Not long after Lu Zhi and Huang Wan left, Dong Zhuo arrived with Li Ru.

"Greetings, Empress Dowager!"

"Grand Tutor, do you have a plan to deal with the enemy and escape?"

Empress Dowager He sat up straight, calmed herself down, and asked slowly.

"Empress Dowager, we are already surrounded by Liu Wei. We have no choice but to fight him to the death!" Dong Zhuo said in a deep voice.

Empress Dowager He said calmly, "I also had this idea. I wonder what the Grand Tutor plans to do?"

"Please issue an edict, Your Majesty, to hand over all the troops to me for unified command. Only then can we repel the enemy. Otherwise, if we continue to act independently like this, we will collapse without a fight once our supplies run out, even before Liu Wei can attack."

Dong Zhuo explained the implications and demanded command of the army.

The imperial army now outnumbers his own. If he doesn't take over these troops, he'll have no say in the matter.

When Empress Dowager He heard that Dong Zhuo had come to demand military power, she was naturally unwilling to agree.

Having finally secured the protection of 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers, they were now facing the prospect of Dong Zhuo seizing their military power. The orphaned mother and her child would then be left without any support, at the mercy of others.

"The best course of action is to have all the troops under unified command. However, I think it would be better to let Doctor Lu take charge of the troops, since he is knowledgeable in military strategy and made great contributions in suppressing the Yellow Turbans."

Empress Dowager He had already made up her mind, and naturally disagreed with Dong Zhuo's words.

Meanwhile, she was anxiously waiting for Lu Zhi to arrive with his men.

He thought Dong Zhuo wouldn't agree, but then he rolled his eyes and said, "The Empress Dowager is absolutely right. I have neglected Doctor Lu. If he were to take charge of military affairs, he would surely be able to restore the Han Dynasty from darkness to light."

"I am willing to hand over my troops to General Lu for command."

Back during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Dong Zhuo also participated in suppressing the rebellion. However, at that time, Dong Zhuo was quite incompetent and was besieged by the Yellow Turban army. It was the three brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei who saved him.

As a result, Dong Zhuo disliked Liu Bei and the other two for their low official rank and their arrogance and rudeness, which angered Zhang Fei so much that he was about to take action.

Therefore, the court unanimously agreed that Dong Zhuo's military skills were inferior to Lu Zhi's.

ah!

Empress Dowager He was quite surprised that Dong Zhuo agreed so easily.

They were just discussing killing Dong Zhuo and handing over military power, but now they're voluntarily giving it up.

Empress Dowager He was taken aback and didn't know what to say.

"Empress Dowager, is there a problem?" Dong Zhuo narrowed his eyes, seemingly catching a clue from Empress Dowager He's micro-expressions.

"No...it's nothing! Wang Zhen, quickly summon Doctor Lu for a meeting!"

Empress Dowager He hurriedly sent Wang Zhen to summon Lu Zhi, and specifically emphasized, "Let him come alone."

Wang Zhen hurriedly turned and left.

"?"

Dong Zhuo immediately became suspicious. He turned to Li Ru and gave him a wink, then said:

"Your Majesty, I will have Wen return to camp first to gather troops, so that it will be easier for Doctor Lu to take over."

"Grand Tutor can wait here, Mr. Li, please make yourself at home!" Empress Dowager He said dismissively.

Li Ru also hurriedly turned around and went out.

"Serve tea to the Grand Tutor!" Empress Dowager He instructed a maid to serve Dong Zhuo.

There was silence for a moment, then a flurry of footsteps sounded outside the door.

kill!

Suddenly, shouts of battle arose outside the door, as if two groups of people were fighting.

Empress Dowager He and Dong Zhuo were both shocked.

Then, Lu Zhi led dozens of armored soldiers in, looking at Dong Zhuo with an unfriendly expression.

"Dong Zhuo, you have wreaked havoc on the court, burned Luoyang, caused immense suffering, and held His Majesty and his ministers hostage. Your crimes are heinous, and we have come to capture you!"

Lu Zhi angrily pointed his sword at Dong Zhuo.

"Empress Dowager, what do you mean by this?" Dong Zhuo suddenly stood up.

"Doctor Lu, didn't I have Wang Zhen tell you that one person is enough? Why did you bring troops?"

"The Grand Tutor is willing to relinquish his military power!" Empress Dowager He asked.

"Empress Dowager, how could you so easily believe his nonsense? How could he possibly hand over military power?"

“If I hadn’t brought troops here, you and His Majesty would have been captured by him!” Lu Zhi said coldly. “Outside the county government office, Dong Zhuo brought hundreds of armored soldiers. It’s obvious he has ulterior motives.”

"Good! I knew you guys were acting suspiciously. Turns out you had this planned all along and wanted to kill me!"

Dong Zhuo scoffed, "Do you think I only have this many men?"

Just then, a man ran in from outside: "General Lu, we were fighting fiercely outside when suddenly several times our number of troops attacked, and we can't hold them off!"

"What?"

A flicker of panic crossed Lu Zhi's eyes; he had been far too careless.

He summoned two hundred elite troops from the military camp. On the way, he heard Wang Zhen relay Empress Dowager He's words. He did not believe that Dong Zhuo would voluntarily relinquish power, and still led his troops to capture Dong Zhuo.

Just as they arrived at the entrance, they encountered Niu Fu with a hundred guards.

Without exchanging a word, the two sides immediately began to fight. Lu Zhi led fifty men in and quickly entered to capture Dong Zhuo.

They thought victory was assured, but little did they know that the devil was one step ahead. Dong Zhuo was even more prepared, having gathered even more troops on the outskirts.

"Protect the Empress Dowager and capture Dong Zhuo!"

Lu Zhi ordered a few of his men to protect Empress Dowager He, while he drew his sword and charged at Dong Zhuo.

Dong Zhuo transformed into a nimble fat man, overturned the table in front of him, threw it at Lu Zhi and the others, and quickly retreated.

He spent half his life in the military, leading from the front in his early years. Although he was fat, his physical condition was still there, and he had developed muscle memory.

Chaos reigned in the hall. Lu Zhi was old, and his men were unable to subdue Dong Zhuo.

Before they could even get into a proper fight, Niu Fu and Li Ru led a large number of troops in.

Lu Zhi and his men were outnumbered and hastily covered Empress Dowager He's escape through the back door. Of course, the young emperor couldn't be left behind either.

They thought they would capture Dong Zhuo, but Dong Zhuo outsmarted them, and they ended up at a disadvantage.

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