Jia Xu knelt on his mat. Although he faced a court general of immense power and a provincial Inspector, he felt not the slightest panic. Even now, as he prepared to offer Dong Zhuo a strategy, he still held something back.
For he actually thought little of Dong Zhuo. Having observed him over the years, Jia Xu judged him a mere warrior: fit to become a feudal lord, but lacking the makings of a ruler of All Under Heaven.
That alone had sentenced Dong Zhuo to death in Jia Xu's mind.
For Jia Xu came from a humble family, not one of the frontier commanderies' scholar clans.
There was a great difference between the two: their attitude toward unification under a feudal lord.
The frontier scholar clans-not only those of Liangzhou, but also those of Yizhou and Jiangdong-understood one thing very clearly. Even if All Under Heaven were unified, the imperial capital would never stand on their land, so they had no incentive to seek unification.
The reasoning was simple. After spending so much manpower and wealth, they would merely be sewing another person's wedding robes. No one would willingly do that.
But Jia Xu came from a humble family with few members. Wherever his lord went, they could simply follow. Thus, the man Jia Xu had always sought was someone capable of ruling All Under Heaven.
Only such a man could let him live out his remaining years in peace while also restoring his family's fortunes. He did not care whether the Han Dynasty fell into chaos or could be revived.
Facing Dong Zhuo, Jia Xu intended to make a bargain. He would point Dong Zhuo toward a clear path, and Dong Zhuo would repay him with resources: a measure of renown, money to support his household, rank and