January 20th, 190 A.D.
In Chenliu, Cao Cao issued false edict to all the vassals in the world, preparing to attack Dong.
The various dukes, who had been waiting impatiently for a long time, immediately led their troops to respond.
Yuan Shao, Governor of Bohai, Sun Jian, Governor of Changsha, Gongsun Zan, Governor of Peiping, Ma Teng, Governor of Xiliang, Tao Qian, Governor of Xuzhou, Zhang Chao, Governor of Guangling, Kong Rong, Governor of Beihai, Bao Xin, Governor of North, Yuan Yi, Governor of Shanyang, Qiao Mao, Governor of Dongjun, Zhang Miao, Governor of Chenliu, Wang Kuang, Governor of Hanoi, Liu Dai, Governor of Yanzhou, Kong Wei, Governor of Yuzhou, Han Fu, Governor of Jizhou, and Yuan Shu, Governor of Nanyang. Including Cao Cao, there were a total of seventeen dukes.
The only difference was the Shangdang prefect Zhang Yang, because Lu Bu had given him a generous gift in advance and promised to apply for an official position for him. Thus, only 17 dukes were gathered.
The various dukes had brought thirty to forty thousand soldiers, while the smallest had brought twenty thousand. In total, they had gathered 300,000 soldiers, which was 100,000 more than Dong Zhuo.
Of course, when Gongsun Zan passed by the plains, he naturally met the militia of the Liu brothers. They gathered together and headed towards Chenliu.
These few days, Cao Cao had been busy receiving the various vassals and arranging for their armies to be stationed in various places.
When Gongsun Zan, who was the furthest away, arrived at Chenliu, Cao Cao immediately gathered all the vassals and prepared to hold an alliance meeting.
The alliance meeting naturally included the alliance leader. Cao Cao had just thanked the dukes for coming. The prefect of Hanoi Prefecture, Wang Kuang, immediately stood up. He looked around at the various vassals in the tent and said,"Today, we are here to fight against the traitor Dong Zhuo. They needed to unify the military order, so they had to choose a leader before they could send troops west!”
As soon as Wang Kuang finished speaking, the people below began to discuss. Although the position of Alliance Master was only temporary, it would become famous after the battle. Therefore, those who thought they had some status became envious.
However, it was obvious that only Cao Cao and Yuan Shao could be the alliance leader.
Seeing that no one answered Wang Kuang's question, Cao Cao became a little anxious. It was not easy for him to escape with his life from Luoyang. He issued this fake edict to raise his reputation and wait for the world to be in chaos to dominate the Central Plains. Thus, he quickly signaled with his eyes to Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chen Liu, to suggest that he be the alliance leader.
But Zhang Miao wasn't stupid. Although Cao Cao had more troops and he was more afraid of him, the three Yuan brothers were all here, and Yuan Shao was much more famous than him. If I mentioned you now, wouldn't the Yuan family hate me? Thus, he kept his eyes down and his heart down.
On this side, the three Yuan brothers also had their own thoughts. Yuan Yi knew that he was definitely not comparable to Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, so he planned to support Yuan Shao. Who asked you, Yuan Shu, to bully others when you were young because you were a legitimate son?
On Yuan Shu's side, he secretly thought that in this place, only he and Yuan Shao had the strength to be the alliance leader. He had just been named by the clan to be the successor of the clan head. Would he, Yuan Shao, still dare not come and curry favor with him? At that time, when he commanded them to destroy Dong Zhuo, he would also have a taste of being the Great General. That idiot He Jin had really ruined the name of the Great General.
Yuan Shu was immersed in his fantasy while Cao Cao was anxious. This Zhang Miao had promised him before, but now he went back on his word. Hmph, you'll be proud of yourself in the future.
Yuan Shao ignored them. He was determined to obtain the position of the alliance master. When he was fighting for the position of the clan master, he had already lost to that arrogant idiot. If he lost again this time, then he would never be able to raise his head for the rest of his life. After thinking about it, he gestured to Han Fu. Han Fu nodded in response, then stood up and said,""Yuan Benchu had four generations and three dukes. His students and old officials were all over the world. After my dynasty became a prime minister, Fu suggested that Benchu take over the position of alliance leader.”
As soon as he said this, Yuan Yi immediately echoed,"Wenjie is right. I also recommend Benchu as the alliance leader.”
Kong Rong, Tao Qian, and Sun Jian were all loyal people and immediately agreed to this suggestion. The remaining few also expressed their support out of the intention of currying favor with the Yuan family.
Knowing that he had no chance, Cao Cao quickly pulled Yuan Shao, who was declining beside him, and said,"Benchu, don't decline. Only you can take this position.”
With Cao Cao's words, all the vassals immediately knew that Yuan Shao would be the Alliance Master. They all supported Yuan Shao. Looking at Yuan Shao, who everyone had high hopes for, Yuan Shu immediately became angry. Jealousy filled his entire chest.
After repeatedly declining, Yuan Shao accepted the Alliance Master Seal. This seal was naturally made by Cao Cao in advance, but it was delivered to Yuan Shao before he could warm it.
The next day, Yuan Shao ascended the altar to worship the heavens and swore a blood oath. Then, he led the dukes into the tent to discuss the matter of raising an army. First, he talked about Dong Zhuo's brutality, then he talked about the reward and punishment, and then he talked about the position of logistics commander.
This position was very important. When the alliance was gathered, the grain and fodder of the various dukes were placed together to make it easier to manage. Now, whoever became the commander would have the lives of all the dukes in his hands.
This position, Yuan Shao naturally didn't want to give it to anyone else. Only by giving it to his own brother could he feel at ease. Although he had a conflict with Yuan Shu, only he could avoid suspicion. Letting him be the commander could also ease the relationship between the two.
Therefore, he didn't wait for everyone to discuss and said directly,"The post of logistics commander will be taken over by my brother Yuan Shu. He was in charge of all the rations.”Then, he asked about the candidate for the vanguard position.
However, this time, no one spoke. No one would have thought that Yuan Shao would be so ruthless, directly giving the position of logistics commander to his younger brother. One could imagine how angry he was.
No one spoke for a long time. Yuan Shao thought of his other younger brother, Yuan Yi. However, Yuan Yi immediately turned his head and ignored him. Originally. He had thought that Yuan Shao would let him be the governor of rations, but he had given it to Yuan Shu. He really did not let himself down.
Kong Rong wanted to be the vanguard, but as a civil official, he couldn't do it.
In the end, it was Sun Jian who stood up and accepted the position. Originally, he was also unwilling to pay attention to Yuan Shao. Because of Yuan Shu, his mortal enemy had actually become the logistics commander. This was definitely not the outcome he wanted. In the end, it was still the country's righteousness that prevailed, and he stood up.
Borrowing Sun Jian's excuse, Yuan Shao immediately walked to the awkward position he had been in earlier and said,""Wentai is skilled in martial arts and has extraordinary courage.”
Thus, everything was discussed. That afternoon, Sun Jian led his troops and charged towards Mushui Pass.
The guards at Mushui Pass had heard that the 17th dukedom was already heading here. Starry Night immediately sent a fast horse to Luoyang to report.
In Luoyang, on the day Cao Cao issued the edict, something shocking happened. However…However, because of the blockade of some people, it did not spread at all.
The deposed emperor of the Han Dynasty, Hongnong King Liu Bian, was killed by Li Ru with poisoned wine in Yong 'an Palace. Empress Dowager He and Consort Tang also died in Li Ru's hands.
Because of Li Ru and Lu Bu's tacit understanding, this matter was deeply covered up.
Ever since the nine-year-old Emperor Xian of Han was the only one left in the palace, Dong Zhuo had not returned to his Prime Minister's Mansion. He had spent his days in the palace, sleeping on the dragon bed, raping the palace maids, and even feasting on his subordinates in Chongde Hall. Lu Bu had also been feasting here for seven or eight days.
On this day, Dong Zhuo and his subordinates were drinking and having fun in the hall when Li Ru rushed in. In fact, Dong Zhuo, the Prime Minister, did not care about government affairs at all. He handed everything over to his son-in-law, Li Ru. He would only come to Dong Zhuo for a decision when something big happened.
Thus, when they saw Li Ru enter, the generals all stopped. Lu Bu saw how anxious he was and knew that the dukes had killed their way to Mushui Pass. He waved his hand to dismiss the dancing palace maids and turned to look at Hwa Xiong, who was still eating and drinking. He thought to himself, You fatty, you only have two days left to live.
As expected, Li Ru told Dong Zhuo about the urgent report from Mushui Pass as soon as he arrived.
Dong Zhuo was shocked and cried out,"What should we do? Who is willing to go and resist? I will reward you heavily."
The generals looked at each other in dismay. 17 dukes, an army of over 300,000, wasn't this sending them to their deaths?
Lu Bu laughed and said," Godfather, don't worry. The 17 dukes are like ants to me. I am willing to lead the tiger and wolf army of Xiliang to kill all the soldiers and offer their heads to my adoptive father.”
"Haha, with Fengxian here, I can rest easy.”Seeing Lu Bu come out, Dong Zhuo immediately relaxed.
At this moment, Lu Bu made his move, and a voice that was as loud as Dong Zhuo's rang out,""Why use an ox-slaughtering knife to kill a chicken? Why do you need Lord Wen to go? If I go, I can kill all the dukes in the east of the country.”
Looking at the slightly drunk Hwa Xiong, could it be that he was drunk and crazy and wanted to replace her? However, didn't he usually lie down and sleep when he was drunk?
Lu Bu was happy to take this opportunity to find Wang Yun and Cai Yong to discuss Diao Chan and Cai Yan. It just so happened that the dukedom had attracted everyone's attention, so no one would pay attention to his little tricks.
Dong Zhuo saw that the general who stood up was a head taller than Lu Bu. He was obviously a brave man. He immediately made him a valiant cavalry lieutenant and ordered him to lead 50,000 troops. Together with Li Su, Hu Zhen, and Zhao Cen, they rushed to Mushui Pass overnight.
On the side of the dukes.
When Bao Xin heard that Mushui Pass only had five thousand guards, he was immediately tempted and didn't want Sun Jian to take the credit. Thus, he secretly called his younger brother Bao Zhong and led three thousand cavalrymen to take a small path and directly rush to the foot of the Lishui Pass.
Bao Xin had thought that he could easily take down Mushui Pass so that he could show his face among the dukes. However, God's plan was not as good as man's.
Ever since he got drunk and stole Lu Bu's start, Hwa Xiong had started to regret it. If he really had to face the 17th dukedom, he would be afraid. If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have drunk that half jar of wine. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so talkative.
He had no choice but to bite the bullet. He ordered the other three generals to lead the 45,000 infantrymen to move slowly while he led the 5,000 cavalrymen to charge towards Mushui Pass. Now, he could only perform well to avoid being blamed by the Prime Minister if he lost.
It was also a coincidence that he had just entered the Mushui Pass when he heard someone shouting. After asking around, he found out that the other party only had 3,000 people. He was tempted. 5,000 against 3,000. They would definitely win. If they won this round first, they could also earn some glory.
With that thought, he waved his hand and led five thousand cavalrymen out of the pass.
When Bao Zhong saw that the enemy had five thousand cavalrymen and that the leading general had a strong build, he immediately became afraid and tried to escape. However, the war horses of the east of the country were comparable to the war horses of Xiliang.
Within a few hundred meters, Hwa Xiong had caught up to him and killed him under his horse. Most of Bao Zhong's 3,000 cavalrymen were also captured by Hwa Xiong.
Seeing that they had killed the enemy's vanguard so easily, Hwa Xiong couldn't help but feel proud. The vassals of the east of the country weren't as powerful as he thought. Hmph, hmph, this time, even without Lu Bu, he would be able to take care of them.
After cutting off Bao Zhong's head, he immediately ordered the soldiers to send it to Luoyang. The next morning, the commendation order and the 45,000 infantrymen arrived at Mushui Pass one after another.
Looking at Hwa Xiong, who had been promoted to governor, the three generals felt a wave of jealousy and regret. They shouldn't have been so timid that day. In the end, they were taken advantage of by this stupid bear.
When Sun Jian and his four generals Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zu Mao led his twenty thousand men to the pass, they were all shocked. Only then did he realize that Bao Zhong had already been killed. While cursing that idiot, he immediately sent people to curse at Guan Shang.
Hwa Xiong thought that this time would be the same as last time, so he immediately ordered another 5,000 cavalrymen to charge through the pass.
Sun Jian saw that the enemy general was extremely muscular and immediately went up to meet him personally.
After ten rounds, Hua Xiong finally felt a bit careless. He was the defender, and he had more people. It was good to defend to the death. This Sun Jian was really a troublesome character.
The two of them fought for another four to fifty rounds before Hwa Xiong gradually lost his patience. He could only feign a shot and gallop into the pass.
Sun Jian didn't chase after him and directly signaled for Han Dang to use his bow and arrow. At Han Dang's command, the only 1,000 archers in Sun Jian's army immediately raised their bows and shot at the fleeing Hua Xiong and Western Liang cavalry.
Unfortunately, before Hwa Xiong could kill enough, he was directly shot to death by the arrows at Lishui Pass.
Fortunately, Li Su, who had closed the gate, was alert and called for the archers to fight back desperately, blocking the footsteps of Sun Jian's army. He didn't let them snatch Hwa Xiong's corpse, or else he would lose a lot of face.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]