Chapter 35: Li Ru's Humanity and Righteousness Reach Their Limits

  Inside the Tiger Trap Pass, Dong Zhuo was lying on his bed, seemingly carefree and unconcerned about his situation. Li Ru saw Dong Zhuo's attitude and felt a deep sense of emotion. After composing himself, he said: "The enemy's forces are strong! The Duke of Wen is also being attacked by the allied army, and our soldiers have no will to fight. Why not lead the troops back to Luoyang, move the Emperor to Chang'an, and respond to the children's rumors?"

  "What nursery rhyme?" Dong Zhuo asked with great interest. In fact, he had long since wanted to retreat but had no excuse. His reliance was none other than the more than 200,000 Xiliang cavalry under his command. He must give his soldiers an explanation, so he was thinking about how to find an excuse to withdraw and also have something to explain to his soldiers;

  Recently, a street nursery rhyme says: 'One Han in the west, one Han in the east. The deer enters Chang'an, only then can there be no disaster.' I think this phrase, 'one Han in the west', refers to Gaozu of Han who was enthroned in the western capital Chang'an and passed down for twelve emperors; 'one Han in the east' refers to Guangwu of Han who was enthroned in the eastern capital Luoyang and also passed down for twelve emperors. The heavenly cycle is about to return. Chancellor, you should move back to Chang'an, only then can there be no worry!

  Dong Zhuo ordered someone to return to Luoyang to investigate, and it was indeed the case! He then said to his generals: This is not old Dong's intention to retreat! It is actually the will of heaven!

  In ancient times, especially among the common people, the cultural level was generally not high, and they may not even have reached the level of primary school students. They were very superstitious, and as soon as they heard a nursery rhyme say so, they thought it must be the will of heaven, and they couldn't resist, so they believed it.

  But is it really so? No! It's actually Li Ru's plan!

  He has done his best to plot a way out for Dong Zhuo, moving the capital to Chang'an, which is undoubtedly a very clever move.

  Suppose Dong Zhuo has no intention of making progress, he still holds Emperor Xian of Han Liu Xie in his hands. This is to control the emperor and intimidate the vassals. Even if they send troops to punish him, they have to consider the life and death of the emperor; while the emperor is in Dong Zhuo's hands, it is easy for them to be given a rebellious name, and on the moral high ground, Dong Zhuo also has an advantage.

  Li Ru reckoned that the Allied Army had been attacking for a long time without success and had already secretly developed differences. They voluntarily gave up Luoyang, which would further intensify the contradictions of interest among the vassals, and the Allied Army would disperse accordingly. As long as Dong Zhuo did not become muddle-headed, he could completely rely on his own strength to spend the rest of his life in peace.

  Suppose Dong Zhuo experienced the vassals' campaign against him, and after his pain subsided, he could have made a comeback because his base was in Yongliang.

  Chang'an is also the center of Yongliang, and Dong Zhuo can rely on the danger of Hangu Pass and the protection of Longguan to rejuvenate himself, re-control the Hebei region, swallow Pingzhou, plot Hanzhong, and march into Shu. In this way, the western territory of the Great Han Dynasty will be all his, and with a little more effort, it is not impossible to unify the world.

  It must be said that although Li Ru has a flaw in his character, being too bloodthirsty, apart from this he is perfect! Especially his strategic vision is absolutely unparalleled in the world! What a pity! What a pity! His joining Dong Zhuo is like a bright pearl falling into darkness!

  Dong Zhuo was overjoyed and said: "If it weren't for your words, I really wouldn't have realized." He then took Lü Bu with him to return to Luoyang overnight to discuss the plan to move the capital.

  Gathered at the imperial court, Dong Zhuo said: "The Eastern Capital of Han in Luoyang has been for over 200 years, and its fortune is already declining. I observed the celestial phenomena last night, and the prosperous energy is actually in Chang'an. I want to escort the emperor to move westward. You all should prepare quickly." Who would believe him? When did he ever observe the celestial phenomena at night?

  Of course, many people did not want to move the capital. Firstly, if the lords of Kanto were to kill their way into Luoyang to rescue them, and secondly, Chang'an was a harsh and cold place that these people were not accustomed to.

  Situ Yangbi immediately came out in opposition: "The Guanzhong is already damaged and scattered. Now, without reason, we abandon the ancestral temple and discard the imperial mausoleum, fearing that the people will be shocked. It is easy to stir up the world, but difficult to calm it down. I hope the Chancellor will consider this."

  Dong Zhuo flew into a rage: "What do you know! This is a plan for the ages! Do you understand the way of governing a country?"

  Ta Wei Huang Wan: "Yang Si Tu's words are correct. In the past, Wang Mang usurped the throne and during the Red Eyebrows' time, he set fire to Chang'an, reducing it to a land of rubble; moreover, the people were displaced, with only one or two remaining out of a hundred. Now abandoning the palace buildings for desolate lands is not suitable."

  Dong Zhuo: "The bandits of Guandong have risen, and the world is in chaos. Chang'an has the strategic location of Tongguan; even closer to Longyou, with wood, stone, bricks, and tiles, it can be completed within a few days. The construction of palaces will not take more than a month. You all should stop speaking nonsense."

  Xun Xuanshuang remonstrated: "If the Prime Minister wants to move the capital, the people will not be at peace." Dong Zhuo was furious and said: "I am making a great plan for the Han Dynasty! Those commoners can do whatever they want!" On that day, Yang Bi, Huang Wan, and Xun Xuanshuang were dismissed as ordinary citizens.

  Dong Zhuo, in a very bad mood, got into his carriage and saw two men bowing to him. One was the Minister of Works, Zhou Bi, and the other was the Colonel of the City Gate, Wu Kuang. Dong Zhuo asked what they wanted, and Zhou Bi said: "We have heard that you intend to move the capital to Chang'an, so we came to advise against it."

  Dong Zhuo flew into a rage, saying: "You bastards! I originally listened to you two and used Yuan Shao; now that Yuan Shao has rebelled against our family, you two must be in cahoots with him!"

  Then he ordered the warriors to push out of the city gate and behead them. Under Dong Zhuo's severe pressure, all people in Luoyang moved together, limited to tomorrow. Li Ru said: "Now that money and grain are lacking, there are many rich households in Luoyang, which can be registered and entered into officialdom. However, Yuan Shao and others, killed their clansmen and confiscated their family property, must get tens of thousands."

  Dong Zhuo immediately dispatched 5,000 iron cavalrymen to arrest and capture thousands of wealthy households in Luoyang. They were beheaded outside the city, and their gold and wealth were seized. Li Jue and Guo Si drove hundreds of millions of people from Luoyang to Chang'an. For every hundred civilians, there was a military unit, with each group pulling and pushing the other; those who died in the ditches were too numerous to count.

  They allowed the soldiers to rob people's wives and daughters, and seize their food; the wailing filled heaven and earth. If anyone was slow to move, three thousand troops followed behind, urging them on with swords in hand, killing people on the road. As Dong Zhuo left, he ordered his men to set fire to the city gates, burning down the houses of the residents, as well as setting fire to temples, palaces and government offices.

  The two palaces, the Northern and Southern Palaces, were connected by a wall of flames; the Longevity Palace was reduced to ashes. Then Lü Bu was ordered to dig up the tombs of the former emperor and his consorts, and take their gold and jewels. The soldiers took advantage of this to dig up the graves of officials and commoners, almost all of which were destroyed. Dong Zhuo loaded several thousand carts with pearls, silks, and other precious goods, seized the Emperor and the Empress, and set off towards Chang'an.

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  The Western Liang army at Tiger Trap Pass withdrew quietly, and the vassals who had been persuaded by Cao Cao to attack the city, with Sun Jian's troops from Jiangdong as the vanguard, encountered no resistance whatsoever. They occupied Tiger Trap Pass, and their luck had reached an all-time high!

  The vassals rushed to Luoyang, gazing from afar at the flames soaring into the sky, black smoke covering the ground, for two or three hundred miles, without a single chicken, dog, or human sound; each department organized firefighting efforts.

  The whole city of Luoyang was in a state of devastation, and under Dong Zhuo's wanton destruction, it had become a thousand holes and ten thousand cracks. Cao Cao was filled with sorrow and indignation at this sight, and he wrote a poem "Xie Lu Xing" to satirize it: The treacherous minister holds the power of the state, kills the ruler and destroys the capital. Overturns the imperial foundation, the ancestral temple is destroyed by fire. Scattered and exiled to the west, wailing and marching. Looking at the city walls of Luoyang, I am filled with sorrow and grief.

  "What a great opportunity! My lord should take action now!", Li Yu also had a sigh of emotion, but this was something he could foresee, so he just sighed and didn't feel too much sorrow;

  "Hmm! Dong Zhuo has gone west to Chang'an, taking with him hundreds of thousands of civilians. His army will surely not be moving quickly on the road. Our army only needs a few tens of thousands of cavalry to pursue and defeat them in one battle! And then we can welcome back the Emperor! However... Hehe!", Cao Cao smiled, "Hua De! Follow me to pay a visit to Sun Jian!"

  Look at Cao Cao, he wants to monopolize the merits! He doesn't want to tell the princes about the war opportunity. In fact, even if he tells them, they won't go; however, he considers that his own military strength has only 3,000 cavalry, which is not enough to fight against the Western Liang army, so he thinks of borrowing troops! Borrowing troops from Sun Jian!

  Of course, if Sun Jian also intended to pursue Dong Zhuo with him, Cao Cao would not decline. In his view, Sun Jian was several times better than those other lords, and even if he gave him half the credit, it was still better than giving it to others.

  Cao Cao is indeed Cao Cao, with a flicker of his eyes, he can create a way. He wants to borrow troops from Sun Jian but doesn't say it outright, instead, he deceives people and makes them willingly lend to him!

  "Brother Wentai!", "Brother Mengde!", The two men warmly greeted each other. Cao Cao mysteriously said to Sun Jian, "Today I came to give Brother Wentai a great gift!" "Oh?", Sun Jian was greatly surprised. The two had a shallow relationship and only had some admiration for each other, but they didn't expect Cao Cao to mention a great gift as soon as he opened his mouth, which made him astonished.

  "Dong Zhuo is marching west to Chang'an with a large number of civilians and supplies, so he must be moving slowly. If we pursue him, we will surely achieve a great victory! I have already recruited over 7,000 elite cavalrymen from my hometown. Adding them to my current 3,000 troops, we now have a total of 10,000 elite cavalrymen! As long as Brother Wen Tai is willing to join forces with me, we can definitely win a great victory and make all the other lords look up to us!"

  Cao Cao was openly telling lies with his eyes wide open, Li Yu rolled his eyes and remained silent, he knew that old Cao was cheating people.

  "This... Alas! It's not that I'm unwilling, but it's really impossible. My army is already exhausted. However, I can lend you 3,000 cavalrymen to help you with a bit of strength!" Sun Jian was also thinking, if I lend troops to you and win, I'll have half the credit; if we lose, it's just a loss of some soldiers and horses. So he generously sold his own 3,000 brothers-in-arms to Cao Cao.

  "Alas! What a great opportunity! Right! I'll take the lead! Brother Wentai, when you encounter other lords, be sure to call out for help and rush to my aid!" Cao Cao let out a pretentious sigh, knowing that those lords would not come to his aid. They were more concerned with how to divide the spoils after winning the battle.

  PS: Please recommend and collect! Also, thank you for the reward from Yu Shi Zhi Tong Xie! And also thanks to Zei Ju Brother's daily attention and comments, brother is a meticulous person, I'm ashamed! Hope to remind me more in the future! Thank you!