Chapter 183: Old Age is Coming...
The cargo box that Xu Rong carried in next contained not only cotton seeds for planting, but also several boxes of cotton wool that had already been peeled.
When Qiao Yan reached out to fish it out, the familiar feeling brought a smile to her face.
Among the precious fabrics of the Han Dynasty, there was one called Baidie, which was sent to Chang'an from Jiaozhou and Yizhou. It was a white die-cut cloth made using cotton weaving technology.
But that cotton was kapok, not the cotton that was more widely used in textiles and cotton-padded jackets in later generations, and its production was also very limited.
But what she saw in front of her was real cotton.
Xu Rong said: "After we arrived at the Kushan Empire, we searched everywhere and finally found several merchants who had come to the Han Dynasty to do business. Because the northern part of the Kushan Empire was also experiencing war, these merchants' property suffered quite serious losses, and the worst ones even went bankrupt. After hearing that we were willing to pay to hire them, they readily signed a contract with us."
"It was these people who told us that the cotton that the Lord wanted to find, which they called Gubei, was grown in the land of Tianzhu further south. We need to go further south to purchase it, which delayed our trip."
Qiao Yan thought to himself that this could not be considered as delaying their trip.
If Xu Rong and Ma Teng had not led the way with the army, it would have been time-consuming if they encountered robbers on the road, and it would have been equally troublesome if they accidentally encountered extreme weather.
In addition, the Gobi Desert on the Silk Road would also be difficult to walk on without the protection of horseshoes.
What made Qiao Yan particularly satisfied was that Xu Rong was a cautious enough person. He also mentioned that on the road he imitated the way of the Western Regions people who wrapped horseshoes and camel paws with animal skins and concealed the condition of the horseshoes before entering the Kushan territory to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.
This caution is also reflected in purchasing matters.
When Qiao Yan asked why this kind of cotton did not spread in large quantities to the Kushan territory, Xu Rong did not hesitate and answered: "I also asked this question when I purchased seeds and cotton."
When cotton appeared in front of Xu Rong and was transformed from the picture album drawn by Qiao Yan into a physical entity, he immediately realized that this thing was not only a million times better than Bingzhou's current method of using mulberry bark to keep warm, but it was also more likely to be popularized than wild animal fur.
You have to know that eating meat is a very luxurious thing these days. By analogy, only a small number of people can use fur as clothing.
Some people are even allergic to fur, which further reduces the audience.
But cotton is a different kind of cold-proof crop. As long as there is a way to grow it in large quantities, there must be a way to popularize it.
"On the one hand, the existence of cotton consumes manpower and soil fertility, and continuous planting will also cause various diseases in cotton."
"This is not a problem for us," Qiao Yan replied, "When the Black Mountain Army first joined me, they once planted yam on the mountain in Leping, which also consumes patience. As long as it can save lives during the winter, all troubles are not troubles."
"It's okay to consume the soil's fertility, just rotate it with beans and wheat."
The worst that can happen is a planting cycle of three years.
Nowadays, ordinary people can even survive the winter by relying on mulberry clothes. So, on the premise that they already have the ability to resist the cold, making cotton clothes out of cotton does not need to be very thick, which can already be a fundamental improvement.
This part of the expenditure can be met by relying on the fields in Bingzhou.
The reason for choosing Bingzhou instead of Liangzhou is that the current Little Ice Age climate makes the temperature in Liangzhou a little unsuitable for cotton growth. On the other hand, Qiao Yan does not intend for people to discover the secret of cotton so quickly, so it is naturally better to put it where he can take care of it.
Xu Rong said: "It's a pity that India doesn't have such conditions. According to the locals, more than 300 years ago, the Great Yuezhi invaded from the northwest, occupied the land north of India, and established the Kushan Empire in the north. In order to resist foreign enemies and pay tribute to the Kushan Empire, they had to grow more rice to fill the granary and use more manpower to fill the military. This is one of the reasons."
"One is that the separation of cotton from cotton seeds is very labor-intensive."
Xu Rong opened one of the boxes, which contained the unseparated cotton. "According to the Indians, they made a tool to separate the two six hundred years ago, but the efficiency is still very low. It takes one person dozens of days to pick the cotton from an acre of cotton field. With powerful enemies in the north, they don't have the time to do such a thing."
Anyway, it's not that cold there all year round. Instead of going through the trouble of growing cotton and dealing with the problem of separating cotton from cotton seeds, it would be better to grow more grain.
After all, in their perception, food is hard currency.
"This is indeed a problem," Qiao Yan took out one of the flowers and broke its four petals apart. Although there were not seven or eight cotton seeds in one of the petals like modern hybrid cotton, there were still two or three. If they were not removed, the cotton wool could not be used directly. "Send this thing to Deheng, and ask him to find a way to make a cotton seed separation machine before the autumn harvest."
Xu Rong suddenly felt a little sympathy for Ma Jun.
If he remembered correctly, the battering ram used to attack Gaoping and the heavy crossbow that killed Pang De with one arrow were both made by Ma Jun.
Although we know that he is indeed a genius in mechanics, isn't it too much in line with the standard logic of "the more capable, the more work" to let him work on military improvements first and then on civilian equipment?
Xu Rong's expression was written too clearly on his face.
Qiao Yan coughed lightly but didn't say anything. This was probably because the water-turning acrobatics picture created by Ma Jun in history had left her with some stereotypes.
She added, "In fact, he doesn't have to do this alone. Now that the battering ram and the heavy crossbow have been proven in actual combat, there is no problem with the actual use of these two items. There is no need for him to repair them here for the time being. It is better to take the cotton back to Bingzhou."
"Ma Jun will be in charge of inventing the cotton seed separation machine. The extra staff can be selected from the Science Museum and Leping Academy."
Qiao Yan thought about it and then picked up his pen to write, asking the women who had contributed to the production of mulberry clothes and mulberry paper in the past to also participate in the cotton seed separation project.
Huang Dao Po, an important figure in promoting cotton in Chinese history, created tools such as the cotton cart to separate cotton seeds, replaced the small bow with a large bow and hammer to fluff the cotton, and invented a three-spindle spinning wheel to spin yarn quickly. She went from a child bride who fled to Yazhou due to abuse to a very milestone figure.
Now that the planting time of cotton in the northwest has been advanced, it will be used in the production of clothing earlier, so these things will inevitably appear earlier.
Who knows if these inventions might have come from another woman?
According to Ma Jun's past life experience, he has a talent in weapon modification that is unattainable by ordinary people, but in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, perhaps people who are closer to these things can hand in an answer that satisfies Qiao Yan.
So to be more precise, he went there to provide technical support.
Xu Rong saw Qiao Yan take a few more pieces of paper from the side and write down the words "Mian" and "Princess Yang'an" but put them aside. He did not ask any questions but continued, "In addition, there are a few things I brought back from outside that I would like to ask you to take a look at."
The first item is still related to cotton. It was the cotton planting techniques that Xu Rong learned from the locals after purchasing a large amount of cotton seeds.
On the way back to Liangzhou from Kushan, he had it rewritten in Chinese.
Qiao Yan's demand for this was actually not too high. In the northern planting manual she exchanged for, there was a record that cotton could be grown in the northwestern territory.
But this planting technique is undoubtedly consistent with the seeds brought back, and can also reasonably explain the technical guidance in the first year of cotton planting in Bingzhou.
This comprehensive consideration made Qiao Yan more convinced that Xu Rongke could be entrusted with an important task.
The first item is some other specialties from the Western Regions.
Xu Rong knew very well that the funds for purchasing goods that Qiao Yan asked him to bring must be used wisely, so he carefully selected the crops he brought back.
As he did not have enough money for this trip, he only brought back two things, one was pepper and the other was Persian vegetable.
The latter has a more famous name in modern times called spinach.
The former was brought into China when Zhang Qian was on a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions, but the quantity was too small and it was not widely planted.
Xu Rong pointed at the spinach and explained, "According to the Lord's instructions, we are going to the Western Regions with some soil from Liangzhou. This green vegetable can be grown on it. The Kushans said that it can grow in ten days and can be grown together with tall plants."
Qiao Yan herself couldn't quite tell the acidity and alkalinity of the soil, and it was not something she should be aware of, but since Xu Rong said so, it was obvious that the acidity and alkalinity of spinach were suitable for the northwest region.
Xu Rong then said: "The Kushans mentioned this thing, saying that eating it can make your face rosy and your body healthy, so I bought a lot of it."
For the people of the Han Dynasty who had relatively little medical knowledge, food that had such effects was no different from a good medicine.
He did make a correct choice.
At the end of the first century AD, a considerable number of crops that are familiar to later generations were still growing in the wild and had not been domesticated. For example, carrots were not transplanted from the wild to fields until 800 years later, and another 300 years later before they were introduced to China.
It is impossible for such food to be introduced into the Central Plains for Qiao Yan's use.
Another part of the products that may have flowed into the Silk Road with the expansion of the Kushan Empire actually came from lands further south and were not suitable for cultivation in the north, especially the high-quality rice varieties.
It’s good to have spinach now, as it can supplement iron, folic acid and blood.
Thinking that he could provide his advisers and generals with another nourishing ingredient, Qiao Yan replied with satisfaction, "This is very good."
After receiving Qiao Yan's praise, a hint of relaxation flashed across Xu Rong's serious face.
The trip took nearly half a year, and being away from the Han territory and coming to places that were unfamiliar to him was not the most difficult thing.
The difficulty is that once you make a mistake in choosing the items to purchase, what you waste is not only money, but also the time cost that is difficult to make up.
As soon as Ma Teng returned to Liangzhou, he fell ill due to relaxing for a short while.
Fortunately, the feedback they received in the end was worth all their hard work.
"The other thing is actually not suitable for planting here." Xu Rong pointed at the pepper and said, "It's just that it has a spicy taste and can remove dampness and cold. I want to bring some back to see if it can be used."
After all, the environment they were in was too cold.
In Qiao Yan's opinion, Xu Rong's choice was also correct.
After pepper was introduced into China in large quantities, it was recorded in the Tang Dynasty Materia Medica as a medicine for eliminating wind-cold in the internal organs.
Considering this usage, Qiao Yan decided to give it to Wu Pu and try to see if he could use it to lure Hua Tuo to Bingzhou.
Inviting Hua Tuo to Bingzhou was an idea she had come up with during the Chinese New Year last year, but because of the expedition to Liangzhou, she put the matter on hold temporarily.
Since Zhang Zhongjing, another miracle doctor, was from a noble family in the south and had already entered the officialdom and could not go north, Hua Tuo was undoubtedly the only choice.
Thinking of this, Qiao Yan gave up the idea of having some roasted lamb with pepper to satisfy his appetite. Instead, he closed the box and prepared to send it back to Bingzhou together with the cotton seeds.
You should know that pepper at this time is not a condiment, but is used as a spice because of its spicy aroma.
Spices have always been expensive, and pepper is no exception.
This little bit of pepper costs no less than a large box of spinach seeds, so it is better to make the most of it.
Then came the third thing Xu Rong brought back, which was a few BMWs from Dayuan.
Xu Rong introduced: "These horses are not as good as Red Hare, but they are much higher in quality than the horses used by the generals under your command, and much cheaper than purchasing them directly in the Han territory. We just need to have enough Dayuan people in the team."
Qiao Yan walked around one of the horses and had to admit that the famous horse from Dayuan was indeed worthy of its reputation for having such a status.
She asked, "Is it possible to trade these horses in bulk?"
"It's a bit difficult," Xu Rong replied. "If we only buy one horse, we can still use the Kushan merchants we have recruited to negotiate the price. But if the number is large, they will know that we are in urgent need of it and will definitely raise the price. Add to that the cost of transactions, and it may not be as cost-effective as the horses raised by the Qiang people."
Qiao Yan held his chin in thought for a moment and then asked, "What if I give you some of the Qiang cavalry that have surrendered to us, and you disguise yourself and go and rob them?"
Xu Rong looked at Qiao Yan in astonishment, but saw that she looked serious, as if she was not telling a joke but really had this idea.
Qiao Yan continued slowly, "The era when the Western Regions were governed and mediated by the Western Regions Protectorate has long passed. Dayuan even fell under the control of the Kushan Empire. Now that the Kushan ruling center has moved south, Dayuan and Khwarazm are trying to break away from the Kushan control. Why can't we take advantage of this situation to fish in troubled waters?"
"At this time, a batch of Dayuan's fine horses were looted. Who is most likely to have done this?"
This doesn’t seem to be a difficult question to answer.
The most likely possibility is the Kushan Empire.
The facial features of the Qiang people are different from those of the Han people who often travel to the Western Regions for trade. In this case, if they really change their appearance as Qiao Yan said, it might deepen the misunderstanding.
Just as Xu Rong was about to speak, he heard Qiao Yan say earnestly, "Wen Xian, don't forget that you are a general under my command, not an envoy to the Western Regions."
After hearing this, Xu Rong couldn't help being stunned again, but when he reacted, he suddenly understood.
This time, he used the same meticulousness he had used in deploying troops and setting up camp defenses to clear the way for the caravan and prevent bandits. He also applied the same meticulousness to purchasing goods, but he didn't realize that he could have considered something more unconventional!
Qiao Yan pushed again: "It's okay to do it once or twice when necessary. Don't you want to form a cavalry team composed entirely of Dayuan BMW mounts?"
"..."Xu Rong couldn't tell a lie in front of Qiao Yan.
He even felt that even if the person who was asked this question was an honest person like Zhao Yun, he might get the same answer.
think!
Which general doesn't want to have such a strong cavalry and then use this cavalry to expand the territory?
Xu Rong also had ambitions to achieve great things.
Well, given the poverty of Liangzhou and Bingzhou, it seemed feasible to rob the Dayuan army and seize a batch of war horses!
Qiao Yan had already figured out the answer from his silence.
She teased, "Why? Didn't Ma Shoucheng remind you about this?"
Xu Rong was a little suspicious that Qiao Yan was implying something about Ma Teng. After all, he must have done a lot of things like stealing horses in Liangzhou.
But thinking about the fact that she had already given Ma Teng enough trust before the trip, she felt that this kind of teasing was not really a problem.
"He's a little nervous." Xu Rong thought of what Qiao Yan said before they set out, which made him pay special attention to the movements of the subordinates of the Northwestern nobles who were traveling with him. He then said, "It's probably because the Lord has just caused a shock to Liangzhou. Those Wuwei nobles still want to please the Lord, so they don't dare to instigate Ma Teng to regain power."
"I don't think they'll be brave enough to do that so soon," Qiao Yan said, "so I plan to have you lure them in for me when we first go along the Silk Road."
Since Xu Rong was going to try to rob the famous horses from Dayuan, he naturally had to take another trip along the Silk Road.
This time, not only will there be Ma Teng and Xu Rong, the two generals who were "marginalized" by Qiao Yan, but there will also be a group of Qiang people accompanying them. If they want to go fishing, it will be easier than last time.
And for Qiao Yan, this fishing and catching thieves move is also necessary.
When she had obtained cotton, the most important commodity, from the Silk Road and also obtained several Kushan merchants, her need for the northwestern nobles on this land Silk Road no longer existed.
She already had a group of hostages in her hands, so there was obviously no problem in finding a reason to punish the restless ones among them.
Considering the time required for a round trip on the Silk Road, plus the time needed to seize horses and use soldiers, it would probably be time for the autumn harvest by the time people returned.
By the time she had her first bumper harvest from the military farms in Liangzhou, she would surely win greater support from the people here.
This was the best time for her to take action.
Xu Rong understood the hint and prepared to make the next journey west in a month.
Perhaps because of the success of the first trip, which won Qiao Yan's high recognition, or perhaps because there was an upcoming battle and he hoped to build a formidable cavalry after returning, Xu Rong rarely showed a bit of unsteadiness, and immediately dragged Ma Teng to select Qiang soldiers.
One of these two men once worked for Dong Zhuo, and the other once rebelled with the Qiang people. They could both speak a few words of Qiang language and had commanded the Qiang people in battle. In fact, there was no need to be so anxious.
But Xu Rong thought, this was not a battle on the home ground after all, and victory was also necessary, so it would be better to form enough running-in.
Ma Teng, who is still ill: ...
"I think it's necessary to let Mengqi go with you on this trip." Ma Teng sighed.
But even as he said this he knew very well that this was impossible.
Even if he did a good job on this mission, and even if Qiao Yan did not actually have any doubts about his surrender, he should still leave Liangzhou temporarily when it was time. This was much better than letting him retire in Bingzhou.
Compared with the treatment of those northwestern nobles, his situation can be said to be more decent.
Of course, the famous Wuwei families now have no idea that Qiao Yan is actually planning to skin them.
The land being reclaimed now avoids the area they own, and it is not that they really intend to not interfere with them, but rather to take it over at the appropriate time.
The ignorant Wuwei Yan family presented Qiao Yan with the Xiji rock honey purchased during this Silk Road merchant trip, in exchange for Qiao Yan's "sincere" praise.
After Qiao Yan gave Yan an extra place for further studies, both parties got what they wanted and were very satisfied.
After seeing Yan Jun off, Qiao Yan asked Lu Bu to escort all the things that needed to be sent to Bingzhou back, and also to report his safety to his wife and daughter.
Qiao Yan had the remaining cotton fluff fluffed up and made into a cotton jacket and a quilt.
Qiao Yan kept the quilt for himself. After sleeping soundly with the quilt in his arms, Qiao Yan finally felt like he was living a normal life again.
The cotton jacket was sent by Qiao Yan to Cheng Yu in Jincheng County.
Although it is said that what is worrying is not the scarcity of wealth but the inequality of wealth, when one could only own one cotton-padded jacket, no one except the deputy governor of Bingzhou was qualified to do so.
Those famous Dayuan horses were given by Qiao Yan to Dian Wei, Zhao Yun, Zhang Yang, Zhang Liao and Chu Yan.
Cheng Yu looked at Qiao Yan's back as he stood with his hands behind his back and looked out the window, and reminded him, "Your Excellency's actions only show nostalgia and do not reward or punish according to merit. I'm afraid this is not a good idea."
In any force, it is not a good idea to only rank people based on seniority.
In particular, among the five people who received horses as rewards, Dian Wei and Chu Yan were not good at horse fighting, but Qiao Yan still rewarded them with the Dayuan horses.
Qiao Yan did not choose to keep the only cotton coat for herself, but gave it to him, which indeed touched Cheng Yu's heart. However, out of loyalty to Qiao Yan, he still made this advice.
Qiao Yan looked at the new green branches emerging in the distance and said with a smile, "Mr. Zhongde is wrong. This is not about nostalgia, but about telling you that everyone will have these things sooner or later."
There will be cotton-padded clothes and good horses.
This is her promise to her subordinates.
So start with the people who followed her at the beginning.
In the spring of the third year of Guangxi, people in Liangzhou and Bingzhou truly felt the atmosphere of spring returning to the earth and hope approaching. However, Dong Zhuo, who was further south, was having a much harder time.
When Li Jue returned to Chang'an from Gaoling to report to Dong Zhuo, he saw Jia Xu sighing as he walked down the palace stairs.
Jia Xu has been highly valued by Dong Zhuo since he defected to him. He always looks mysterious, which makes Li Jue feel a little scared when he sees him. This is the first time he has seen him sighing like this.
But Li Jue and Jia Xu had never had any friendship, and he couldn't think of a reason to talk to him for a moment. He saw the other party walking hurriedly into the distance, and soon disappeared from his sight.
Li Jue could only retract his gaze and continue walking forward.
Even though Dong Zhuo fled from Luoyang to Chang'an, one thing did not change: he was still arrogant when he needed to be. For example, at this time he maintained the attitude of occupying the Han Dynasty palace.
Unfortunately, with the threat of Qiao Yan in the north, Dong Zhuo dared not and could not spend too much energy on repairing the palace. He could only live in the Han Dynasty ancestral temple in Chang'an with Liu Xie, and then ordered people to simply renovate the Weiyang Palace. After the renovation was completed, he openly occupied the main hall.
Under the threat of Dong Zhuo, the precocious Liu Xie knew that he could not show any strange expression, and he never showed any strange expression in the court which was converted from the Jingzhao Prefecture.
So when Li Jue came to see Dong Zhuo at this time, he came to the Weiyang Palace.
Unfortunately, a fire at the end of the Western Han Dynasty burned the Weiyang Palace to the ground. The newly built palace was simply raised on the original platform and planned and built with the highest craftsmanship standards of the existing craftsmen in Chang'an City. It is far inferior to the splendor of the past.
During the construction of this palace, Dong Zhuo also made adjustments according to his own aesthetic taste, so that although it looks brand new, it has a nouveau riche flavor.
Of course, Li Jue himself also had the aesthetic taste of a nouveau riche, and he obviously would not show any criticism towards Dong Zhuo on this matter.
What he cared about was that Dong Zhuo was obviously not in a very good mood at the moment.
When he paid his respects to Dong Zhuo, the other party's gaze was still gloomy.
As expected, this was because of Qiao Yan in the north.
It was hard for Li Jue not to suspect that Dong Zhuo and Qiao Yan had conflicting horoscopes, as Dong Zhuo's recent anger was all because of her.
She killed Han Sui and pacified Liang Province, which made Dong Zhuo very worried.
She recommended Sun Ce to be the governor of Kuaiji, and Dong Zhuo almost overturned the table.
The New Year gift she sent to Liu Xie a few months ago really fell into Dong Zhuo's hands just as Cao Cao had guessed.
Dong Zhuo himself was from Liangzhou, so how could he not know the effects of dark purple Fritillaria?
So he almost got fuming with anger.
This perfunctory and sarcastic New Year gift made Dong Zhuo change the target he used for archery practice to Qiao Yan's name for a long time.
Now Li Jue saw Dong Zhuo's behavior again and subconsciously asked, "The north is not planning to march in the spring, right?"
If this were true, Dong Zhuo would be upset, and Li Jue would not be much better off.
Although Duan Wei's military farming around Chang'an was very effective last year, Dong Zhuo recruited some new soldiers in the winter to consolidate the defense of various passes. But Dong Zhuo is expanding his army, so doesn’t that mean Qiao Yan won’t expand his army as well?
Now that she controls the territory of Liangzhou, it is not difficult for her to recruit a group of brave Qiang soldiers. Even if Chang'an has the advantage of defending Guanzhong, if the enemy fights regardless of casualties, Li Jue feels that he may only have the option of turning around and running away.
Fortunately, he heard Dong Zhuo reply, "That's not the case."
Dong Zhuo sent some spies to Liang Province, and there is currently no news to confirm that Qiao Yan has plans to mobilize troops.
If she wants to completely stabilize the rear before sending out troops, it will probably have to be after this year's autumn harvest.
At least not now.
This made Li Jue feel a little strange.
If Qiao Yan hadn't planned to send troops, why would Dong Zhuo behave like this?
He watched Dong Zhuo ponder for a long time before he said, "Mr. Wenhe suggested that I launch an attack during the busy spring farming season to disrupt Qiao Yan's progress."
Upon hearing this, Li Jue couldn't help but show a hint of excitement on his face.
It would be a great thing if this passive defensive situation could really change!
He was really fed up with this kind of humiliation!
Dong Zhuo continued, "He suggested that I go north along the straight road and quickly rush to Bingzhou to attack Qiao Yan's lair directly. If Bingzhou is attacked, she will definitely return to help, but before she reaches Bingzhou, we can quickly go south along the Beiluo River and return to Huayin. At that time, we will guard the pass and never give her a chance to pursue us."
In Dong Zhuo's view, Jia Xu was indeed a competent strategist.
He previously provided three strategies, each of which had follow-up supplements.
The follow-up to the Yizhou strategy was to have Yizhou Mu Liu Yan recommend Zhang Lu of Hanzhong as the prefect of Wudu County, which created the emptiness of Hanzhong in advance. Also, through several grain transactions between Hanzhong and Yizhou, Liu Yan's defenses were lowered.
The follow-up to the Jingzhou strategy was to assist Liu Biao in eliminating Sun Jian, and let Zhang Ji return directly to Wuguan without staying in Nanyang County, making Liu Biao think that he had to unite with him at this time.
The best strategy did not stop at letting Yuan Shao restrain Qiao Yan.
This is what Jia Xu said today. In view of the difficulty Qiao Yan faced in defending the two states, he launched repeated harassment, forcing the other party into a state of being unable to focus on one thing while neglecting another.
The first step is to send troops to Bingzhou!
This is not only an opportunity for them to find a flaw and win with one strike, but it is also very likely to trigger a counterattack within Liangzhou, causing a chain reaction.
But……
Even though Li Jue immediately praised "this plan is very good", Dong Zhuo did not make any statement.
Li Jue's heart skipped a beat.
In this silence, he subconsciously followed Dong Zhuo's movements with his eyes.
Dong Zhuo's figure was shrouded in candlelight in the hall.
This should have been a glorious and majestic scene.
But it made people feel for no reason that he was still trapped in the shadows, and even the movement of slowly reaching out for the wine glass seemed extremely slow.
Li Jue couldn't help but notice that Dong Zhuo was now a bit thinner than when he entered Luoyang.
However, his thin stature did not make him look smart or capable at all. Instead, it made it clear that he seemed to be stuck in a vicious circle of self-doubt.
Before he knew it, a year and a half had passed since his defeat in Luoyang.
He did not fight a battle, but simply confined himself to the palace city of Chang'an.
He did ride horses and run around, but he never ran more than a hundred miles before turning back.
As time went by, he seemed to no longer have the ambition to fight against the heroes of the world. All he had left was the timidity of not daring to face Qiao Yan and feeling that he might not be able to win.
These emotions had not been expressed before, but were completely triggered by Jia Xu's suggestion to send troops.
Li Jue said nothing.
He realized a terrible fact.
The Dong Zhuo who led them into Luoyang in the past——
He is old.
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