Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

“Why must our lord be so fixated on such trivial matters? A skilled warrior has no great achievements, a skilled doctor has no illustrious reputation, and a skilled strategist has no brilliant moves throughout the game…”

Li Ji's attitude towards this was quite indifferent.

For Li Ji, a little more fame was no longer significant.

As long as the goal is achieved, that is enough!

Now that Dong Zhuo is dead at Hulao Pass, there is no need to worry about him burning Luoyang in a frenzy as he did in the original timeline, looting wildly, and forcibly relocating hundreds of thousands of people to Chang'an.

Given the nature of Dong Zhuo and the Xiliang army, one can imagine what the forcibly relocated people would experience, and even if they reached Chang'an, whether they would truly be settled with land.

On the contrary, it is certain that after Dong Zhuo's burning, killing, and looting in Luoyang, the most prosperous imperial capital of the entire Han Dynasty was almost reduced to a wasteland, with less than one in ten people surviving, and countless fertile fields abandoned.

As a result, when Cao Cao wanted to exploit the area around Luoyang in the original timeline, he found that there was no profit to be made.

In the end, Cao Cao could only establish a 'Tomb Raider Captain' and target the burial goods of countless dignitaries around Luoyang.

Even from the perspective of Wu Commandery, the weaker the area north of the Yangtze River, the lower the difficulty of contending for hegemony, but it does not mean that Li Ji wants Liu Bei to end up with a dilapidated Han Dynasty with less than one in ten people surviving.

'What does it matter if the difficulty is a little greater?'

A smile appeared on the corner of Li Ji's mouth, and then he handed the folded cloth to Liu Bei.

“What is this?” Liu Bei asked.

“Hulao Pass is about to fall. Lord, you should also quickly send Yide and Zilong to lead their respective cavalry units to Luoyang, and then act according to the instructions on the cloth.” Li Ji said.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei quickly opened the cloth and scanned it at a glance.

After Liu Bei finished reading it, he asked with some confusion.

“Zikun, why is there no mention of guarding the imperial palace? The news of Dong Zhuo's death will surely cause chaos when it returns to Luoyang.”

“Now, it is Niu Fu who is stationed in Luoyang with the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. I am quite worried that Niu Fu will simply take the emperor away and retreat to Chang'an.”

“Lord, you are more perceptive about the direction of politics!”

Li Ji praised him and quickly explained.

“The first to arrive in Luoyang will definitely be the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry. Lü Bu now has the strategist Chen Gong, who will surely realize the importance of guarding the imperial palace. At that time, even if Yide and Zilong rush to Luoyang, instead of competing with Lü Bu's Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, it would be better to do something more meaningful.”

Liu Bei suddenly understood, but frowned slightly and said.

“But now that the late Emperor's eldest son, the King of Hongnong, has been killed, the late Emperor's only remaining bloodline is the current Emperor who was installed by the traitor Dong. If the imperial palace is controlled by Lü Bu, I fear that Lü Bu will be detrimental to the Emperor.”

Li Ji replied with considerable certainty.

“Lord, there is no need to worry. Now that Lü Bu has killed the traitor Dong at the cost of bearing the name of unfilial piety, the righteousness he proclaims is loyalty to the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Lü Bu will definitely not commit the slightest offense against the Emperor, repeating the mistakes of the traitor Dong.”

Hearing this, Liu Bei was completely relieved, and then handed the cloth in his hand to Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei respectively, instructing them to act according to the plan.

At this moment, the sounds of fighting inside Hulao Pass had become more and more frequent, and it was almost a complete mess.

A large number of Xiliang fierce generals each led their personal guards and Xiliang elites to besiege Lü Bu, who retreated from the city tower while fighting.

Dong Zhuo's death completely aroused the anger of the Xiliang faction.

For the Xiliang faction, wealth and glory were all tied to Dong Zhuo alone, and although Dong Zhuo now acted tyrannically, he was extremely generous with rewards on weekdays, so there were not a few in the Xiliang faction who were willing to die for Dong Zhuo.

Therefore, even though Lü Bu possessed unparalleled martial prowess, without the assistance of the Red Hare, he was like being trapped in a quagmire, confined to a corner under the city tower, struggling to move towards the Red Hare.

For a time, even Lü Bu felt strenuous, and a few traces of anxiety flashed in his eyes, and he looked towards a distant direction from time to time.

‘Why haven’t Gao Shun and the Camp Crusher arrived yet?’

Lü Bu, who was fighting bloody battles, constantly beheaded the approaching Xiliang soldiers, and a sense of worry gradually grew in his heart.

If there was no assistance, Lü Bu alone fighting on foot would probably be exhausted to death by a large number of Xiliang soldiers.

Not far from Lü Bu, Zhang Xiu's face showed a strong look of hesitation and struggle.

Zhang Xiu never expected that Lü Bu, whom he had just parted with, would kill his own adoptive father in the blink of an eye.

Until the city tower rang with angry voices such as “Lü Bu assassinated the lord…” “Avenge the Chancellor!” “Don't let Lü Bu escape, besiege him!”, Zhang Xiu was stunned in place for a long time and could not recover.

Especially since Zhang Xiu attached great importance to 'filial piety', regarded Zhang Ji as his father, and was prepared to treat Zhang Ji's widow, Madam Zou, as his mother and be filial to her, which made Zhang Xiu instinctively despise Lü Bu's behavior.

However, Zhang Xiu, who joined the Xiliang Iron Cavalry by following Zhang Ji's path, had no loyalty to Dong Zhuo, and even understood that in a sense, Zhang Ji died at the hands of Dong Zhuo.

Moreover, there was also Lü Bu's life-saving grace…

Zhang Xiu's face changed rapidly for a while. Seeing Lü Bu, who was already surrounded, he recalled his uncle Zhang Ji's warning before his death, and finally made up his mind.

In the next moment, Zhang Xiu led the elite troops left to him by Zhang Ji and charged towards Lü Bu, directly beheading several Xiliang soldiers with the tiger-headed golden spear in his hand, and said loudly.

“Marquis Wen, retreat quickly! I will clear the way for you!!!”

After speaking, Zhang Xiu also brought the Red Hare to Lü Bu.

Upon seeing this, Lü Bu was overjoyed, beheaded several people behind him, took a few large steps, directly turned over and mounted the Red Hare, and then said loudly.

“Why do you need to clear the way? Just follow me!”

As for Zhang Xiu's betrayal, the other Xiliang fierce generals were extremely angry and unhesitatingly divided a part of their forces to besiege Zhang Xiu.

However, an adoptive father may be dispensable to Lü Bu, but the difference between Lü Bu with and without a horse was worlds apart.

In addition, with Zhang Xiu and a group of elite troops protecting him on the left and right, Lü Bu only needed to bravely move forward, and almost all that the Fangtian Halberd in his hand passed were broken limbs and bones.

For a time, even though the Xiliang army was still crazy, Lü Bu directly broke through the encirclement with an unstoppable momentum and went towards the direction where the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry was stationed inside Hulao Pass.

And watching Lü Bu leave, almost stepping on countless Xiliang soldiers' corpses, but no one could stop him, what appeared in the hearts of the Xiliang fierce generals was not only resentment, but also helplessness.

Internally, Lü Bu betrayed and assassinated Dong Zhuo, and externally, the Guandong lords were about to attack the city…

Where should the Xiliang army go?

At this moment, Li Ru, whose face was haggard and resembled a ghost, walked out supported by Xu Rong, and ordered in a hoarse voice.

“Quick… quickly send a fast horse to Luoyang, and notify Niu Fu to abandon Luoyang immediately, and escort the Chancellor and the families of the other generals to Chang'an…”

“Hulao Pass cannot be defended, retreat to Hangu Pass…”

Immediately, the Xiliang fierce generals looked at Li Ru's seemingly shaky body, but it was as if they had found the backbone.

In the entire Xiliang army, the most prestigious was Dong Zhuo, followed by Li Ru, the chief steward of the entire Xiliang army, and Li Ru was also Dong Zhuo's son-in-law.

Immediately, the Xiliang fierce generals endured the grief and quickly acted according to Li Ru's orders.

Li Ru's gaze looked at Xu Rong beside him with some hesitation, wanting to say something but stopping.

Noticing Li Ru's gaze, Xu Rong said in a deep voice.

“Military Advisor, please speak without hesitation!”

Li Ru muttered in a low voice.

“Hulao Pass cannot be defended. After the rebel Lü Bu goes to join the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, he will definitely go straight to Luoyang to control the Emperor and seize the opportunity…”

“But if Hulao Pass falls immediately, the Guandong lords have hated my Xiliang for a long time, and the two sides have a deep blood feud, they may pursue and kill along the way, and the more than ten thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry in Hulao Pass may be difficult to withdraw to Hangu Pass.”

Hearing this, Xu Rong did not understand Li Ru's meaning.

Hulao Pass could not be defended, but there was still a need for someone to stay in Hulao Pass to cover the retreat and buy time, and there were still a large number of Sili elites in Guanzhong.

Most of those Sili elites were infantry, and Li Ru could not take them away, and was even less willing to leave them to the Guandong lords and Lü Bu to divide.

“The Chancellor has shown me great kindness. At this moment, what is there to regret even if I am crushed to pieces? But please take care of your health, Military Advisor, and avenge the Chancellor as soon as possible…”

Xu Rong cupped his hands and agreed without the slightest hesitation, but his eyes were unconsciously filled with tears.

Liang Province…

It is bitter!

As the borderland of the Han Dynasty, with mixed ethnic groups, and the court was corrupt, leading to rampant rebels in Liang Province, and the rampant alien races, even if it was not a year of disaster, there were not a few who starved to death.

Why was the Xiliang Iron Cavalry most unafraid of death?

They were afraid of hunger and poverty, so naturally they were not afraid of death.

Dong Zhuo's way of winning the hearts of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry was also simple, that was, to give generous rewards, so that the entire Xiliang Iron Cavalry, from top to bottom, was grateful for the rewards.

And although Xu Rong was a native of Liaodong, he had joined the army early and was stationed in Liang Province. Later, he was almost imprisoned and lost his life for offending his superiors, but fortunately Dong Zhuo interceded and saved him, and then he vowed to follow Dong Zhuo and became a member of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry.

Regarding Dong Zhuo's actions after entering Luoyang, Xu Rong might not necessarily agree in his heart, but Dong Zhuo's great kindness must be repaid with the body of a great man.

Li Ru took a deep breath, pushed away Xu Rong's support, and said sternly.

“Ru will avenge the Chancellor!”

Immediately, Xu Rong watched Li Ru leave, a little unsteady but firm, and then his expression became solemn, and he immediately summoned his personal soldiers to form a supervisory team to urge the Sili elites to prepare to deal with the upcoming siege.

After breaking free from the encirclement, Lü Bu led Zhang Xiu straight towards the garrison of the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry.

However, before even reaching the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry, Lü Bu halted, his face gloomy, as he gazed into the distance at a separate garrison of about a thousand men adjacent to the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry.

At the entrance of this garrison, Chen Gong was holding Lü Bu's warrant and pleading with Gao Shun, begging Gao Shun to immediately send troops to aid Lü Bu.

(End of Chapter)