Bronze door through time and space

Chapter 626: Alliance Separation
Dong Zhuo has always been arrogant. The only reason he was willing to marry Sun Jian was that he felt tremendous pressure.

There was no way. Dong Zhuo thought that Lu Bu was invincible, but who would have thought that there was someone more brave than him.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that although Guan and Zhang were not as good as Lu Bu, Lu Bu would definitely be defeated if the two of them joined forces.

The veteran who appeared last was even more amazing. Lu Bu even said that he was on par with him. If we remove the water, wouldn't it mean that he couldn't beat him?

This led to a significant decrease in the importance of Lu Bu in Dong Zhuo's heart, because uniqueness is an irreplaceable treasure, and the successive emergence of unparalleled generals greatly reduced Lu Bu's value.

However, the imbalance in combat power caused by this was what made Dong Zhuo most anxious.

Unless he could produce two and a half Lu Bu, he would not be able to defeat the Anti-Dong Alliance at all. In this case, it is not surprising that he came up with the idea of ​​marriage.

Unfortunately, Sun Jian was a very upright person. Even though he was disgusted by the Yuan brothers, he had no intention of surrendering to Dong Zhuo, let alone becoming their in-laws.

Upon learning that his marriage proposal was rejected, Dong Zhuo cleared the table on the spot, which means he did not eat. Otherwise, he would have knocked back a bowl to express his anger.

"Marquis Wen has just been defeated, and his soldiers have no will to fight. It would be better to lead the troops back to Luoyang and move the emperor to Chang'an in response to the nursery rhyme." Li Ru suggested, calmly avoiding the things under his feet.

Li Ru saw things more clearly and was more decisive than Dong Zhuo. He knew that he could not delay any longer, so he came up with a vicious plan to completely cut off the roots of the Han royal family.

"What nursery rhyme?" Dong Zhuo asked in surprise.

"Recently, there is a children's rhyme on the street: There is a Han in the west and a Han in the east. Only when the deer walks into Chang'an can there be no trouble. I think this 'a Han in the west' refers to the time when Emperor Gaozu was prosperous in the western capital Chang'an and passed on twelve emperors; and 'a Han in the east' refers to the time when Emperor Guangwu was prosperous in the eastern capital Luoyang and passed on twelve emperors. The destiny of heaven has turned. Only when the prime minister moves back to Chang'an can there be no trouble." Li Ru said seriously.

As for whether this nursery rhyme exists or not, it is no longer important. What is important is that the excuse has been given.

Dong Zhuo was overjoyed when he heard this, and rushed back to Luoyang with Lu Bu overnight to discuss the matter of moving the capital.

Li Ru's plan was indeed vicious. He knew very well that the so-called anti-Dong alliance would not last long and was only one fuse away from collapse and separation.

Giving up Luoyang now may seem passive, but in fact it is like putting a piece of fat meat in front of the alliance. It depends on whether they are tempted. Once they are tempted, conflicts will naturally arise internally, and they will no longer have the energy to continue pursuing it.

In addition, Dong's army has always been victorious, and this defeat will definitely cause the civil and military officials and the people in Luoyang City to have unrealistic fantasies.

Although they are not afraid, it is still a trouble after all, and moving the capital will undoubtedly cut off their roots and thoughts.

Finally, Li Ru was no longer optimistic about Dong Zhuo's future. He did not want to betray him, nor could he do so. Instead, he began to consider the issue of a way out.

Retreating to Chang'an and weakening the officials would undoubtedly tear down the last bit of face of the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty would no longer be able to suppress the local areas, and the eighteen princes would truly become princes.

By then, the whole world will be in chaos, and who would attack Chang'an just for a puppet? In this way, Dong Zhuo's side could just stay in a corner and watch the fight between dragons and tigers.

Those people might not be able to see through all of Li Ru's evil plans, but the mere move of the capital involved their core interests, so naturally they all voiced opposition.

How could the civil and military officials in the court be willing to do so? Their roots were all in Luoyang. Once the capital was moved, it would be like losing their base and only a shell would be left, so they tried to obstruct it in every possible way.

Although Dong Zhuo did not know Li Ru's ultimate goal, he understood Lu Bu.

The more Dong Zhuoyue understood Lu Bu, the more he knew how powerful the person who could defeat Lu Bu was. He couldn't even sleep well during this period, so he would not give up just because of this little resistance.

However, Minister of the Interior Yang Biao and Grand Commandant Huang Wan said that the ancestral temple and the imperial mausoleum were abandoned for no reason, and they were afraid that the people would be alarmed.

This is using the people as a banner. After all, there are millions of people. Do you dare to offend all of them?

He also said that in the past, when Wang Mang usurped the throne and led the Red Eyebrows, he burned down Chang'an and turned it into rubble.

At the beginning, it implies that Dong Zhuo will not have a good end like Wang Mang in the past. Of course, on the surface it says that Guanzhong is poor and not suitable to be the capital. In any case, no matter what, the author just disagrees.

Dong Zhuo had no way of convincing these people, but he could defeat them in battle, so he demoted them to commoners and prepared to forcibly move the capital.

Li Ru knew that this move would offend everyone in the world, so he decided to go all out and came up with a vicious plan. "Now money and food are scarce, and there are many wealthy families in Luoyang, especially those under Yuan Shao. We can kill their relatives and confiscate their wealth, and we will definitely get a huge amount of money."

Dong Zhuo was overjoyed when he heard this. His reputation was already so bad that it couldn't get any worse. He immediately ordered his cavalry to enter the city and capture thousands of wealthy families in Luoyang. He labeled them traitors and rebels, and beheaded them outside the city and seized their wealth.

Once the loophole was opened, it could not be stopped. Countless people were implicated. The gentlemen who once lived in luxury lined up to be reincarnated. It was a spectacular scene.

Then Li Jue and Guo Si drove millions of people from Luoyang to Chang'an, allowing their soldiers to rape and plunder along the way. Countless people died in ditches, and their cries shook heaven and earth.

Dong Zhuo was even more ruthless. Before leaving, he blocked the doors and set fire to the residents' houses, and also set fire to the ancestral temples and palaces. The flames connected and everything was reduced to scorched earth.

He also sent Lu Bu to excavate the tombs of the previous emperor and his concubines and take their gold and treasures. The soldiers took advantage of the situation to dig up almost all the graves of officials and civilians. Whenever Cao Cao saw this, he had to give him a thumbs up and call him an expert.

Dong Zhuo loaded thousands of carts with gold, pearls, satin and other valuables, kidnapped the emperor and his concubines, and headed for Chang'an.

Dong Zhuo was busy making money but forgot about the border.

Zhao Cen, the commander of Sishui Pass, saw that Dong Zhuo had abandoned Luoyang and left without even saying hello. How could he still be loyal to him and immediately surrendered Sishui Pass.

Sun Jian, who suffered a great loss here, was eager to save face, so he immediately led his troops in first.

The fall of Sishui Pass turned Hulao Pass into an isolated island, which was captured by Liu Bei's troops.

From then on, the anti-Dong alliance split into two groups and headed straight for Luoyang.

Sun Jian rushed to Luoyang and saw flames rising into the sky, black smoke covering the ground, and no one's voice could be heard. He was shocked and quickly sent troops to put out the fire.

Then various princes arrived, and looking at the blazing fire in Luoyang, they didn’t know what to do for a moment.

Everyone gathered in the big tent to discuss, and Cao Cao came up and spoke to Yuan Shao.

"Now that Dong is heading west, we can take advantage of the situation and pursue him!"

"The soldiers are tired. What should we do if Dong's army sets an ambush?" Yuan Shao was worried and also coveted the fat piece of meat in Luoyang, so he said.

Cao Cao didn't know his childhood friend yet, so he turned around and spoke angrily to the princes.

"The thief Dong burned Luoyang and abducted the emperor. His crimes are extremely serious. If we kill him, the world will be at peace in one battle. Why are you hesitating and not advancing?"

Although what Cao Cao said made sense, all the princes said that they should not act rashly. As for why, everyone knew it.

Although Luoyang was set on fire by Dong Zhuo, it was unrealistic to burn down the entire city, and it was even more impossible to plunder all the wealth. The most important thing was the righteousness of recovering Luoyang, so no one was willing to abandon it and take the risk of pursuing Dong Zhuo.

Cao Cao was furious and thought that this boy was not worthy of being a consultant. He turned his attention to Liu Bei because he knew that the other party was definitely not a good-for-nothing.

As expected, Liu Bei, who had already shown his strength, did not intend to continue to play along with this group of people. Without saying a word, he got up and left with Guan, Zhang and Huang, and mobilized his troops to prepare for pursuit.

Others had only heard about it, but the few princes who had followed along the way knew how powerful this relative of the Han royal family was.

Think about Liu Xiu, think about Liu Hong. The more I think about it, the hotter my heart becomes.

Cao Cao was the most decisive. He flicked his sleeves and followed closely behind. Gongsun Zan had a close relationship with Liu Bei and had saved his life, so he also got up and left.

Led by two people, several more princes followed one after another, and a total of eight princes joined together and headed straight for Chang'an.

Seeing this scene, Yuan Shao, as the leader of the alliance, turned pale, but he did not dare to act rashly, because these were almost half of the members of the Anti-Dong Alliance. If he said one more word, the alliance, which existed in name only, would have to be disbanded ahead of time.

But Yuan Shao was puzzled. When did Liu Bei, who had always been unknown, become so appealing?

Even his arrogant childhood friend Cao Cao was willing to follow him.
(End of this chapter)