Li Ru, having just been thrown from his horse and feeling disoriented, sensed that his leg bones might have been broken from the fall, with his arms also badly injured.

He heard Qiao Yan’s words.

Through his still-dizzy vision, he saw Qiao Yan raise a hand, signaling the pursuing troops behind her to continue their actions and ignore her.

She held her spear more steadily, clearly not giving him a chance to escape.

When Li Ru fell from his horse, Dong Zhuo’s personal guards naturally turned to rescue him, but they were no match for Qiao Yan’s formidable soldiers.

They were immediately cut down and thrown from their horses.

In this rapid confrontation, they suffered great losses.

If they had any sense, they would know that their best choice was not to continue making futile sacrifices for a strategist who was already beyond saving but to focus on their own escape.

Li Ru was mentally cursing his luck.

He had no idea why Qiao Yan was so determined to pursue him.

From her question, “Where does Mr. Wen You wish to go?” Li Ru could tell that Qiao Yan’s actions were far from accidental.

“There’s no need for further questions, Lord Qiao,” he said.

Since he was following Dong Zhuo’s retreat, he was naturally heading towards Chang’an.

“If Dong Zhou the Traitor has many subordinates, one by one, I may not be able to capture him, but if you also leave, with your intellect, it’s hard to ensure he won’t rise again in Chang’an.” Qiao Yan smiled. “Even Dong Zhou is dumb, he can still listen to advice make the right move, but I can’t let you escape.”

Anyone could leave, but Li Ru could not!

Qiao Yan wanted both the eastern and western courts to be distinct, not for Dong Zhuo to realize his mistakes from this defeat and, with Li Ru’s help, create some sort of rejuvenated image in Chang’an.

That would go against her vision.

Successfully intercepting Li Ru lifted Qiao Yan’s spirits.

Seeing Sun Ce catching up, she nodded at him. “Are you Sun Wentai’s son?”

Sun Ce was a year younger than her and still had some time before coming of age, but in these times, a person with such courage and ability to command like him should be on the battlefield early, rather than being a waste.

The young man riding toward her indeed showed good demeanor, worthy of the name Jiangdong Sun Lang.

However, Sun Jian was still the governor of Changsha allied with Yuan Shu, so he couldn’t yet be called Jiangdong.

At most, he should be referred to as Changsha Sun Lang.

Seeing Zu Mao, who had just fought with Qiao Yan’s subordinate Zhang Liao, clearly distinguishing between friend and foe, and leading his troops to pursue from afar, Sun Ce did not insist on pursuing further.

As he continued riding, he took another glance at Li Ru.

It was unclear what kind of skills Dong Zhuo’s strategist had that made Qiao Yan value him so highly.

Sun Ce would never admit that he still felt a bit competitive after being called a “fool” earlier.

But since Qiao Yan seemed to have moved on from the earlier mishap and spoke in a normal tone, Sun Ce decided not to dwell on it and replied, “Indeed, I am Sun Ce, and my father is Sun Jian.”

When they were rushing to Luoyang, Sun Ce thought they might be the first to arrive because they had quickly breached Taigu Pass with their mountain-climbing speed and the cavalry’s swift march.

However, upon arriving in Luoyang, they saw Dong Min gathering his troops defending the South Gate and preparing to retreat.

Sun Ce had few battle experiences, but Sun Jian’s battlefield instincts had developed almost to the level of intuition.

He immediately deduced that Dong Zhuo’s forces had already suffered a defeat and had to withdraw.

It didn’t matter whether Lu Zhi and Yuan Shao’s forces or the northern Bingzhou governor’s forces had dealt the blow; what mattered was that this was the time to pursue the victory!

Of course, when Sun Ce met Qiao Yan’s Bingzhou army, he couldn’t help but be curious about how Qiao Yan had managed to cross the formidable Yellow River.

But Qiao Yan clearly wasn’t going to provide an explanation at this moment.

Seeing that Sun Jian had carved a bloody path through Dong Zhuo’s rear guard and was approaching, Qiao Yan hurriedly had Li Ru guarded and sent to where Lu Bu and Xu Rong were to ensure he wasn’t mistreated.

Then, she quickly led her own guards to join forces with Sun Jian, heading west to pursue Dong Zhuo with great efficiency.

Five years ago in Changshe, Sun Jian had already recognized Qiao Yan as a talent.

But today, witnessing her lead troops in action, Sun Jian truly understood how her reputation as a young governor with both literary and military skills had been earned.

The impressive image of the energetic Marquis of Leping left him impressed, and he couldn’t help but cheer in his heart.

Since he arrived later than Qiao Yan, Sun Jian asked during the swift chase, “May I ask, Marquis Qiao, what is the current situation in Luoyang?”

The wind carried Qiao Yan’s reply: “Dong Zhou’s Captain and Niu Fu, was killed by our forces, and Xu Rong has surrendered to us.

During the pursuit, a group from Dong Zhuo’s army fought with our troops, but we are likely to win.

The North Palace is on fire, and Dong Zhuo has fled with the emperor, leaving few of his direct commanders.

We must continue the chase to rescue the emperor from these bandits.”

“Don’t let the traitors harm His Majesty!”

She needed to make this clear at this moment.

Both Sun Jian and Sun Ce were fierce warriors, and among their subordinates, many were skilled fighters.

If she didn’t remind them, and if Dong Zhuo were to be caught from behind by them due to the insufficient number of guards left, this rare opportunity might vanish before her eyes.

It was not surprising that Qiao Yan, who had never personally entered the North Palace of Luoyang, would come to the conclusion that the King of Hongnong had already been harmed by Dong Zhuo!

This was not her fault!

Sun Jian responded, “Lord Qiao, don’t worry. I am aware of the situation.”

In fact, even without Qiao Yan’s restriction on the pursuit team, catching up with Dong Zhuo would still be difficult.

Although Duan Wei had set off ahead to Chang’an under Dong Zhuo’s orders, preparing land for cultivation in the Huayin area and meeting with Dong Zhuo’s relatives who were supposed to come to Luoyang, the troops left behind at Hangu Pass could still serve as Dong Zhuo’s reinforcements.

When Qiao Yan arrived at Hangu Pass, she saw that Zhang Liao had led his men to reclaim the pass, but the Dong Zhuo’s forces, which had been within shooting range before, were now only faintly visible in the distance.

She could be certain that pursuing Dong Zhuo was now almost impossible.

Dong Zhuo’s elite troops rode on Xiliang warhorses, which were faster than Qiao Yan’s Bingzhou horses and significantly faster than the horses used by Sun Jian’s troops.

This separation made the distance between them even greater.

Zhang Liao apologized to Qiao Yan, “It’s my incompetence that allowed Dong Zhou to escape…”

“There’s no need to say more,” Qiao Yan interrupted him, looking towards Hangu Pass.

As a true boundary between the Central and Eastern regions, it was not surprising that Dong Zhuo had left behind reinforcements at the pass. “As long as the people are safe. This is not your fault.”

It was inevitable that Dong Zhuo would retreat to Chang’an, but this responsibility should not fall on Zhang Liao, who was leading the pursuit.

If the army from Suanzao had arrived in time as Sun Jian did, Dong Zhuo would never have had the chance to rampage through Luoyang City, using the alleys to shake off the pursuers.

Having traveled back and forth quickly from Hangu Pass, even though they rode at speed on official roads, they had already reached the second day by the time they returned to Luoyang.

But the Suanzao army had not yet arrived!

Who else would take the blame if not them?

It certainly wasn’t Qiao Yan’s fault for being the first to arrive.

She and Sun Jian, along with Sun Ce, went straight into the palace gates.

The fire that had already broken out in the North Palace was…

The fire had been extinguished.

Although this fire didn’t burn as many palaces as the great fire at the South Palace, Sun Ce, the first to set foot in the North Palace, couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of regret.

If this place hadn’t been burned, who knows what kind of magnificent scene it might have been.

At this time, it was the early morning of the second day of the siege of Luoyang.

The sun was rising from the southeast, casting a golden light on the top of the palace.

Ignoring the parts burned by the fire and damaged by the soldiers’ battle, the grandeur of the Han Dynasty was still vaguely visible.

Unfortunately, the Han Emperor, residing in the North and South Palaces, was already experiencing the suffering of the dynasty’s decline.

Qiao Yan withdrew his gaze from the surroundings and saw Empress Dowager Dong walking towards them.

Although Dong Zhuo’s actions had made him indifferent to entering the palace, he still respected Empress Dowager Dong.

Yet, the shock from yesterday had left her somewhat weary.

She was merely holding on, supported by others, and came out to meet Qiao Yan and the others as soon as she heard they were pursuing Dong Zhuo.

But when she looked in Qiao Yan’s direction and did not see Emperor Liu Xie, she realized that her hope for the past day and night had been in vain.

Still clinging to a last bit of hope, she asked, “Where is His Majesty?”