The four people discussed their strategy and left one after another.

After Yan Zhong returned, Dong Zhuo summoned him to discuss matters with Li Ru the next day.

In the hall, Dong Zhuo was sitting at the table with an expressionless face. This time he resigned as General of Hussars. The civil and military officials in the court all agreed. Many people requested that he be transferred out of Luoyang to fight against the rebellion elsewhere.

Empress Dowager Dong kept her promise and appointed him as Taiwei, but secretly she won over the powerful people in Guanzhong and other places, rewarded them with official positions, and assigned them positions.

Empress Dowager Dong made no secret of sharing Dong Zhuo's power. Not only did she promote Dong Cheng to the rank of Hussars General, but she also made Guanzhong powerful men take orders from him.

You must know that Dong Cheng's original strength was not weak. He controlled more than 20,000 people in the Southern Army. Cao Cao and others were under his command. He was also in charge of the palace guards. His total force was close to 40,000 people, which was even stronger than Dong Zhuo's current army.

If the powerful people in Guanzhong also attached themselves to Dong Cheng, then Dong Zhuo would only have his own Xiliang army and some Bingzhou troops left, totaling no more than 10,000 people.

After Dong Cheng annexed the powerful soldiers and horses in Guanzhong, he had more than 60,000 people in one leap.

To weaken Dong Zhuo in this way, Empress Dowager Dong almost didn't need to be reminded by Dong Zhuo's advisers, she could think of it with her toes.

At that time, will we give up a nephew with more than 60,000 soldiers under his command, and let a distant nephew with only 10,000 soldiers under his command be the general who commands the world's troops?

No matter how much you think about it, you know it's impossible.

Therefore, Dong Zhuo knew very well that the illusion he had at the beginning and the promise of Empress Dowager Dong would turn into a dream like dewdrops in the morning.

My distant aunt who is from a cheap family.

This is to break one's promise and have no intention of appointing him Dong Zhuo, but to favor his own nephew.

Thinking of this, Dong Zhuo's face became even more serious, and he said angrily to his two advisers: "Chenghan, Wenyou, have you thought of any countermeasures?"

Li Ru, with a pair of dark circles under his eyes, muttered: "Ming Gong, I have been thinking about it all night. If we want to take action, we can only consider it from both internal and external directions."

“How to explain it internally, and how to explain it externally?”

Dong Zhuo asked.

"Internally, naturally we will find a breakthrough from the palace."

Li Ru said: "I have thought about it for a long time. To do this kind of thing, we can only let the people around the Queen Mother do it. But there are no people around her. I originally thought that the interior of the palace was monolithic, but suddenly I had an idea.

Now, I thought of someone."

"who?"

"Queen Mother He."

"she?"

Dong Zhuo thought: "You are right. She is the only one in the palace who wishes that the Empress Dowager would die. But it was I who suggested to the Empress Dowager that she should depose the emperor, and she ended up in this situation. I am afraid she also wishes for me.

Death, Wenyou thinks she will agree to this?"

Yan Zhong on the side looked at Li Ru in surprise. Unexpectedly, he, like Chen Mu, also saw the key point of Queen Mother He.

It seems that the heroes think alike.

But if you think about it carefully, it's not too difficult to think of Queen Mother He.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

In the entire palace, Empress Dowager He was the only one who was the enemy of Empress Dowager Dong. She had been enemies for many years and both wanted each other to die.

It was only natural that Li Ru, like Chen Mu, thought about her at the same time.

"I don't know if she will agree to it, but I'll see if she gives it a try."

Li Ru stroked his goatee on his chin and said with a smile: "Yong'an Palace is located outside the Dongming Gate of the Imperial Palace. It is guarded by the city gate captain. It is not as heavily guarded as the Imperial Palace. We can send people in to investigate without telling the Queen Mother He.

I just ask her if she agrees. If she is willing to help us, that would be the best. If she is not willing, our details will not be revealed."

In fact, when Dong Zhuo thought about it, what use could a deposed Queen Mother be?

He was powerless and had no way to approach the Empress Dowager.

But having a way is better than having no way. He nodded reluctantly and said: "Then follow Wenyou's method. Chenghan, what do you think?"

He looked at Yan Zhong, his eyes full of hope.

Yan Zhong smiled bitterly and said: "Actually, I have the same idea as Wen You. We can only find a solution from Queen Mother He."

This is a very real problem.

Generally, if you want to break through from the inside and bribe internal spies, it is a long-term project.

For example, if you like someone and want to bribe him, you have to understand his preferences. If he is greedy for money, give him money, if he is lustful, give him a beautiful woman, and you have to do it step by step.

But time is urgent, and the difference is only a matter of one or two months. How can Dong Zhuo have so much time to slowly bribe the people behind Empress Dowager Dong?

So I can only find someone who is ready-made and hates Empress Dowager Dong extremely.

And who in the palace hated Empress Dowager Dong the most?

Isn’t it Queen Mother He?

Therefore, when Li Ru and Chen Mu thought of Queen Mother He, it was not a smart choice, but the only choice.

But Chen Mu's advantage is that he also has Wang Jun to help him with ideas.

As a regular eunuch who was familiar with the internal affairs of the palace, Wang Jun also proposed a key figure, Guo Sheng, in addition to Queen Mother He.

This is where he is stronger than Li Ru.

Hearing that Yan Zhong had the same idea as Li Ru, Dong Zhuo said disappointedly: "Besides this, is there no other way?"

He always felt that Queen Mother He was a bit unreliable. How could a Queen Mother who had lost her power poison her?

Li Ru said: "After all, Queen Mother He has been in the palace for so many years, and she may be able to think of a better way than we think. We only need to find her as a key figure, and she will be responsible for the specific implementation. We just need to

Promise her that if she can succeed, we will support her to ascend to the throne and help King Hongnong restore. I believe that with He's ruthlessness and greed, he will not let this opportunity go."

Yan Zhong added: "It is well known that the Empress Dowager He and the Empress Dowager Dong are at odds. The Empress Dowager Dong also deposed the son of the Empress Dowager He and made King Chenliu the emperor. If she can kill the Empress Dowager Dong and support her son to ascend the throne again, she will

I'm afraid ten thousand people are willing, so don't worry about that, and I heard that Guo Sheng is still alive, so she's not completely without anyone to use."

"Guo Sheng?"

Dong Zhuo thought about it carefully and asked tentatively: "Ten permanent attendants?"

"yes."

Yan Zhong nodded: "This man is from He Jin's hometown. It was he who recommended Empress Dowager He when she entered the palace. Now Guo Sheng is the eunuch Zuo Cheng in the inner province and is responsible for meals."

Dong Zhuo's eyes shone and he nodded repeatedly: "This is a key figure. If he comes to poison, there is a great chance."

"Unfortunately, from beginning to end, I felt that the risk of poisoning was too great."

Li Ru sighed: "The smell of poison is very strong and difficult to cover up. Even if you can find the right person to poison, the possibility of success is too small. So I think there should not be too much hope for breaking through from the inside. The main thing is

It’s still mainly external.”

"Not really."

Yan Zhong smiled slightly and took out two bottles of poison: "Of these two poisons, one is a chronic poison and the other is an acute poison. They can be mixed in spices and food, and the taste is not strong and difficult to detect."

"oh?"

Li Ru was very knowledgeable about poisons. Hearing that the poison did not have a strong taste, he was surprised and said: "How toxic is this medicine? Where did Brother Chenghan get it?"

"This is a strange medicine from the Western Regions. It produces its own poison. It only takes one drop to kill several people. It is extremely toxic. I got it from a friend from the Western Regions back then. It is worth a lot of money. It is worth a hundred gold. It is the bottom of the box for me.

's baby."

Yan Zhong generously introduced.

The first-rate is eight taels, and the second-rate is one catty. The so-called half a catty and eight taels, according to the measurement units of the Han Dynasty, are all first-rate.

And the body poison that Yan Zhong talks about is India.

As early as the Western Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty had already had contacts with India. In the "Book of the Later Han", there are clear records of Southeast Asia, West Asia and other regions.

It not only records India, but also records the ancient Roman Empire.

For example, there is a saying in "Book of the Later Han: Biography of the Western Regions" that "Gan Ying returned to the West Sea in poverty".

The West Sea is today's Persian Gulf.

At that time, Gan Ying's mission was to go to "Great Qin", that is, the ancient Roman Empire. He eventually reached the Persian Gulf, but was blocked in today's Iran and returned.

Therefore, many people think that ancient dynasties were closed, but in fact, the Qin and Han Dynasties already had a preliminary understanding of the world.

The adventurous gene of the Chinese people started from that time, heading towards Europe from the Silk Road in the Western Regions, and began to explore the entire world.

It was the Qing Dynasty that truly closed the country and practiced hermeticism.

Later, due to Boar Skin's own ignorance, China suffered an extremely humiliating modern history, which made all the great powers miss the Qing Dynasty. This is also a well-known fact.

Yan Zhong said that the source of these poisons was from the Western Regions, which made it impossible to verify, and also added a sense of mystery, giving Dong Zhuo and Li Ru a sense of unknown power.

Li Ru took the medicine bottle, looked at the small porcelain bottle, and asked with the same skeptical attitude: "How many people can be killed by one drop? Arsenic is nothing more than that, is it really so toxic?"

Yan Zhong smiled: "Brother Wenyou, if you don't believe it, you can try it yourself."

"Then let me smell it."

Li Ru desperately opened the bottle of Qinghua and smelled it. Suddenly he felt the smell of almonds coming to his nostrils. He felt dizzy and his heart beat faster. He quickly sealed the mouth of the bottle and gasped: "It's so powerful.
To be continued...