The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Although Dian Wei didn't fully understand Wang Yun's words, he grasped the general meaning: he was to use his background as a former soldier of the Bingzhou army to win over Lu Zhi's men. Lu Zhi had been in the court for a long time; he certainly understood Wang Yun's intentions. However, he didn't react, though his opinion of Wang Yun plummeted. "What a joke! My army is mainly composed of elite troops from the former Jizhou army. Do you really think you can win them over? Besides, what kind of person is Dian Wei? How many people would believe Dian Wei's attempts to win them over?"

Wang Yun, Wang Yun, I'm afraid that's all the skills you have.

With the help of Lu Zhi's reinforcements, Chang'an City was no longer impregnable, but it was almost impossible for the tens of thousands of Xiliang troops outside the city to break through it again.

Upon entering Chang'an, Lu Zhi did not rest but went straight to the palace. As a loyal minister of the royal family, no matter how many reasons Wang Yun had, he could not prevent Lu Zhi from meeting the emperor. Helpless, Wang Yun could only watch Lu Zhi enter Liu Bian's palace.

"Your Majesty, your subject Lu Zhi is late and has caused you suffering." Upon seeing the young Liu Xie, Lu Zhi knelt down with a thud and wept bitterly before Liu Xie. Seeing the old man shed tears, even if Liu Xie thought Lu Zhi was acting, he couldn't help but be moved and quickly told Lu Zhi to get up.

"I am already very pleased that Lord Lu has come to the aid of the emperor in this time of crisis," Liu Xie said to Lu Zhi. In truth, Liu Xie harbored considerable resentment towards Lu Zhi. The late emperor had clearly issued a secret edict ordering Liu Xie to ascend the throne, and Lu Zhi had not only received the edict but was also appointed as a regent. However, Lu Zhi had never publicly expressed his support, allowing the powerful ministers in the court to fight amongst themselves. Although his elder brother had become emperor, Liu Xie had not felt any jealousy, as becoming emperor at this time was not a good thing. But Lu Zhi, who clearly knew about the secret edict and had the power to help the royal family, intriguingly remained inactive, ultimately allowing Ding Yuan to benefit and overshadow the royal family, leading to the tragic death of Liu Bian. Here, Liu Xie was quite dissatisfied with Lu Zhi. However, the astute Liu Xie also knew that he needed to rely on Lu Zhi now, so Liu Xie still acted very amicably.

"Your Majesty's praise is too kind. I am truly ashamed. In the past, the traitor Ding drove me out of Luoyang. After two years of enduring hardship and biding my time, I am finally able to welcome Your Majesty back to the capital, Luoyang," Lu Zhi said.

"Luoyang?" Upon hearing the name Luoyang, Liu Xie's heart skipped a beat, and he asked Lu Zhi, "Is Luoyang still habitable these days?"

Those who heard this wept. Was this really the kind of thing a monarch would say? He actually asked if his own capital was habitable. However, in order to solidify Liu Xie's decision to return to Luoyang, Lu Zhi could only speak well of Yuan Shao: "Your Majesty, the Governor of Yan Province, Yuan Shao, has already sent troops to Luoyang. Presumably, after Governor Yuan's repairs, the Luoyang Imperial Palace should have recovered considerably and will certainly not disgrace the imperial family."

Of course, while speaking well of Yuan Shao, Lu Zhi also dug a pit for him. If Yuan Shao hadn't started repairing Luoyang, he would have been in trouble. If he had recovered Luoyang but didn't think about repairing it, he would have lost face in front of the world.

Currently, within the empire, besides Chen Er, the Yuan family holds the greatest power. Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu each control a province. Although the two are somewhat at odds, they are both members of the Yuan family, and in any conflict, they would ultimately stand together. As a loyal subject of the empire, Lu Zhi felt it necessary to restrain the Yuan family's expansion, especially since Yuan Shu had now launched an offensive against other provinces and counties—an offensive launched without any prior grievances. Lu Zhi increasingly felt that the empire was about to enter the chaotic era of centuries past.

"Hmm, Yuan Shao is not bad. I often hear about Minister Yuan. Although the matter of the people of Luoyang was not handled particularly well last time, it was because Chen Er was irresponsible and simply abandoned more than 200,000 people to Minister Yuan," Liu Xie said.

Upon hearing Liu Xie address Chen Er by his given name, Lu Zhi suddenly sensed something was terribly wrong. Liu Xie's actions suggested he harbored resentment towards Chen Er. He shouldn't voice this resentment, however. If he did, and their relationship truly soured, and Chen Er lost his influence, would the empire's east, west, south, and north still maintain the nominal status of imperial prefectures and counties instead of becoming independent powers? If Liu Xie truly angered Chen Er, Chen Er might declare independence before Liu Xie even had a chance to do anything. With Chen Er setting an example, it was likely that most of the prefectures and counties throughout the empire would declare independence and become independent states.

Before Lu Zhi could explain the situation to Liu Xie in detail, urgent news arrived from outside the palace: the Xiliang army had launched another attack. Wang Yun urged Lu Zhi to quickly return to command the battle on the city walls and counterattack the Xiliang army.

With Lu Zhi's 20,000 musketeers, Chang'an's long-range firepower was greatly enhanced. The Xiliang army had barely entered within 80 meters when a barrage of gunfire erupted from the city walls. Each wall had five or six thousand musketeers, making it impossible for the Xiliang army to approach. After three or four attempts, the Xiliang army once again abandoned the siege, leaving five or six thousand corpses outside the walls.

Looking at the musketeers on the city wall, Guo Si and his men were helpless. They could only write a letter to Li Ru at Hangu Pass requesting reinforcements, asking him to devise a solution to the current situation. The situation in Chang'an was extremely volatile, and further delay would be extremely difficult for the Xiliang army.

"Damn Lu Zhi!" Guo Si and Li Jue cursed Lu Zhi more than once, but it was no use. At most, it could only relieve their hatred, but it did nothing else. Li Jue suggested to the two of them, "Now it seems that we can't take Chang'an City. Why don't we loot the surrounding area and then return to Liangzhou to make further plans?"

“I agree,” Guo Si said.

The two men looked at Niu Fu, Ding Yuan's son-in-law, whose words carried more weight in the army than theirs. But would Ding Yuan, as his son-in-law, agree to withdraw his troops? The two men were uneasy. They exchanged glances and then looked at Niu Fu again.

However, as it turned out, the son-in-law's position didn't hold much sway. After listening to Li Jue's analysis, Niu Fu immediately agreed with their views. However, as Ding Yuan's son-in-law, he still had to maintain appearances. Li Jue had also considered this, so he deliberately brought up the matter several times in front of everyone. Finally, Niu Fu reluctantly agreed to withdraw the troops. Only then did everyone lead the army westward towards Chang'an, and they sent someone to inform Li Ru at Hangu Pass to withdraw quickly as well. As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood! The Grand Tutor's revenge can wait until another day!