The coalition forces are still some distance away from Luoyang City, but the thick smoke rising into the sky and the firelight that turned half the sky red are still clearly visible despite being so far apart.
One can imagine.
What a huge fire!
Yuan Shao and others all looked horrified, and countless thoughts popped into their minds.
The direction of the fire was towards Luoyang City, and to be able to create such a large-scale scene, what exactly was being burned?
Everyone had an ominous premonition in their hearts.
"After the order is given, immediately change the formation, the vanguard will clear the way, the left and right wings will defend the two sides, the middle army will run forward, and the whole army will march straight to Luoyang!"
After Yuan Shao issued an order in a hurry.
The army immediately rushed towards Luoyang City at the fastest speed. As the distance between the two sides continued to close, the black smoke in the sky became thicker and the fire became more and more intense in a trend visible to the naked eye.
And after the outline of Luoyang City can be vaguely seen.
The scouts who had been sent out to explore the front also rushed back at this moment.
Yuan Shao immediately ordered the three armies to rest where they were.
"What happened in the front?!"
As soon as the scouts got off their horses, Cao Cao and others couldn't wait to surround them.
After hearing the inquiry, the leader of the scout team quickly saluted everyone, and then said in a hurried tone.
"Reporting to you generals, we were running all the way forward. When we arrived at the foot of Luoyang City, we found that the city was on fire. The billowing black smoke seen in the distance was rising from the city."
"According to our judgment, the fire should be located in the middle of Luoyang City."
"Other than that, the four gates of Luoyang City were open, and there was no one walking around on the top of the city. I braved my horse and rode in front of the city gate, but I didn't hear much movement in the city. Such a big thing The intensity of the fire, and no one was seen putting out the fire, really makes me feel confused.”
As this information continues to be revealed.
Everyone's expressions became increasingly ugly.
The pro-Han faction and the royalist faction headed by Cao Cao were even more livid at this moment.
The heroes present are not fools.
Based on the phenomena detected by these scouts, they have been able to analyze a lot of information.
In the middle of Luoyang City, where the North and South Palaces are located, such a huge fire broke out. After such a long time, it still has not been extinguished. Instead, it is burning more and more fiercely, indicating that the fire can only be set by humans.
At this time, who has the ability to set fire to Luoyang City and not allow others to save it?
Dong Zhuo!
It is impossible for this guy to set himself on fire in the palace. In addition, the soldiers reported that there was no one on the top of Luoyang City, and there was no movement to put out the fire in the city. It seemed that the city was empty.
Under the combination of the two.
Many people have already guessed the truth.
Dong Zhuo may have led his troops to flee Luoyang, and before leaving, he set off a huge fire to burn all the palaces in Luoyang City.
Think of this.
How can anyone sit still!
They ordered their soldiers to march as quickly as possible without any delay.
…
But under the fierce rush of the coalition forces.
More than an hour later.
The princes from all walks of life arrived at the shore of Luoshui River and saw the majestic city of Luoyang standing in front of them.
But at this moment, this majestic city in the world has become in a state of disgrace, and is no longer what it was before.
The city gate is really open.
There was not a single person on the top of the city, and even city gate flags could be seen swaying and scattered everywhere.
Beyond that is black smoke!
Everywhere you look is filled with black mist like thick ink.
This scene really made everyone's eyes wide open with anger, and they were all shocked!
There was no time to say that much.
Heroes from all walks of life immediately organized people to go into the city to put out the fire, and they had to put out the fire first.
Otherwise, if the fire continues to burn and spread, the fire is likely to spread to the outer city, and the entire Luoyang City will be turned into a ball of ashes.
Fortunately, the city is adjacent to Luoshui.
The army has sufficient manpower.
He has the innate conditions to put out fires, otherwise he would really have to just watch outside the city and wait for the fire to burn out.
…
At this moment, outside the East City Gate.
Cao Cao looked straight ahead with a gloomy expression.
Looking at the dark marks on the city wall, and through the city gate, you can faintly see the swaying corpses.
From time to time, the city heard the creaking sounds of wood being burned and broken, as well as the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground.
Then he looked at the soldiers on the left and right who were busy putting out the fire, but still couldn't make the fire reduce even a little bit.
He was so dizzy!
He clenched his fists with both hands and clenched his teeth, as if all the strength in his body had been unleashed.
Full of anger rose from his chest, as if it would swallow him up and burn him to death in an instant.
Dong Zhuo is this beast! What a beast!
Cao Cao hates him!
I really want to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin. Even if I pour out my hatred, I can't wash it away.
Burning the palace and coercing the emperor and the ministers of the court to leave Luoyang City was, in Cao Cao's view, the most shameless, worst, and bottomless behavior.
This is to throw the face of the Han family surnamed Liu into the quagmire, and even trample it with your feet, and maybe even urinate on it.
After all, even the capital of a country was burned down.
The entire central court has been kidnapped, and no one knows where they have been kidnapped. How can such a Han dynasty have any dignity at all?
The thought of this.
Cao Cao, who had always claimed to be a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty and loyal to the Han Dynasty, felt even more uncomfortable than death. It was like an invisible knife was cutting off the flesh in his heart one by one.
Not to mention wantonly trampling and killing the people in the capital.
The houses around Luoyang are already empty. Along the way, there are almost no villages with living people. There are more skeletons and corpses scattered on the ground than there are living people.
As for digging up the clan's tomb, there's no need to mention it. It's already considered a very small crime.
There are so many crimes.
Is it tolerable, which one is intolerable? !
If Dong Zhuo stood in front of him now, Cao Cao would probably use the most cruel method in the world to execute Dong Zhuo. Even if he was cut into pieces with a thousand cuts, he would not be able to vent his hatred!
Think about this.
Cao Cao immediately turned around and walked quickly towards the temporary Chinese army camp.
…
At this moment in the camp.
The atmosphere is quite silent.
Yuan Shao was sitting in the main seat, and the rest of the people were lined up on the left and right. None of them spoke. Some people were already closing their eyes in deep thought, not knowing what they were thinking.
And Cao Cao's footsteps.
It was in this situation that the atmosphere was broken.
"Uh-huh!"
After opening the curtain, Cao Cao walked in from outside the tent. Following his figure and the dazzling sunlight coming in from outside, everyone couldn't help but turn their attention to him.
Cao Cao first bowed his hands to everyone.
Then he quickly came to Yuan Shao.
"Leader, Dong Zhuo is fleeing in a hurry, and our troops are in great power. If we don't lead our troops to pursue him now, how long will it take?"
These words immediately attracted everyone's attention.
After Yuan Shao heard this at first.
He raised his head and glanced at Cao Cao. He moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, but after a moment, he could only remain silent.
Cao Cao saw this situation.
He couldn't help but frown slightly.
But he still took a step forward and persuaded in an extremely sincere and sincere tone: "The traitor Dong burned down the palace and robbed the emperor and all the officials. This is an atrocity that shocked the whole country and made the whole world indignant."
"Now Luoyang is in a fire, and the emperor is in his hands. If we can't kill this thief and recapture the emperor, I'm afraid the people all over the world will be in panic and don't know where they are. This will definitely cause the country to overthrow and the country to be in danger!"
"Benchu, don't stand still, give the order to send troops to pursue!"
Cao Cao was determined.
Impassioned rhetoric.
It was difficult for Yuan Shao to avoid answering.
After thinking about it for a long time.
Yuan Shaocai forced a smile and said with some difficulty: "Dong Zhuo set fire to the palace and kidnapped the emperor. This was a well-prepared move by him."
"I'm afraid Thief Dong has already traveled a long distance, and may even have set up an ambush along the way, waiting for us to pursue him."
"If you act recklessly and blindly lead your troops to pursue him, you will probably fall into the trap of Dong's thieves. Not only will you not be able to kill Dong's thieves, but you may also lose your troops and generals."
"Therefore, this matter must be considered in the long run!"
…
Yuan Shao's refusal made Cao Cao a little impatient.
If it weren't for his own strength, he wouldn't be able to fight Dong Zhuo. Cao Cao would have already led his troops to chase him, so there would be no need to persuade others here.
At present, only by persuading Yuan Shao and letting Yuan Shao command the heroes as the leader of the alliance, mobilizing the entire allied army to march westward and continue to pursue Dong Zhuo, can it be possible to eradicate the weeds in one go.
Therefore, after Yuan Shao vetoed it.
Cao Cao paced back and forth twice in irritation, and then spoke again.
"Why did Dong Zhuo flee Luoyang in a hurry? Isn't it because he was worried and afraid of our army's front?"
"The previous few battles have already broken Dong Zhuo's courage. On the contrary, our army's morale is at its peak. If we don't take this opportunity to annihilate Dong Zhuo, if we wait for him to get out of breath, we may miss the opportunity!"
Speaking of which.
Cao Cao looked back.
Seeing the people around Lie Zuo, their expressions changed slightly, but most of them were Gu Jing Wubo.
He couldn't help but frown deeper.
But he still continued to persuade in an enthusiastic tone.
"The reason why Thief Dong burned down the palace was to slow us down. From this, it can be seen that he did not have too many preparations."
"Besides, this thief is holding the emperor, officials and ministers hostage, and even many people in Luoyang City. It is inconvenient to march along the way. The formation must be scattered and the marching speed is slow."
"If our army marches in a hurry to catch up, we will surely catch up with Dong Thief before dark, and catch him by surprise. We will definitely win a complete victory!"
"Ben Chu, and all generals, you may wish to think about it, Cao Cao's words are actually sincere!"
Cao Cao spoke sincerely.
But everyone remained indifferent.
Only the people who formed the alliance in Chenliu stood firmly with Cao Cao. They still showed some fighting spirit at this moment, but with the strength of these few people, it would not help.
Without the help of the two Yuan family members.
There is no point in catching up with Dong Zhuo.
Therefore, Cao Cao hoped that Yuan Shao would agree.
However, the next words of Alliance Leader Yuan completely killed the hope in Cao Cao's heart.
…
"Mengde, please sit down!"
"Our army marched all the way from Yanshi County. After marching continuously, our troops and horses were already trapped, and all the generals and commanders were exhausted."
"Besides, after several battles in succession, all the troops here have been damaged. The morale is not only low, but also somewhat depressed."
"Even if I order to pursue Dong Zhuo, I'm afraid it will cause the three armies to become resentful. Even if they catch up, they probably won't be able to fight him."
Speaking of which.
Yuan Shao pointed at Luoyang City, which is facing the camp, and then patiently persuaded.
"Now that Luoyang is being burned by fire, the top priority is to extinguish the fire and save the remaining areas that have not been affected by the burning."
"As for pursuing Dong Zhuo, we can wait until our army has rested and regrouped before we can discuss a proper method. It's not too late by then!"
Yuan Shao said a lot.
But the core meaning is one.
We can discuss other matters, but let us pursue Dong Zhuo. Sorry, we have no such plan.
Such an attitude made Cao Cao anxious.
But I haven't waited for him to say anything.
Wang Kuang, the prefect of Hanoi, stood up and quickly came to Cao Cao. He first bowed his hands to him, and then persuaded him in the same way.
"Meng De, what the alliance leader said is true. Let's not talk about others, but I am talking about myself. At present, most of the thousands of elite soldiers have been casualties, and there are only a few people left to fight. With such a disabled force, how can we pursue Dong Zhuo?"
Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, also held the same attitude.
"It's not that I don't wait and try my best, but chasing blindly will not only have no effect, but will also lose troops and generals. It is really not a wise move!"
Everyone who had been silent at first spoke one after another, and they began to persuade Cao Cao.
Except for Zhang Miao, Bao Xin and others.
The rest of the people all hold the same attitude as Yuan Shao.
…
Such a situation.
Cao Cao felt cold when he saw this.
He is also a member of the coalition, and he knows better than anyone what state everyone is in now.
Take Wang Kuang, the governor of Hanoi, for example.
What do you mean, most of the casualties?
Such rhetoric is fooling the devil!
The entire coalition had at least more than 100,000 troops when they first joined forces. After all the losses along the way, there are still nearly 100,000 troops today.
And Dong Zhuo was fully prepared and would not exceed this number.
As long as you dare to send troops to pursue.
Then you will definitely have an advantage.
But now everyone doesn't consider this at all and refuses with various excuses.
Cao Cao knew a little bit.
No matter how much I try to persuade him, it's useless.
It's not that everyone doesn't understand the benefits and necessity of pursuing Dong Zhuo, but that everyone here doesn't want to continue to expand losses and feels that driving Dong Zhuo out of Luoyang is enough.
You can never wake up a person who is pretending to be asleep.
All of a sudden.
Disappointment filled Cao Cao's heart.
It made him feel quite sad.
When they first formed an alliance with each other, they both said that they would work together to support the Han Dynasty.
However, until now, the original intention has been forgotten.
Each and every one of them only cares about their own one-third of an acre of land, and only thinks about preserving the strength in their hands.
As for the covenant oath and so on, they have long been forgotten, which really made Cao Cao feel cold.
Actually before today.
Many encounters along the way.
It has already made Cao Cao understand that although everyone is in the alliance, they are not of the same mind as each other, but each has his own calculations and plans.
Personal interests should still take precedence over public concern.
But he always believed that this was because Dong Zhuo was very powerful. Once Dong Zhuo appeared weak, everyone would still swarm forward and kill Dong Zhuo.
Now it is obvious how wrong he was.
Hanging out with a bunch of people like this.
There's really not much to say.
Cao Cao looked at Yuan Shao, who was still like a statue, and then looked back behind him, still trying to persuade his heroes one after another.
He waved his sleeves involuntarily.
Then he walked quickly outside the tent.
Just the moment he lifted the curtain.
Cao Cao paused.
Then he suddenly turned around and shouted angrily at everyone.
"There's no way to make a fool of yourself!"
…
Monthly ticket recommendation ticket
(End of chapter)
