Chapter 134

Chapter 134: The Fortune of the Imperial Seal

Li Ru had just been thrown off his horse, feeling dizzy and disoriented, suspecting that his leg might have been broken in the fall, and his arm wasn’t in good shape either. Just then, he heard Qiao Yan’s voice.

Struggling to focus his blurry vision, he looked towards Qiao Yan and saw her raise her hand, signaling the pursuing troops to ignore her and continue their chase. She steadied her spear, keeping it pointed at him, clearly not giving him any chance to escape.

As Li Ru fell from his horse, Dong Zhuo’s personal guards naturally turned to rescue him, but they were no match for Qiao Yan’s relentless soldiers, who quickly cut them down.

In this rapid clash, those who still had some sense knew that the best choice for them was not to make a futile sacrifice for a military advisor who was already doomed, but to flee for their lives.

Li Ru was inwardly lamenting his misfortune.

He couldn’t understand why this Marquis Qiao was so fixated on him.

In Qiao Yan’s words, “Where is Mr. Wen You heading?”, Li Ru sensed that her actions were far from coincidental.

“Marquis Qiao, why bother asking?” He was following Dong Zhuo’s retreat, naturally heading towards Chang’an.

“Dong Zhuo still has many generals, and if they all cover his retreat, I might not be able to capture him. But if you leave with him, with your intelligence, there’s no guarantee he won’t rise again in Chang’an,” Qiao Yan smiled. “When Dong Zhuo is at his weakest, he listens to advice, and he’s still a formidable figure. I can’t let you escape.”

Anyone could leave, but Li Ru could not!

Qiao Yan wanted two separate courts in the east and west, not Dong Zhuo realizing his mistakes after this crushing defeat and, with Li Ru’s help, creating a prosperous scene in Chang’an.

That would go against her vision.

Successfully stopping Li Ru lifted Qiao Yan’s spirits. Seeing Sun Ce catching up, she nodded at him, “Are you Sun Wentai’s son?”

Sun Ce was a year younger than her, still far from adulthood, but in these times, someone with his courage and leadership skills should be on the battlefield early, or it would be a waste.

The young man riding towards her was quite impressive, living up to the name of the Sun of Jiangdong.

However, Sun Jian was still the Prefect of Changsha, allied with Yuan Shu, so he couldn’t be called the Sun of Jiangdong yet, but rather the Sun of Changsha.

Seeing Zu Mao, who had just fought with Qiao Yan’s subordinate Zhang Liao, now leading his men to distinguish friend from foe and join the pursuit, Sun Ce didn’t insist on chasing further. He stopped his horse and glanced at Li Ru.

He couldn’t understand what made Dong Zhuo’s strategist so special that Qiao Yan valued him so highly.

Sun Ce refused to admit that he was still feeling competitive after being called a “fool” earlier.

But since Qiao Yan didn’t seem to mind the earlier misunderstanding and spoke in a normal tone, he didn’t dwell on it and replied, “Yes, I am Sun Ce, and my father is Sun Changsha.”

When they rushed to Luoyang, they thought they would be the first to arrive, given their speed in breaking through the Taigu Pass and the swiftness of their cavalry.

However, upon reaching Luoyang, they saw Dong Min gathering the troops defending the southern city walls, preparing to retreat.

Sun Ce had little combat experience, but Sun Jian’s instincts told him that Dong Zhuo’s forces had already suffered a defeat and were forced to retreat.

It didn’t matter whether it was Lu Zhi and Yuan Shao’s forces or the Bingzhou forces from the north that had achieved this; it was time to press the advantage!

Of course, when they actually encountered Qiao Yan’s Bingzhou army, Sun Ce couldn’t help but wonder how she had crossed the seemingly insurmountable Yellow River.

But Qiao Yan obviously wouldn’t explain it to him now.

Seeing Sun Jian breaking through Dong Zhuo’s rear guard and heading towards them, Qiao Yan quickly ordered Li Ru to be taken into custody and sent to where Lü Bu and Xu Rong were, ensuring he was treated well. She then led her personal guards to join forces with Sun Jian and continued the pursuit westward, showing decisive action.

Five years ago in Changshe, Sun Jian had already known that Qiao Yan was a prodigy, but today, seeing her lead troops, he understood how she had earned her reputation as a young Prefect of Bingzhou, both civil and military.

The spirited Marquis of Leping left a strong impression on him, and he inwardly applauded her.

Since he arrived later than Qiao Yan, he asked during the pursuit, “Marquis Qiao, what is the current situation in Luoyang?”

The wind carried Qiao Yan’s reply, “Dong Zhuo’s Middle General Niu Fu was killed by my troops, Xu Rong surrendered to me, and during the pursuit, one of Dong Zhuo’s subordinates clashed with my officer, but we still have the upper hand. The North Palace is on fire, Dong Zhuo fled with His Majesty, and his direct subordinates are few. We must pursue and rescue His Majesty from this villain.”

“But be careful, the Prince of Hongnong is not with Dong Zhuo’s group and may have been harmed by the villains. Please ensure His Majesty is not injured!”

She really had to make this clear now.

Sun Jian and Sun Ce were both fierce tigers, and their subordinates were skilled in battle. If she didn’t warn them, Dong Zhuo might truly be caught from behind and surrounded, and this golden opportunity might slip away.

After all, Qiao Yan had never entered the North Palace of Luoyang, so it was no surprise that she concluded the Prince of Hongnong had been harmed by Dong Zhuo!

It wasn’t her fault!

Sun Jian replied, “Marquis Qiao, rest assured, I understand.”

In fact, even without Qiao Yan’s restrictions on the pursuit, catching Dong Zhuo would not be easy.

Duan Wei, under Dong Zhuo’s orders, had already rushed to Chang’an, cultivating land in Huayin and meeting with Dong Zhuo’s relatives who were supposed to come to Luoyang. The forces he left behind at Hangu Pass could still serve as Dong Zhuo’s reinforcements.

When Qiao Yan arrived at Hangu Pass, she saw that Zhang Liao had already recaptured it, but the Dong Zhuo generals who had been within range were now only faintly visible in the distance.

She was certain that catching Dong Zhuo was now impossible.

The horses ridden by Dong Zhuo’s elite troops were mostly Xiliang steeds, comparable in speed to Qiao Yan’s Bingzhou horses and faster than Sun Jian’s mounts. With this obstacle, the distance had widened.

Zhang Liao apologized to Qiao Yan, “It’s my incompetence that let Dong Zhuo escape…”

“Enough,” Qiao Yan interrupted, looking towards Hangu Pass. As the true boundary between Guanzhong and Guandong, it was no surprise that Dong Zhuo had left a contingency here. “As long as everyone is safe, it’s fine. This isn’t your fault.”

Dong Zhuo’s retreat to Chang’an was inevitable, but the responsibility shouldn’t fall on Zhang Liao, who was at the forefront of the pursuit.

If the Suanzao coalition forces, coming through Xuanmen Pass, had arrived as promptly as Sun Jian, Dong Zhuo would never have had the chance to rampage through Luoyang, using the city’s alleys to shake off his pursuers.

After galloping back and forth from Hangu Pass, even on official roads, by the time they returned to Luoyang, it was already the next day—

And the Suanzao coalition forces still hadn’t arrived!

If not them, who else should bear the blame?

Certainly not Qiao Yan, who was the first to arrive.





She and Sun Jian, Sun Ce directly entered the palace gates.

The fire that had ignited in the North Palace had long since been extinguished. Although this fire did not burn down as many palace buildings as the great fire in the South Palace did that day, for Sun Ce, who was stepping into the North Palace in Luoyang for the first time, it still evoked a strong sense of melancholy.

If this place had not been ravaged by fire, who knows how magnificent it would have been.

At this moment, it was the early morning of the second day of the siege of Luoyang. The rising sun from the southeast cast a golden glow over the palace roofs. If one ignored the parts burned by the fire and damaged by the soldiers’ battles, one could still vaguely see the grandeur of the Han Dynasty.

Unfortunately, the Son of Heaven residing in the North and South Palaces had already tasted the bitterness of displacement at the end of the dynasty.

Qiao Yan retracted her gaze from the surroundings and saw Empress Dowager Dong walking towards them.

Dong Zhuo, who traced his lineage back to the same family, allowed him to move freely in and out of the palace without fear, and he showed respect to Empress Dowager Dong. However, this figure, who should accurately be called the Grand Empress Dowager, was already mentally exhausted from the shock of the previous day.

She was barely holding herself together, supported by others as she came out. Hearing that Qiao Yan and the others had returned from pursuing Dong Zhuo, she hurried to greet them.

But when she looked towards Qiao Yan’s direction and did not see Liu Xie’s figure, she realized that her hopes over the past day and night had been dashed.

Still holding onto a last bit of hope, she asked, “Where is His Majesty?”

Qiao Yan bowed and replied, “His Majesty has been abducted by the traitor Dong Zhuo and taken straight to Chang’an. But please rest assured, Empress Dowager, once we regroup, we will march to Chang’an and bring His Majesty back.”

Empress Dowager Dong trembled upon hearing this and weakly waved her hand, “Marquis Qiao, you have worked hard. Please go and rest for now.”

She had experienced the death of her husband and her son, and had weathered many storms.

In the first year of Xiping, when Empress Dou, the wife of Emperor Huan of Han, passed away, she finally became the rightful Empress Dowager as the birth mother of Liu Hong. She raised Liu Xie, the son most favored by Liu Hong, under her care, thinking that her hardships were finally over. But who would have thought…

Chang’an? Attacking Chang’an would not be easy!

The distance between Luoyang and Chang’an was a full eight hundred li!

Even though she knew nothing of military affairs, she understood that this distance could not be covered in a day or two. By the time Dong Zhuo firmly established himself in Chang’an, he could mobilize troops from Liangzhou, likely setting up another formidable barrier.

She deeply regretted why she had accepted bribes from those seeking connections during Liu Hong’s reign of selling official positions.

Now, this money was not enough to support the military expenses along the way, and it might have damaged Liu Xie’s fortune!

Qiao Yan, seeing the other party’s dazed expression as she walked towards the Yongle Palace, couldn’t help but shake her head.

The power struggle with Empress He in earlier years might have already drained Empress Dowager Dong’s health. She was originally supposed to die within this year, and now it seemed she had reached her limit.

Qiao Yan had little sympathy for her, as her actions as Empress Dowager had many points of criticism. She turned to Zhao Yun and asked, “How is the situation in Luoyang?”

Too many unexpected events had happened in Luoyang the previous day, making it overwhelming.

Zhao Yun could only focus on the key points. First, he mentioned the North Palace fire, which Qiao Yan was most interested in. “That fire was set by the Yuan clan members within the North Palace, aiming to rescue the Prince of Hongnong.”

“Their choice wasn’t wrong. Before fleeing Luoyang, Dong Zhuo intended to silence the Prince of Hongnong. However, Guo Si’s troops were still active in the North Palace at that time, killing most of the Yuan clan members involved. Only Yuan Taipu managed to escape with the Prince of Hongnong.”

“However, it’s a bit strange. After you went to pursue Dong Zhuo, Lü Bu and Wen Xian stayed behind to extinguish the fire but did not find any trace of these two in the North Palace.”

Qiao Yan secretly thought that it was indeed strange that they hadn’t been found yet.

Zhao Yun continued, “We have sent people to search in all directions. Perhaps due to the chaos in the North Palace, they temporarily left to find a place to hide, waiting for the capital to stabilize before reappearing.”

“Additionally, the person I fought with yesterday was Zhang Xiu, the nephew of Dong Zhuo’s subordinate Zhang Ji. His uncle had already left with Dong Zhuo, leaving him behind to cover their retreat. He has been captured by me and awaits your decision, Marquis Qiao.”

Qiao Yan thought for a moment and asked, “What about the officials in the capital?”

Zhao Yun replied, “Because Dong Zhuo took His Majesty away in haste, these officials argued outside the North Palace for a long time yesterday afternoon. I listened for a while, and their opinions were divided into two groups. Some thought that wherever His Majesty was, they should be there too. Dong Zhuo suffered a defeat, and his troops suffered heavy losses. By going, they could ensure His Majesty’s safety, preventing Dong Zhuo from harming him in a fit of rage, and also act as insiders to discuss how to eliminate Dong Zhuo.”

This made sense. If there were no officials supporting Liu Xie, Dong Zhuo might not consider this hostage valuable enough and might not even bother maintaining the facade of controlling the Emperor.

Fortunately, Liu Xie was indeed the rightful heir established by Liu Hong. With the remaining prestige of the Han Dynasty, there would still be Han officials willing to go.

“The other group suggested that it would be better to declare His Majesty’s death due to illness and find another member of the imperial family to enthroned, such as Liu Yu, the Governor of Youzhou, who is highly respected and a good choice.”

Not entirely unexpected.

Qiao Yan had a grasp of the current situation and replied, “Fortunately, for the safety of Fengxiao and Wenhe, they were left in Mengjin, and you have been my eyes and ears.”

Lü Bu definitely wouldn’t have this political acumen.

Zhao Yun felt somewhat undeserving of this praise and heard Qiao Yan say, “Let’s not worry about these trivial matters for now. The priority is to find the Prince of Hongnong. We’ll judge the rest when everyone is gathered. However, during the search, be sure not to disturb the residents of Luoyang.”

She was no second Dong Zhuo.

Zhao Yun immediately took the order and left. Sun Jian and Sun Ce also joined the search party.

Qiao Yan, of course, was not idle either.

Not finding Liu Bian and Yuan Ji in and around the North Palace made her develop an almost intuitive judgment, and she turned her gaze towards the South Palace.

After Yuan Shu set fire to the palace and Dong Zhuo seized power, the South Palace had been sealed off on all sides. Except for Xun Shuang occasionally visiting Lantai and a few palace rooms in the southeast still being guarded, hardly anyone came here, making it a natural blind spot in the search.

Qiao Yan also had another purpose for visiting the South Palace and slowly walked around the palace walls. As she passed a small corner gate, she suddenly noticed that the door was not tightly shut.

She tentatively pushed the door and found it opened.

After walking a short distance along the path behind the door, she saw a trace of blood on the ground.

She crouched down to examine it and confirmed that this was not a remnant from the battle between Yuan Shu and Zhang Rang and Jian Shuo, but likely left by Yuan Ji and Liu Bian as they fled here!

Qiao Yan quickly followed the trail, remembering the system’s reminder, and opened the numerical panel to hang on the side.

Before she could follow the intermittent, faint bloodstains to find the hiding pair, as she passed by a palace, Qiao Yan suddenly noticed her luck value had dropped by ten points.

Her gaze shot towards the palace opposite Lantai, a flash of delight in her eyes.

Such a change in luck value had never happened before.

If the system’s suggestion was not wrong—

The unclaimed imperial seal at this moment was not something she could possess with her current manpower and territory. If she rashly took it, she would only be plagued by disasters. It made sense that it would directly reflect in her luck value!

In other words, the imperial seal was in that place!