() In the city of Luoyang, Yuan Shao was also having a hard time during this period. After capturing Luoyang, the Kwantung Allied Army, a multi-faceted army, was no longer as united as before.

Conflicts abounded among many generals, and orders given to him, the leader of the alliance, were often obeyed and disobeyed, and everyone did their own thing.

With Sun Jian's sudden withdrawal, the blow to the morale and unity of the coalition forces was even more serious. Soon after, several groups of troops left one after another, so the troops still in Luoyang at this time were only half of the original coalition forces.

Moreover, it remains to be seen whether these groups of people can work together.

Originally, Yuan Shao didn't take the warlords from all over the country seriously when they left. After all, they now have the upper hand. Even the city of Luoyang has been captured. The people of the world are firmly on their side, so naturally they are not afraid.

The Xiliang Army's counterattack - He also didn't believe that the Xiliang Army could immediately mobilize its forces to counterattack shortly after abandoning Luoyang.

But the facts surprised him. After more than two months, the Xiliang Army, which had retreated to Chang'an City, came back again. This time, the Kwantung Allied Army's own strength had been greatly damaged. Although it had Luoyang City as its support, it could not

There was still a fear of war among all the armies. Even though the enemy troops were at the door, no one took the initiative to ask for a fight.

Although the Xiliang army is currently stationed about fifty miles away from Luoyang and has no intention of sending troops to attack for the time being, Yuan Shao does not dare to slack off at all. Every day, he orders his subordinates to guard various parts of the city in case something happens.

They attacked. It can be said that the past few days have been like a year for Yuan Shao. He doesn't even know if Luoyang can be defended.

I heard that there were 70,000 to 80,000 Xiliang troops going out this time, but now he has less than 60,000 men and horses, and many of them may not even be willing to obey the orders. This makes Yuan Shao even more unsure. He sometimes thinks

He then gave up the city of Luoyang and took his troops back to the north. However, Cao Cao persuaded him several times and told him that once he retreated, he would be completely defeated.

That night, Yuan Shao tossed and turned again, unable to sleep all night long. He only squinted a little after dawn. But as soon as he fell asleep, a soldier knocked on the door and woke him up. Yuan Shao suddenly woke up and shuddered.

, thinking that the situation had changed, he hurriedly opened the door and asked: "What happened? But the Xiliang army attacked?"

"My lord, General Cao came here unexpectedly, and he said he had something important to tell me," the soldier said hurriedly.

Yuan Shao breathed a sigh of relief. Now it would be better for him if he could delay it for a day, as long as the Xiliang army did not attack. But then, he had doubts. It was still early today, Cao Cao

Why did he come in such a hurry, but what happened? He didn't dare to neglect, wiped his face randomly, put on his coat and went to the outside room.

At this time, Cao Cao had been waiting in the hall outside for a long time, but there was not much anxiety on his face. Because he was an old friend of Yuan Shao, and he was also very familiar with the style of this son of the aristocratic family.

He knew that he would have to wait for a while before he came out. Sure enough, after more than a moment, Yuan Shao walked out of the backyard. At this time, except for his eyes, which were a little red, he could no longer see much anxiety.

, Yuan Shao still needs to behave calmly in front of others.

"Meng De, why did you suddenly come to see me so early in the morning?" Yuan Shao asked straight to the point without making any pleasantries.

"Why, brother Benchu ​​doesn't know yet?" Cao Cao smiled and then continued: "The spies I placed around the enemy suddenly sent news, saying that the Xiliang army suddenly made a move last night. Originally, they

I was worried that the enemy was planning to attack, but I didn't expect that they would retreat instead of advancing, and nearly half a dozen centaurs retreated to the west overnight."

"What?" Yuan Shao was startled after hearing this: "Are you serious?" After asking this, he smiled in a self-conscious manner: "Since it was Meng De who came to say it so early in the morning, I guess you can't be wrong.

.But...what is going on? How could they retreat like this and act so strangely?"

"I don't know this, and I don't know if this is an internal problem within the Xiliang Army, or if it's a trap they deliberately set to lure us out of the city." Cao Cao shook his head and said, "I heard the news.

I just came here to discuss with Brother Benchu ​​to see how we should deal with this matter."

"How to deal with this? It's really difficult to choose. If there is an internal problem in the Xiliang Army and they really retreat, we will naturally take the opportunity to send troops. Let alone defeat this enemy in person, it is possible to fight as far as Chang'an.

, that is a great opportunity to get rid of it once and for all. But if it is the latter, we will fall into their trap if we send troops..." Suddenly, Yuan Shao fell into a dilemma, and he didn't know how to make a decision.

"To be on the safe side, we'd better send people to investigate the truth and make preparations at the same time. Once we know the real reason for the Xiliang army's retreat, it won't be too late to send troops. I wonder if we can make this news public?

It might as well boost the morale of our army." Cao Cao then suggested that this was the reason why he was so anxious to see Yuan Shao.

Regarding the problems of the current coalition forces, Cao Cao also saw the problems in his eyes and was anxious in his heart. He did not want this war to end in such a failure. Although Luoyang was captured, there was no guarantee that the Xiliang army would not come back to capture it again.

But this time is a great opportunity to re-gather the morale of the military. As long as the morale of the military is restored, even if the military strength is not superior, they will not have no chance of winning.

"That's good, I'll let people spread the news!" Yuan Shao heard the sound and nodded immediately: "As for finding out the truth of this matter, I'll leave it to you, Meng De. I believe you have already laid the plan.

A lot of people are near the Xiliang Army, so I guess the exact news will come out soon?"

Cao Cao was not humble and nodded in response: "I will do my best to do this. And if there is really a problem within the Xiliang Army, the people I arranged in Chang'an City may also be able to bring news back in the next few days. I hope

That’s really what happened!”

Before noon, the news that many troops in the Xiliang army suddenly retreated spread throughout Luoyang City. This also greatly encouraged the soldiers who were already worried and felt that their fate was precarious. However, no one has asked them yet.

After all, the Kwantung Allied Forces no longer have such enterprising spirit and just want to keep Luoyang.

But three days later, the situation changed fundamentally. This time, not only did Cao Cao get accurate information, it was said that even the main force of the Xiliang Army began to retreat, and even some brave soldiers began to retreat.

The scouts who went out of the city to investigate the news also kept passing back the news of the Xiliang army's hasty retreat.

When the news kept coming back, some people started to stir up trouble. Many generals had begun to ask Yuan Shao for a battle, hoping that they could lead their troops out of the city to pursue them. Some of them were even gathering troops to prepare for a private attack.

He left the city to pursue the enemy.

But at this time, Yuan Shao seemed very calm and was not dazzled by the good news. He still kept warning everyone that it would be better to defend Luoyang before the truth of the matter was fully found out.

But then, Cao Cao brought a piece of news that made everyone even more happy and almost couldn't believe it. On this day, when the generals still asked Yuan Shao for a fight, but the latter still refused to let go, he had a look of surprise on his face.

Cao Cao suddenly rushed in quickly: "Brother Benchu, generals, God is really helping us!"

"Why is Mengde so happy? Could it be that the matter has been confirmed?" Yuan Shao asked hurriedly. He also knew Cao Cao, and this good friend rarely got so excited and lost his temper. Obviously, the news was big this time.

Only then did Cao Cao look a little excited.

Cao Cao nodded solemnly, calmed down his emotions, and then said: "Conclusive news has been sent back from Chang'an. It is true that there is a big problem within the Xiliang Army, and it is the most serious one."

"What is that?" Before Cao Cao finished speaking, a general jumped in and asked. Everyone else also asked, and everyone focused their attention on him, just waiting for him to give the answer.

.

"Dong Zhuo was killed!" Cao Cao stopped talking in circles and immediately told the news that stunned everyone on the spot.

"What did you say?" Almost everyone thought they heard wrong and asked again. Cao Cao was not polite and said again: "Dong Zhuo was killed. He was killed by the servants of the courtiers in Chang'an City.

He was assassinated on the road, and finally died in the hands of Lu Bu, whom he trusted! Now the Xiliang army is in chaos, that's why they are so anxious to retreat!"

Everyone in the hall was silent at first, and then burst into cheers: "God bless me!"

"The sky has eyes!"

"God bless my big man, I finally let this rebellious minister and traitor die in the hands of others!"... Everyone cheered loudly for a while. After a while, they all calmed down. Now there was a key question before them, Dong Zhuo.

Now that they have been executed, should they take the opportunity to use troops against Chang'an?

"Alliance leader, it's time to counterattack. Now that the Xiliang army is leaderless and scattered, and the situation in Chang'an is unclear, it's a good time for us to send troops to capture Chang'an and catch all the remnants of Dong Zhuo."

"Leader of the alliance, I, Zhang Yang, am willing to be the vanguard of the three armies and be the first to lead troops to seize Chang'an!"

"I would also like to go."

"And me!"

All of a sudden, the generals of the Kwantung Allied Forces who were still afraid of the enemy and war started to fight one after another. It was obvious that they were full of confidence in the coming war.

Yuan Shao's face was also flushed at this time. He swept away his previous worries and dejection and immediately expressed his position: "You are right, since there is such a problem within the Xiliang Army, we naturally cannot let it go. The leader of this alliance will order all the troops.

, we will send troops to Chang'an early tomorrow morning. This time we will not only recapture Chang'an, but also completely wipe out the remaining evildoers of Dong Zhuo!"
Chapter completed!