this rumor spread, it would probably attract criticism.”
Hearing Ma Teng's words, Dong Zhuo said unhappily,""Second brother, do you not want me to be the governor of Liangzhou?”
Knowing the meaning behind Dong Zhuo's words, Ma Teng hurriedly waved his hand and replied,""Big brother is the most suitable. However…"
Looking at Ma Teng, Dong Zhuo couldn't hold it in any longer. He slammed the table and interrupted Ma Teng's words,"That's it! Alright, I, Dong Zhuo, will be the governor of the eight prefectures of Liangzhou. Let's achieve the ambition of national unification together. As for the central part, if the two brothers don't have enough money, then I'll take it from the Qiang tribe!”
The three heroes who had their own ambitions in the Western Liang Prefecture had unexpectedly decided their future dreams here.
In the fifth year of Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty, although the central government wanted to investigate Meng Tuo's death, because his strength had declined, and Dong Zhuo had sent a large amount of money and jewelry to win over the Ten Generals, they had no choice but to agree to let Dong Zhuo be the governor of the new Liangzhou. From then on, Dong Zhuo, who had the support of Ma Teng, Han Sui, and the other prefects, had an army of 200,000. He became the most powerful warlord after the Yellow Turban Army of the Central Plains. This was something that would happen later.
The huge house was carefully decorated with rare treasures such as gold, silver, jewelry, and agate. The beams around the house were exquisitely carved, and the expensive paintings seemed to have been carefully decorated by talents who specialized in this area. It was not difficult to imagine that the identity of the owner of the house was not ordinary.
The smell of the essence furnace spread out along with the white smoke, and it gave people a very comfortable feeling. The only flaw was that there was a medicine stove in the corner of the room that was boiling a pot, and the smell it produced continuously filled the entire room.
"Cough…"
"Cough again! Have you taken your medicine?"
The woman's voice was filled with helplessness and heartache because this was not the first time the man had coughed. For a long time, he had been worried about national affairs. Every night, he would bury his head in memorials. It was not as decadent and absurd as what others or the people of the world thought. It was just that he did not know where such slanderous rumors came from.
The mouth of the pottery pot was already bubbling, indicating that the contents had reached its goal of cooking. The woman carefully lifted the pottery pot, but she heard the man hand over a piece of white silk and say,"Don't burn yourself. After heating the earthen pot, it will be so hot that it will cause blisters.”
The woman smiled knowingly at the man's concern. Suddenly, she remembered the resentment she felt when she was 18 years old and faced this political marriage.
"What are you talking about? Why do I have to marry that legendary lecher?”
Although He Xiu, who was eighteen years old, was born into a butcher's family, she had a beautiful appearance that could make fish sink and wild geese fall. On this day, when she entered the house, she heard her brother He Jin talking about his marriage with a group of men who looked like effeminate women.
"Bah! Xiu, what do you know? How could the current Emperor slander you so casually? If it weren't for the generosity of these masters, they would have captured you and beaten you up long ago.... Please forgive us, we are of low birth and do not understand etiquette. Please do not hold it against us!”
The man who spoke was He Xiu's elder brother, He Jin. After reprimanding He Xiu for a while, he turned to the few people sitting in the hall and bowed to apologize.
When He Xiu heard He Jin's shamelessness, she could not help but be furious. Just as she was about to retort, a man with very beautiful fingers sitting at the side smiled and said,"Originally, I didn't even consider a village girl. If it weren't for the fact that we were trying to preserve the emperor's inheritance and that the concubines were unable to leave any descendants for the emperor, how could we have chosen a rude and unreasonable woman like you!”
"You…"
When He Xiu heard this, she was about to launch an attack, but she was pulled back by He Jin from behind. He Xiu, who had sharp eyes, also saw that several soldiers outside the house had already pulled out their long knives halfway.
"Choosing you is a blessing that your ancestors could not cultivate for ten generations. If you disobey again, that's fine!... In any case, I'll just let you lie down with him.”
The man smiled sinisterly. When the originally hot-tempered He Xiu heard this, her face turned pale as she looked at her parents 'room. The man had already made it very clear.
He Jin also fell silent, letting He Xiu understand his sense of helplessness. He Xiu, whose face alternated between red and white, finally gritted her teeth and nodded."Everything is up to big brother!"
Just like that, a young woman of eighteen years of age was forced to marry into the deep palace. Because of He Xiuzhi, He Jin's family also rose to the heavens. Later, they became the Great General of the Han Dynasty and the chief culprit of Dong Zhuo's rebellion.
The first night He Xiu married into the palace, she was indignant. On the night after the wedding banquet, she, who hadn't seen Langjun for a long time, frequently took off her veil. If it weren't for the servants who advised He Xiu not to go out, she would have rushed to the door and cursed.
"What are you doing? Could it be that the groom was so amazing? Why must the bride wait so long?" He Xiu finally couldn't help but pick up the antique at the side and throw it on the ground. When the servant at the side saw this, he wanted to stop it but it was too late. Such a priceless porcelain turned into a pile of fragments with a clang, leaving no chance for future generations to observe it.
He Xiu seemed to be in a better mood after destroying an antique. She looked left and right and found another landscape painting on the wall.
This landscape painting was painted by Cai Yong, a famous person in the current dynasty. There were even some poems inscribed on it. It seemed to be a very precious thing. He Xiu made up his mind to start with this painting. Thus, while the servants were still in a state of confusion, she pulled a chair over and stood on her tiptoes, intending to tear it off…
"What's wrong? Are you scalded?"
"I'm fine. I just remembered my past absurdity when I saw this picture!”
The woman smiled and responded to the man. She looked at the picture on the wall behind the man, which still had traces of glue on it, and revealed a sweet expression.
"Ha... It's my fault. Although I told you that this map was nothing special, my heart ached…Thus, he could only lie to you that he had thrown it away, but in fact, he secretly sent someone to carefully repair it.”
When the man saw the picture, he recalled the sweetness of the past and said as if he had not had enough.
"It's all Ah Xiu's fault for being unreasonable…"
The woman wanted to say more, but the man's fingers covered her mouth. The man replied gently,"If it wasn't for my bad reputation, you wouldn't be so unwilling to commit yourself to me. In the end, it's still my fault.”
Just as the two of them were about to be intimate for a moment, the guard outside suddenly reported,""The Ten Constables, Mister Zhang Rang, wishes to pay his respects to the Emperor!”
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]