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“What’s going on?”
Dong Zhuo asked, his voice sharp as a blade directed at those around him.
There was no way the commotion from the North Palace could slip past the eyes of the Bingzhou army outside the palace walls.
With the enemy attacking ferociously, this fire on his side was nothing but a gift to them.
This unexpected situation threw a wrench into his retreat plans.
Li Ru glanced toward the raging flames, internally cursing.
That fire was breaking out right at Liu Bian’s residence!
While Dong Zhuo gathered his men to counter the Bingzhou forces, he stepped back a few paces to listen for reports from his subordinates.
What he didn’t expect was that the situation was far worse than he anticipated.
The first bit of bad news: the Yuan clan had escaped.
Just as he sent someone to eliminate the Yuan family, holding them as hostages within the North Palace, they had already caught wind of the assault on Luoyang.
The Yuan clan wasn’t foolish. After being backstabbed by Dong Zhuo, they had long given up any unrealistic ideas.
Think about it—if Luoyang fell, and Dong Zhuo faced his doom, what awaited them as hostages?
And even if Dong Zhuo did manage to escape, taking the emperor with him, where would they go?
It was better to take the chance now!
During their imprisonment in the North Palace, Dong Zhuo had reduced their rations, making the Yuan clan’s members appear quite gaunt, which led the guards to slack off a bit. Now with the enemies breaching the walls, they pulled away some of the guards.
That was their opportunity!
Almost simultaneously as Dong Zhuo ordered the reckoning, Yuan Ji led the Yuan clan in a surprise attack against the guards. After grabbing a couple of weapons and at the cost of two lives, they took down the guards and made their escape.
But the question was, what to do next?
Even though Dong Zhuo and his troops were focused on the northern attack, if they couldn’t break free from the North Palace, they’d be staring at the gallows.
Fortunately, they had a helper.
To be more precise, a helper who arrived intentionally.
“You’re saying that a few years ago my mother saved your life, and now she’s sending you to help us escape during Qiao Yan’s offensive? But how do you know we’d choose to fight back and flee?” Yuan Yi asked with skepticism as he regarded the palace maid before him.
This maid, who called herself Ren, despite her plain attire that made her blend in, still had a hint of elegance about her. Her demeanor spoke of some education, unlike the average palace servant, which made it plausible that she had previous contact with Ma Lun.
When the Yuan clan members were seized by Dong Zhuo as hostages, it was only Ma Lun who had the chance to act due to her position as Grand Historian.
Yet, as Yuan Yi pointed out, some of the questions still didn’t align.
“Now’s not the time to dwell on that. The news came from Master Ciming. Even if you couldn’t escape on your own, the people Ciming left behind while organizing documents at Lantai received instruction to be in the North Palace. Since you’ve already taken action, they won’t be needed,” the maid said. “Follow me; we’ll find a place to change your clothes and hide until the city falls, and you’ll be safe.”
Ciming? That was Xun Shuang!
That one sentence dispelled many of their doubts.
As a public official favored by Dong Zhuo, Xun Shuang hadn’t been stripped of his position during the relocation debate.
Many thought he was merely safeguarding important texts at Lantai, which made sense since he was an expert in them; it was understandable he’d want to prevent any losses of these cherished works during the relocation.
But after analyzing the robust response to the fight against Dong Zhuo with Xun You and seeing the armies pressing on Luoyang, he felt he could do something.
For instance, ensuring the safety of certain individuals during the uprising against Dong Zhuo.
The Xun family of Yingchuan and the Yuan family of Runan were both noble families in Yu Province with familial ties, and he naturally intended to save the Yuan clan.
Coincidentally, when Qiao Yan sent word of her impending assault, Ma Lun reached out to Xun Shuang.
Ma Lun had a child with Yuan Wei. Their eldest son, Yuan Man, was once described by Cai Yong in an inscription as having “extraordinary talent bestowed by heaven,” but unfortunately, he had died young. The other two sons, Yuan Yi and Yuan Ren, weren’t remarkable and only held minor positions in Luoyang.
With the Yuan clan caught in Dong Zhuo’s machinations, both of those sons had also been imprisoned in the North Palace, and it was only natural for Ma Lun to try to save them.
Qiao Yan’s attack provided her the chance to rescue them. Time and direction seemed in her favor, and all that remained was to think about the next steps.
Four years ago, when she had entered the palace in her capacity as Grand Historian to report on Lingtai’s affairs, she had saved a minor palace maid, Ren Hongchang, who had breached palace etiquette. Though she disliked leveraging such a favor to coerce others into doing troublesome things for her, she had no choice but to take this route.
After all, the people Xun Shuang had arranged wouldn’t be constantly roaming the North Palace; they still required an insider.
So after Ma Lun and Xun Shuang’s rescue plan was finalized, they assigned Xun Shuang’s operatives, who could access Lantai, to relay messages.
Thankfully, with Xun Shuang’s men, if chaos erupted within the palace, that little maid could be whisked away without a hitch, making the sacrifice worthwhile.
Yet it seemed neither Ma Lun nor Xun Shuang anticipated that after the Yuan clan donned palace attire from nearby servant quarters and had a snack, Yuan Wei suddenly asked, “Why don’t we take the Prince of Hongnong with us while we’re at it?”
Yuan Ji frowned, “Uncle, forgive my frankness. If we had someone like Benchu and Gonglu here for backup, we could pull that off. But given our own precarious position, we don’t have the energy for that.”
Their next course of action should follow Xun Shuang’s plan, hiding temporarily in Empress He’s palace.
After Empress He became Empress Dowager and was later killed by Dong Zhuo, and while Liu Xie was still young, there was no empress in place, meaning that area was vacant, as Dong Zhuo likely regarded it as unlucky.
But the most dangerous place often turns out to be the safest.
Dong Zhuo would never expect them to choose that location as their refuge.
That dozens of the Yuan clan managed to escape this calamity was already a stroke of luck; how could they afford to worry about Liu Bian’s fate?
But Yuan Wei thought otherwise.
Empress He immediately reminded him of Liu Bian.
He replied, “If Dong Zhuo can’t defend Luoyang, he will surely take the emperor and the Prince of Hongnong to escape. The emperor’s decree is the emperor’s decree. If we escape today, we’ll still be under Dong Zhuo’s thumb later. If we offer Dong Zhuo a chance to return, even if we escape today, it’ll be tough to stay safe tomorrow. The emperor must be heavily guarded, and as you said, in the absence of Benchu and Gonglu, we have no opportunity to rescue him. But the Prince of Hongnong is different.”
There shouldn’t be many protectors around Liu Bian.
Yuan Wei naturally had his little calculations; if he could successfully rescue Liu Bian, and if Dong Zhuo managed to flee, he would only take Liu Xie with him.
Driven by the desire to keep Dong Zhuo from holding the reins of power and keeping the realm clear, they could unite with other officials not taken along, branding Dong Zhuo a traitor and elevating Liu Bian to the throne, portraying Liu Xie as a “puppet emperor.”
If Dong Zhuo couldn’t escape, given his personality, he would likely eliminate both Liu Xie and Liu Bian to bury his past, so saving Liu Bian would serve the Yuan clan well.
Yuan Wei’s reasoning swayed a portion of the group.
Thus, those who were unwilling to participate in this risky venture, including Yuan Yi and Yuan Ren, followed Ren Hongchang to hide in Empress He’s palace.
Yuan Ji couldn’t win against his uncle, reaching a consensus to rescue the Prince of Hongnong, and they coincidentally ran into the assassins dispatched by Dong Zhuo.
That led to the second piece of news Dong Zhuo received.
Both groups clashed, resulting in a stalemate. Since Dong Zhuo hadn’t anticipated anyone would disrupt his plans, he had sent a small team, ultimately helping the Yuan clan.
However, during the scuffle, they accidentally knocked over a candlestick, igniting the quarters where the Prince of Hongnong was staying.
Maybe inspired by that fire, Yuan Wei ordered the surrounding areas to flare up further, creating enough chaos.
But the noise brought about by these two parties forced Guo Si, who was supposed to provide support to the northern city walls, to turn his attention elsewhere.
Given how the Yuan clan and Xun Shuang’s soldiers were up against an easy defense, they had some chances.
But facing Guo Si, who hailed from the bandit ranks and was known for his skill in battle, it would be like a child colliding with an adult wielding a knife!
Yuan Wei was killed right there, along with many of his supporters.
But—
“The eldest son of the Yuan clan, Yuan Ji, has taken the Prince of Hongnong away on the Emperor’s—emperor’s commemorative donkey cart,” Guo Si mentioned in disbelief. Though one of the Six Arts of a Gentleman included driving, the four white donkeys of the Late Emperor clearly wouldn’t listen to Yuan Ji. Still, since the Late Emperor had once raced them around the palace, once Yuan Ji untied the cart and helped the Prince of Hongnong up, those donkeys bolted, making them hard to chase!
With Dong Zhuo glaring like he’d eat someone, Guo Si’s voice got lower, “Don’t worry. That donkey can’t outrun a horse. I shot it with an arrow before I assisted the Prime Minister in defending the city, so its chances of living aren’t high…”
However, half an incense stick later, they received the news.
Good news: the donkey cart was found.
Bad news: Yuan Ji and Liu Bian were missing.
As if trouble wasn’t enough, in that half an incense stick’s time, the Bingzhou army, driven by Qiao Yan’s faith and fighting spirit, having just breached Luoyang’s northern city wall, gained the upper hand in the battle for the North Palace.
This frightening momentum prompted Dong Zhuo to make an immediate decision.
He could no longer delay!
He needed to leave with Liu Xie right away.
Now!
Qiao Yan, witnessing Dong Zhuo’s retreating figure, fell deep in thought.
With Ma Lun already in Luoyang and other individuals of virtuous ambition present, the possibility of accidents occurring wasn’t surprising, but Dong Zhuo’s overly anxious reaction caught her attention.
He could have held out longer on the battlements, at least to diminish some of her forces, instead of choosing to abandon so quickly.
There was likely more at play beyond the Yuan clan escaping.
As Dong Zhuo retreated, completely giving up guarding the palace walls, Lü Bu was the first to scale the North Palace walls, seemingly ready to kill Dong Zhuo over Red Hare.
Just then, the southeastern gate of the North Palace swung open, with a legion of cavalry charging out.
It was Dong Zhuo along with his generals Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and others.
They had hastily gathered their cavalry and evacuated from the Southern Palace.
However, among the faces Qiao Yan could see, the only one being escorted out by Dong Zhuo’s generals was Liu Xie; there was no sign of the Prince of Hongnong.
No Prince of Hongnong?
In that flash of realization, she suddenly grasped that a situation most advantageous to her might just emerge.
Without the Prince of Hongnong in the ranks, one possibility was that he had already been silenced by Dong Zhuo, but if that were true…
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“Dong Zhuo doesn’t need to be this anxious.”
If he wasn’t killed off and instead managed to escape unexpectedly, then…
She’d have to be careful in chasing Dong Zhuo!
Maybe she could give this idea a shot.
After all, in either case, whether Liu Bian lived or died, as long as he wasn’t in Dong Zhuo’s camp, letting Dong Zhuo go didn’t mean she’d suffer any losses!
Having already saved Luoyang from the calamity of relocation, what she ought to do isn’t necessarily to chop Dong Zhuo down right here, taking him and His Majesty along with him, then shift all the blame onto the coalition forces that failed to arrive in time to Luoyang, and from then on have no superior to answer to!
Instead, she should drive Dong Zhuo out of Luoyang, along with his puppet emperor!
This whole affair shouldn’t end up being a loss.
If the Prince of Hongnong was still in the capital, even better if under the protection of the Yuan clan.
The Yuan clan would never miss an opportunity to support the Prince of Hongnong to the throne, competing with Dong Zhuo.
It’s hard to say whether the Yuan clan would benefit, but she’d definitely score some advantage!
One Han over here, another Han over there—
Now that’s a situation where she could really go all out!
Yet, in her momentary thinking, she couldn’t communicate this to anyone to pass judgment, and she couldn’t directly tell her subordinates to ease off Dong Zhuo.
Who told her earlier, when discussing with her men, that whoever could kill Dong Zhuo would get the prized Red Hare?
Even the newly assigned Xu Rong was brainwashed with this notion.
As to whether he should hold back a bit for his former lord or join the team building exercise of taking down Dong Zhuo for the horse, he pondered and chose the latter.
Should Dong Zhuo learn what this thoroughly committing subordinate was thinking, he’d surely curse Xu Rong a few times while prioritizing his own escape.
But right now, Qiao Yan was feeling a bit like she was about to trip over the rock she picked up.
Thankfully, as the commander for this charge into Luoyang, controlling the pace of chasing Dong Zhuo wasn’t too difficult.
In her thoughts about the current situation and choices, it was just a matter of a split second.
As the Bingzhou soldiers followed her, when Dong Zhuo fled Luoyang’s North Palace, this young prefect, with a stern expression, turned to look at the fleeing band of rogues and instantly led the charge.
“Keep chasing! Retrieve His Majesty! Wenxian and Fengxian stay behind to put out the fire.”
By the time Qiao Yan finished her command, her steed, Zhu Tan, had already galloped ahead quite a distance.
Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao quickly rallied their cavalry to follow.
Meanwhile, Lü Bu, who scrambled onto the city wall first, found himself lagging behind.
He exchanged looks with Xu Rong, who remained in place for a while, confirming that while his earlier achievement had been secured, he couldn’t lay claim to the credit for chasing Dong Zhuo.
But, since it was Qiao Hou’s command, there was no other option than to obey.
“You really don’t have to be this down,” Xu Rong consoled. “Your bow is in Jun Hou’s hands. With her archery skills, you won’t get the chance to claim credit for this. So, there might be another way to settle the ownership of that Red Hare.”
“It’s possibly the same as what Qiao Hou said about whoever kills that Xiu Tu Wang,” Dian Wei interjected, “Xiu Tu Wang fell at Jun Hou’s hands; in the end, everyone got a telescope, and Jun Hou’s always generous.”
Qu Yi, not having received any orders, stayed put and overheard their conversation, rolling his eyes.
If a fine horse like the Red Hare could also belong to him, he’d resign from Han Fu upon returning to Bingzhou and work under Qiao.
“…” Lü Bu remained silent for a while but decided to temporarily accept the friendly consolation from his companions and go handle the burning palace chambers in the North Palace.
Meanwhile, Qiao Yan was already in hot pursuit of Dong Zhuo’s group, rushing into Buguangli, then turning into Buheli.
Li Ru had chosen quite a reliable retreat route for Dong Zhuo.
With all the openings in Luoyang’s city wall and the coalition forces not yet at their gates, Dong Zhuo could even breakout through East Gate directly into the horse market, creating sufficient chaos behind him on his retreat path.
Or he could directly exit from the south Kaoyang Gate, hurtling towards Luoshui and regrouping with the southern garrison.
The Xiliang soldiers escorting Dong Zhuo had pretty impressive horsemanship, and although a few were shot down by pursuers during the skirmish in the streets, they still maintained a consistent pace forward.
Moreover, at this moment, Dong Min, stationed at Nan Guo, must have received word of Dong Zhuo’s retreat amid this turmoil.
He must be coming to join up with him.
So it seems, if Dong Zhuo manages to escape successfully, the blame should be placed on his allies for not enclosing him, and not on her, Qiao Yan, for being insufficiently skilled.
Pretty good!
But after pursuing a while, Qiao Yan began to sense something was off.
Though the streets were filled with fleeing and hiding folks because of the chaos in Luoyang, and the guards and northern troops were at a loss about whom to assist, the sounds coming from the front seemed different from those made by colliding people and cavalry making sharp turns.
Instead, it was—
The sound of weapons clashing!
Just as Qiao Yan thought of this, she saw a cavalry unit bursting onto the scene aiming to blockade her pursuit.
Quickly, she retracted her musings and drew her spear.
But even before she could make a move, Zhao Yun, understanding his duty to defend their lord, had already galloped forward to confront the leading young general.
Seeing that the opponent also wielded a spear, Qiao Yan speculated, and shouted “Capture him alive!” before charging ahead, leaving Zhao Yun’s troops to engage.
If she was correct, this individual should be Zhang Ji’s nephew, Zhang Xiu, following Dong Zhuo’s orders to obstruct her pursuing forces.
But regardless, from Qiao Yan’s current perspective on judging generals, it was not difficult to see that the coming spearman had decent skills.
Anyway, since Dong Zhuo was already trying to escape, it’d be better for her to leave herself a little more loot!
Thinking that way, Qiao Yan still didn’t dare show any slackness in her actions against Dong Zhuo.
Especially when she crossed the governor’s mansion and charged into the long street heading east-west before the North Palace; she could increasingly confirm that her previous judgment about the noises she heard was not wrong.
At this moment, it wasn’t just a simple chase between herself and Dong Zhuo, but a third party had mixed in!
New cavalry breaking in from the Pingcheng Gate had precisely cut off Dong Zhuo’s troops, engaging with Guo Si, who was shielding Dong Zhuo, thus creating confusion in this battleground.
Coming in from the south?
Qiao Yan mentally calculated.
If she guessed correctly, these were indeed the Luyang coalition forces that had broken in from Taigu Pass.
Considering the timing of their offensive and that they hadn’t encountered any issues on their way, it would have taken only about ten miles from Taigu Pass to Luoyang, and it wasn’t even a mountain road—
They should have arrived just in time!
Looking closer, the person locked in battle with Guo Si, wearing a red headscarf, was none other than Sun Jian, whom she had a brief encounter with during the Changshe battle.
But now, the neighing of warhorses and the sounds of metal clashing created a cacophony, drowning out Qiao Yan’s intention to introduce herself.
As she unexpectedly burst into the front street, leading a bunch of northern cavalry, it became challenging to distinguish whether she was pursuing Dong Zhuo’s forces or providing support to Guo Si.
When Qiao Yan realized this could cause misunderstandings, a young general with a silver armor and a long spear led his troops toward her.
His spear attack was fierce, not any less than Sun Jian’s!
After the old general blocked Zhang Liao, this young warrior continued his thrust directly at Qiao Yan.
What he didn’t expect was that this girl, whom he hadn’t had the chance to clearly look at in the chaos, was a tough one!
Her spear was longer than usual, yet she wielded it with remarkable ease.
What surprised him even more was that at the moment her spear intercepted his fierce lunge, she unexpectedly pulled back the rear part of her weapon, twisting it in an unbelievable way, as the front half deflected his spear while the other half aimed straight for his throat.
Having accompanied his father into battle, Sun Ce had seen many strange weapons, and thought he had a surefire hit, but the opponent effortlessly countered it.
In a split second, the shorter spear had flipped the attack around.
Sun Ce’s combat experience was substantial, and based on the brief clash, he sensed he could never catch her spear with just one hand. He immediately urged his horse, twisting his body to dodge.
However, the owner of that spear seemed to predict his reaction, and the spear tip orchestrated a beautiful display of flowers under the sunlight.
But more glaring than the cold gleam of that spear was the fierce gaze he finally recognized between their clashing steeds.
Having previously encountered Yuan Shu with his father, and having killed Dong Yue at Taigu Pass, Sun Ce only found that this person with fierce eyes truly embodied the image of a commander!
What an impressive—
Girl?
Realizing that he might’ve attacked the wrong target, he feared this striking figure was the fabled prefect of Bingzhou, not just Dong Zhuo’s accomplice, before a half-segmented spear whacked straight into his chest.
“You fool! Can’t tell enemy from friend?” Qiao Yan coldly scolded. “Get out of the way!”
Blocked by Sun Ce, Dong Zhuo’s troops had already picked up a significant lead.
Even though she was letting one go, Qiao Yan didn’t plan for Dong Zhuo to escape this easily, especially after this chaotic skirmish gave him a chance to slip away.
That’d be a story to make everyone laugh!
What pushed her to hastily catch up was the sight of someone clearly not the typical cavalry from Xiliang at the back of Dong Zhuo’s group.
She had previously seen this individual alongside Dong Zhuo on the North Palace wall and confirmed his identity with Xu Rong.
It was indeed Dong Zhuo’s strategist, Li Ru!
How could she let such a valuable prize get away!
For the first time, Sun Ce was called a “fool” right to his face, and his sharp brows flickered with protest as he grasped his chest where he’d been hit by that dual-ended spear, then grabbed his spear and chased after her.
He may have attacked first, and he knew he was in the wrong, so getting scolded was part of it. But in pursuing Dong Zhuo, he had to prove he was no fool.
However, before he could catch up to Qiao Yan or align parallel with her prompt Sid, he saw her switch the two spear segments behind her for a stone crossbow.
And it definitely was a stone crossbow!
As she nocked an arrow and bent the bow, the tension in the bowstring was enough for Sun Ce to ascertain that fact.
He saw the girl lower her arrow as she galloped like the wind, her hand maintaining an incredible steadiness while drawing the bow, with her cloak fluttering, indicating that she was definitely not still.
Instinctively, he looked in the direction where her arrow pointed, just as the arrow shot forth, plunging straight through a West Liang horse’s leg.
The rider was instantly flung down.
Despite having experience falling from the horse, this fellow curled up protecting his head mid-air.
But even so, he couldn’t help but let out a pained scream the moment he hit the ground.
Sun Ce couldn’t help but find it amusing.
And this was clearly not the end of the misfortune for that unlucky guy.
Having rejoined her spear segments, Qiao Yan, stopping her horse beside the downed scholar, aimed the long spear right at his head.
She then asked casually, “Where does Mr. Wenyu want to go?”
