Ambushing Dong Zhuo

If not for Liu Yao's concern that burning Hangu Pass might also incinerate the civil and military officials along with the young Emperor Liu Xie, he would likely have put the entire fortress to the torch and blocked all four city gates. Had he done so, very few of Dong Zhuo's soldiers could have escaped.

However, such an action would have forever branded Liu Yao with the infamous title of regicide, and it would also violate the natural order of heaven, ultimately working to Liu Yao's disadvantage. Because of this, Liu Yao dismissed the thought, opting instead to burn only half of Hangu Pass while deliberately leaving Dong Zhuo an escape route, preventing the tyrant from being driven to desperate extremes and fighting to the death with his full strength, which would have posed a troublesome problem.

Before long, the monstrous inferno had engulfed half of Hangu Pass.

"Fire! There's a fire!" Someone shouted first, and in the next moment, the entire Hangu Pass plunged into utter chaos.

Hearing the commotion, Li Jue and Guo Si hastily rushed out of their command tent, only to find the military camp already in turmoil and swallowed by roaring flames.

The two men acted decisively without a moment's hesitation: one went to organize the troops in a desperate effort to fight the fire, while the other hurried toward Dong Zhuo's quarters.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister! Bad news, Hangu Pass is on fire!" After hurrying for a short while, Li Jue finally reached the mansion where Dong Zhuo was staying, shouting toward the inner chambers where Dong Zhuo had been sleeping soundly.

Almost immediately, two figures burst out from separate side rooms. Their clothing was hastily thrown on and somewhat disheveled—they were naturally Li Ru and Dong Zhuo.

"Li Jue, what did you just shout?" Dong Zhuo asked in disbelief, terrified that he might have misheard.

"My Lord, Hangu Pass is on fire! The main army is already in complete chaos!" Li Jue yelled loudly, pointing back toward the towering flames rising in the distance.

"What about Li Meng? Where is Li Meng?" Seeing the fire, Dong Zhuo could no longer disbelieve the news and hurriedly inquired about Li Meng's whereabouts. After all, Li Meng was the garrison commander of Hangu Pass, yet he was nowhere to be found, despite originally lodging in the same compound as Dong Zhuo.

Witnessing this, a sudden and ominous premonition welled up in Li Ru's heart. He cried out, "This is bad, Your Excellency! Li Meng must have defected to Liu Yao. Only he would do such a thing. We must retreat immediately. Even though Liu Yao started the fire, he surely has backup plans. If we don't leave now, it will be too late!" Li Ru could not explain why the moment he saw this scene, his mind immediately jumped to Liu Yao. Perhaps, much like Dong Zhuo, he had never regarded any of the other warlords as a threat, with Liu Yao being the sole exception.

Dong Zhuo nodded repeatedly upon hearing this and shouted, "Li Jue, quickly reorganize the troops! We are breaking out of Hangu Pass. My good son-in-law, quickly accompany me to gather the Emperor and all the officials. Oh, and order Zhang Ji to bring along all the accumulated treasures!"

***

Hearing Dong Zhuo's words, Li Ru grew frantic and exclaimed, "Father-in-law, what time is it now? Forget the officials and the wealth! We need only take the Emperor and the main army to charge straight out. Once we reach Rongyang, General Xu Rong still has fifty thousand troops stationed there, and we will be safe."

The civil and military officials were not staying with Dong Zhuo and his inner circle; they had been accommodated five miles away. Furthermore, there were several hundred officials in total, none of whom could ride horses or march at a forced pace. Bringing them along would be a severe encumbrance. As for the wealth, it went without saying—thousands of large wagons were involved. If they tried to escape with those, Liu Yao's army would undoubtedly overtake them in no time.

"How can we just abandon them?!" Dong Zhuo roared in anger. Those riches were his capital; how could he possibly give them up?

"Father-in-law, you are being utterly foolish! If money is gone, it can be earned or plundered again. But if your life is lost, then everything is gone!" Li Ru shouted with an enraged expression, completely disregarding the boundaries of status and respect.

Gritting his teeth, Dong Zhuo said, "Very well, my son-in-law, we shall do as you say. Li Jue, go quickly and gather the army—take however many you can muster, hurry!" Just as Li Ru had stated, preserving one's life was the most paramount concern; everything else was utterly insignificant.

"Understood!" Acknowledging the order, Li Jue sprinted away once more.

At the eastern gate of Hangu Pass, Li Jue, Guo Si, and Zhang Ji had gathered and reorganized the regrouped troops. It had to be said that the quality of the Xiliang army was truly exceptional; even under such chaotic circumstances, they managed to pull together a force of two hundred and fifty thousand men who still obeyed commands. As for the remaining fifty thousand troops, they had either perished in the flames or fled in blind panic, their whereabouts unknown.

With a heavy heart, Dong Zhuo looked at the remaining massive host as they surged in a grand and disorderly fashion toward the eastern gate of Hangu Pass. Choosing the eastern gate was a matter of sheer necessity; the western, southern, and northern gates had already been sealed from the outside with earth and boulders by Liu Yao. Leaving via the eastern gate was their only path to Rongyang. Even though they knew an ambush might be waiting there, they had no other choice.

Leaving Dong Zhuo's faction aside for a moment: after Dong Zhuo fled Hangu Pass, Taishi Ci, Hua Xiong, and Li Meng—along with Li Meng's original fifteen thousand troops and Taishi Ci's ten thousand Youzhou iron cavalry—emerged from their hiding places. Ever since the fire broke out, Taishi Ci and the others had remained concealed in the shadows, quietly waiting for Dong Zhuo's departure. Their assignment lay within Hangu Pass itself; as for Dong Zhuo, Liu Yao would personally deal with him.

"Li Meng, take fifteen thousand troops immediately and go put out the fire. If you encounter any remaining Xiliang soldiers on the way, accept those who surrender, and execute those who do not. When the time comes, I will ask our lord to grant you a major contribution," Taishi Ci commanded.

"This general obeys!" Li Meng shouted excitedly. Although the blaze was immense, Taishi Ci had made ample preparations for firefighting beforehand. Now, Li Meng only needed to follow instructions to secure a handsome reward. No doubt, a vast amount of wealth would soon flow into his pockets.

"General Hua Xiong, you and I will each lead five thousand troops, splitting into two columns. Go and inspect the other half of Hangu Pass to check for any traces of the imperial officials and the Luoyang treasures. Along the way, wipe out any lingering Xiliang stragglers as well," Taishi Ci instructed.

"Understood!" General Hua Xiong replied. With that, the two men each led five thousand troops and set off to search for the officials.

***

Outside Hangu Pass, Dong Zhuo and his army had been running for half an hour, covering a full twenty miles. Yet, Dong Zhuo remained deeply uneasy. Based on his understanding of Liu Yao, the young commander was always someone who calculated every move flawlessly—it had been just like that during the campaign against the Yellow Turbans. Therefore, for them to have fled for so long without encountering any trouble seemed entirely implausible to Dong Zhuo himself.

"My son-in-law, do you think Liu Yao has set an ambush in this area, just waiting for us to walk into his trap?" Dong Zhuo asked anxiously while marching at a hurried pace.

Hearing this, Li Ru cast a somewhat surprised glance at Dong Zhuo. He had not expected Dong Zhuo to consider this possibility, something that would normally never cross the warlord's mind.

"Father-in-law, given Liu Yao's character, an ambush is a certainty. Our army's morale is currently rock-bottom, whereas Liu Yao's forces are elite troops; there is no way we can defeat them in a head-on clash. Our only option now is to send someone to cover our rear," Li Ru said through clenched teeth. At this point, the only solution was to cut off the wrist to save the arm—sacrificing a portion of their force to preserve the main body of the army.

"Scoundrel Dong Zhuo, Liu Yao (along with Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Ma Chao, and Zang Ba) is here! Dismount and surrender at once!" Just as if responding to Dong Zhuo's premonition, four cavalry divisions totaling forty thousand riders burst out from the forests on both sides, charging fiercely toward Dong Zhuo's host. Meanwhile, Liu Yao, escorted by Shi A and a thousand-man personal guard unit, followed leisurely behind alongside Guo Jia.

Dong Zhuo's army did not consist entirely of cavalry; a large number of infantrymen were mixed within the ranks. Once a retreat turned into a rout, these foot soldiers naturally formed the rear guard. Zhao Yun and the other three generals continuously cut a bloody swath through Dong Zhuo's rear guard. Those low-morale Xiliang foot soldiers offered virtually no resistance before Liu Yao's elite troops, reduced to standing passively and awaiting their execution.

"This is bad! It's those three gods of death!" Dong Zhuo shrieked in terror. The names of Huang Zhong and his companions had been deeply etched into Dong Zhuo's nightmares.

"Where is Zhang Ji?!" Dong Zhuo roared at the top of his lungs.

"This general is here!" Zhang Ji urged his horse forward to Dong Zhuo's side.

"Zhang Ji, immediately take your two thousand men—no, your twenty thousand men—and go cover our rear. You must prevent Liu Yao's army from catching up!" Dong Zhuo commanded without the slightest hesitation, treating Zhang Ji as an expendable pawn. After all, Li Jue and Guo Si were his trusted confidants, whereas Zhang Ji lacked exceptional martial prowess; even if he were lost, Dong Zhuo would not feel much heartache.