Chapter 114 Two Conditions
Tian Ze led more than 10,000 elite cavalry and arrived near Kawachi County with great momentum.
At this time, the Huben Army in Luoyang City was firmly controlled by Yuan Shu, some of the Eight Commandants of Xiyuan were also in the hands of aristocratic families, and the Dongjun Prefect Qiao Mao and others had not yet withdrawn their troops.
For a moment, the situation seemed to become uncertain again.
Yuan Wei and others planned carefully for a long time and considered every step carefully. They thought everything was under control, but they never expected that they would end up making things difficult for Dong Zhuo.
Naturally, they were dissatisfied with Dong Zhuo, the hungry wolf who devoured his master and caused chaos and forcibly picked peaches, and wanted to drive him out of Luoyang.
However, the embarrassing thing is that Tian Ze is not from the aristocratic family camp and simply ignores the Yuan group.
Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao and others were as anxious as ants on a hot pan at this time. They had no idea what Tian Ze's attitude was, so they hurriedly sent someone to contact him.
Tian Ze was calm at this time. He casually sent away the envoy sent by the aristocratic family and only put forward two conditions to Dong Zhuo.
He released his teacher Lu Zhi and Cai Yong's family, allowing them to leave with him, and gave him the Dongguan collection of books for temporary protection. He then immediately returned home, otherwise he would have marched his troops to Luoyang.
His attitude was extremely firm, with no intention of negotiating at all.
In fact, when He Jin summoned Tian Ze, Tian Ze was also full of doubts. He really didn't understand what was wrong with He Jin, who actually asked him to come to the capital from thousands of miles away to "protect the emperor".
But with the reminder from his advisers, Tian Ze quickly figured out the whole thing, and then he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
However, having just obtained the position of Governor of Youzhou from He Jin, Tian Ze did not want to create any more trouble, so he simply took Dian Wei, Gao Shun, Pang De and Xun You, and led more than 10,000 elite troops to rush here from Liaodong.
Now that he was here, Tian Ze, who had some plans in mind, began to prepare for the situation he might face after arriving in Luoyang and made a prediction.
In order to ensure that he could seize the opportunity, Tian Ze marched quickly all the way without stopping for a moment, and kept inquiring about the news from the direction of Luoyang. Finally, he arrived in time at the most critical moment.
Just as Dong Zhuo arrived just when Luoyang was in a power vacuum, Tian Ze's timing was also extremely clever. He arrived just when Dong Zhuo had not yet completely integrated the power in his hands and the aristocratic families had not yet bowed their heads.
If it had been a step earlier, Dong Zhuo would not have dared to act rashly, and the Yuan family might have been able to complete the liquidation.
If it were a step later, Dong Zhuo would have completely integrated the military power and forced the aristocratic families to compromise. Tian Ze would not pose any threat at all, and a transfer order would have made Tian Ze helpless.
Dong Zhuo, who had dealt with Tian Ze before, was very wary of him.
He knew very well that Tian Ze was a very similar person to him, both were ambitious, and the Liaodong Army under his command was extremely fierce.
Although he seems to be in charge of a large army now, the generals under He Jin's command have not yet been fully integrated. There are only 3,000 Western Liang troops in Luoyang at this time, and the main force has not yet arrived. The Bingzhou army is also new and cannot be completely trusted.
Moreover, there are aristocratic families surrounding him. If a real fight breaks out, he will definitely not gain any benefit.
Dong Zhuo, who had already prepared for the worst, was stunned when he heard Tian Ze's request.
If he were in the other's shoes, he would never give up the big cake of Luoyang, but he did not expect that Tian Ze actually gave up and only made two trivial requests.
"Promise him!" Dong Zhuo said without hesitation, his tone slightly excited.
Li Ru nodded. There was no doubt about Dong Zhuo's choice, but he began to feel a little uneasy.
He had heard about Tian Ze from Dong Zhuo, and his ambition was no less than Dong Zhuo's. Facing such huge benefits, he was not tempted, so there must be something he didn't expect.
Although he vaguely sensed something was wrong, Li Ru could only put the matter aside for the time being as this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Following Dong Zhuo's instructions, he packed up Lu Zhi, Cai Yong's family, and the Dongguan collection of books and sent them over.
These were not important things in Dong Zhuo's view.
Although Lu Zhi was talented, he had a bad temper, which Dong Zhuo had experienced firsthand. He was just a little more prestigious, and although his ability to lead troops in battle was good, it was not enough to make Dong Zhuo afraid of him.
Moreover, as long as he controls the court, true upright people like Lu Zhi will never act rashly.
A gentleman can be deceived!
As for Cai Yong and the collection of books in the Eastern Palace, Dong Zhuo didn't take them seriously. They were nothing. They couldn't be eaten or used.
Dong Zhuo was already acutely aware of the current situation and was no longer willing to be a knife in the hands of the Yuan family. Born in Xiliang, he firmly believed that power came from the barrel of a gun. Now that most of the military power in Luoyang City was in his hands, he could imitate Huo Guang or even Wang Mang.
Inside the Yuan Mansion, Yuan Wei's expression looked slightly gloomy.
"Uncle, Tian Ze rejected our invitation. What should we do now?" Yuan Shao said in a deep voice.
"Alas, there is always a loophole!" Yuan Wei sighed, his eyes full of helplessness and unwillingness.
In order to eliminate the eunuchs and relatives of the emperor, he put all his efforts and planned for a long time, and everything was developing as he had planned.
However, he underestimated Dong Zhuo and ignored Dong Min, which led to a wrong move and the whole game being lost. Now the situation is controlled by Dong Zhuo.
Dong Zhuo's ambition was far greater than he imagined.
Now, Tian Ze has finally arrived, but he simply doesn't listen to his orders.
"Uncle, don't panic. Dong Zhuo is just a common man and has no foundation in the court. Some of the military forces in Luoyang are still in our hands. There are plenty of ways to deal with him." Yuan Shu said nonchalantly, his eyes full of disdain for Dong Zhuo.
"Yes, in fact, it may not be a bad thing that Tian Ze disagrees with our request. Tian Ze is much more difficult to deal with than Dong Zhuo. It can be seen from his actions alone. If we keep him, it will add more variables." Yuan Shao also said.
Tian Ze asked for the books in Dongguan's collection, but Dong Zhuo didn't think much of it and couldn't see the meaning of it, but they understood.
If Tian Ze hadn't interfered, these collections of books would have been divided up among these noble families.
These are the heritage passed down by the Han Dynasty for hundreds of years. Many of the books are even unique copies. If they were obtained, the family studies would flourish in the future.
"Tian Ze is a man with a very long-term vision!" Yuan Wei exclaimed.
In his opinion, Tian Ze's move not only enabled him to escape from this dangerous vortex, but also laid a solid foundation for the future prosperity of his family.
Although it seems a bit timid, it is still a good choice.
Even in his opinion, this was Tian Ze's best choice.
Because the people who were playing this game behind the scenes were the aristocratic families represented by his Yuan family. If Tian Ze stayed, he would not be able to escape being controlled by him. The best thing to do was to leave on his own accord.
"You don't need to comfort me. Although there were some mistakes in this game, it's not a complete failure yet."
"Although Dong Zhuo controls a large number of troops, his power is not stable. There is still room for the Bingzhou Army and the Northern Army to fight for. Parts of the Xiyuan Army, Huben Army and Sili Xiaowei Army are still in our hands."
"Besides, if Dong Zhuo wants to control the court, he needs us to manage it."
The three of them conspired for a long time before leaving.
After returning to his room, Yuan Shao, seemingly in a slightly depressed mood, entered the secret room and ordered Yan Liang and Wen Chou to guard the door.
Yuan Shao took out a few letters from his sleeve, read them expressionlessly, and then lit an oil lamp. The flame burned the letters, as if burning the ambition in his heart as well. A strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Uncle, don't blame me. I'm not willing to keep following behind the highway guys. Just wait and see. The Yuan family will eventually reach the peak in my hands."
Tian Ze didn't care about the undercurrents in Luoyang.
Pang De was arranged to pack up the things after the handover, and he led a large army to forcibly bring the Dongguan collection of books, his teacher Lu Zhi, and his future father-in-law Cai Yong's family back to Liaodong. Tian Ze led 3,000 light cavalry to Yingchuan on a detour.
There are many talented people in Yingchuan, so Tian Ze naturally wants to kidnap some of them.
As it turned out, the people they wanted to kidnap were basically not there. They only caught a scoundrel in a brothel. They had no choice but to catch up with the main force again and return to Liaodong together.
(End of this chapter)
