That evening, Empress He went to pay her respects to Emperor Ling of Han and used all her charm to get Liu Hong to take a tonic pill.

Liu Hong was seduced by Empress He and became sexually aroused. After a night of passion, he fell seriously ill the next day.

Now the He siblings have once again taken control of the government.

Empress Dowager Dong wanted Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and the other ten eunuchs to persuade Liu Wei to regain his princely title in order to annoy Empress He.

But then Liu Hong fell ill, and the matter was dropped!

Upon learning the cause of Liu Hong's illness, Empress Dowager Dong was so enraged that she cursed Empress He as a vile woman who plotted to murder the emperor.

Empress Dowager Dong may have been cursing, but she was powerless to do anything about it.

She ordered Zhang Rang and others to intensify their efforts to win over powerful ministers, and instructed her younger brother, General Dong Zhong, to find ways to seize military power.

Therefore, He Jin had no qualms and ordered Dong Zhuo and Ding Yuan to advance into Dingxiang and Yunzhong respectively.

If Liu Hong were still conscious, he probably wouldn't dare to be so blatant.

Upon receiving the order, Dong Zhuo knew that his chance to rise to prominence had arrived!

While He Jin was still discussing with his advisors how to balance Dong Zhuo and Ding Yuan, He Chang, who had received a large gift from Li Ru, immediately relayed the news to Dong Zhuo.

Dong Zhuo was overjoyed and immediately sent spies to Dingxiang and Yunzhong to gather intelligence, while secretly transferring troops from Jinyang to the vicinity of Yanmen Pass.

As soon as He Jin gave the order, Dong Zhuo acted swiftly, crossing the Hongtao Valley and marching to Zhongling.

The checkpoint at Zhongling is still under repair.

Although Zhang Xun had been on guard against any movement from Bingzhou, he did not expect Dong Zhuo's army to arrive so quickly.

He had no choice but to withdraw his troops and retreat entirely to Shanwu, and sent a messenger to Liu Wei in Yunzhong.

In the letter, Zhang Xun also promised that he could hold out for at least three months, allowing Liu Wei to make the decision.

After sending the message, Dong Zhuo surrounded the city with 30,000 troops.

Dong Zhuo had only 10,000 troops in Jinyang. Along the way, he gathered many refugees and also wiped out two groups of mountain bandits.

In order to expand its military strength, it accepted all comers, and its forces grew like a snowball.

Not only that, but they also recruited two more fierce generals, Hua Xiong and Xu Rong!

He marched triumphantly to Shanwu and ordered the city's defenders to open the gates and surrender.

Zhang Xun ignored him.

Dong Zhuo was furious and ordered Niu Fu to launch an attack on the city.

If I can capture Shan Wu, I can become the governor of Bingzhou.

With military and political power within reach, Dong Zhuo was torn between desire and anxiety.

After two days of fighting and countless attacks, they failed to breach the city walls even once.

This enraged Dong Zhuo, who then launched into a tirade of insults at Niu Fu and the other generals.

"Where's Wenyou? Where did Wenyou go?"

Dong Zhuo noticed that Li Ru was not by his side and felt uneasy, so he hurriedly asked about it.

"he..."

Niu Fu was thoroughly scolded, and now when Dong Zhuo asked him where Li Ru was, he didn't know and stammered out an answer.

Dong Zhuo became even angrier and was about to fly into a rage.

"Father-in-law, please calm down!"