Chapter 16

"Lord Mengde now has valiant generals like Miaocai, Yuanrang, Ziyi, and Zilian under his command, but he lacks strategists. This Jia Xu is precisely prepared for Lord Mengde!" Cao Cao had just been abandoned by Chen Gong not long ago, and indeed, he was in dire need of strategists.

Cheng Yu was currently staying in Dong'e County, Dongjun Commandery in Yanzhou, having recently gained a bit of a reputation for resisting the Yellow Turbans; Xun You was still serving as a Yellow Gate Attendant in Luoyang, living a precarious life; his uncle Xun Yu had already resigned from his position as Palace Guard Commander and returned to his hometown of Yingchuan; the genius Guo Jia was still in seclusion in Yingchuan, secretly associating with heroes and avoiding secular affairs; Xi Zhicai's whereabouts were unknown, perhaps only Xun Yu knew where he was; Sima Yi was now just a child in his teens.

Once they entered Luoyang and found Xun You, they might be able to gather the strategists of Yingchuan all at once. So after recommending Jia Xu, Li You pointed out, "There is a Yellow Gate Attendant named Xun You who is infallible in his calculations and adept at adapting to circumstances. Once we enter Luoyang, Lord Mengde should personally visit him. Xun You comes from the Xun family of Yingchuan and has a wide network of connections. Many of his relatives and friends are talented like Guan Zhong and Yue Yi. If he can assist you, Lord Mengde will no longer need to worry about strategists!"

"I have also heard of Xun You's name!" Cao Cao stroked his beard and nodded in agreement, but his doubts grew even more, and he couldn't help but ask, "Why doesn't Wenjie recruit these two for himself? Wenjie already has valiant generals like Li Yuanba, Guan Sheng, and Pan Feng under his command! With the assistance of Xun You and Jia Xu, he could surely achieve great things!"

"Lord Mengde is right! Unfortunately, my time is limited! Therefore, I can only entrust the task of restoring the empire to Lord Mengde!" Li You sighed. He could already feel the tiger talisman in his chest heating up, perhaps the time to complete the mission and return to the Wei Dynasty was not far off. It was quite a coincidence that he had traveled through time to the Wei Dynasty, and his first mission involved the Wei Emperor Cao Cao.

"Ah?" Cao Cao's expression changed, and he thought the worst, "I see Wenjie looking well, it can't be that bad, can it?"

If you think that, it saves me from having to make excuses. Li You took a few steps forward and leaned against the city wall, sighing deeply, "This great land, I fear I will not see it restored in my lifetime!" He waved to stop Cao Cao from interrupting and continued, "I have heard that the famous scholar Xu Zijiang once said that Lord Mengde is a capable minister in times of peace and a hero in times of chaos!"

Cao Cao remained silent. Standing at the crossroads of this choice, if he wanted to support the Han Dynasty, he could become a capable minister, but if he had other thoughts, he would be a hero in times of chaos.

"I don't care whether Lord Mengde wants to be Huo Guang or Wang Mang; I only wish for the empire to be restored soon!" Li You was not Liu Bei; he had no respect for the Liu royal family. If he had any, it was for their ancestors like Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Guangwu of Han. What was there to admire about the current Emperor Xian of Han?

Without waiting for Cao Cao's response, Li You waved his sleeve, "I am a bit tired, I will return to camp to rest. We will head to Luoyang together tomorrow!" I don't believe that with such a huge advantage, you still can't deal with the other warlords!

Leaving the bewildered Cao Cao on the city wall, Li You returned to his tent with Guan Sheng, ordering him to guard outside. He took out the tiger talisman, and the system's voice sounded again, "Defeating Lu Bu and capturing the Hulao Pass will earn you a reward. The host can choose to return within fifteen days. Do you want to return and claim the reward now?"

Fifteen days! That seems enough time to wait for Cao Cao to capture Luoyang! I'll wait and see before I return! As for the reward, I probably won't need it now. I can always choose to return if there's danger!

With this thought, Li You refused to return immediately and put the tiger talisman back in his chest. At this moment, Li Yuanba, Pan Feng, and the others had also completed their tasks and returned to the tent. After drinking and celebrating, they all went to sleep.

The next morning, Cao Cao, Sun Jian, Ma Teng, Gong Sunzan, Liu Bei, and Li You once again set out with their troops, heading straight for Luoyang!

Meanwhile, the recovered Dong Zhuo had already begun a massacre in Luoyang! Li Ru suggested that Dong Zhuo abandon Luoyang, take Emperor Xian of Han and the ministers to Chang'an, and unlike the original story, this time the time was tighter, and Dong Zhuo couldn't take the people of Luoyang with him. Because of his advice, the Secretary Zhou Bi and the City Gate Commander Wu Qiong were beheaded, and Yang Biao, Huang Wan, and Xun Shuang were demoted to commoners.

Because Yuan Shao was the leader of the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition, the Yuan family's retainers in Luoyang were all slaughtered! Before leaving, Dong Zhuo didn't forget to capture the wealthy households of Luoyang to plunder their gold and jewels, causing the city to be filled with cries. Finally, Dong Zhuo's army set fires at the city gates, burning down the residences and the imperial palaces. The flames from the northern and southern palaces connected, and the Changle Palace was reduced to ashes.

As they approached Luoyang, they saw the flames reaching the sky and black smoke covering the ground. For a moment, Liu Bei wept bitterly, Li You looked angry, and Sun Jian shouted in anger... Cao Cao quickly ordered his men to speed up.

Upon reaching the gates of Luoyang, they saw the city gates wide open, with no guards on the city walls! After the coalition forces rushed into the city, they split into two groups. One group, led by Li You and Liu Bei, cut down the hooligans who were taking advantage of the chaos, restored order in the city, and helped the people extinguish the fires. Fortunately, they arrived in time, and most of the imperial palaces were still intact. After doing this, Li You ordered Pan Feng to lead the troops to guard the city walls and prevent Yuan Shao's army from entering.

Cao Cao, on the other hand, led the armies of Sun Jian, Gong Sunzan, and Ma Teng in pursuit of Dong Zhuo! Along the way, they saw countless gold and jewels scattered. Cao Cao immediately ordered the Xiahou brothers to lead their trusted men to monitor the route, and anyone who dared to pick up the treasures would be executed without mercy. Finally, at sunset, they caught up with Dong Zhuo's army.

After defeating several waves of rearguard forces, just as they were about to attack Dong Zhuo's main camp, Li Dian appeared with Li Ru, who had bound Dong Zhuo in five ropes, accompanied by Li Jue and Guo Si! Cao Cao was overjoyed, knowing that Li Dian had convinced Li Ru to surrender!

"Old villain Dong Zhuo, did you ever think you would have this day?" Cao Cao rode forward and scolded.

"Spit! I regret not having the eyes to see you and not having killed you when I had the chance!" Dong Zhuo knew he had no chance of survival and began to curse.

"Do you want a quick death? I'm afraid that's not possible now!" Cao Cao was unperturbed and turned to Li Ru, "Wenyou, by abandoning the dark and joining the light, you have done a great service to the court. I will certainly inform the emperor and reward you generously! But where is the emperor now?"

Li Ru, hearing this, knew his life was safe and immediately led the way for Cao Cao, "The emperor is in the tent. I will lead everyone to meet him!"

On Cao Cao's side, Li Ru led Dong Zhuo's army to surrender, and Dong Zhuo was captured, with Emperor Xian of Han in his hands; on Li You's side, a great good fortune also awaited!