"On the northern slopes of Mangshan Mountain, there is little idle land; it is filled with old graves of people from Luoyang. Many families return to bury their dead there, and even piles of gold cannot buy their remains!"

Ten miles to the north lies Beiman Mountain, with a maximum elevation of 300 meters. Stretching for hundreds of miles, it forms a natural barrier to the north of Luoyang.

It appears exceptionally majestic and towering in the flat Luoyang Basin.

It is also a feng shui treasure land for the tombs of wealthy families in Luoyang and surrounding counties such as Pingxian, Yanshi, Gucheng, and Henan.

The mountains are dotted with graves, which appear particularly eerie and terrifying under the cover of night.

As dusk approached and night fell.

Five miles east of Beiman Mountain, the Tiger Warrior Camp of 5,000 men was already eerily silent.

Only outside the large tent surrounded by stars, there were guards every three steps and sentries every five steps, making it heavily guarded.

Dozens of fully armed guards straightened up and stood at attention.

After a secret meeting at the General's Mansion, He Jin, the Grand General of the Han Dynasty, accompanied by Yuan Shao and his trusted advisors, rushed here.

Chunyu Qiong, Bao Xin, and Zhao Hong, three captains, stood respectfully at the side, their faces expressionless.

"This is 30,000 taels of silver, the soldiers' pay for this operation, 50 taels per person!"

"You three captains will be promoted to lieutenant generals after the mission is accomplished tomorrow."

"Go ahead and do it. I, the General, and Yuan Sili will take care of everything for you."

"Whoever among you three and your men can capture this man alive will be rewarded with ten thousand gold pieces! Whoever kills him on the spot will also be rewarded with five thousand gold pieces."

He Jin offered them power and wealth, instructing the three men that they must succeed this time and could not afford to fail.

Upon seeing this, the three generals naturally understood what was about to happen.

Tempted by power and wealth, they all silently nodded in agreement.

Yuan Shao just told them the plan of action: to lie in ambush around the villa near Beiman Mountain tonight, and launch an attack tomorrow when someone returns.

The three generals had already gathered all their trusted retainers and personal guards, totaling about six hundred men, to participate in the operation.

They knew in their hearts that they were going to kill a prince, and the risks involved were unimaginable.

Fortune favors the bold; the bigger the storm, the more valuable the fish!

"While he has been summoned to the palace by His Majesty, the three of you must make arrangements immediately without delay!"

Yuan Shao gave the order in a low, deep voice.

The Yuan family is now strongly supporting He Jin's various actions, standing behind him and encouraging him to do this and that, showing their ambition.

Even Dong Zhuo, whom He Jin believed to have promoted and nurtured, actually had a deep connection with the Yuan family.

According to the Book of Wu, "Duan Jiong, the governor of Bingzhou, recommended Zhuo Gongfu, and Yuan Wei, the Minister of Works, appointed him as an aide."

This shows that Yuan Wei, who served as Minister of Works, recruited Dong Zhuo to be his subordinate.

Therefore, Yuan Wei was Dong Zhuo's mentor, and Dong Zhuo was Yuan Wei's former subordinate.

It was precisely because of Yuan Wei's recruitment that Dong Zhuo was able to gradually gain fame among the upper echelons of the Eastern Han Dynasty and eventually become the governor of Hedong.

Now, Dong Zhuo has become the governor of Bingzhou, thanks to his own efforts and He Jin's high regard for him.

But it is also inseparable from the Yuan family's initial appreciation.

Later, He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo to the capital, also at the instigation of Yuan Shao, in order to achieve the goal of purging the court.

To everyone's surprise, Dong Pang didn't mention the kindness he had shown him back then, and he was even less willing to be a henchman of the Yuan family. He deposed the young emperor and installed the Xian emperor, seizing control of the court.

Yuan Shao, enraged, fled far away and rallied eighteen warlords to attack Dong Zhuo.

As a result, Dong Zhuo acted unpredictably and had Yuan Kui's entire family executed.

Because of Liu Wei's clear stance at the court meeting, his control of a large army beyond the Great Wall, and his growing prestige in the court and among the people, members of the imperial family also sided with him.

Not to mention He Jin, even Yuan Shao regretted saving him at Yanmen Pass!

The die is cast, and now that He Jin and Empress He are irreconcilable enemies with Liu Wei, Yuan Shao naturally has to actively participate in the operation to eliminate Liu Wei.

"I have said what I needed to say, so I will leave it to the three of you! The General and I will stay here and await your good news."

Yuan Shao stared intently at the three men, his eyes filled with unwavering conviction.

The three bowed with their hands clasped in greeting, their faces beaming with excitement.

Such a temptation is immense, let's do it!

The three invited He Jin and Yuan Shao to leave the camp, and soon they arrived at a secluded grove of trees outside the military camp.

Six hundred masked men dressed in black were crouching there, drinking heavily and eating large chunks of meat.

They were uniformly equipped with ring-pommel swords, soft armor, bows and crossbows, and carried flint and cotton wool for starting fires.

They would set off from here at midnight and quickly travel to the vicinity of the villa in Beiman Mountain to lie in ambush.

He Jin and Yuan Shao were very satisfied after reading it.

These men were the personal guards of the three captains, sharing their honor and disgrace, and never hesitating to carry out orders.

"Those hundred-plus people on Mount Beimang, who became Liu Wei's personal bodyguards and accompanied him to the capital, must be a force to be reckoned with!"

After reading it, Yuan Shao immediately said to the three generals, "As far as I know, they are cavalry, and they were able to easily pass through Shangjun and reach Guanzhong even amidst the encirclement and attack of the Xiongnu."

"Besides a swift victory, we must also prevent them from mounting their warhorses."

"If these hundred riders aren't wiped out immediately, it will take a lot of effort to kill them!"

Yuan Shao understood, of course, that the five battalions in the capital were lacking in warhorses and had very few organized cavalry units.

Although the five battalions in the capital had expanded several times over, they were all infantry. The few warhorses were all used by officers as mounts.

It would certainly be quite difficult to annihilate these valiant cavalrymen from beyond the Great Wall on the plains outside Luoyang.

Because these hundred cavalrymen are few in number, agile, and slippery, they must be surrounded slowly to capture them.

But they can slip away whenever there's an opening.

"Rest assured, Yuan Sili, we will definitely kill them before they even mount their horses!"

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