Chapter Seven: The donkey does not fall, but the cart does.

To fabricate a charge, one need not worry about lacking a pretext. Dong Bao is urging his subordinates to resort to forceful robbery!

Dong Bao, in order to display his authority, had already ascended the wall accompanied by his personal guards, looking down with an air of arrogance at the group of people below.

Seeing this, Tian Chou was not angry; he still pretended to be weak and timid, cautiously accompanying his words to Dong Bao: "I truly dare not deceive the general, for all the wealth of each family has been suddenly plundered by the intruding bandits, and now we cannot present any decent gifts to honor the general."

Perhaps the title of the imperial envoy does not intimidate Dong Bao, after all, the current emperor is merely a puppet at the mercy of others, but the title of Grand Tutor Dong is indeed quite formidable

Who is it that has come here? Quickly report your name!

What a shameless thief, trying to fool this general with these worthless trinkets

Before long, this group of people finally arrived at Wuguan, under the eager anticipation of Dong Bao and a group of greedy Xiliang soldiers.

Dong Bao saw that the peasant who came out to respond was quite courteous, so he temporarily suppressed his anger. He publicly opened the small bundle handed to him by his personal guard, only to find it contained nothing but some worn-out copper coins and ordinary jewelry, which instantly infuriated him.

Upon hearing this, Tian Chou was filled with rage. He had already imagined the Xiliang soldiers guarding the pass to be quite vile, and upon further investigation, he found that he had still underestimated this group of scoundrels. To prevent these wolf-like soldiers from violating women, Tian Chou had already requested that eligible girls and women try to make themselves look as unattractive as possible. However, it now seemed that they still could not escape the harm inflicted by the officials and soldiers.

Dong Bao is merely a minor figure within the Dong clan. Do not be misled by his boasts about his close relationships with individuals like Dong Min. When faced with significant figures flying the banner of Dong Zhuo, no matter how bold Dong Bao may be, he would not dare to seize their horses and possessions. If he were to provoke this delicate young noble from Guan, and the latter reported him to Dong Zhuo, it is likely that Dong Bao's official career would come to an end, and he might even lose his head.

Upon hearing this, Dong Bao's pair of sinister, bulging eyes gleamed with a hint of greed as he coldly laughed and said: "Damn it, after waiting for half a day, a flock of fat sheep has finally arrived! Today, since I am in a good mood, you bunch of paupers better get out of Wuguan quickly, or you will delay my brothers from making their fortune"

Dong Zhuo's cruelty is well-known among all ranks of the Xiliang army

The person who has arrived is Liu He and his hastily assembled "Angel Guard"!

In the crowd, several children were harshly pinched on their bottoms by their guardians, causing them to burst into tears. The adults, fearing that the children's cries would anger the soldiers, raised their hands and slapped the children's faces, simultaneously admonishing them to stop crying. As a result, the children, who had initially been pretending to cry, began to wail even louder.

At that moment, a deep voice suddenly came from above the wall: "Liu Shizhong, please wait, Duan has something to inquire about!"

How formidable is Wang Yue's energy in the dantian? His thunderous shout truly has the power to startle and resonate, causing Dong Bao, who was on guard, to tremble violently!

After the loud quacking of the public duck on the wall had finished, Liu He frowned and looked up at Dong Bao with an air of arrogance, his eyes revealing a sense of mockery and disdain. Wang Yue, standing beside Liu He, then gathered his energy and shouted loudly: "You all have such audacity! Upon seeing the imperial envoy personally appointed by Grand Master Dong, you still refuse to let him pass! Are you trying to rebel?"

Dong Bao looked at the fields with annoyance, roughly pushing Tian Chou aside, and then commanded the soldiers to begin searching this group of defenseless elderly, women, and children.

Although these soldiers are accustomed to being arrogant and overbearing, they still have some fear of the rules established by their commander, Duan Wei, and do not dare to follow Dong Bao in taking things too far

The Xiliang soldiers, upon hearing Dong Bao's words, felt a twinge of compassion in their hearts. Some soldiers even displayed a barely perceptible look of disdain in their eyes, thinking that Dong Bao's tastes were indeed quite extreme, as he did not spare even this group of hideously ugly women and children.

Liu, at this moment, was dressed in a neat court official's attire, sitting expressionlessly on his horse, exuding an air of arrogance typical of an official. Beside him, Wang Yue and Ding Kuang wore expressions filled with murderous intent, showing no signs of being disturbed by the nearly one hundred soldiers surrounding them.

Dong Bao pulled his face taut and shouted at the soldiers around him, who looked as fierce as wolves and tigers: "Go and search! I suspect these individuals are acting suspiciously and may be spies fleeing to Nanyang to report to Yuan Shu!"

Sixteen men dressed in black stood motionless at Liu He's command, their faces expressionless, making it impossible to discern the worry and fear that lay within them

To outsiders, it seems as if these attendants are all unafraid of death

Thus, the impoverished people of Houfengzhuang, who were on the verge of suffering harm, were permitted to pass through, each one nervously making their way through a gap opened by the Xiliang soldiers at Wuguan.

With a glance from Dong Bao, his personal guard began to shout in a harsh, discordant voice, resembling the croak of a duck, as if announcing a funeral.

These farmers were originally honest and straightforward, but upon seeing a large group of fierce Western Liang soldiers, they must have felt extremely anxious. They usually do not dare to meet the gaze of officials, and now, confronted with so many intimidating soldiers, they naturally do not dare to look around. Instead, they simply focus on the back of Liu He's head.

This Dong Bao is truly a scoundrel, showing no mercy even to an eight-year-old girl or a fifty-year-old elderly woman

Dong Bao is a person who can extract oil from stones. Upon seeing his soldiers return empty-handed, his bulging eyes widened in disbelief. He raised his right foot and kicked Tian Chou, who was constantly apologizing, then shouted, "What terrible luck to encounter a bunch of paupers like you! Since you have no money, let’s keep all the women aged over 8 and under 50. They can help the brothers wash some clothes and cook a few meals!"

However, this Dong Bao is not a fool; upon seeing that the situation was unmanageable, he personally descended from the gate. He then slightly bowed to Liu He, who was seated on horseback, and spoke in a tone that was both formal and businesslike: "I was unaware of your Excellency's arrival and have been remiss in my duties; I hope you will forgive me. According to protocol, I kindly ask you to present the official documents for passing through the gate for my inspection"

Liu, who had been forcefully putting on airs, finally let out a sigh after hearing Dong Bao's words. He then said to Dong Bao with a blank expression: "Thank you, General"

The Xiliang soldiers searched for half a day, not only did they end up covered in filth, but they also failed to find even a single copper coin among this group of impoverished people and the common folk. Consequently, they returned one by one, cursing and swearing, to report to Dong Bao.

Dong Bao was completely intimidated by the imposing presence exuded by Liu He, Wang Yue, and others. In a flurry of activity, he hurriedly caught the official document that Liu He had thrown down from his horse. After a careful inspection, he confirmed that it was indeed a formal document bearing the official seal of Grand Tutor Dong. He quickly turned to the soldiers guarding the pass and said, "Quickly open the gate and let the envoy through"

Having said this, Liu rode the large black horse, which walked leisurely towards the nearby gate.

Liu He did not engage in idle chatter with Dong Bao, but rather, he confidently took out a formal document from his bosom that he intended to use as cover for himself. He then casually tossed it towards Dong Bao, who was on horseback, showing no concern whether Dong Bao would catch it or not

At this critical moment of tension, the soldier on watch hurriedly ran down and excitedly reported to General Dong Bao: "I report to you, General, that a cavalry unit has been spotted not far inside the pass, rapidly approaching us!"

The villagers of Houfengzhuang, upon hearing Dong Bao's words, were also flustered and involuntarily retreated, trembling and huddling together.

The valuable items in the village are all within Liu He’s horse team, so the common people do not mind being searched. Before arriving at Wuguan, everyone received a reminder from Tian Chou, which is why they cooperated fully with the Xiliang soldiers, without any resistance or extreme words