Liu Bei on the side didn't seem to be affected by Xiang Ao, compared to Cao Cao and Sun Jian, Liu Bei's face was as usual. Subconsciously, the three of them turned their heads to look at Liu Bei, as if asking Liu Bei if he was willing to ally ally.

Seeing this, Liu Bei frowned, and said in a reluctant tone: "I'm afraid I won't have the honor to be in the same boat with the generals!" Liu Bei was stunned, and said with a guilty face: "Yesterday, I received an urgent letter from General Gongsun, and Wuhuan had the intention of making a comeback, and ordered him to return to the army to support." General Gongsun was righteous, in order to defend the north of Youzhou, such a major event occurred in the imperial court, and the defenders of the northern Xinjiang were not moved. Be prepared to be unkind and ignore General Gongsun. ”

So coincidental? Xiang Ao was puzzled in his heart, stared at Liu Bei for a moment, nodded approvingly, and said: "What General Xuande said is extremely true, compared to the battle of the imperial court, the frontier of our Han Dynasty is more important. If it weren't for that, I would have raised a large army to crusade against Dong Chong! When Cao Cao and Sun Jian heard this, they also had expressions of understanding on their faces.

Liu Bei also nodded, and said to everyone: "Thank you generals for your understanding." ”

"Youzhou's troops are tight, and we need to bring back some reinforcements to General Gongsun!" Liu Bei sighed, looking extremely embarrassed, and said: "Bei plans to leave some armor behind, talk about the thoughts of King Qin, and hope that General Fengyuan will understand." ”

Xiang Ao nodded, clenched his fists and said in understanding: "General Xuande has a heart, Youzhou is the gateway of the Han Dynasty, and it must not be lost." ”

Everyone followed suit and once again expressed their admiration for Liu Bei, and Liu Bei also responded modestly and politely one by one. Subsequently, Xiang Ao arranged a simple banquet for Liu Bei. Before Zhao Yun, who was going to sour dates, could reply to the letter, Liu Bei led 5,000 soldiers and horses to leave Luoyang in a hurry.

At the beginning, Liu Bei only led more than 1,000 soldiers and horses sent by Gongsun Zhan, but now when he left Luoyang, he took away half of the more than 10,000 soldiers and horses donated by Tao Qian, and his power soared.

"Now that the lord is getting full-fledged, after rushing back to Youzhou this time, he can no longer look at Gongsun Zhan's face!" Jian Yong rode his horse and slowly followed Liu Bei's side, looking at the thousands of soldiers and horses behind him, Jian Yong was in a good mood.

When Liu Bei heard this, he chuckled calmly and did not answer, but the smug look in his eyes was extremely obvious.

"Xianhe's suggestion to stay away from the Luoyang dispute this time is the right move." Liu Bei beckoned Xianhe to step forward and walked side by side with him: "Regardless of whether the coalition forces can succeed in fighting Dong or not, the trend of the princes separating the territory is inevitable. ”

"The lord's background is insufficient, if you lose too many soldiers and horses in Luoyang, how will you fight with the world's heroes in the future?" Jian Yong took over and said: "Even if the coalition forces win and capture Luoyang, I'm afraid the loss will be not small. The lord doesn't have to expend too many troops for some fame now. Moreover, under the aura of the so-called alliance leader Yuan Shao and Zhen Guogong and others, even if the lord has a little reputation, he will be submerged. ”

Liu Bei nodded when he heard this, and his expression was a little unwilling.

Guan Yu, who was not far behind Liu Bei, looked at his lord and military advisor who didn't know what to talk about, and frowned slightly. As for Zhang Fei on the side, he was not very happy. Seeing that he could capture Luoyang and make contributions, the lord was recalled to Youzhou by Gongsun Zhan, which made Zhang Fei sullen.

Liu Bei's departure did not have much impact on the coalition forces, after all, Liu Bei's reputation is not good now, and the thousands of soldiers and horses he took away did not have much impact on Luoyang's fighting spirit. After Liu Bei left, Zhao Yun rushed back to the coalition camp stationed under the Luoyang City Tower with good news.

"My lord, the alliance leader has promised that in three days, he will wave his troops to Luoyang and join us!"

Xiang Ao looked at Zhao Yun in front of him with his fists in front of him to report the military power, and said happily: "Okay, good!" As long as the coalition forces can arrive, the capture of Luoyang is just around the corner. ”

Compared with Xiang Ao's excitement, Cao Cao on the side was depressed, and his face looked bored. Since the alliance of the princes, Cao Cao has not been able to see the future of the Han Dynasty from the performance of the princes. Although the princes from all walks of life responded to Xiang Ao's submission and crusaded against Dong Zhuo, most of the coalition forces that rushed to attack Dong Zhuo were afraid that their interests and strength would be damaged, and they did not do their best to crusade against Dong Zhuo.

In Cao Cao's view, all the princes seemed to be acting and going through the motions, especially the so-called alliance leader Yuan Shao. Cao Cao looked at Xiang Ao, who was excited beside him, his face was cloudy, and he secretly thought to himself: Fengyuan, are you concerned about the imperial court, or are you like Yuan Shao?

"The whole army repairs for half a day, and tomorrow we will continue to attack the city!" For some reason, Xiang Ao, who was happy, was worried in his heart, and Xiang Ao, who had been thinking for a moment to no avail, had to order a little repair and ordered to stop the plan to attack the city today.

When everyone heard this, although they wondered why Xiang Ao stopped the offensive, the fierce battle for several days made everyone extremely tired. Since Xiang Ao ordered the repair, everyone also left, planning to rest and rest. 、

No matter what Xiang Ao and the others planned, Luoyang City was already sparsely populated at this time.

"It's a good thing that the coalition forces have stopped attacking for the time being, and the Taishi doesn't need to panic!" Li Ru persuaded Dong Zhuo, who was uneasy, and said: "Before nightfall today, the last wave of people in Luoyang City will be sent out. If the coalition forces wait for tomorrow's dawn before beginting the siege, we will be able to move the people to the Hongnong territory. After leaving the Imperial Forest Army and the West Park soldiers and horses to break, it will drag on for a while and a half, and it will be impossible for the coalition forces to pursue even if they want to. ”

When Dong Zhuo heard this, his face improved a lot. Jia Xu shook the paper fan but stood up, slowly came to Dong Zhuo and Li Ru's side, and said softly: "The Taishi will definitely be safe with such an arrangement. However, it is still the same sentence as before, if the Imperial Forest Army and the soldiers and horses of the West Garden did not resist, what would happen if they rebelled very quickly? ”

When Li Ru heard this, he was slightly stunned, at this time, Dong Zhuo had already discussed with Jia Xu? Li Ru looked at Jia Xu with a displeased face, and said as if questioning: "So, does Mr. Jia have a better plan?" ”

"Strategies can't be discussed!" Jia Xu said indifferently: "Did Taishi ever think that if the coalition army invaded Luoyang and found that the entire Weiyang Palace was burned down, how would the leader of the coalition army react?" ”

So ruthless! Li Ru was slightly stunned when he heard this, and looked at Jia Xu with a look of unwillingness, his face full of horror. Dong Zhuo on the side was excited, grabbed it with both hands and continued: "Mr. is talented, Mr. has a clever plan!" ”

"The fire in Luoyang, first, can block the line of the coalition forces, and second, make the coalition forces unprofitable, and the coalition forces with different minds will definitely collapse!" Dong Zhuo clapped his hands excitedly, paced back and forth, and said to himself. After the excitement, Dong Zhuo raised his head and said solemnly to Li Ru: "At this time, I will work hard to find a reliable person among the Xiliang soldiers and horses under the command of Master Ben to deal with this matter." ”

Li Ru opened his mouth wide, not knowing how to respond. arson and burning Luoyang not only offended the family that he looked down on, but also offended the heroes of the world and even the people of the world. Besides, if Luoyang is destroyed, is there still any value in the use of His Majesty in Dong Zhuo's hands now? Li Ru smiled bitterly and said: "The Taishi values Confucianism, and Confucianism will arrange this matter properly." ”

But in the face of Dong Zhuo's excitement in the face of the frightened coalition forces, Li Ru didn't want to pour cold water on Dong Zhuo in such a situation. Having said that, Jia Xu's plan to set fire to Luoyang is indeed the best way to solve Dong Zhuo's difficulties at the moment. If Luoyang is destroyed and millions of people in Henan are relocated to Chang'an, the once prosperous Luoyang will definitely become extremely depressed, and it is not even as good as the Shuofang land before Xiang Ao accepted it.

Not to mention the Kwantung princes, I'm afraid they can't even look down on the newly rising heroes. Li Ru glanced at Jia Xu unhappily, and seeing that Jia Xu turned a blind eye, Li Ru had no choice but to accept the order and leave alone to arrange this matter. And the calm Jia Xu was not very happy at this time, Luoyang is the capital of the imperial court and a symbol of honor of the Han Dynasty. No matter who it is, as long as it takes root in the Han Dynasty and sees the fall of Luoyang, the faith in his heart will more or less collapse.

However, in order to be able to clear the two most difficult obstacles for Xiang Ao, Jia Xu felt that it was worth it. Now that most of the famous families in the Sili area have been eliminated by Dong Zhuo, even Yingchuan, Chen Liu and other places have been implicated, how could Jia Xu let some so-called loyalty rooted in Xiang Ao's heart stop Xiang Ao's footsteps in striving for world domination?

The next day, Xiang Ao reduced the intensity of his attack on Luoyang and waited for the coalition forces to arrive. But the fiery red sky that night made Xiang Ao, Sun Jian, Cao Cao and others stunned.

Luoyang fire! Not only Weiyang Palace, but the entire Luoyang was not spared.

The relentless fire over Luoyang, and a crackling sound came from the ears, which caught Xiang Ao, Cao Cao and others stationed outside Luoyang off guard. Luoyang was destroyed so simply? The capital of the Great Han Dynasty of Megatron disappeared from the map of the Han Dynasty like this? Xiang Ao, Cao Cao and Sun Jian looked at the burning Luoyang stupidly, the faith in their hearts was shattered, and the sound of "Zhengzheng" roared in everyone's ears.

The roaring fire over Luoyang, like a red beast, continued to bite the glorious Luoyang City in the past. The 'crackling' sound seemed to be a sharp and piercing scream from Luoyang City, which made Cao Cao and Sun Jian, who had been extremely resilient in the past, cry like children who had lost their toys. Xiang Ao's face was also pale, his jaws were clenched, and his whole body trembled, as if it was not Luoyang that was burning at this time, but the soul hidden deep in Xiang Ao's body.

The entire coalition army that had been resting was awakened, looking at the burning Luoyang, except for silence, there was only silence. Even the heart-rending cry like Cao Cao, in such a palpitating silence, seemed so powerless.

The grandeur of Luoyang may not be indescribable on weekdays. Even if Xiang Ao and others organized manpower to transport water to fight the fire, the fire in Luoyang lasted for three days and three nights, and at the same time, people intuitively felt the extraordinaryness of Luoyang.

The sour jujube coalition army arrived at the camp where Xiang Ao and others were stationed only after the fire in Luoyang lasted for a day. When the princes of the coalition army saw such a scene, Tao Qian, Kong Rong and others scolded Dong Zhuo regardless of etiquette, and then followed Cao Cao to cry. Yuan Shao, Zhang Yang and other remaining princes were also indignant. Even if there was something else he thought, Yuan Shu shouted to send troops to Chang'an after rushing to Luoyang.

"Alliance leader, Dong Zhuo is so brutal, you should immediately send troops to Chang'an, capture him alive, and hang him in front of people to vent his anger!" Even if it is better than flattering Yuan Shao's publicity, it will be difficult to suppress the anger in his heart for a few days, and he will suggest to Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao also said with an angry face: "It should be so!" Dong Zhuo has cholera in the world, ignoring the prestige of the imperial court, and a thousand knives are not enough to offset his crimes! Yuan Shaomeng slapped a few times and shouted angrily.

"In that case, why didn't the alliance leader give the order to send troops to Chang'an?" Xiang Ao looked at Yuan Shao and asked with a displeased face.

Yuan Shao turned around and said to Xiang Aozuo: "Xiang Gong is not strange! ”