"Jia Xu!"

Lu Li's voice reached Jia Xu's ears, making him shudder involuntarily.

Jia Xu was pale, his legs were trembling, and his heart was beating at a rate of more than a hundred beats per minute.

Lu Li's eyes were calm, showing no emotion whatsoever.

However, Jia Xu could clearly feel that he was in the deepest hell, shrouded in death.

Lu Li approached Jia Xu step by step, getting closer and closer.

"You...you can't kill me!"

Jia Xu swallowed hard, trying to remain calm, but his voice was already trembling.

Why not?

Lu Li's voice remained calm, as if he were recounting a trivial matter.

"We each serve our own masters; I was merely offering advice to Dong Zhuo," Jia Xu said through gritted teeth.

"Heh!" Lu Li snorted coldly.

Even a conspiracy must have a bottom line.

"What have the people of Bingzhou done to deserve this?" Lu Li's voice grew colder and colder, revealing a strong killing intent.

Jia Xu lowered his head, his deep eyes gleaming, his heart in turmoil.

Since he joined Dong Zhuo, he was not as loyal as Li Ru, but he came up with several brilliant schemes that were so impressive that Dong Zhuo greatly admired him.

Therefore, Jia Xu lived a very comfortable life, enjoying all the riches and honors.

Jia Xu was a man who liked to keep a low profile and protect himself. He would never offer advice unless asked for it.

"I only know how to perform my duties in my position. I come up with ideas, but the final decision-making is made by our lord." After a long silence, Jia Xu finally uttered a perfect excuse.

This resonated with Lu Li.

Whether they are cunning strategists or geniuses, they still need a powerful lord to achieve such a reputation.

If Dong Zhuo disagrees, even if Jia Xu comes up with dozens of treacherous schemes, it will be useless.

After Jia Xu finished speaking, he stole a glance at Lu Li, feeling uneasy.

Because Lu Li did not make a move immediately.

After a moment, Lu Li sighed softly, sheathed his sword, and said, "You may leave."

Jia Xu breathed a sigh of relief, bowed respectfully, and then turned and fled, disappearing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.

Looking at the soldiers behind him, they were so frightened by Lu Li that they took several steps back.

Then, Lu Li stepped directly onto the Heavenly Sword and disappeared from everyone's sight.

With Dong Zhuo dead, the Xiliang and Bingzhou troops were leaderless.

In particular, Li Jue and Guo Si succeeded Dong Zhuo and led the Xiliang troops to attack Chang'an.

However, their military discipline was not good. They were corrupt, bullied men and women, and committed countless crimes. They were the worst of the worst.

Chang'an was transformed into a living hell in an instant, with corpses strewn everywhere, complaints filling the air, and public resentment boiling over.

Although Dong Zhuo was dead, his power did not collapse immediately; instead, a new格局 (geju, a term referring to a specific situation or pattern) emerged.

Li Jue and Guo Si formed one faction, while Zhang Xiu formed another.

But when Lu Li returned to Bingzhou, it was snowing heavily. It was June or July, and yet it was snowing heavily.

Lu Li frowned, a sense of unease creeping into his heart.

This unexpected heavy snowfall is definitely not a good omen for Bingzhou.

He stood atop the city wall, muttering to himself, "Snow in June, is this another act of Heaven?"

Snow in June, and if sunny and scorching weather follows the heavy snow, it will only accelerate the outbreak of the plague.

All their previous efforts were in vain.

A look of worry appeared between Lu Li's brows. The plague was getting more and more serious. If it was not resolved soon, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Wen Yuan!" Lu Li called out, summoning Zhang Liao over.

"Your subordinate is here!"

Zhang Liao ran quickly up the city wall, cupped his hands in a fist salute.

Lu Li said in a deep voice, "Order the soldiers in each county to guard against the enemy at all costs. Then, order all the silk from Yizhou and Jingzhou to be transported to Bingzhou."

"Also tell them that if the ice melts, it will definitely cause another outbreak of the plague. Please make sure to cover your mouth and nose and do not get infected with the plague again."

"Furthermore, gather all the wine and vinegar in Bingzhou together and order the soldiers to wash their hands with wine every day and to splash vinegar on the barracks every day!"

Although Lu Li knew that splashing vinegar would have little effect, it was the only option he had at the moment.

Moreover, the alcohol concentration of wines from that era was very low.

So he plunged into the room and started distilling spirits. (You can search for the principles yourself; I'm afraid you'll say I'm padding the word count, but actually this part in parentheses is also padding the word count, oh well, I've added a few more words, hehe.)

Although Zhang Liao didn't quite understand why Lu Li was doing this, he would do as Lu Li instructed.

He took out paper and pen to write down what Lu Li said, and then ordered his guards to carry it out.

Lu Li's distilled liquor took a full ten days from fermentation to distillation.

As Lu Li had predicted, after three days of heavy snow, the temperature in Bingzhou immediately reached nearly forty degrees Celsius, with scorching sun on sunny days.

The swarms of flies and mosquitoes caused widespread infection among the people of Bingzhou, resulting in heavy casualties.

This was like adding insult to injury for the Bingzhou army, which was already in a desperate situation, and now it was in a very precarious predicament.

These days, Zhang Liao is extremely busy, wishing he could grow four legs so he could keep running around to different places, directing and dispatching soldiers, and dealing with the plague.

Finally, on the tenth day, Lu Li produced a relatively high concentration of distilled liquor.

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