Lady Qiao gestured for Xu Fu to hand over the news received today to Zheng Tai.

Dong Zhuo could still be considered clever, or rather, there was a clever person highly trusted by him who had proposed another suggestion.

Since Dong Zhuo and the Yuan clan had completely torn apart, it was almost impossible for him to get much help from the Yuan clan.

So naturally, he turned to other gentry.

In terms of recruiting gentry, his previous actions in clearing Chen Fan and Dou Wu’s names were one thing, but what he was doing now was taking it a step further.

He appointed Zhou Bi, the son of Zhou Shen, Wu Qiong from Ruyang, who was currently serving as Chamberlain, He Yong, former Chief Historian of the Three Excellencies, and later recruited Xun Shuang, Han Rong, Chen Ji, and others to serve in the court. If Cai Yong were not currently in Leping, he would likely have been recruited as well.

That’s the internal situation.

Externally, he appointed Liu Dai as Inspector of Yanzhou, Kong Rong as Inspector of Yuzhou, Zhang Zi as Administrator of Nanyang, Ying Shao as Administrator of Taishan, and Zhang Miao as Administrator of Chenliu.

These actions were enough to win over the hearts of the gentry at this time!

Lady Qiao looked at Zheng Tai and asked, “If Gong Ye were in Luoyang at this time, would there be any intention to oppose Dong Zhuo’s position as Grand Commandant due to its illegitimacy?”

This was a somewhat difficult question to answer.

Zheng Tai was considered a guest and therefore not entirely suitable to answer this question.

However, strangely enough, perhaps because of the stark contrast he saw in agriculture and people’s livelihoods on his journey to the provincial capital of Bingzhou, it didn’t seem offensive to him when he heard the question.

Instead, he genuinely began to consider it.

Dong Zhuo’s rise had nothing to do with the idea of enduring humiliation.

This was something that anyone with a bit of brains would not fail to notice.

But if what Lady Qiao’s news showed was true — that Grand Commandant Dong was only targeting the Yuan clan as the culprit of the chaos in Luoyang, and he had some regard for the gentry,

Especially since even Xun Shuang, one of the Eight Armies of the Xun clan, had received Dong Zhuo’s recruitment —

Then if he hadn’t come here out of curiosity about the situation in Bingzhou and had just left the general’s mansion after resigning from his post, he would probably still have been summoned by Dong Zhuo.

Would he accept this invitation then?

Perhaps he would.

“The people driven by Dong Zhuo All are military opponents, but treat the gentry with importance. If Marquis Qiao were to raise troops at this time, even with the late Emperor’s testament in hand, his intent to return Lu Gong, entrusted by the late Emperor, to a position of political power would seem justified.” Zheng Tai pondered and replied, “So Marquis Qiao cannot mobilize troops now. Considering this, Grand Commandant Dong must be quite troubled about how to handle you.”

Dong Zhuo was indeed vexed about how to handle Lady Qiao.

When Zhang Rang delivered the decree to Bao Hong, only Cao Cao and Bao Hong were present.

As Bao Hong marched with his troops, the little eunuchs who were unaware of the situation assumed he was seeking reinforcements like Cao Cao.

Therefore, Dong Zhuo was unaware that Lady Qiao also possessed such a weapon.

However, after appointing Liu Dai, Kong Rong, Zhang Zi, Ying Shao, Zhang Miao, and even letting Kong Rong, who he sent away from Beihai on the pretext of “out of sight, out of mind,” to serve as provincial administrators, he could hardly ignore the situation in Bingzhou, closely adjacent to the Capital Commandery.

Governor of Bingzhou, Marquis Qiao…

If not for her previous campaign against the Xianbei, her garrison in Hedong Commandery would not have been so easy.

And now she has returned!

Dismiss her?

No, Dong Zhuo currently faces numerous internal and external challenges.

He even treats the gentry with great respect; how could he possibly take such action against Lady Qiao?

But as for promotions, based on her achievements she has reached the rank of County Marquis, and in terms of office, she is a regional governor.

Even the title of General has been bestowed upon her by Liu Hong, a true and unimpeachable promotion.

Unless Dong Zhuo is willing to give her the position of General of the North.

But this situation is different from dealing with enemies and gentry.

It’s even more different from the case of Governor Liu Yu of Youzhou, who took a year and a half to quell the Yuyang Rebellion.

Once she holds greater power again, it can only be detrimental!

Li Ru’s advice to Dong Zhuo was to initially sideline her.

As long as the Grand Commandant could firmly grasp the power in the central government, especially holding the shield of the gentry’s support, he need not worry about Marquis Qiao in Bingzhou.

This seemed like an extremely reasonable suggestion.

However, almost simultaneously, after settling Zheng Tai, Bi Lan, and Bao Hong, Lady Qiao gathered with her strategists such as Xi Zhi and Cheng Yu, and they settled on a strategy:

Lady Qiao does not have the kind of loyalty to Liu Hong that would drive her to die for him.

Upon receiving news of Liu Hong’s death and the call to arms to protect the regent, she would not be spurred to immediately fight Dong Zhuo.

Instead, in the busy farming season of early April, Lady Qiao had been away from Bingzhou for nearly a month and was certain her subordinates would have addressed matters, but some things required personal attention.

Her mentality could be described as remarkably steady.

But Dong Zhuo?

From the second-in-command general of the Western Liang, he leaped to become the most powerful under the heavens.

His violent and unrestrained nature, his wanton killings, became evident within just twenty short days.

When Liu Xie ascended, although Liu Bian returned to her side, for Empress Dowager He, whether it was the successive deaths of He Jin and He Miao, or Liu Bian losing the chance to inherit the throne, it was all a heavy blow.

She repeatedly attempted to use the authority of the Empress Dowager to denounce Dong Zhuo’s actions.

This kind of baseless tantrum not only angered Dong Zhuo, who now held great power, but also served no purpose.

Dong Zhuo ordered Empress Dowager He to be moved to Yong’an Palace under the pretext of her disrespect to Empress Yongle, Liu Hong’s birth mother, and then executed her.

According to ritual, Empress Dowager He should have been buried with Liu Hong, but on the day of reopening Wenchang’s tomb, Dong Zhuo had long coveted many of the burial items.

It had been nearly a month since he entered Luoyang, and he shamelessly looted everything of value, even disregarding Liu Hong’s dignity.

Among the wealthy families of Luoyang, Dong Zhuo allowed soldiers to raid their homes and seize their wealth, doing as they pleased.

At this time, these Luoyang elites became the backyard of the Western Liang soldiers.

How could Dong Zhuo not consider the palace as his own property?

If it weren’t for the day Liu Hong died, Fu Shou had already advised Princess Yang’an to quietly take out the unmarried princesses from the palace.

By now, they had become victims of Dong Zhuo’s atrocities.

With complete military power in Luoyang, Dong Zhuo’s inflated ambition led him to make a decision that no one could dissuade at this moment.

The emperor was young, and being from the “outer family,” he naturally took the position of Prime Minister without paying respects when entering the court, wearing sword and shoes!

Just as this news reached Bingzhou, Zheng Tai and Bao Hong intended to persuade Qiao Yan to send troops together.

They saw Qiao Yan had already drawn his sword with an awe-inspiring face.

“You don’t need to say more. Dong Zhuo’s true colors in Luoyang were revealed within a month. The treacherous nature of the Western Liang bandit is clear. He is not fit to serve the state!”

“I have decided to send troops to Hedong, directly to Luoyang, to cleanse the emperor’s side!”

These three words “to cleanse the emperor’s side” were spoken with great force and were truly inspiring to hear.

She immediately appointed Zhang Yang and Guo Yuan to guard Yanmen Pass, and Hu Hu Shao to guard Liangzhou, Xu Huang and Chu Yan to guard Bingzhou, and Cheng Yu and Xixi to handle state affairs.

The rest of the troops were gathered, and they marched together!

Qiao Yan stood with his hands behind his back in front of the hall, and behind him were maps of Bingzhou and Sili.

In these years, the various things filled in on this map made it much more detailed than an ordinary map.

And in front of her were scholars like Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Lu Yuan, etc., and military officers like Zhang Liao, Lu Bu, Zhao Yun, Dian Wei, etc., showing both civil and military talents, with overwhelming morale.

But when sending troops to Hedong, some methods must be considered.

She slowly spoke up, asking, “Who is willing to go to the Wei family in Hedong for me? When our troops go to Hedong, we must let those Western Liang men see the scene of the nobles welcoming us, to show deterrence!”