"Uh... what do you mean?" Li Ru asked, puzzled.
Jia Xu cupped his hands in greeting to Dong Zhuo and said, "My lord, Wenyou, the governors of all thirteen provinces of the Han Dynasty are recruiting soldiers!"
At that moment, Li Ru instantly realized what was happening!
As expected, old ginger is spicier. I was blinded by the huge profits in front of me and didn't think of this. It's rare that Jia Xu, that old fellow, still kept his head up.
"Wenhe, what do you think we should do? Should we disobey orders?" Dong Zhuo pondered for a moment before asking.
"My lord, we must fight, but we must change our tactics!" Jia Xu said calmly.
Upon hearing this, Dong Zhuo frowned and asked, "What ideas does Wenhe have?"
"My lord, if you truly defeat the Yellow Turban Army, it will surely arouse the suspicion of the court. And with the governors of various states recruiting soldiers, you will naturally become the target of everyone's criticism," Jia Xu sighed slightly.
Dong Zhuo understood Jia Xu's meaning: if he defeated the Yellow Turban Army, the court would definitely become suspicious.
"Therefore, my lord, since we cannot move the Xiliang troops, why not learn from Cao Cao and Yuan Shao and send 50,000 troops to Jizhou to suppress the bandits?" Jia Xu suggested.
After hearing this, Li Ru's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands, exclaiming, "Brilliant plan! Brilliant plan!"
Dong Zhuo hesitated. Fifty thousand troops? Such a small force would likely be wiped out quickly if sent to suppress bandits in Ji Province.
"My lord, 50,000 troops are enough!" Jia Xu said with a smile, as if he had long anticipated that Dong Zhuo would think this way.
Li Ru also chimed in, "My lord, only if the Yellow Turbans are not extinguished will you have a chance!"
Dong Zhuo was immediately shocked. Jia Xu's words were too subtle, but Li Ru's words truly struck a chord with him.
"Alright! Then I'll do as you two say. Issue the order for Hua Xiong to lead 50,000 Bingzhou troops to Jizhou to suppress the bandits!" Dong Zhuo said firmly.
Then, Dong Zhuo instructed, "Wenyou, continue preparing the provisions. This matter must be handled flawlessly!"
“Yes!” Li Ru replied.
Just after Li Ru left, Li Jue rushed in.
"My lord! A valiant warrior has come to join our army today!"
Dong Zhuo glanced at Li Jue absentmindedly and said, "Since he is a fierce warrior, just let him join your camp. Why are you in such a hurry?"
Li Jue caught his breath and hurriedly said, "My lord, this man... this man defeated the combined forces of Hua Xiong and Zhang Xiu!"
Dong Zhuo immediately stood up, his expression grave, and said, "Oh? There is such a fierce warrior!"
He knew all too well the martial prowess of Hua Xiong and Zhang Xiu.
Now that Hua Xiong and Zhang Xiu have joined forces and been defeated, this person must be a formidable character, perhaps even more powerful than Dian Wei, who was by Lu Li's side when I encountered him before.
"Let's go! Let's go take a look!"
When the soldiers saw Dong Zhuo arrive, they all saluted.
"My lord, please take a seat!" Hua Xiong and Zhang Xiu said respectfully.
Dong Zhuo didn't stand on ceremony and sat down, his gaze falling on the young man.
This man was nine feet tall, with broad shoulders and a thick waist. His muscles were bulging, making him appear extremely robust. His eyes were bright and piercing, full of shrewdness.
Dong Zhuo couldn't help but secretly praise, "What a valiant general!"
"What is your name, brave warrior?" Dong Zhuo asked.
"I am Lü Bu, courtesy name Fengxian, and I pay my respects to Governor Dong!"
Lu Bu knelt on one knee before Dong Zhuo, his voice resounding and powerful.
"Fengxian! Please rise, please rise!" Dong Zhuo hurriedly helped Lü Bu up.
"To be able to defeat Zhang Xiu and Hua Xiong, he is truly a fierce warrior!" Dong Zhuo was overjoyed. With such a valiant general as Lü Bu, his strength had increased even more.
Now he has Li Jue, Guo Si, Hua Xiong, Zhang Ji, and Zhang Xiu under his command, and now he has added Lü Bu, truly making him even more formidable.
"Fengxian, I intend to appoint you as a military captain. Are you willing to serve me?" Dong Zhuo invited.
Lu Bu was taken aback, then clasped his hands and said, "Lu Bu thanks my lord for his kindness!"
Having just entered the army and without having achieved any merit, he was directly appointed as a military captain, which was already a great honor, and Lü Bu naturally accepted it gladly.
"As long as you serve our family, you're sure to rise through the ranks!"
"Thank you, my lord!" Lü Bu said gratefully again. He knew that the Yellow Turban Rebellion had now swept across the country, and with his martial skills, he had plenty of opportunities to make a name for himself!
Suddenly, a glint of light flashed in Jia Xu's eyes. He cupped his hands and said, "My lord, why not send Zhang Xiu and Lü Bu to Ji Province to quell the rebellion and give them some experience?"
Dong Zhuo was taken aback, not understanding Jia Xu's meaning, but out of trust in Jia Xu, he pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, let's do as Wenhe says."
"Issue the order: appoint Zhang Xiu as the commander-in-chief and Lü Bu as the deputy commander-in-chief, leading 50,000 troops to wipe out the rebel army in Ji Province!" With this order from Dong Zhuo, Zhang Xiu and Lü Bu both obeyed and left.
After Zhang Xiu and Lü Bu left, Li Ru began to arrange for food and supplies.
Upon returning to the Dong residence, Dong Zhuo inquired, "Wenhe, why were Zhang Xiu and Lü Bu sent?"
Zhang Xiu was Zhang Ji's nephew, and he had only recently been recommended by Zhang Ji. When Dong Zhuo first saw Zhang Xiu, he was amazed by his talent, as his spear skills and martial arts were no less than those of Hua Xiong!
However, he had only been in the army for a short time, and together with Lü Bu, who had just joined, the two of them had virtually no prestige in the army.
"My lord, we were going there because we knew we couldn't win. Wouldn't it be better to let these two train their troops?"
Upon hearing this, Dong Zhuo nodded thoughtfully.
Compared to Lü Bu, he actually favored Zhang Xiu more.
This person is Zhang Ji's nephew. Zhang Ji had followed him since the time in Xiliang and was one of his direct subordinates!
Moreover, Zhang Xiu was a disciple of Guigu, and he had witnessed Lu Li's power back then, so he had a kind of inexplicable admiration for Guigu.
Lü Bu had just joined Dong Zhuo, and Dong Zhuo did not yet know his personality and character well enough.
However, he was able to defeat Zhang Xiu and Hua Xiong together. In the world today, apart from Lu Li, there is probably no one else who can rival him.
To Dong Zhuo, Lu Li was no longer an ordinary martial artist. After all, someone who could release sword energy at will was practically an immortal!
Therefore, Dong Zhuo felt that although Lü Bu was exceptionally brave and skilled in martial arts, he still needed to be trained.
......
On the other hand, when Lu Li learned that the imperial court had dispatched Dong Zhuo to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he couldn't help but frown.
Because he knew that in real history, Dong Zhuo had indeed suppressed the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but he failed, and it was Huangfu Song who led the Han army to defeat him.
However, Huangfu Song was also lucky, because when he set out with his troops, Zhang Jiao happened to die of illness, which caused the Yellow Turban army to be disunited, thus allowing Huangfu Song to gain an advantage.
If it were today, Huangfu Song would have no chance against the Yellow Turban Army.
As for Dong Zhuo, Lu Li also knew his intentions. Although he had 20,000 elite Xiliang troops, he did not send them out. Instead, he only sent 50,000 troops!
But what surprised him most was Zhang Xiu and Lü Bu!
Zhang Xiu remained loyal to Dong Zhuo, but why did Lü Bu appear now and also join Dong Zhuo's ranks?
"With Lu Bu's appearance, I wonder if Leif can hold out!"
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