Chapter 888: The Alliance of the Warlords
Chapter 888: The Alliance of the Warlords
Date: September 25, 2017
The construction of the Outland City, initiated by Lu HaiKong, had officially begun around August and was completed by the end of November. The project not only consumed Lu HaiKong's vast resources but also took over three months to finish. Fortunately, the completion of the Outland City brought significant gains to Lu HaiKong, making the time and resources well worth the effort.
Upon Lu HaiKong's return to Beifeng, the impeachment memorial issued by Yuan Hong had already passed nearly a month. In this month, Yuan Hong's reputation and influence had grown significantly, and the various warlords and lords had started to arrive at Silizhou School.
Although not all had arrived, most of the expected participants were present.
Currently, the gathering included Yuan Shao, temporarily residing in Julu; Cao Cao from Chenliu; Liu Bei from Xishu; Sun Jian from Changsha; Yuan Shu, who had settled in Nanyang after leaving Jiangnan; Gongsun Zan from Liaodong; Ma Teng from Xiliang; and various indigenous NPC forces like the NPCs from Beihai, Kong Qing, Nanman, Meng Hu, Nanyang, Liu Yi, Jibei, Cao Yan, and Donglai, Ye Wen, among others.
In addition to these indigenous NPC forces, numerous Outsider Lord forces had also arrived: Beihai Yuan Hong, Hedong Wei Jun, Beihai Kong Qing, Nanman Meng Hu, Nanzhou Tie Kui, Nanyang Liu Yi, Jibei Cao Yan, Donglai Ye Wen, and many more.
The number of forces present far exceeded the eighteen routes mentioned in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and their combined might was formidable.
However, with such a massive presence, the gathering was even more chaotic than the one described in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
In the novel, the gathering could still produce a leader and establish a certain order, even managing tasks like food supply. But in this world, the gathering of the warlords was a complete mess, with dozens of forces gathered, many of them being Outsider Lords, the situation was incredibly chaotic.
Moreover, in this world, Yuan Shao, though possessing considerable prestige, could not be directly voted as the leader like in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Many present had equal or even higher prestige than him, such as Liu Bei!
This world's Liu Bei had met his benefactor, Tan Tai Mingjing, much earlier, and with his help, Liu Bei's development was impressive. After suppressing the Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion and with his status as a Han Dynasty relative, Liu Bei's strength and reputation were no less than Yuan Shao's.
This made the gathering even more competitive and scheming than the one in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Even before the warlords reached the Luoyang City Gate, the undercurrents among them were already stirring.
In Luoyang, Dong Zhuo was well aware of the situation.
Yuan Hong had created such a massive presence, and Dong Zhuo, as the warlord of the capital, was not going to be intimidated by the gathering of warlords.
From the beginning of the gathering, Dong Zhuo had already sent men to block the eight gates of Luoyang.
Luoyang, the capital of the Han Dynasty, was surrounded by eight gates, each with three checkpoints, serving both as communication channels for the various warlords and as a defense for the imperial capital.
When Lu HaiKong had entered Luoyang, Emperor Ling had not paid much attention, but if Dong Zhuo had closed even one of the eight gates, Lu HaiKong's entry into Luoyang would have been a significant issue.
While Dong Zhuo blocked the eight gates, he also gathered information about the various warlords present.
As he understood the situation of the dozens of warlords, Dong Zhuo burst into laughter.
This world's Dong Zhuo was not the same as the one in history. At this time, he might not be considered a brilliant strategist, but he was no fool either.
He was not intimidated by the massive gathering of warlords outside Luoyang. Instead, he saw through the superficial appearance and understood their true nature.
He was well aware that with such a gathering, it would be difficult for them to unite, and in their current state, he believed he might not even need to fight. Simply by closing the eight gates of Luoyang, he thought, they would disperse on their own soon enough.
Of course, Dong Zhuo was aware that his idea was slightly optimistic, so he did not plan to take such a passive approach.
Once he confirmed that most of the warlords had arrived, Dong Zhuo decided to give them a surprise.
Li Ru and Jia Xu, observing Dong Zhuo's actions, understood his intentions. Although they were not as optimistic as Dong Zhuo, they knew that the warlords' forces would eventually coalesce. However, they agreed with Dong Zhuo's plan to assert dominance over the warlords.
...
On the other side, as Dong Zhuo sent men out of Luoyang's eight gates to intimidate the warlords, the situation among the warlords outside Luoyang was already turbulent, with undercurrents flowing beneath the surface.
For these warlords, the second phase of the [Warlords Against Dong Zhuo] task had suddenly ended. After each force received a legendary treasure chest, the Outsider Lords discovered that the [Warlords Against Dong Zhuo] task had once again changed.
---
The moment the system prompt came down, Yuan Hong's face turned dark.
When Yuan Shao was confirmed as the alliance leader, he no longer paid attention to his feelings.
However, just as Yuan Hong's mood worsened, a message suddenly came from the lords' side, saying that all the lords were gathering at the camp to discuss the matter of electing the alliance leader.
Upon hearing this news, Yuan Hong's mood worsened further, but it didn't matter anymore. He still had to attend.
In reality, the matter of the alliance leader had already been decided among the players, so gathering everyone together was merely a formality.
It took a couple of hours for over a dozen lords to gather, and as they sat down one by one, the matter of recommending the alliance leader was brought up. Everyone unanimously supported Yuan Shao, and before Yuan Shao even understood the situation, he was pushed into the alliance leader position.
Yuan Shao wasn't entirely clear about the situation either, but he directly took on the role of the alliance leader.
Although becoming the alliance leader was a good thing, this position wasn't easy to hold. Yuan Shao had just been elected, and his butt hadn't even warmed the seat, when a sudden message came from his subordinates.
Outside the Tiger Gate, a cavalry unit emerged and charged straight towards them, led by none other than Xiliang's Tiger, Lu Bu!
Upon hearing this news, many of the lords' faces changed...
(End of Chapter)
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