Chapter 226 This Ainst Part of the Plan (1/2)
Chapter 226 – This Ain't Part of the Plan
Like a stray sheep in a pack of wolves, the nobles and their families were captured and slaughtered, one family at a time.
However, many noble families managed to slip through the barricaded city by bribing the gatekeepers and the guards. Kong Zhou, Zhang Miao, and hundreds of nobles broke away from the Capital City before Liu Yu and Wang Yun reached them.
Liu Yu was vexed by the escapees, but his mood became better as he received the reports of the confiscated wealth, provisions, and the arrested mercenaries.
Wang Yun, on the other hand, did not feel so well. The private soldiers of the noble gathered their forces and fought back against the authority, resulting in casualties on both sides.
They managed to win and drove the crooked nobles away, but the arrested troops would only replace the lost soldiers.
…
…
November 17th.
Two days after the non-stop slaughtering and arresting, Wang Yun and Liu Yu Alliance finished cleaning the shameless nobles. From the initial number of 35,000 soldiers, only 25,000 survived after a series of battles.
In exchange for such sacrificed, they captured 25,000 mercenaries from the nobles. These men would be deployed as garrison forces once Dong Zhuo arrived.
Although they managed to secure more soldiers, stress and anger still showed on Wang Yun and Liu Yu's faces as they imagined a different scenario.
Had all the officials contributed their soldiers from the start, they would have had at least 70,000 to 80,000 men to fight Dong Zhuo, which would be enough to defend the city against 100,000 elites. Furthermore, they could have had enough fund to draft militias or hire blacksmiths to craft more weapons for the army. The excess gold could have been used to buy provisions from wandering merchants. Everything would have been better had they forgotten the differences and worked together as one.
”These fools. Just why?” Liu Yu muttered alone as the pain in his heart worsened.
Meanwhile, Wang Yun also looked at the corpses of his colleagues with sad eyes. Some of them were parts of the feint-death group which supported Liu Ping to the throne. A few of them were his friends who took the Imperial Examination together.
”In the end, it's about personal's interest.”
Wang Yun gained enlightenment from this purge. His vision and believes about the Han Dynasty slowly tilted as his worldview widened.
'Every city is filled with these crooks. I have to get rid of them for the country and its people! I don't care what Diao Chan or Heaven is plotting, but I want these people dead!'
”Dong Zhuo … you and your goons as well.”
Wang Yun's eyes flared with killing intents. He was ready for the life-and-death battle against Dong Zhuo Army.
…
Inner Palace, Diao Chan's courtyard.
Wang Yun returned to Diao Chan and reported everything to her, hoping to ask his daughter to contact the snake monster.
”So that's the ruckus was all about? I was thinking that someone tried to riot after you declared me the candidate for the next Empress.”
”If it wasn't for Dong Zhuo, I think they would have rioted already. Thankfully, that fatty decided to invade Luo Yang, and those cowards tugged their tails and ran away.”
”Have you burned or buried the dead bodies?”
”The soldiers are clearing them at the moment. Why do you care about the dead? Does it bother you?”
”Nothing. Just curious…”
”Anyway, can you contact the monster for me? I want to consult her about the incoming battle. I want to have her fight Dong Zhuo with us. You can ask her if she wants anything in return so we can tempt her to work for us permanently.”
Diao Chan raised her eyebrows and shrugged, ”Alright. I'll tell her. But father, I will have to change our plans since you and Liu Yu are allied now.”
”Change of plans? How? We are doing very well right now. We have 50,000 soldiers, and we can get more militias if we spend our gold supplies. Everything is perfectly fine!”
”No, father. You said that several nobles escaped the purge, correct? They will return to their hometown and gather armies to fight for the throne. Dong Zhuo will not be the only one we have to worry about anymore!”
Wang Yun gulped, ”N-No, they won't dare. I think those cowards won't dare to harm us. We have the authority!”
”A temporary authority! In the end, what matters the most is our fists, the army. This is the mistake you and Liu Yu had made in the assembly for asking them to hand over their soldiers. You've made them run before I destroy all of them in the fight with Dong Zhuo!”
”Huh? Wait, you what?”
”No, never mind. We're going the change our plans. Father, once Dong Zhuo reached the Capital, do not fight him.”
”WHAT!?”
”You heard me right. DO NOT FIGHT DONG ZHUO! Surrender the Capital to him along with Liu Yu!”
”NO! WHY DO WE HAVE TO SURRENDER THE CITY TO THAT BASTARD!?” Wang Yun's noise was getting louder as he was mad by Diao Chan's advice.
As the noise might attract unnecessary attention from spies, the little girl summoned her [Wrath Soul] and made it appeared before Wang Yun.
The heinous looking gorgon stared at Wang Yun, who looked back at the monster spirit in terror.
”M-M-MONSTER!!”
”Silence!” Diao Chan used her telepathy to shout into Wang Yun's mind.
The old man was stunned by the sudden mental communication. His black eyes rolled upward as he fainted from the shock. The body of Wang Yun collapsed on the floor.
Diao Chan stared at her foster father. Her eyes and her mind did not reveal the love of this man.
'Useless empty shell. I thought he would be smarter and calmer than this. I guess I have to do this myself.'