Chapter 132

Chapter 132

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 4: The End of Zhongping, Luoyang’s Storm Chapter 132: The Fire of the North Palace

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Can a strategist not ascend the throne?

Chapter 132: The Fire of the North Palace

The Governor of Bingzhou, Marquis Qiao, is ordered to suppress the bandits!

Which bandit is being suppressed is beyond doubt!

Residents from the upper-class neighborhoods rushed out of their homes, first heading east to evacuate for a distance, and then, as expected, some curious onlookers climbed to high points of their houses to look towards the direction of Luoyang’s North Gate.

What they saw was a large cloud of dust rising from the mountain paths of Mangshan, with troops charging straight towards the northern city wall. The vanguard had already reached the city gate, while the rear was still connected to Mangshan, quickly spreading along the northern city wall.

Such a spectacle had never been seen by the residents of Luoyang before.

Even when Dong Zhuo entered the capital recently, he only brought about three thousand followers. Although he later controlled tens of thousands, after assigning them to guard the eight passes, the number was reduced to several teams. How could it compare to the direct shock of ten thousand people attacking the city now?

The Governor of Bingzhou!

Perhaps because Qiao Yan is too young, and her promotion to marquis is almost legendary, the residents of Luoyang often tell her story to their children. But none of these stories are as impactful as the current scene of her being ordered to suppress the bandits, making them realize that she is a powerful regional governor, not just a young genius.

The command “Ordered to suppress the bandits” was both a warning for them to evacuate and a direct provocation and declaration of war against Dong Zhuo.

The northern city wall of Luoyang is thicker than any other side, making it impossible to breach by digging or bombardment; it can only be scaled.

As the last echoes of the command that shook the night sky faded, a dense rain of arrows was already heading towards the city wall, and the armored Bingzhou troops were rushing towards the wall with scaling ladders.

As the commoners of Luoyang looked towards the high points, in the light of dawn, it seemed that another group of troops was near the northwest of Luoyang, apparently trying to breach the city from the direction of Xiamen at the northwest corner of Luoyang.

Or perhaps they were trying to break into the Zhelong Garden.

The defense of gardens is often not very dense, which might be an opportunity to breach the city gates.

Originally, the Northern Army Five Divisions were stationed outside this area, but now that the guards of the eight passes have all been deployed, the camp is almost empty.

Coincidentally, those passing through this area were the Five Divisions troops who had defected to Qiao Yan along with Xu Rong.

Thus, the remaining guards, seeing their familiar colleagues, joined the攻城队伍 after a few words, forming another stream of people.

The only thing that could stop them was this line of the city wall.

Unfortunately, the slope near the northern part of Mangshan is gentle, otherwise, they could have used arrows from the mountain to attack the city wall.

But the current situation is already shocking enough!

Even though Dong Zhuo had stationed a considerable number of troops along the northern line of Luoyang, and these troops were not facing harsh conditions like those at Mengjin Pass, the sudden large-scale attack still caught them off guard.

After all, this was a scene of ten thousand people attacking the city.

Most of Luoyang’s million residents are not within the city but in the outer districts and suburbs.

The city’s defenders, originally only two to three thousand, were recently increased to seven thousand, with only a fifth of the attacking force stationed near the northern city wall, and not everyone was on duty at the time.

The arrows flying from the rear of the攻城队伍 towards the city wall, thanks to the numerical advantage, almost formed a suppressing fire that made it difficult for anyone to peek out.

Although the scaling teams were somewhat restricted, they had already climbed halfway.

The northern city wall is in danger!

Even though the攻城队伍 politely shouted the command, it doesn’t change the fact!

Since Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, because the Southern Palace was mostly burned down and repairing it was troublesome, he took the excuse of protecting the Emperor from harm and boldly occupied the Northern Palace, now located not far from where the Bingzhou troops are attacking.

He didn’t need to be called by his subordinates; he was already awakened by the noise from his deep sleep.

Years of military life in Liangzhou allowed him to estimate the number of attackers based on the distant sounds of battle and the tremors of the ground.

But this was obviously not good news for him.

At least ten thousand attackers!

As he put on his armor for protection, he scolded the reporting soldier: “How did you guard the city, letting the Bingzhou troops get right under our noses before noticing! Are you all just a bunch of useless idiots!”

The reporting soldier was also aggrieved.

Although Qiao Yan started with a “polite” approach before attacking, the distance from the Mangshan pass to the city of Luoyang is not far, and there wasn’t even enough time for slower soldiers to put on their chain mail, at most grabbing weapons as backup, with the night guards being the first to engage.

It’s fortunate that none of them were slacking off, otherwise, it wouldn’t be him reporting to Dong Zhuo, but Luoyang being breached directly.

The fact that the other side could muster so many troops to attack the city, passing through the Mangshan mountain paths without any obstruction, and no one coming to Luoyang to report beforehand, is a major failure of the guards at Mengjin Pass and Xiaopingjin Pass, and not just their fault!

Dong Zhuo also realized this problem later.

Qiao Yan doesn’t have wings to fly!

No, even if this eleven-year-old marquis, fourteen-year-old governor really grew a pair of wings to fly across, her ten thousand troops don’t have such magical abilities, making it impossible for them to leap from one side of the Yellow River, jump over Mangshan, and directly land outside Luoyang.

The only explanation is that Mengjin and Xiaopingjin were lost, and without a doubt, lost.

“What are Niu Fu and Xu Rong doing!” Dong Zhuo put on his helmet and scolded.

The reporting soldier whispered, “We don’t know about General Niu’s whereabouts, but General Xu… is in the攻城队伍.”

“Bastard!” Dong Zhuo was stunned for a moment, then blurted out with a fierce expression, “I treated Xu Rong well, how could he do this to me? Does he really think he can gain merit by attacking Luoyang to save the Emperor!”

But the soldier in front of him was just there to report the news, not a participant in the river-crossing battle, nor a worm in Xu Rong’s stomach, unable to give Dong Zhuo a truly accurate explanation.

Faced with the imminent danger, Dong Zhuo didn’t have the energy to care about why Xu Rong made this decision.

He immediately called for Li Ru.

Most of his generals and colonels had been sent out to guard the passes, except for Yique and Huanyuan Pass, which had less pressure, and he had recalled Guo Si and Zhang Ji, leaving him with almost no available generals.

At most, there’s Dong Min guarding the southern outer district.

This undoubtedly gave him an unprecedented sense of crisis.

Even when besieged by the Qiang people in the past, it wasn’t as intense as this!

Li Ru was quite speechless about Dong Zhuo’s recent refusal to listen to his advice and his indiscriminate killings, but today Luoyang is in crisis, and he is tied to the same chariot as Dong Zhuo. Regardless of previous disagreements, he must now put aside such thoughts and plan a way out for Dong Zhuo.

He quickly replied, “Please, Prime Minister, first pretend to defend the Northern Palace firmly, using the two lines of defense of the northern city wall and the Northern Palace wall to wear down part of the Bingzhou troops, then set fire to the Northern Palace, exit through the East Gate, and head to Buguangli.”

“East Gate?” If they were to meet Duan Wei, who is already in Huayin, they should go through the West Gate.

Li Ru said, “The Prime Minister’s intention to move the capital has already been widely announced in Luoyang. If Qiao Yan is attentive, she would naturally set an ambush at the West Gate. I heard that some of the attacking troops came from Zhelong Garden, so it’s possible they might take the Upper West Gate.”

Seeing that Dong Zhuo found his analysis reasonable, Li Ru continued, “So the Prime Minister should first head east, pass by the residences of the Three Excellencies, go through the straight road in front of the Southern Palace, then turn west, and exit through Guangyang Gate. Even if our plan is seen through, and there are Bingzhou troops guarding outside the East Gate of the Northern Palace, at least the numerical advantage of the other side is not significant in the streets of Buguangli, where street battles are all about courage. The Prime Minister’s Xiliang Army’s chance to counterattack lies here.”

“Good, good…” If the scope of the battle and the number of combatants are limited, he might not be too passive.

But—

“If we directly exit Guangyang Gate and head to Chang’an, what about moving the capital…”

Moving the capital would be completely impossible.

How is this different from being driven out of Luoyang!

Dong Zhuo still controls many troops. If he uses the troops to drive the people as a barrier to block Qiao Yan’s pursuit, would that be a feasible method?

Before he could say this, Li Ru quickly interrupted him: “Prime Minister, didn’t you hear what Qiao Yan shouted when she ordered the attack? It was ‘Ordered to suppress the bandits’! What edict is she following? The Prime Minister should know from her style of writing the proclamation against the bandits that she is not one to exaggerate facts. The only possibility is that she truly has the late Emperor’s edict.”

Given Qiao Yan’s identity and her promotion history, this is highly likely.

“The other side has the edict…”








“Books, and also cavalry, the Prime Minister driving away the residents of Luoyang has no advantage, and may even be dragged down by them!”

“Even if Chang’an is in ruins, it still has a population of 280,000. If the Prime Minister holds the Son of Heaven, he can recruit soldiers and refugees later. Why worry about not having people to use? Don’t mind the current losses,” Li Ru anxiously said, fearing that Dong Zhuo might make some unwise moves due to his recent assumptions.

Now is not the time for his nouveau riche mentality to act up.

Fortunately, Dong Zhuo ultimately heeded his advice.

Li Ru breathed a sigh of relief and, after receiving a positive response, added, “When the time comes, exit from Guangyang Gate, enter the Prince’s Quarter, and the Prime Minister can take a few more hostages. To make the Bingzhou army hesitate, these people will be much more useful.”

“You’re right. Quickly have someone bring His Majesty and Prince Bian… no, just bring His Majesty, and execute Prince Bian. Show these rebels attacking Luoyang that the Prince of Hongnong was scared to death by them!” Dong Zhuo said gravely.

After Liu Xie ascended to the throne, Liu Bian was granted the title of Prince of Hongnong.

Dong Zhuo had already killed He Miao, Empress He, and others, but he hadn’t actually killed Liu Bian to avoid the charge of killing a prince. Now, however, it was acceptable.

After all, Liu Bian had been frightened into illness ever since Dong Zhuo entered the capital and the imperial relatives were brutally killed. If he were to die of illness now, it wouldn’t be unexplainable, and it could even be conveniently blamed on those entering the city.

Bringing one less prince would also save a lot of trouble on the road.

“And those noble families still in Luoyang, aren’t they waiting for someone to come to their rescue? Others might be too late! The sons of the Yuan clan from Runan, one in the east and one in the south, don’t care about the lives of their fathers and ancestors. These relatives might as well be buried with the Prince of Hongnong!”

Dong Zhuo took the long knife handed to him by his attendant.

He had become more prosperous in recent years and had indulged himself during his two months in Luoyang, but he was not someone to be captured without a fight.

Li Ru knew it was difficult to persuade Dong Zhuo not to bring the residents of Luoyang and to only flee with the Son of Heaven. Persuading him to bring the Prince of Hongnong and not to make enemies with the Yuan clan was almost impossible, especially after hearing that Qiao Yan was attacking the city and Xu Rong had defected. He could only suppress this idea.

Liu Xie was still too young…

Li Ru was filled with worry.

Even though he had grown to eleven years old, in the current environment of frequent epidemics after wars, and with the poor conditions in Chang’an, he could easily be taken by some disease. Bringing the Prince of Hongnong would provide a second option.

But alas… forget it! At worst, they could find a few Liu clan members around Chang’an!

As for the members of the Yuan clan from Runan in the capital, killing them is no loss!

Without the connections of Yuan Wei and others, the power that Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu could mobilize would be greatly reduced. Their performance in the previous burning of the Southern Palace and the recent alliance at Suanzao was not as impressive as Qiao Yan’s, and they couldn’t stir up much trouble.

It just so happened that the Yuan clan, for the sake of close supervision, except for Ma Lun, the Grand Historian appointed by Liu Hong, the rest were directly detained by Dong Zhuo in a corner of the Northern Palace, originally intended as hostages against the Suanzao and Luyang alliance. Now it was convenient for them to act!

Dong Zhuo issued the order, had someone carry it out, and then took Li Ru to the northern wall of the Northern Palace.

The wall of the Northern Palace was so close to the northern wall of Luoyang that at the nearest point, there was only a straight road, allowing a clear view of the soldiers attacking from the direction of Xiamen.

These Bingzhou troops were indeed brave, having already gained an advantage on the northern wall.

Dong Zhuo ordered arrows to be shot from the Northern Palace wall, killing many Bingzhou soldiers who had climbed the wall. But as the number of enemies increased, the counterattacks from the other side also became numerous.

Especially after the heavy armored soldiers climbed the wall, relying on shields and armor to protect themselves, they could block many arrows and hold their ground.

Because the area from Xiamen to the Northern Palace was too narrow for the Bingzhou army to spread out, they spread out to both sides and opened the Gu Gate, allowing more Bingzhou soldiers to enter Luoyang from this northern gate.

Amid the surging crowd, the battlefield shifted from the northern city of Luoyang to the Northern Palace.

Dong Zhuo gritted his teeth, watching as these well-trained Bingzhou soldiers first placed their shields in front, spreading out their attacking formation within the northern wall, slowly expanding from outside the Yong’an Palace.

This method of marching made the counterattacks from the Northern Palace wall very limited in their effectiveness.

Unless they launched an attack now.

But obviously, they were still waiting for an order.

Dong Zhuo could only watch as a group of more elite soldiers emerged from the Gu Gate, followed by dozens of cavalry on tall horses, and then, riding into Luoyang on a red horse—

Qiao Yan!

Dong Zhuo had never formally met her before, but it wasn’t hard to recognize her at a glance.

Although she wore armor and a helmet, and her stature was taller than most boys her age, it didn’t prevent Dong Zhuo from recognizing her gender.

This fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl could be no one else but Qiao Yan!

In the mutual gaze between the wall and below, her overly relaxed yet sharp expression contrasted sharply with Dong Zhuo’s current demeanor.

To Qiao Yan, this Liangzhou bandit, despite having experienced many things, was still able to maintain enough calm at this moment, but the anxiety beneath that calm was not hard to detect.

It made sense. He had finally amassed such wealth, only to have the outermost layer of protection suddenly stripped away by a divine intervention, and now someone was about to reach into his pocket. How could he remain absolutely calm?

Lü Bu, Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun, Qu Yi, and the newly defected Xu Rong, all following Qiao Yan, gave Dong Zhuo the most direct impression of elite soldiers and fierce generals.

Not to mention, the youth of Qiao Yan and her generals added another blow to him.

Perhaps! Perhaps he was already old!

No, Dong Zhuo suppressed the动摇 in his heart. It wasn’t time to admit defeat yet!

According to Li Ru’s advice, he could still rise again in Chang’an, wait for Li Jue, Dong Yue, Hu Zhen, and others to gather their troops and join him, wait for Duan Wei in Huayin to form a barrier outside Chang’an. Holding the Son of Heaven, he would still be the Prime Minister!

Seeing the desperate look on Dong Zhuo’s face, Qiao Yan was the first to point her spear at Dong Zhuo, “Old thief! You now only have this palace city as your shelter. Why still resist? You were once a former general. If you had followed the late emperor’s orders, you could have been the governor of Qingzhou, governing a region like me. If you had followed the rules, in a few years, Qingzhou would have had a wise reputation, washing away your name as a Liangzhou ruffian. Why end up in this state?”

“If you surrender now, you might still keep a whole corpse.”

Dong Zhuo was filled with hatred, but his expression didn’t change. He replied loudly, “In that case, I would like to ask Marquis Qiao, why don’t you and your generals and soldiers cooperate with me, defend Luoyang, and be commanded by the Son of Heaven? I can advise the Son of Heaven to appoint you as General of the Chariots and Cavalry, more legitimate than the self-proclaimed titles of the Suanzao alliance. When the Son of Heaven takes personal control, a wise reputation will naturally spread. Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

Qiao Yan immediately laughed, the mockery in her laughter unmistakable to Dong Zhuo.

“Nonsense! If I really did as you say, would I be the Son of Heaven’s general or your lackey? Do you really think I don’t know? Why don’t you ask, even if you offer immense wealth, who among my followers would be willing to obey your orders?”

Naturally, no one.

Following Dong Zhuo is not as good as following Qiao Yan, a promising general.

She even firmly shouted the next sentence, “You, who are disloyal, unrighteous, unkind, and unforgiving, how dare you monopolize power in the court and harm the foundation of our great Han!”

She put down her spear and reached out to the side. Lü Bu, understanding, handed her his bow.

Lü Bu’s three-stone bow was not something an ordinary person could draw, but during the march through the Mangshan mountain path, she had improved her physique and archery skills, making it possible!

The armored girl, still some distance from the northern wall of Luoyang, drew her bow and nocked an arrow. With the release of the blood-red jade thumb ring, the white-feathered arrow instantly whistled through the air.

Accompanied by the sound of the bowstring, like a flash of white lightning, it shot straight towards Dong Zhuo!

He was about to dodge but realized that the other side clearly knew the shield soldiers in front of him were not to be trifled with. The arrow flew over his head without obstruction and embedded itself in the tower above.

The arrow quivered, as if slapping Dong Zhuo in the face.

And this was clearly just the beginning.

The girl on horseback, with a resolute gaze, shouted loudly, “Everyone—follow me to break the city!”

The former Grand General He Jin’s coercion of the Southern Palace had its untenable stance, but Qiao Yan’s march to the Northern Palace was more justified than anyone else’s.

The imperial decree held by someone behind her, illuminated by the morning light, made the red horse she rode almost blur into a flame.

The rising sun is like fire!

Fire…

And indeed, fire broke out at this moment!

Dong Zhuo was just about to respond to the battle when he heard cries for help from within the Northern Palace.

He turned around and saw several palace rooms within the Northern Palace burning, as if reflecting the forces outside the palace.

But now—

Now was not the time he intended to set fire before retreating!