Free Web NovelChapter 679: 679 What’s Next?
Cao Cao was struck in the thigh by an arrow, and collapsed with a scream.
Seeing this, Cao Hong decisively dismounted and helped Cao Cao up:
"You escort the Prefect back; I’ll cover the rear.
Aman, if you return alive, don’t lose heart. You’ll still have a chance to avenge me later. Kill him!"
Cao Cao, seeing this, was on the verge of tears. Helped onto his horse by his guards, he silently vowed that one day he would personally capture Lu Ming, bring him to Cao Hong’s grave, make him kneel and repent, and then kill him with a single stroke!
That night, news of the defeat at Rongyang spread like wildfire.
The entire city of Luoyang knew about it.
Many people thought that Dong Zhuo’s army, sent to pursue Lu Ming, would surely teach him a lesson.
The result, however, utterly surprised them.
This situation was clearly unacceptable!
Cao Cao’s defeat and Guo Si’s execution signified a complete break between Lu Ming and Dong Zhuo! In the palace, Dong Zhuo’s face was terribly grim. He stared silently at the table, lost in thought.
He never imagined he would be defeated!
This battle would shatter his prestige; his arrogant arrogance would be gone forever.
A defeated army, no matter how many soldiers he commanded, would no longer inspire fear. "Damn Anmin, you little brat, ungrateful! Ungrateful!"
"Ah!"
Dong Zhuo grew increasingly enraged. He picked up his longsword and slashed it fiercely at the corner of the table.
He smashed the table to pieces, as if only in this way could he calm his anger!
Li Ru sat silently beside him. Today’s battle had ripped off all pretense of civility.
He waited a moment.
After Dong Zhuo vented his anger, Li Ru said, "My lord, Lu Ming’s soldiers are very capable, but they are no match for sheer numbers. The only solution now is to strengthen our forces, seize a territory, hand over Luoyang, and force the other governors to unite against Lu Ming."
"How so?"
Dong Zhuo still harbored resentment towards Li Ru, as he always seemed to lose to Lu Ming. If Li Ru weren’t his son-in-law, he would have suspected him of being a spy.
"I request Your Majesty to enfeoff Lu Ming as the King of Qin. Emperor Gaozu of Han and the marquises made a pact at Baima, declaring that anyone not of the Liu clan could become king, and the whole world would unite against them!"
Li Ru smiled sinisterly. This was originally Lu Ming’s plan.
However, now it hadn’t been used, and he himself had fallen into the trap.
This time, Dong Zhuo didn’t immediately agree but fell into deep thought.
He was no longer young; it was time to enjoy life. He’d dared to fight and struggle in his youth, couldn’t he enjoy himself in his old age?
"I need to consider this," said Li Ru. "Lu Ming is no pushover. Moreover, I suspect this might be a trap he set, designed to make us do this?"
Upon hearing this, Li Ru’s face flushed crimson.
He was enraged, his intelligence utterly outmatched, and he felt outmaneuvered.
"Absolutely impossible! Even if Lu Ming were a god, he couldn’t possibly outmaneuver us. Now that our lord is in Luoyang, if the Yuan clan rallies the warlords of Guandong to attack, we will likely lose more than we win!"
Dong Zhuo also feared a terrible death.
But apart from Luoyang, without the Emperor’s pretext, they would find it difficult to survive. Just the fact that he had spent the night in the Emperor’s bedchamber and committed adultery with the concubines was enough to warrant the execution of his entire family!
"Defense is impossible, retreat is impossible, are we to return to Bingzhou again?"
Li Ru remained silent, deep in thought.
He had realized one thing: the Yuan family would not let this go. The only way to get revenge was to rally the forces and form an alliance to attack Lu Ming.
If they remained in Luoyang, they would inevitably clash with the allied forces of the warlords. Even if they didn’t leave, they might still be at war.
No one would allow a tiger to lurk nearby, especially while fighting another tiger. A surprise attack would mean total annihilation!
No matter what, they had to eliminate their rivals.
"Why not move the capital!"
Li Ru suddenly said.
"What?"
A flash of understanding crossed Dong Zhuo’s mind, but he couldn’t quite grasp it. He was confused and frantic. freewebnσvel.cѳm
"Move the capital? Where to?"
"Either Bingzhou or Runan. We only need to confirm one thing: can the Yuan family get the governors of Guandong to form a coalition to attack Lu Ming? Once they form a coalition, my lord can move the capital to Runan with the emperor. This place borders the Central Plains; to the east lies Jingzhou, to the east lies Yangzhou, and to the west are passes and mountains. Even if we remain here, we can observe the situation and plan our moves!"
Li Ru pointed to a city on the map.
This was actually a last resort. The best choice was Ye City. Ye City was rich; occupying Ye City would allow us to slowly annex the north, and then unify the Central Plains—how wonderful that would be!
"Let me consider it."
Dong Zhuo closed his eyes. Such a significant matter required careful consideration.
Luoyang was indeed very good and prosperous, but currently, his position was awkward, extremely awkward. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Compared to Dong Zhuo’s helplessness and Yuan Shi’s anger, Lu Ming’s life was much more carefree.
He rested at night and traveled during the day.
He returned to Chang’an in less than three days.
This speed exceeded most people’s expectations.
His group included not only soldiers but also many families. Their journey wasn’t fast, and there were also many women. Reaching Chang’an from Hangu Pass in three days was already quite quick.
Xu Shu returned, and Jia Xu was summoned to Chang’an...
Fa Zheng, as the strategist, was stationed at Hangu Pass, along with Huang Zhong, Xu Rong, and Wei Yan, who guarded the pass.
A storm was brewing; now was the time to reorganize the army and prepare for war, and also a time to stabilize morale.
If they could weather this storm, they could recuperate for a period, then attack Yizhou from Hanzhong, conquer the Land of Abundance, and their rear-area strategy would be complete.
Lu Ming entrusted the matter to Jia Xu and Xu Shu, letting them devise a suitable strategy based on the current situation.
The troublesome matters were best left to the strategist; he had more important things to do: enjoy women and impregnate them!
At the Jiaosifang.
Wang Xifeng looked at the large number of women brought in, and she was quite surprised.
These women ranged in age from a few years old to their fifties or sixties—the age difference was rather large.
These could be largely disregarded; they could be imprisoned, tamed, and then put to work.
But the women of marriageable age were the key—they had a chance to gain his favor!
