Chapter 203, Things are impermanent

Li Ru stood in front of the tent, staring blankly into the rich night.

The moonlight was bright tonight, but it could not illuminate the darkness in his heart.

Once upon a time, he was high-spirited and full of confidence in the future. This was because all his plans achieved the expected results without exception, and his future was bright.

However, I don't know since when, he has been frustrated repeatedly, and every strategy will end in failure.

In the end, Li Ru came to the conclusion that both he and Dong Zhuo had lost to Liu Bei in the end. It was from the moment he became his enemy that his strategy could no longer work.

In a daze, he seemed to have seen his future, which was a scene of ending with regrets.

After letting out a long sigh, he turned around and walked into the tent, sat down at the table, and began to think hard about the future. Dong Zhuo was a tree he cultivated with his own hands. Even if the tree was rotten, he would do everything possible to make it better.

Get your life back.

Perhaps the last hope comes from external forces. If we can manage to get Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and others to send troops again, they can save Dong Zhuo's life by encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao.

Thinking of this, Li Ru was ready to write quickly and write a letter to Cao Cao and others.

Um?

At this moment, he suddenly noticed something strange on the desk.

As a counselor, Li Ru's insight is naturally meticulous, and he likes to keep his desk tidy, so he will subconsciously notice it if someone touches it.

Under the layers of scrolls, there is a brocade book hidden, and the exposed corner seems to be deliberately letting people discover its existence.

Li Ru moved the book case and took out the brocade book.

"Brother Wenyou, if you don't..."

This is a letter from Han Sui. The content of the letter is roughly a reminiscence of the past, but it also contains some other meanings, as if there is some agreement that will be fulfilled after returning to Chang'an.

Li Ru guessed that this should be the letter sent today, because he did not find the existence of this letter last night.

However, he and Han Sui did not know each other, why did the other party send this letter?

What exactly is the letter implying?

Perhaps, this letter was not sent by Han Sui at all, but was used to achieve an ulterior purpose in Han Sui's name.

At this time, Li Ru discovered that there seemed to be some broken corners of the letter remaining in the brazier under his feet, as if they were accidentally left after most of them were burned.

The visitor is not good!

With Li Ru's intelligence, he quickly noticed something strange, as if there was a conspiracy coming towards him.

"Can Wenyou sleep?"

Dong Zhuo's voice came from outside the tent. Without waiting for Li Ru to respond, he strode into the tent, followed by Li Su.

Li Ru stared at the two of them for a long time, and then suddenly smiled.

The witnesses and physical evidence were all in place, and he had already realized that this was a "division plan" aimed at him. If it had been in the past, Dong Zhuo would never have visited him at this time.

Dong Zhuo did not notice Li Ru's suspicious expression. He came here to find evidence. If it was proved that Li Ru was rebellious, he would not be lenient.

And if Li Su is found to have falsely accused him, this person will also die.

Li Ru placed "Han Sui's letter" in the middle of the table. This position was extremely conspicuous and could be seen at a glance.

Dong Zhuo became even more suspicious when he saw this, because the evidence that Li Su reported to him about Li Ru was his secret collusion with Han Sui. To confirm this, he did not hesitate to pick up the letter and read it.

The further you read, the easier it is for people to imagine, and Dong Zhuo's face becomes more and more ugly. On the other hand, Li Ru didn't say a word, but looked at Li Su with deep meaning, which made the other person feel frightened.

I don't know how much time passed, but Dong Zhuo pointed the letter at Li Ru and said in a deep voice: "Wen You, what's your explanation?"

Li Ru withdrew his gaze and said with a smile: "This is Liu Bei's plan to alienate each other. Do you think I, my lord, can be trusted, or do you think Li Su can be trusted?"

Li Su's position is not high. It can be said that he is not even qualified to follow Dong Zhuo. Now it is unusual. How could Li Ru not notice the difference?

There are many ways to defend, but Li Ru's choice is not wise, and it can even be said that he chose a not-so-good rhetoric.

This is just human nature.

The reason why the alienation plan was successful was because there was a gap and lack of trust between the monarch and his ministers. At this moment, Li Ru suddenly wanted to know whether Dong Zhuo still trusted him!

If the results of many years of assistance are not as good as the villain's slander, why should he waste his efforts trying to turn the tide?

A divorce plan?

Dong Zhuo couldn't help but be startled when he heard Li Su's explanation. The evidence should have been conclusive, but it was suddenly full of doubts.

"Don't you have anything to say?"

"I have a clear conscience, why do I need to say more?"

Li Ru asked back.

From the perspective of a mastermind, this kind of willful behavior is not wise. But from the perspective of a person, it is undoubtedly very hurtful to be suspected after giving everything.

"My lord, you must not believe this. Maybe the military advisor saw what happened and wanted to do the opposite," Li Su added.

Although Li Ru saw him and felt very angry, he still had the courage to speak. There was no turning back. If Li Ru could not prove his identity as a traitor, he would definitely die!

Now that we have chosen this path, we can only go to the dark side in one way.

After Dong Zhuo was reminded by him, he asked again: "Wen You, let me ask you, since you already knew Jia Xu's talent, why didn't you recommend him to us?"

This question comes from Li Su's slander, but it is not entirely from his hand. To be precise, he is just a mouthpiece.

It was Guo Jia's plan to use Jia Xu's incident to attack Li Ru. At that time, he also jokingly asked Jia Xu for his opinion, but the latter readily agreed.

Now that everyone is their own master, how can they take care of their old feelings?

Jia Xu also knew very well that if Li Ru was alive, many of their methods would be difficult to use, not to mention that this alienation strategy was not only aimed at Li Ru.

In fact, Li Ru was indeed stumped by this move.

He can't tell the truth directly. Jia Wenhe despises you Dong Zhuo. I don't recommend him for my own selfish reasons to avoid being overshadowed by Jia Xu. Since Jia Wenhe wants to hide his power and bide his time, I will go along with the flow and let him continue to hide.

"Jia Xu likes to stay dormant and doesn't want to be famous in the world." After thinking about it, Li Ru gave this answer.

"Then why did he go to Liu Bei's command and no longer lie dormant?" Dong Zhuo continued to ask.

These words once again made it difficult for Li Ru to answer. It can't be said that you haven't won Jia Xu's approval, right?

It is foreseeable that with Dong Zhuo's temperament, if he told the truth, he would definitely become angry from shame.

Just as he was waiting for an answer, he heard Li Su say: "Did the military advisor deliberately ask Jia Wenhe to surrender to Liu Bei so that he could prepare a retreat for himself?"

"Oh? I also have a question, what reward did Liu Bei promise to General Li?"

At this point, Li Ru was certain that Li Su must have switched sides, otherwise he would never have wanted to kill him so much.

Li Su's heart skipped a beat. He didn't expect Li Ru to understand so quickly, which caught him off guard.

He had indeed surrendered to Liu Bei, and the head on Li Ru's neck was his certificate of surrender and a sign of his promotion.

In addition, the death of Li Ru must be used to drive a wedge between Dong Zhuo and Han Sui. If these things can be accomplished, the "Marquis" promised by Liu Bei will come true.

As for how he got in touch with Liu Bei, we have to mention his young friend, Lu Fengxian among them.

Things in the world are always so strange. In his previous life, Lu Bu was bewitched by Li Su and killed his adoptive father and turned to Ding Yuan. Now, under the influence of Liu Bei and Guo Jia, it was Lu Bu who bewitched him.

Perhaps this is exactly what "the way of heaven leads to reincarnation"!

However, some people seem to be born to eat this bowl of rice. Although Li Ru pointed it out, Li Su quickly stabilized his thoughts and sneered: "The military advisor saw that the matter was exposed and wanted to divert the trouble away?"

Li Ru sneered: "Han Sui and I don't know each other. Do you think this is credible?"

"This is not necessarily true. Maybe the military advisor and Han Sui have common interests. As far as I know, the military advisor secretly sent his family members out of Chang'an City a month ago. It seems that he has a conspiracy."

Everything in Li Su's words hinted that Li Ru wanted to collude with Han Sui to switch sides and use Dong Zhuo's head as a means of surrender to Liu Bei.

Li Ru was furious: "Li Su, how dare you touch my family!"

He knew very well that this was the work of Liu Bei, either Li Su's people, or the dormant Jin Yiwei.

Dong Zhuo's face was completely gloomy. He was originally dissatisfied because of Li Ru's repeated failures recently, and now that the evidence was conclusive, his suppressed emotions suddenly burst out: "Someone, take Li Ru down."

Li Ru was extremely disappointed, but he still advised: "My lord, you must not trust Li Su lightly. If you turn against Han Sui, Liu Bei will definitely benefit."

"Now that the matter has come to this, you still dare to excuse him, take him down!"

As the saying goes, loyal words are hard to hear.

Dong Zhuo was originally dissatisfied with Han Sui's unexplained defeat, but now that he was provoked by Li Su, he increasingly suspected that today's defeat was due to a traitor within.

Li Ru's earnest advice sounded to him like he was defending an accomplice.

After Li Ru was taken down by the soldiers, Dong Zhuo looked at Li Su again: "Is what you said true?"

Because of repeated failures, the foundation he built over the years is being gradually eroded, and he now looks at everyone like a traitor.

Li Su said with a righteous expression: "The general is loyal to the lord, as can be seen from the sun and the moon. Now that the evidence is conclusive, does the lord still think that the general is framed Li Ru?"

"If the general's guess is correct, Han Sui has already secretly communicated with Liu Bei. If we don't take precautions, we may not be able to return to Chang'an!"

Dong Zhuo stared at him for a long time and suddenly smiled.

"you're right."
To be continued...