Chapter 125 Burning Luoyang
"Li Ru, what should we do next?" Dong Zhuo asked in panic.
Although the allied forces could not capture Hulao Pass for a while, Lu Bu's defeat meant that Dong Zhuo's final chance of winning was gone.
When people's hearts are not with him, he himself has no idea how long the forces under his command, which are already full of contradictions and extremely loose, can last.
"My lord, please wait a moment. It won't be too late for us to study this matter after the envoy who alienated the princes in Guandong comes back." Li Ru took a deep breath, suppressed his inner uneasiness, and said calmly.
He had already planned to abandon Luoyang and move west to Chang'an, and he was almost ready, but until the last minute, he was still unwilling to give up and wanted to try again.
However, the miracle did not happen and Li Ru's plan failed.
Dong Zhuo's strategy of sowing discord and dividing with bribes did have a good effect, intensifying the conflicts among the princes in Guandong and sowing the seeds of internal strife.
Short-sighted princes like Han Fu were already preparing to rush back to Jizhou to take action against Yuan Shao.
If Lu Bu wins, the morale of both sides will increase and decrease, and the princes of Guandong may really be broken up by Li Ru's method.
However, due to Lu Bu's failure, most of the princes in Guandong were very optimistic about the outcome of the campaign against Dong Zhuo, and no one was willing to give up the huge reputation of the campaign.
Moreover, with Yuan Shao maneuvering and intimidating and luring the princes, no prince dared to withdraw easily for fear of being jointly targeted by other princes.
Even Han Fu ran away under the pretext of raising food and fodder.
As Yuan Shao's direct superior, Yuan Shao naturally had to show some mercy and give him some leniency, but he was not so good-tempered towards other people.
"Move the capital to Chang'an!"
After knowing that the plan had failed, Dong Zhuo gave the order without hesitation.
He had made this preparation as early as when he took control of the military power in Luoyang but found that Yuan Wei was still unwilling to treat him as an equal.
He is definitely no match for this group of noble families if they are playing dirty, so he should retreat back to his hometown first.
Anyway, he has enjoyed all that he should have enjoyed. He still has the emperor and civil and military officials at his disposal. Why take risks here? He can just go back to Xiliang and wait and see for a few years. He will fight again when he has the chance.
Dong Zhuo was not a reckless man. Although his ambition was corrupted by alcohol and sex, he still had a relatively clear judgment of the situation.
He knows best what the current situation is.
On the surface, he controlled the most elite Xiliang Army, Bingzhou Army, and Central Army, and also had powerful generals such as Lu Bu, Li Jue, and Guo Si, and with Li Ru's advice, his momentum was overwhelming.
But what about in practice?
The Huben Army of the Central Army had been taken away by Yuan Shu long ago. The Yulin Army was the emperor's bodyguard, and was dispersed into various armies by the uneasy Dong Zhuo. The Xiyuan Army and the five schools of the Northern Army obeyed his control on the surface, but were wavering in secret.
Once the situation is no longer in his favor, these two troops will most likely rebel immediately.
Dong Zhuo couldn't disperse these people anymore, because there was no place to disperse them. If he did, it would be unclear whether he was dispersing these people or his own troops.
The Bingzhou Army originally rebelled against Dong Zhuo, and their loyalty was also difficult to determine. They were also at odds with the Xiliang Army.
The only troops Dong Zhuo could trust and entrust with important tasks were the Western Liang Army, and they were a small number at that.
Because most of the Xiliang troops were in Xiliang and were unwilling to come to Sili.
The Eastern Han Dynasty had been in a state of semi-abandoning Xiliang over the years, so the people of Xiliang did not have a strong sense of belonging to the court. Many soldiers and civilians even felt that everywhere outside Xiliang was a foreign land and were unwilling to leave.
In particular, there were many Qiang people in Dong Zhuo's Xiliang army.
They followed Dong Zhuo to Sili, not with the idea of gaining wealth and glory and developing locally, but just like the Xianbei who went south to invade Youzhou, they wanted to make a quick buck and leave.
After staying in Luoyang for nearly a year, he had enjoyed everything he should have enjoyed, and his pockets were full. He couldn't wait to go back to his hometown. After all, his wife and children were still in Xiliang. The number of Xiliang soldiers willing to follow Dong Zhuo to Luoyang was limited, and a large number of them wanted to return to the west, so Dong Zhuo naturally thought of moving the capital.
Dong Zhuo knew too well the methods of these ministers from aristocratic families. He used to be a heroic young man with a sense of righteousness and passion, but he was beaten to a bloody pulp countless times at the hands of these aristocratic families. Only then did he completely lower his head and become a hungry wolf.
Dong Zhuo believed that the aristocratic ministers were definitely capable of infiltrating and controlling the Bingzhou Army and the Central Army, two forces that he could not completely control. It was not impossible for them to attack him in turn. The only army he could rely on and trust was the Western Liang Army.
In the past, he was able to control the situation naturally because of the general trend, but now, the Guandong coalition forces are so powerful.
The Baibo Army in the north also quietly moved to the west of Luoyang, intending to cut off his retreat. It was obvious that it was a backup plan of the aristocratic and powerful families.
The central army led by Huangfu Song was still stationed in Fufeng area. Although he transferred Huangfu Song to Luoyang, this army was still there and could take action at any time.
Both internal and external troubles were extremely serious, and the morale of the Xiliang army had long been shaken.
If this continues, he will die without a burial place.
Dong Zhuo, who saw the situation clearly, did not hesitate to leave a loyal general to guard Hulao Pass, and fled with the main force of the army, taking the people of Luoyang and civil and military officials with him to Chang'an.
Before leaving, he decided to go all out and not only confiscated all the wealthy families in Luoyang city, he also dug up the imperial tombs and accumulated a large amount of wealth.
The amount was so huge that it was hard for ordinary people to imagine. It was enough for Dong Zhuo to squander in Xiliang.
In Dong Zhuo's eyes, money, food, soldiers and horses are the real things, and political rules and conspiracies are all nonsense.
Especially after experiencing this campaign of the princes to attack Dong Zhuo, Dong Zhuo understood even more clearly that it was useless to compromise with these aristocratic families. They would only push you further, suck your blood out of you, and harm you to death, and then throw a bad name on you.
So Dong Zhuo doesn’t want to play with them anymore. I’m going to overturn the table and go home!
A huge fire burned down the entire city of Luoyang.
Li Ru even maliciously advised Dong Zhuo to throw down the imperial seal in order to intensify the infighting among the princes in Guandong.
In Dong Zhuo's eyes, this was just a nice piece of jade. He didn't think it was anything special and was not as important as copper coins and food, so he agreed without hesitation.
At this time, the allied forces had already captured Hulao Pass, but looking at the raging fire, most of the princes were strangely motionless.
Tian Ze was in the allied tent, humble and inconspicuous, watching everything that happened with cold eyes.
He had no interest in anything in Luoyang. Whether it was the scorched earth Luoyang, the imperial seal, or the emperor, they were all empty in his eyes. They would only cause trouble and would be of no benefit.
The only thing he was interested in was the money, food and population that Dong Zhuo had taken away. But unfortunately, he couldn't intervene because the princes in Guandong would not agree.
At this time, the Allied forces had already achieved their goals and there were signs of infighting.
The seeds that Li Ru planted at that time began to take effect.
No matter who goes after Dong Zhuo, it doesn't matter if they fail, but as long as they succeed, what they get will inevitably be coveted by the princes of Guandong.
Most likely, it would be taken away by Yuan Shao in the name of the leader of the alliance, and then distributed among the princes depending on the situation.
The princes who rush to the front will most likely not gain anything, but will instead suffer losses in troops.
In this environment of internal friction and dragging one's feet, who would be willing to do such a thankless task as chasing Dong Zhuo? The risk is high, and the profit is not theirs.
This reminded Tian Ze of a certain workplace environment in his previous life. Working harder won't bring more rewards, and will only lead to more mistakes. On the contrary, doing nothing will reduce the number of mistakes.
However, there are really some stubborn and passionate middle-aged people who are willing to do it, and there are three of them.
(End of this chapter)
