A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"Your Majesty is wise."

The scholar had a slight smile on his lips, which would have warmed anyone who saw it, but Liu Xie only felt annoyed.

"You have achieved your goal. Remember your promise."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

The scholar smiled mysteriously, "Once Dong Zhuo is eliminated, the world will naturally be at peace."

"I'm not just talking about that! You know what I want!"

Liu Xie was somewhat dissatisfied with the other party's stammering and stared intently at the person in front of him.

"Yuan Ji!"

This scholar was none other than Yuan Ji, the true eldest son of the Yuan family, who had long since died at the hands of Dong Zhuo.

Even though the Yuan family didn't think Dong Zhuo would take action against them, they still subconsciously kept a backup plan.

This very move saved Yuan Ji's life, and now he has come for revenge.

A hint of surprise appeared in Yuan Ji's eyes at just the right moment, and Liu Xie noticed it, which gave him a great sense of psychological satisfaction.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, after Dong Zhuo's death, you will be the sole master of this land!"

Yuan Ji seemed to become even more respectful after Liu Xie exposed his secret.

"Hmph, that's good!"

Liu Xie gazed excitedly at the magnificent landscape before him, "Father, I will prove to you that your choice was right, and that I am the one destined for greatness!"

……

Through the machinations of powerful families, Liu Xie's imperial edict was spread throughout the entire Han Dynasty, especially at the front lines, where the allied forces of the feudal lords frantically relayed the message to the other side.

This news also threw Dong Zhuo's army into chaos, causing unrest within the army and making it difficult to issue orders smoothly.

Seeing this great opportunity, many powerful families urged the feudal lords to advance.

Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian exchanged glances and then commanded their armies to advance.

The imperial army, having received the imperial edict, had extremely weak will to resist, and its defenses were easily breached by the allied forces of the feudal lords.

The allied forces of the feudal lords advanced with unstoppable momentum, achieving in a short period of time what they had failed to accomplish in nearly a year of fierce fighting. The generals under the feudal lords were showered with military merits.

The powerful clans were overjoyed to see this victory. Seeing the losses suffered by Dong Zhuo's army, they finally let down their guard. It seemed that Dong Zhuo was truly finished this time.

They began to seize power within the army, sending their own sons to lead troops forward in order to capture more spoils of victory.

The feudal lords and their generals were kept at the back under various pretexts, and were not allowed to go to the front line to seize military merits.

The generals under the feudal lords retreated to the second line, cursing and swearing, constantly cursing these bastards from the powerful families.

Only their lord had a strange look in his eyes as he looked at the front line of the battlefield, his expression inscrutable, as if he were expecting something.

With many scions of powerful families charging forward recklessly, they quickly penetrated into Dong Zhuo's heartland, and capturing and killing Dong Zhuo seemed imminent.

One of the eldest sons of the Wang family of Taiyuan was the first to rush into Dong Zhuo's tent. After opening the door, he saw Dong Zhuo sitting there with a large sword in hand.

"Dong Zhuo, prepare to die!"

"I remember you; you are Wang Yun's son."

Looking at the person who had barged in, Dong Zhuo couldn't help but marvel at the cunning of the aristocratic families. Even with his own brutal methods back then, so many had managed to escape.

"You don't have the right to kill me."

Wang Ling raised his knife, his eyes bloodshot. Almost his entire clan had died at the hands of Dong Zhuo.

Only a portion of the clansmen remained in Taiyuan, and upon receiving the news, they scattered and fled.

Chang'an, as the capital of the Han Dynasty for four hundred years, was the place where the powerful and noble were most concentrated.

As the direct descendants of the Wang family, Wang Ling's family naturally resided in Chang'an City.

Then Dong Zhuo captured them all, leaving none alive.

Only he escaped the calamity thanks to a substitute left behind by his family.

The hatred of killing his father and wiping out his clan drove Wang Lingchong to the front line of the resistance against Dong Zhuo.

"I no longer care to distinguish right from wrong."

"Everyone who sets foot in my camp today shall die!"

Dong Zhuo's voice alerted Wang Ling, who screamed wildly as numerous things seemed amiss, almost simultaneously flashing through his mind.

Given the abilities of Li Ru, Wei Ya, and others, would they really be completely unaware of what happened in Chang'an?

If no one noticed, how do you explain that Dong Zhuo and the families of his loyal ministers left Chang'an beforehand?

Given Dong Zhuo's military capabilities, even if the news had reached them, would Dong's army have collapsed in such a short time?

If Dong Jun didn't break down, then what does what's happening now mean?

"withdraw!"

Wang Ling turned and left without looking back.

Approval was evident in Dong Zhuo's eyes. Such decisiveness was something only someone blinded by hatred could have achieved.

"Is it too late to leave now?"

The armies directly controlled by many powerful families have all entered Dong Jun's camp. Those shrewd warlords would never send their elite soldiers to their deaths.

It's time to close the net.

Beneath the many camps breached by the aristocratic armies, and from even more distant camps, a steady stream of elite Dong troops emerged.

They surrounded the allied forces of the powerful families who had entered Dong Jun's camp.

"What's going on?"

Many generals from aristocratic families began to panic. The previous fierce battles were all fought by generals from feudal lords. They always fought when things were going well. As soon as an unexpected situation occurred, they instantly became like headless flies, losing their composure.

An incompetent general can lead to the downfall of an entire army.

They saw their generals in a panic, looking as if a great calamity was about to befall them.

These soldiers naturally wouldn't fight to the death. They were brought out by these aristocratic generals to compete for military merit, and these soldiers were all their own people. Usually, they would hide in the rear just like their generals.

I thought this time would be the same as before, where all I had to do was beat the dog when it was down and I could collect countless merits. But now I realize I've fallen into a trap and I'm starting to panic.

"Dong Zhuo is a traitor. His Majesty has already decreed that he be stripped of all his official positions and titles. Do not make a mistake for yourselves!"

"Dong Zhuo has committed the heinous crime of treason. You should think carefully about the consequences of following him. It could mean the extermination of your entire family!"

The scions of noble families, all blustering but lacking courage, attempted to persuade the army before them.

"An imperial edict? You mean this?"

Li Jue took out a roll of the imperial edict they had sent, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it twice.

"Li Jue, how dare you disrespect the imperial edict! You are incredibly audacious! You are courting death!"

The group of scholars were dumbfounded when they saw Li Jue's actions.

Even if this wasn't the original, it was still the content of an imperial edict. Li Jue dared to treat the edict this way, especially in front of so many people. They thought Li Jue must have gone mad.

Did he intend to kill everyone present? There were still many enemy soldiers there!

"Do you guys think I'm crazy? Hahahaha, you all pride yourselves on being well-read, but you're not even as good as a roughneck like me."

"Haven't you learned how to distinguish the authenticity of imperial edicts?!"