Chapter 69: Engagement
It was a sunny day, and Guo Hao and his companions finally arrived at the outskirts of Luoyang after a long journey.
Just as we set up camp to rest, a group of cavalry approached from afar.
"Alert!" Pound was extremely alert. He felt tremendous pressure from the cavalry in the distance.
"Hahaha, Pengju, long time no see!" To Guo Hao's surprise, the person who greeted him was Dong Zhuo.
"Mr. Dong, why are you here?" Guo Hao signaled his soldiers to let down their guard and took the initiative to greet him.
"Pengju is really capable. He was able to defeat hundreds of thousands of Qiang people in one battle. He is simply the reincarnation of Marquis Guanjun." Dong Zhuo did not hesitate to praise Guo Hao and made him sound a little vague.
The one who flattered him was Dong Zhuo, also a notorious devil in history. Now he is like an uncle next door who sees his nephews and nephews have made great achievements .
"No, no, Mr. Dong, you are too kind. Mr. Dong, you are too kind." Guo Hao hurriedly said modestly. It was really that Dong Zhuo was too enthusiastic. He felt a little embarrassed.
"Pengju deserves it. Wherever he goes, he puts down rebellions. The reward for suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion has not yet been received, but he has made another contribution to Your Majesty." Li Ru smiled and also praised him. Those who become famous at a young age are all outstanding people, and even he admires them.
"Come on, come on, Pengju, come to my house today and don't leave until you are drunk!" Dong Zhuo pulled Guo Hao and was about to leave.
"Mr. Dong, wait a minute. Mr. Dong, wait a minute." Guo Hao struggled hard to break free. It turned out that Dong Zhuo was even stronger than him. He was at least a second-rate general.
He turned around and gave instructions to Pang De and others, then took Jia Xu and went to Dong Zhuo's residence with Dong Zhuo.
The banquet was lively with clinking glasses.
Taking this opportunity, Guo Hao asked Jia Xu in a low voice, "What exactly does Mr. Dong mean?"
It was really because Dong Zhuo was too enthusiastic, and the banquet was attended by all Dong Zhuo's confidants. Those who didn't know would think that Guo Hao had already joined Dong Zhuo.
"Mr. Dong probably wants to get closer to the lord." Jia Xu grinned and motioned Guo Hao to look at the radiant women of the Dong family around him.
"My Lord, please notice that all those who came today are from the Dong family, and they are all unmarried women!"
Jia Xu would be happy to see this happen. If he could form an alliance with Dong Zhuo, it would naturally be a great help.
"Are you the great hero that grandpa mentioned?"
A timid voice sounded, and Guo Hao looked over and saw a cute little girl with a bun on her head, but there was some heroic spirit between her brows.
"I'm Guo Pengju, not a great hero." Guo Hao squatted down and touched the little girl's head.
"Grandpa said that Guo Pengju is a great hero, as great a hero as Guan Junhou." The little girl slapped away Guo Hao's paw that was touching her head and said cutely.
"Who is your grandfather, and what is your name?" Guo Hao didn't have any bad intentions, he just thought the little girl was cute.
"My name is Dong Bai, and my grandfather is Dong Zhuo." As Guo Hao expected, the little girl was Dong Bai, Dong Zhuo's granddaughter.
After playing with little Dong Bai for a while, Dong Bai was taken away by the panicked maid.
"My lord, do you like Miss Dong Bai?" Jia Xu asked curiously. It was rare to see Guo Hao so patient.
"She is only eight years old." Guo Hao glared at Jia Xu fiercely. He was not a copper alchemist. He just thought the little girl was cute.
"She is a little young, but it is also good to get engaged first." Jia Xu was unmoved. After all, it was a marriage of arrangement and they could get married in five or six years. Why ask for so many things?
In the Han Dynasty, most people married at the age of fifteen or sixteen. However, if they married early, for example, when Zhang Fei snatched Xiahou Yuan's concubine Xiahou, Xiahou was only thirteen or fourteen years old. Eight years old was a little early, but engagement was not a problem.
Guo Hao quickly raised his hand to stop Jia Xu from making further dangerous remarks. He didn't want to be censored.
However, he also knew that what Jia Xu said was right. He looked around, picked out a girl who looked more pleasing to the eye, and went over to chat with her.
After the banquet, Dong Zhuo became even more enthusiastic towards Guo Hao. Guo Hao, unable to withstand it, fled directly, leaving Jia Xu behind to deal with the aftermath.
After Jia Xu discussed with Dong Zhuo with a smile, Guo Hao was completely tied to a chariot with Dong Zhuo. After all, they were already a family.
…
As the day of the grand reward approached, Guo Hao slipped back to the camp, reunited with Huangfu Song and others, and waited for the court to summon him.
"Pengju is finally back. I was worried that you couldn't catch up." Huangfu Song was all smiles. In his eyes, Guo Hao, who was conferred a title of nobility at the age of 18, had a bright future. He even wanted to marry his granddaughter to Guo Hao.
"Thank you, General Huangfu," Guo Hao bowed. He actually liked Huangfu Song quite a bit. He learned a lot about training troops and commanding from Huangfu Song .
According to his estimation, Commander Huangfu Song had at least 98 or 99 points, which meant he was a top-notch commander of a large army and was also listed in the Temple of Martial Arts. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, he was almost a military god.
Putting aside Zhuge Kongming, the rest of the people who entered the Temple of Martial Arts, such as Zhang Liao and Lu Xun, can only be said to be very powerful. If they really fought to command two armies against each other, Huangfu Song could beat them so badly that they would be at a loss as to what to do.
After all, Zhang Liao and Lu Xun were carried into the Temple of Martial Arts, but their real command ability was only at a first-rate level, far from being the commander-in-chief of a large army.
For example, when Zhang Liao defeated one hundred thousand with only eight hundred men, can you say that Zhang Liao was the commander of a large army?
The next day, when a group of heroes lined up to enter the city to be rewarded, everyone saw that Guo Hao was depressed and couldn't help but comfort him.
"Pengju, don't worry . When the day of the big reward comes, we will definitely speak up for you!" Liu Bei got along best with Guo Hao. Seeing that Guo Hao was unhappy, he couldn't help but comfort him.
Speaking of this, all the generals agreed that Guo Hao was the undisputed first hero in the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
Clearing Youzhou, defeating Bo Cai, cutting off Niu Jiao and killing Zhang Jiao, each of these events could be considered a turning point in the Yellow Turban Rebellion. But now they have ended up being suppressed, and it is inevitable that they feel grievances for the others.
Although everyone already knew that their rewards had not been deducted and had even been significantly increased, they really couldn't be happy after seeing what happened to Guo Hao.
The Han Dynasty valued martial arts, and strong men like Guo Hao were admired by people. What's more, Guo Hao was friendly and had a good relationship with everyone.
Guo Hao responded a few words weakly and then started to play dead. He was badly tricked.
Neither Jia Xu nor Dong Zhuo came, so they had to attend the court last, so that the miraculous effect would be achieved.
When Guo Hao remembered the engagement in his backpack, he wanted to kill Jia Xu, as Jia Xu had engaged him.
Yes, it was his instruction.
But the person he was going to be engaged to was eight-year-old Dong Bai , who was really too young. And he didn't know how to refine copper, so how could he possibly accept it?
But the engagement had already been signed. If he cancelled it, he and Dong Zhuo would be at war to the death. The Han Dynasty still attached great importance to reputation.
Guo Hao could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger. He only had such a precious strategist in his hands, and he couldn't just kill him with a knife to vent his anger.
And this was also his own fault, and now he can only bear it on his own.
