Chapter 121

“Can a strategist really not ascend the throne?”

In the late period of Zhongping, the winds of chaos swept through Luoyang, and Chapter 121 tells the tale of Dong Zhuo entering the capital.

The noble families in Luoyang, along with He Jin’s old troops, and that dream-chasing He Miao, had no respect for the imperial authority. After all, Dong Zhuo had lingered in Xiliang for so long—why would he be any different?

He outright rejected Liu Hong’s orders to take on the Minor Palace and become the Governor of Qingzhou. Curiously, he faced no punishment for this decision, giving him a glimpse into the fragile nature of the Han court.

And now, an opportunity had fallen right into his lap.

The emperor had died, generals were storming the palace, fires erupted in the royal residence, and the princes were fleeing—it all sounded too surreal.

But it was as if the scenes had been predicted years in advance!

So Dong Zhuo first took this chance, rightfully gathering troops in Hexi under the Grand General’s command, then pushed himself closer to Luoyang, just as he received such news…

This was indeed the perfect timing!

As soon as he announced his plan to protect the emperor while eliminating the traitors, he heard Li Ru express his agreement.

“If the heavens present you with an opportunity and you fail to seize it, you’ll bear the consequences. Since the general understands this, there’s no need to hesitate. Should Zhang Rang and the others attempt to help the princes escape, with no aid around, they’ll have to pass through Mount Mang, which brings them closer to us. Please, general, send the cavalry ahead to the northern pass of Mount Mang, then push south, and have the rear party carry more banners to bluff our numbers.”

Dong Zhuo clapped and laughed, “I will follow your words, Wenyou!”

His Western Liang soldiers had fought alongside him for ages, mostly forged in the fiery battleground of Liangzhou, so once a decision was made, their mobilization would be far quicker than ordinary troops.

Xu Rong, Guo Si, and Niu Fu led the cavalry ahead, while he commanded the rear forces.

Niu Fu was his son-in-law, essentially family.

Xu Rong wasn’t originally from Liangzhou but was particularly good at battle. Even though he had failed in Luoyang previously, facing Qiao Yan, it didn’t change the fact that he was a skilled fighter. With him around, any likelihood of a skirmish was surely in their favor.

As for Guo Si…

According to Dong Zhuo’s later words to Li Ru, being a former bandit, if anything urgently happened between the mountains, his reactions would surely be the quickest.

These three were thus the perfect choice to search for Zhang Rang and the two princes.

This showcased the strength of his Western Liang army!

He Jin had limited him to just three thousand men, but once the cavalry and a thousand infantry arrived at Hexi, it wouldn’t be hard to recruit more for his cause.

After the three departed with fifteen hundred cavalry, he still had over three thousand soldiers with him.

Heading east, he noticed the sun rising, and as he raised his whip, he felt this was truly a good omen!

It was high time for Dong Zhuo to shine!

Meanwhile, Zhang Rang was still on the run.

Unbeknownst to him, crossing over Mount Mang might not guarantee peace, nor would support from River North County help, as he was about to confront a hungry wolf from Xiliang.

What he didn’t know was that during the nighttime turmoil in Luoyang, the pursuers had been intercepted by Cao Cao first, then by Lu Zhi’s northern troops, halting part of their chase.

Lu Zhi, a renowned scholar, personally wielded a spear, sternly questioning Zhang Zhang and the others, demanding to know if they harbored any rebellious thoughts.

This fierce inquiry from Lu Zhi, despite his limited troops, felt like facing an entire army, leaving everyone speechless.

Perhaps because, hours after the first fire ignited in the Southern Palace, the initial fervor for vengeance diminished, leading to a rising sense of anxiety and fear among them.

Wu Kuang and Zhang Zhang exchanged glances, then retreated a step back in unison.

With these two blocks in place, the only pursuers left behind Zhang Rang were some soldiers from the Yuan brothers’ factions.

If Jian Shuo had just a tad bit of talent in formations, retreating to the Yellow River wouldn’t have been too difficult.

But under such chaotic conditions, with information cut off, they were left hastily surviving on a few wild fruits in the mountains while staying eerily hungry.

Zhang Rang felt as if he could hear the pursuers behind him in the canyon; yet, scouts reported no one else was present.

His specialty was merely guessing Liu Hong’s intentions, so feeling quite under the weather, he thought he might tumble down from this mountain path. If not for someone nearby assisting him, he might have indeed lost his life due to such a mishap.

But further north, he suddenly realized the noise he had heard earlier was perhaps no illusion.

Echoing through the mountains, a chilling shout pierced his ears—

“Don’t let that eunuch escape!”

After a night of close combat, the distance grew, and every rustle in the grass made Zhang Rang jumpy. Looking back, he saw that the one leading the pursuit was none other than Yuan Shao’s fierce cavalry general, Yan Liang, alongside Gao Lan. Panic surged through him.

Jian Shuo was already feeling utterly exhausted, but both Zhang Rang and Jian Shuo understood they had to either get through this tough patch together or die here.

Jian Shuo gritted his teeth and urged, “Let the prince and the emperor go first! I’ll hold them off!”

Since Jian Shuo had risen to the position of military officer from Liu Hong’s support, he had made a few enemies along the way and wouldn’t survive this upheaval unscathed.

Better to cover for Zhang Rang; perhaps they might survive and retrieve his body later.

With this thought, he made up his mind.

But as a mere officer following Liu Hong’s orders, he was no match for seasoned generals like Yan Liang and Gao Lan. Even if he gathered enough courage to lead, he just couldn’t compare to these hardened warriors.

Before Zhang Rang could get far, he heard the earlier shout morphing into a new terrifying phrase.

It was loud and clear: “Jian Shuo is dead!”

Zhang Rang’s heart sank to the abyss.

Seeing the two princes still clueless about what was happening and the late emperor’s corpse laying lifeless, his sorrow surged uncontrollably.

If the situation continued like this, he feared for his own life as well…

Just as he mechanically followed a dwindling number of riders and a hundred lackeys over the nearby hillside, he spotted a fierce troop of over a thousand cavalry charging toward him.

Separated by some distance, Zhang Rang couldn’t immediately tell who they belonged to; he just sensed another ambushing force closing in.

But Xu Rong recognized the identity of the riders almost instantly.

He had visited Luoyang before and met Zhang Rang, now seeing two well-guarded young princes in the crowd, it was clear they were indeed the two mentioned in Dong Min’s report!

Before he could relay this to Niu Fu and clarify their identities, he saw Zhang Rang trying to escape eastward, intent on avoiding them. Yet, barely getting a few steps away, an arrow from afar pierced through his chest.

This once-proud leader of the eunuchs, who stood shoulder to shoulder with the emperor, couldn’t manage to keep his balance, rolling down the hillside.

When Niu Fu’s men went to check on him, it was unclear whether it was the arrow or the fall that had killed him; either way, he had drawn his last breath.

Niu Fu had no time to ponder the situation further.

The princes heading down the slope and the distant sounds of combat made it clear enough for him to gauge what was unfolding.

He quickly ordered Xu Rong and Guo Si to block the pursuing forces, while he dashed towards Liu Bian and Liu Xie.

Gao Lan and Yan Liang were just a step away from total victory, yet never anticipated another challenger would emerge!

And this wasn’t just any challenger!

The muscular Western Liang soldiers showed no hesitance because he claimed to be under the command of the fierce cavalry, instead, they charged up the hillside, ready to annihilate!

Xu Rong acted decisively.

Before they set out, Li Ru had ordered them that if they encountered He Jin’s troops, they could keep a standoff.

After all, Dong Zhuo had come to Hexi under He Jin’s command; they had to at least show some respect to the dead.

Even now, they had to maintain that facade.

But if they met others, they’d counterattack fiercely to prove their Western Liang prowess!

Those cavalrymen were nothing like Han generals; they were from Yuan Shao’s force!

Clearly, they weren’t in the category that deserved any deference.

Even if negotiations were on the line later, they were merely Dong Zhuo’s scouts looking to protect the future emperor; any aggressive actions could be justified!

With both factions being evenly matched in terms of formations, the biggest difference lay in their timing.

Xu Rong and Guo Si had received their march orders just before dawn and made it to the foot of Mount Mang after noon.

Meanwhile, Gao Lan and Yan Liang had been encircling the Southern Palace since yesterday afternoon, locked in a standoff since the fire ignited.

They had dived into Mount Mang before Lu Zhi and had spent the night winding through the mountains, finally returning to a proper chasing state.

After nearly a day of fighting, even fierce warriors like Yan Liang felt drained.

Earlier, while he had aimed at Zhang Rang with his heavy bow, he had felt unable to summon the strength he was used to.

But it was in this swift clash with the Western Liang cavalry that he finally understood how restricted his earlier sparring match had been!

And now, clarity struck him just as his head was severed.

By the time Dong Zhuo and his followers arrived, the battle had already reached its conclusion.

Yan Liang had met his end at Xu Rong’s hands. Gao Lan had been quick enough to retreat and save himself.

Dong Zhuo listened to Niu Fu’s report of the engagement and got the gist before heading toward those two young princes.

From the moment they were dragged out of the palace until they fled to northern Mang, a full day had passed since yesterday’s dusk.

Even if Liu Bian had been raised by religious folks, he surely had not endured such tribulations before.

If it weren’t for a few familiar little yellow door attendants hanging around and Guo Si delivering food to them, I would have definitely passed out by now.

Now here comes Dong Zhuo, striding in with a fierce look that could scare the wits out of the two princes.

Once Dong Zhuo said, “I’m late to rescue your Highness,” and confirmed that he was a friend, not a foe, Liu Xie finally snapped back to reality and replied, “You’re too polite, General.”

Dong Zhuo sized up the two princes and got a rough idea of their personalities.

Since his group was small, he quickly decided to retreat with everyone to Pingyin County north of Mengjin to settle the two princes before calling everyone together to discuss their next move.

Li Ru arrived last and, as soon as he entered the room, he clasped his hands towards Dong Zhuo, saying, “General, I bring good news.”

While speaking, he pulled out a piece of silk from his sleeve.

Dong Zhuo, having received countless imperial edicts since he started his career, recognized it immediately as an imperial decree.

“What is this?”

“I just heard them mention that the accompanying eunuch is a trusted person by the late Emperor. Since he kidnapped the two princes and fled, he must have some evidence. I searched his body and found this in his inner garments.”

Li Ru chuckled, “With this in hand, General, you can march into Luoyang with more confidence.”

“This is the edict from the late Emperor appointing Liu Xie as the Son of Heaven.”

They had already heard from the horse messenger that the late Emperor had indeed left this edict, which became leverage for Zhang Rang and He Jin during their negotiations.

If He Jin agreed to spare them after Liu Bian ascended, he would destroy this edict.

However, they originally thought that the edict might not be preserved when Zhang Rang and others were forced to flee. To their surprise, the eunuch kept it close to his body, and the arrow hit just missed it, resulting in only some blood stains on the edges.

Seeing Dong Zhuo signaling him to go on, Li Ru asked, “General, why do you think we succeeded in establishing a camp in Pingyin without encountering a second wave of attacks before joining forces?”

Luoyang is south of Mount Mang, and even though Yan Liang met his end at Xu Rong’s hands, if the Northern Army Five Divisions had mobilized more troops, Xu Rong and Niu Fu wouldn’t have enjoyed such peace before Dong Zhuo’s arrival.

Unless…

Dong Zhuo pondered, “You mean there must be two factions in Luoyang currently keeping each other in check.”

“And these two factions correspond to the camps supporting the two princes,” Li Ru continued. “Which side do you think we should stand with?”

Just because of Yan Liang’s death, it wouldn’t be enough to align them with either side.

On the contrary, under the current chaos, their display upon arriving in Luoyang would only invite attempts to woo them.

However, while others might think they were indecisive, they needed to clarify their stance, and not genuinely believe they were just a knife for someone else’s use.

And that position needed to be decided by Dong Zhuo himself.

Li Ru was his advisor, responsible for reminding him of the current situation.

Indeed, what he said wasn’t wrong.

Right now in Luoyang, Lu Zhi held the late Emperor’s decree over the Northern Army Five Divisions, making it significantly more valuable given the central power vacuum and the disappearance of the imperial seal. This led to a stalemate with the forces led by the Yuan clan and He Miao.

Previously, Huan Dian from the Feather Forest Middle General, who had been recruited by Yuan Wei, chose to remain neutral out of great respect for Lu Zhi’s character. Yang Biao’s wife, though from the Yuan clan, also stood neutral due to her father’s last wishes.

In this mutual check and balance, Dong Zhuo, who should have been forced to quickly surrender the two princes, only received a messenger in the evening confirming their safety and another delivering a report from Dong Min about the situation in Luoyang.

“Lu Zhi and Yuan Wei…” Dong Zhuo pondered, tapping the table.

One of these sides wanted to follow the late Emperor’s will and quickly restore the imperial order, while the other sought to gain noble interests.

From the perspective of him holding that succession edict, he should directly choose to cooperate with Lu Zhi.

But Lu Zhi had the same style as Huangfu Song, which gave Dong Zhuo some psychological shadows. If he wanted more power, it was clear he couldn’t leap over Lu Zhi, the regent minister.

So what about collaborating with the Yuan clan?

Yuan Shao sent him a letter on the second day after Dong Zhuo arrived in Pingyin. It said—having received the Yuan clan’s and the Grand General’s helping hand, it was only right to show gratitude. As for Yan Liang’s death, let’s consider it an unfortunate mistake. He just hoped Dong Zhuo would quickly define his stance.

Such a haughty tone was something he couldn’t swallow.

Moreover, thinking about Liu Xie’s title being “Duke Dong,” he couldn’t help but imagine a scenario of replacing one Dong with another.

After thinking for a bit, he called Li Ru back and asked, “If I want to support Liu Xie but don’t want to be beneath Lu Zhi, what should I do?”

Li Ru seemed to have anticipated this choice, replying, “Then I have two suggestions for you, General. First, pretend to strengthen our current forces and expand the camp’s size; second—”

“First choose the Yuan clan, using the condition of swallowing He Jin’s forces to support them. When the time is right, immediately backstab them and support Duke Dong to ascend to the throne. But before that, we must take Lu Zhi’s military authority away.”

Li Ru implied, “In this regard, these temporarily dominant nobles are far more skilled than us.”

That’s how you leverage strength against strength.

Dong Zhuo shot him an approving glance and immediately made a decision.

He first sent a letter to the Yuan clan, expressing a bit of “remorse” for killing Yan Liang and defeating Yuan Shao’s subordinates.

Of course, they’re still those victorious Xiliang folks, so it’s normal for them to reveal some arrogance in their words.

Following that, according to Li Ru’s suggestion, he wrote in the letter that it wouldn’t be bad for him to stand with the Yuan clan since they were old friends.

However, he had one condition.

The Xiliang region was really too harsh; he regretted declining the late Emperor’s invitation earlier, and now he wanted to be a general in the capital instead.

Once Liu Bian ascended, He Miao would naturally be the Grand General, and he wanted to take the position of General of the Chariots and Cavalry.

Additionally, his Xiliang followers were far more capable than the useless ones under He Miao. To defeat Lu Zhi directly, he’d first need to command troops.

At this time, the Yuan clan held multiple positions including Grand Tutor, Grand Master, Minister of Works, and Tiger Guards’ Middle General; with many of their students in crucial roles at court, they would never expect Dong Zhuo to be acting deceptively at this moment, and they readily agreed to his conditions.

However, once Dong Zhuo seized He Jin and He Miao’s troops and repelled Lu Zhi with the Yuan clan’s assistance, forcing him to flee Luoyang—

“Dong Zhuo publicly scolded the nobles before him, stating they couldn’t save the nation from turmoil, correct the state, and allowed the Son of Heaven to be exiled. This made him endure hardship and scheme with the rebels so that today he could right the wrongs…” Qiao Yan returned to Yanmen only to receive this news.

Putting aside whether “enduring hardship” was appropriate or not, Dong Zhuo’s performance of a loyal minister of Han scolding the ministers was truly hard to evaluate.

But considering Dong Zhuo’s actual history—he protected the Emperor in August, deposed him in September, and only became Prime Minister in November—he had a buffer period of two or three months. Given that he had only been in Luoyang for ten days, constructing a somewhat respectable image was truly… understandable.

And right after this scolding, Dong Zhuo immediately produced the edict proclaiming Liu Xie as emperor.

This sudden shift was like a stab in the back to Yuan Wei and others.

But even if they wanted to voice objections at this point, it was already too late.

The imperial decree in Dong Zhuo’s hand was legitimate, at least enough to convince the Northern Army Five Divisions now under his command.

As for the soldiers originally under He Jin, during Dong Zhuo’s securing of power, those who were loyal to the Grand General were mostly wiped out. The only remaining ones were those seeking wealth and nobility.

Thus, following Dong Zhuo, who held the imperial decree, wasn’t a big deal for them.

In the face of such overwhelming military power, just like the severely ill Liu Hong couldn’t strip He Jin of everything with just an imperial decree, Yuan Wei, apart from loudly cursing Dong Zhuo for his indecency, had no real means to discipline him.

He even ended up being scolded as a rebel.

On the very day Dong Zhuo boldly announced Liu Xie as the emperor, General of the Chariots and Cavalry He Miao was brutally murdered in the chaos.

While Huan Dian and Yang Biao, who maintained neutrality, had it easier, brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu could only flee with their followers to avoid following He Miao’s fate.

This entire sequence of first using power and then flipping the narrative was undeniably well-executed by Dong Zhuo.

He then quickly supported Liu Xie to the throne, requested to be Grand Commandant, and brought Huang Wan back to Luoyang as Minister over the Masses. He appointed Yang Biao as Minister of Works, reviewed past cases, restored titles, promoted descendants, and engaged in political maneuvering, which can only be deemed an exceptionally skillful combo punch against the Yuan clan’s intentions of suppressing him by status and reputation.

In this situation, Yuan Wei and his group could no longer use their past favors to hold Dong Zhuo down.

Although the situation before entering the capital was different from what he originally intended, under Li Ru’s counsel, he still achieved his initial goals.

Perhaps the only difference was —

North of Luoyang, beyond the Yellow River and across the Taihang Mountains in Bingzhou, there remained a solitary caretaker of the imperial legacy, a loyal minister.

Upon Qiao Yan’s return from Yanmen to Jinyang, several visitors arrived from beyond Bingzhou.

The first was the famous scholar Zheng Tai from Xingyang.

When He Jin accepted Yuan Shao’s suggestion to summon Dong Zhuo to the capital, Zheng Tai chose to abandon his official position and head north to Bingzhou.

The sights he witnessed on this journey made him realize that those in Luoyang still underestimated this Qiao Hou!

This prompted him to report directly to the state government after hearing the news of He Jin’s death and Dong Zhuo’s ascension to Grand Commandant, intending to meet the Governor of Bingzhou.

The rest of the group coincidentally gathered together.

The astronomer and mathematician Liu Hong, who invented the Qianxiang calendar, arrived along with Ma Jun and Bi Lan, like a surprise science package drop.

Qiao Yan was glad for their arrival but was also deeply concerned that Ma Lun’s decision to stay back in Luoyang for the safety of her assistants was a dangerously risky move!

Especially since, at this moment, the Yuan clan was facing a loss of power!

Her position as Grand Historian was conferred by Liu Hong, and even if Dong Zhuo recognized the legitimacy of Liu Hong’s succession edict, it didn’t necessarily mean he acknowledged the title of the Grand Historian as well.

It was way too risky!

She couldn’t help but feel a cold sweat for Ma Lun and was increasingly certain that she needed to pick the most suitable moment to mobilize troops to protect herself.

This anxiety didn’t show on her face, but when she spotted Bao Hong while on the road with Ma Jun and Bi Lan, she turned towards him.

Having just returned from the border, there was a distinct sharpness in her gaze as if she had come straight from the battlefield.

Bao Hong couldn’t help but feel a chill.

With no time to ponder over what changes these years had brought to Qiao Yan, he remembered Zhang Rang’s request when the Southern Palace was breached. He immediately knelt and presented the imperial decree to Qiao Yan.

It seemed he was entirely oblivious to the fact that this was not a normal way to present an imperial edict, as he loudly proclaimed, “Please, Qiao Hou, carry out the late Emperor’s command and raise troops to enter the capital to protect the emperor!”

---