"Your humble servant, Li Yan, greets Prefecture Overseer Blazing Sun as the Prime Minister's messenger!"
Li Su was also a man of both intelligence and courage. He had heard that the strange people had always acted in an unfathomable manner, and had seen how valiant Yang Rui's soldiers were. Therefore, after meeting Yang Rui, he actually lied and called himself 'Li Yan', not daring to reveal his true identity.
"Hmph! Then why did Dong Zhuo send you here? Hurry up and tell me, don't delay my attack on Dong Zhuo's city! "
Yang Rui almost scolded. He didn't know Li Su, and none of the people around Yang Rui had seen Li Su before. In addition, Li Su was wearing a Confucian robe. Therefore, Yang Rui only thought of Li Su as an ordinary messenger and wanted to scare him first.
"Prime Minister Dong only respects Prefecture Overseer. Today, your humble servant is here to propose marriage! The Prime Minister has a daughter by the name of Yi 'er. She's only ten years old and has already grown into a slender and elegant woman. Her beauty is enough to topple cities. It's probably because Prime Minister Dong admires Lord Prefecture Overseer's heroic spirit that he wishes to match this woman with Lord Prefecture Overseer … "
Of course, Li Su wouldn't be scared by Yang Rui's simple words. Instead, he continued to narrate Dong Zhuo's mission in detail.
Before entering the door, the soldiers reported that Dong Zhuo's messenger had a joyous occasion. However, Yang Rui didn't expect it to be this! According to the messenger, Dong Zhuo wanted to marry his thirteen-year-old daughter to him!
This was obviously nonsense. Yang Rui interrupted the messenger after hearing the general idea. Putting aside the fact that he wouldn't accept a thirteen-year-old girl, Dong Zhuo's purpose in doing this was obvious. Dong Zhuo wanted to form an alliance through marriage. At the same time, he wanted to ease the crisis at the rear and push Yang Rui to the opposite side of the heroes!
"Dong Zhuo is unscrupulous. He wants to overthrow the royal family. I want to exterminate nine generations of his family to appease the world. How can I marry a traitor! "Yang Rui stood up and scolded angrily. He was about to order the soldiers to push Li Su out and execute him!
Fortunately, there were other people present. Chen Lin immediately stopped Yang Rui. She said that envoys shouldn't be killed in a war. They shouldn't give others the impression that they were bloodthirsty because of a moment's anger. This would cause communication problems.
Ever since Yang Rui took Chen Lin over from Yuan Shao, perhaps because Yang Rui's various actions had gained Chen Lin's approval, Chen Lin's attitude had changed from indifferent to proactive. Although Chen Lin was only considered Yang Rui's subordinate and there was no question of loyalty, Yang Rui could feel this change in Chen Lin.
Thus, Yang Rui chose to respect Chen Lin's suggestion and gave up on killing Li Su. Of course, this was under the premise that he didn't know Li Su's true identity.
Li Su seemed to have expected that things wouldn't go smoothly. Seeing Chen Lin persuade Yang Rui, he observed Li Su's expression. At the same time, he was also observing the changes in Yang Rui's expression. He waited until Yang Rui's attitude softened slightly. Li Su began to persuade him again, and spoke of the various benefits of a marriage alliance.
"Your Excellency, please listen to the details of this little soldier. It won't be too late to make a decision. Lord Dong is now the Prime Minister. Although he is being troubled by the eighteen feudal vassals in the eastern pass, Prime Minister Dong is under the command of the heavens. With the obstruction of the impregnable pass and the assistance of elite soldiers, the feudal vassals are only a sore ear. Prime Minister Dong only cares about Your Excellency Blazing Sun!
Moreover, Your Excellency is one of the eighteen feudal vassals. You should know that the feudal vassals are only temporarily put together. They appear to be very powerful, but in reality, they are no different from a sheet of loose sand. They each have their own suspicions and conflicts of interest. With Prime Minister Dong at the side, it's not obvious. If Prime Minister Dong stays at the pass for a long time and prevents the feudal vassals from advancing to the west, the feudal vassals may fall into internal strife in the near future!
Although Your Excellency is one of the feudal vassals, your strength is also the most valiant among them. Your Excellency has long heard of this. If not for the obstruction of Yuan Shao's bastard son, with Your Excellency's rallying power, you would have long been the leader of the feudal vassal alliance. Unfortunately, Your Excellency was obstructed by incompetent people like Yuan Shao.
The crowd of heroes did not recognize Prefecture Overseer Daren's talent, but Prime Minister Dong knew Daren's ability very well. He said that if he could get Prefecture Overseer Daren's help, he would be able to unify the Prefecture Overseer, Qingzhou, and Yan Zhou. The heroes of the Eastern Pass would be like child's play, and they would be able to calm down in a few days!
Therefore, Your Excellency, Your Excellency, please consider Prime Minister Dong's good intentions and accept the marriage alliance with Prime Minister Dong. Together, you can enjoy the world! At that time, Your Excellency and Prime Minister Dong will be one family. Prime Minister Dong will certainly treat Your Excellency well. Needless to say, you will be promoted to a high position and a generous salary, as well as wealth and splendor! Please reconsider, Your Excellency! "
Li Su, who had been used by Dong Zhuo as a lobbyist, did indeed have some eloquence. He forcefully described the current situation as very advantageous to Dong Zhuo. Looking at his unambiguous manner, those who were not clear about the situation might not be able to tell the truth after hearing his words!
"Stop with your flowery words. I won't kill you for the time being. You should be happy and leave quickly. If you dare to be long-winded again, I won't be considerate anymore!"
Even though Li Su spoke with conviction, Yang Rui was still unmoved. The high position and a generous salary, as well as wealth and splendor that Li Su spoke of was one thing. However, if he were to marry Dong Zhuo, Yang Rui would inevitably become the target of public criticism. The situation wasn't like what Li Su had said at all!
Seeing that Yang Rui was unmoved and seemed ready to use his blade, Li Su didn't dare to delay any longer. After bowing once more, he hurriedly left.
Seeing that Li Su was about to go far away, Yang Rui didn't forget to warn him from afar, "Go back and report to that old thief Dong Zhuo. Hand over Hulao Pass and Luoyang City as soon as possible so that he won't have to suffer in the future!"
On the other hand, after Li Su left Taigu City, he felt a lingering fear when he thought of Yang Rui's attitude. Therefore, he spurred his horse on and hurried for more than half an hour before he felt a little more at ease. However, at this time, he heard someone calling his name from behind. Li Su thought that it was someone sent by Yang Rui and was startled.
"General Li Su, please wait! General Li Su, please wait. Prime Minister Dong has an urgent order … "
When Li Su saw that someone had come looking for him, he originally planned to leave in a hurry. However, the other party was unwilling to give up and continued to follow him. Moreover, the distance between them was gradually closing. Fortunately, Li Su had already heard the words of the person behind him in his panic. He guessed that it was someone sent by Dong Zhuo, so he stopped.
"General Li Su, I have been ordered by Prime Minister Dong to chase you here. The Prime Minister has sent this lowly soldier to pass on the order to the general. He has ordered the general to go to Gong County and meet up with Military Advisor Li Su regardless of whether the matter is successful or not. The Military Advisor has important matters to discuss with the general!"
The person who had come was indeed a messenger sent by Dong Zhuo. He had followed Li Su's path closely. Of course, when Li Su entered Taigu City to talk about matchmaking, this messenger didn't dare to enter. Li Su had entered Taigu City from the north gate and exited from the east gate. This caused him to miss quite a bit of the journey with the messenger.
Li Su knew Dong Zhuo's temperament very well. After hearing Dong Zhuo's urgent order, he naturally didn't dare to delay and quickly headed in the direction of Gong County. Taigu City wasn't far from Gong County. Previously, Li Su had already traveled half the distance. Thus, he arrived at Gong County after traveling for more than two hours.
"General Li Su has finally arrived. Li Ru has been waiting here for a long time. I wonder if the general had any results when he went to Blazing Sun's place to propose marriage? "
After seeing Li Su's arrival, Li Ru hurriedly stood up and somewhat impatiently asked about the relevant situation.
"Li Su has failed Prime Minister Dong's great trust. I am extremely ashamed! However, Blazing Sun was extremely naughty. Not only did he not agree to the marriage with the Prime Minister, he even ridiculed Li Su. His words were also very rude to Prime Minister Dong. Moreover, if it weren't for his subordinate's persuasion, Li Su would have been killed on the spot by Blazing Sun! "
After being asked about this matter by Li Ru, Li Su's face was full of shame.
After hearing this, Li Ru didn't say anything for a long time. Although he also knew the difficulty of this matter, he still had a certain amount of hope. If the marriage was successful, then the current predicament would be more than half resolved!
"That Blazing Sun is stubborn. I feel that the Prime Minister is not worth it. It would be good if the marriage could be arranged, but if not, then forget it!" Seeing Li Ru's greatly disappointed expression, Li Su softly advised. At the same time, it could be considered a disguised excuse for himself.
"General Li Su, do you know that Blazing Sun just took over Hangu Pass a day ago?"
"What?!"
When the news of Yang Rui taking over Hangu Pass reached Hulao Pass, Li Su had already received orders to find Yang Rui to discuss the marriage. After hearing the latest news from Li Ru, Li Su was greatly shocked. He naturally also knew the importance of Hangu Pass.
"Hangu Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is an important path for our side to contact Western Liang. Today, I will personally go to Taigu City to pay a visit to Blazing Sun. I will try to move his heart with great benefits and change his mind with great wealth. I hope that he will be able to help the Prime Minister.
General Li Su will need to go to Luoyang Imperial City. After bringing the Prime Minister's daughter, Little Yi, you will also need to go to Taigu City. Before leaving, the Prime Minister has instructed me to immediately bring Little Yi to see Blazing Sun. I hope that this will be able to move his heart … "
After a moment of silence, Li Ru finally spoke.
Li Ru was Dong Zhuo's son-in-law and number one strategist. Moreover, he was also under Dong Zhuo's orders, so Li Su naturally had no reason to disobey. Thus, the two of them decided to go their separate ways the next morning. One headed to Taigu City to see Yang Rui, while the other planned to move Dong Zhuo's daughter over to Yang Rui. Who knew what Yang Rui would think when he learned of this?
As luck would have it, after Yang Rui took down Taigu City, his position protruded too far into Dong Zhuo's territory. Many of Dong Zhuo's subordinates had come to counterattack. Yang Rui had actually spent two days defending Taigu City and did not move elsewhere.
Dong Zhuo's subordinates numbered in the millions. Although most of them were scattered around Luoyang Imperial City and Hulao Pass, there were still quite a few of them in the counties near Luoyang Imperial City. In the past two days, a large number of Dong Zhuo's subordinates had been following behind Yang Rui's subordinates to reclaim lost territory. This was why Yang Rui had spent so much time in Taigu City.
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