Hundreds of fires broke out in the city; even pigs would know it was an organized, premeditated attack.

"Grand Tutor, who could have set this fire?"

"Could it be a spy sent by the King of Clouds? Impossible! He promised us to go to peace talks, the King of Clouds wouldn't do something so heinous!"

"If it's not the King of Yunzhong, then it must be Dong Zhuo! He must have been driven to desperation by the King of Yunzhong's army pressing on the city and the attack on the Beiman Mountain camp!"

“In the past few days, Dong Zhuo’s nephew Dong Huang has been collecting dead pigs and horses in and around Luoyang. Some people have seen them secretly throwing these dead animals into the moat and wells in the city!”

"Dong Zhuo has gone mad. What is he planning to do? Does he intend to destroy Luoyang and then leave us with ruins?"

"......"

The sudden fire in Luoyang caused an uproar among those present. In light of the recent unusual movements of Dong Zhuo's army, all sorts of speculations and conjectures immediately emerged.

Yuan Wei's expression changed drastically.

If what they say is true, then Dong Zhuo sending someone to invite them over tonight must be for some ulterior motive.

If Dong Zhuo wanted to destroy Luoyang, how could he possibly spare the young emperor, the empress dowager, and those old fogies?

The situation in Luoyang is like a woman's face—it can change in an instant!

At this moment, in addition to the panicked screams of the people outside, countless shouts of killing echoed throughout the city.

It spread from the west of the city towards the palace.

Everyone stared at Yuan Wei in horror, waiting for him to make a decision.

Needless to say, the commotion outside must be Dong Zhuo letting his troops into the city to set fires and commit atrocities.

"Immediately summon Yuan Shu to lead all his troops into the city."

"Everyone, hurry back to your residences and organize all the men in your residences to guard the gate and prevent the chaos from spreading."

"Dong Zhuo dared not stay in the city for too long. He set fire to and looted the capital, which was already an open confrontation with the people of the world."

"......"

Yuan Wei said urgently.

Everyone hurriedly set off back to their residences. Sima Fang turned around and reminded, "Grand Tutor, when Yuan Sili brings his troops in later, remember to have him go to the palace immediately to protect His Majesty and the Empress Dowager."

"If they are kidnapped by Dong Zhuo, we will have no bargaining chips with the King of Yunzhong."

"Yes, yes, Grand Tutor, I will go to the palace immediately and inform the General of the Five Offices and the General of the Imperial Guard to guard the palace and prevent the rebel soldiers from entering."

The first thing that came to everyone's mind was the usefulness of the young emperor and the empress dowager.

Faced with political interests, how tragic was the plight of Empress Dowager He, a widow and orphan.

But part of all this was a bitter pill brewed by Empress Dowager He herself, but more of it was out of helplessness.

Caught in the vortex of power, one is often powerless to control their own destiny.

If you don't kill others, others will kill you!

"Don't worry, everyone, I understand!"

"We will definitely see the sun rise tomorrow."

Everyone: ?

......

Flames soared into the sky in Luoyang, and cries of anguish echoed everywhere.

The people who had already gone to sleep were awakened and rushed out to help put out the fire.

But they discovered that the arsonists were a group of armored, fierce-looking soldiers.

They came in groups, heading towards the grand houses with high pavilions and gates throughout the city.

They rushed in without saying a word, killing anyone they saw and robbing anyone they found.

As for the women, there wasn't enough time; the officers only gave them an hour to do as they pleased.

Immediately, countless wealthy households and officials in the city were looted.

After looting, they set the house on fire.

When the other civilians first saw the soldiers setting fires everywhere, they were already trembling with fear.

However, they breathed a slight sigh of relief when they saw that the soldiers only burned and looted the homes of officials.

Some of the bolder ones, with nothing to lose, even added fuel to the fire after the soldiers had looted the place, taking the opportunity to grab some of the remaining valuables.

As more and more fires broke out, it seemed as if the entire city of Luoyang was engulfed in flames, shining brightly in the night sky. The flickering flames could be seen from dozens of miles away.

at this time.

Thirty li east of Luoyang City, in front of Xuanmen Pass.

Lü Bu, along with his generals Wei Xu, Gao Shun, Song Xian, and Hao Meng, and 30,000 Liangzhou warriors, had quietly arrived here from Chenggao.

When they saw the flickering flames over Luoyang, Lü Bu mounted Red Hare, raised his halberd high, and roared:

"kill!"

Countless figures emerged from the darkness and surged toward the revolving gate like a tidal wave.

Behind Xuanmen Pass, Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou, with 30,000 infantrymen, and Li Meng, with 4,000 cavalrymen, also arrived.

Dong Zhuo ordered them to attack Liu Wei's 100,000 troops at Xuanmen Pass as soon as Luoyang was ablaze, and to launch a pincer attack with Lü Bu to capture Xuanmen Pass and cover Dong Zhuo's entry into Yanzhou from Hulao Pass.

When Li Jue saw the raging fire in Luoyang and heard shouts of battle rising not far ahead, he gave the order to attack without hesitation.

In an instant, countless arrows rained down from both sides of Xuanmen Pass, and tens of thousands of soldiers charged out.

The 100,000 troops here are commanded by ten captains, under the control of Zhang Liao, and under the unified command of Grand Commander Yue Fei.

However, Zhang Liao was still leading cavalry in the Beiman Mountains to attack Dong Zhuo's Bingzhou cavalry.

Therefore, after being summoned by Liu Wei, they drove away the garrison at Xuanmen Pass and have been stationed there ever since.

This army of 100,000 is large in number, but they are all blank slates, without any unit-specific abilities, and their equipment is of blue quality.

Liu Wei summoned them to bolster his forces and subdue the enemy without a fight, therefore he did not want them to fight on the battlefield.

Before launching their attack, Lü Bu and Li Jue had already gathered information and knew that these soldiers were not very strong in combat.

How could they possibly fail to take down their 65,000 elite troops from Bingzhou and Liangzhou?

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