From Hangu Pass to the west, it stretched for two or three hundred miles. They were all poor people dragging their families along.
There were also many Western Liang soldiers walking slowly in the middle every few days. They were obviously there to keep them in custody.
Lu Bu left Zhang Liao with 25,000 cavalry to guard Hangu Pass, while he led the rest of his men to chase after the enemy. No matter what, he had to follow Dong Zhuo into Chang 'an and tell him the good news that the dukes had retreated.
In the empty Luoyang City, there were only a few vassal armies that had yet to retreat. Their goal was very simple. After participating in such a big battle, they had to gain some benefits before they could return.
The governor of Yuzhou, Kong Wei, the governor of Changsha, Sun Jian, and the governor of Nanyang, Yuan Shu, were the same. He scattered the soldiers into the city and began plowing again.
Sun Jian and Ma Teng also stayed in Luoyang, but they were not here to take advantage of the situation. Sun Jian needed to recuperate. The injury on his thigh was not so easy to heal, and he could not move him often, so he had to stay for a while. However, Ma Teng was not like this. Dong Zhuo had returned to Chang 'an, which blocked his way back to Wuwei. If he wanted to take a detour, he could only pass through the territory of Xiongnu. With his more than 10,000 troops, it was like sending food to others. Therefore, he had to stay.
When Cao Cao's four to five thousand defeated soldiers returned to Luoyang, they were all defeated. The five dukes rushed over. Except for Yuan Shu, who was sneering at them, the other four were still alright. They hurriedly took out their own rations to calm him down.
Cao Cao was too ashamed to stay in Luoyang. After a simple greeting, he returned to his temporary camp. Looking at the soldiers with low morale, Cao Cao also felt frustrated. He returned to his tent. Fortunately, the few generals were not injured. Otherwise, he would really be in a terrible state.
After dinner, although it was getting dark, Cao Cao still left Luoyang overnight. It was better to return to Chen Liu and make plans. This time, no matter what, he had to find a few strategists to help him. He could not lose so miserably again.
Dong Zhuo's carriage was already approaching Tongguan. Seeing Lu Bu catch up from behind, he hurriedly asked about the situation of the vassal army.
"Foster Father, the Baronet Alliance has already been disbanded. Most of the people have returned to their respective provinces. Only a few remained in Luoyang, and they were no longer a threat. I've already asked Zhang Liao to guard Hangu Pass, but there are only 25,000 cavalrymen.”Lu Bu reported this good news and was ready to reap the benefits.
"En, good. Chang 'an is indeed a blessed land. As expected, they retreated without a fight. Hangu Pass was an important place and needed an army to guard it. That Zhang Liao is also a brave general. I will give him another 30,000 infantry to help me guard the gate of Chang 'an.”Dong Zhuo was completely immersed in excitement as he said happily.
"Godfather, the dukes have just retired and will definitely not come back for the time being. However, Yongzhou was surrounded by Qiang, Hu, and Xiongnu. It was better to leave the army in Chang 'an. Zhang Liao could be made the prefect of Hongnong and let him recruit soldiers on the spot.”Lu Bu suggested.
Dong Zhuo had just taken control of the government, and his life was the most important. He agreed to Lu Bu's suggestion without thinking,""Good, that's a good idea. When we reach Chang 'an, we'll give him an official position.”
Lu Bu was overjoyed, but he didn't show it on the surface. He continued,""I thank Godfather on behalf of Wenyuan. You're already below one person and above ten thousand people. You're also the destiny. The position of Prime Minister can no longer match your identity. I think you should take advantage of the Emperor's youth to set up an official position above the three dukes to control military and political affairs. When the time is right, you can…"
Although Lu Bu didn't explain, Dong Zhuo understood. "My son is really smart. This is a good idea. What should I call it?"”
"I think we should call him Grand Preceptor. As the teacher of the emperor, I will manage the government and pave the way for your future actions.”Lu Bu continued. He would let Dong Zhuo continue to do the opposite. When the complaints were everywhere, he would find an opportunity to annihilate him and his subordinates.
"Alright, let's do as my son says. At that time, the position of Great General will not be without my son.”Dong Zhuo laughed as if he was sitting on a throne.
Lu Bu smiled and cupped his fists.”With that, he turned his horse around and retreated.
Dong Zhuo also lowered the thick curtain on the car window and continued to enjoy himself. The moaning of a young girl came from the car again, but it soon stopped.
The army traveled for three days before they reached Chang 'an. Niu Fu had received the news and had come to welcome them from ten miles away.
Dong Zhuo entered Chang 'an City happily. Looking at the white names lining the streets to welcome him, he happily directed the carriage to go straight to the Royal Palace. Little did they know that these commoners were all chased out by Niu Fu's troops from house to house.
Dong Zhuo took the little Emperor into the Imperial Palace without hesitation. His five thousand personal guards immediately surrounded the Imperial Palace.
The remaining officials who were kidnapped by Dong Zhuoqiang were dumbfounded. Dong Zhuo could live in the palace, but they couldn't.
Fortunately, Li Ru still remembered these things. He quickly went to the families of the aristocrats and merchants in Chang 'an and began to forcefully borrow courtyards.
Lu Bu didn't care about this. He first arranged for Wang Yun and Cai Yong to come down. As for the others, he directly called Li Ru. After all, they were all high officials in the court. Li Ru was also reasonable and wouldn't neglect them easily.
Lu Bu didn't care. He would be given a mansion anyway, so there was no need to rush. Finding Jia Xu, he directly brought them to set up camp outside the city.
The people of Luoyang slowly came to Yongzhou. Fortunately, Yongzhou was sparsely populated, and many people were directly detained by the county magistrates. However, there were still more than 200,000 people who came to Chang 'an. They had no food, no houses, and no way to enter Chang 'an. They could only wait in the cold wind for the Xi Liang Army to show mercy.
Naturally, Lu Bu could not help them. He was only a general. Looking at the trembling commoners, he could only take out military rations and open the shed to help them.
Lu Bu stayed outside the city for two days. Only then did the officials in the city make proper arrangements. Only then did Li Ru remember that Lu Bu was still living outside the city. He was shocked. If Lu Bu took revenge, it would not be a joke. He hurriedly gave up a large courtyard in the inner city that he had taken a fancy to. Although he hated Lu Bu, he was now Dong Zhuo's favorite, and he had given Dong Zhuo a new suggestion to become a Grand Preceptor. If he said something bad about him to Dong Zhuo, and Dong Zhuo was a jealous person, then he would be in trouble.
Lu Bu thanked Li Ru and exchanged a few more pleasantries before bringing Jia Xu, Dian Wei, Zhao Yun and the rest of his subordinates into the new Fuma Residence.
He arranged for his subordinates to stay in a courtyard. Anyway, they had a good relationship and could chat quite well.
Lu Bu went to the inner court. Liu Jian was already in the bedroom. However, she just sat on the bed in a daze and watched the servant girls busy themselves.
Lu Bu knew that she was still thinking about Liu Bian, but he had no choice. Dong Zhuo would never let them go. He wanted to pave the way for himself to be the emperor.
He sat beside Liu Jian and dismissed all the maids. "Don't be sad anymore," Lu Bu said softly."The dead can't come back to life." Don't worry, I will kill Dong Zhuo and Li Ru to avenge you.”
"And then you'll replace Dong Zhuo?" Liu Jian glanced at Lu Bu and said coldly.
"How could that be? How about this? After Dong Zhuo dies, let the Emperor return to Luoyang, and we will stay in Chang 'an.”Lu Bu had already thought it through. He wanted to stay in Yongzhou and occupy Bingzhou. Then, he could rope in Ma Teng and occupy the entire north. As for the Emperor, he was still in Luoyang. At that time, he would think of a way to drive Li Cui and Guo Si over. When they had enough trouble, he would go and clean up the mess.
"Do you really think so?" Liu Jian was a little surprised. He trusted him, but his recent actions were too confusing.
"It's true. You'll know in the future." Lu Bu hugged her and smiled.
"Then why did you defeat the armies of the dukes? If they won, wouldn't Dong Zhuo be driven away?”Liu Jian was somewhat puzzled. Why did he have to go through so much trouble?
"What should I do then? All the dukes will think that I'm Dong Zhuo's lackey.”"When they occupy Luoyang, do you think they will be better off than Dong Zhuo?" Lu Bu explained slowly. When the time came, they would become even more chaotic. They won't let me off just because I'm the Prince Consort. Moreover, the emperor hates me very much now, right?”
Liu Jian was naturally aware of the Emperor's attitude towards Lu Bu. It was because of the Emperor's complaints that she began to doubt Lu Bu's intentions,""Then promise me that you will kill Dong Zhuo and help my brother return to Luoyang.”
"Alright, how about you stay in Chang 'an and monitor me?”Lu Bu said with a smile as he tapped Liu Jian's nose.
"Go to hell." Liu Jian hit his chest and said embarrassedly,""Hurry up and take a shower. You've been so dirty all day.”
Lu Bu saw that Liu Jian was in better spirits, so he let go of her and said with a smile,""Okay, but you have to help me scrub my back.”
"I'm not going. She hadn't eaten for a day, so she was going to eat.”Liu Jian said after taking two steps away. Then, he ran out without being caught by Lu Bu.
Just as Lu Bu was about to give chase, he heard Liu Jian giving orders from outside. A few servant girls immediately boiled water and cooked. They all got busy. Knowing that he had been staying in the army for the past few days and was indeed quite dirty, Lu Bu left the bedroom and asked Liu Jian to bring him to the bathroom.
The bathroom was a separate room in the new Fuma's residence, right behind the bedroom. Lu Bu was shocked when he entered. The room had double walls, and facing the door was a screen. After passing through the screen, there was a large pool with a length and width of four meters on the ground. It was paved with huge white stones and was extremely luxurious. In the corner, there were two copper pipes, which should be the water pipes. Such a big pool, who knew how long it would take to fill it up. Lu Bu exclaimed in admiration. This was too enjoyable. No wonder Li Ru was reluctant to part with him!
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。