Although Boss Rose stayed behind and asked Yang Rui to guide her with the excuse of helping and learning, Yang Rui didn't know what her real purpose was. However, Yang Rui wouldn't be affected by her presence.
Overall, the plot of Dong Zhuo's Rebellion was a little slow. Even though Yang Rui had a few ideas before, he might still end up starting from Hongnong County, which was in line with the player organizations' wishes.
Before Dong Zhuo moved the capital, Yang Rui had thought of using the fleet to rush to Chang 'an in advance and take over the city, or make arrangements near Chang' an City. However, Chang 'an City was almost abandoned at that time, and there were no decent cities around it. Yang Rui also had to think about taking over Luoyang, so he gave up on the idea.
In the current situation, there were only two ways for Yang Rui to effectively participate in the plot. The first was to attack the west of Tongguan, where Chang 'an City was located, and take over the city. It was similar to what happened near Luoyang, but it was much more difficult. The second was to fulfill Boss Rose's wish and cooperate with the player organizations around Hongnong.
On the surface, Boss Rose said that she was doing a mission, but in truth, she stayed behind to fight for more cooperation with Yang Rui. On the other hand, it was very likely that she was fighting for a city in Henan. Yang Rui was aware of this. However, just as Yang Rui had decided before, even if there was a chance, he would not help the player organizations so easily!
Thus, before the sun rose the next morning, Yang Rui brought Gao Shun, Zhang Liao, and a thousand Fifth Grade Iron Guards out of River Yin City's south gate and rushed toward Luoyang Imperial City.
This way, he could avoid Boss Rose's sight, but the situation of the heroes of Luoyang was also about to reach a critical point. If Yang Rui did not show up in time, he might miss some important matters.
He said he was going to Luoyang. In reality, among all the heroes, only Yuan Shao, Liu Dai, and a few others still had troops stationed within Luoyang Imperial City. The other vassals had either left early or stationed their troops around Luoyang Imperial City for various reasons. This included the East County Governor, Qiao Mao, who had been forced by Liu Dai.
Qiao Mao had already explained this in his secret letter, telling Yang Rui the exact location of his troops. Furthermore, according to Qiao Mao, due to the various vassals having doubts about each other, they had already set the meeting point to the east of the valley gate and the southeast of Northern Mang Mountain. This was also the reason why Yang Rui did not bring too many guards with him.
Qiao Mao must have felt that his safety was threatened, so he revealed a lot of information to Yang Rui in his secret letter to Yang Rui. As for whether or not he should help Qiao Mao, Yang Rui had already made up his mind after some consideration. If it was within his capabilities and wouldn't cause too much damage, he would lend a helping hand.
The East County was adjacent to Taishan County. Whether it was in terms of population, number of cities, or degree of prosperity, it was much better than Taishan County. Although Yang Rui currently did not have the strength to touch this area, it was still necessary to find a stable ally in this area.
And Qiao Mao's current situation was a good opportunity for Yang Rui to form a good relationship with him. If Qiao Mao was lost, the East County might fall into the hands of others, and it was very likely that it would be the ambitious and ruthless Cao Cao. This was a result that Yang Rui was not willing to see for the time being.
Qiao Mao's troops were stationed twenty li east of Luoyang Imperial City. It was right next to Northern Meadows Prime Minister Bao Xin's camp. In fact, regarding Yuan Shao's alliance with Liu Dai, Northern Meadows Prime Minister Bao Xin was also worried. Northern Ji Prime Minister Bao Xin also had some hidden worries. Qiao Mao grasped this point and set up camp next to Bao Xin's. He also tried his best to maintain a good relationship with Bao Xin. At least on the surface, he could borrow the other party's momentum.
This was not the first time that Yang Rui had walked the road from Heyin County to North Mang Mountain. As a result, it only took him a little more than two hours to reach the southern foot of North Mang Mountain with Gao Shun, Zhang Liao, and the 1,000 Iron Guards. They continued to head southeast and soon found Qiao Mao's camp.
"Lord Blazing Sun, please come in!" When Qiao Mao heard that Yang Rui had arrived, he came out to greet him from afar. He had an expectant look on his face as he greeted Yang Rui.
Qiao Mao had already sent the secret letter several days ago. Afterwards, it was like a stone sinking into the ocean. He did not receive any response from Yang Rui. At this time, Yang Rui coming to visit represented a kind of attitude. Qiao Mao was seventy to eighty percent sure of this. If not, Yang Rui could have ignored Qiao Mao's request for help. It would have saved him a lot of trouble.
"Governor Qiao Mao, please." Facing Qiao Mao's eager attitude, Yang Rui stepped forward and helped him into the tent. Just this action made Qiao Mao feel more at ease. Yang Rui's actions had already made his attitude clear.
"Governor Qiao Mao may not know, but there were some important matters in Qing Province that I had to deal with recently. After I returned, I found out about Governor Qiao Mao's situation and hurriedly rushed over. Fortunately, it seems that I am not too late." When they entered the tent, Yang Rui explained a little to Qiao Mao.
Although Qiao Mao was a little confused, he could not imagine how Yang Rui could travel to Qing Province in just a few days. He even thought that Yang Rui might be making excuses. However, this was not the main point. Yang Rui chose to meet him in the end. This result was enough.
After the two of them entered the tent, Qiao Mao ordered the servants to serve them tea and wine. Naturally, a warm reception was inevitable. During the banquet, Qiao Mao couldn't wait to talk about the current situation and the predicament he was facing. From his expression, it was obvious that he urgently needed Yang Rui to express his attitude.
"If what Governor Qiao Mao said is true, then Liu Dai's actions are indeed too rude. It really goes against our alliance at that time. If Liu Dai still wants to endanger Governor Qiao Mao's life and take over Governor Qiao Mao's territory and strength, it would be too dishonorable of him not to take into account the many years he spent with Governor Qiao Mao into consideration! "
Yang Rui naturally saw Qiao Mao's urgency, so he followed his wishes and immediately expressed his attitude.
"Governor Blazing Sun is indeed able to distinguish between right and wrong. Liu Dai is indeed a wolf with wild ambitions! He is definitely not a benevolent person! As far as I know, when the Alliance Leader was elected, although Liu Dai was very enthusiastic in front of Governor Blazing Sun, he is a loyal ally of Yuan Shao and has never truly supported Governor Blazing Sun! "
After learning of Yang Rui's attitude, Qiao Mao used his anger to reveal several secrets that Yang Rui did not know about.
"… Back then, Yuan Shao and Liu Dai had also tried to rope me in. However, because the two of them were after something big, they actually wanted the territory of Ji Province's Provincial Governor Han Fu!
At that time, I was vigilant. Since the two of them could conspire against Ji Province, they could also conspire against the East Commandery. Thus, I had many misgivings. Most of the time, I was perfunctory with Yuan Shao and Liu Dai. The only thing I really did for Yuan Shao was to fake an imperial edict.
Perhaps this was the reason why Liu Dai and I had a grudge. The most direct reason was that Liu Dai tried to persuade me to station my troops in a county within Henan's Yin Province, but I did not give him a reply! "
"Oh? There was such a thing? "Yang Rui asked in a timely manner.
"There was indeed such a thing! At that time, I had forgotten that Blazing Sun had already left Luoyang's Imperial City due to some matters.
Because Luoyang's area was already sparsely populated, the heroes spent a lot of money every day. Thus, Alliance Master Yuan Shao discussed with everyone and ordered the nearby vassals to station their troops in a county within Henan's Yin Province to prevent Dong Zhuo from making a comeback. As for Yuan Shao and a few others, they used the fact that their territories were far away as an excuse not to participate in the stationing of troops.
Luoyang and its surrounding counties, excluding Heyin, have almost become ghost towns. It is impossible to station troops there for a long period of time. This move is clearly to exhaust the strength of some of the vassals. Naturally, I would not agree to this move!
Moreover, as the Provincial Governor of Yan Province, Blazing Sun was not asked to station his troops there because of his close relationship with Yuan Shao. On the other hand, Yuan Shao arranged two counties for Governor Blazing Sun. I'm afraid that Governor Blazing Sun still does not know about this, right? This is simply preposterous! "
Qiao Mao explained indignantly. He even revealed that Yuan Shao had arranged a mission for Yang Rui.
However, when Qiao Mao's words fell into Yang Rui's ears, it caused Yang Rui's eyes to light up. Previously, Boss Rose had mentioned that he wanted Yang Rui to fight for a county within Henan's Yin Province. Who would have thought that Yuan Shao would just happen to mention that he would be assigned two counties!
"As far as I know, if there is no official appointment and the county lacks Liegeman for a long period of time, I'm afraid that the county won't be able to function normally. How can you talk about stationing troops there?" Yang Rui asked in confusion.
"Governor Blazing Sun's words are extremely correct. If there is no official seal or appointment document from the county magistrate, and the number of Liegeman in the county continuously drops below 100,000 for a month, the county will gradually close its functions. This is an exception to this, except for the cities built by the Inhumans.
However, Yuan Shao does have some capable subordinates who are able to forge official seals and appointment documents of various county magistrates. Moreover, it is difficult to distinguish between the real ones and the fake ones. They can maintain the normal functions of the county without being abandoned. This way, he can station troops there for a long period of time. Hmph, it's just a cheap trick. In reality, it's the crime of deceiving the emperor … "Qiao Mao explained angrily.
Yang Rui, on the other hand, couldn't help but secretly praise him. He didn't expect Yuan Shao to have such an evil trick. Didn't that mean that if he, Yuan Shao, wanted to obtain a piece of territory, he could just make a fake document, radish seal, or something like that and directly take it for himself?
"Yuan Shao actually has such a method? Wouldn't the world be his to take? "Yang Rui directly asked the question in his heart.
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