"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. ”

"Also, 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 lord to Ping Ping's optimism?" ”

Li Ru thought for a long time, then waved his hand resolutely and said: "The lord and I only take 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 the lord and I succeed in controlling the northern army, you will bring 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, "The lord and I will go to Pingchang first to see if Taifu has taken control of the Northern Army. If the Northern Army has been controlled by Taifu, we will come back. If there's still a chance, we'll do it. ”

Liu Ai hesitated: "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, "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 Xijiang. ”

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 future, so he discussed with Li Ru for a long time, and still wrote an urgent letter to Kou Zhun to tell 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 were bound to anger the Taifu and the ministers of the court, and the Xiliang army would 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 Kou Zhun would help the imperial court eliminate Dong Zhuo, but Dong Zhuo did not see it that way. The 20,000 Xiliang army and his 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 a danger of the mountain. 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. Kou Zhun for the safety of the expeditionary army. For the sake of the stability of Northern Xinjiang and Luoyang, he could only choose to help himself and send himself back to Xiliang as soon as possible.

Dong Zhuo said in the letter: "For the safety of Luoyang, Ben General has followed Taifu's orders. Gave up returning to Liangzhou in the west, and led the army to approach Ping's optimism, but considering the current huge crisis in Luoyang. The number of troops in Gyeonggi may be seriously insufficient, so does Mr. Kou consider leading his army to Hangu Pass as soon as possible in order to help 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 generals 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 Hou Cheng, the lieutenant of the Northern Army, rushed to greet them.

Dong Zhuo was overjoyed and hurriedly greeted him, and the two sides greeted each other affectionately.

Duan Xuan asked, "Isn't the general 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." Hou Cheng 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 Hou Cheng were shocked.

Dong Zhuo said with a smile: "Don't panic, two generals, it's the Xiliang Iron Cavalry." 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. ”

When Duan Xuan and Hou Chengli thought of the fire in the interior of Luoyang City last night, their faces changed greatly, and they were terrified.

………………

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

Dozens of officers of the Northern Army were stunned, the general died, killed by a rape eunuch. 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......"

"Mr. Li, 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, Hou Cheng, 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 put the holy decree on the table, but slowly opened it in his hand and said to everyone: "This is the emperor's seal, have the generals 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 a traitor. ”

Hou Cheng 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 couldn't wait to grab his hand, so he moved a little closer and said loudly: "General Wu's eyes are not good? ”

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

Li Ru smiled: "Okay, okay, I'll open it." ”

He turned to wink at the guards 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, Hou Cheng and the 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.

………………

August 26, morning, Taifu Mansion.

After a night of bloody rain, Luoyang City has gradually quieted down. Nangong also gradually returned to normal under the clearing of thousands of tiger feather forests. In the entire Luoyang City, except for the burned Vermilion Bird Gate and the foot knights patrolling around, there is no trace of chaos and blood. The streets are deserted and deserted, and the prosperity of the past is gone.

Shang Shu ordered Lu Zhi to enter the Deyang Hall of the North Palace to meet the Son of Heaven, and discussed a solution with Zhang Rang, Duan Qi and others, who were holding the Son of Heaven.

Lu Zhi said: "Now that the general is dead, and He Miao is also dead, you should think about your own way out, right?" If you send the Son of Heaven back to the Changqiu Palace now, it can be said that you have a meritorious escort, so that you will not be in a different place, and the Queen Mother will also look at the past love and open up on the Internet. ”

When Zhang Rang heard that He Miao was dead, he immediately despaired, and the last bit of hope for survival was completely shattered. (To be continued.) )