Ding Yuan was extremely pleased.

The two questioned Zhang Yang's envoy for a while, then sent him back to Zhang Yang to temporarily avoid Liu Wei's advance and wait for Liu Wei to suffer a setback in Luoyang before retaking Liangzhou.

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves thundered outside the military camp, and shouts of battle arose.

Ding Yuan and Lü Bu hurriedly donned their armor and went out to see what was happening, only to find that Dong Zhuo's troops were launching repeated attacks on Yuan Shao's camp.

The Bingzhou cavalry were skilled in archery and horsemanship, and Yuan Shao's infantry were pinned down and suffered heavy losses.

The five colonels of the Northern Garrison of the capital and Huang Wan's Yuzhou Army intentionally preserved their strength, focusing only on defense and refusing to engage in battle.

Ding Yuan then ordered Lü Bu to lead troops to assist him.

To everyone's surprise, as soon as Lü Bu's troops arrived, Dong Zhuo's army immediately retreated, shouting, "If it weren't for Governor Ding, we would have trampled Yuan Shao's camp to pieces!"

Seeing that Dong Zhuo's army had retreated, Lü Bu returned to his camp.

Unexpectedly, Dong Zhuo's army attacked Yuan Shao again, and Lü Bu went to his aid once more, causing Dong Zhuo's army to retreat.

This repeated itself left Yuan Shao completely bewildered.

"Dong Zhuo must have made a deal with Ding Yuan to target us!"

Yuan Shu said from the side, "We've received a report from Heyang that a large number of reinforcements have arrived from Bingzhou. If Dong Zhuo's forces become too powerful, we'll be in trouble."

Just now, someone from Grand Tutor Yuan Wei's side came to inquire about Yuan Shao's progress, and also told him that the Empress Dowager seemed to have contacted Dong Zhuo as well.

The Western Garden Army, the Yuzhou Army, and the five schools of the Northern Camp also received the Empress Dowager's order to remain inactive.

It seems that only Yuan Shao's troops from Ji Province, Yuan Shu's troops from Nanyang, and He Jin's three thousand armored soldiers are currently engaged in battle.

Currently, Ding Yuan is still able to keep Dong Zhuo's Bingzhou cavalry in check. If Ding Yuan stays out of it and Dong Zhuo targets him, then the war simply cannot be won.

Yuan Shao frowned and asked, "Gonglu, what good solution do you have?"

"Brother, I have a bold idea!"

Yuan Shu lowered his voice.