Chapter 937: Two Months
Chapter 937: Two Months
2017-09-25
In the blink of an eye, two months had passed since the official conclusion of the Coalition Against Dong Zhuo's plotline.
During these two months, significant events had taken place across the realm. Despite the arrival of the Spring Festival, the entire realm was far from peaceful. Instead of ending with the Coalition's closure, the flames of war had spread throughout the Great Han Empire.
The previously restrained alien lords began to make their moves during these two months, seizing the opportunity presented by the Coalition's end.
After all, the conclusion of the Coalition Against Dong Zhuo marked the beginning of the Battle of Warlords, a grand era where everyone exerted themselves to develop and conquer, striving to stand out among the countless lords.
Those with insight knew that this was the best opportunity for their rise, and if they missed it, they might never get another chance.
The current situation in the realm was delicate. Across the land, only two powers had truly solidified their foothold: the undisputed Dong Zhuo, who had moved the capital to Chang'an and held the Emperor hostage to command the warlords, and Lu Hai Kong, the first alien lord to control an entire state.
Although Dong Zhuo's captive Emperor was practically useless, his strength was undeniable. Despite being defeated in the Coalition's plotline, no one dared to underestimate Dong Zhuo's capabilities.
Despite his recent defeat, Dong Zhuo didn't seem like a setting sun as in history; instead, he appeared more like the sun at its zenith.
Aside from Dong Zhuo, the other power that had firmly established itself was Lu Hai Kong.
Lu Hai Kong had become the undisputed number one lord in the realm, and all aliens and NPCs acknowledged his strength.
He was the only alien lord who controlled an entire state, with countless capable generals and strategists under his command. His current prestige might even surpass that of Dong Zhuo.
Although Lu Hai Kong had always protected his strategists, keeping their identities hidden, he didn't need to reveal their lineup. The battle at Huolao Pass alone, led by Warlord Zhang, was enough to give everyone a clear understanding of Lu Hai Kong's military prowess.
Lu Hai Kong had always been renowned for his elite tactics, which made people question his ability to command large-scale battles while conquering the empire.
However, Warlord Zhang's performance shattered these doubts, proving to the realm that Lu Hai Kong was an undisputed powerhouse in both elite tactics and large-scale warfare.
Even without revealing his strategists, Lu Hai Kong's level of command was such that ordinary historical strategists, and even top-tier ones, might not be able to challenge him.
With vast lands and powerful armies under his command, if Lu Hai Kong wasn't considered well-established, who would be?
In the current realm, aside from Dong Zhuo and Lu Hai Kong, who had developed and solidified their positions, there were indeed many other powerful lords and forces. They were all formidable, but most of them were several tiers below Lu Hai Kong and Dong Zhuo.
The powers in the realm could be divided into three tiers. The first tier, of course, consisted of Dong Zhuo and Lu Hai Kong. One controlled Bingzhou, while the other dominated most of Liangzhou, both with unparalleled strength far beyond that of their neighboring powers.
The strength of these two powers was unquestionable, but they were the most well-behaved during these two months, showing no signs of expansion, at least on the surface.
It wasn't that they didn't want to expand; they couldn't. Both had their own issues, the biggest being their control over their territories.
Take Lu Hai Kong as an example. With his military might, he could conquer Youzhou within half a year if he wished.
But what would conquering Youzhou achieve? Lu Hai Kong couldn't even fully control his current territory, and taking over Youzhou would not significantly increase his strength; instead, it would bring him more problems.
It's important to understand that this world differs significantly from historical records. In this world, the Great Han Empire's territory had expanded tenfold.
In other words, the land Lu Hai Kong controlled was already equivalent to the entire historical Great Han Empire. Years ago, he had broken ties with the aristocratic families, and recently, he had eliminated the four aristocratic families in the northern part of Bingzhou.
In this situation, unless Lu Hai Kong's talent system could truly be established, unless he had sufficient talent reserves, he would not easily expand.
On the one hand, on the other hand, the current Lu Hai Kong himself was a little too strong and dazzling.
When he sat in Bingzhou, the states of Youzhou, Jizhou, Sili School Department, and even Yanzhou all had to watch Lu Hai Kong's every move.
However, while these places' powers were cautiously observing him, if Lu Hai Kong were to make any sudden aggressive moves, he could guarantee that a coalition against him would form quickly, after all, everyone understood the concept of 'when the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.'
Apart from these two factors, there were various other issues. The existence of these problems made it impossible for Lu Hai Kong to achieve expansion within a short time.
Similarly, Dong Zhuo also had his own problems. Perhaps the issues between him and Lu Hai Kong were somewhat surprising, but it was certain that that guy wouldn't be able to expand in a short time either.
In a situation where the two top-tier warlords couldn't expand, the second-tier warlords began to frantically expand.
In the 16th month of the 19th year of the reign, the first version of the book was correct!
This tier had several representative figures: Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Jian from the NPC natives; Beihai Kong Qing and Bohai Yuan Hong from the foreign lords, along with several foreign lords in Jiaozhou, and Meng Hu from the Southern Barbarians.
These people were all frantically expanding during these two months. Everyone knew that the time left for them was limited.
Once the two top-tier warlords above them regained their strength, with their foundation, once they unleashed their full potential, there would be little left for them in this world.
Therefore, the second-tier warlords utilized this difficult period to frantically expand. Everyone wanted to feather their nests before the two top tigers showed their fangs.
At this time, the development method of the second-tier warlords was quite uniform, all through the means of war to integrate resources. In simpler terms, they fought and plundered.
Of course, their targets of plunder wouldn't be those of the same level, as everyone's strengths were similar. They wouldn't easily make a move without absolute certainty, although some situations were exceptions.
For example, Yuan Hong and Yuan Shao from Jizhou, and Beihai Kong Qing and Donglai Ye Wen from Qingzhou.
Apart from these two pairs, the second-tier warlords generally picked on the softer targets of the third tier.
If the first-tier warlords, Lu Hai Kong and Dong Zhuo, were like ferocious tigers, then the second-tier ones were like hungry wolves, and the third-tier warlords were like herbivorous animals.
Perhaps before the Coalition Against Dong Zhuo, they were also big shots with decent strength and influence, but after the Coalition's plot, their situation became quite dire.
At this time, the entire world had opened the prelude to the Battle of the Warlords. Before the main plot began, this prelude was not bland and even carried a heavy scent of bloodshed.
The grand play of the Battle of the Warlords was about to unfold. The prelude before the main plot was a clearing act, only those qualified to participate in this grand play would remain, while those unable to climb onto this stage would be cleared out.
The third-tier foreign lords didn't want to be cleared out, so they could either unite to resist or only rely on others. Of course, they could also show their fangs and carve out a bloody path in this chaotic world.
In this chaotic and turbulent era, if they didn't want to be cleared out, they could only grit their teeth and climb upwards...
(End of Chapter)
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