Chapter 101
Chapter 101 – Unlucky Jia Xu
May 18th, Xinan County . Dong Zhuo Camp .
After Dong Zhuo and Liu Ping had a talk, Dong Zhuo troops returned back to their camp while Liu Ping remained in front of Hangu Pa.s.s to wait for the answer to his proposal .
The first thing Dong Zhuo had in mind was Jia Xu and the baby prince, he was hesitating if he should get rid of Liu Ping and enthrone this baby prince as the Emperor as planned, or should he accept Liu Ping"s deal .
Both solutions were tempting . He could not decide by himself .
"Wenyou, what should I choose?" Dong Zhuo asked his adviser, Li Ru .
"Both options have pros and cons . If we proceed with the original plan, the good thing is we won"t have to be anyone"s underling . But we will be targeted by all warlords in the land .
However, if we picked the other option, we"ll be Liu Ping"s lapdogs . But we can claim ourselves as a righteous army by helping him kill the eunuchs in the court . Then no lord can openly provoke us while we take control of the Capital . "
"If you were me, which choice will you choose?"
"It will be the latter choice, my lord . "
"But we will have to serve that brat . What"s your reason?"
"It"s simple, my lord . Once you become the prime minister, you will own all armies and all generals who serve Liu Ping as well . You will only need to bow down to one person . Since you didn"t plan to take the throne yourself anyway, why don"t you pretend to be a loyal minister while you do your things behind the scenes?"
Dong Zhuo grinned and chuckled at Li Ru"s suggestion .
"He"s right . I"ll just pretend that I"m a loyal dog while I run the country myself . If one day you want to double-cross me, I"ll just have to fake another righteous cause to s.n.a.t.c.h the throne . "
"Alright, Wenyou . We"ll go with your suggestion . Go and drag Jia Xu and the prince here . We"ll give their heads as tributes to our new boss . "
"Yes, my lord . "
Li Ru bowed and left for the tent of their prisoners . Finally, it was the time to say goodbye to the two .
…
Within the logistic and supply camp, there was a large colorful tent which was usually reserved for an important guest . However, it was used for housing two people inside .
Inside the tent, a rough looking man with a tinge of several white hairs sat on a chair and faced inside while he showed his back to the entrance of the tent .
In his arm, there was a bundle of clothes which wrapped around into an oval shape which was commonly used for warming a baby . The man was holding the cloth bundles as if he was holding a baby inside the tent .
Despite the peace and tranquility of the environment, the man was sweating profusely, and a trail of blood leaked out from the corner of his mouth .
Li Ru walked inside the tent with two of his soldiers . He wanted to talk to this person one last time since Jia Xu was an intelligent scholar .
He felt pity that he had to kill such a talented person . But for his lord"s sake, he had no choice .
"Senior Jia, I"ve come for the prince . Can you hand him over?"
Li Ru spoke as he gazed at the back of the man inside the tent . However, the man did not answer . He simply sat on the same spot while his torso and his arms were shaking .
Li Ru"s frown deepened . It was rude to ignore someone without looking back .
He signaled his two soldiers to surround the man on both sides . Li Ru wanted to intimidate Jia Xu and get his attention .
As ordered, the two soldiers walked to the sides of the a.s.sumed person . After they saw the face of the man, they were shocked by the sight .
The man was bleeding from his six orifices . Blood was dripping out from both of his ears, eyes, nose, and his mouth . Yet, he was still alive . Secondly, the man was not Jia Xu, but he was one of the guards who was dressed up to make him look similar to Jia Xu .
In addition, the baby prince, that should be in his arms, was nothing but a small log that was wrapped around with clothes .
Both Jia Xu and the prince were not here!
Seeing the unusual expression from his soldiers, Li Ru walked up to the disguised man, and he saw the horror on the face of the poor man .
"This … this is a delayed poison! What has happened, soldier!? Talk!"
Li Ru yelled at the disguised man, yet he did not say anything . However, he pointed at the table with his shaking finger, which had a scroll on it .
Li Ru grabbed the scroll and opened it, then a package made from pieces of clothes dropped down . He ignored the package and continued to read .
"Hey, you morons! Do you think you can kill me that easily? Nope! I"m gone, b.i.a.t.c.h! I"ll be taking this baby with me . You can find yourself a new random baby to replace the prince!
By the way, I"ve poisoned the poor sod with my goo poison . The more he moves, the more the poison effect escalates . I also paralyzed him with a few random anesthesias I made . Be sure to feed him the antidote in the package or he will die before the sunset . "
The expression of Li Ru distorted . Crow"s feet on the face of Li Ru extended all over his face as if he was over a hundred-year-old geezer . Veins and lines bulged and his face color turned from red to blue from anger .
"SEARCH!!! FIND THEM! NOW!"
"AS FOR THIS IDIOT, LET HIM DIE!!"
Li Ru screamed as he stomped out of the tent . His voice echoed the entire logistic camp and reached the main camp, which was located a kilometer away .
…
…
The culprit, Jia Xu, was dressing like a servant among a caravan . His face was painted with coal and vegetable oil, and he bent his back forward to look like he was an elder . Twenty percent of his hairs were already white, so he painted them into grey, so he would look like an elder .
He tricked the guard soldiers into drinking his poison, which they thought it was wine, and coaxed them into disguising as himself . Or else, they would die from poisoning . Eleven of the twelve soldiers died by his poison right away while the one remaining survived .
Jia Xu dressed the last survivor to look like himself and made a dummy prince in his arms . After which, he left a trolling message to satisfy his ego and snuck out of the camp by disguising as a guard soldier .
He managed to locate a caravan which was heading toward the yellow river . Then he disguised himself as a helpless old man with a grandson to hitch a ride .
As a result, he was taken in by the people on the back of the caravan .
Beside him at the moment, a young mother was breastfeeding two babies . One was her child while the other one was a child that came with Jia Xu .
Both of them were sitting in an open cart with many housewives and elders on board . These people were also a part of the caravan soldiers" family members .
"Such a cute little boy . How old is he?"
"He"s probably a few months . I forgot when he was born . "
"Oh, where is his mother?"
"His parents are dead . They were killed by bandits . I picked him up to adopt him, but as you can see . I"m getting old . "
Jia Xu spoke in a weak voice as if he was so exhausted in life, which made everybody nearby looked at him in sympathy and pity .
"Then you should come with us!"
Jia Xu raised his eyebrows as he gazed to these people .
"Excuse me for asking, but where are you all going? I see that there are many soldiers escorting us and many supplies . It was unusual for a trading caravan . "
The people on the cart smiled . An elder woman who looked like she was the leader of this group answered his question .
"All the carriages and carts here are Zhang Ji"s servants" family members . Lord Zhang Ji has been entrusted with a mission, so we have to go with them . "
Jia Xu opened his eyes wide in shock . He just escaped from Dong Zhuo Camp . However, he ran into one of Dong Zhuo Army"s logistic groups afterward . He could not help but curse at his fate and luck .
"What rotten luck I have . What kind of karma did I do in my previous life to suffer like this? I want a place to live in peace, dammit!"
His brain worked in a high-speed the moment he understood his position . He continued to think and calculate while his mouth opened up and asked for more information .
"I see that we"re crossing the Yellow River, but where are we heading?"
The elder woman smiled and answered .
"We"re going to Julu City . "