Chapter 323

Subsequently, the Yuan clan united with many scholar-official bureaucrats in the imperial court, hoping to help Ding Yuan defeat Dong Zhuo.

But in the end, they all failed.

Over the next few days, Dong Zhuo and Ding Yuan were in constant conflict.

At first, Dong Zhuo did indeed fall into a disadvantage, relying entirely on his strong troops and sturdy horses to hold on.

This was because Ding Yuan had the Heaven-Man divine general Lu Bu, and the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry under his command, which could form military formations; they were simply not something the people on Dong Zhuo's side could contend with.

Even though he had the Flying Bear Army under his command that could also form military formations, they were no match for Lu Bu and the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry.

Seeing this, the Yuan clan and Ding Yuan thought they were about to win.

As it turned out, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.

Dong Zhuo used Li Ru's strategy, sending Lu Bu's fellow townsman Li Su, who used a considerable amount of wealth and the exotic beast Red Hare to successfully turn Lu Bu against his master, causing Lu Bu to defect to Dong Zhuo.

And he beheaded Ding Yuan.

Dong Zhuo took the opportunity to annex all of Ding Yuan's troops in one fell swoop.

With this, the dispute in Luoyang basically came to an end.

Dong Zhuo became the biggest winner, controlling all the troops in Luoyang and even the Sili region.

With over a hundred thousand troops, his momentum was overwhelming for a time.

He also took the opportunity to control the imperial palace and the Son of Heaven.

Yuan Fu,

"Damn it! How could things turn out like this?"

"It's all that damn Lu Bu's fault. I never expected him to betray Ding Yuan, directly behead him, and defect to that Dong Zhuo. He is simply damnable!"

"If it weren't for him, we would never have lost!"

Yuan Kui roared with hatred.

Who could have imagined that a perfectly good situation would turn into what it is now?

"This won't do! Benchu, you and Gonglu cannot continue to stay here in Luoyang!"

"Tomorrow, I will find a way to unite the various scholar-official courtiers to pressure Dong Zhuo into bestowing titles and appointing you to leave Luoyang to take up posts in Bohai and Nanyang;"

"You must strive to develop and expand your armies in these two places, and when the time is ripe, call upon the warlords of the world to form a coalition army to jointly crusade against Dong Zhuo, do you understand?"

Yuan Kui instructed Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

It was already useless for them to continue staying in Luoyang; instead, it would only tie the hands and feet of their Yuan clan.

Only by letting Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu leave Luoyang for the provinces was the best choice.

"Understood!"

Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu naturally had no objections.

That same day, Yuan Kui invited quite a few people to the residence to discuss for a long while before sending them away.

At the morning court the next day, Yuan Kui indeed pressured Dong Zhuo in the court hall.

However, what he did not expect was that Dong Zhuo took the initiative to strike first.

He directly announced the deposition of the young Emperor Liu Bian and the installation of the Prince of Chen Liu, Liu Xie, as the new Son of Heaven.

For a moment, the entire court was in an uproar.

The ministers expressed their opposition one after another.

"Dong Zhuo! The young Emperor has just ascended the throne and has committed no moral failings; how can you depose him just because you say so? What do you take the Son of Heaven of the Great Han for?"

"Exactly! Exactly! I firmly oppose this!"

"Don't you even think about succeeding!"

"Dong Zhuo, you are merely an Administrator of a border commandery; by what right do you dare to carry out such an act of deposition and installation? This is treason!"

"....."

For a time, the crowd was indignant, and Dong Zhuo seemed to have become someone everyone wanted to beat up.

These courtiers seemed to see a scene where Dong Zhuo yielded and was then dealt with by them.

"Pfft!"

However, the next moment, Dong Zhuo directly drew the long sword at his waist and swung it, hacking directly at those few officials who were jumping the most joyfully and shouting the loudest.

He directly beheaded these people on the spot.

"Does anyone else oppose this?"

"Gah...."

For a time, the entire court became deathly silent.

"I announce the deposition of the young Emperor Liu Bian and the installation of the Prince of Chen Liu, Liu Xie, as the new Son of Heaven. Who agrees, and who opposes?"

After doing all this, Dong Zhuo returned to the high platform with an expressionless face, looking down at the courtiers below with a cold look.

Looking at the corpses of those few officials in the middle whose blood was still warm, for a time, the courtiers were all as silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to make a sound at this moment.

They were terrified of displeasing Dong Zhuo and getting themselves hacked to death as well.

This made Dong Zhuo very satisfied.