Chapter 155: Moving the Capital to Chang'an

Dong Zhuo agreed immediately upon hearing this, but a figure flashed across his mind, and he said with some worry, "Son-in-law, my two daughters are still in Liu Yao's hands. Liu Yao explicitly stated that if we dare to touch the imperial tombs and Luoyang by even a fraction, then..." At this point, Dong Zhuo did not dare to continue.

"Liu Yao indeed made that guarantee to the world. But we will only confiscate the properties of wealthy clans and gather the common people. Then we can simply take all the civil and military officials along with His Majesty to Chang'an. As for the imperial palaces, the imperial tombs, and an empty shell of Luoyang, we can just leave them behind. This cannot be considered as violating Liu Yao's words. Bound by his oath, Liu Yao will not dare to make a move," Li Ru said with a smile. He was entirely exploiting a loophole in Liu Yao's words, unaware that Liu Yao himself cared very little about these things.

Although Dong Zhuo remained somewhat worried, his ambition as a man destined for grand deeds prevailed, and he immediately made the final decision. That very night, he secretly led an army of 150,000 back to Luoyang, leaving behind only a thousand troops to put on a show. Meanwhile, the coalition lords were indulging in wine and merrymaking day and night, failing to realize for quite some time that Dong Zhuo had even left Hulao Pass.

Three days later, Dong Zhuo returned to Luoyang and immediately ordered a court session to discuss the relocation of the capital with the civil and military officials in Luoyang. Naturally, this discussion was merely a formality. Dong Zhuo had no need for the officials' support, and the officials certainly would never support it.

Consequently, after Dong Zhuo executed a few officials who dared to object to his face, no one else dared to oppose him. Without caring whether Emperor Xian of Han agreed or not, Dong Zhuo directly shoved him into a carriage, preparing him for the journey to Chang'an. Emperor Xian and a few high-ranking officials were treated relatively well, at least having a carriage to sit in.

However, the lower-ranking officials suffered miserably. Dong Zhuo did not prepare any carriages for them at all, providing at best a few horses. Those who knew how to ride were somewhat fortunate, but those who did not were forced to walk all the way from Luoyang to Chang'an on their own two legs. One must realize that the distance between the two places spanned hundreds of miles.

Naturally, there were those who requested Dong Zhuo to provide them with carriages, but Dong Zhuo simply had the requesting officials executed along with the rest, and no one dared to bring it up ever again.

It was a joke to think Dong Zhuo would spare carriages for minor officials when he did not even have enough for himself.

As for those carriages, they were undoubtedly used by Dong Zhuo to transport his wealth.

As soon as he returned to Luoyang, Dong Zhuo directly dispatched an army of 10,000 to raid the homes of wealthy and influential families throughout the city, confiscating all their money and grain for the state treasury. Anyone who dared to resist was shown no mercy and executed on the spot. Naturally, a few major clans were unwilling to suffer such financial losses and immediately mustered thousands of private soldiers to fight Dong Zhuo to the death.

The outcome, however, was glaringly obvious. How could a mob of private soldiers possibly match Dong Zhuo's ferocious wolf-like army? They were slaughtered to the last man. As for those wealthy aristocratic families, every single male member, young and old, was exterminated without exception, while all the females were conscripted into military camp followers. Instantly, these clans became the chickens sacrificed to frighten the monkeys.

Following this, no one else dared to offer any resistance. Although their wealth could not be saved, at least they could preserve their lives. If anyone dared to resist, the bloody precedent was right before their eyes.

After plundering the noble clans, Dong Zhuo was still not satisfied and turned his demonic hands toward the ordinary commoners, killing anyone who disobeyed. Even if the people wanted to flee, there was no way out; Dong Zhuo had long since sealed off all four gates of Luoyang, and not a single soul could escape. For a time, panic gripped the entire city of Luoyang, plunging it into an atmosphere of utter chaos and dread.

After a night of plunder and slaughter, aside from the buildings and houses that remained relatively intact, corpses and blood littered every corner. Luoyang had transformed into a living hell on earth.

At the third watch of the following day, while darkness still veiled the world, Dong Zhuo led Emperor Xian, the civil and military officials of the imperial court, and the remaining 300,000 citizens of Luoyang, escorted by an army of 400,000, setting off in a grandiose procession toward Chang'an.

Before his departure, Dong Zhuo also sent a generous gift to Yuan Shao, the leader of the coalition forces. Every single member of the Yuan family, from Yuan Feng down to even a dog, was utterly slaughtered. Immediately afterward, Dong Zhuo had someone chop off Yuan Feng's head and rushed it by fast courier to Yuan Shao, who was still indulging in wine and debauchery at the main camp outside Hulao Pass.

Then, Dong Zhuo dispatched Lü Bu with his 30,000 elite Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry to cover the rear. After all, with Dong Zhuo's army and the civilians combined, the total population approached nearly a million, meaning the march would inevitably be extremely slow. Without a rear guard, they would surely be overtaken by the coalition lords who learned of the capital's relocation to Chang'an, spelling great trouble for Dong Zhuo. Thus, Lü Bu, possessing the most formidable martial prowess, naturally became the best candidate to guard the rear.

Naturally, Dong Zhuo's arrangement was entirely normal and correct, but from Lü Bu's perspective, it was interpreted quite differently.

In Lü Bu's eyes, serving as the rear guard was inherently the most dangerous task. Furthermore, his recent injuries had not yet fully healed, leading him to believe that Dong Zhuo was simply sending him to his death. Moreover, Dong Zhuo had withheld 20,000 of his 50,000 Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, refusing to hand the full force over to him. It was evidently a sign that Dong Zhuo was guarding against him. Coupled with the previous incident atop the walls of Hulao Pass, profound resentment toward Dong Zhuo festered in Lü Bu's heart, even giving rise to the notion of breaking away to operate independently.

With his peerless martial arts and 30,000 elite Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, the Central Plains were vast and boundless; there was nowhere Lü Bu could not go. He could easily conquer a commandery and secure the capital required to contend for supremacy under heaven. Yet, Lü Bu had not yet made up his mind and still followed Dong Zhuo's orders to guard the rear. All Lü Bu lacked at the moment was an opportunity—an opportunity to break free from Dong Zhuo. As for Ding Yuan's dying wish to kill Dong Zhuo, after Ding Yuan attempted to scheme against him at the end, that wish had long since been cast to the back of his mind.

However, not a single person noticed that on the very night Dong Zhuo evacuated Luoyang, a shadow appeared in the dark sky—resembling a giant bird, carrying a human figure upon its back—as it flew toward the imperial palace of Luoyang.

Three more days passed within the coalition camp outside Hulao Pass. Yuan Shu and the other lords stationed near Sishui Pass, seeing no one coming to attack, left only a small garrison behind while the rest of their massive armies converged on Hulao Pass. In an instant, the coalition forces swelled once again to 400,000 troops.

Over these past few days, the lords continued their usual routine of day-and-night drinking and singing, completely oblivious to the fact that Hulao Pass was now virtually empty.

It was not until this day that a messenger entered the main coalition tent, interrupting the revelry and laughter.

"Reporting to the Supreme Commander, Dong Zhuo has sent someone to deliver a grand gift," the messenger reported, holding a box in his hands.

Yuan Shao grew suspicious upon hearing this. How could Dong Zhuo possibly send him a gift? He immediately asked, "Where is the person who delivered the box?"

"After placing the box down, that person immediately fled on a fast horse, and our men were unable to catch up."

"This is bad!" Yuan Shao thought to himself, a premonition of disaster gripping his heart as he hurriedly shouted, "Quickly bring the box forward to me."

Obeying the order, the messenger handed over the box and then quietly retreated.

The moment Yuan Shao took the box, he caught a faint scent of blood, deepening the ominous foreboding in his heart. With trembling hands, he opened the box. Fortunately, this was the Eastern Han dynasty; if it were in modern times, Yuan Shao opening an unknown object so casually might have triggered a parcel bomb that could have blown him to smithereens.

As Yuan Shao opened the box and laid eyes on its contents, his pupils constricted sharply, and he let out a piercing wail, "Father!" Darkness suddenly overwhelmed his vision, and he collapsed straight to the ground. The box slipped from his grip, sending Yuan Feng's severed head rolling out.

"Lord!" Yan Liang and Wen Chou hurriedly stepped forward to support Yuan Shao, desperately pressing their thumbs into his philtrum. It took quite a while before Yuan Shao slowly regained consciousness.

"Father!" Yuan Shu also caught sight of Yuan Feng's head and let out a mournful cry, though he did not faint like Yuan Shao. Perhaps it was because Yuan Shu harbored some resentment toward Yuan Feng, seeing as Yuan Feng had always favored the concubine-born Yuan Shao much more while constantly sighing in disappointment at him, the legitimate son.