With Luo Kong's explicit refusal, the atmosphere among the four men instantly congealed.
Amid his envy, a fierce thread of resentment rose in Dong Zhuo. He exchanged a glance with Li Ru, and each saw the resolve in the other's eyes.
They had to get Crown Prince Bian into their hands, and the Luo Clan had to be excluded.
If they governed alongside the Luo Clan, they would ultimately be reduced to figureheads.
Their tens of thousands of Western Liang Iron Cavalry had taken more than a decade to reach this point, not to sew a wedding gown for the Luo Clan to wear.
Dong Zhuo's voice turned icy. "Lord Ziming, did you mean just now that you refuse to obey His Majesty's wishes and intend to defy his imperial command?"
Luo Kong looked straight at Dong Zhuo and repeated the same words. "This is a wrongful command. I will not obey the edict!"
"Good!"
Driven to laughter by his fury, Dong Zhuo said coldly, "To think people like your Luo Clan exist in this world! Do you still imagine this is the Former Han?
"People throughout the realm respect you, and that is why your reputation stands so high. But if we truly settle matters with blades, what does the Luo Clan amount to?"
Seeing Dong Zhuo openly tear away all pretense of civility, Li Ru continued where he had left off. "Lord Ziming, I once surveyed the overall situation of the realm and arrived at certain observations about the Luo Clan. Please listen carefully.
"When the Former Han was founded, the Luo Clan's ancestors possessed extraordinary abilities. Their influence was immense, both at court and in the provinces, to the point that people spoke of the Luo and Liu sharing the realm.
"Ordinary people may still be steeped