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Chapter 1179: The Coalition of Warlords
Chapter 1179: The Coalition of Warlords
October 18th, 2017
Lu Hai Kong's talent for subtle mockery was evident as his personal letter shattered several fragile egos, causing the Anti-Lu Alliance, which had been limited to verbal sparring, to roll up their sleeves and prepare for a real confrontation.
Starting in late January 189, warlords from all over the world began to gather in Luoyang, and after two years, the game of the coalition against Dong Zhuo was officially played again, this time as the coalition against Lu Hai Kong.
Interestingly, both the previous campaign against Dong Zhuo and this campaign against Lu Hai Kong had their battleground in Luoyang.
Even more dramatic was the fact that the leader of the previous coalition against Dong Zhuo had become the target of this campaign, while the one who was targeted in the previous campaign had now become the leader of the coalition against Lu Hai Kong.
If this world still had a future and a history, these two campaigns by the coalition of warlords would undoubtedly be the most colorful and interesting episodes.
Of course, in reality, the warlords initially didn't want Dong Zhuo as their leader. However, this time, they rallied under the banner of the Han Dynasty's legitimacy, and Dong Zhuo, holding Liu Xie, was essentially holding that banner. They had no choice but to include him.
Moreover, they couldn't afford to exclude Dong Zhuo. On the one hand, they would struggle to uphold their righteous cause without him, and on the other hand, they feared that Dong Zhuo might join forces with Lu Hai Kong, which would be disastrous for the warlords.
Even Liu Bei, the initiator of this coalition, had to reluctantly acknowledge Dong Zhuo's leadership, holding his nose.
It was only due to the pressure from Lu Hai Kong and the current unique circumstances that Dong Zhuo could easily clear his name and, with a new face, emerge as the leader of the Anti-Lu Alliance.
However, whether Dong Zhuo could truly lead this coalition effectively was a significant question. The current alliance was essentially no different from the one formed years ago to oppose Lu Hai Kong.
Although they had formed a coalition, their internal conflicts were still substantial. Uniting the strength of this alliance was no small challenge.
The previous anti-Dong Zhuo coalition would have struggled to drive Dong Zhuo away if not for the emergence of Lu Hai Kong, a powerful figure who took the lead and utilized the system's power to consolidate the alliance.
This time, from a certain perspective, their situation might be even more challenging.
Despite several years of development, these warlords had significantly enhanced their strength, both in terms of their individual military prowess and their elite troops, far surpassing their capabilities from a few years ago.
However, they no longer had a dominant figure like Lu Hai Kong to lead them, and even Dong Zhuo might struggle to control his subordinates. Moreover, the system would not provide them with any assistance this time.
Under such circumstances, the success of the Anti-Lu Alliance was truly uncertain.
The only advantage this coalition had over the previous one was that they had learned from past mistakes and were aware of the issues that had plagued them during their campaign against Dong Zhuo.
Yet, humans are not creatures that always learn from their mistakes. Some lessons, no matter how profound, may still lead to unavoidable errors when faced with similar situations.
Of course, nothing is absolute, and this alliance had one significant difference compared to previous ones.
This alliance had the participation of numerous top strategists, including Li Ru from Dong Zhuo's Army, Dantai Mingjing under Liu Bei, Xun Yu serving Cao Cao, a young talent under Sun Jian, and Ju Zou from Yuan Hong's camp. These were all top-tier strategists who had joined this alliance.
These elite strategists were well aware that they might be the only ones capable of leading their side to victory in this battle. They clearly understood that for the sake of victory, some things had to be set aside, at least for the time being.
With this realization, they began to prepare their lords mentally before their departure, while also making various other preparations.
Usually, on a battlefield, a single top-tier strategist could alter the course of a war. But this time, the Anti-Lu Alliance boasted a plethora of top strategists. With such an assembly of brilliant minds, they might just have a glimmer of hope.
As these top strategists made their preparations, the coalition forces of the vassals gradually converged towards Luoyang City.
By March of 189, the coalition forces of the vassals had all arrived.
However, due to the fact that the Imperial Capital Administrative Office was now under Lu HaiKong's control, those coming from the eastern regions of Yan Province, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Jizhou dared not approach the office. After all, Lu HaiKong's formidable reputation was too intimidating, and no single force had the courage to confront him alone.
Cao Cao, Yuan Hong, and others stationed their troops near Yangcheng in Yanzhou, awaiting the arrival of the eastern vassals and the orders from Dong Zhuo, or rather, waiting for the orders they desired from Dong Zhuo.
On Dong Zhuo's side, besides himself, there were Ma Teng and Han Sui from Liangzhou, Liu Bei from Yi Province, Liu Biao from Jingzhou, Sun Jian from Jiangdong, and others. Although not all of them had arrived yet, Dong Zhuo, Ma Teng, and Liu Bei were already present, currently amassing their forces in Yicheng, a hundred li away from Luoyang, awaiting the complete assembly of the alliance.
In the 16th year of the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, the alliance was finally formed!
It wasn't until mid-March that the various vassals from across the land officially gathered.
Now, several hundred li outside of Luoyang, on the eastern side near Yangcheng, Cao Cao and his forces had amassed a total of 500,000 elite troops. On the western side, near Yicheng, Dong Zhuo's forces gathered an army of nearly a million, making the combined forces on both sides close to 1.5 million.
The size of these armies was equivalent to the total number of legions under Lu HaiKong's command, but this numerical parity did not imply equal strength. This 1.5 million-strong army consisted of the most elite forces from various vassal legions, and their combat prowess was undoubtedly capable of overwhelming Lu HaiKong's 1.5 million troops.
Moreover, at this moment, the assembled forces included nearly half of the Three Kingdoms' elite talents. Whether it was top-tier warlords or strategists, they were all present in abundance.
With such a formidable lineup, the initially unconfident vassals suddenly became overconfident, especially with the backing of top-tier strategists. They began to believe that with a well-executed plan, they could easily defeat Lu HaiKong.
Thus, under Dong Zhuo's command, these two formidable armies began their advance towards Luoyang...
(End of Chapter)
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