Chapter 1020: The Confident Three Parties
Chapter 1020: The Confident Three Parties
As Yuan Shao had anticipated, if it weren't for Lu Hai Kong's protection, this guy would have been devoured by Baron Yuan, leaving nothing but bones.
Sure enough, as soon as Lu Hai Kong recalled Yueshuang, trouble ensued for Yuan Shao.
Baron Yuan took swift action, utilizing his secret agent, Guo Tu, whom he had planted by Yuan Shao's side long ago. He replicated Wang Yun's beauty trap, with a little help from some props, to successfully turn Gao Gan against Yuan Shao. With Qu Yi out of the picture, Baron Yuan easily defeated Yuan Shao and seized Ye City.
Everything went incredibly smoothly, so much so that Baron Yuan felt divinely assisted.
Even more fortunate was the fact that after defeating Yuan Shao, the takeover of Ye City proceeded without a hitch.
In reality, there were hardly any loyal subordinates under Yuan Shao's command, except for Qu Yi. The rest, be they civil officials or military generals, had primarily joined for the fame of the Yuan family.
Despite these officials and generals pledging allegiance, Yuan Shao did not experience the historical growth depicted in the records. After being bullied by Lu Hai Kong during the coalition against Dong Zhuo and then by Baron Yuan upon his return to Jingzhou, Yuan Shao lacked the demeanor of a leader, and consequently, he failed to cultivate much loyalty.
Upon Yuan Shao's death, his followers scattered like birds, with no one willing to remain loyal to him.
Among the military leaders, Qu Yi was captured, Gao Gan was turned, and many lower-ranking generals had already been infiltrated by Baron Yuan. With the elite troops he brought, Baron Yuan swiftly secured military control.
With military might in his grasp, the civil officials had little room to maneuver. Aside from Feng Ji and Xun Zhan, who expressed their desire to retrieve Yuan Shao's body, along with the insincere Guo Tu, the rest remained indoors, causing no trouble for Baron Yuan.
Under these circumstances, Ye City naturally fell under Baron Yuan's control.
With Ye City secured, Baron Yuan's ego began to inflate.
He felt as though the shackles that had bound him were finally broken, and it was time for him to make his mark.
Baron Yuan planned to focus on developing the economy and improving the people's livelihood in Jingzhou, shifting the economic center of the north from Bingzhou to his territory. Simultaneously, he intended to deploy his elite forces to Bingzhou and join forces with Dong Zhuo to deal a severe blow to Lu Hai Kong.
Of course, Baron Yuan didn't aim to kill Lu Hai Kong, but he was determined to cripple him. Lu Hai Kong had bullied him for too long, and if not for Lu Hai Kong, he would have unified Jingzhou much earlier. This grudge fueled his desire for revenge.
In Baron Yuan's eyes, the ideal scenario would be to defeat Lu Hai Kong and, at the same time, recruit some of Lu Hai Kong's military commanders. Thinking about Lu Hai Kong's formidable lineup of generals made Baron Yuan salivate.
If he could manage to snatch even a few of them, his military strength would increase exponentially.
However, as Baron Yuan indulged in his grandiose dreams, he was unaware that the battle report from Bingzhou, more precisely, the report of Lu Hai Kong's overwhelming victory over Dong Zhuo's army, was already on its way.
...
Sili Jia Bu, Chang'an, Dong Zhuo's Mansion.
Li Ru, for once, had some free time and was sitting across from Dong Zhuo.
The same table, the same chessboard, and the same two cups of tea on the side.
In just a few short days, Dong Zhuo had made little progress in cultivating his inner energy. When faced with these tasks, he still felt at a loss, as he lacked natural talent in self-cultivation, not to mention the demonic aura within him that made it even more challenging for him to achieve success in this aspect compared to ordinary people.
At this moment, the two were discussing the situation in Bingzhou.
At that time, the crushing defeat at Dingyang City had just concluded, and neither Dong Zhuo nor Li Ru was aware that Lu Bu had already been thoroughly defeated by his opponent.
They were discussing the events of Dong Zhuo's army's first day at Dingyang, and upon hearing this news, both Dong Zhuo and Li Ru took it very seriously.
They were well aware of Lu Bu's strength, and there were few who could defeat him. The sudden appearance of someone capable of suppressing Lu Bu in his non-demonic state, and then two individuals working together to defeat Lu Bu in his non-demonic state, was akin to having cheat codes.
After interacting with Lu Hai Kong for so long, they had thought they had a good grasp of his military commanders, but they never expected three such abnormal individuals to emerge. They had initially planned to crush Lu Hai Kong, but upon arriving, their top general was swiftly overwhelmed by the enemy. This turn of events was highly unfavorable for them.
"I never expected Lu Hai Kong to have such a powerful ace up his sleeve. Now the situation has become dire, and the war in Bingzhou is likely to turn into a protracted battle!"
Li Ru's eyebrows furrowed slightly, as he had no desire for a prolonged war.
Liangzhou was not Bingzhou, and their economic strength couldn't compare to Lu Hai Kong's. Lu Hai Kong had money and food, and he didn't fear the war of attrition. While he might not be able to hold out indefinitely, a year or two of fighting was like a drizzle to Lu Hai Kong.
In Liangzhou, the situation was different. Despite Dong Zhuo's extensive plundering in Luoyang, the foundation of his forces in Liangzhou was far inferior to that of Lu Hai Kong.
Given their economic strength, it would be challenging for them to sustain a prolonged war, even for just three or four months.
However, Li Ru wasn't overly concerned and didn't want to invest too much thought in this aspect. After all, the information they had received was one-sided, and with Jia Xu in charge over there, Li Ru was well aware of his capabilities. Even in the worst-case scenario, Jia Xu should be able to handle the situation.
...
In the Governor's Mansion of Guangyang Prefecture, Youzhou.
Among the three who had besieged Lu Hai Kong, Zhang Yan, or rather, the Yellow Turban Saintess, was undoubtedly the most miserable.
This person had schemed tirelessly and, with great difficulty, managed to use Zhang Jiao's artifacts to seize control of the territories painstakingly built by Zhang Yan and Ye Junru. Furthermore, she had aligned herself with Dong Zhuo and Baron Yuan, who were preparing to suppress Lu Hai Kong. With this newfound power, she had rapidly risen to prominence.
But as soon as she made her move, she was ruthlessly crushed by Lu Hai Kong's forces.
Zhang Mancheng and Dian Wei, along with two top-tier legions and about fifty thousand soldiers, swiftly shattered all the forces they had meticulously prepared and deployed in Dai Prefecture. Within just a few days, the entire Dai Prefecture fell into Lu Hai Kong's hands.
In this battle, the Yellow Turban Saintess had no choice but to release Zhang Yan to save her own life. What she didn't expect was that once she let Zhang Yan out, she couldn't rein her back in.
This situation wasn't just embarrassing for them; it was downright dangerous.
In a 1619 book, it was clear that Zhang Yan possessed the Heavenly Book of Tranquility, and the Saintess was well aware of the perverted acts Zhang Yan had committed while under her control.
Once Zhang Yan was free, she posed an extreme risk to them, and a slight miscalculation could bring them significant trouble.
However, to their surprise, after Zhang Yan's release, she didn't cause them any further trouble. It seemed she had left Youzhou, perhaps fearing Zhang Jiao and the possibility of being crushed again. This was good news for the Yellow Turban Saintess.
Although Zhang Yan didn't cause any more problems, their situation didn't improve much.
At that very moment, they still faced a demon, as Lu Hai Kong's forces continued to eye them with malicious intent.
After capturing Dai Prefecture, Lu Hai Kong's troops didn't expand further, but they maintained a posture of continued aggression.
On one hand, Zhang Mancheng consolidated his control over Dai Prefecture and eliminated the Yellow Turban remnants, while on the other, he absorbed the captured soldiers into his forces.
It was known that Zhang Yan's forces had been in a latent state, and while they had their own direct legions, these weren't numerous, as they prioritized quality over quantity.
Over eighty percent of the soldiers in the Dai Prefecture battle were county soldiers from various prefectures under Youzhou's control, not particularly loyal to Zhang Yan. After their capture, Zhang Mancheng swiftly trained them to become part of Lu Hai Kong's legions.
Moreover, Zhang Mancheng possessed the Fire Formation Members, a powerful weapon. Within a few days, he had organized several legions in Dai Prefecture, although these legions were more for show than actual combat effectiveness. Still, they could serve as a defensive force for Dai Prefecture.
Meanwhile, Zhang Mancheng also began to assemble the elite forces of his legions, preparing for further offensives.
This show of force made the Yellow Turban Saintess's heart tremble with fear, as she was well aware of their combat prowess. If they launched an attack, she wasn't sure they could withstand it.
Despite the dire circumstances, the Yellow Turban Saintess remained the most optimistic.
Having personally witnessed the strength of Zhang Mancheng's legion, she had reason to believe that it was Lu Hai Kong's elite force.
She still thought Lu Hai Kong was foolish for deploying such an elite force there, as it left him vulnerable to Dong Zhuo and Baron Yuan's armies.
The Yellow Turban Saintess believed that when Lu Hai Kong faced setbacks against Dong Zhuo, it would be their opportunity to turn the tide.
It was evident that at this point, neither Baron Yuan, Dong Zhuo, nor the Yellow Turban Saintess considered themselves likely to lose.
They remained confident, each believing they would emerge victorious from this war. However, the overconfident Lu Hai Kong was in for a grim fate.
Unbeknownst to them, even as they harbored optimism and confidence, war reports from Bingzhou were making their way to them in various forms.
It would be intriguing to see the expressions of these three when they learned of the news from Bingzhou, specifically the crushing defeat of Lu Bu's legion...
(End of Chapter)
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