pdf-ebookys Chapter 326 Blood-based alliance
Chapter 326 Blood-based alliance
Chapter 326 Blood Alliance
On the other side, Sun Ce, Cheng Pu and Huang Gai were also having a secret discussion in the big tent.
Cheng Pu's face was solemn, and he said, "My Lord, this is too unusual. Cao Cao is said to be an unruly person who doesn't even take the officials in the court seriously, but today he is very supportive of Yuan Shao and has no words to refute him. Liu Bei, the governor of Xuzhou, appeared here and also said nothing. This is too weird!"
Sun Ce, with his hair loose and wiping his sword, said indifferently, "No matter what conspiracy they have, it won't be us. As long as I make enough contributions, my uncle in the court can help me inherit the title. As long as I inherit the title, we will be legitimate in Wu County..."
Sun Ce now holds no official position. Even if the Imperial Guards do not pursue his actions, his "rule" of Wu County is not legitimate and he faces too much resistance.
What's more, Sun Ce has even greater ambitions!
Cheng Pu said, "Young Master, we must be on guard. Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are both remnants of the Yuan family, and the court will not tolerate them. Once Dong Zhuo is destroyed, Yuan Shao will definitely be the next one! Young Master wants to inherit the title and stand firm in the chaos of Dong Zhuo's demise. We must stand on the side of the court, and not just inherit the title, we must at least seek a position as a governor!"
When~
Sun Ce thrust the sword back fiercely, and said with a gleaming look, "Not bad! All right, I'll go visit Cao Cao tomorrow. Doesn't he like BMWs and famous swords? Send someone back to get them. I'll give him as many as he wants!"
Cheng Pu nodded and said, "Cao Cao is the current emperor's favorite minister. If he writes a letter on behalf of the eldest son, it should be a sure thing."
Huang Gai, who was standing by, holding his sword, seemed to be uninterested in all this and asked, "Should we return Yuan Shao's soldiers to him?"
Sun Ce looked out the door and said, "I didn't bring it."
Huang Gai nodded and said, "That would be great."
In recent years, the South has suffered from the Yellow Turban Rebellion and various bandit riots. It can be said that the people's livelihood has been impoverished and the number of young and strong people has sharply decreased. It is not so easy to recruit 5,000 soldiers and horses.
None of these four people is simple, and they all have ulterior motives. No one spoke to them that night.
On the second and third days, more people came one after another, such as Zang Hong, Zhang Chao and others who were fighting guerrillas in Xuzhou, Wen Yi, the former Guanglu doctor in Jingzhou, Liu Yao, the Imperial Censor who took refuge in Huaipu, Zhuge Xuan, the prefect of Yuzhang recommended by Liu Biao, Zhu Hao, the prefect of Changsha planned by the court, and so on. There were many people, more than thirty in total.
Some led soldiers with as many as three thousand, and some with hundreds. All of them responded to Yuan Shao's call, spent all their money, recruited soldiers, raised food and fodder, and traveled long distances regardless of the long journey.
Yuan Shao welcomed all these people, regardless of their official rank, and personally greeted them, then held a grand banquet and entertained them warmly.
Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Ce and others watched coldly, seeing Yuan Shao winning over the hearts of the people, gathering troops and growing stronger day by day, but they rarely participated and only occasionally echoed him.
By the third day, Yuan Shao could no longer wait and decided to hold a swearing-in ceremony on September 7th and send troops north on September 8th.
At this time, Cao Cao and Liu Bei had already brought their respective troops and lined up on the left and right of Yuan Shao's army, but the power to mobilize troops was in the hands of Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao, wearing the uniform of the rear general, holding a sword in his hand, inspected various places, preparing his troops and horses, and was full of murderous intent.
September 7th.
Outside Zhongli County, Yuan Shao, Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Sun Ce, as well as Zang Hong, Zhuge Xuan, Zhang Chao, Liu Yao and dozens of others gathered.
The sun is shining brightly, the banners are fluttering, and everything is ready on the altar not far away.
Zang Hong, the person who took the oath, did not hesitate. He strode out and went up to the altar.
Standing in front of a crowd of civil officials, military generals, and princes from all sides, Zang Hong took out the oath, his voice clear and every word, reaching the sky.
"The Han Dynasty is in misfortune, and the imperial power has lost its leadership. The traitor Dong Zhuo took advantage of the situation and committed crimes, bringing disaster to the court and abusing the people. Shao and others are afraid that the country will be lost, so they have gathered righteous soldiers and joined forces to fight for the country. We are all allies, and we will work together to be loyal to our country. We will not have two minds. If you violate this alliance, you will lose your life and will not be able to pass on your legacy. The gods and the earth, and the spirits of our ancestors, will all bear witness to this..."
The people below the altar listened, each with a different expression, and were silent.
As to the person to take the oath, the various princes pushed the issue back and forth and no one was decided all day. Yuan Shao, the rear general and the tacit "leader of the alliance", refused to agree no matter what, while Cao Cao refused on the grounds that "he was of too low a rank to appoint". Liu Bei, a royal relative, should have been the most suitable person, but he refused on the grounds of "repeated failures and bad luck".
The other princes all had their reasons, but no one was willing to step forward. In the end, Zang Hong couldn't stand it anymore and took it over on his own initiative.
The person taking the oath made up his mind, and then argued for two more days over the oath.
The various princes chose their words carefully, and everyone had opinions and ideas. There were countless people who wanted to secretly carry out their own agenda and seek profit and avoid harm.
Finally, it was finalized last night.
Except for Liu Bei, everyone else had no objection to the first few sentences.
As for the second sentence, 'Shao and others were afraid of the loss of the country, so they gathered together the righteous army and rushed to the national crisis', the word 'Shao' was added at the insistence of Yuan Shao. Cao Cao and others strongly opposed it, but it was added anyway.
There was no third sentence, 'We are all allies, and we will work together to be loyal to you, and we will have no second thoughts'. It was Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Ce who strongly advocated it, and Yuan Shao and others agreed only after they had no choice.
"If this alliance is violated, he will lose his life and will not be able to leave behind any children." This was changed by Zhuge Xuan. He changed the original "die under a hail of arrows" to "will not be able to leave behind any children."
Simply put, if you break this oath, not only will you die, but you will also have no descendants.
After Zang Hong finished reading, the people around him suddenly shouted loudly. No matter whether they were princes or ordinary soldiers, they all shouted, with flags flying and rustling, and the momentum was magnificent.
Yuan Shao and others also had their hearts in turmoil and were filled with inexplicable emotions.
After Zang Hong finished reading, he performed a series of rituals, then stepped aside and shouted, "Oath of Blood!"
Yuan Shao led the way, followed by Liu Bian, Cao Cao, Sun Ce, Zhuge Xuan, Liu Yao and others.
The so-called "blood oath" is also a complicated process, not to mention the large number of people involved.
This seemingly simple ceremony lasted a whole day.
After the waiting was over, everyone returned to the military camp and packed up, preparing to break camp tomorrow and head north to fight Dong.
"We are finally going to send troops."
Inside Cao Cao's tent, he let out a long sigh and said with a smile on his face.
There were three people sitting in his tent: Xiahou Dun, Le Jin, and Guo Jia, who was dressed as a personal guard.
Guo Jia took off his hat, took a sip of wine, shook his head and said, "General, I'm afraid that may not be the case."
Cao Cao was startled and asked, "What do you mean by Feng Xiao? Since the troops have already sworn in, and Yuan Benchu has sworn in public, how can there be any unexpected changes when the troops are to be led out tomorrow?"
Guo Jia suddenly sneered and said, "I have been observing the rear general these days and found that he has done almost nothing but annex troops from various routes. Now, I am afraid there are only a dozen routes left."
Cao Cao also knew this, but he didn't care. He asked in confusion: "It's not strange. Why do you think Fengxiao won't withdraw his troops tomorrow?"
Guo Jia looked outside, sneering even more, and said, "It's not that I won't send troops tomorrow. What I'm saying is that the rear general has no intention of fighting Dong Zhuo, and is far inferior to the general. Moreover, it will take at least half a month to go to Qiao County via Ruyin. We are already scattered, and if we delay a little, it will take a month. It will be mid-October when we arrive in Qiao County. Have you prepared autumn clothes? Winter will come soon after autumn, what should we do with winter clothes?"
Cao Cao had not thought so much about it before. He was urging Yuan Shao to send troops as soon as possible. After listening to Guo Jia's words, his face gradually became gloomy.
Le Jin and Xiahou Dun looked at each other, neither of them dared to speak.
Cao Cao thought over and over in his mind, his narrow eyes flashing with cold murderous intent.
Guo Jia knew that Cao Cao was different from Yuan Shao and others, and his heart was still with the Han Dynasty. Looking at his uncertain expression, he said, "General, if this is true, it will ruin my plan. We must prepare for it as soon as possible."
Cao Cao was furious. He slowly raised his eyelids, looked at Guo Jia, and said, "If I join forces with Liu Bei, Sun Ce, Zhuge Xuan, Liu Yao and others, with a combined force of 70,000, and march in first, what do you think?"
Guo Jia thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Now that Yuan Shao is the rear general and leader of the alliance, all the troops have to look at his face, so it's inevitable that we have some worries. What's more, Sun Ce, Liu Bei and the others don't have much food, and the general gave half of it to Yuan Shao. The food we have stored is not enough to support an army of 70,000 for too long."
Cao Cao's expression became increasingly ugly, and he wished he could cut Yuan Shao into pieces.
After thinking it over and over, he still couldn't come up with a good plan, so he had to ask, "Feng Xiao, do you have a good plan?"
Guo Jia drank and said, "General, you have many things to do. First, unite all parties to put pressure on Yuan Shao and force him to march as quickly as possible without delay. Second, win over as many people as possible. When necessary, the general must act arbitrarily and march freely without Yuan Shao. Third... the general must be prepared to fall out with Yuan Shao."
Cao Cao was shocked and asked, "Falling out with Yuan Shao?"
For so many days, Cao Cao had been forcing himself to tolerate Yuan Shao, cooperating with him in everything and rarely objecting, all so that Yuan Shao could lead all the armies, unite and fight against Dong Zhuo.
If Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fell out, it might mean, in the eyes of other factions, that the imperial court had broken up with Yuan Shao, which would cause the anti-Dong coalition to fall apart in an instant, and the anti-Dong campaign would be aborted without a fight!
Guo Jia knew Cao Cao's concerns and said solemnly, "That's right. If Yuan Shao deliberately delays, the general must work hard to move forward. The responsibility of destroying Dong must fall on the general!"
Cao Cao nodded slightly, his face as hard as steel, and said, "Then isn't Yuan Shao sitting on the mountain watching the tigers fight, and reaping the benefits?"
Guo Jia said: "There is no other way. Right now, destroying Dong Zhuo is the most urgent task. Yuan Shao and his ilk dare not rebel yet. As long as Dong Zhuo is destroyed, the court can breathe a sigh of relief and make plans slowly. If Dong Zhuo cannot be destroyed as soon as possible, the court will be restrained by him, and Yan, Qing, and even Sili will not be at peace!"
Cao Cao took a deep breath, opened his eyes wide, looked outside the tent, and said, "If Yuan Shao really dares to break the alliance, I will kill him one day!"
Guo Jia drank silently, thinking of a better solution in his mind.
But now Yuan Shao’s momentum is inevitable, and he must stand in the front and slow down his pace!
Cao Cao was also thinking about it. After a moment, he said, "How about we spread some rumors to force Yuan Shao to send troops?"
Guo Jia thought about it and shook his head, saying, "It won't do much good. It will only give Yuan Shao an excuse. We still need unity at the moment."
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes, flashing a dangerous light, and said to himself: "If Yuan Benchu really wants to do this, I will make him regret it! Yuan Rang, keep an eye on the coalition's food and fodder, and then you send a message to Zixiao, waiting for my order at any time."
Guo Jia was startled, then drank calmly.
If Cao Cao is really angered, the consequences will be very serious.
Moreover, Guo Jia vaguely felt that Cao Cao would never do such a thing. He must be thinking about how to force Yuan Shao to go to war with Dong Zhuo as soon as possible, or he might even have a way!
"Yes!" Xiahou Dun understood and turned to leave.
Guo Jia drank and didn't say anything.
Cao Cao was a man with extremely strong ideas. Especially over the past few years, some clear changes had occurred. He had made great progress in war strategies and calculations, which were no longer comparable to the past.
Cao Cao did not leave the main tent, but he moved around frequently.
Liu Bei, in particular, was like a socialite. He seemed to be familiar with everyone and could talk to everyone for a long time when they met.
Sun Ce only visited those who had a vested interest in him, and did not even nod when he met others.
However, Liu Yao, Zhuge Xuan and others were relatively relaxed. They gathered together, drank and chatted, talked about romance, wrote poems and sang songs, and felt very comfortable.
Liu Bei arrived late. Everyone was half drunk and their tone was erratic, obviously they were drunk.
Zhuge Xuan danced gracefully and freely during the banquet, looking very comfortable.
Seeing this, Liu Bei sat aside and heard Liu Yao next to him sneering at Zhuge Xuan, saying, "Lord Xuande, this Zhuge Xuan is a big talker with no moral integrity. Don't associate with him."
Liu Yao was also a member of the royal family of the Han Dynasty, so he was closer to Liu Bei, who claimed to be a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan, than to others.
Liu Bei showed curiosity and asked, "What big talk?"
Liu Yao looked at Zhuge Xuan who was still dancing, and others who joined in, his expression becoming more and more indifferent, and said: "What are you saying about his two characters? He has natural talent and is a talent for assisting the king. He will become a great man in the future!"
Liu Bei's heart was inexplicably moved, and he asked, "Two nephews? Do you have any explanation?"
Liu Yao took a bite of the food and shook his head, saying, "They are not very famous. One is Zhuge Jin and the other is Zhuge Liang. They are already twenty-five or twenty-six years old, but have no talent or reputation."
Liu Bei listened and felt disappointed.
Zhuge Xuan was from Xuzhou, but he had left to avoid disaster before Liu Bei arrived. He would not be recruited in the future. Now Zhuge Xuan was very close to Yuan Shao, so Liu Bei had no idea where to start.
I had been thinking about Zhuge Xuan's two nephews, but after hearing Liu Yao's words about how they had no talent, I immediately gave up the idea.
Liu Bei calmly observed the singing, dancing and drinking crowd and sighed, "How can you still have such thoughts when the war is imminent?"
Liu Yao shook his head, and seeing that there was no one around, he suddenly leaned closer and whispered, "Lord Xuande, I got news that Yuan Shao has other plans, and we need to be careful."
Liu Bei paused with his chopsticks in his hand and asked quickly, "What is your plan?"
Liu Bei couldn't help but be nervous. He had entrusted his life and property to Yuan Shao. If Yuan Shao had ulterior motives, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Liu Yao glanced around again and whispered even more quietly, "Someone has leaked the news that Yuan Shao intends to let you and Meng De be the vanguards, allowing you to fight against Dong Zhuo, and Yuan Shao will reap the benefits!"
Liu Bei slowly put down the chopsticks in his hand, his face full of anger, and was about to stand up, saying: "I will go to the rear general to have it clear."
Liu Yao quickly pulled him back and whispered, "How can we talk about such a weird thing?"
Liu Bei looked nervous, uneasy, and had to sit down. He said, "This is about the safety of the country, how can I care about my life? Lord Liu, why don't you come with me and explain the pros and cons to the rear general. Before the country, personal honor and safety are not important. We must not lose the big picture for the sake of small things and bring disaster to the country and the people!"
Seeing Liu Bei's sincerity, Liu Yao could not help but hold his hand and said sincerely: "Lord Xuande, everything is still unclear, so you have to be patient for a while. I see that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are singing the same tune, there must be a reason, why not wait and see, and be cautious!"