"Hedong has fallen?"
"Dong Yue and Hua Xiong suffered a crushing defeat?"
"Taiyuan and Yanmen are lost? Xu Rong committed suicide, and Duan Wei died in battle!"
"......"
A series of military reports made Dong Zhuo feel as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water, instantly chilling him to the bone.
In his plan, the troops from the four commanderies, along with Hua Xiong, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji, totaling fifty to sixty thousand men, should be able to defend Bingzhou without any problem.
As for getting them to abandon Bingzhou and come to Luoyang, it should be a gradual process.
"Where are they now?" Dong Zhuo pressed on.
"Reporting to Your Excellency, Hua Xiong led a thousand soldiers ahead to cross the river at Heyin Ferry. Prefect Hu Zhen, along with Generals Fan Chou and Zhang Ji, and Prefect Dong Yue, led the main army to slowly withdraw from Shangdang and head towards Luoyang."
Dong Zhuo muttered, "It's good that he's here, it's good that he's here! What use is Bingzhou to him? We might as well enter Luoyang, take advantage of the natural barrier of the Yellow River, and see how Liu Wei crosses the river!"
"Father-in-law, we are still in a stalemate with the imperial allied forces. Being attacked from both sides, the situation is not very optimistic!"
Upon hearing the military situation in Bingzhou, Niu Fu immediately looked worried. "Although we used a trick yesterday to sow suspicion among Yuan Shao, Ding Yuan, and Lü Bu, the current military situation doesn't allow us to wait for them to fight amongst themselves."
At this moment, Li Ru said, "I have already sent an envoy to secretly contact Empress Dowager He."
"What did she say?" Dong Zhuo asked hurriedly.
"She said that since you, father-in-law, have saved the emperor, as long as we safely send His Majesty back to Luoyang, she will agree to issue an edict to appoint you as General of the Vanguard and Grand Tutor, giving you overall control of the government."
Li Ru said, "She is now being coerced by the Yuan, Wang, Yang, and Sima families, and has no choice but to agree to let the imperial army fight against you."
"No wonder Yuan Shao has gathered so many troops to fight me. It turns out he has his own selfish motives and wants to become a general!"
Dong Zhuo sneered, "Now that we have the Empress Dowager's support, we no longer need to hesitate!"
“Niu Fu, today you will dispatch Li Meng, Wang Fang, Li Jue, and Guo Si to lead the Bingzhou cavalry in continuous attacks on Yuan Shao’s camp.”
"If Ding Yuan's men go into battle, you must retreat immediately."
"Dong Min and Dong Huang, you two go to the Heyang ferry to welcome Hua Xiong, Hu Zhen, and the others!"
"After receiving the order, we made a big show of coming to Beiman Mountain, so that the imperial allied forces would see that our reinforcements had arrived and be intimidated by them."
After Dong Zhuo gave the order, the generals immediately took action.
at the same time.
In Ding Yuan's camp, Ding Yuan was still upset that Lü Bu hadn't reported to him earlier.
But wasn't he himself also questioned by Yuan Shao?
Thinking of this, Ding Yuan felt a surge of anger again, so he wanted to find Lü Bu to have a deep talk and get to know him better, so as to eliminate any barriers between them.
After all, he brought the Liangzhou army into the capital, and the person in charge of the troops was Lü Bu.
So he ordered Lü Bu to be summoned. Soon after, someone brought a messenger to report: "Sir, a man from Liangzhou has come. He says he is a confidant of General Zhang Yang and has urgent military information!"
Ding Yuan's heart tightened, and he hurriedly summoned him.
The man from Liangzhou, dressed as a merchant and looking travel-worn, immediately collapsed to the ground in tears upon seeing Ding Yuan.
"What exactly happened in Liangzhou?" Ding Yuan asked, taking a deep breath.
"My lord, General Zhang Yang sent me with an urgent report: the troops from Hexi are too strong, and the five counties of Longyou cannot be defended at all! He plans to retreat to Guanzhong." The man wiped away his tears and said urgently.
"What!"
Ding Yuan's expression changed drastically. "How come Longyou has fallen again?!"
When he led his army into Hangu Pass, an urgent report came from Liangzhou that Liu Wei's army in Hexi had bypassed the desert and launched a surprise attack on the Wushaoling defense line from the rear.
Ma Teng was defeated and retreated to the Jincheng-Xiping line.
Unexpectedly, Han Sui directly kidnapped Ma Teng and surrendered to Liu Weijun.
Ding Yuan was too far away to intervene effectively, so he had no choice but to continue his advance on Luoyang, hoping to help He Jin by remonstrating with his troops to counterbalance Dong Zhuo.
The five commanderies of Longyou have great depth, the natural defenses of the Longshan Mountains, and the fortifications of Dasanguan and Xiaoguan. Zhang Yang still has 30,000 troops at his disposal, which can hold off Liu Wei's army for at least two months.
Now Zhang Yang has actually sent an envoy to say that Longyou cannot be defended.
The envoy set off in this state, and it must have been more than half a month since then. Longyou might have fallen as well.
If that's the case, wouldn't Ding Yuan lose all his territory?
At this moment, Lü Bu also rushed over. Upon seeing Zhang Yang's messenger, he inquired about the situation in Liangzhou and was immediately enraged.
“Godfather, this Liu Wei is extremely vicious. He seized Liangzhou while we were on our way to the capital.”
"Didn't he issue a proclamation to the world, purge the court of corrupt officials, quell the national crisis, and eliminate the wicked empress? Why then does he want to seize our territory?"
Ding Yuan said leisurely, "He is a prince, so how can you say he's stealing?"
"His uprising to march on the capital is righteous; if we try to stop him, we will be going against the will of Heaven!"
“We have incurred his enmity in Yunzhong and Zhangye. If he enters Guanzhong and Luoyang one day and supports the Prince of Chenliu as emperor, then the Han Dynasty will have no place to stand!”
Upon hearing this, Lü Bu hurriedly asked, "Then, godfather, what should we do now?"
"Now, perhaps the best course of action is to lay down arms with Dong Zhuo, force him to hand over His Majesty, and then unite against Liu Wei to force him to withdraw his troops."
"I will go and persuade Yuan Shao to make peace!"
"If we continue to fight amongst ourselves here, Liu Wei will gain a huge advantage."
After saying that, Ding Yuan gave Lü Bu a meaningful look. "Fengxian, I was too suspicious today and shouldn't have questioned you. How could I not know your loyalty to me? How could Dong Zhuo's letter have driven a wedge between us?"
"Father, I was also wrong. I shouldn't have kept quiet about how Dong Zhuo tricked me into betraying him!"
Upon hearing Ding Yuan's heartfelt words, Lü Bu's heart warmed. "From now on, no matter who tries to tempt me, I will send them to my adoptive father for punishment, to show my resolve."
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