Inside Hulao Pass, Dong Zhuo's expression was extremely gloomy. It had been fifteen minutes since he summoned all the generals guarding the pass to the main room of the city tower. However, his eyelids were drooping, and he had no intention of speaking.
"Your son is incompetent. Father, please punish him!" Lu Bu saw that the atmosphere was not right and stepped forward to beg for forgiveness.
After being scolded by Zhang Fei as a 'slave of three surnames', Lu Bu was already flustered and exasperated. Later on, he actually suffered a setback in a fight. This was the first time in Lu Bu's life. Thus, while Lu Bu was asking for forgiveness, he did not forget to explain himself.
"To think that the eighteen renegades from Guandong were so disrespectful! That Leopard Eye was clearly no match for Bu Zhi. Who would have thought that two more of them would come out and cause this defeat … "
"Fengxian, my son, there's no need to blame yourself. Thou withstood the three generals of the renegade army with one man and one horse. Thou still did not fall into a disadvantageous position. If Wen You had not suggested for a temporary retreat, victory and defeat would still be hard to determine. My concern is Luoyang's matter. It has nothing to do with Fengxian. "
Dong Zhuo's expression relaxed when he saw Lu Bu begging for forgiveness. Lu Bu was currently one of Dong Zhuo's pillars of support. Naturally, Dong Zhuo knew how to appease him.
Dong Zhuo's concern was indeed not Hulao Pass. Although Yuan Shao and the others were attacking Hulao Pass hastily, and Lu Bu was also being held back by them and was no longer as invincible as before, Hulao Pass itself was extremely difficult to take. With Lu Bu and the other generals guarding the pass, Yuan Shao and the others would not be able to climb up the pass in a short amount of time.
However, the situation at the rear did not allow Dong Zhuo to delay any longer. First, Young Emperor Liu Bian and his mother had fallen into Yang Rui's hands. When Li Jue and the other generals went to pursue Liu Bian, they were trapped by Yang Rui in Henei County north of the Yellow River. Then, Yang Rui led his army to the south of the Yellow River. They took down Heyin, Pingping, Gucheng, Henan, and several other counties around Luoyang.
Even the Dragon Soul and the other player organizations took down Xincheng County. Dong Zhuo also blamed it on Yang Rui! At this moment, Dong Zhuo's troops in Luoyang only had the ability to defend. They did not have the strength to go out of the city to encircle Yang Rui's forces. Therefore, Dong Zhuo was most worried about Yang Rui's rebellion.
"… I'm worried about Qing Province's Governor, Blazing Sun! This person has been wreaking havoc in the vicinity of Luoyang for a long time, and no one can stop him! "
After persuading Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo's expression became gloomy again. Afterwards, he spoke as if he was talking to himself.
"Li Ru has a plan. Prime Minister, please dismiss your attendants!"
Dong Zhuo was in low spirits. Li Ru was afraid that this would affect their morale, so he made this suggestion.
Dong Zhuo had always known that Li Ru was resourceful and trusted Li Ru the most. Thus, he did as Li Ru suggested and dismissed the generals. Only Lu Bu was still standing beside him. He did not have any intention to leave.
Li Ru's gaze fell on Lu Bu. He wanted to say something but hesitated. Seeing that Lu Bu had no intention to leave, in the end, he didn't say anything.
"Prime Minister, why do you appear so dejected in front of others?"
Since Lu Bu was unwilling to leave, Li Ru treated him like a trusted aide. He did not intentionally hide his conversation with Dong Zhuo either. This was one of Li Ru's cleverness.
"This …"
Li Ru asked. Dong Zhuo seemed to have realized that his actions just now were rather inappropriate, so he said, "It's because Qing Province's Governor, Blazing Sun, has been messing around with Gu near Luoyang.
"Blazing Sun is an otherworldly person. He's not jackals of the same lair as Yuan Shao and the others. He's only after benefits. Just like in Luoyang, when Prime Minister gave him the position of Qing Province's Governor, Blazing Sun naturally left. Why don't Prime Minister give him some benefits so that Luoyang can be at peace? "Li Ru said after some thought.
Dong Zhuo's eyes lit up when he heard Li Ru's words. Just as Li Ru said, when Dong Zhuo first entered the capital, Yang Rui's attitude toward him was extremely bad. He looked as though he wanted to fight Dong Zhuo to the death. However, after Li Ru executed his plan and gave Yang Rui the title of Qing Province's Governor, Yang Rui quickly left Luoyang. This also provided a basis for Li Ru to execute his plan again.
"What good plan do you have, Wen You?" Dong Zhuo asked anxiously.
"This … If Li Ru is wrong, Prime Minister, please forgive Li Ru!"
Li Ru hesitated for a moment before he said.
"Wen You, feel free to speak. This Prime Minister will naturally not blame you," Dong Zhuo said almost without hesitation.
"Reporting to Prime Minister, Blazing Sun has already been promoted to the position of Prefecture's Governor. I'm afraid that ordinary things can no longer tempt him. Why don't Prime Minister marry your daughter to him? It won't be too late to reward him then! If he agrees, not only will Luoyang's current crisis be resolved, but it will also be a great help to Prime Minister … "
Although he had obtained Dong Zhuo's approval, Li Ru still hesitated for a while before he spoke. Who knew that he would be stopped by Dong Zhuo before he could finish speaking.
"Li Ru!"
Dong Zhuo shouted and suddenly stood up as though he was about to explode. However, he didn't say anything else. After he lowered his head and pondered for a moment, he slowly sat back down.
"Sigh, my daughter Yi 'er is only thirteen years old. She's not even beautiful yet. How can I bear to …"
Beside him, Li Ru was so frightened by Dong Zhuo that he was speechless. However, when he heard Dong Zhuo's words, he knew that there was still hope, so he dared to persuade him again.
"Prime Minister, although Blazing Sun is mischievous and has repeatedly opposed Prime Minister, it's very rare for him to be promoted to the position of Prefecture Governor at such a young age. Most importantly, Blazing Sun has never been married to any woman. If Prime Minister's daughter is compatible with him, she will undoubtedly be his wife! "
Li Ru continued to persuade him. Beside him, Lu Bu even praised Blazing Sun. This was probably due to Yang Rui's act of gifting him the sword. Thus, Dong Zhuo gradually accepted Li Ru's suggestion and sent Li Su to act as a matchmaker to find Yang Rui.
"Reporting to Prime Minister, Li Ru has something to say, but I'm not sure if I should say it. Recently, there's a saying in the market: 'First Han in the west, first Han in the east.' Only when a deer enters Chang 'an will there be no difficulties. This saying, 'First Han in the west' refers to Gaozu flourishing in the west of Chang 'an, passing on to the twelve emperors.' First Han in the east 'refers to Guang Wu flourishing in the east of Luoyang, passing on to the twelve emperors.
Currently, the battle at Hulao Pass is unfavorable, and Blazing Sun is obstructing us from behind. If Li Su goes to befriend Blazing Sun, the outcome is still unknown. If there's a critical moment, Prime Minister can consider bringing troops back to Luoyang and discuss moving the emperor to Chang 'an in response to the saying.
Thinking about how the Guan Dong vassals are like a sheet of loose sand, if Prime Minister temporarily avoids battle and defends Hangu Pass and Tongguan Pass, although there are many warlords, they may disperse in a few days. The danger of the Guan Dong Coalition Army will also be resolved. When the time is right, Prime Minister can send troops to pacify them one by one.
As for Chang 'an's neighbor, Western Liang, where Prime Minister started out, everything will be easy to deal with. Thus, after much consideration, Li Ru believes that Prime Minister will have no problems moving back to Chang' an. "
After Li Ru and Dong Zhuo discussed and sent Li Su to propose marriage to Yang Rui, Li Ru frowned and pondered for a while. Then, he unexpectedly took the opportunity to propose moving the capital to Chang 'an.
Such a statement was obviously too shocking. Dong Zhuo was stunned on the spot for a moment after hearing it. Even Lu Bu, who had been standing at the side all along, had a surprised expression on his face. Obviously, Li Ru's statement had greatly exceeded their expectations.
"This … let's talk about it later!" Dong Zhuo came back to his senses after a while. His gaze was somewhat erratic as he spoke.
In truth, Li Ru's words had touched Dong Zhuo's heart and provided him with a new train of thought. Just as Li Ru had said, Western Liang was where Dong Zhuo had started out, and once the capital was moved to Chang 'an, the east would be able to keep out the other warlords outside Tongguan and Hangu Pass, while the west would be able to make use of its long-established strategic advantage. It truly did seem like an impregnable fortress.
In this special moment of internal and external troubles, Dong Zhuo was clearly moved by Li Ru's proposal to move the capital. However, this matter had come too suddenly, and Dong Zhuo found it hard to accept giving up more than half of his territory in Sili Province. Moreover, Dong Zhuo had enjoyed himself in Luoyang's Imperial City for a long time, so he was extremely reluctant to leave.
Seeing Dong Zhuo's attitude, Li Ru did not continue to urge him. In truth, he also held a glimmer of hope that he could convince Yang Rui. If Yang Rui could agree to the marriage with Dong Zhuo's daughter and obtain Yang Rui's help, the situation would be completely different. Not only would Sili Province immediately become peaceful, but there would also be cracks within the warlords. It was even possible for them to fall apart.
Even if they took a step back and assumed that if Yang Rui's forces were to side with Dong Zhuo, he would be able to establish a strong territory east of Hulao Pass. Coupled with the cooperation of the Black Mountain Army, who was already operating near the Eastern County, the entire situation would be completely reversed!
However, Li Ru's assumption was clearly too optimistic. Just a day and a half after Dong Zhuo sent Li Su out, another urgent military report was sent to Hulao Pass. According to the report, the governor of Qingzhou, Blazing Sun, had already taken control of Hangu Pass!
When Dong Zhuo heard this news, he almost staggered. Li Ru's plan to move the capital to Chang 'an had just sprouted in his mind. He did not expect Yang Rui to block his escape route so quickly! Hangu Pass's defense was on the same level as Hulao Pass's!
"What can we do? What can we do?! "This time, Dong Zhuo was really anxious. He hurriedly went to find Li Ru.
When Li Ru heard about this, he was also sweating profusely. He was very clear about Hangu Pass's defense, and Dong Zhuo had sent two of the generals under Li Ru's suggestion. He did not expect that such an impregnable pass would be lost just like that!
"Reporting to the Prime Minister, given the current situation, this is the only way we can go about it …"
The two of them went back and forth for a while. After the time it took to brew a cup of tea, Li Ru finally came up with a plan. He whispered it into Dong Zhuo's ear. Dong Zhuo frowned from time to time. When he heard the end, he nodded slightly, reluctantly agreeing with Li Ru's plan.
Putting aside Dong Zhuo and Li Ru's plan, after taking Hangu Pass and spending more than a day clearing out the villages and towns of Dong Zhuo's camp to the west of Luoyang, Yang Rui took down another city — Taigu City.
"My lord, a messenger from Dong Zhuo's camp has come to seek an audience. He says that he has good news to tell you."
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