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

After Liu Biao and Sun Jian left the allied forces, the others also found excuses to return to their own territories.

This coalition of warlords against Dong Zhuo ended in a humiliating defeat once again.

Dong Zhuo did not take this opportunity to attack, fearing that such an attack would cause the allied forces of the warlords to reunite.

He is now the one who most wants the coalition to disband so that he can defeat the allied forces of the feudal lords one by one.

Seeing that the allied forces of the warlords had all left, the many powerful families had no choice but to disperse and support the local warlords, hoping that these warlords would have the power to resist Dong Zhuo.

Most of the warlords joined the ranks of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, believing that these were their own people and that only when such warlords gained power would their families have a better future.

If a warlord like Cao Cao were to unify the country, their aristocratic families would still have to be humble and subservient.

The powerful families who had chosen Yuan Shao were soon bewildered. They discovered that Yuan Shao had also taken control of most of his forces and was beginning to compete with the powerful families for power and profit.

Some of these aristocratic families went south to join Yuan Shu, but others believed that this was the inevitable trend and that the one who could unify the world would be a powerful ruler. Such a person would never allow the aristocratic families to control their lives.

Yuan Shao's actions were acceptable to them.

A small group shared this view and then went to join Cao Cao, believing that he was more likely to unify the country.

Since they're going to be suppressed anyway, why not find a place with a higher probability of unifying the world beforehand?

Liu Biao, Sun Jian, Liu Zhang, and Gongsun Zan all had varying numbers of powerful families seeking their allegiance, and even Liu Bei had several smaller powerful families investing in him.

In order to enable their chosen warlords to develop rapidly and possess the power to resist Dong Zhuo, these powerful families continued to bleed heavily, trading resources with these warlords.

There's no way to send them. Most of their resources were consumed in the campaign against Dong Zhuo, and they really don't have many resources left.

With the help of these forces and resources, Yuan Shu rapidly expanded his territory, seizing the entire province of Yu, as well as parts of Jing, Yan, Hanoi, and Sili, thus becoming the third most powerful warlord after Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao.

Dong Zhuo sent troops to besiege Luoyang, and a million soldiers surrounded the entire city.

The city of Luoyang was in chaos. Empress Dowager He issued an edict ordering the feudal lords to come to the capital to defend the emperor. However, none of the feudal lords wanted to provoke Dong Zhuo, a powerful warlord, and they all refused to obey the edict.

Empress Dowager He could only watch the city gates being attacked every day, and could only survive on the food and fodder in the city.

Despite the relentless attacks of Dong Zhuo's army day and night, there was no news of reinforcements from outside, and the high-ranking officials and nobles in the city continued to oppress ordinary people and soldiers.

The soldiers on the front lines were not even getting enough to eat every day.

These soldiers watched their comrades die tragically every day, drinking thin porridge, and their anger grew stronger with each passing day.

Finally, their anger erupted, and they opened the city gates to let Dong Zhuo in.

When Empress Dowager He heard the news, she was stunned. She never imagined that as the empress of Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, she would one day fall to such a state.

How did she gradually fall to this state?

Everything that happened during her life flashed before her eyes like a revolving lantern.

She realized it all started when those aristocratic families approached He Jin.

Emperor Ling's aversion to him, the rise of Consort Wang, the birth of Liu Xie, He Jin's growing closer to powerful families and further away from eunuchs, and her growing further away from the emperor—all of this began around that time.

"I see."

On her deathbed, she finally understood why Emperor Ling of Han had become disgusted with her; it was all because she and her brother had disobeyed the path Emperor Ling had shown them.

They were originally dependent on the emperor, but they insisted on taking a different path in their own way.

"My son, do not be afraid."

Empress Dowager He hugged Liu Bian tightly, saying, "It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, you would have become a qualified crown prince, ascended the throne, and ruled the world."

"Mother Empress."

Liu Bian hugged Empress Dowager He tightly, realizing what was happening.

That night, Empress Dowager He and Liu Bian set themselves on fire.

If a deposed emperor were captured by Dong Zhuo and brought back to Chang'an, it's hard to imagine what kind of humiliation he would suffer.

Moreover, no one in Chang'an would allow such a deposed emperor to live.

Since that's the case, it's better to self-immolate; at least that way, one can retain the last shred of dignity.

……

While Dong Zhuo was attacking Luoyang, a major change was also taking place in Chang'an.

After the war between Dong Zhuo and the allied warlords ended, he did not lead his troops back to Chang'an, which left the city somewhat vulnerable, and some ambitious people began to vie for power.

Chang'an City also began to descend into chaos, with various mixed forces entangled together, turning Chang'an City into a murky mess.

Military power was the primary objective of this group. The Imperial Guards in Chang'an changed generals every day, and even the Imperial Guards frequently changed commanders.

Finally, a mutiny broke out among the imperial guards of Chang'an.

The ancient capital of Chang'an, with a history of 400 years, was engulfed in war, a war that shocked the entire world.

This was, after all, the capital of the Han Dynasty for 400 years, and it held a special place in the hearts of people all over the world.

What shocked the world even more was that, during this uprising, Liu Xie felt that he had extraordinary charisma.

He wanted to subdue these chaotic armies by relying on his inexplicable self-confidence and imperial majesty.

He must also command a large enough army to obey him in order to protect himself after Dong Zhuo's return.

Liu Xie bravely charged in, and then typed "GG".

Liu Xie, the legitimate emperor of the mighty Han Dynasty, died at the hands of a mutinous army.

Within just a few days, both emperors of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bian and Liu Xie, died.

The mighty Han Dynasty had no nominal master, and neither Liu Bian nor Liu Xie had any children; the Han Dynasty had no heir.

Dong Zhuo left Xu Rong to suppress the rebellion in Luoyang and quickly led his troops back to Chang'an.

The various members of the imperial family also rushed to Chang'an. The death of the emperor had the greatest impact on them.

According to custom, the new emperor would be chosen from among them.

Who knows, the throne might just fall to them?

The emperor's throne rotates, and this year it's my turn!

Even Liu Biao sent his son to Chang'an to fight for his own interests.

Liu Zhang also sent his trusted ministers to Chang'an as his representatives, hoping to compete for the throne.

If it weren't for the fact that it was Dong Zhuo's territory, the two of them would have gone there in person.