Meanwhile, in Yanshi City, east of Luoyang, a dark and gloomy atmosphere prevailed.
Dong Zhuo, along with his subordinates Li Ru, Niu Fu, Dong Min, Dong Huang, Dong Yue, and 30,000 troops, along with civil and military officials and the families of important court officials such as Yuan, Yang, Wang, and Wei, huddled in Yanshi City, living in constant fear.
Dong Zhuo already knew when he entered Yanshi that Li Jue, Guo Si, and 50,000 elite troops had been surrounded and annihilated by Liu Wei's army at Xuanmen Pass, along with Lü Bu's 30,000 troops.
He was stunned.
It turns out that Liu Wei's reason for besieging Luoyang without attacking was to eliminate Dong Zhuo's elite troops from Bingzhou.
The annihilation of the 50,000-strong army was like breaking Dong Zhuo's spine, instantly rendering him unable to cause any more trouble.
The 30,000 troops around him were far inferior in combat strength, and were not even enough to satisfy Liu Wei's hunger.
Moreover, Liu Wei's troops have now completely surrounded Yanshi City.
Compared to Liu Wei's previous million-strong army appearing at the eight passes of Luoyang, this time he only used about thirteen troops to besiege Yanshi City.
Dong Zhuo seemed to have also realized a problem: these 130,000 troops were Liu Wei's true main fighting force.
As many soldiers who escaped from Xuanmen Pass said, only 12,000 men actually attacked Li Jue's forces, while fewer than 10,000 attacked Lü Bu.
So the previous million-strong army was just a bluff.
If Dong Zhuo's 100,000 Bingzhou troops and the imperial army of 150,000 were to join forces, they could fight him, and the outcome would be uncertain.
Now look what's happened. Upon hearing about Liu Wei's million-strong army, they all lost their composure, resulting in this predicament.
One wrong step leads to another!
It seems Liu Wei is going to trap him in Yanshi City.
Dong Zhuo hurriedly led Li Ru and Niu Fu, along with hundreds of guards, to Empress Dowager He's residence.
At this time, Empress Dowager He was not in much better shape.
After a night of running around and living in fear, her elegant makeup was now a mess, and her once full and round face had become dull and lifeless.
She originally thought that by following Dong Zhuo eastward into Yanzhou, they could defend against Liu Wei's army by passing the Hulao Pass.
At the same time, in the name of the young emperor, he called upon the people to come to the aid of the emperor and wage a protracted war against Liu Wei.
But when they reached Yanshi, bad news arrived: Dong Zhuo's elite troops had been wiped out, and their eastward route had been cut off.
Then, countless troops surrounded them from all directions, trapping this rabble that had escaped from Luoyang.
Although Empress Dowager He had Lu Zhi, Huang Wan, and many other troops behind her, including the Xiyuan Army, the Five Schools of the Northern Army, and the Yuzhou Army, their morale was low and they had no will to fight.
Because they have lost their direction and don't know where to go or what to do.
Moreover, many generals in the army began to secretly plot to kill Dong Zhuo.
After all, Dong Zhuo's atrocities, such as setting fire to Luoyang, throwing corpses into water sources, and condoning soldiers' killing and looting, had already aroused hatred in the hearts of these generals.
They all had relatives, friends, or family members in Luoyang.
Meanwhile, the families of ministers such as Yuan Wei, Wang Yun, and Yang Biao were held hostage by Dong Zhuo, and dared not speak out against their anger.
Yuan Shu and his Nanyang army, who were relied upon to protect them, chose to leave at a crucial moment.
This infuriated Yuan Wei and his men even more.
They never blamed themselves, because from the moment they adopted Yuan Shao's strategy and encouraged He Jin to send Dong Zhuo to the capital to stage a military coup, they had already opened Pandora's box.
How could they possibly control the subsequent deterioration of events?
"Doctor Lu, Governor Huang, what should we do now? His Majesty only has you loyal ministers and generals left by his side!"
Empress Dowager He looked pitifully at Lu Zhi, Huang Wan, and the others.
"Your Majesty, given the current situation, we have no choice but to put aside our differences with Dong Zhuo, work together, and gather all our strength to fight Liu Wei to the death."
Huang Wan replied in a deep voice.
"I think Dong Zhuo has lost his main force and his army is weak. Moreover, his soldiers are full of complaints about him. It would be better to take this opportunity to get rid of Dong Zhuo, incorporate his troops, boost morale, and unite the troops so that we can fight a decisive battle."
Lu Zhi, however, held a different opinion.
As one of the last three pillars of the Han Dynasty, Lu Zhi stopped leading troops after quelling the Yellow Turban Rebellion and instead served as an Imperial Censor in the court.
Huangfu Song, who was with him, first offended the Ten Attendants and then Dong Zhuo, and was expelled from the court long ago.
Another general, Zhu Jun, was wanted to be appointed as Dong Zhuo's deputy when Dong Zhuo held power, but he politely declined.
Fearing that Dong Zhuo would frame him, Zhu Jun fled to Jingzhou.
Therefore, after listening to the advice of her personal eunuch Wang Zhen, Empress Dowager He was able to summon Lu Zhi to protect the young emperor!
"Your two ministers have already put me in a very difficult position!"
Empress Dowager He, however, had a headache. Apart from being skilled in palace intrigue and bedroom matters, she couldn't figure out this kind of strategy.
"Empress Dowager, if we eliminate Dong Zhuo, we can still fight!"
"But because they still harbored different intentions from Dong Zhuo, His Majesty and everyone else were defeated by Liu Wei's troops."
"Liu Wei should have brought the Prince of Chenliu into Luoyang by now. He has the late emperor's edict, which is said to be the Empress Dowager's decree. If the Prince of Chenliu is made emperor, there is a reasonable basis for it!"
Lu Zhi insisted on killing Dong Zhuo.
"How confident is Doctor Lu in killing Dong Zhuo?"
After thinking for a long time, Empress Dowager He finally made up her mind.
Back in the palace, it was Yuan Wei who relentlessly pressured them, threatening to detain her and the young emperor and offer them to Liu Wei in exchange for wealth and honor. This led Empress Dowager He to choose to flee with Dong Zhuo.
Now besieged in Yanshi, Dong Zhuo has lost all his elite troops, and Yuan Kui and his family are under Dong Zhuo's control.
If Dong Zhuo is captured as Lu Zhi suggested, then the various forces in Yanshi City can be unified and controlled by the Empress Dowager.
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