Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

However, facing Chen Gong's plea, Gao Shun, with his plain appearance and rigid expression, remained unmoved, merely repeating the same words in the same tone.

"Sir, I must refuse. This warrant is not sealed with the Marquis Wen's insignia, making it difficult to execute."

This was the tenth time Chen Gong had heard this response. No matter how eloquent or coercive Chen Gong became, Gao Shun always maintained the same attitude.

Initially, Chen Gong thought this was Gao Shun's excuse, unwilling to serve Lu Bu.

However, Chen Gong soon discovered that Gao Shun was purely inflexible!

Inflexible to the extreme, the reason for refusing Chen Gong was that the warrant he held did not have Lu Bu's seal.

However, previously, Dong Zhuo, in order to restrain Lu Bu, not only placed Lu Bu under house arrest in the mansion but also confiscated all of Lu Bu's insignia and tiger tally.

Therefore, even if the warrant was personally written by Lu Bu, Gao Shun would still not recognize it.

These repeated conversations with Gao Shun nearly made Chen Gong explode with anger.

But without Lu Bu's personal appearance or the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry's tiger tally, Chen Gong's desire to mobilize the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry without any official position was nothing but wishful thinking. His only hope was to persuade Gao Shun.

However, Gao Shun's inflexibility made Chen Gong despair. No matter how Chen Gong explained and presented other items to prove his identity, Gao Shun's response remained the same.

"Without the insignia, I must refuse to execute!"

Just as Chen Gong was gradually becoming desperate, Lu Bu, covered in blood, rode over on Red Hare.

When Chen Gong noticed, he exclaimed with a mix of surprise and joy, "Marquis Wen, did you fight your way out alone?"

"Hmph!"

Lu Bu snorted, looking down at Gao Shun on Red Hare, and said coldly.

"Gao Shun, do you still recognize me as your lord?"

Gao Shun saluted Lu Bu in a stiff and formal manner, replying, "My lord is only Marquis Wen."

Immediately, Lu Bu's expression turned fierce, and he questioned, "Then why not execute my warrant?"

Gao Shun's tone was even and unwavering, answering rigidly, "The warrant does not bear the Marquis Wen's insignia, making it difficult to verify its authenticity. Therefore, I will not execute it."

"Can you not distinguish my handwriting?" Lu Bu continued to question.

"Handwriting can be forged," Gao Shun replied.

In the next moment, Lu Bu's Fang Tian Halberd was placed against Gao Shun's neck.

Facing the Fang Tian Halberd, still dripping with blood, Gao Shun's expression remained unchanged.

"Are you truly not afraid of death?" Lu Bu asked coldly.

Gao Shun's tone was still calm and rigid, saying, "If the lord desires his subject to die, the subject must die. If Marquis Wen wishes to take my life, there is no need to hesitate."

Thus, Lu Bu stared at Gao Shun for several breaths before finally managing to suppress his anger at Gao Shun's refusal to come to his aid.

Lu Bu knew Gao Shun's loyalty, but Lu Bu's dislike for Gao Shun was even harder to control.

Especially after Lu Bu, in a moment of great enthusiasm, took the initiative to suggest trying to break through the elite "Trapped Camp" trained by Gao Shun alone on horseback.

Then, with Gao Shun leading the "Trapped Camp" and refraining from using crossbows, Lu Bu, who thought he could easily break through these seven hundred or so men, was directly overturned.

In fact, that time, Lu Bu was dragged off his horse by four or five burly men from the "Trapped Camp" and held down on the training ground, eating several mouthfuls of sand.

That was the most embarrassing moment of Lu Bu's life, and it was also the reason why Lu Bu could not control his aversion to Gao Shun.

"Your head will be temporarily spared. When this marquis is in a bad mood another day, I will come back to take it."

Lu Bu said coldly as he withdrew the Fang Tian Halberd.

"Cover the rear, I leave it to you."

"Gao Shun obeys," Gao Shun cupped his fist in acknowledgment and immediately turned and strode towards the camp, quickly gathering the "Trapped Camp," seemingly disregarding Lu Bu and not even asking what Lu Bu, covered in blood, had done.

This action, as if ignoring Lu Bu, made Lu Bu's brow twitch uncontrollably, and he almost couldn't suppress the anger in his heart again.

Chen Gong, on the other hand, reacted and quickly asked.

"Marquis Wen, did it succeed?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Bu subconsciously raised his chin slightly and said, "With the Fang Tian Halberd in hand, how could that Dong rogue not die?!"

Immediately, Chen Gong was overjoyed, and without caring about anything else, he quickly said.

"Quick, quick, give me a warhorse. We must return to Luoyang before the Guandong lords. Whether we are loyal ministers of the Han or rebellious traitors depends on this move."

"Why bother with such trouble."

Lu Bu said, casually reaching out and lifting Chen Gong, who was standing on the ground, and placing him on Red Hare's back.

Before Chen Gong could react, Lu Bu said in a deep voice.

"Hold on tight, Gongtai."

Immediately, Red Hare went from stillness to motion again, quickly heading towards the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry's garrison.

For the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry, they only recognized two things.

First, the tiger tally, and second, Lu Bu!

After Lu Bu appeared and gave an order, all the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry quickly moved, following Lu Bu out of Hulao Pass and heading straight towards Luoyang.

The "Trapped Camp" led by Gao Shun, being infantry, was almost completely left behind by the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry.

However, Gao Shun did not show any anxiety on his face. While maintaining their formation, he led the seven hundred or so "Trapped Camp" along the direction of the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry towards Luoyang.

And half an hour later, the Allied Forces launched a general attack on Hulao Pass.

Understanding that this was a battle to achieve success in one fell swoop, almost all the lords of the Allied Forces sent their most elite confidants into battle.

Even Sun Jian, who had been supervising logistics during this time, personally led four family generals and the reorganized main force to attack the city.

As soon as the siege began, Hulao Pass seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

Dong Zhuo's death caused the morale within Hulao Pass to drop to freezing point; the outbreak of internal strife further caused the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry and the Xiliang Iron Cavalry to successively leave Hulao Pass.

At this moment, within Hulao Pass, apart from the main force led by Xu Rong, there were only about 40,000 Sili elites who had no will to fight.

However, Xu Rong showed the demeanor of a great general, quickly collecting all the gold and silver treasures in the city and placing them on the city tower, announcing "Whoever kills three men can take one gold" to encourage the Sili elites.

He also ordered the supervisory team to mercilessly kill nearly a thousand Sili elites who planned to take the opportunity to flee, barely stabilizing the morale before the siege.

Hulao Pass, which should have been captured instantly in the eyes of the Allied Forces, was stubbornly defended by Xu Rong for five hours.

It was not until Sun Jian, who personally went into battle, beheaded Xu Rong that the fall of this majestic Hulao Pass was announced.

And at this moment, it was already dusk...

However, almost all the lords made the same choice, drawing out cavalry to go ahead, passing through Hulao Pass and rushing to Luoyang overnight.

Without a doubt, with the fall of Hulao Pass, there was no shortage of people among the lords of the Allied Forces who had the idea of emulating Dong Zhuo.

How Dong Zhuo completed the transformation of his identity in a very short period of time and instantly controlled the court was witnessed by many.

It was precisely because of this that these lords became more and more anxious to rush to Luoyang to gain the upper hand.

Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Sun Jian, and other lords even impatiently handed over their infantry to their confidants to lead, and then personally led their cavalry through Hulao Pass and headed straight for Luoyang.

'The dragon slayer eventually becomes a dragon' - perhaps that is what is being said at this time!

In this regard, Liu Bei was not impatient or restless. After Li Ji had made proper arrangements, allowing Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei, who had been waiting for a long time, to set off quickly.

Liu Bei, with an attitude of not competing or grabbing, directed the Allied Forces to clean up the Hulao Pass battlefield, and then rested in Hulao Pass, preparing to lead the Allied Forces to Luoyang after dawn.

Luoyang was about to be in chaos, and Li Ji naturally would not risk rushing there overnight.

And Li Ji secretly laughed in his heart at the thoughts of some lords.

Dong Zhuo's success required the right time, place, and people, all indispensable. The young emperor was unable to preside over the overall situation, the Ten Attendants and He Jin, who held great power, died, and a serious power vacuum appeared.

Moreover, the entire Luoyang only had Dong Zhuo's military force, allowing Dong Zhuo to completely control Luoyang's city defenses before anyone could react.

And it would undoubtedly be wishful thinking for other lords to try to imitate him at this moment.

Not to mention that Lu Bu had already arrived in Luoyang first, but even with the other lords restraining each other, another Dong Zhuo could not possibly appear.

'More importantly, the current Emperor Liu Xie has been denied by his relatives...'

That night, on Hulao Pass, where the smell of blood still lingered, Liu Bei and Li Ji looked towards Luoyang, each contemplating the situation that followed.

And in Luoyang, it was even more chaotic at this moment...

As the news of Dong Zhuo's death spread back to Luoyang, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry stationed in Luoyang was in great chaos.

In a panic, Niu Fu did not care so much, and quickly began to escort Dong Zhuo and the families of the other Xiliang generals towards Hangu Pass with his personal confidants.

In addition, a large number of Xiliang Iron Cavalry inevitably appeared, planning to take the opportunity to plunder in Luoyang, and then retreat back to Xiliang.

Incidents of burning, killing, and looting almost quickly broke out throughout Luoyang.

Lu Bu, who led the 40,000 Bing Province Wolf Cavalry to Luoyang first, did not care about anything else, and directly went to the palace under Chen Gong's suggestion, planning to control the city defenses of the palace first.

Of course, theoretically, the best way was undoubtedly to control the entire city defenses of Luoyang.

However, Chen Gong was worried that time would be too late, and secondly, he understood that if Lu Bu forcibly blocked the entire Luoyang and prevented the Allied Forces from entering, it would only cause the Allied Forces to unite and besiege Luoyang, which would be undesirable.

Relatively speaking, 40,000 Bing Province Wolf Cavalry were enough to guard the entire palace securely.

And when Lu Bu arrived at the palace, the entire palace was also in chaos. The Xiliang Iron Cavalry that could be seen everywhere were constantly looting and raping within the palace.

Seeing this, Chen Gong's expression changed slightly, and he quickly reminded him.

"Quickly, Marquis Wen, you must find the Emperor at all costs. The Emperor will be Marquis Wen's best talisman!"

Immediately, Lu Bu loudly ordered.

"Zhang Liao, Wei Xu, Song Xian, Hou Cheng, each of you lead five thousand Bing Province Wolf Riders to guard the four sides of the Imperial Palace, strictly prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving. There must be no mistakes."

"The rest of you, quickly follow me to search for the Emperor within the Imperial Palace, killing all Xiliang soldiers encountered along the way!"

(End of this chapter)