Chapter 69: Using the Emperor to Command the Princes
When Lu Bu died in battle, Dong Zhuo panicked.
Following the advice of his adviser Li Ru, Dong Zhuo first led the main force back to Luoyang, and then, taking Emperor Xian of Han, princes and ministers, and hundreds of thousands of civilians with him, and withdrew to Chang'an with the looted gold and silver treasures.
It is called: moving the capital.
Before leaving, he did not forget to burn Luoyang.
Upon learning that Dong Zhuo had abandoned Luoyang, Zhao Cen, the commander of Hulao Pass, decided to surrender.
When Du Shihao and Chu Zhongliu received the news, they led their troops through the pass and headed straight for Luoyang without even asking for permission from their alliance leader Yuan Shao.
They wanted to grab the credit and also wanted to find the imperial seal.
The rest of the princes' armies also entered the pass one after another, and were either busy putting out the fire or setting up camp again in the suburbs, waiting for the next development of the matter.
However, no one mentioned pursuing Dong Zhuo.
Except Cao Cao.
…
Outside Luoyang city, Liaodong army camp.
"Can you tell me now what your plan is?" Wei Tianli asked.
Along the way, Qin Mo's performance was really unpredictable. It would have been fine if he didn't take the credit for being the vanguard, but later he didn't fight Lu Bu, and he was not in a hurry to enter Luoyang.
It's like we're on a picnic.
The Youzhou mercenaries were in chaos, and it was all thanks to Wei Tianli that they were suppressed. Even so, more than 500 of them had already left the main force and rushed into Luoyang City to take advantage of the situation.
Fortunately, Wei Tianli is very shrewd and can remain calm at this time.
"It's very simple. Chase Dong Zhuo and bring back Emperor Xian of Han." Qin Mo revealed the answer.
"You want to threaten the emperor in order to control the princes?" Wei Tianli was shocked.
"No?"
"Okay!" Wei Tianli was also an old fox. After a little thought, he felt that this was feasible.
I got excited all of a sudden.
No wonder Qin Mo had been keeping his troops inactive before. It turns out he was waiting here.
"Do you want to join Cao Cao?" Wei Tianli said.
Qin Mo shook his head, "No, let Cao Cao go first, and we will follow."
"Great!" Wei Tianli gave a thumbs up and said with a smile: "If Cao Cao chases Dong Zhuo first, he will be prepared and will definitely fail. If we chase him now, Dong Zhuo will be unprepared and we will definitely win."
This is an attempt to step on Cao Cao to gain power.
Qin Mo glanced at Wei Tianli. This guy was really amazing. He guessed his intention at once.
"Wouldn't it be a little too weak to rely solely on the Liaodong Army? Should we contact other mercenaries?" Wei Tianli took the initiative to make plans for Qin Mo.
"I'm just afraid they don't dare." Qin Mo said.
"Don't worry, leave it to me. There's still time." Wei Tianli volunteered.
"Okay."
Qin Mo doesn't care what Wei Tianli's plan is, his strength is there.
…
The next day, someone reported that Cao Cao pursued Dong Zhuo and fought in Yiyang County, Hongnong Commandery, where he was defeated and returned.
Qin Mo received the report and immediately led 5,000 Youyun cavalrymen to pursue the enemy westwards. The four armies on the left, center and right, led by Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, Guan Hai and Zhang Niujiao, followed closely.
Wei Tianli led 3,000 rear troops and rushed forward together with the players he had just contacted.
Start a new round of pursuit.
When Yuan Shao and other princes received the report, they just laughed at Qin Mo for overestimating his own abilities.
Only Cao Cao's face turned black.
Du Shihao, Chu Zhongliu and others almost fought in Luoyang city because of the competition for the imperial seal. But that is another story for later, so we will not discuss it for now.
…
Speed is of the essence in war.
Qin Mo led the Youyun Cavalry and set off at eight in the morning. At around two in the afternoon, they caught up with the rear guard of Dong Zhuo's army.
Of course, this is due to the cavalry's fast movement speed, but it is mainly related to Dong Zhuo's army itself.
After repelling Cao Cao's pursuing army, Dong Zhuo's army believed that they could rest easy as no other princes would dare to pursue them, and the march was no longer as urgent as before.
In addition, the army also included the people of Luoyang, princes and nobles, and pulled hundreds of carts full of treasures. They looted along the way from time to time.
How is it possible to go fast?
Almost at the same time when the sentry of Dong Zhuo's rear army sounded the alarm, Qin Mo took the lead and, like a sharp knife, rushed into the enemy's formation first.
Dian Wei commanded five hundred elite cavalry to guard him.
Further back,
Zhao Yun commanded the remaining cavalry to charge forward.
The defenseless Dong Zhuo army was immediately torn into pieces by the cavalry charge. Those who were killed were routed and fled in all directions, wishing their parents had two more legs.
Dong Zhuo, who was in the center of the army , was shocked when he heard the news. He was panicked and asked Li Ru, "Could it be that after Cao Cao returned, he encouraged all the princes to join forces and catch up with us?"
Li Ru was speechless.
It seems... this is the only explanation.
Dong Zhuo was even more frightened. In panic, he decisively used the strategy of abandoning the chariot to save the general. He ordered the front and central armies to advance rapidly and retreat to Tongguan overnight.
As for the rear army, they could no longer be taken care of.
It’s a pity that Dong Zhuo’s opponent this time was Qin Mo, whose goal was to welcome back Emperor Xian of Han. How could he be satisfied with defeating a rear army unit?
At this time, we must not give the enemy a chance to breathe.
After charging for a while, Qin Mo no longer paid attention to the rear guard troops that had been scattered, and regrouped the Youyun Cavalry, took a shortcut, and chased after them.
As for the remaining rear guard, Zhang Liao and his men would come and take care of them.
In the evening, the Youyun cavalry crossed a small hill, and what appeared in front of them was Dong Zhuo's central army, which was winding along the official road at the foot of the mountain, with no end in sight.
What a huge army this is!
"kill!"
Qin Mo took the lead and rushed down the hillside.
"Kill!" Dian Wei grinned.
Against the backdrop of the evening glow, a black military flag with the word "Qin" written on it appeared on the commanding heights like a ghost, and Dong Zhuo's retreating army was stunned.
"How could it be so fast?" Dong Zhuo muttered to himself.
It was as if divine soldiers had descended from the sky, with rumbling horses' hooves and whistling winds, and they were mighty and awe-inspiring. The Youyun cavalry swooped down the hillside like an avalanche, and five thousand shining sabers were like a flash of lightning and a whirlwind.
He suddenly charged into the advancing infantry of Dong Zhuo's army.
Millions of horse hooves were kicking down, and countless sharp sabers were flashing white light, which was terrifying. Thousands and thousands of people were shouting "Kill".
Overwhelmed by this might, the retreating Dong Zhuo army burst into a clamor.
"Help~~~"
The charge of the cavalry was like a violent storm sweeping across the earth. At the moment of contact, it was like a strong wind blowing down weak grass.
Dong Zhuo's army was littered with corpses.
The Youyun Iron Cavalry created by Qin Mo finally shone more brightly on a bigger stage.
After this battle, he will become famous all over the world.
Because Dong Zhuo's army was retreating and arranged in a long snake formation, they were unable to adjust their troops and respond in time when faced with the sudden flank attack.
If Dong Zhuo was sober enough at this time, he would find that there were only 5,000 cavalry chasing him.
Dong Zhuo's central army had a total of 100,000 soldiers.
Dong Zhuo only needed to launch the strongest counterattack to repel the Youyun Cavalry, or even surround and annihilate them, thus turning defeat into victory.
But Dong Zhuo was frightened by the cavalry rushing past, and his ignorant fear exaggerated the enemy's strength.
Dong Zhuo was convinced that he had been targeted by the main force of the coalition forces.
When Dong Zhuo thought of the scene of being besieged by the princes and what he had done in Luoyang, he couldn't help but shudder and didn't dare to think about it further.
Yuan Shao and his men would skin him alive and drain his tendons.
In his haste to withdraw to Tongguan and return to his territory, Dong Zhuo ordered the attacked troops to fight on their own, while the rest of the troops only needed to march forward as fast as possible to shake off the pursuing troops.
In order to speed up the march, each unit could abandon the civilians they were carrying.
