Chenggao!
Lü Bu, who led 20,000 former Liangzhou troops and obeyed orders but not summons, also urgently summoned Gao Shun and Wei Xu to discuss countermeasures.
The news of Liu Wei's million-strong army besieging Luoyang reached Ji Province, and naturally, it reached him very early on.
He had just taken Dong Zhuo's Red Hare horse, then slept with a palace maid sent by Dong Zhuo, and was even appointed General of Valiant Might.
With such generous treatment, Lü Bu was just waiting for Dong Zhuo to suffer a defeat in the battle against Liu Wei at the gates of Luoyang, and then for him to take command!
But to his surprise, before Dong Zhuo could summon him to join the battle, he received the shocking news of a million-strong army outside Luoyang.
Moreover, Xuanmen Pass is located west of Chenggao.
Liu Wei also had 100,000 troops at Xuanmen Pass, which meant that 100,000 troops suddenly appeared behind Lü Bu.
In Chenggao, a tiny place, he was like a lone boat in a vast ocean!
“We can’t go back to Liangzhou. Once the King of Yunzhong defeats the Grand Tutor in Luoyang, he will definitely target me next.”
"We made enemies with the King of Yunzhong in Bingzhou and Liangzhou back then, do you think he'll let us go?"
Lu Bu looked worried and at a loss, "Where should we go from here?"
"General, now that Lord Ding has passed away, you are our pillar and backbone!"
Gao Shun was utterly loyal to Lü Bu, saying, "I'll do whatever you tell me to do, even if it means going through fire and water, without batting an eye."
Lu Bu was well aware of Gao Shun's loyalty, but now was not the time for loyalty to solve the problem.
Although Lü Bu had a hundred heavy cavalry under his command, and he himself was invincible in martial prowess.
But among a vast army, these are nothing.
"General, me too!"
Wei Xu was a relative of Lü Bu, a rough and uncultured man, how could he possibly come up with any strategy!
Seeing the two men's reckless behavior, Lü Bu could only shake his head and sigh: "If Zhang Yang were here, at least there would be someone who can make decisions!"
Gao Shun and Wei Xu could only respond with silence.
Just then, someone announced, "General, the Grand Tutor's men have arrived!"
Lu Bu was taken aback, then hurriedly said, "Please let him in."
When the visitor entered, Lü Bu was immediately startled: "General Niu Fu, you've come in person?"
"Also, isn't there the Cloud King's army at Xuanmen Pass? How did you manage to get through?"
Niu Fu shook the dust off his clothes: "General Lü, I am here disguised as a merchant. This matter is of great importance. The Grand Tutor ordered me to convey it to you in person."
Seeing Niu Fu's solemn expression, Lü Bu invited him to take a seat and then asked, "What are your orders, Grand Tutor?"
"General Lü must also know that the King of Yunzhong's million-strong army is about to besiege the city!"
"The Grand Tutor and the court officials decided to take the young emperor hunting in Yanzhou, and to call upon the troops of the whole country to come to the aid of the emperor and fight against the army of the King of Yunzhong."
Niu Fu first had Lü Bu call Gao Shun and Wei Xu out, then lowered his voice and spoke to Lü Bu.
"The Grand Tutor intends to move the capital with the young emperor?"
“That’s right. If the King of Yunzhong wants to install the King of Chenliu, he has to depose the young emperor first. Moreover, the Imperial Seal of the State is not in his hands. Installing him would be an overstepping of his authority and would ultimately lead to the loss of popular support.”
Niu Fu calmly replied, "The Grand Tutor has also sent people to make contact with Jizhou, Yuzhou, Yanzhou, Xuzhou, Qingzhou, and other places."
"As long as the Grand Tutor leads the young emperor and all the civil and military officials into Yanzhou, we will have nothing to fear from Liu Wei's troops."
"As long as we hold Hulao Pass, even if he has a million troops, he will not be able to advance eastward."
Lu Bu was quite surprised that Niu Fu, this simpleton, could actually analyze the general trend of the world.
However, just like him, Dong Zhuo, once the King of Yunzhong gained control of Luoyang, would certainly not let them go.
Now that Dong Zhuo has sent someone to point out a clear path, Lü Bu is naturally tempted:
"What does the Grand Tutor need me to do?"
"As soon as General Lü sees a great fire rising in the direction of Luoyang, he will raise a large army to attack Xuanmen Pass and attack Liu Wei's troops there."
"At that time, the Grand Tutor's 100,000-strong army will also retreat eastward from Luoyang, launching a pincer attack on Xuanmen Pass." Niu Fu stopped abruptly here.
However, Lü Bu already understood that Dong Zhuo dared not fight Liu Wei's million-strong army head-on, but he could attack one point of attack.
The other passes were located between 100 and 200 li (approximately 50 to 100 kilometers) from Luoyang, while this Xuanmen Pass was only 30 li (approximately 15 kilometers) away.
Dong Zhuo set fire to Luoyang, attracting Liu Wei's army from the west of Luoyang to come into the city to put out the fire.
Meanwhile, Dong Zhuo's 100,000-strong army had already left Luoyang with the young emperor and his officials.
Xuanmen Pass was attacked from both sides. Once it was breached, Dong Zhuo would be able to join forces with Lü Bu and enter Yanzhou territory at will.
By doing this, the outcome of the future decisive battle between Dong Zhuo and Liu Wei will be even more predictable.
But it's better than being swallowed up by Liu Wei right now.
There were indeed some brilliant strategists among the Grand Tutor's advisors, but the idea of burning down Luoyang was so ruthless that it left Lü Bu speechless.
In order to escape unscathed, the capital city of Luoyang was burned down without warning; that's quite ruthless!
There are a million civilians in the city!
Seeing the glint in Lü Bu's eyes, Niu Fu sneered inwardly.
Burning the capital and retreating eastward with the young emperor and his officials were just some of the actions taken.
Commander Jia also said that they should spread the rotting carcasses of cattle and sheep throughout Luoyang and around water sources, so that Liu Wei's troops and the people of Luoyang would be infected with the plague.
Once the plague spreads, even an army of tens of millions, let alone a million, would be rendered helpless.
As for who caused all this trouble, it was cleverly attributed to Liu Wei.
Once the capital is burned down, the people of Luoyang will be displaced and afflicted with plague. Liu Wei will not only suffer heavy losses and be rendered powerless, but his reputation will also be ruined, and he will be attacked by all under heaven.
When Niu Fu told Dong Zhuo about this wicked plan, the fat on Dong Zhuo's face twitched, and his eyes were filled with shock.
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