A Journey Through the Worlds of Film and Television.

Chapter 681 Li Ru's Plan

Just as the coalition forces of the princes finished celebrating their victory and were planning how to capture Luoyang, Dong Zhuo, who had just escaped back to Luoyang from Hulao Pass, was angrily scolding Lu Cheng for being ungrateful.

Dong Zhuo rose from the grassroots and dominated Xiliang, and he was definitely a hero in troubled times. But after entering Luoyang, he was completely dazzled by the prosperity and wealth of Luoyang, and confused by the supreme power.

As the saying goes, the barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. But when the barefoot have struggled for half a lifetime and finally put on shoes, they have basically forgotten their original intention and are more afraid of losing the shoes on their feet.

There has never been a shortage of people with the qualities of a hero in this world, but there are only a few who can always maintain the heart of a hero, work hard, and finally reach the other side.

The land of pleasure is the home of heroes; this is absolutely a true saying.

Although Dong Zhuo is no longer the Dong Zhuo of the past, Li Ru, as Dong Zhuo's son-in-law and chief strategist, still wants to arouse Dong Zhuo's heroic spirit and maintain the Xiliang foundation that he had established with great difficulty.

"Prime Minister, there are children on the street who are saying recently: There is a man in the west and a man in the east. If a deer enters Chang'an, there will be no trouble. The children's rhyme is the will of heaven, and we must investigate it."

Although Dong Zhuo was already incompetent, he still trusted Li Ru: "Wenyou, what do you mean by that?"

"Prime Minister, the Han Dynasty has prospered in Chang'an since Emperor Gaozu, and has gone through twelve emperors, just like the Han Dynasty in the west. Later, it was revived by Emperor Guangwu, and the capital was moved to Luoyang, and it was passed down to twelve emperors. Things go round and round, and now the Han Dynasty is declining in Luoyang. It is time to move the capital back to Chang'an, hold on to the Guanzhong area, take advantage of the strategic location, and rely on the Xiliang foundation, so that we can slowly conquer the world."

Dong Zhuo was delighted when he heard this: "This is a very good idea, and it really suits my heart. Let Wen You handle this matter."

Seeing that Dong Zhuo actually listened to his advice, Li Ru thought that the old Dong Zhuo had returned, so he immediately bowed and said, "I will definitely live up to your trust."

In fact, Dong Zhuo was frightened by the coalition forces of the princes and did not want to stay in Luoyang any longer. He just wanted to return to Guanzhong as soon as possible, live in peace in a corner, and continue to enjoy his wealth and glory.

But thinking of the dilapidated state of Chang'an today, Dong Zhuo could not help but speak again: "Wenyou, when Wang Mang usurped the throne, Chang'an was burned down. Now it is in a state of decay, lacking money and food. How can it compare to the prosperity of Luoyang?"

Li Ru smiled sinisterly: "How difficult is this? There are many wealthy families in Luoyang City, and they are occupied by aristocratic families. We can order our Xiliang Iron Cavalry to sweep away the wealthy families and confiscate the aristocratic families. Many of those aristocratic families are involved with Yuan Shao and the princes of Guandong. We can use this as an excuse to label them as traitors, confiscate their property and exterminate their clans, and we will definitely get countless money and food.

In this way, the cost of moving the capital and rebuilding Chang'an will not be a problem. After confiscating the noble families, we can also kill those officials who do not obey us, place more trusted people in the court, and completely control the court. When we arrive in Chang'an, the emperor will be a real puppet. "

Dong Zhuo nodded repeatedly: "This is a great plan. In this case, let's go and do it quickly."

Seeing that Dong Zhuo was so easy to talk to today, Li Ru took the opportunity to say: "Prime Minister, if we move the capital, the allied forces of the princes will definitely come to chase us."

"So how should we deal with it?"

"You can order Generals Xu Rong and Lu Bu to lead elite troops to cover the rear. Choose suitable places along the way to set up ambushes and defeat the princes who dare to pursue us, causing them to lose many soldiers and generals. The princes who follow will not dare to pursue us easily."

"This is a very good plan. Xu Rong is prudent and Lu Bu is even more courageous. Even if one or two princes lead their troops to pursue us, we have nothing to fear."

"Of course. We can also leave a small number of troops at the passes along the way to act as decoys and delay the enemy. When the enemy attacks Luoyang, we can set it on fire, which will surely cause the princes to lose many soldiers and generals. In addition, we can let Lu Bu lead people to dig up the imperial tomb and take its treasures. The matter of setting fire to the city can also be left to Lu Bu."

"Okay! Let's do it! Leave everything to Wenyou!"

"Yes, Prime Minister!"

Seeing Dong Zhuo's trust and willingness to listen to his advice, Li Ru was inspired again. As long as he could reach Chang'an, rely on Xiliang, develop again, and accumulate strength, he could then occupy the vassal states and serve the emperor to punish the disobedient. There was still hope for his ambition to be king.

Afterwards, Li Ru immediately went to arrange for the Xiliang Cavalry to sweep through the aristocratic families in Luoyang City.

Little did he know that after Li Ru left, Dong Zhuo turned around and entered the harem, ready to pick a few more beauties and continue to enjoy his life.

Dong Zhuo's idea was very simple. The more chaotic the world was, the better. Only when the princes outside were fighting each other could he enjoy wealth and prosperity in Chang'an.

Not long after, five thousand Xiliang cavalrymen began looting and killing people in Chang'an City, robbing property, and raping people's wives and daughters.

Somewhere in Luoyang city, just as the Xiliang soldiers began to loot, a group of Liaodong Intelligence Bureau men also gathered together.

"Have you compiled all the book collections of the major families in the city?"

"Yes, the locations of all the family libraries have been marked and mapped."

"Send a pigeon immediately to report to the lord."

"Yes!"

Soon, seven or eight carrier pigeons and two eagles flew out of Luoyang and headed straight for the Liaodong Army camp of the coalition of princes.

Soon, this information was passed to Lu Cheng.

After reading the intelligence, Lu Cheng immediately handed it to Huang Zhong and said, "Han Sheng, you lead 2,000 cavalrymen to ambush outside the east gate of Luoyang. Once Dong Zhuo starts to withdraw from Luoyang, we will rush over and kill him. We don't need to engage him in battle, but just disrupt his formation and make his troops panic."

"The last general takes command!"

Lu Cheng looked at Guo Jia again and said, "Fengxiao, you and Xu Chu lead a group of soldiers and horses to follow closely. If Dong Zhuo lets his troops set fire, do your best to put out the fire, save Luoyang, and relocate as many people as possible."

"Yes, my lord."

Looking at the entire Luoyang, what Lu Cheng values ​​most is not the imperial seal, nor the mascot emperor, but the books and classics treasured by the major families in the city, as well as some talents and common people.

Lu Cheng really didn't take the imperial seal seriously.

Whether in the world of Embroidered Spring Blade or the world of Water Margin, Lu Cheng does not have the imperial seal, but he is still the captain, right?

When you really stand in that position and hold absolute power, even if you just find a piece of stone and carve it, saying it is the imperial seal, people all over the world will dare not deny it.

As for using the emperor to control the princes, Lu Cheng had no interest in that. In troubled times, strength is respected, and justice is something that exists if you believe in it, and it does not exist if you do not believe in it.

As for the gold, silver, jewelry, and grain supplies in Luoyang City, it would be fine to hand them over to Dong Zhuo for safekeeping first.

At this time, the coalition forces of the princes had not yet realized that Dong Zhuo was going to escape, and were all planning how to break through Hulao Pass. However, they did not know that most of the defenders on Hulao Pass had already withdrawn, and the defenders of the surrounding passes were also evacuating one after another.

Late at night, Huang Zhong led two thousand cavalrymen to bypass Hulao Pass and head towards Luoyang.

Afterwards, Guo Jia and Xu Chu led 3,000 infantry and 2,000 auxiliary troops and marched towards Luoyang.

Lu Cheng led the rest of the troops and sat in the camp...