Keyboard Immortal - Chapter 2945

Chapter 1458 Skeleton King and Demon King

“They are my two sworn sisters,” Zu An introduced the two women.

“I have heard of the deeds of these two ladies; they are truly heroines, capable of defeating ten thousand men.” Lu Zhi was greatly surprised. He had imagined them to be burly and strong, having heard tales of their unstoppable charge into battle, but they were unexpectedly so beautiful.

Yun Jianyue and Tingxue hurriedly bowed. In truth, having experienced so many worlds, the two women were already incredibly strong-willed, but for some reason, they were still a little nervous in his presence. Was it because he was Zu An’s teacher?

Lu Zhi led them back to his tent and introduced them to everyone. Those

who could be in Lu Zhi’s tent were all high-ranking military officers from the capital. Originally, a local county magistrate like “Liu Bei” was a far cry from their status, but Lu Zhi had a high reputation both inside and outside the court, and now he was the commander-in-chief of a large army, so they all gave him face and befriended Zu An.

Only then did Zu An realize that these people were the leaders of the famous Five Schools of the Northern Army, also known as the Five Great Captains.

The Five Northern Army Schools were the most elite field legions of the Han Empire: the Tunqi Battalion, the Yueqi Battalion, the Infantry Battalion, the Changshui Battalion, and the Shesheng Battalion.

The Tunqi Battalion was a cavalry force primarily composed of Han Chinese; the Yueqi Battalion was an elite cavalry unit formed by gathering the best of various cavalry units; the Infantry Battalion was composed of brave warriors from the Northwest; the Changshui Battalion was composed of recruits from various northern nomadic tribes; and the Shesheng Battalion was mainly a ranged archer unit.

The Yueqi Colonel was named Wu Qiong, the Infantry Colonel was Wei Jie, and the Changshui Colonel was Zhong Ji. Zu An had never heard of these names before, but he didn’t dare treat them as mere extras from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. To be a general in the empire’s top legions, they couldn’t possibly be NPCs.

The Shesheng Colonel was named Ju Jun. He still didn’t recognize the name, but the unusual surname immediately reminded him of Ju Shou, Yuan Shao’s top strategist in the Three Kingdoms period. He wondered if the two were related.

However, what impressed him most was the Commandant of the Cavalry. This man didn’t look like a military general, but rather a refined and handsome middle-aged man named Fu Wan.

In the original history, he was the father-in-law of Emperor Xian of Han and the father of Empress Fu. He rebelled against Cao Cao because of the “Imperial Edict in the Belt” incident and was ultimately exterminated along with his entire clan.

“No wonder my daughter was chosen as the future empress; she is indeed handsome…” As Zu An was sizing up Fu Wan, a shrill voice suddenly rang out.

“Lord Lu, your introduction was a bit of an exaggeration. He only defeated a few Yellow Turban detachments. We are fighting the main Yellow Turban force head-on, and we are also winning battle after battle.”

Zu An then noticed a young general in the distance speaking with disdain. Although he was dressed in fine clothes, indicating noble birth, his small mustache and triangular eyes made him look like a monkey in a crown.

Lu Zhi was somewhat displeased. At this moment, another young general spoke up, “Gonglu, you are mistaken. We are leading the empire’s most elite legion. Xuande can only lead temporarily recruited volunteers, who aren’t even considered county soldiers.”

He had a square face and a dignified appearance, looking much more mature and composed.

Zu An’s heart skipped a beat. There was only one person named Gonglu in this world, Yuan Shu, who was later jokingly called the Skeleton King!

He hadn’t expected to meet him here beforehand.

Yuan Shu was somewhat dissatisfied: “Jingsheng, you’re too much of a nice guy. You’re a true member of the royal family, and you’ve never used your status to embellish yourself. Yet some distant relative, who is separated by countless generations, claims to be royalty. It’s laughable.”

“Enough! The Yellow Turban Rebellion is raging, and the country is in turmoil. Those with wisdom who can quell the rebellion are the pillars of our Han Dynasty. How can we judge people based on their birth?” Lu Zhi said solemnly.

“Lord Lu is right!” The other generals also stepped in to smooth things over.

Yuan Shu snorted, clearly disagreeing, but he couldn’t argue further in this situation.

He then glanced at Tingxue and Yun Jianyue beside him. Compared to that remote royal, these two beauties were much more pleasing to the eye. It was such a waste for them to be with such a down-on-his-luck fellow. He wondered if there was any way to bring them over…

Feeling his gaze, Tingxue’s expression turned cold. If she weren’t worried about ruining Zu’an’s plans, she might have already drawn her sword.

Yun Jianyue secretly pondered how to find an opportunity to use a little trick to kill this fool.

Coming from the Demonic Sect and skilled in the Heavenly Demonic Melody, she could easily handle this kind of guy.

At this moment, Lu Zhi gave another introduction, and Zu’an finally learned the identity of the square-faced youth. It turned out that he was Liu Biao, currently holding the position of Commander of the Northern Army. Although his rank was slightly lower than the Five Great Colonels, he had the power to supervise them. It seemed that Emperor Ling of Han was worried about the army’s long expedition and had sent a member of the royal family to the army to keep them in check.

Yuan Shu’s current official position is Tiger-Ben General, unlike the Five Schools of the Northern Army, which are field armies. The Tiger-Ben Army is the Emperor’s personal guard, and its deployment shows how much the Emperor values the Yellow Turban Army.

Yuan Shu commands the Emperor’s Imperial Guard and is the eldest son of the Yuan family, a family that has held high office for four generations; no wonder he shows no respect for Lu Zhi in his words and actions .

The group then discussed military matters related to the Yellow Turbans. The generals were generally optimistic, believing that the main force of the Yellow Turbans could be eliminated in a month at most.

Zu An was secretly worried, wondering what Princess Nihuang would do next.

For the next few days, Zu An treated Lu Zhi with the utmost respect, and Lu Zhi was very satisfied with this promising disciple. Since they were both from Zhuojun, he generously taught him about military strategy and even political affairs.

Zu An was gaining a deeper understanding of this world, thinking that if this were a game, his abilities would be rapidly increasing these past few days.

Unfortunately, this period of good fortune was short-lived. Soon, the court sent a eunuch named Zuo Feng to inspect the military situation, using this opportunity to solicit bribes from Lu Zhi. Lu Zhi,

upholding his integrity, immediately refused, citing a shortage of food in the army. Zuo Feng left with resentment. Although he knew in advance that this fate was unfolding, and that Lu Zhi’s dismissal would be beneficial to Princess Nihuang, he still remembered Lu Zhi’s kindness to Zu An these past few days and couldn’t help but advise him to give some money to shut Zuo Feng up. However, Lu Zhi resolutely refused:

“Xuande, for nearly a hundred years, eunuchs have held power, causing widespread suffering. The clash between our gentry and the eunuch faction has been extremely fierce. During the reign of the late emperor, the Disaster of the Partisan Prohibitions broke out, causing us heavy losses. The eunuch faction gained the upper hand for a time. If I were to bribe the eunuchs now, wouldn’t that be surrendering to them? My head may be cut off, my blood may flow, but my reputation cannot be ruined!”

Zu An’s previous impression of the Disaster of the Partisan Prohibitions was merely that of a historical term. Now, having personally experienced the ferocity of the clash between the two sides, he was greatly shocked.

Of course, being well-versed in later history, he also knew that not all powerful families were as selfless as Lu Zhi; many were more concerned with their own interests.

Not long after, the imperial decree arrived, and as expected, Lu Zhi was taken away in a prison cart. Zu An had originally planned to escort him back to the capital, using this opportunity to enter the capital’s power center, knowing that there would be more opportunities to realize his plans. However,

the imperial envoy resolutely refused, citing court laws that officials were not allowed to accompany prisoners without authorization.

Left with no other choice, he had to remain. At this time, a soldier arrived with a message: the Eastern General, who had replaced Lu Zhi, was summoning all the generals in the army to pay their respects.

And the person before him was none other than the demon king of the early Three Kingdoms period—Dong Zhuo!