Guo Jia also realized what was happening, his face full of bitterness, and he murmured, "Yes! This is an open conspiracy!"

"I see."

Guo Jia nodded and said, "My lord must understand now!"

"Our lord is determined to fight Yuan Shao to the death. No matter what, he will fight for Qingzhou."

However, they all knew that once war broke out, the situation would inevitably become unbalanced, and if any unforeseen events occurred, Cao Cao would find it difficult to guarantee that he could control the entire north.

However, from a broader perspective, Qingzhou is also a must-have.

"well......"

Xun Yu sighed and said, "Since our lord has made up his mind, all we need to do is support him!"

The two looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.

For the two of them, once Cao Cao made a decision, no one could change it; they could only do as Cao Cao said.

On the other side, Cao Ren lived up to his reputation as Cao Cao's top commander. He led an army of 50,000 as the vanguard and captured Chang'an in less than ten days.

Li Jue and Guo Si fled immediately, and most importantly, Emperor Shao of Han, Liu Bian, also disappeared without a trace!

This news immediately caused a sensation throughout the world.

However, Cao Cao used the pretext of rescuing the Han Emperor, but now the Han Emperor had nowhere to be found, let alone rescued.

"My lord! According to the scouts, His Majesty has fled to Luoyang," Xun Yu hurriedly reported.

Luoyang?

Cao Cao frowned, remained silent for a long time, and finally sighed and said, "It seems that Your Majesty wants to return the old capital."

Xun Yu whispered, "My lord, what should we do next?"

Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Of course we'll go to Luoyang first. No matter how important Qingzhou is, it's not as important as His Majesty!"

For Cao Cao, having the emperor in his hands was equivalent to having the right to attack wherever he wanted.

If the emperor is not in his hands, he needs a good reason to send troops to fight whomever he wants.

"My lord is wise!"

"Tell Cao Chun to have the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry accompany me! I will personally go to welcome His Majesty!" Cao Cao ordered.

"promise!"

Xun Yu nodded and turned to walk out of the tent.

...

Luoyang, the Imperial Palace.

Liu Bian looked listless and extremely tired.

They marched for a month before finally reaching the outskirts of Luoyang.

The bumpy journey took a toll on Liu Bian's body, and the pain of missing his mother left him in a daze, looking sickly.

After Dong Zhuo's death, the entire city of Chang'an was plunged into hell on earth. Li Jue and Guo Si even spent the night in the palace, and Empress Dowager He, unable to bear the humiliation, committed suicide.

Most of those who followed Liu Bian in his escape were the remaining veteran officials of the court, including Minister of Works Wang Yun and Chancellor Yang Biao.

"My dear minister! My dear minister, I am hungry..." Liu Bian pleaded, looking at the assembled officials below.

Wang Yun took out a hard, dry cake from his pocket and handed it to Liu Bian.

Liu Bian took it and took a bite; it was too hard, he couldn't bite it at all.

"My dear minister, this pancake is too hard; I can't bite into it!"

Wang Yun stepped forward and advised, "Your Majesty, please be patient."

Liu Bian ignored the advice and continued to wail, "I want to eat meat! I want to eat meat!"

"Your Majesty..." Wang Yun hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Where would he find meat at a time like this?

Having even a pancake to eat is already a blessing; those ministers don't even have water to drink.

Just then, a eunuch came running in, stumbling and crawling.

"Your Majesty! An army... an army is heading towards Luoyang!"

These words startled Liu Bian, who was immediately stunned.

"What should we do? It must be Li Jue and Guo Si who have caught up with us. My minister, think of a solution quickly!" Liu Bian hurriedly turned his gaze to Sikong Wang Yun.

The other ministers were even more distraught, pounding their chests and wailing in despair.

They finally escaped Chang'an, were they really going to fall into the hands of those two beasts, Li Jue and Guo Si?

"Report! Your Majesty, it's not...it's not Li Jue or Guo Si, it's Cao Cao! Cao Cao is here!" the eunuch shouted, trembling.

"What?"

Everyone stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Your Majesty, the troops that attacked Li Jue and Guo Si earlier were Cao Cao's men," Wang Yun reminded him.

Liu Bian suddenly realized and said, "So it's Cao Mengde! Good, good, good! A friend in need is a friend indeed!"

He felt much more relaxed, but Wang Yun showed no sign of relaxation.

"Your Majesty, Cao Cao's arrival is likely not well-intentioned!" Wang Yun said worriedly.

In Wang Yun's mind, Cao Cao was also a powerful and ruthless figure, far superior to the two traitors, Li and Guo.

He was even more difficult to deal with than Dong Zhuo.

When Dong Zhuo controlled the court, Cao Cao did not come to the aid of His Majesty. But as soon as Dong Zhuo died, he sent troops. Isn't he trying to become the second Dong Zhuo?

"My dear minister, I have heard of Cao Mengde's reputation."

"Didn't Cao Mengde defeat the Yellow Turban rebels several times when the late emperor was alive?"

"When the Yellow Turban Rebellion captured Luoyang, Cao Cao even sent troops to Luoyang to provide relief?"

Liu Bian was still young and couldn't see through the tricks of the trade, but Wang Yun was no fool.

Cao Cao only sent troops to gain a good reputation. Otherwise, he would have sent troops when he was at Hulao Pass. Why did he wait until the Yellow Turban Army had already captured Luoyang before sending troops?

But Wang Yun couldn't say these words; that was the way of a subject.

"Your Majesty, let's first consider Cao Cao's intentions. Please, Your Majesty, put on your dragon robe!"

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