Great Han Empire

Chapter 496
Dong Zhuo's expression was stern, and there was deep melancholy and uneasiness in his eyes looking into the distance.

Now he is in a very difficult situation. Although the [-] Xiliang army has returned to his command, he is in Hedong, caught between Beijiang and Luoyang, and he has no idea where he will go, nor Know what your future destiny is.

Bingzhou is now a dangerous place. There are more and more victims, and there is less and less hope for farming. Li Hong, who is in charge of military affairs in northern Xinjiang, is becoming more and more powerful. lead the way.If you don't want to enter Jin Dynasty, you can't enter Jin Dynasty.If he doesn't enter the Jin Dynasty, he still has the initiative. If he enters the Jin Dynasty, he can't help but become a weapon for those powerful officials in the court to deal with Li Hong.This time when the late emperor passed away, the emperor not only ordered him to lead the army, but also returned [-] Xiliang soldiers to him. This shows that Li Ru's decision to let him stay in Hedong was very correct.When the three powers in Luoyang were fighting fiercely, I immediately became the target of their efforts to win over.Now that I have a large army and I am very close to Luoyang, no matter which side I support, it will directly affect the power struggle in Luoyang, but the question is, which side do I support?Zhongguan, scholars and generals, who among them can win the final victory in this power struggle?Only if I choose the right one, I will have merit in the future and be able to enter the court.

The tense situation in Luoyang forced all parties in the DPRK and China to require him to stay in Hedong, and he has temporarily lost the possibility of returning to Xiliang.He couldn't go to Bingzhou if he didn't want to. Now that the war in northern Xinjiang was over and Li Hong had already led his troops south, he had no chance to go north even if he wanted to.He even dared not even think about going south to the capital. Entering the capital at this time would undoubtedly lead to his own death.What should he do?When can I return to Xiliang?

Li Ru tried his best to persuade him to follow Yuan Kai, the Tai Tuo, and help the gentry ministers in the court to eradicate traitors and foreign relatives, but Dong Zhuo was not optimistic about the group of gentry who looked up to the sky. No big deal, he is more optimistic about He Jin, the general who holds the military power.

He told Li Ru that the current power struggle in the court is different from the past.After the Han Kingdom experienced six years of war, the national policy has been revised a lot.Today, the Great Han Kingdom not only has elite northern and southern armies, but also powerful frontier armies from all over the country. The number of state soldiers in various states and counties is also increasing, and even the rich and powerful have private armies in their hands.Therefore, whether it is a middle-ranking official, a relative or a scholar, if you want to win the power struggle, you can't just rely on disciples, old officials, money, and wisdom. You must rely on the army and strength. Even the late emperor knew this. clearly.Looking at Li Hong today, seeing how I had to bow down to Li Hong for the sake of the [-] Xiliang army and my own future, I know how correct the late emperor's choice was.

Now the Xiyuan Army is under the control of the treacherous eunuchs, and Huangfu Song is far away in Chang'an. Although the General currently has only [-] Northern Army in his hands, once he has the opportunity, the army that goes out to Beijing to recruit soldiers and horses will be called to Luoyang one after another. The strength will increase sharply, and it will be clear at a glance which of the three powers in Luoyang is better.

Li Ru said that even if a general is in power, he still needs the gentry ministers in the court to rule the world for him.See who are the people who are engaged in history in the General's Mansion?Dong Zhuo didn't take it seriously. On the one hand, he kept in touch with the traitors in the palace, on the other hand, he expressed his allegiance to the general, and at the same time, he also maintained a lukewarm relationship with the scholars.

As early as after the late Emperor died, he considered the possibility of Li Hong going south.Once Li Hong went south, he would bear the brunt of the brunt. He didn't want to bury himself and his [-] Xiliang army in Hedong for nothing, so he sent Li Sub to the north several times to listen to Xian Yufu and others until Li Su arrived at Wuyuan University. After seeing Li Hong get Li Hong's promise, Ying let out a long breath.Since the Son of Heaven and those people in the imperial court regard themselves as a shield against Li Hong and ignore their own life and death, why should I care about their life or death?Wouldn't it be better to follow behind Li Hong and join hands with Li Hong to enter Luoyang to eradicate the traitor and help the young master?
However, Dong Zhuo hesitated again when he thought about what Li Hong had done in the past few years.Can I gain Li Hong's trust?Once Li Hong enters Beijing and controls the power of the country, will it be a blessing or a curse to the Han Dynasty and himself?

===

Dong Zhuo's tall and burly body moved slightly on the horse, then turned to look at Zhang Liao behind him and asked, "Before Master Zhang led his troops to leave Jinyang, did he ever bid farewell to General Xianyu?"

Zhang Liao responded with a bow, "I made a special trip to Longshan Camp. General Xianyu was very polite and gave me a hundred horses."

"What did General Xianyu say at that time?"

"He didn't say anything." Zhang Liao replied, "General Li suddenly led his troops to the south. It is impossible for General Xianyu not to know that at that time [-] field soldiers from Hedong were stationed in Longshan camp one after another."

Dong Zhuo waved at Zhang Liao and stopped talking.

Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang were ordered to go to Bingzhou to recruit soldiers for the Northern Army last month. Xian Yufu and Zhang Yan cooperated very well and sent Zhang Liao to Yanmen County and Zhang Yang to Taiyuan and Shangdang counties to recruit [-] strong disaster victims each.Guo Yun, the prefect of Yanmen County, also sent [-] war horses to Zhang Liao.At the beginning of this month, Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang received a military order from General He Jin, and brought [-] recruits to Anyi, Hedong.Today, under Dong Zhuo's military order, he and Zhang Yang each led their troops and accompanied the [-] Xiliang Army to set up a blocking position in Anting, ten miles away from Anyi City.

Both Changshi Liu Ai and Sima Li Ru persuaded Dong Zhuo to stick to Anyi City and not to go out of the city with 2 horses to face Li Hong's [-] northern Xinjiang army.

"I heard that your younger brother Zhang Zhen is the commander of the personal guard battalion of the Great General Cheqi, is it true?" Dong Yue, the captain at the side, asked in a low voice.

Zhang Liao said with a smile: "My younger brother followed Master Li to conquer everywhere and made many military exploits. Not only was he appreciated by Master Li, but he was even a bigger official than me. I am ashamed to be an elder brother."

"Then wait a minute and if there is a fight..."

Zhang Liao's smile stiffened, and he was speechless for a long time.

Zhang Yang looked anxiously at the rising smoke in the distance, approached Zhang Liao and said in a low voice, "General Li won't really want to fight, will he?"

===

A group of iron cavalry suddenly appeared in people's sight, and the flying black panther battle flag made everyone feel a little bit of fear.

Dong Zhuo suddenly patted his horse and sat down, shouting loudly: "Come on, follow me to meet the chariot riding general."

Li Su, Niu Fu, Hu Zhen, Dong Yue, Li Jue, Guo Si and others followed closely behind and galloped away.

The hundred cavalry on the opposite side were getting closer and closer, and one of them was wearing a black helmet and armor, sitting on a black horse, galloping like a sharp arrow.Dong Zhuo recognized at a glance that it was Li Hong whom he hadn't seen for three years.I haven't seen him for three years, and Li Hong's appearance has changed a lot.Due to many years of fighting in the frontier fortress, Li Hong is stronger than before, and his skin is much darker. There is a layer of light black beard on his travel-stained face, and he looks more and more powerful and sturdy. It was his sharp eyes that implied murderous intent and his bold and unrestrained smile.

Seeing Dong Zhuo, Li Hong dismounted from his horse and strode over.

Dong Zhuo didn't want to dismount at first.He is old and senior. Although this former general is a little younger than Li Hong's official, he is unwilling and unable to ask him to dismount as an official to greet Li Hong. However, Li Hong dismounted on his own initiative. He felt very honored.Dong Zhuo got off his horse slowly, and greeted him with a few smiles on his face.

After the two sides exchanged a few pleasantries, Li Hong took the initiative to greet Li Su, Niu Fu, Li Jue and other familiar generals one by one.In the past few years, Li Hong has made great achievements in defeating powerful enemies in northern Xinjiang. These generals in western Xinjiang admire him very much.If it is said that when they were fighting in Xijiang in the early years, they were still a little bit dissatisfied with each other and felt that Li Hong was lucky, but now they are not convinced.

Dong Zhuo waited for him to finish greeting everyone, and waved to everyone.The Xiliang generals understood and retreated one after another.Dong Zhuo asked bluntly: "My lord is now a general of chariots and riders. He is the same as the third lord. He has a high status in our Han Dynasty. Why did you suddenly disobey the imperial decree and lead the army south to attack Luoyang?"

Li Hong smiled and said, "I'm eager to see the general, and I just want to talk to you about this matter. After Li Su left Wuyuan, He Yong from Shangshutai came to Wuyuan with the emperor's edict..." Li Hong immediately said The imperial court explained in detail the arrangements for the disaster victims in northern Xinjiang and the army in northern Xinjiang.

"If Luoyang is unstable, the army will not be able to go north to conquer Xianbei, and northern Xinjiang will also be in trouble because it cannot resettle the victims and support the farmland, so I have to follow the emperor's edict and go south to Luoyang." Li Hong looked at Dong Zhuo's stern face, and said bluntly Said, "There is no need to mention the past grievances between you and me. As far as the current situation is concerned, you and I have been forced into a desperate situation by the emperor and the court, so we can only sink the boat."

Dong Zhuo pondered for a while and asked: "Your Excellency did not disclose the last emperor's will, but hastily marched south to threaten Luoyang. I am afraid that it is not a dead end, but another plan?"

"I will face the [-]-strong army in Gyeonggi and the fortified city of Luoyang if I publish the last emperor's edict. The same, but the premise is that Luoyang must be stable, and the imperial court must resolve the crisis in northern Xinjiang. Otherwise, how can I fulfill the great entrustment that the late emperor asked me to guard northern Xinjiang? No matter if we break the boat or have other plans, as long as we can solve all the problems in northern Xinjiang, we will Do it all."

"Your Excellency is now approaching Hedong, and at the same time, you have pushed yourself, Beijiang, and Luoyang to a dead end. How will Your Excellency solve the current crisis?" Dong Zhuo asked, "Is the killing of Song Dian, Your Excellency, the beginning of solving the crisis?"

"Killing Song Dian is to tell Luoyang that the purpose of my going south is not the emperor's lineage, but to kill traitors and stabilize Luoyang." Li Hong nodded and said, "Since I haven't made public the late emperor's edict, I have already recognized the current emperor, in other words, I support the great general He Jin to assist the emperor and the queen mother to take charge of the government. Now the government of the Han Dynasty is presided over by the queen mother, but in fact the government is controlled by the traitors in the palace and the ministers of the gentry. The general is forced by the situation and now he can only avoid disaster Yu Baijun's mansion is in danger. In order to stabilize Luoyang, I must help General He Jin to control Luoyang immediately and hold power."

"Master Taifu and the ministers in the court...?"

Li Hong interrupted Dong Zhuo's words with a wave of his hand, "Didn't they keep saying that they want to kill traitors? Do they want to eradicate traitors? I will satisfy them today, but they must satisfy me today. Otherwise, the general will be powerful in the future, who will restrain him ? Do you rely on Master Huangfu’s [-] Northern Army? Or rely on your Master Dong’s [-] Xiliang Army?”

===

Dong Zhuo looked at the murderous Li Hong, and suddenly felt old.

Li Hong, who came back from the Xianbei Kingdom with a humble background, has been talking to the court with a knife, and he has been following the rules of the court for so many years to talk to the court with money. As a result, after the death of the first emperor, he and Li Hong immediately had the same Two very different endings.Why can Li Hong always use a knife to talk to the court?Is it because of the late emperor's favor or his luck?

Dong Zhuo already understood what Li Hong meant.The purpose of Li Hong's army going south was to punish the traitors, suppress the ministers of the gentry, and help the general to take power.The traitor disappeared from the court of the Han Dynasty, and the political situation in Luoyang will be stable, and the general will be very grateful for Li Hong's help, and will take care of Beijiang from all aspects.In this way, the Great Han Kingdom has since formed a pattern of great generals ruling the country, scholars ruling the country, and Li Hong sitting on the outside with a large army guarding the northern border. It can also be gradually revitalized.

Li Hong's idea was good, but in order to achieve this goal, he used very bad means.

Dong Zhuo once believed that Li Hong went south only because of his stupid loyalty to the late emperor and his desire for national power. Dong Zhuo even believed that the late emperor had no will for Li Hong to go south to support the young master, but now he believes that the late emperor's will was in Li Hong He also believed that Li Hong did not have the ambition to dominate the world, but what he couldn't believe was that Li Hong dared to openly ignore the late emperor's edict, openly despise the authority of today's emperor, openly challenge the court and the Han law, just like this The courtiers, the emperor and the court not only dared not issue a decree to punish him, but promoted him to an official position, and even humiliated and agreed to the conditions he proposed, acquiescing to his trampling on the authority of the emperor and the laws of the Han Dynasty.

In today's Han Dynasty, it is still possible to be a courtier like this.Dong Zhuo secretly sighed, compared with the Han Kingdom in the past, the Han Kingdom today is indeed different.

"My lord, what do you say?" Li Hong stood opposite Dong Zhuo, looking directly into Dong Zhuo's hesitant eyes, and asked word by word.

"Although your lord led his troops south to disobey the imperial decree, the act of punishing and killing eunuchs has won you a great reputation. In the future, even cunning scholars will not be able to find the crime to punish you. Your lord's journey was not in vain. Ah." Dong Zhuo said with a slight sarcasm, "I will cross the Yellow River south immediately."

Li Hong bowed and thanked: "Thank you sir."

Dong Zhuo patted Li Hong's thick shoulder affectionately, and said with a small body: "I haven't thanked you for saving Lingwu Valley, so there is no need to be so polite between you and me."

"After the crisis in Luoyang is resolved, is your lord going to go to Beijing to serve as a public servant or return to Xiliang to guard the frontier?"

Dong Zhuo was overjoyed, thinking that this time he helped He Jin take control of the power and helped Li Hong solve the crisis in northern Xinjiang. He has made great contributions, so it is not a problem to be a Sangong. , will this not be worth the candle?Dong Zhuo was a little worried when he thought of the former Xiliang general Duan Jiong (read jiong) who worked so hard to become a captain but ended up drinking doves to death.In the end, should he enter the court to serve as a public servant or return to Xiliang to be a powerful frontier guard like Li Hong?
"What about you?" Dong Zhuo asked.

"I want to go north to the desert and strike two thousand miles away." Li Hong said with a smile, "I want to fight all the way to Yanran Mountain (Qilian Mountain), Langjuxu Mountain and Sunset Plain, otherwise I will never turn back. This time I went to the fortress to fight. , see you today, even if it is farewell, please cherish it a lot, my lord."

Dong Zhuo's heart trembled, and he blurted out praise: "Good guy."

===

Dong Zhuo's army retreated without a fight, and successively gave up the two cities of Anyi and Hejie County, reaching Puban and Fenglingdu.Calls for help flew to Luoyang like snowflakes.Luoyang was shocked.

Song Dian's head had been delivered to the palace, the queen mother was terrified, and hurriedly summoned Zhao Zhong and other Zhongchang attendants.Li Hong's intentions have been revealed beyond doubt, not only to enter the capital, but also to kill all the traitors.The middle officials were panic-stricken and had nothing to do.

At this time, Shangshu Xu Jing and Zhou Yu arrived at Daying in Anyi and announced their orders to Li Hong, the general of chariots and riders.

After Li Hong received the order, he took a closer look, and then asked, "My lords, what evidence do you have for saying that Princess Changping has arrived in Hejian Kingdom?"

Xu Jing bowed and said: "Your Excellency, you can ask Lord Taiwei who is far away in Youzhou and Lord Muyang in Jizhou."

"When did King Bohai become King Chenliu again?"

"My lord, this is the will of the emperor and the empress dowager." Zhou Wu said, "Does your lord have any objections to the will of the emperor and the empress dowager?" Always smiling, looking loyal and gentle.

"My lords, please submit this urgent memorial to Your Majesty and the Queen Mother." Li Hong smiled indifferently, and handed them a memorial, "For the safety of the army's long-distance attack on the desert, I must ask Luoyang to be stable, so if it cannot be eradicated Traitor, I will never retreat to the north.”

Xu Jing and Zhou Yan looked at each other in a daze.Eradicate rape?Although this excuse to go south is relatively reluctant, it can get the support of people all over the world. It seems that Li Hongzi is determined to go to Beijing.

"When does your lord plan to go north to attack Xianbei?"

"Once the eunuchs are eliminated, Luoyang will be stable. I will immediately lead the army northward." Li Hong said affirmatively, "So, I don't have much time, and I must go south as soon as possible. I also said in the memorial that even if the eunuchs are punished, In addition, the situation in Luoyang is difficult to completely stabilize in the short term, in order to ensure that the expeditionary army has no worries, the imperial court must do its best to transport three to four months of food and supplies to Beidi, Shuofang and Yanmen in the near future."

"It's too difficult." Xu Jing frowned, and said in great embarrassment, "This year, there has been constant rain, and the roads are difficult to travel. In addition, the floods in the three prefectures of Ji, Qing, and Yan require disaster relief, so my lord wants the court to raise funds in the near future. It is impossible to transport three to five months of food and supplies to northern Xinjiang."

"If there is not enough food and supplies, I will not take the risk of annihilation and go north to the desert to attack the Xianbei people." Li Hong said, "If the imperial court wants to make an expedition to the desert this year, it must ensure that the victims of the disaster in northern Xinjiang are resettled, and the people of the state Tuntian has enough money and supplies. In addition, don’t talk about disaster relief. You go to Huguan and Taiyuan Shangdang to see how many victims there are? I want to play the impeachment of Jizhou Mu Yangqi and Qingzhou Governor Cui Jun. If disaster victims riot in Bingzhou and delay the time for the army to attack northward, they will be responsible."

"The first emperor said a long time ago that Wanjintang's money was used to fight wars and to expand the territory. The Wanjintang of the first emperor and the Yongle Palace of the Empress Dowager Dong, how could the court have no military resources? Food, grass and supplies can be purchased from Jizhou, Gyeonggi and Chang'an are transported to northern Xinjiang in three directions, which can save a lot of time."

Xu Jing and Zhou Yan had no choice but to leave.When they walked out of the big camp, they saw Captain Xie Ming of Yantie walked into Li Hong's big tent with a dozen rich merchants from Chang'an and Luoyang.

"Is the chariot general a blessing or a curse to the Han Kingdom?"

Zhou Yan shook his head, and said with a very complicated expression: "At this time, he still dares to go to the desert. Can you say that he is not a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty? He is not an idiot, can't he see the danger of going to the desert? Before the expedition to the desert, he led the army to go south There is nothing wrong with coercing the emperor and the queen mother to kill traitors, Luoyang is not stable, who dares to go to the desert?"

Xu Jing sighed, and said: "I hope the emperor and the queen mother can agree, then the great Han country will be less troubled."

===

Li Hong led his army to continue southward, and the battle clouds in Gyeonggi were dense.

The two counties of Hongnong and Henan fell into chaos, and many nobles, nobles, powerful families and wealthy families living in the Gyeonggi area went to Chang'an and Luoyang to avoid disaster.

When the middle officials heard that Li Hong openly proposed to punish the traitors, they were shocked and frightened, and hurriedly begged the Queen Mother to agree to all the conditions proposed by Li Hong in order to avoid disaster.Zhao Zhong said that Li Hong's proposal to punish the eunuchs was false, and it was true to go south to abolish the young master. Therefore, in order to prevent Li Hong from continuing to go south, it is better to agree to all his conditions and let him withdraw his troops back to Jin.

Yuan Kai and other court ministers were relieved when they heard that Li Hong had long planned to go on an expedition to the desert. They immediately discussed the matter of raising food, payment and armaments for the expeditionary army. As for Li Hong's excessive demands, the ministers discussed for a long time. Time, I feel that I still can't agree.

The prefect of the fifteen counties is also led by the school lieutenant of the garrison. What is the difference between this and Li Hong appointing himself?If Li Hong has such great power, how is it different from the separatism of the vassal state?As soon as this wind blows, some important ministers will follow suit in the future. How will the court punish them?Where does this place the authority of the emperor and the court?no.

There are too many 30 frontier troops in northern Xinjiang, which not only threatens the safety of Gyeonggi, but also cannot be supported by the imperial court.no.

The ten-year taxation of the fifteen counties plus the benefits of salt and iron from the east of Bingzhou, the ministers believed that it was enough to support the farming and disaster relief of Bingzhou.Farming means investing a huge amount of money in the early days. Taiyuan and Shangdang have been farming for more than two years. According to the calculations of the ministers, the soldiers and people in the military and civilian villages can barely support themselves. By next year, they will have surplus food supplies. Army and payment of taxes.As for the farmland in Hetao, the huge amount of money invested in the early stage has already been included in the 100 billion yuan. Why does Li Hong need another ten years of taxes from Jizhou?This is obviously suspected of enriching one's own pocket.The ten-year Jizhou tax cannot be paid.

The ministers believed that since Li Hong had decided to go on an expedition to the desert, he would not really lead his army to Luoyang.Li Hong would not be in a hurry to retreat if he did not meet the requirements, and Li Hong's constant threats would force the emperor and queen mother to drive the traitors out of court.As long as the traitors lose their power, they will die.But the ministers are very worried that once the traitor is forced to leave the court, He Jin will take the opportunity to enter the court and take charge of the court, and the disaster of the relatives will start from this.Li Hong's sudden southward trip disrupted the plan Yuan Kai and others had made in advance to kill the traitors and relatives, so they had to make another plan.

Yuan Kai, Ding Gong, Liu Hong, and Lu Zhi went to Changqiu Palace to discuss matters under the Queen Mother's order, but they were angrily insulted by Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang and others. They begged the Queen Mother to agree to all the conditions of Li Hong, but Yuan Kai and others disagree.Yuan Kui said, General Cheqi has already said what he is going to do when he goes south, so you can just resign and go home, why must the emperor and queen mother be humiliated?no.

The queen mother saw that they were fighting for nothing, so she said a compromise method, and allocated another 50 billion yuan from the former emperor's Wanjintang to Li Hong for farming in northern Xinjiang and border guards.Yuan Kui hurriedly stopped him, saying that the general Che Qi was about to go on an expedition to the desert, and a 10,000+ army would need to spend at least 60 billion yuan in military funds, so the money could not be allocated.

When Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang and other middle officials heard that Li Hong was about to go on an expedition to the desert, they were immediately relieved.At this time, Li Hong must be satisfied no matter what, and he cannot be pushed into a hurry, otherwise he will not go on an expedition to the desert in a fit of anger, and it will be even more troublesome.

At the end of the quarrel, Yuan Kai had no choice but to compromise. If he didn't compromise, Zhao Zhong would beat him to death in court.

===

The situation in Gyeonggi is getting tense.Dong Zhuo's army had all retreated to Fengling Ferry, while Li Hong's army was coming from the north.

The former general Dong Zhuo repeatedly asked for help and failed, so he wrote a letter angrily, begging the emperor and the queen mother to kill the traitor quickly to avoid the catastrophe of Luoyang.
Dong Zhuo said in the memorial that the reason why there are outrageous people in the world is that Zhao Zhong, Zhang Rang and others insulted Tianchang, usurped the king's order, talked about Tianxian, and did whatever they wanted.The treacherous father, son and brothers dominate the prefectures and counties, and they can get thousands of dollars of benefits with a simple document. They have occupied millions of fertile and fertile fields near the capital.The actions of the traitors filled the country with resentment, and the community was in constant turmoil.When I was ordered to fight against the rebels in Xiliang, the food and pay were once cut off. The soldiers were hungry and lacking, and they were unwilling to continue fighting westward with the minister. The imperial court asks for military pay.As the saying goes: It is better to put out the fire and remove the salary than to raise the soup to stop the boiling; although ulcers and carbuncles are painful, it is worse than raising meat; and drowning and calling a boat is too late to regret.

Dong Zhuo publicly responded to the chariot and cavalry general Li Hong's move to kill the traitor, which stunned the court.

Whether it is the general He Jin or the ministers of the gentry, so far no one has publicly said that they want to kill traitors and eradicate traitors.Although the chariot general Li Hong used this as an excuse to lead his troops south to threaten the emperor and the court, but in everyone's mind, Li Hong was actually a rebel from the Han Dynasty, but he was so powerful that no one dared to say that, but now the former general Dong Zhuo suddenly Raising troops to respond, the two generals who held military power in the Great Han Kingdom joined forces to coerce the emperor and the court to kill traitors. This matter is different, and the amount is even more different.What is especially important is that Dong Zhuo raised his troops to respond to Li Hong. There was no single soldier at Hangu Pass before, and Li Hong's army could quickly go south across the Yellow River and head straight for Luoyang City.

Zhao Zhong and others were so angry that they scolded Dong Zhuo for being double-faced and despicable. They begged the Queen Mother to decree to remove Dong Zhuo immediately, but Queen Mother He dared not obey.Dong Zhuo originally had [-] Xiliang soldiers in his hands. At this time, he publicly responded to Li Hong, which showed that he had Li Hong's support.Removing Dong Zhuo at this time is not just looking for trouble, forcing Li Hong and Dong Zhuo to join forces to go south?

The gentry ministers in the court and General He Jin were also surprised by Dong Zhuo's actions, and they didn't respond for a while.Did Dong Zhuo betray them by doing this?

Dong Zhuo is a warrior. From his memorials, it can be seen that what he said in his mouth was actually the interests of the soldiers. At this critical moment, he did not deviate from his position as a warrior, nor did he betray his brothers. He firmly stood by Li Hong's side.Dong Zhuo is an out-and-out warrior, he has nothing to do with the three powers in Luoyang, he does not belong to any party, he is a warrior.

===

General He Jin was the first to react, and he immediately went to the Queen Mother, saying that the capital in Gyeonggi was not strong enough, if Li Hong crossed the river and attacked, Hangu Pass might not be able to hold it, so it is better to recruit reinforcements as soon as possible.If the queen mother does not want to recruit reinforcements, there is another way to make Li Hong retreat, and that is to drive the traitor out of the palace immediately.Empress Dowager He did not agree, she issued an edict to He Jin, saying that from ancient times to the present, eunuchs have been in charge of the affairs of the palace, this is the ancestral system of this dynasty, established by the laws of the Han Dynasty, how can it be abolished at will?Now the late emperor has just passed away, the emperor is young, why can't I discuss matters with the ministers of the court every day when I am in charge of the court?What kind of system is this?

Not long after, Grand Tutor He Jin, Situ Dinggong and Sikong Liu Hong also jointly petitioned the Empress Dowager, asking the Queen Mother to remove all eunuchs below Zhongchangshi and Zhongchangshi from their posts, drive them out of the palace, and appoint three officials to replace them.

The queen mother refused again, but after discussing with the middle officials this time, she agreed to He Jin to recruit reinforcements from various states and counties to defend the capital.

He Jin immediately dispatched [-] miles of quick cavalry to urgently recruit Ding Yuan, prefect of Hanoi, Qiao Mao, prefect of Dongjun, Wang Kuang, Zhang Liao, Wu Qiuyi, Bao Xin, and Sima of the North Army. Zhang Yang sent a total of seven soldiers and horses back to aid the capital.

Ding Yuan, the prefect of Hanoi, led [-] soldiers to cross the Yellow River and rushed to Mengjin.Lieutenants Zhao Rong and Xia Mou, who were stationed in Mengjin, refused to open the door according to the order of Hussar General He Miao.Zhao Rong told Ding Yuan that Mr. Ding should go to Hangu Pass from Xiaolu.Ding Yuan was furious, and in the name of entering Luoyang to eradicate traitors, the warlord attacked fiercely.

The next day, Shi Yushi Wang Kuang rushed to Mengjin with five thousand soldiers, and the two sides joined forces to attack.The Xiyuan Army was formed in a short period of time, poorly trained, and had no combat effectiveness. The city tower was quickly captured by the army led by Hanoi Captain Lu Bu.Lu Bu went up to the tower, beheaded Zhao Rong and Xia Mou, and captured Mengjin.That night, the flames on the Mengjin pass soared into the sky, illuminating half the sky, and it could be seen in Luoyang dozens of miles away.

On the same day, Dong Zhuo led his troops across the Yellow River.

===

(End of this chapter)