After hearing Niu Fu’s report on the battle, Dong Zhuo walked towards the direction of the two young princes.

From being escorted out of the palace yesterday evening to fleeing to the Beimang Mountains for their lives, and now with Dong Zhuo’s arrival, a full day had passed.

Even though Liu Bian had been raised in seclusion by Taoists, he had never experienced such turmoil.

If it weren’t for a few familiar small yellow gates by their side and the provisions brought by Guo Si, they would have likely fainted long ago.

Dong Zhuo, coming in with an intimidating presence, naturally frightened the two princes.

With a simple “I arrived late to rescue Your Majesty,” Dong Zhuo confirmed they were allies, not enemies.

Liu Xie regained his composure and responded, “General, you are too courteous.”

Dong Zhuo assessed the two princes and roughly gauged their characters.

Due to their small entourage, he promptly decided to withdraw north of Mengjin to Pingyin County, settling the two princes first.

Only then did he gather his troops to discuss their next steps.

Li Ru arrived last and, upon entering the room, bowed to Dong Zhuo. “General, I bring good news.”

As he spoke, he pulled out a piece of silk from his sleeve.

Having served in various official capacities, Dong Zhuo immediately recognized it as an imperial edict.

“What is this?”

“They mentioned that the eunuch who fled with the two princes was a trusted aide of the late Emperor. Since he wouldn’t have taken them without evidence, I searched his body and found this in his inner garment.”

Li Ru smiled. “With this evidence in hand, General, you now have the confidence to march on Luoyang.”

“This is the decree that the late Emperor issued, proclaiming young Liu Xie as the Emperor,” Li Ru explained.

Earlier, from the reports of the messenger cavalry, they had learned that indeed the late Emperor had left behind this decree, which had become a bargaining chip in negotiations between Zhang Rang and He Jin.

If He Jin agreed to spare them after Liu Bian ascended the throne, he would destroy this decree.

However, they originally thought that when Zhang Rang and others were forced to flee, this decree might not have been preserved.

Yet, unexpectedly, he not only kept it close to his person but also managed to avoid any damage from the arrow, only slightly staining it with some blood at the edges.

Seeing Dong Zhuo gesture for him to continue, Li Ru asked, “General, do you think we can successfully establish ourselves in Pingyin without encountering a second wave of attacks before our forces unite?”

Luoyang lies south of Mangshan.

Even though Yan Liang fell at Xu Rong’s hand, if the Northern Army mobilized additional troops, Xu Rong, Niu Fu, and others would not have had such an easy time before Dong Zhuo’s arrival.

Unless…

Dong Zhuo pondered, “Are you suggesting that there are two opposing forces currently balancing each other within Luoyang?”

“And these two forces correspond precisely to the factions supporting the two young princes,” Li Ru continued, “General, which side do you think we should stand with?”

However, because of Yan Liang’s death, it was not yet clear to whom they should pledge allegiance.

On the contrary, given the current chaotic situation, their immediate display upon arriving in Luoyang would only serve to align themselves with the appropriate side.

However, while others might perceive them as hesitating between two sides, they themselves needed to establish their position clearly.

They couldn’t afford to see themselves merely as tools used by others, like a butcher’s knife.

And this position needed to be decided by Dong Zhuo himself.

Li Ru was his strategist, responsible only for reminding him of the current situation. In fact, what he said was not wrong.

…..

At this moment in Luoyang, Lu Zhi held the decree from the late Emperor to take over the command of the five northern military districts.

With the central authority vacant and even the imperial seal missing, the value of this decree in Lu Zhi’s hands had greatly increased.

It resulted in a standoff between his forces and those led by the Yuan family and He Miao.

Huan Dian, formerly recruited from Yuan Wei’s mansion, the Captain of the Feathered Forest, chose neutrality due to his deep respect for Lu Zhi.

Similarly, Yang Biao, despite being married to a daughter of the Yuan family, stood neutral as per his father’s instructions.

In this balance of power between the two sides, where Dong Zhuo was supposed to be compelled to hand over the two young princes as quickly as possible, he unexpectedly only received emissaries in the evening who came to confirm the safety of the princes, as well as messengers from Dong Min reporting on the situation in Luoyang.

Dong Zhuo tapped his desk thoughtfully. “Lu Zhi and Yuan Wei…”

One side wanted to swiftly restore order as per the late emperor’s decree, while the other sought to benefit their noble families.

Considering he held the imperial decree for succession, it seemed logical to ally with Lu Zhi.

Yet, Dong Zhuo hesitated due to Lu Zhi’s similarity in style to Huangfu Song, which unsettled him.

If he desired greater power, cooperating with Lu Zhi, a powerful minister, would hinder that.

Should he then ally with the Yuans?

On the second day at Pingyin, Yuan Shao sent a letter acknowledging their alliance and suggesting Dong Zhuo should also honor their past associations.

Yuan Shao regretted Yan Liang’s death, treating it as a mistake, and urged Dong Zhuo to choose a side promptly.

This arrogant tone left Dong Zhuo speechless.

Furthermore, considering Liu Xie’s title as “Marquis Dong,” Dong Zhuo contemplated replacing him.

After pondering, Dong Zhuo consulted Li Ru: “If I support Liu Xie but wish not to be subordinate to Lu Zhi, what should I do?”

Li Ru anticipated Dong Zhuo’s dilemma: “I have two suggestions. First, pretend to bolster our forces and expand our camp’s scale. Second…”

“Choose the Yuan first, support them by assimilating He Jin’s forces, and when the time is right, switch sides to support Liu Xie’s ascension. Before that, strip Lu Zhi of his military authority.”

Li Ru hinted meaningfully, “The noble families currently in a temporary advantage are more experienced than us in this regard.”

This was leveraging strength from strength.

Dong Zhuo nodded in approval and made his decision.

He sent a letter to the Yuan Shuo, expressing “regret” for Yan Liang’s death and the defeat of Yuan Shao’s forces.

Though his Western Liang troops might have shown slight arrogance in their tone, it was expected.

Following Li Ru’s advice, Dong Zhuo wrote in the letter that he didn’t mind standing with the Yuan Shuo, as they were old friends after all.

However, he had a condition.

The region of Western Liang was too harsh; he regretted declining the late emperor’s earlier invitation.

Now, he wished to be a general in the capital.

With Liu Bian ascending the throne, He Miao naturally became the Grand General, and he wanted to take the position of the Cavalry General underneath.

At this time, the Yuan’s Family held positions such as Grand Tutor, Grand Household Manager, Colonel-Director of Retainers, and Chief Commandant of the Gentlemen of the Household.

They also had many students in important court positions.

They didn’t expect Dong Zhuo to be so ambiguous now, but they immediately agreed to his terms.

…

Dong Zhuo angrily rebuked the courtiers, blaming them for not stabilizing the country and allowing the emperor to be exiled.

He declared that only by enduring hardship could they restore order today…

Leaving aside whether this speech was appropriate, Dong Zhuo, unlike history where he delayed his rise to power, was now shaping a somewhat acceptable image just ten days after entering Luoyang…

After this rebuke, Dong Zhuo immediately presented the edict to Liu Xie to the emperor.

This sudden change caught Yuan Wei and others off guard.

Even if they wanted to object, it was too late.

Dong Zhuo’s imperial edict was legitimate and could persuade the Northern Army, now under his command.

During Dong Zhuo’s consolidation of power, most of He Jin’s loyal troops were killed, leaving only those seeking fortune.

With this imperial decree, Dong Zhuo was untouchable, unlike Liu Hong, who couldn’t challenge He Jin with a single decree.

Yuan Wei could only curse Dong Zhuo and was labeled a rebel.

On the same day Dong Zhuo proposed Liu Xie as emperor and the General of the Cavalry He Miao died.

Huan Dian and Yang Biao, who had remained neutral, escaped with Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu to avoid He Miao’s fate.

Dong Zhuo’s strategy of initially gaining support and then turning against them was indeed clever.

He quickly supported Liu Xie’s ascension, appointed himself Grand Commandant, and recalled Huang Wan from Yuzhou to be Minister of Works, with Yang Biao

To reinstate the former cases of Chen Fan and Dou Wu as Minister of Works, and to elevate their descendants for service, was indeed an impressive move by using the authority and prestige of the Yuan clan to suppress Dong Zhuo.

In this situation, Yuan Wei and others were completely unable to use any favors to restrain Dong Zhuo.

Although the situation before entering the capital was different, under Li Ru’s planning, Dong Zhuo still achieved his original goals.

Perhaps the only difference was—

North of Luoyang, beyond the Yellow River, within the boundaries of Bingzhou, there was another loyal official who remained isolated after the emperor’s death.

After Qiao Yan returned from Yanmen to Jinyang, she received several visitors from outside Bingzhou.

The first was Zheng Tai, a scholar from Xingyang.

When He Jin accepted Yuan Shao’s advice to summon Dong Zhuo to the capital, Zheng chose to abandon his official position and head north to Bingzhou.

On his journey through Bingzhou, he immediately realized that the people in Luoyang might still underestimate this Duke Qiao!

Upon receiving news of He Jin’s death and Dong Zhuo’s appointment as Grand Commandant, he immediately headed towards the provincial capital, intending to see the Governor of Bingzhou.

Several others coincidentally gathered together.

The astronomer and mathematician Liu Hong, who invented the Qianxiang calendar, arrived with Ma Jun and Bi Lan, almost like a sudden arrival of a scientific gift package.

Qiao Yan was both delighted by their arrival and worried that Ma Lun stayed in Luoyang to protect those assistants, which was too dangerous!

Especially now that the Yuan clan was facing a decline!

Her appointment as Grand Historian was conferred by Liu Hong.

Even if Dong Zhuo acknowledged the legitimacy of Liu Hong’s edict of succession, it did not necessarily mean he recognized her position as Grand Historian.

Too dangerous!

She couldn’t help but worry for Ma Lun and became more determined to choose the right time to send troops to protect her.

This hidden worry did not show on her face.

Just as Ma Jun, Bi Lan, and others coincidentally met Bao Hong on the road, they saw Qiao Yan turn towards the direction he was in.

Having returned from the frontier, her gaze seemed to carry a sharp determination of battlefield conquest.

Bao Hong couldn’t help but shudder.

Without much thought about the changes in Qiao Yan over these years, he thought of Zhang Rang’s plea when Nangong was breached.

Bao Hong immediately knelt down and presented the edict to Qiao Yan.

He seemed completely unaware that this was not the normal posture for reading a decree, loudly saying, “Please, Marquis Qiao, accept the late Emperor’s command to raise troops and enter the capital to protect the Emperor!'”