“Can strategists not ascend the throne?”
Chapter 205: The Chang’an Incident…
No matter how much Li Jue relied on Jia Xu for ideas, in this instant, he couldn’t shake the thought that it was very likely that it wasn’t Jia Xu who was pulling the strings, but rather he who was the one running away!
But where was he running to?
What of Duan Wei and Zhang Ji attacking Chang’an?
Li Jue considered that he hadn’t lost his mind just yet to use Dong Zhuo’s family to threaten those two into retreating.
If he had to do something like that, he might as well use Dong Zhuo himself as a hostage.
Fuming, Li Jue arrived with his subordinates at the place where Dong Bai and her great-grandmother were held, only to find that the secret exit under Dong Bai’s bed had already been uncovered.
But this tight-sealing iron entryway had no corresponding key to open it, making it clear that it couldn’t have been easily accessed.
Don’t let Dong Zhuo’s nouveau riche aesthetic fool you; he didn’t cut corners on security.
As Li Jue observed this scene, a flash of insight hit him.
He grabbed one of his subordinates guarding the area and barked, “Has anyone been missing from here lately?”
The subordinate stuttered, “Uh… I don’t really remember; we didn’t pay much attention because you said they were just a few unimportant people.”
As Li Jue glared at him, the man’s voice kept getting quieter.
Li Jue felt like he was going to explode!
Now it made sense how Duan Wei and Zhang Ji had managed to get here so quick.
They clearly didn’t have a legitimate reason to report back to Chang’an, and even if they did send subordinates, they shouldn’t have been able to see through the defenses surrounding the city!
But their response was swifter than Li Jue had anticipated.
The only explanation was that someone persuasive enough had informed them.
Jia Xu might still know about this.
So he must be hiding, and out of gratitude for Dong Zhuo’s kindness, he must have hidden away anyone who could incur Li Jue’s wrath.
This was absurd!
Even until now, Li Jue thought Jia Xu was still the brilliant strategist who frequently offered effective advice; it was just that he’d strayed a bit, leading to some mistakes. Just like Dong Zhuo still considered Jia Xu a loyal minister for providing him with opportunities to turn the tables and protect his family.
However, Li Jue didn’t have time to contemplate Jia Xu’s whereabouts any longer.
Duan Wei’s attempt to save Dong Zhuo hadn’t worked out at first due to Yan Xing’s surprise attack on Zhang Ji, forcing them to retreat to Chiyang.
But while some could be convinced by Li Jue that Duan Wei was a traitor, others simply wouldn’t buy it.
Especially those truly loyal to Dong Zhuo, the Xiliang army.
If they dug deeper into Jia Xu’s “restoring order to chaos” rhetoric, they would find plenty of holes.
It was one thing to bluff for a bit.
But with Duan Wei attacking Chang’an, declaring a rescue, the Xiliang army began to question things, realizing something was off.
No matter how tightly Li Jue tried to control Dong Zhuo’s decisions, with troops heading toward Liangzhou, Dong Zhuo had to show his face at some point, right?
If they were still holding people captive, there had to be something fishy going on.
As they reasoned together, thinking they had achieved what should be achieved, freeing the state minister shouldn’t be an issue.
While Li Jue was busy staring at the tunnel entrance before him, contemplating how to pry it open, he saw his men rushing in, saying urgently, “Not good! Someone’s gathered troops heading toward Weiyang Palace, insisting they have to see the State Minister!”
With Li Jue reallocating a lot of manpower to besiege Chiyang, he had naturally let his defenses inside the palace city slacken a bit.
This wasn’t something that couldn’t be done.
His expression changed.
Faced with the critical matter of Dong Zhuo regaining his freedom, he could hardly care about the little issue of his strategist running off.
What’s more important was—
Dong Zhuo was being held in a side hall of Weiyang Palace, while the main hall housed Liu Xie, the joke of an emperor they viewed him as!
If Dong Zhuo managed to take Liu Xie away, then everything would basically be over.
All his prior efforts would go to waste.
Compared to Jia Xu as a strategist, Dong Zhuo, regaining power, would definitely target him first!
Even worse news came to him as he rode toward Weiyang Palace.
The unruly Xiliang soldiers were displaying their true colors at this moment.
Upon being blocked, they didn’t think to wait for Li Jue to discuss matters; they unhesitatingly killed the guards along the way and directly freed Dong Zhuo.
Of course, Dong Zhuo wouldn’t let go of Liu Xie, the perfect bait, bringing him along too.
Faced with the crisis of losing Liu Xie, Li Jue’s mind raced faster than ever.
He knew that if Dong Zhuo got the opportunity to coordinate with his other subordinates, he would have no chance to resist.
Unless he could find another force to support him at this moment to hinder Dong Zhuo’s news reaching his men, especially preventing him from issuing orders through the Son of Heaven.
Was there such a force?
Actually, there was!
Since he was already a step behind Dong Zhuo, rushing to Weiyang Palace made no sense now; Li Jue decisively turned his horse toward the official offices.
At this time, he could only leverage the power of those court officials.
Even if he, Li Jue, wasn’t a great guy, Dong Zhuo was clearly worse.
They surely wouldn’t want the little emperor back in Dong Zhuo’s hands, right?
The first person Li Jue approached was Wang Yun, who was initially shocked by the news Li Jue brought. But as his mind raced, he quickly replied, “Release Lord Lu from prison! If anyone can represent the power and prestige of ruling, it’s him! He might still be able to turn the tables for the emperor from Dong’s clutches.”
Without hesitation, Li Jue shot back, “That’s impossible!”
If Lu Zhi were to take command of the army, who would be leading who was as clear as day.
He wasn’t foolish enough to let that happen.
Doing what Wang Yun suggested would just change his fate from dying sooner to dying later.
Wang Yun cursed inwardly, thinking this guy was being clever when he shouldn’t be.
But under the pressing concern for the emperor’s safety, he could only say, “Alright, I’ll go with Huang Ziyan to command the troops. First, let’s get His Majesty out!”
Wang Yun and Huang Wan had some experience in leading troops and didn’t require the same level of distrust as Lu Zhi did.
Li Jue readily agreed, “Let’s do it!”
To reduce the impact of Dong Zhuo having the emperor in his hands, Li Jue came up with a shocking plan—
Since very few had actually seen the emperor closely, having an emperor supported by officials was far more credible than the one Dong Zhuo had. The palace wasn’t out of spare dragon robes; why not create another emblem?
Wang Yun nearly cursed out loud at this ridiculous idea.
But at this point, Li Jue was cornered by Jia Xu’s disappearance and Dong Zhuo’s sudden counterattack, so he couldn’t care less, rushing to get a spare dragon robe.
Wang Yun tried to stop him but was met with a fierce glare from Li Jue: “Listen, only by making the emperor’s significance lessened can we make it easier to defeat Dong Zhuo. If you really want to rescue the emperor, you better make it believable.”
But when Li Jue planned to ask his son to disguise as the emperor, he faced another hurdle.
His wife cried out, “You’re going to confront Dong Zhuo? In this chaotic army? Don’t tell me disguising as the emperor is a great honor! I suggested you bring our son along for a qualification to attack Liangzhou, and you refused. Now you’re trying to use him in this dangerous situation?”
Wiping her tears, she suddenly pointed at their daughter, “If you want anyone to go, let her do it!”
Li Jue wanted someone obedient as a figurehead to avoid trouble. It didn’t really matter if it was his son or daughter.
He decisively stated, “Fine, let’s take her!”
After all, it was just a fake front!
Within and outside Chang’an, due to Duan Wei’s assault and Dong Zhuo’s escape, a chaotic three-way battle ensued.
At Maiwu, however, it was a one-sided fight.
When Qiao Yan’s troops mounted their offensive after a day of resting outside Maiwu, the guards inside, exhausted from continuous shift changes, only realized the situation was changing as the stones for the catapults were loaded and hurled through the air.
Xun You’s suggestion for a gradual approach wasn’t truly gradual; it would be more appropriate to call it a strong attack after paralyzing the enemies.
In that day alone, Qiao Yan’s soldiers not only fully rested from their march from Chencang to Maiwu but also got their catapults and siege vehicles ready to go.
As the attack signal was sounded, dozens of stones crashed toward Maiwu.
Almost simultaneously, uncountable crossbow bolts were fired toward the city walls.
Amidst the overwhelming firepower directed at the battlements, the siege ladders assembled the day before were pushed toward the walls.
The Maiwu city wall, standing tall and sturdy, showcased its advantages at this moment.
Even though the outer wall saw the guards struggling to maintain their positions due to the arrows, the second line of defense in the back still covered both the city wall and below.
Qiao Yan’s crossbow ammunition expenditure was much more than what the defenders had.
She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight, casting a glance at Maiwu ahead.
After the brief earlier chaos, the defenders stood firm, bolstered under the fortress and their capable commander.
Even if Duan Wei himself wasn’t present, the order he brought remained in effect.
Unfortunately… they were up against an attacking force like hers!
Even their quick reaction couldn’t fundamentally improve the situation at this moment.
With the military orders given, as the siege ladder reached the city walls, the heavily armored infantry shielded the archers and pushed the front line forward by two hundred paces.
In an instant, arrows rained down upon the battlements in torrents, plummeting relentlessly.
The heavier projectiles almost fell like stones; the regular arrows were shot upward at a sharp angle, each one ordered to strike the city rather than land outside, forming a dense net of bolts.
The subordinate within, in charge of command, felt a surge of anxiety.
If it had been his choice, he’d have gladly held the bulwark against the enemy’s advance, allowing them to pass through, just to minimize losses due to insufficient defense.
But every experienced military person knew that even with such assurances, the enemy likely wouldn’t trust them.
Facing the risk of having troops storming from behind, taking control of Maiwu was undoubtedly the far safer option.
Yet, at this moment, they couldn’t even stand atop the battlements to drop down any spikes or stones prepared for defense.
How could they fight?
He shouted harshly to the soldiers stationed at the inner lookout tower: “Their arrows are limited, they can’t waste them all on our small city! Use every arrow you have wisely; as soon as someone climbs up the walls, shoot them down immediately!”
“Think of Gaoping City; if you want to survive, hold this fortress!”
News from Liangzhou couldn’t all reach the Guanzhong area.
Dong Zhuo, aiming to strengthen the loyalty of his troops, had only disseminated stories about Qiao Yan’s violent tactics.
He’d never mention that she sheltered the Qiang people during winter, advocating for their guidance, establishing an economic order—
What he could only say was one thing.
In her first battle invading Liangzhou, she had uprooted the Qiang people in Gaoping City.
Those eight thousand Qiang from Gaoping City had perished in that battle.
So following Maiwu’s situation, it seemed they ought to meet a similar fate.
To survive, they had to defend the city with all their might!
But while they understood psychologically that if the city fell, they would surely die, physiologically, it became increasingly exhausting under the barrage from the other side.
Under the strong assaults from Qiao Yan’s side, even those pressing forward with shields to the battlements were being shot down with arrows within seconds.
Witnessing this sight made their already taut hands tremble slightly.
It was at this critical moment that they heard the clear sound of a gong.
This wasn’t the sound to retreat.
The vibrant and determined clang of the gong momentarily halted arrows in mid-air.
The rain of arrows that had been indiscriminately raining down suddenly vanished.
But with the withdrawal of that threat came the approach of those who had climbed to the walls!
Before they could even secure their footing atop the walls, iron projectiles flew toward the defenders without any pause!
“I heard Commander Xu, after assembling the first assault unit, specifically consulted Yao Chang about how to use the throwing spear?” Guo Jia remarked, gazing toward the battlements.
Qiao Yan replied, “You should say that he prepared a rather special configuration of weaponry for the first assault unit.”
It was hard to say whether this was a habit formed due to being in Bingzhou.
Just as in Qiao Yan’s Bingzhou troops, there emerged a systematic emergency kit for medical aid, when Xu Huang took over the position of first assault unit from Qiao Yan, he too considered this matter.
Besides the chain mail they used, which boasted greater defensive capabilities than other armors, in this short time, he mostly pondered how they could efficiently climb the walls and maintain their footing atop.
Given the time constraints, loading too much gear would not only not benefit them but would actually be more of a burden.
So he prioritized three pieces of equipment.
One of which was the throwing spear favored by the Qiang people.
As they now made this ascent to the battlements, the soldiers of the first assault unit fluidly tossed their throwing spears at every enemy they could see.
The act of throwing the spear required virtually no loading or pulling back, as Yao Chang had found out when she was attacking Ayang.
Now, facing a double-layered defensive setup at Maiwu, it still proved effective.
Before they could finish this volley of throwing spears, the second piece of equipment for the first assault unit, the hand crossbows, was quickly readied, launching a second wave of attacks at the archers on the lookout towers.
The short effective range was usually a drawback during ordinary times, but—
At this moment, there was undeniably an advantage.
The crossbow arrows shot into the lookout tower, packing a lot more punch than the last round of bolts.
Of course, while they were attacking the troops guarding Maiwu, the defenders could also launch their own counterattack.
But with the lightweight chain mail, they were able to reduce the load while climbing and offer the frontline soldiers a chance to wear heavier helmets and protect their limbs with leather armor.
As a result—
“Why is it so hard to penetrate!”
A guard in Maiwu carefully dodged the bolts and aimed his bow at one of the frontline soldiers, trying to take him down.
But that bolt, released at close range, merely thudded against the soldier’s chest and bounced off.
To be precise, the arrow didn’t get through the gaps in the chain mail before it had already done its job.
It seemed the only exposed part of the soldier was a pair of eyes.
In the next breath, the guard saw his opponent grab the edge of the city wall with a grappling hook and quickly shimmy down.
He was like a sturdy iron shell, rolling right over to the inner side of the wall without encountering any close-range obstacles.
And he was not the only one making such moves.
Their target was the iron bolt behind the city gate!
With the finest equipped hundred men scaling the wall, they quickly wiped out another batch of enemies, and the slightly less equipped soldiers swarmed in to solidify their position with coordinated efforts.
Xu Huang swung his knife at the soldiers rushing toward the gate, trying to stop them from opening it.
His past experience as a bandit and his confrontations along the Yanshan defense line gave his slashing movements an astonishing explosiveness.
The elite troops he led clearly were not just about defense.
In offense, they matched the top level of the Bingzhou army as well.
At the sight of this scene, the defending general felt a pinch in his heart.
He knew well that if they opened the gate, they would be hopelessly doomed.
However, the enemy’s high efficiency wasn’t limited to seizing the wall; before he could direct his ground troops directly at the gate, the battering ram had already smashed the gate open with brute force.
What couldn’t be seen from inside the city was that, long before the frontline troops succeeded, the heavy infantry had advanced the battle line down to the city’s edge.
So at this moment, as the gate opened, a torrent surged into the city.
Nearby the gate, there still lay soldiers struck down by arrows and flying stones, as well as those who fell in combat with the frontline troops.
Now, with the heavy infantry’s addition, the overwhelming pressure that left no room for breath was becoming increasingly clear to everyone.
From the time Qiao Yan reached the city bottom to launching the attack, a whole day had passed.
But their whirlwind pace from starting to breach the city gate was truly chilling.
This defending minor general could only taste a bitter mouthful.
He recalled how Duan Wei had entrusted this place to him with great care before leaving, and here it was being breached less than a week after his departure; he felt deeply guilty for failing the general’s trust.
As he intended to fight to the death in defense of the city, he suddenly heard the overwhelming voices of soldiers flooding into the city.
“The lord has commanded, disarm and do not kill! Don’t harm the civilians!”
“The lord has commanded—”
Wait! Things might not be as bad as he imagined?
When he was brought before Qiao Yan and learned that Li Ying, Fan Chou, and others, along with their soldiers, had either died or surrendered in the Weishui River Valley, he couldn’t help looking at Qiao Yan with increasing awe.
Seeing that Qiao Yan’s soldiers were only detaining those disarmed and not harming civilians, as she had conveyed, added a few more points of respect in his eyes.
So, who was it that portrayed her as this fierce, devilish figure before?
He had barely sunk into this confusion when he heard Qiao Yan say, “Tell me everything you know about Chang’an.”
He quickly replied, “General Duan and General Zhang decided to join forces at the signal of Lord Weiyang to head towards Chang’an and rescue Minister Dong. If the deployment goes smoothly, they should have succeeded by now.”
Thinking of this made him feel a bit troubled.
If General Duan returned, which side should he fight for?
If his heart leaned towards General Duan, given Qiao Yan’s soldiers’ strength under her command, he felt he could easily face a fate of beheading if he showed the slightest heart for defection.
But if he leaned towards Qiao Yan, whom he had just surrendered to, he felt deeply unworthy of General Duan’s nurturing.
Qiao Yan saw the conflicted expression on his face but chose not to point it out, instead pondering the situation in Chang’an.
Lord Weiyang… that’s Dong Zhuo’s granddaughter.
It surprised Qiao Yan that she was the one connecting these two forces.
But there wasn’t much need to overthink this connecter’s situation right now.
Qiao Yan instinctively felt that what seemed like a guaranteed victory from the guarding troops might not be as smooth sailing as they thought.
Li Jue couldn’t have successfully seized Dong Zhuo’s power all on his own.
To have stirred Chang’an into such chaos, it certainly involved Jia Xu’s input.
So before her news of reaching Chang’an arrived, Jia Xu likely wouldn’t let Dong Zhuo easily return to his former position.
But… how many more surprises and human interventions lay in wait to determine the outcome of this bloody fight? In a geographic environment like Chang’an, it would be hard to turn this into a prolonged conflict.
And Qiao Yan wouldn’t allow such a situation to happen!
From the moment she led her troops into the Guanzhong plains, this fertile land blessed by mountains to the north and south, from the territory to its populace, had all been considered in her plans.
If that great fire hadn’t spread beyond the North Palace in Luoyang, and these two factions turned to fighting in Chang’an due to their disputes, that wasn’t something she wanted to see.
“Feng Xiao!” Qiao Yan immediately called out. “You, Gong Ming, and Wen Xian lead the troops to guard this place. The rest follow me east towards Chang’an. Cavalry, move ahead with me, and Gong Da will bring up the infantry in the rear.”
No time to rest! Let’s move out immediately!
At the moment Qiao Yan made this decision, Chang’an had already gone through its most chaotic day.
After Dong Zhuo freed himself and the Son of Heaven from his constraints, he immediately summoned his generals to quickly remove the rebellious Li Jue from Chang’an.
Whichever excuse Li Jue used to snatch power from him, he intended to take it back using the same tactics!
But he never expected that with Liu Xie in his grasp, the enemy would claim he was merely posing as the Emperor, using a child of similar age to seek justification for his rebellion.
In Li Jue’s view, just look which officials stood on which side to know who was genuine and who wasn’t.
This infuriated Dong Zhuo.
Liu Xie was indeed sent along with Li Ying and others to the front lines, so many who had seen him before were well aware of his existence.
But in the current era, commoners held a natural reverence toward the Emperor, and only a few dared to look the face of royalty directly. The number who could participate in this contention between Li Jue and Dong Zhuo was even fewer.
On the contrary, more people recognized the two ministers, Wang Yun and Huang Wan.
In the two years residing in Chang’an, they had worked hard to manage local life, even personally handling matters due to a lack of manpower.
This led to an increase in the number of Xiliang troops gathered on Dong Zhuo’s side and more people flocking to Li Jue under the guise of protecting the Emperor.
As a result, after a brief skirmish, a standoff emerged, with forces positioned north and south.
Duan Wei stood on the city wall in Chiyang looking south, keenly noticing that a good number of soldiers originally gathered there had retreated.
He promptly relayed this news to Zhang Ji and Dong Bai.
“Does General Duan suggest that Chang’an may have experienced some unusual changes?”
Dong Bai rested his chin on his hand, pondering, “If you ask me, this shouldn’t be a trap by Li Jue to lure us out of the city.”
“Li Jue has no need to do this! Our cavalry vastly outnumbers the infantry. We only stayed in Chiyang temporarily to rescue our grandfather; if things go south, we can head back to Maiwu, which offers a better long-term defense.”
“If he had that condition, he’d definitely send more troops to trap us in Chiyang.”
Duan Wei replied, “That’s exactly what I mean. So I wanted to consult Lord Weiyang; we should…”
He hadn’t finished before Dong Bai decisively chimed in, “No need to hesitate! Let’s quickly head to Chang’an to support our grandfather!”
This chance must not be missed!
If their grandfather truly had the upper hand, possibly Li Jue had already withdrawn all the guarding soldiers instead of just a few as now.
They couldn’t allow the other side to expand their advantage; they had to strike fast to prevent any changes in the situation.
By the time they made this decision, night had already fallen.
Emphasizing the idea of taking advantage of the night to rush through Weiqiao, they didn’t dare rest and quickly completed their regrouping.
In the dim light of the late-night, they broke through the defenses outside Chiyang and headed straight for the Weiqiao leading to Chang’an.
The Weiqiao, which had once posed as a roadblock, became less of an obstacle for Duan Wei and Dong Bai once Li Jue turned his attention toward Dong Zhuo.
As the cavalry arrived outside Chang’an early in the morning, thanks to Duan Wei’s judgment of the situation, they quickly selected a vantage point to observe.
With clear news of Dong Zhuo escaping and confronting Li Jue after the battle, they couldn’t help but rejoice, making the next decision—
One group to relay the message to Dong Zhuo, while another directly ambushed Li Jue’s camp!
By the time Dong Zhuo arrived with his troops, the place had turned into a chaotic battlefield.
Li Jue had certainly not anticipated that Duan Wei and his crew would launch an attack so quickly.
Yet, he had a significant numerical advantage, and Wang Yun and Huang Wan were highly alert to the camp’s defenses.
Thus, the advantages held by both sides turned this sudden clash into a stalemate.
The cavalry’s close-combat slashing and the neighing of warhorses filled the entire encampment.
Li Jue felt a whirlwind of turmoil in his heart and just then, spotted Dong Zhuo leading his troops in the distance.
Thoughts raced through his mind, understanding he couldn’t let these two forces unite, which would put him in a more passive position.
He also had to defeat Dong Zhuo quickly and seize that real Son of Heaven.
Otherwise, a fake would always be a fake, and it would inevitably be exposed.
In this impending crisis, he hesitated not a moment to give a coldhearted order to his personal guards.
No matter friend or foe, shoot arrows into the crowd!
As long as he could wipe out Dong Zhuo’s reinforcements, as long as the legitimacy of his title as Emperor was not yet debunked, his troops wouldn’t mutiny.
Endless sleepless nights had left Li Jue’s eyes bloodshot.
His guards almost thought he had gone mad, but they had no authority to refuse this command.
So, when Dong Zhuo galloped in closer, he witnessed a sight that filled him with rage.
In the midst of chaos, his granddaughter, as skillful with a bow and horse as many girls from Liangzhou, had been struck in the right shoulder by a long arrow, and the subsequent storm of arrows did not spare her horse either.
She was immediately thrown off her mount.
The scene of horses and people tumbling was not isolated to just Dong Bai; the dust kicked up around them made it impossible for Dong Zhuo to ascertain her safety.
This arrow wasn’t fatal.
But when she fell from her horse, the surrounding panicking hooves could crush her neck at any moment!
What made Dong Zhuo’s heart race even more was witnessing Li Jue send in another wave of cavalry toward where the arrow had landed for the final harvest!
“Rebel, how dare you!” Dong Zhuo shouted, galloping toward Dong Bai without hesitation.
But the layers of obstacles caused by the clash of armies were not something this aging man could just barrel through.
Even with his men assisting, he didn’t reach Dong Bai before Li Jue’s forces got to her.
His heart filled with regret as thoughts flashed through his mind.
Could it be his reckless actions in Luoyang that forced his granddaughter, still in her prime, to fight for his safety, now on the brink of losing her life here?
But regretting now was utterly pointless.
Just like those he had killed—Wu Qiong, Zhou Bi, and others, or the He clan he had wronged, or the commoners he had plundered—none of them could be brought back to life, and he couldn’t save his own family!
However, in this nearly hopeless moment, as if the scene around him slowed down, a feathered white arrow suddenly appeared before him.
This arrow tore through the crowd, crashing powerfully into the chest of a Li Jue officer.
The force of the three-stone bow, combined with the relatively short shooting distance, allowed it to pierce through the opponent’s defenses despite their armor.
This was a shot Dong Zhuo found incredibly familiar.
Years ago, a similar arrow had narrowly whisked past his head on the walls of the North Palace in Luoyang.
Even though two years had passed, he would never forget it.
And as this arrow made its appearance, another sound suddenly joined this boiling battlefield.
It was the sound of cavalry charging in.
However, these weren’t cavalry belonging to either him or Li Jue!
Dong Zhuo turned to see a line of riders daringly charging into the fray.
Among them, the leading general’s eyes lit up as they locked onto him.
But the shift in his gaze wasn’t due to recognizing a target in need of rescue.
As this general rushed towards him wielding the Fangtian Huaji, charging through the chaos, he was not only exuding the might of a supreme warrior but also brimming with unmistakable murderous intent.
The helmet obscured Dong Zhuo’s view, making it hard to identify the rider in a single glance, but he recognized the horse beneath him.
Red Hare.
That was indeed the Red Hare he had gifted to Qiao Yan as a gesture of goodwill!
Qiao Yan’s general? Surely they weren’t here to chat and spar with him!
He could only conclude that this was meant for his head!
