Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

Dong Zhuo glanced at them sideways and sneered:

"Withdraw your troops? You bunch of useless fools, you've failed to serve the royal family properly, causing such a huge mess and forcing the emperor to flee to the wilderness in the dead of night, and you still have the nerve to tell me to withdraw my troops?"

One sentence left the ministers speechless, their faces flushed red, and none of them dared to utter a sound.

Dong Zhuo was too lazy to look at Liu Bian's cowardly appearance any longer, so he turned his head and looked at Liu Xie who was standing to the side.

"Your Highness," he softened his tone, trying to sound as amiable as possible, "I heard there's been a thief in the palace. What exactly happened? Please tell me."

Nine-year-old Liu Xie raised his head and looked at the fierce-looking general in front of him. He neither cried nor tried to hide.

He composed himself and recounted clearly and logically how Zhang Rang had taken him hostage, escaped, and drowned himself, without even getting the time and place wrong.

Dong Zhuo was stunned after hearing this.

Immediately, a huge, satisfied smile spread across his fleshy face.

"Good! Good boy!" he couldn't help but praise, "That's more like the Liu family's descendants!"

Looking again at Liu Bian's timid and hesitant demeanor, he immediately made up his mind:

This child is far superior to that good-for-nothing! Besides, he was raised by Empress Dowager Dong, and I, Dong Zhuo, am of the same clan as Empress Dowager Dong. Isn't he a ready-made "one of our own"?

Depose Liu Bian and install Liu Xie in place!

Once the thought arises, it can never be suppressed.

...

Liu Bian finally stumbled back to the palace.

On August 28th, he issued an edict granting amnesty to the entire country and changed the reign title from "Guangxi" to "Zhaoning". Guangxi was the name he changed when he first ascended the throne in April. It had been four months since then, which was considered unlucky, so he changed it to dispel the bad luck.

He also casually appointed Ding Yuan as the Commander of the Imperial Guard, in charge of the defense of the capital.

This was recommended by Yuan Shao, who thought it would at least give Luoyang some of his own people.

Just as they settled down, Cavalry Commandant Bao Xin returned from recruiting soldiers at Mount Tai.

He entered the city, travel-worn, and was astonished to find that the flags on the city walls had been changed, and the Xiliang soldiers were encamped outside the city. The atmosphere inside the city was so oppressive it felt like it was about to burst into flames.

He inquired about what had happened in the past few days, and his face turned pale.

Bao Xin went to find Yuan Shao that very night, grabbed his sleeve, and stamped his feet in frustration:

"Benchu! That old scoundrel Dong Zhuo commands a large army; he's clearly up to no good! If we don't deal with him now, and he gains a firm foothold, we'll both be sitting ducks! We should take advantage of his recent arrival in Luoyang, his exhausted troops, and his unstable position, and launch a surprise attack—we'll capture him in one fell swoop! You have troops, and I have troops too; there's no time to lose, let's act tonight!"

Yuan Shao looked at him and remained silent.

Bao Xin waited for a long time, but Yuan Shao remained silent.

"Say something!" Bao Xin said impatiently.

Yuan Shao lowered his eyelids and said in a muffled voice, "Brother Bao, Dong Zhuo commands tens of thousands of troops, all of whom are seasoned border soldiers... This matter requires careful consideration..."

Upon hearing this, Bao Xin felt a chill run down his spine.

He stared at Yuan Shao for a long time. This noble young man from a family that had held high office for four generations, this hero who had once vowed to exterminate all the eunuchs, now had his head down and did not even dare to meet his gaze.

Bao Xin took a deep breath and said nothing.

He turned around, went out, mustered the soldiers he had brought from Mount Tai, and left without looking back.

Damn it, I'm not playing with these cowards anymore.

He went back to his hometown in Taishan.

With Bao Xin gone, Luoyang completely lost the power to check and balance Dong Zhuo.

...

To be honest, Dong Zhuo was indeed a cunning and ruthless man.

When he first entered Luoyang, he only brought a little over three thousand infantry and cavalry.

More than three thousand people were thrown into Luoyang City, and not even a sound was heard.

What to do? He came up with a clever trick:

Every four or five days, in the dead of night, he would send a group of men out of the city to set up camp dozens of miles away.

The next morning, they made a grand entrance into the city with great fanfare, beating drums and gongs.

The people of Luoyang peered over the wall and exclaimed: "Oh my! The reinforcements from Xiliang have arrived! A dark mass of them, at least several thousand!"

He put on this act several times, and the whole of Luoyang was fooled, believing that Dong Zhuo had a strong and ever-growing army.

No one saw through the old fox's trick.

Not long after, the former subordinates of He Jin and He Miao, leaderless, saw that Dong Zhuo had a strong army and generous spending, and they all went to join him.

Dong Zhuo accepted all comers without hesitation.

Within a few days, his military strength surged, and he became the undisputed local emperor of Luoyang.

...

Meanwhile, in Zhuo County, Youzhou, at the Prince of Yan's residence.

Liu Ce is playing with the children...

Lu Bing entered silently and handed over a scroll of secret reports.

Liu Ce took the book, read it, remained silent for a while, and then handed his son to the wet nurse.

"Summon Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai...to the council hall."

Fifteen minutes later, everyone had arrived.

Liu Ce slammed the intelligence report on the table: "He Jin is dead. He was killed by the eunuchs."

The document was passed around among the people, each with a different expression.

Fang Xuanling sighed, "Although He Jin had his own selfish motives, his crime does not warrant death. Luoyang is now in complete chaos."

Du Ruhui calmly said, "With He Jin dead, Dong Zhuo will surely seize power. This man is a wolf in sheep's clothing, and the people of Luoyang will suffer."

Xun Yu said with a somber expression, "The late emperor entrusted you with protecting the state, but now that Luoyang has fallen, I... am filled with resentment."

Guo Jia leaned back lazily in his chair: "Wenruo, the late emperor entrusted you with 'protecting the state,' not 'protecting He Jin.' He Jin brought this upon himself; who can he blame?"

Xi Zhicai asked, "My lord, what's the next step?"

Liu Ce tapped his fingers on the table and slowly said, "I guess Dong Zhuo's next step will be to depose Liu Bian and install Liu Xie as emperor. And then..."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Dong Zhuo will definitely kill Liu Bian and Empress Dowager He. He will nip this in the bud to prevent future troubles. He may kill them openly or secretly. In any case, these two will not live past this year."

The group exchanged glances, all understanding the weight of those words.

Liu Ce turned to Lu Bing: "Order the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Luoyang to rescue Liu Bian and Empress Dowager He if necessary, and then secretly send them to Zhuo County."

Lu Bing was slightly taken aback.

Save Liu Bian? Save Empress Dowager He?

He instantly understood his lord's intention, but asked nothing, simply clasped his hands in a fist salute, and uttered a single, decisive word:

"promise."

Lu Bing accepted the order and turned to leave.

...

September, Luoyang, Wenming Park.

Dong Zhuo hosted a banquet and invited all the officials.

When the high-ranking officials received the invitations, they were all filled with apprehension.

Go? I'm afraid Dong Zhuo will cause trouble.

If I don't go, I'm even more afraid he'll use this as an excuse to make trouble.

Finally, one by one, they steeled themselves, changed into their court robes, and, filled with trepidation, arrived at the Civilization Garden.

As the officials arrived one after another, they greeted each other, all wondering to themselves: What is this guy surnamed Dong up to now?

The garden was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and the aroma of wine filled the air, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere on the surface.

But the atmosphere at the banquet was strange; the ministers exchanged uneasy glances, and no one dared to say a word.

After waiting for almost half an hour, Dong Zhuo finally strolled out leisurely.

Today he wore a crimson brocade robe, a military cap, and a sword at his waist. With a forced smile on his face, he cupped his hands and said:

"Oh dear, I'm late! My apologies! I've kept you all waiting. I'll punish myself with three cups! Haha!"

He invited everyone to sit down, and took the seat of honor himself.