"That bastard Hu Zhen, I've never treated him badly, why doesn't he learn from Xu Rong, or at least emulate Duan Wei!"

Luoyang City, the Grand Tutor's Mansion.

Dong Zhuo originally thought that Hu Zhen could hold Hangu Pass for ten days or half a month, but in the end he fought to the death and remained loyal.

However, to Dong Zhuo's utter surprise, Hu Zhen surrendered after only two or three days.

How could this not disappoint Dong Zhuo?

When he was promoted to General Who Pacifies the North, the first thing he did was to promote Hu Zhen, Dong Yue, Xu Rong, and Duan Wei to the rank of Lieutenant General, which shows how much he valued them.

Of the four, Xu Rong was the most capable overall, but Hu Zhen was the one Dong Zhuo trusted the most.

The person you love most often hurts you the most!

At this moment, Dong Zhuo felt extremely bitter, as if his heart was being torn apart by a knife after being hurt by love.

"Father-in-law, things have come to this point. From now on, our main focus should be on the final battle with Liu Wei."

"The gains and losses of Hangu Pass are no longer important."

"Before long, Liu Wei's troops will enter Luoyang territory. We must prepare our troops and fight him to the death!"

Li Ru felt secretly pleased, but his face showed immense heartache.

Although he had previously advised Dong Zhuo to promote Hu Zhen, Dong Yue, Xu Rong, and Duan Wei, it was because he understood Dong Zhuo's intentions and acted accordingly.

Now that only Dong Yue, the former governor of Hedong, remains of the four, it's time to promote all the people under his command.

“That’s right, Father-in-law. With the decisive battle at hand, I suggest that all the generals be promoted to boost morale!” Niu Fu added.

"General Niu's suggestion is excellent. Father-in-law, you promoted Lü Bu to General of Valiant Might, so you should also promote the soldiers. We fought our way from Bingzhou to the capital, and all our assets in Bingzhou were gone!"

Li Ru continued.

"Yes, I will go to the Empress Dowager now and have the young emperor issue an edict to promote everyone." Dong Zhuo nodded.

During this time, he was busy with internal and external affairs, busy playing games with the Empress Dowager and the Yuan family, and forgot about his loyal subordinates.

If we don't give them some incentives, I'm afraid everyone will have complaints.

After all, Hu Zhen's surrender was a fact that needed to be addressed before any potential problems arose.

"On behalf of all the generals, we thank the Grand Tutor!"

Li Ru and Niu Fu said in unison.

"Wenyou, what did the Yuan family say about our decisive battle with Liu Wei?" Dong Zhuo asked again.

"Of course they agreed to provide money and supplies to help us win this battle!"

"Back then, the Yuan family was on the opposite side of Liu Wei in the struggle for the position of crown prince. Now that Liu Wei has come to the capital, if he wins, he will definitely put the Prince of Chenliu on the throne. How could he tolerate the Yuan family?"

Li Ru said with a sigh.

"Baiye, is the Prince of Chenliu really nowhere to be found?" Dong Zhuo asked Niu Fu with a frown.

"We've searched all over Luoyang and Chenliu, but there's no trace of him. Even Dong Cheng is missing," Niu Fu replied helplessly.

"No need to guess, it must have been Liu Wei who did it!"

Dong Zhuo sighed, "One pen cannot write two Dongs! My original plan was to find the Prince of Chenliu, and under the guise of Empress Dowager Dong, to claim kinship with the Dong family, so that I could repeat Huo Guang's deeds."

It turns out that Dong Zhuo risked everything to establish the Prince of Chenliu not because the young emperor was incompetent, but because the Prince of Chenliu was clever and capable, which Dong Zhuo disliked!

Behind this, there are naturally political interests at play.

Dong Zhuo wanted to emulate Huo Guang or He Jin and become a maternal relative.

This would make his control of the government more legitimate.

Dong Zhuo was a warlord who relied on military force to advance and control the government. Although he was powerful, he was looked down upon by many scholars.

Take Dong Zhuo as an example. After he became Grand Tutor, he was not capable of handling state affairs. After all, a large number of officials were needed to do things.

Dong Zhuo's subordinates were all ordinary soldiers; how could you expect them to engage in politics?

Dong Zhuo had no choice but to rely on powerful families like Yuan Wei to run the court, and appointed many scholars recommended by them to official positions.

But with the title of Empress Dowager Dong, a member of the same clan, Dong Zhuo was less resistant to the scholars.

The stubbornness of scholars, in the end, is simply a matter of saving face.

"Father-in-law, as long as we win this battle, everything else will fall into place!"

As a scholar, Li Ru suggested that Dong Zhuo acknowledge Empress Dowager Dong as his kinsman.

But this is contingent on having the Prince of Chenliu under one's control.

Without the Prince of Chenliu, all of this would have been for nothing.

Now, the only thing they can hold onto tightly is the young emperor!

Therefore, Dong Zhuo is only sleeping with palace maids and does not dare to make a move against Empress Dowager He for the time being.

"I know that. How is the defense work around Luoyang progressing?" Dong Zhuo asked.

"Father-in-law, rest assured, the 100,000 soldiers from Bingzhou and the 150,000 troops from the capital are gradually gathering around Luoyang."

Niu Fu said confidently, "If Liu Wei wants to get close to Luoyang, he will lose at least half of his troops!"

"Order the entire army to prepare for a decisive battle. Except for the troops stationed on the south bank of the Yellow River, all other troops must withdraw!"

Dong Zhuo nodded and said, "In addition, that navy is a headache. They may enter Luoyang via the Luo River to harass our rear!"

What strategies do you have to break this?

Li Ru remained silent, but Niu Fu said, "Father-in-law, I really need to report this to you. I do have a way to render this navy helpless."

Dong Zhuo's eyes lit up. It must have been suggested by that unseen captain under Niu Fu. He immediately said, "Speak quickly!"

“We can order all the blacksmiths in the city to make several iron chains and lay them across the river, so that they can’t get in!” Niu Fu said, feigning profundity.

Upon hearing this, Li Ru was stunned and looked at Niu Fu in disbelief: "Baiye, this plan is truly vicious!"

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