In the dark of night, in Yuan Shao's barracks, he was sitting opposite Bao Xin and Cao Cao drinking.

The wine and dishes on the low table in front of him are very simple, a bottle of pear wine and a few plates of special side dishes from Diaoyutai Restaurant. Yuan Shao and the three of them did not eat separately, but sat around a low table like in the Diaoyutai Restaurant.

Bao Xin, Yuan Shao, and Cao Cao were all childhood friends, and he was originally recruited by He Jin as a cavalry captain, and was ordered to return to his hometown to recruit soldiers. After he recruited a thousand people, when he returned to Dagao, He Jin had already died in the Jiade Hall coup, and Bao Xin rushed back to Luoyang to catch up with Dong Zhuo's entry into Beijing.

The three of them drank here, which meant to give Bao Xin the wind, but the three of them were worried about the current situation in Luoyang, and naturally there was not much leisure and elegance during the banquet, and they all frowned.

Bao Xinxin returned to Luoyang, but he still had a clear understanding of Dong Zhuo's threat to the imperial court, so he persuaded Yuan Shao to get rid of Dong Zhuo, and said to Yuan Shao: "Dong Zhuo is a wolf with ambitions and different ambitions, and now he has a heavy army in his hands and enters Beijing, and he will definitely plot against him." We should strike first, take advantage of his long journey, the soldiers are tired, and when the foothold is not stable, he suddenly sends troops to attack and kill Dong Zhuo, and the big thing will be done! ”

Dong Zhuo's Xiliang Iron Cavalry is one of the strongest armies in the world and has been in battle for a long time. The Xiyuan Army under Yuan Shao's command belonged to the Beijing Army, except for Jiang Qi's army, which was separated from him, there were not many people who had really fought, so although Yuan Shao had an advantage over Dong Zhuo in numbers, he did not dare to act rashly. Faced with Bao Xin's suggestion, Yuan Shao had no choice but to say: "The imperial court has just experienced the rebellion of the Ten Standing Servants, and it has not yet stabilized, so we can't act rashly. ”

Cao Cao on the side saw that Yuan Shao was timid and indecisive, and hurriedly persuaded: "If you don't take it at this time, I'm afraid of being harmed." We should make up our minds to take advantage of the opportunity and not be afraid. ”

Yuan Shao listened to Cao Cao's unkindness, and couldn't help but look a little displeased. When I sent a sergeant to Diaoyutai to buy wine just now, because pear wine is rarely taken out, except for people who are famous all over the world or hold great power, few people can drink it outside the restaurant. So the restaurant didn't sell it to them at first, even if Yuan Shao's name was mentioned, it didn't work. But when Cao Cao's name was mentioned, the guys in the restaurant suddenly changed their appearance. Not only did he happily sell them pear wine, but he also gave them several plates of the restaurant's special dishes. This made Yuan Shao very angry, in his heart that Cao Cao was just a eunuch, he was despised by scholars, and he relied on his own support to get to where he is today, but now his fame is even greater than himself, Yuan Shao couldn't help but become jealous of Cao Cao.

So on Cao Cao's suggestion, Yuan Shao just said coldly: "Meng De is cowardly. ”

Cao Cao and Bao Xin saw that Yuan Shao did not listen to his persuasion, and they each shook their heads and sighed in their hearts. After a night banquet, everyone parted unhappily, and the three of them went back to their stations.

**********

Compared with Yuan Shao's wine banquet that was cold and unhappy, Dong Zhuo's banquet for Wei Yi and Jiang Qi was very lively.

Not only was Li Ru and other soldiers of the Xiliang Army accompanied, Dong Zhuo also invited a professional singing and dancing girl from Diaoyutai Restaurant to help the fun.

After moving into this "Dilong Residence", Dong Zhuo and his family basically don't have to buy anything, the furniture inside is ready-made, and many things Dong Zhuo and others can't name, most of which are copied from Diaoyutai Restaurant.

Nowadays, Diaoyutai Restaurant has become the vane of fashion in Luoyang City, every time something new is introduced, it will be sought after by the wealthy nobles, which also makes Luoyang's handicraft industry has been greatly developed, many craftsmen have made a fortune by imitating Diaoyutai things, and some ingenious people have begun to innovate and develop independently.

Chairs and high tables have become the most commonly used furniture for Luoyang residents, although some people are still accustomed to sitting on knees or eating separately, but the emergence of these new living utensils has begun to gradually change the living habits of people in this era, starting from Luoyang, the capital division, and then gradually affecting the surrounding areas of Luoyang, and finally even spreading to the whole country.

Although Dong Zhuo and the others are not very accustomed to the things here, this does not affect their satisfaction here. But the cautious Li Ru still drove away all the original servants in the mansion and found a group of newcomers to wait for Dong Zhuo.

Soon after settling down, Dong Zhuo immediately sent someone to invite Wei Yi and Jiang Qi over for a drink. Dong Zhuojun naturally did not have any good cooks in the army, and all the wine and food were bought in Diaoyutai, the most famous restaurant in Luoyang.

When Dong Zhuo sent people to Diaoyutai to buy wine and food, he was personally received by Chen Haonan, the owner of Diaoyutai. Not only did they respond to their requests, but they also sent a group of singing and dancing girls to liven up the atmosphere.

Later, Li Ru heard that the wine in Diaoyutai was difficult to take, not to mention that there were dancing girls who came to perform. Thinking that this was Diaoyutai's intention to befriend them, he prepared a heavy gift and sent it over as a thank you. Although Chen Haonan and his Diaoyutai in Luoyang may not necessarily help, Li Ru's character has always been that everything that can be used must be used. If you can't use it for the time being, you should also keep it for later use.

During the banquet, the glasses were changed, and the chips were staggered. Xiliang men are good at drinking, but Wei Yi and Jiang Qi's alcohol consumption is not low, (this is all practiced by Liu Wei, who is good at drinking.) After a few rounds of toasting, everyone was familiar with the wine. The dancing girls of Diaoyutai are graceful and colorful, with superb dancing skills, dancing like the wind blowing willows, and swallows flying and fluttering. Many Xiliang generals showed animalistic eyes, if Dong Zhuo hadn't learned that the background of Diaoyutai had something to do with Empress Dowager He and Wei Yi, and strictly ordered his subordinates not to make trouble when his foothold was not stable, these people would have rushed up and tore the dresses of those dancing girls.

Despite this, Dong Zhuo himself is hot. It's just that it's not good to break his military orders in front of his subordinates, so he has to suppress his desire in his heart. He has quietly ordered someone to go to Diaoyutai to recruit the rumored dancing girl who is good with Liu Wei, although this woman may not be alluring to the country and the city, but it is very symbolic to him. Today he forcibly occupied the emperor's courtyard and occupied the emperor's lover, his words ......

The long-accumulated ** and ambition in Dong Zhuo's heart are getting hotter and hotter.

Li Ru didn't drink much on the side, but observed Wei Yi and Jiang Qi coldly. Jiang Qi has a calm personality and is not good at talking, but he is quite righteous towards Wei Yi. And Wei Yi talked and laughed vigorously, did not refuse those who came, and always accepted Dong Zhuo's bribes in full. Although he seems to be greedy for small profits, Li Ru feels that what he wants is not small. It's just that the hole cards haven't been shown yet, so I can only keep testing and waiting. Now that the situation they are facing is grim, Li Ru has to act cautiously. Although he didn't have a completely confident attitude towards the two of them, judging from the current situation, he had to rely on the support of the two.

At the end of the dance, Dong Zhuo waved his hand and ordered the dancer to retreat. Raising the wine lord, he was slightly drunk and said to Wei Yi and Jiang Qi: "The customs of the capital are really incomparable to the border of Xiliang, and the sound of singing and dancing is intoxicating." ”

Wei Yi laughed and said: "General Dong guards the border for the imperial court, and he has worked hard and made great achievements, and he is really the pillar of my Han Dynasty. Now that I have come to Luoyang, I should rest for a few more days to comfort my hard work. ”

Li Ru answered on the side: "My lord led the army into Beijing, and he was summoned to King Qin. However, the court officials were dissatisfied with my lord and wanted to slaughter him as soon as possible. I wait in the capital all day long, how can I have leisure to play. ”

Wei Yi slapped the table dissatisfiedly when he heard what Li Ru said, and said angrily: "These scholars in the court, the corpses are vegetarian, and they don't understand the way to govern the country, but they only know how to deceive and kill loyal ministers. General Dong was called to get rid of thieves, he was above board, and he held a strong army in the world, why should he care about these relatives and villains? ”

Dong Zhuo sighed: "Open guns are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are difficult to defend. Although my Xiliang men are brave and good at fighting, but the world is sinister, and we are dedicated to the country, for fear of being taken advantage of by others' tricks. ”

Wei Yi said with sympathetic eyes: "General Dong is loyal to the country and unyielding in the face of adversity, Yi really admires. If General Dong wants to help him with anything, Yi will not hesitate.

Hearing Wei Yi say this, Dong Zhuo hurriedly said, "There is indeed something that needs Captain Jiang's help. ”

Jiang Qi and Wei Yi glanced at each other, and Jiang Qi said, "General Dong has anything to order." ”

Dong Zhuo said: "I was in a hurry to come to King Jingqin to get rid of the thieves, and I only brought 3,000 "flying bears" to come in the starry night, and there were still 200,000 people in armor who arrived immediately, and there were countless people and horses. I was afraid that it would be inconvenient for so many people to enter and leave the capital, so I wanted to discuss with Captain Jiang whether I could borrow our army to garrison Shangximen so as to meet the coming soldiers. ”

Listening to what Dong Zhuo said, Jiang Qi and Wei Yi both despised Dong Zhuo in their hearts that Dong Zhuo would really bluff, not to mention the understanding of Dong Zhuojun according to the intelligence, just knowing that Liangzhou was remote and poor, he understood that there were no more people and horses at all, and it was not easy for Dong Zhuo to feed an army of 50,000, where else could he get 200,000 armor?

Although he thought so in his heart, Jiang Qi still smiled and said, "What's so difficult about this!" In order to calm the people's minds and prevent small disturbances, our army stationed in Xizhimen will prevent small disturbances. It's just that the situation in the capital is complicated, and General Dong is willing to help me, but I can't ask for it. ”

Jiang Qi agreed so happily, which surprised Dong Zhuo and Li Ru. Although the suspicious Li Ru doubted whether Jiang Qi had ulterior motives, this matter was beneficial to them and harmless, and they really couldn't think of Jiang Qi's purpose, and this thought only flashed in his mind. Moreover, going to the West Gate is indeed very important to whether they can show their strength in Luoyang, so they can't refuse.

Dong Zhuo didn't think as much as Li Ru thought, and he was very happy to be able to easily get the West Gate, and then took advantage of the situation and said: "Captain Jiang is heroic and righteous, and Zhuo Ming is grateful to him. Now that the situation is chaotic, it is the time for those who have aspirations to show themselves, and Zhuo is willing to work hand in hand with Wei Shangfang and Jiang Xiaowei to seek great things. ”

Dong Zhuo's intention to recruit was already very obvious, Wei Yi and Jiang Qi fell silent at the same time, Jiang Qi looked at Wei Yi, as if waiting for his answer.

Wei Yi pondered for a while, then said with a smile: "General Dong is very kind, and I am grateful." It's just that my rank is low, and my ability is mediocre, I'm afraid it won't help the general, and it will be inappropriate to add to the stumbling blocks. ”

Jiang Qi heard Wei Yi say this, and also politely declined.

Dong Zhuo saw that the two of them immediately rejected his sincere invitation, and his face was a little unhappy, but just now Jiang Qi gave him such a big benefit, and he didn't have a seizure, so he had to stop talking angrily. The atmosphere at the banquet became awkward for a while.

Li Ru knew that this was not a good time to recruit Wei Yi and Jiang Qi, and he was afraid that it would be difficult for everyone to act after they became stiff, so he raised his wine lord and saluted: "Why should Wei Shangfang and Jiang Xiaowei be arrogant, you need to know the princes and generals, rather have a kind?" My father-in-law has always been a meritocracy, regardless of his background. Wei Shangfang, Jiang Xiaowei is probably not very familiar with my father-in-law, and the more you get close in the future, you will understand the 'benefits' of my father-in-law." ”

"General Dong is a hero in the world, and when I understand, I will naturally get closer to the general in the future." Wei Yi said with a smile.

Dong Zhuo also understood the meaning of Li Ru's round, and knew that he needed to take his time to rein in Wei Yi and Jiang Qi, so he changed out a smile and said with a hearty smile: "This is very much in line with my wishes, come, drink!" ”

Dong Zhuoxiang raised the wine jue, and Wei Yi and Jiang Qi also raised the wine jue in their hands at the same time. The two of them glanced at each other, and both nodded secretly in their hearts, the development of things was almost exactly the same as Liu Bian's plan, and the Xiliang Army, including Li Ru, did not realize that they were walking into Liu Bian's calculations step by step.

To be continued