The Governor of Bingzhou, Qiao Yan, has received an imperial edict to quell the rebels!

There is no doubt about which rebels are being targeted!

As the residents of Shangcheng ran out of their homes, they first retreated eastward for some distance.

Some curious onlookers climbed to the rooftops to gaze towards the northern city gate of Luoyang.

What they saw was a vast cloud of dust rising from theq Mingshan Mountain paths, with numerous troops advancing directly towards the northern city walls.

The front line had already reached the city gate, while the rear line was still connected to Mingshan, rapidly spreading along the northern city walls.

Such a display had never been witnessed by the people of Luoyang before.

Even when Dong Zhuo entered the capital not long ago, his troops numbered only a bit over three thousand.

Although he later amassed tens of thousands, these were divided into several units for guarding the eight passes.

Nothing compared to the visual impact of this vast army attacking the city.

The Governor of Bingzhou!

Perhaps due to Qiao Yan’s youth, her rise to nobility seemed more like a legend.

The residents of Luoyang often told stories of her to their children, but none of these tales compared to the current direct confrontation with the imperial edict.

It made it clear that she was not just a young prodigy but a powerful regional official.

The order to “quell the rebels” not only marked their evacuation time but also directly provoked and declared war on Dong Zhuo.

The northern city walls of Luoyang were thicker than any other walls and could not be breached by digging or bombardment; only climbing could be attempted.

As the order’s final echo reverberated through the night sky, a dense rain of arrows was already directed at the city walls, and the heavily armored Bingzhou troops were charging up the ladders towards the walls.

As the people of Luoyang looked up at the high ground, they saw in the dawn light that at the high points of Mingshan, adjacent to the northwest of Luoyang, another group of troops seemed to be planning to breach the city from the northwest corner at the Xiamen direction.

Alternatively, they might be aiming to penetrate towards the Folding Dragon Garden.

The defenses of garden areas are often less dense, possibly presenting an opportunity to breach the city gate.

Originally, this area was where the Northern Army’s five camps were stationed.

However, with the troops guarding the eight passes having been sent out, there were few left in the camp.

Coincidentally, those passing through this area included the five battalions that had defected to Qiao Yan along with Xu Rong.

Thus, the remaining garrison troops, seeing familiar comrades, quickly joined the attacking forces, forming another stream of troops.

The only thing that could block them now was the city wall in this section.

Unfortunately, the slope of Mingshan near the north of the city had eased.

If it had been steeper, it might have posed a greater challenge.

The attack strategy of shooting arrows onto the city walls from the mountain top was shocking.

Even though Dong Zhuo had stationed a significant number of troops along the northern city walls of Luoyang, these soldiers were not accustomed to such harsh conditions as those at Mengjin Pass.

Although their defense was relatively strong, the sudden large-scale assault caught them completely off guard.

This was an attack by tens of thousands.

Most of Luoyang’s million residents were not inside the city but in the suburbs and surrounding areas.

Inside the city, the defenders were scattered along the walls and numbered only around two to three thousand initially, though this had recently increased to seven thousand.

The northern city wall, which was being attacked, had only about one-fifth of the total defenders, and not all were on duty at the same time.

The attacking forces were also firing arrows onto the city walls, and their numerical advantage created a suppressive fire that made it risky for defenders to show themselves.

The scaling teams, though facing some restrictions, had already made it halfway up the wall.

The northern city wall was in great danger!

Even though the attacking forces had politely called out their battle cry, it did not change the reality of the situation.

Since Dong Zhuo’s arrival in Luoyang, he had taken over the northern palace because the southern palace had been severely damaged by fire and was difficult to repair.

He claimed it was to protect the Emperor from harm, but his real intention was to stay close to the battlefield and control the situation.

He did not need to wait for his subordinates to wake him up; the sounds alone had already roused him from his heavy slumber.

Years of military experience in Liangzhou had honed his ability to estimate the number of attackers based on distant battle sounds and ground tremors.

But this was clearly not good news for him.

At least ten thousand troops were advancing!

As he donned his armor for protection, he berated the messenger fiercely, “How could you let the Bingzhou army get so close without noticing? Are you all just a bunch of good-for-nothings?”

The messenger was also quite aggrieved.

Although Qiao Yan had initially approached with a diplomatic gesture before moving to military action, the distance from the Mingshan Mountain pass to Luoyang city was short.

There was barely enough time for even the slower soldiers to don their armor, and at most, they could only prepare their weapons as a backup.

The real battle was fought by the night watch.

Fortunately, no one among them had been opportunistic, otherwise, it wouldn’t have been him delivering the news to Dong Zhuo; Luoyang might already have been breached.

The fact that the attackers could muster such a large force to lay siege, combined with their approach from Mingshan…

During their journey through the mountain pass, they faced no obstacles and no one had arrived in Luoyang before them to report the situation.

This was undoubtedly a major mistake on the part of the defenders at Mengjin Pass and Xiaoping Pass, but it could not be solely blamed on them!

Dong Zhuo was not unaware of this issue.

Qiao Yan didn’t have wings to fly!

Even if this bastard who had been made a marquis and a governor had somehow grown a pair of wings, her tens of thousands of troops couldn’t possibly have such miraculous powers.

It was inconceivable for them to leap across the Yellow River and bypass Mingshan Mountain to directly land outside Luoyang.

The only explanation was that Mengjin and Xiaoping Pass had fallen, and it had fallen without any doubt.

“What are Niu Fu and Xu Rong doing!” Dong Zhuo put on his helmet and scolded.

The messenger replied softly, “We don’t know General Niu’s whereabouts, but Xu Zhonglang is… is among the attacking forces.”

“Scoundrel!” Dong Zhuo was stunned for a moment, then his face twisted with rage as he exclaimed, “I treated Xu Rong well, and he repays me like this? Does he really think he can gain merit by attacking Luoyang and rescuing me?”

However, the soldier before him was merely delivering news, not an eyewitness to the battle or privy to Xu Rong’s true intentions.

Dong Zhuo had no way to get a precise explanation of Xu Rong’s decision.

In the face of the imminent danger, Dong Zhuo had no time to ponder Xu Rong’s motives.

He immediately summoned Li Ru.

Most of his generals and colonels had been dispatched to guard various passes.

Except for Yique and Huanyuan Pass, which were less pressured, he had recalled Guo Si and Zhang Ji, leaving him with almost no usable generals.

At most, he had Dong Min guarding the South Gate.

This undoubtedly heightened his sense of crisis to an unprecedented level.

Even when besieged by the Qiang people in the past, the sense of danger had not been as severe as it was now!

Li Ru was somewhat exasperated by Dong Zhuo’s previous refusal to heed his advice and his indiscriminate violence.

But today, with Luoyang in crisis, he was tied to Dong Zhuo’s fate.

Regardless of past grievances, they had to be set aside to devise a plan for survival.

He quickly responded, “Please, Your Excellency, first feign a strong defense at the North Palace. Use the dual defenses of Luoyang’s North Wall and the North Palace to wear down part of the Bingzhou army. Then, set fire to the North Palace and retreat through the East Gate to escape to the steppe.”

“The East Gate?” It should have been the West Gate to meet with Duan Wei, who was already in Huayin.

Li Ru said, “The idea of relocating the capital has long been announced in Luoyang. If Qiao Yan intends to do so, she would naturally wait at the west gate. I’ve heard that some of the attacking troops came from Zhe Long Garden, so it’s possible they might use the west gate.”

Seeing that Dong Zhuo agreed with his analysis, Li Ru continued, “Therefore, it would be better for the Chancellor to head east first, taking the route through the San Gong Mansion and the straight road past the southern palace, then turn west and exit through Guangyang Gate.

Even if this plan is discovered, the north palace’s eastern gate is guarded by Bingzhou troops.

Their numerical advantage will be less effective in the narrow streets and alleys, where it’s more about courage. This is where the Xiliang troops have a chance to counterattack.”

“Good, good…” Dong Zhuo thought that if they could limit the scope of the battle and the number of combatants, he might not be in such a passive position.

But—

“However, if we head straight out through Guangyang Gate to Chang’an, the relocation…”

The relocation plan would become impossible.

It would be like being driven out of Luoyang!

Dong Zhuo still commanded many troops.

If he used them to drive away the residents of Luoyang as a barrier to block Qiao Yan’s pursuit, would that be feasible?

Before he could finish, Li Ru quickly interrupted him: “Hasn’t the Prime Minister heard what Qiao Yan shouted when attacking the city? It was to punish the traitors by imperial decree! What kind of decree is she following? Just look at the style of her decree to punish the traitors, and you’ll know she isn’t someone who exaggerates. It’s highly likely she has the late emperor’s edict.”