"Grand Tutor, Grand Preceptor! You two have made some moves!"
"Now that Hangu Pass has been breached, Liu Wei's army of 100,000 is approaching and has already reached Gucheng. They will soon be at the gates of Luoyang."
"We've given you the provisions, the official positions you wanted, and put you in charge of the court, so why are you still suffering defeat after defeat?"
Inside the Hanzhang Hall in Luoyang.
Empress Dowager He stood beside the young emperor with an unfriendly expression, looking angrily at the officials on both sides of the throne.
Military power was handed over to Dong Zhuo, and political affairs were handed over to Yuan Wei, but Liu Wei's army kept approaching.
On the north bank of the Yellow River, a large number of troops were gathered, and there seemed to be a strong indication that they were about to cross the river in force.
As Liu Wei's army approached Luoyang, public opinion, which was already unfavorable to Empress Dowager He, became even more so.
Adding to the rumors that the Prince of Chenliu had also been secretly invited away by Liu Wei, the political and military disadvantages that were emerging were already causing Empress Dowager He great anxiety.
Once Liu Wei entered Luoyang, it goes without saying that he would capture her and punish her for poisoning Emperor Ling.
Moreover, the young emperor's position is definitely not secure.
These ministers who have fallen from grace can simply find another master to serve.
But Empress Dowager He had no way out.
Every day, Dong Zhuo would order her to send palace maids from the palace to serve him. His gaze towards her was also full of aggression, which terrified Empress Dowager He, who feared that one day Dong Zhuo would also want her to serve him in bed.
If that's the case, Empress Dowager He is prepared to go all out, as long as she can get Dong Zhuo to fight for her.
However, Wang Zhen, an eunuch close to Empress Dowager He, advised her to be patient for the time being. He suggested that if Liu Wei, Dong Zhuo, and Yuan Wei were both severely weakened, she would have a chance to regain the initiative.
It is reported that Liu Wei had 150,000 troops, while Dong Zhuo and the Yuan family had 250,000!
Meanwhile, Wang Zhen had already contacted another faction in the court, waiting for the former to fight each other out so they could clean up the mess and protect the young emperor and empress dowager.
Empress Dowager He hoped every day that the two sides would start fighting as soon as possible.
However, when faced with Liu Wei's advance, Dong Zhuo did not launch any attacks except for the time when he sent Hua Xiong to rescue Hu Zhen. Instead, he repeatedly tightened his defenses.
How could this not make Empress Dowager He anxious!
"Your Majesty, do not panic! I have a plan to deal with this!"
"Although Liu Wei's army of 100,000 is approaching, we have dug deep trenches and laid traps around Luoyang."
"If they continue their advance, they will suffer heavy losses before they even reach the moat of Luoyang."
Dong Zhuo stepped forward and shouted loudly.
"Then...what about the north bank of the Yellow River? Once Liu Wei's troops have all crossed the river, they will be able to encircle Luoyang from two sides!" Empress Dowager He was not willing to be easily persuaded by Dong Zhuo.
"Hahaha, Your Majesty, you have even less to worry about! Liu Wei's troops on the north bank of the Yellow River number at most fifty thousand!"
"I have deployed heavy troops at various ferry crossings on the south bank of the Yellow River. Even if they can cross the river, it would be good if half of them made it to the south bank!"
"Your Majesty, please don't forget that I have 100,000 troops in Bingzhou, 30,000 in Yuan Gonglu, 50,000 in Yuzhou under Governor Huang, 50,000 in the Five Schools of the Northern Camp, and 150,000 troops in various places including the Western Garden Army, the Imperial Guard, and the Imperial Guard!"
"With our 250,000 troops, are we afraid of Liu Wei's mere 100,000-plus men?"
Dong Zhuo offered a brief explanation, but it did not dispel Empress Dowager He's doubts.
She wants both sides to start fighting right away!
"Grand Tutor, when will you fight Liu Wei? I will not be at ease until he is defeated."
Before Dong Zhuo could speak, Yuan Wei stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, Grand Tutor Dong is right, the advantage is in our hands now!"
“We have strong troops and ample supplies. Liu Wei has come from afar, so the supply of food and provisions will inevitably be a problem.”
"What we need to do now is to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, avoid their sharp edge, and launch a full-scale counterattack when Liu Wei's supplies run out, so as to win the battle in one fell swoop."
"As for the Empress Dowager's concern that Liu Wei will besiege the city from two sides, there is no need for that!"
"The art of war says, 'If you have ten times the enemy's strength, surround them!' If he wants to besiege Luoyang, he'll need at least a million troops, let alone two and a half million!"
"The question is, does he have it? Hahaha!"
When Yuan Shao first gained military power and led a large army to fight against Dong Zhuo, the Yuan family firmly supported him.
However, when Liu Wei's army raised troops from Hetao, Hexi and Youzhou and marched towards Luoyang, Yuan Wei secretly received a gesture of goodwill from Dong Zhuo, who expressed his gratitude for the past kindness shown to him and offered to join hands with him to resist Liu Wei.
Therefore, the Yuan family, represented by Yuan Wei, decided to abandon Yuan Shao, the illegitimate son, and instead support Yuan Shu, the legitimate son!
After ousting Yuan Shao, Dong Zhuo obtained the position of Grand Tutor, and the aristocratic families, led by the Yuan family, took control of the government and placed their own people in all the major departments of the court.
The Yuan family obtained the power they desired.
Therefore, at the court meeting, they naturally sided with each other, with Yuan Wei supporting Dong Zhuo.
"The Grand Tutor is absolutely right. Your Majesty, please calm down. Within a month, I will surely bring you Liu Wei's head!"
Dong Zhuo had already begun to suspect that he was Liu Wei's spies. He thought about how his Bingzhou had been annexed by Liu Wei, and how his territory, which he had painstakingly built up over a year, had just disappeared. He was bound to harbor resentment.
Seeing that Dong Zhuo and Yuan Wei had both expressed their opinions, forcing them to take the initiative to fight would only arouse suspicion.
Moreover, Empress Dowager He was ignorant of military affairs.
"Grand Tutor, I've heard that my elder brother has a navy with five hundred warships, and those ships are equipped with powerful crossbows that can shoot a thousand paces. If they advance from the Luo River to the walls of Luoyang, wouldn't they be able to shoot their way from the river to the palace?"
The young emperor, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked.
The young emperor may seem unruly, but he is not stupid.
When the question was asked, both Dong Zhuo and Yuan Wei were instinctively taken aback and surprised.
Empress Dowager He's eyes lit up; she never expected that her supposedly dull-witted son could actually think.
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
