Lu Bu accepted Ding Yuan's sword and seal with a mixture of doubt and skepticism.
"Speed is of the essence in war. I urge the general to immediately dispatch troops to Heyang, lest we miss the opportunity to allow the reinforcements from Bingzhou to cross the river!"
The messenger left a message and hurriedly departed.
"Wei Xu, Gao Shun, Hao Meng, Song Xian!"
"You four, quickly muster your troops and set off!"
In the end, Lü Bu gave the order to lead Ding Yuan's 30,000 troops to Heyang.
Since it is said that Ding Yuan went to the palace to see the Empress Dowager, and his sword and seal are here, there is no need to doubt it.
"General, something's fishy about this!" Gao Shun said, frowning.
"How is it suspicious?"
"They said the governor went to the palace and handed over his sword and seal, but why haven't the five guards who went with him returned?"
Gao Shun said slowly, "There's no need for the governor to bring guards with him when he goes to the palace!"
Lu Bu's eyes lit up: "Gao Shun, what do you mean?"
"I deduce that the governor did not go to the palace at all, but was placed under house arrest by Yuan Shao. He then used the excuse of going to see the Empress Dowager to order us to send troops!"
Gao Shun said, "Besides this, I can't think of any other reason why the governor has not returned yet!"
What you're thinking is exactly what I'm concerned about!
Lu Bu certainly wouldn't admit that he lacked intelligence, but he had just thought of this point, only to have his train of thought interrupted by the sudden arrival of the messenger.
"When my adoptive father left, he mentioned that Yuan Shao should negotiate with Dong Zhuo. Now he wants us to send troops to attack Dong Zhuo's reinforcements. It must be that my adoptive father and Yuan Shao have different opinions and have a conflict!"
"We won't go to the other side of the Yellow River; we must first lead our troops to meet our godfather!"
"Hao Meng and Song Xian, you two guard the camp. Anyone who approaches, shoot them with crossbows!"
"Gao Shun, Wei Xu, take your men and come with me to Yuan Shao's camp to demand the release of the prisoners."
At Lü Bu's command, the Liangzhou army sprang into action.
Before long, Lü Bu led 10,000 troops out of the camp and headed straight for Yuan Shao's camp.
......
"Father-in-law, the plan is complete! Lü Bu is leading his troops to attack Yuan Shao's camp!"
Niu Fu had already sent people to keep a close eye on the movements of Ding Yuan and Yuan Shao. In addition, with the reminder from his subordinate, a captain surnamed Jia, he immediately reported any unusual activity in the Liangzhou army camp.
"Excellent! I never expected that such a obvious counter-espionage plot would fool Yuan Shao and Ding Yuan! Your man is so adept at understanding people's hearts; his strategies are not only brilliant but also incredibly ruthless!"
Dong Zhuo immediately praised Niu Fu, saying, "Once we enter Luoyang, persuade this man again and see if he will come out to help me!"
Niu Fu was also unsure whether the captain named Jia Xu would come out, so he changed the subject: "Father-in-law, what should we do now?"
"Of course we should take this opportunity to add fuel to the fire!"
"Order Li Jue, Guo Si, Li Meng, and Wang Fang to gather ten thousand cavalry and follow me out of the camp to launch a fierce attack on Yuan Shao!"
Dong Zhuo gave the order without hesitation.
"Will the Western Garden Army, the Yuzhou Army, and the Five Schools of the Northern Army also send out troops?" Niu Fu asked worriedly.
"Haha, I have reached an agreement with the Empress Dowager, and she has issued an imperial edict ordering that these troops not be moved. The Grand Tutor has also tacitly agreed!"
"Yuan Shao has already been abandoned by the Yuan family, so our target should only be Yuan Shao's military camp!"
Dong Zhuo laughed heartily!
It turns out that Dong Zhuo had been secretly working hard these past few days and had already gained the support of Empress Dowager He and Yuan Wei.
He promised to send the young emperor back to Luoyang, and Empress Dowager He and Yuan Wei also agreed to give Dong Zhuo a position and let Ding Yuan's troops return to Liangzhou.
Only Yuan Shao is still in the dark.
Yuan Wei and his group must have expressed their dissatisfaction with Yuan Shao's insistence on opposing Dong Zhuo.
As Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and Guanzhong were in dire straits, Empress Dowager He's greatest threat was not Dong Zhuo, who was holding the young emperor hostage, but Liu Wei's army, which was closing in day by day.
Perhaps Empress Dowager He and Yuan Wei realized that if Yuan Shao and Dong Zhuo continued to fight, it would ultimately benefit Liu Wei.
Empress Dowager He needed Dong Zhuo's troops to deal with Liu Wei.
Now is the time to end this fighting under the walls of Luoyang!
Therefore, when Dong Zhuo took the initiative to contact Empress Dowager He, first to apologize, and then to tell her that the young emperor was eating and drinking well at his place and that there were women serving him, Empress Dowager He was half relieved.
Empress Dowager He immediately agreed to Dong Zhuo's demands and discussed the matter of ending the war with Yuan Wei and others.
When Yuan Wei informed Yuan Shao, it just so happened that Lü Bu, under Ding Yuan's command, had defeated Dong Zhuo's cavalry. Yuan Shao believed that the matter could be resolved by force and insisted on eliminating Dong Zhuo first.
In fact, Yuan Shao also had his own selfish motives. Once he defeated Dong Zhuo and rescued the young emperor, he would be promoted to Grand General without any problem based on this achievement.
In this way, the Yuan family gained control of the Han Dynasty's court and military, thus becoming the de facto rulers of the Han Dynasty.
Which man doesn't crave power?
At this moment, Yuan Shao is unaware that he has been isolated by Dong Zhuo's strategy of forming alliances and maneuvering.
However, Ding Yuan was completely ignored by all parties and became a victim of their struggle.
Before long, Dong Zhuo's cavalry was all mobilized, with nearly ten thousand cavalrymen gathering in the camp in a massive, overwhelming manner.
At this time, Lü Bu led 10,000 Liangzhou soldiers to Yuan Shao's camp.
Lü Bu, with Gao Shun on his left and Wei Xu on his right, wielding their halberds, charged forward angrily, shouting:
"Yuan Shao, release my lord, or we will raze this place to the ground!"
Inside the camp, Yuan Shao was puzzled.
Didn't Yuan Shu say that if he detained Ding Yuan and used grain as leverage, Lü Bu and the others would obediently obey and lead their troops to Heyang to block Dong Zhuo's reinforcements?
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
