August Wuchen Day (25th), late at night, Hangu Pass. ∮ Yan Moxuan ∮ ad-free ∮

Changshi Liu Ai and Sima Li Ru read the urgent letter sent by Dong Min, the commander of Fengche, and neither of them spoke. The two looked at each other, shocked. Dong Zhuo paced in the room with a grim expression.

Li Ru frowned deeply, touched the long scar on his face with his right hand, and slowly walked to the messenger who was kneeling on the ground. This messenger has always been Dong Zhuo's personal guard in the past, and his martial arts are very good. When the first emperor formed the Xiyuan Army last year, Dong Min was ordered to take a group of people to the capital to participate in the Xiyuan Army. If there were no special circumstances, Dong Min would not have sent him out of the city to deliver the letter.

"You tell me what happened in Luoyang again."

The messenger knew that the matter was serious, and immediately said again what happened in Luoyang without missing anything, "After Lord Duwei killed He Miao, he immediately sent me out of the city to come back to report. Feng Junhou, who was stationed at the west gate of Luoyang, was a friend of Lord Duwei, and he did not dare to open the city gate, so he lowered me from the city wall with a rope. I swam across the moat, ran to Beppu, the Governor outside the castle, and galloped 80 miles overnight to reach Hanya Pass. Originally, I was going to leave the customs tomorrow morning, but I didn't expect the adults to have already entered the customs. ”

"Do you see the general's head?"

"See." The messenger said, "Lord Yuan Shu Yuan was worried that it was a fake, and he deliberately wiped the blood off the human head. It was indeed the head of the Great General. ”

"You attacked and killed the Hussar General's Mansion and killed He Miao, was it ordered by Yuan Shao? What did you see with your own eyes? ”

"It's indeed Yuan Shao." The messenger said, "I saw Lord Yuan Shao and Lord Yuan flying in and calling Lord Du Lieutenant aside and talking for a long time. Lord Du Wei had been hesitant, as if he was not very willing, but later he was persuaded by Lord Yuan. We collided head-on with He Miao on the way to the Hussar General's Mansion, and everyone rushed up and immediately killed him. While cleaning up the scene, we found three eunuchs and retrieved the decrees and runes from them. When the Captain saw these things, he immediately sent me out of the castle himself. The Captain said that this thing might have some effect on the Shogun. ”

Li Ru looked back at the holy decrees and runes placed on the table, and a trace of excitement suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"When you left, was the fire still burning at Suzaku Gate?"

"When I galloped to Xianyang Garden, I could still see the sky-high fire in the city."

"Okay, you have made a great contribution this time, and the general will definitely reward you heavily." Li Ru waved his hand and said, "You go down and rest first." ”

Dong Zhuo looked at the messenger who disappeared into the darkness, and suddenly let out a long sigh, "All dead, these people are dead." ** Whether it is a eunuch or a general, they fight with each other to break their heads and bleed, but in the end they end up together. He shook his head and shook his strong body, "I have known Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang for more than ten years, and we can be regarded as friends. I think they were beautiful back then, but now? Now there are no bones left, and they have become a cloud of smoke. ”

"It's better to die than to be innocent." Li Ru scolded fiercely, and then asked, "What are you going to do?" Exit Gyeonggi and return to Seyang? ”

"I do." Dong Zhuo smiled lonely, "Look at Luoyang tonight, how many people have died?" They fought hard all their lives, and as a result, they ended up in a different place, and the nine clans were punished. What's the point? It's better to go back to Xiliang and have a good death. ”

"Do adults think they still have a chance to die well?" Li Ru sneered, "Luoyang must be, Lord Taifu and the ministers of the Shi clan are in charge, with what the adults have done in the past, they will still let you go back to Xiliang?" Will it make you want to be the second uncontrollable Han disaster like Li Hong? Now Huangfu Song is in Chang'an, his forward iron cavalry is in Tongguan, and Li Wei is in Hedong, his forward soldiers have been stationed on the south bank of the Yellow River, and the two of them have completely cut off our road to return to Xiliang. ”

"Changsheng is right, my lord." Liu Ai gently put down the holy decree on the desk, his face was full of worry, "The relationship between the adult and the ** eunuch is known to the world, and later, in order to survive, the adult secretly showed favor to the general, and at the same time vigorously befriended the gate lord clan in the capital, but these things were later known by the magnates in the court, and the lord was discredited by all parties in the court and the people, and was hated by the magnates in Luoyang." This is evidenced by the fact that the first emperor deprived the lord of his military power during his lifetime. ”

"Lord Taifu and the ministers of the scholar clan in the court need your help in order to get rid of the ** eunuch and the general, so they do not hesitate to abandon their previous suspicions, and even promise you the position of the third duke, but what about after the fact? Why did Lord Taifu keep not letting General Zuo Huangfu Song lead the army into the customs? Why did Bao Hong take the Xiyuan Army to Ping Optimistic, but let Chun Yuqiong stay in Hangu Pass? ”

"Cao Cao and Bao Hong's Xiyuan Army has been fully incorporated into the Northern Army last night, once Lord Taifu controls the 50,000 Northern Army, plus Ding Yuan, Wang Kuang, Bao Xin, and Qiao Mao outside Luoyang City, they have 60,000 or 70,000 troops outside Luoyang City, and we only have 20,000 people, which is not an opponent at all. If we don't know that great changes have taken place in Luoyang, ** eunuch and relatives are dead, or we still follow the orders of Lord Taifu to keep advancing and encircling the northern army, then we will soon fall into the encirclement of the Gyeonggi army, and at that time, what else can you do except be captured? ”

Liu Ai looked at Dong Zhuo and said dejectedly: "My lord, now we are in a dilemma, we must find a way to survive in the dead, otherwise these 20,000 soldiers will be considered to be the end of life." ”

"Li Hongxiong is in the northern Xinjiang and does whatever he wants, and he has long become a scourge of the Han Dynasty, but he is strong, and the court is helpless." Li Ru continued Liu Ai's words and said, "Lord Taifu and the ministers will never let the Great Han Kingdom have a second important general who dominates one side and threatens the country's social welfare. Therefore, they will take advantage of the opportunity of the adults to lead troops into Beijing, and will try their best to trap you in Gyeonggi, take away your military power, and maybe even kill you. There are too many excuses to kill you, Master Taifu will find a reason to tell the world that you are a traitor, and you will die without a place to be buried. ”

"I'm going back to Xiliang now, who can stop me?" Dong Zhuo smiled disdainfully, "You guys are thinking too much. If the eunuch and the general are not dead now, how can I be under siege and in danger? ”

"After the first emperor seized military power, the first emperor first asked you to return to Beijing to serve as a young man, and later asked you to go to Bingzhou to serve as a state pastor. Since then, the adults have been under siege and in danger. Li Ru asked, "Why don't you dare to go back to Beijing to serve as a young man?" Why don't you dare to go to Bingzhou and stay in Hedong? Why was he the first to respond to the general Li Hong and raise troops south to threaten the Son of Heaven and the imperial court? Why did the adults insist on entering Luoyang after the expedition of the general of the chariot and cavalry? Have you forgotten your purpose? ”

"There is no doubt that the adults can return to Xiliang, but even if the adults return to Xiliang, under the front and rear attacks of the Xiliang rebels and the Chang'an Huangfu Song, the adults are still not enough to protect themselves, how can they have the same strength as the general of the chariot cavalry? Now that the eunuchs and relatives are all gone, and the scholars are in charge of the court alone, once the Son of Heaven wants to deprive you of your military power, can you still openly disobey the holy decree like when the first emperor was alive? Li Ru looked at Dong Zhuo's hesitant eyes and said loudly, "If the adults retreat, there will be a dead end." If the adults enter, there is still a glimmer of hope. ”

Dong Zhuo shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Hope, where is there hope?" ”

"What was the purpose of our initial trip south to Gyeonggi? Later, what was the purpose of our troops entering Hangu Pass? Eradicate the ** eunuch, stabilize Luoyang, help the general take power alone, and then we will take the opportunity to return to Xiliang. Now I don't want to wait for an opportunity to enter the court. Looking at the general of the chariot and cavalry, it is also good to be able to dominate one side and do whatever he wants, which is much better than fighting with each other all day long in the court. ”

"Li Wei has sent troops to the Yellow River for the food and salary of the expeditionary army, and the purpose is nothing more than to ensure the stability of Luoyang. I accepted Master Taifu's proposal and was optimistic about it, also to ensure the stability of Luoyang. And as long as the general controls the Xiyuan Army, Luoyang will be completely stable. As for Lord Taifu's strategy of forcing the general to kill ** and then taking the opportunity to kill the general, it is simply a delusion beyond his means, it is impossible, and I will not help Lord Taifu. Don't say that I should be the third prince, even if I want to be a general, I won't do it, he doesn't have any chance of success. ”

"But he succeeded." Dong Zhuo sighed, "As soon as the eunuch and the general died, the situation in Luoyang took a sharp turn for the worse. Now that Lord Taifu is in charge, he can not only quickly control the northern army and stabilize Luoyang, but also solve my 20,000 people together. Therefore, continuing to enter Beijing now must be a dead end, and only by returning to Xiliang can there be a way to live. ”

"Li Wei is right. If I had gone earlier, I wouldn't have been as helpless as I am now. Dong Zhuo said with a little regret, "I want to make a little more money to reward the soldiers after the general stabilizes the situation, but who knew that such a big earth-shattering change occurred in Luoyang, so that 20,000 soldiers followed me into a predicament." ”

There was silence in the room.

Li Ru took two steps back and forth, and suddenly asked, "If the adults can control the Northern Army, do you still insist on withdrawing from Gyeonggi?" ”

Dong Zhuo looked back at the holy decree and talisman on the table, and did not speak.

Liu Ai said: "As soon as the general dies, the first thing Lord Taifu has to do is not to kill the eunuch, but to control the optimistic 50,000 Northern Army outside the city. Controlling the Northern Army is equivalent to controlling Luoyang and controlling the authority of the state, don't Lord Taifu and those ministers of the scholar clan know? Especially now that the five battalions of the Xiyuan Army have just been merged into the Northern Army, Pingxing is chaotic, these 50,000 soldiers seriously threaten the safety of Luoyang City, in order to quickly stabilize Luoyang, Lord Taifu must do everything possible to control the Northern Army first. ”

"That's the problem." Li Ru picked up the holy decree on the desk and said to Dong Zhuo, "My lord, please think about it, if Lord Taifu does not have the holy decree and talisman of the Son of Heaven, how can he win the trust of the generals of the Northern Army?" How to command the Northern Army? How to explain the death of the general to the officers and men of the Northern Army? How to ensure that the officers and men of the Northern Army will not make trouble and rebel? ”

"The situation in the camp of the Northern Army is not clear to Lord Taifu, but Lord Taifu knows that there are many soldiers in the West Garden and few soldiers in the North Army, and the officers and non-commissioned officers of various departments are being transferred and merged, and everyone is panicked and the military spirit is extremely unstable. At this time, if there is a disturbance, the northern army camp is likely to collapse in an instant. What are the consequences of the 50,000 army bombing the camp, I believe Master Taifu knows very well, so if he is not absolutely sure, he will not send someone to control the northern army. So, under what circumstances will Master Taifu be absolutely sure? The first is to have the holy decree and talisman of the Son of Heaven in hand, and the second is to have enough troops to surround the northern army in peace, so as to ensure that nothing goes wrong. ”

"The general's people and the tiger feather forest attacked the palace to kill the eunuch, and the eunuch must threaten the Son of Heaven and the Queen Mother in order to save his life." Li Ru asked, "If the lord sits in Luoyang and sees that the ** eunuch holds the Son of Heaven and the Queen Mother, do you dare to order the killing into the Changqiu Palace?" No one dared to do that. Master Taifu didn't dare even more. Therefore, I don't think that Lord Taifu can solve the affairs of the palace tonight, he will not be able to rescue the Son of Heaven and the Queen Mother, and he will not be able to obtain the holy decree and charm of the Son of Heaven. There were many things that he had to wait until after dawn to solve them. ”

"Now the armies outside Luoyang City, with Jin Wu Ding Yuan and Hanoi Taishou Wang Kuang are the closest to Ping Optimism, and the adults are the farthest away from Ping Optimism. According to the distance calculation, if Ding Yuan and Wang Kuang receive the warrant from Lord Taifu now, they will not be able to reach the Northern Army camp until noon tomorrow at the earliest. Li Ru raised the holy decree in his hand, looked at Dong Zhuo very confidently, and said word by word, "Therefore, the Northern Army has no one to lead before dawn, and your Excellency not only has time, but also has absolute control over the Northern Army." ”

Liu Ai's eyes widened in surprise, and he pointed to the holy decree in Li Ru's hand and said, "It clearly says that the hussar general He Miao will lead the northern army, how did we deceive the general of the northern army?" ”

Li Ru slowly opened the scroll of the holy decree and stopped about half a time after opening. The vermilion jade seal was completely exposed, and a few lines of words could be seen. The top line clearly reads "General Tempers the Northern Army......"

Liu Ai was dumbfounded, with a look of fear. Dong Zhuo's eyes suddenly lit up, and his murderous aura was revealed.

"What if a general of the Northern Army raises questions? What should I do if I don't follow the instructions of adults? Liu Ai asked eagerly.

"Kill!" Li Ru waved his hand resolutely and said.

"What if the generals of the Northern Army hear that the general is dead and privately raise troops to rebel?"

"Duan Xuan, the captain of the Northern Army Tun Cavalry, is a native of Xiliang Wuwei, who once served under General Duan Cheng with adults, and has a friendship with adults for more than ten years. With him, the 10,000 soldiers of the Northern Army will definitely have no worries. Bao Hong is still optimistic, and his friendship with adults goes without saying. With him, the officers and men of the two battalions of the Xiyuan Army are absolutely the only ones who look forward. The rest is Cao Cao's three battalions of the West Garden Army. Cao Cao is Cao Teng's grandson, ** eunuch, and now he is worried about his life. If he does not obey us, we will kill him, and all his men, so that nothing will happen. If he understands current affairs and is willing to follow the adults, he can continue to lead the Xiyuan Army. In this way, the 50,000 men and horses of the northern army are all for us. ”

Dong Zhuo slowly walked to the door, looked at the dark night sky with his hands, and was silent. Li Ru's plan is extremely risky, and if he succeeds, Luoyang will be under his control, and if he fails, the whole army will be wiped out.

"What can you do to get the army to arrive at Ping Nian before dawn?" Liu Ai continued to ask, "We are eighty miles away from Pingxing, and the army will not be able to reach the northern army camp before dawn, and it will not be until noon tomorrow at the earliest. But at that time, Ding Yuan and Wang Kuang's men had already arrived, and the northern army might have been controlled by Lord Taifu first. In addition, in order to ensure the retreat of the army, Hangu Pass must be firmly controlled. Therefore, before the army set off, Chun Yuqiong and his three battalions of the Xiyuan Army must be completely solved, which will take time. After dealing with Chun Yuqiong and his Xiyuan army, we also need to leave a large number of men and horses to garrison Hangu Pass and guard the Xiyuan army. ”

Liu Ai looked at Li Ru and said helplessly: "Changsheng, how many more people can we free up to follow the adults to Ping Ping?" ”

Li Ru thought for a long time, then waved his hand resolutely and said: "My lord and I only bring three thousand iron horses to Pingchang, and you take Dong Yue, Niu Fu, Hu Zhen, Li Su and others to solve Chun Yuqiong first." If you and I succeed in controlling the Northern Army, you can lead someone to follow suit. ”

Liu Ai's face changed greatly, and he blurted out: "You are crazy......"

"You're right, the army can't catch up with Pingnian before dawn, and this thing is very risky, if it can't be successful, we can only quickly withdraw from Gyeonggi and return to Xiliang, so the army simply don't follow us to Pingchang." Li Ru said, "My lord and I will go to Pingping first to see if Lord Taifu has taken control of the Northern Army. If the Northern Army has been controlled by Lord Taifu, we will come back. If there's still a chance, we'll do it. ”

"But you only bring three thousand iron horsemen......

"I can use the tactics of the suspicious soldiers to let the three thousand iron horsemen run back and forth outside the camp. The officers and men of the Northern Army were all in the camp, and there was no way to know how many troops we had brought with us. Li Ru said, "Whether it succeeds or not, we can return safely, and you don't have to worry about our safety." ”

Li Ru turned to face Dong Zhuo and shouted, "My lord, please make a decision early." As long as the Northern Army is in hand, even if we can't control Luoyang, we can safely retreat to Xiliang and dominate Western Xinjiang. ”

Dong Zhuo turned around abruptly and said sharply, "Let's go." ”

Three thousand iron horsemen rushed out of Hangu Pass, and suddenly disappeared into darkness.

Chun Yuqiong, the lieutenant of the Xiyuan Army, was caught by Niu Fu in his sleep.

Li Su took Dong Zhuo's handwritten letter and rushed towards Fenglingdu. Dong Zhuo had to think about his own future, so he discussed with Li Ru for a long time, and still wrote an urgent letter to Li Wei, telling the truth about the great changes in Luoyang.

If Dong Zhuo controls the Northern Army, what he needs most urgently is that his Xiliang Army can quickly rush to Ping's optimistic support, so he can only deal with Chun Yuqiong and his three battalions of the Xiyuan Army tonight. But if he fails, his actions at Hangu Pass will inevitably anger the Taifu and the ministers of the court, and the Xiliang army will be surrounded by Huangfu Song from Chang'an and the various armies of the imperial court that followed him in the Hongnong-gun area of Gyeonggi. At this time, he had only one choice, that is, to cross the river north from Fenglingdu and Maojindu to Hedong, and then take the road to return to Xiliang.

Li Ru thought that Li Wei would help the imperial court eliminate Dong Zhuo, but Dong Zhuo did not see it that way. The 20,000 Xiliang army and their own 3,000 personal guard battalions are all soldiers of a hundred battles, plus Hongnong County has a large population, many powerful giants, many wealthy people, and several fortified cities such as Hongnong and Mianchi, there is the danger of Kunshan. If the two sides fight here, it will inevitably be a protracted war, and Gyeonggi will be in chaos as a result, and the imperial court will not be able to supply the expeditionary army with food and grass. For the safety of the expeditionary army and the stability of Northern Xinjiang and Luoyang, Li Wei could only choose to help himself and send himself back to Xiliang as soon as possible.

Dong Zhuo said in his letter that for the safety of Luoyang, he had obeyed the orders of Lord Taifu, gave up returning to Liangzhou in the west, and led the army to approach Pingchang, but considering the current huge crisis in Luoyang, the number of the Gyeonggi army may be seriously insufficient, so Lord Li should consider leading the army to Hangu Pass as soon as possible, so as to help Lord Taifu quickly stabilize the situation in Luoyang.

Early in the morning of August 26.

Before dawn, Dong Zhuo rushed to the camp of the Pingxing Northern Army with 3,000 horsemen.

Dong Zhuo ordered the 3,000 cavalry to divide into four and gallop around along the Pingxing to roll up smoke and dust, pretend to be tens of thousands of troops, and deter the soldiers of the Northern Army in the camp. He and Li Ru took thirty horsemen and quickly arrived at the gate of the camp.

The patrol soldiers learned that it was the former general Dong Zhuo who was here, so they hurriedly opened the gate and sent someone to report to the officials.

Li Ru asked casually, "Is there anyone in the city at night?" ”

"Nope." The soldier replied, "Something seems to have happened in the city." ”

Dong Zhuo and Li Ru glanced at each other, and there was a burst of ecstasy in their hearts. Dong Zhuo asked gently, "What happened in the city?" ”

"I don't know." The soldier replied, "Yesterday afternoon the gates were suddenly closed, and then a great fire broke out in the city. Several adults sent people into the city several times to inquire, but they were blocked back. ”

Soon, a group of people rushed out of the camp, Duan Xuan, the captain of the Tun Cavalry, and Zhang Liao, the lieutenant of the Northern Army, rushed to greet them.

Duan Xuan is in his forties, tall and strong, with bright eyes and a smile, looking very gentle and friendly. Dong Zhuo was overjoyed and hurriedly greeted him, and the two sides greeted each other affectionately. Duan Xuan asked, "Isn't your lord in Hangu Pass?" Got here in the early morning? ”

"Yes, there's an urgency." Dong Zhuo whispered, "I was ordered to come here to announce the decree, and you quickly gather all the officers above the military Sima level in the northern army camp to the big tent." ”

Duan Xuan immediately ordered his subordinates to do it. Dong Zhuo asked, "Who else is in the camp?" Are Cao Cao and Bao Hong still around? ”

"It's still there." Zhang Liao replied, "There are also more than 30 military horses and fake Sima of the original Xiyuan Army. ”

A few people talked and laughed as they walked towards the big tent. Suddenly, the sound of war drums sounded from all over the camp, and the rapid drums resounded in the sky above Pingxin. Duan Xuan and Zhang Liao were shocked.

Dong Zhuo said with a smile: "Don't panic, two adults, it's Xiliang Iron Ride." Yesterday, the Son of Heaven issued an order to lead my troops to march overnight to Pingxing and camp outside. My army has just arrived, and it has woken up the officers and men of the Northern Army, and it has offended a lot. ”

Duan Xuan and Zhang Liao immediately thought of the fire in the interior of Luoyang City last night, and their faces changed greatly, and their hearts were frightened.

The Great Tent of the Central Army of the Northern Army.

Dozens of officers of the Northern Army were stunned, the general died, and was killed by the ** castration. This sudden and shocking news shocked their hearts, and they knelt on the ground one by one for a long time without responding.

Li Ru rolled up the holy decree and said, "All the adults get up." From today onwards, the Northern Army will be under the command of General Dong......"

"My lord, I want to verify the holy decree......" Captain Wu Fu jumped up and pointed to the holy decree in Li Ru's hand and said loudly.

Dong Zhuo waved at Li Ru. Li Ru smiled slightly, and said to Duan Xuan, Zhang Liao, Wu Qiuyi, Zhang Yang and others who were kneeling in the front row: "You all come and see, this is a big deal after all." ”

Li Ru did not spread the holy decree on the table, but slowly opened it in his hand.

"This is the emperor's seal, have you seen it clearly?"

Duan Xuan took a closer look at the seal, and immediately said to the people behind him in a hoarse voice: "The holy decree is true, the general was indeed killed by ** castration." ”

Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang's hearts were sour, and tears suddenly rained down. Someone in the tent began to weep in a low voice.

Li Ru saw Wu Fu staring at the holy decree tightly, and he wanted to grab his hand, so he handed it a little closer, "Lord Wu's eyes are not good?" ”

Wu Fu reluctantly smiled and said, "Why didn't Lord Li open all the holy decrees?" ”

Li Ru smiled: "Okay, okay, I'll open it." He turned to the guard standing behind him. The guard understood, stepped over to Woofu, and quietly grasped the handle of the knife with his right hand.

Li Ru shook off the holy decree violently, and before Wu Fu could see it clearly, the holy decree suddenly flew into Wu Fu's arms. Li Ru shouted: "Forcibly rob the holy decree, the sin is unforgivable, kill." ”

Before the sound of killing fell, Wu Fu's head was already rising into the sky. The bloody head rolled in the air a few times before falling in front of Dong Zhuo's feet. Dong Zhuo's face was sad, as if he hadn't seen it.

Blood spurted out, and in an instant it stained the decree red. Li Ru hurriedly snatched the holy decree back before Wu Fu's body fell to the ground. The decree was stained with blood, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Captain Yue was killed.

There was chaos in the big tent of the Chinese army, and the generals of the northern army looked angry, scolding everywhere, and some people had already drawn their weapons.

Dong Zhuo snorted coldly and said murderously: "What? Want to rebel? ”

At this time, there was a flurry of bull horns outside the big tent, and the sound of the horns was long and majestic, as if tens of thousands of iron riders were roaring outside the peace.

Duan Xuan, Zhang Liao and others hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade them. The officers of the Northern Army immediately calmed down. There are many officers in the big tent who have fought in Xiliang with Huangfu Song and Zhang Wen, and they know Dong Zhuo's cruelty and blood, and offending this kind of official is simply looking for death, so it is better to swear allegiance as soon as possible. Dong Zhuofei was satisfied, comforted them a few words, and then ordered someone to bring more than a dozen big skin bags. The skin bag was full of money, and Dong Zhuo ordered each officer to be rewarded heavily.

Outside the big tent, Li Ru ordered the fast horses to immediately rush back to Hangu Pass to recruit reinforcements.

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