Soon, after some discussion, Liu Hong appointed Huangfu Gui as General Who Suppresses Rebellion, and Lü Bu, Dong Zhuo, Gao Shun, and Huangfu Song as Colonels, leading 15,000 new soldiers and 2,000 trainees from the Imperial Guard to Yanzhou to quell the rebellion.

At the same time, several urgent edicts were sent to Ji Province, appointing Wang Yue to lead the Han army of Zhao, Changshan, and Zhongshan to block the rebels from advancing eastward, and then to join forces with Lu Zhi's You Province army to wipe out the rebels in Ji Province.

Upon receiving the order to quell the rebellion, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Sun Jian, Hua Xiong, Dian Wei, and others excitedly began packing their weapons and belongings.

Inside the Imperial Guard Camp, Sun Jian stroked the ancient sword in his hand, his eyes gleaming.

"Everyone assemble!!"

As a drumbeat signaled the start of a rallying cry, Sun Jian quickly grabbed his precious sword and ran outside.

In no time, the first batch of two thousand students had gathered on the training ground.

Before long, Lü Bu, dressed in bright armor, followed behind Huangfu Gui and came before the group.

Huangfu Gui took out a scroll of imperial edict and announced loudly: "By order of His Majesty, Lü Bu is appointed as the vanguard, leading two thousand Imperial Guard trainees to Jiyin to scout out the enemy's situation!"

"This humble general obeys the order!!"

Lu Bu responded loudly, respectfully accepting the imperial edict from Huangfu Gui's hand, and then stood up to look at the group of trainees in the Imperial Guard.

Lu Bulang said, "His Majesty is wise and the world is at peace. But now there are traitors who defy Heaven. As His Majesty's students, you should not hesitate to die to wipe out the rebels!"

"We will risk our lives to wipe out the rebels!!"

Everyone was in high spirits, their faces beaming with excitement as they shouted in unison. In an instant, the training ground resounded with a deafening roar.

"Imperial Guard, move out!!"

At Lü Bu's command, two thousand Imperial Guard trainees quickly rushed to the stables, took their horses, and followed Lü Bu towards Jiyin.

Huangfu Gui, along with Dong Zhuo, Gao Shun, Huangfu Song, and a few others, led 15,000 new soldiers and followed closely behind.

As they marched, Cao Cao reached Lü Bu's side and said in a deep voice, "General Lü, the rebels are just beginning to rise, and their numbers and scale are certainly not large, and their forces are extremely scattered."

In my opinion, we should immediately proceed to Jiyin, join forces with Master Ciming, and gather superior troops to defeat the rebels one by one. In this way, the rebellion in Qing and Yan provinces can be quelled!

Lu Bu nodded: "Yes, Mengde is right!"

Just as Lü Bu was about to order a forced march, a scout suddenly caught up with them.

"By order of His Majesty, the vanguard of the Imperial Guard must not stray more than fifty li from the central army!"

"this.....?"

Upon hearing the emperor suddenly issue such an order, Lü Bu and the other trainees were taken aback.

Just as Lü Bu was about to ask a question, he saw that the scout had already left.

"All troops, slow down your march!!"

Lu Bu dared not disobey the emperor's order, so he ordered the march to slow down, and the rest of the army followed behind him with sullen expressions.

On the other side, not long after the army left Luoyang, urgent reports from Qingzhou and Yanzhou arrived in Luoyang like snowflakes.

In no time, news of the rebels wreaking havoc in Shandong spread throughout Luoyang.

Inside a teahouse in the south of the city, a dozen young students gathered around a round table, discussing loudly.

A scholar dressed in blue robes with a long sword at his waist said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, Liu Kui, the Prince of Bohai, has colluded with those scholars to act perversely and attempt to bring chaos to the world. His intentions deserve to be punished!"

One person responded, "That's right. His Majesty once said that every citizen has a responsibility to deal with matters of national importance. As Han citizens, we absolutely cannot sit idly by!"

The scholar in blue robes touched his longsword at his waist: "I wish to use this sword to accompany the royal army eastward to quell the rebellion. Would you all be willing to join me?"

"We should go together!"

The others chimed in with their agreement.

"If that's the case, then let's set off!"

Led by the students in blue robes, the group left the teahouse in a state of indignation.

As soon as the group stepped out of the teahouse, they saw a soldier from the Imperial Guards walking towards them with an imperial edict in his hand. The group quickly stepped aside to make way for him.

The Imperial Guard soldier walked straight up to the group, and the students could only bow in greeting.

"We have met this official!"

"No need for such formalities, everyone!"

Immediately, the Imperial Guard unfurled the imperial edict in his hand and proclaimed in a loud voice:

"By imperial decree, the King of Bohai, Liu Kui, and others have plotted rebellion and wreaked havoc in Shandong. All young men of our Great Han should join the royal army to quell the rebellion!"

"We will obey His Majesty's decree!!"

Upon hearing the imperial edict, the students were filled with excitement and bowed respectfully to the edict in the hands of the Imperial Guards.

The Imperial Guard smiled and said, "Since you are all willing to obey the imperial decree, then hurry to the South Palace!"

"promise!!"

Immediately, the dozen or so students hurried towards the outside of the South Palace.

After the dozen or so students left, the Imperial Guard took the imperial edict and headed towards another group of young people.

At the same time, dozens of Imperial Guard soldiers also patrolled the streets and alleys of Luoyang, reading out the emperor's edicts.

In an instant, within Luoyang city, young people who heard the emperor's call responded in droves, and countless able-bodied people and workers followed suit, converging on the outskirts of the Southern Palace.

At this time, all the officials of the court and the officials of all levels of government gathered outside the Southern Palace to register the young people who had responded to the call.

Five thousand students from the Imperial Academy and twenty thousand students from the three academies had already gathered outside the Southern Palace early in the morning. Behind them were young students, wandering knights, commoners, and workers from various factories who had come in response to the emperor's call.

Officials at all levels were extremely busy, and the registration continued even as the sun set.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!