Chapter 357
Chapter 357 – Book 3 Epilogue
December, 187 A . D .
Tong, Li Feihong, and other officers returned to Ye City to attend Hua s.h.i.+ and He Xing funeral .
Kong Rong and his subordinates also visited Ye City to attend this funeral as well . They were shocked and disbelieved at first, but they still came here, ensuring their stance as Tong"s new subordinates .
Lu Zhi, Zhao Yun, Tian Yu, and all former Gongsun Zan"s soldiers also attended the funeral .
While Tong was sitting alone, watching the cold dead bodies of his wives before the cremation ceremony, Zhao Yun and Tian Yu knelt down before Tong .
Zhao Yun spoke first, "I"ve failed my duty . I"m here for my punishment . "
Tian Yu also knelt and slammed his head on the floor, "I"ve failed to protect her majesty . I"m here to receive my death!"
Tong did not speak to both of them . He simply stared down at these two future legends with a sad look .
While they were in silence, waiting for Tong to speak, Liu Xie ran to Tong, crying and hugging him .
"Papa, mama is dead! Mama is dead!"
Zhang Min, Hua s.h.i.+"s daughter, also ran to Tong . Both of them wailed, which their crying voice silent all funeral attendees . All of them watched Tong with sympathy and pity as this was the hardest time for Tong"s family .
Tong hugged his adopted son and his daughter tight, "They are resting in Heaven, Bohe, Min"er . They will become angels, and they will watch over us from above . "
The crying did not stop . Instead, it worsened as the children were too young to control their emotion .
As his children did not stop crying, tears flowed from Tong"s eyes as he also cried along with them .
An hour later, they exhausted themselves and fell asleep . Tong pa.s.sed both his children to caretakers and turned to the two men, who were still kowtowing on the ground .
Every onlooker was expecting a harsh scold from Tong . Even Jia Xu believed that Tong might kill them out of anger .
With traces of tears on his face, Tong also knelt and kowtowed to Zhao Yun and Tian Yu .
"Thank you for saving my son . "
The onlooking crowd was shocked . Since Tong was a respected figure which should be equal to their emperor, he should not bow or kneel to anyone .
Jia Xu and Xun Yu rushed to Tong"s sides, trying to get him up .
"What are you doing, my lord!? You will sooner or later be an emperor . You can"t bow your head to anyone!"
"You"re her majesty"s prince consort! You can"t bow to ordinary soldiers!"
Zhao Yun and Tian Yu also gazed at Tong in disbelief . They knew about Tong"s status, which they had prepared for capital punishment, yet Tong thanked them?
"No, I did what I thought it has to be done . "
Tong shook off Jia Xu and Xun Yu"s hands and knelt before Zhao Yuan and Tian Yu again .
"Thank you for saving my son . "
Still shocked, Zhao Yun"s voice cracked, "B-But we failed our duties . Her Majesty was …"
Tong raised his head up, looking at them with a smile . However, his teary eyes revealed his thought .
"Had both of you not been there, Liu Xie would have died along with his mother . "
"But her …"
"You didn"t fail your duties . Both my wife and my Liu Xie were their targets, and you protected him . Thank you for saving my son . "
Tong kowtowed again . Although Tong had stopped crying, all onlookers thought that he was crying while he was bowing his head .
Zhao Yun also had the same thought . Because of guilt and various emotions, Zhao Yun"s eyes became moist .
Tian Yu was more open than Zhao Yun . He wept as he slammed his forehead on the ground again, "I"m sorry! I should have been more careful! I"m so sorry!"
It had become a weird situation where three young men were kowtowing at the others .
Tong raised his head to look at Zhao Yun and Tian Yu with a bitter smile . He raised them up and hugged them .
"Thank you for coming back alive . "
Zhao Yun could no longer hold his tears . He sobbed and cried as he leaned on Tong"s shoulder . Tian Yu was the same, wailing without shame .
From this day, Zhao Yun and Tian Yu vowed in their heart that they would not repeat the same mistake again .
Zhao Yun engraved an oath within his mind, "Till death, I"ll use this life for him! I"ll become stronger, and I"ll be his strongest s.h.i.+eld! No one else under my care will die as long as I live!"
Tian Yu also established his career goal, "I"ll redeem myself . I"ll learn more about tactics and strategies, so no one can ambush my troops and me again! I"ll be a guardian general that stands firm in all kinds of adversaries!"
Tong, Tian Yu, and Zhao Yun had not realized this yet . All scholars who witnessed their actions took notes at these events, and they planned to write it in their records .
Some of them thought that Tong was a pretender, faking crying to win the hearts of the talented youths .
Some believed that Tong was a kind-hearted man who forgave Zhao Yun and Tian Yu"s crimes for neglecting duties .
The rest interpreted it as Tong showed mercy on his junior disciples as all of them studied under Lu Zhi .
Among the crowd, only Li Feihong and Te Langpu looked at them with complicated emotion . Tong had stolen the role of Liu Bei and tamed Zhao Yun in a similar manner, which was a complete coincident .
Dong Bai, w.a.n.g Yun, and Diaochan attended the funeral later, but they did not approach Tong . As their status could complicate this entire scene, they withdrew back to Friday"s resident, waiting for the right opportunity to speak with Tong again .
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After the event, w.a.n.g Men was executed in public .
Jia Xu took this chance to propaganda the death of He Xing and Hua s.h.i.+, turning it into a grand conspiracy of the Sun Clan and Gongsun Clan .
Because of Jia Xu"s vicious tongue, the civilians were in an uproar, cursing and swearing at Sun Fang and Gongsun Du . As a byproduct of such move, more strong men joined the military with their free-will, vowing to avenge for the empress and Tong"s wife .
The emotion spread from the inner city to outer city areas . Then, they reached other towns through the words of mouths, gossips, and spies, escalating the sadness to anger, and from anger to hatred .
By the end of December, Han-royalist officers in Julu, Ye, Zhongshan, Jinyang, and even Beihei of Kong Rong were in an uproar, requesting their governors to dispatch troops, so they could partic.i.p.ate in a campaign and revenge for the empress .
Because of the news, Cao Cao and other warlords became aware of the He Xing"s death, which changed their perspective about this country"s power struggle .
All eyes were on Tong once again as they waited for Tong"s decision .
To all warlords, Liu Xie was the only one who could succeed the throne . If Tong took the throne, they would frame him as a tyrant traitor of Han, and all lords would have the legitimate reason to form a nation-wide coalition against Tong . Afterward, the throne would be available for grasp, which would become their opportunity .
On the other hand, if Tong allowed Liu Xie to take the throne, they could still reap benefits from the young emperor . By bribing or showing Liu Xie with women and gold, they could sway this child and manipulate him into issuing imperial decrees, which would favor their status .
The threat of Xiongnu had not been solved, yet everyone was looking for an opportunity to seize power .
This was a period of chaos .