Battle Royale of the Sinners

December, 187 A . D .

Tong, Li Feihong, and other officers returned to Ye City to attend Hua Shi and He Xing funeral .

Kong Rong and his subordinates also visited Ye City to attend this funeral as well . They were shocked and disbelieved at first, but they still came here, ensuring their stance as Tong’s new subordinates .

Lu Zhi, Zhao Yun, Tian Yu, and all former Gongsun Zan’s soldiers also attended the funeral .

While Tong was sitting alone, watching the cold dead bodies of his wives before the cremation ceremony, Zhao Yun and Tian Yu knelt down before Tong .

Zhao Yun spoke first, "I’ve failed my duty . I’m here for my punishment . "

Tian Yu also knelt and slammed his head on the floor, "I’ve failed to protect her majesty . I’m here to receive my death!"

Tong did not speak to both of them . He simply stared down at these two future legends with a sad look .

While they were in silence, waiting for Tong to speak, Liu Xie ran to Tong, crying and hugging him .

"Papa, mama is dead! Mama is dead!"

Zhang Min, Hua Shi’s daughter, also ran to Tong . Both of them wailed, which their crying voice silent all funeral attendees . All of them watched Tong with sympathy and pity as this was the hardest time for Tong’s family .

Tong hugged his adopted son and his daughter tight, "They are resting in Heaven, Bohe, Min’er . They will become angels, and they will watch over us from above . "

The crying did not stop . Instead, it worsened as the children were too young to control their emotion .

As his children did not stop crying, tears flowed from Tong’s eyes as he also cried along with them .

An hour later, they exhausted themselves and fell asleep . Tong passed both his children to caretakers and turned to the two men, who were still kowtowing on the ground .

Every onlooker was expecting a harsh scold from Tong . Even Jia Xu believed that Tong might kill them out of anger .

With traces of tears on his face, Tong also knelt and kowtowed to Zhao Yun and Tian Yu .

"Thank you for saving my son . "

The onlooking crowd was shocked . Since Tong was a respected figure which should be equal to their emperor, he should not bow or kneel to anyone .

Jia Xu and Xun Yu rushed to Tong’s sides, trying to get him up .

"What are you doing, my lord!? You will sooner or later be an emperor . You can’t bow your head to anyone!"

"You’re her majesty’s prince consort! You can’t bow to ordinary soldiers!"

Zhao Yun and Tian Yu also gazed at Tong in disbelief . They knew about Tong’s status, which they had prepared for capital punishment, yet Tong thanked them?

"No, I did what I thought it has to be done . "

Tong shook off Jia Xu and Xun Yu’s hands and knelt before Zhao Yuan and Tian Yu again .

"Thank you for saving my son . "

Still shocked, Zhao Yun’s voice cracked, "B-But we failed our duties . Her Majesty was ..."

Tong raised his head up, looking at them with a smile . However, his teary eyes revealed his thought .

"Had both of you not been there, Liu Xie would have died along with his mother . "

"But her ..."

"You didn’t fail your duties . Both my wife and my Liu Xie were their targets, and you protected him . Thank you for saving my son . "

Tong kowtowed again . Although Tong had stopped crying, all onlookers thought that he was crying while he was bowing his head .

Zhao Yun also had the same thought . Because of guilt and various emotions, Zhao Yun’s eyes became moist .

Tian Yu was more open than Zhao Yun . He wept as he slammed his forehead on the ground again, "I’m sorry! I should have been more careful! I’m so sorry!"

It had become a weird situation where three young men were kowtowing at the others .

Tong raised his head to look at Zhao Yun and Tian Yu with a bitter smile . He raised them up and hugged them .

"Thank you for coming back alive . "

Zhao Yun could no longer hold his tears . He sobbed and cried as he leaned on Tong’s shoulder . Tian Yu was the same, wailing without shame .

From this day, Zhao Yun and Tian Yu vowed in their heart that they would not repeat the same mistake again .

Zhao Yun engraved an oath within his mind, ’Till death, I’ll use this life for him! I’ll become stronger, and I’ll be his strongest shield! No one else under my care will die as long as I live!’

Tian Yu also established his career goal, ’I’ll redeem myself . I’ll learn more about tactics and strategies, so no one can ambush my troops and me again! I’ll be a guardian general that stands firm in all kinds of adversaries!’

Tong, Tian Yu, and Zhao Yun had not realized this yet . All scholars who witnessed their actions took notes at these events, and they planned to write it in their records .

Some of them thought that Tong was a pretender, faking crying to win the hearts of the talented youths .

Some believed that Tong was a kind-hearted man who forgave Zhao Yun and Tian Yu’s crimes for neglecting duties .

The rest interpreted it as Tong showed mercy on his junior disciples as all of them studied under Lu Zhi .

Among the crowd, only Li Feihong and Te Langpu looked at them with complicated emotion . Tong had stolen the role of Liu Bei and tamed Zhao Yun in a similar manner, which was a complete coincident .

Dong Bai, Wang Yun, and Diaochan attended the funeral later, but they did not approach Tong . As their status could complicate this entire scene, they withdrew back to Friday’s resident, waiting for the right opportunity to speak with Tong again .

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After the event, Wang Men was executed in public .

Jia Xu took this chance to propaganda the death of He Xing and Hua Shi, turning it into a grand conspiracy of the Sun Clan and Gongsun Clan .

Because of Jia Xu’s vicious tongue, the civilians were in an uproar, cursing and swearing at Sun Fang and Gongsun Du . As a byproduct of such move, more strong men joined the military with their free-will, vowing to avenge for the empress and Tong’s wife .

The emotion spread from the inner city to outer city areas . Then, they reached other towns through the words of mouths, gossips, and spies, escalating the sadness to anger, and from anger to hatred .

By the end of December, Han-royalist officers in Julu, Ye, Zhongshan, Jinyang, and even Beihei of Kong Rong were in an uproar, requesting their governors to dispatch troops, so they could participate in a campaign and revenge for the empress .

Because of the news, Cao Cao and other warlords became aware of the He Xing’s death, which changed their perspective about this country’s power struggle .

All eyes were on Tong once again as they waited for Tong’s decision .

To all warlords, Liu Xie was the only one who could succeed the throne . If Tong took the throne, they would frame him as a tyrant traitor of Han, and all lords would have the legitimate reason to form a nation-wide coalition against Tong . Afterward, the throne would be available for grasp, which would become their opportunity .

On the other hand, if Tong allowed Liu Xie to take the throne, they could still reap benefits from the young emperor . By bribing or showing Liu Xie with women and gold, they could sway this child and manipulate him into issuing imperial decrees, which would favor their status .

The threat of Xiongnu had not been solved, yet everyone was looking for an opportunity to seize power .

This was a period of chaos .