Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

“本初, isn't this request a bit too high?”

After a moment of pause, Cao Cao ridiculed himself. “If that's the case, there will be too many who cannot enter the camp. Even the troops under my command are less than ten thousand.”

And Yuan Shao seemed to have really overlooked Cao Cao.

Hearing Cao Cao's words, a hint of surprise appeared on Yuan Shao's face, and then he smiled at Cao Cao.

“Cao Aman, are you unwilling to serve the country? Grand Commandant Cao is very wealthy. As long as you spend more money and grain, how can Aman's troops be limited to ten thousand?”

Cao Cao was quite displeased. Yuan Shao's words implied that his father, Cao Song, was not only wealthy but also a great corrupt official.

Moreover, how can everyone compare to the Yuan family, who has had four generations and three lords?

It has been less than half a year since Dong Zhuo entered Beijing and left Luoyang for Ji Province. Yuan Shao not only obtained the position of a commandery administrator for nothing but also easily gathered 30,000 elite soldiers to Suanzao, which shows how deep his foundation is.

However, Cao Cao showed no abnormality on his face. Instead, he ridiculed himself.

“Where did my father get his wealth? He barely managed to donate to become Grand Commandant, and he resigned and retired in less than a year. Not to mention being wealthy, recruiting brave men this time has barely scraped together five thousand, which has left my family with almost nothing.”

“Why didn't Aman say so earlier? You and I are close friends. If you lack money and food, how can I sit idly by?”

Yuan Shao said this, then changed the subject. “However, since Aman's situation is like this, let's set the rule that only those who lead five thousand soldiers can enter the camp…”

After a pause, Yuan Shao, who was now famous and knew that Liu Yu, the real convener of this alliance, would not personally come to Suanzao, very consciously regarded himself as the only candidate for the leader and said with a bit of complacency.

“However, these small matters still need Aman to coordinate more, so don't cause any conflicts.”

“It is my duty to eliminate the bandits for the country.”

Cao Cao replied, and after exchanging a few more words of concern and reminiscing about the past, he left Yuan Shao's camp.

After Cao Cao left, Xu You and Guo Tu walked in from behind the camp and saluted Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao, who had previously shown a bit of arrogance in addition to his majesty, now put away that expression and revealed an approachable attitude, saying.

“Ziyuan and Gongze, there is no need to be so polite. Please take a seat.”

After Xu You and Guo Tu sat down with respectful expressions, Guo Tu couldn't wait to speak.

“Lord, Cao Cao may have ill intentions. This move seems to be asking the lord for advice, but in reality, he wants the lord to be the villain who refuses the small lords to enter. Please be aware of this.”

Yuan Shao stroked his beard, and said with a contemptuous look.

“I naturally know Aman's intentions. However, although this matter may offend some small lords, it can also establish my authority in the allied forces.”

Hearing Yuan Shao's words, Xu You and Guo Tu understood that the person Yuan Shao was truly worried about was Yuan Shu.

Among the Guanlong aristocratic families, the Yuan family with four generations and three lords is undoubtedly the most prominent.

However, the Yuan family has two heirs, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, which has led to constant open and secret struggles between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

Therefore, after confirming at this alliance that the Governor of You Province, Liu Yu, would not personally come, the position of leader would undoubtedly most likely be produced from among Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

Therefore, even though Yuan Shao understood Cao Cao's purpose, he casually ridiculed and knocked Cao Cao for being a eunuch and a corrupt official before agreeing to allow Cao Cao to let some small lords with few soldiers and few generals set up their own camps elsewhere in the name of the Yuan family.

Hearing this, Xu You interjected at the right time, saying.

“What the lord is worried about can be said to be a selfless heart. Dong Zhuo's troops are strong and his generals are skilled, and he has the help of the fierce general Lu Bu. Those small lords who lead only a thousand soldiers may not be able to withstand Lu Bu's charge and will be defeated.”

“In this way, in addition to only causing casualties to those small lords, it will also put the army in danger of being disrupted by the defeated soldiers. Presumably, those small lords will understand the lord's intentions and will be very understanding and grateful to the lord.”

Guo Tu couldn't help but glance at Xu You secretly, and hated Xu You secretly in his heart.

These… were all the words Guo Tu was about to say, but Xu You snatched them first.

Being praised by Xu You in this way, Yuan Shao didn't show any complacency on his face. Instead, he showed some worry and said.

“This time, the Governor of You Province has called on the relatives and lords to fight against Dong, and the momentum is huge. However, Dong Zhuo occupies the strategic pass and has Lu Bu's assistance. It is extremely difficult to defeat Dong Zhuo. Do you two have any good strategies?”

When asked about this, Xu You and Guo Tu both chose to remain silent.

The strength of Dong Zhuo's troops today can undoubtedly only be described as "terrifying." In addition to the original Liang Province elite soldiers under Dong Zhuo's command, he also swallowed up the Bing Province elite and the Sili elite.

It should be noted that in recent years, the wars of the Han Dynasty have been in Liang, Bing, and You provinces. Therefore, the soldiers of Liang, Bing, and Sili can be said to have been fighting every year, and their combat power is fundamentally different from that of ordinary commandery soldiers.

As for Lu Bu's bravery, Yuan Shao, Xu You, and Guo Tu had also witnessed it in Luoyang, and it was almost inhuman.

Therefore, Yuan Shao led 30,000 elite soldiers to Suanzao for the alliance this time, but he deliberately did not bring his fierce generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou, because he knew very well that Yan Liang and Wen Chou were definitely not Lu Bu's opponents.

Even if Yan Liang and Wen Chou went up to challenge Lu Bu side by side, it would be in vain. It would be better not to bring them, and let the generals under the command of the other lords resist Lu Bu, so as not to lose these two fierce generals and truly hurt their own foundation.

After a while, feeling Yuan Shao's inquiring gaze that was still cast over from time to time, Guo Tu had no choice but to bite the bullet and say.

“Lord, in my opinion, the Lord should take on the role of leader and command the heroes, gather troops, and advance step by step. No matter how brave Dong Zhuo's soldiers and generals are, how can they compete with the entire world?”

However, Guo Tu was a little excited when he spoke, and his mouth opened a little too wide, revealing the few missing teeth in his mouth, which made Guo Tu's originally passionate words sound clearly leaky, adding a bit of comedy.

Fortunately, Yuan Shao had been educated as a member of a noble family for more than twenty years, so he would naturally not be unable to control his laughter, so as not to hurt Guo Tu's self-esteem and chill the heart of Guo Tu, his confidant staff.

However, looking at Guo Tu's missing teeth, Yuan Shao thought of a certain person and said.

“I wonder if the national scholar Li Ji will come here for this alliance? The world often says: Lu Bu is the most martial in the world, and Li Ji is the wisest. I wonder if that national scholar Li Ji has a clever plan to break Dong Zhuo.”

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of Xu You and Guo Tu were almost highly consistent in appearing quite ugly.

This name has almost become the nightmare of Xu You and Guo Tu. The fact that their lord praised Li Ji so much made Xu You and Guo Tu feel like their lover had changed their mind.

“Lord, it is rumored that after Li Ji helped You Province defeat the Wuhuan, he followed the order of the Wa General Liu Bei to lead his troops across the sea to Yingzhou to investigate the affairs of the Wa Kingdom. There has been no news for a year or two. Not to mention that he may have already been buried in the sea…”

After a pause, Guo Tu, who couldn't help but say the curse in his heart against Li Ji, changed his tone and continued.

“Even if Li Ji returns to the Central Plains in time, he does not know the details of Dong Zhuo's affairs, nor does he know how amazing Lu Bu's bravery is. What useful strategies can he come up with?”

This time, Xu You rarely refuted or squeezed Guo Tu. Instead, he followed suit and said.

“Lord, I have heard one or two rumors that Li Ji has already returned to Wu Commandery.”

“However, Wu Commandery is more than a thousand miles away from Suanzao. I am afraid that even if the Administrator of Wu Commandery, Liu Bei, is determined to serve the country, it will be difficult for him to reach the Suanzao Alliance. Even if Li Ji is wise, I am afraid that it will be difficult for him to be used by the allied forces.”

Yuan Shao sighed slightly and said.

“That is a pity. I have heard the name of the national scholar for a long time. I know that he and you two are both rare strategists in the world, but I have never had the opportunity to meet him in person, which is a pity.”

If Yuan Shao had initially disapproved of Li Ji, then as Guo Tu and Xu You successively suffered losses at the hands of Li Ji, Yuan Shao's attention to Li Ji inevitably increased.

Not to mention that Li Ji managed Wu Commandery prosperously, more importantly, the previous battle to assist You Province in defeating the Wuhuan completely established the name of "National Scholar."

All kinds of deeds not only show that Li Ji's military and political strategies are beyond compare, but also that Liu Yu has repeatedly publicly praised his impeccable character!

It can be said that Li Ji is now recognized by the world as the "National Scholar" and the number one scholar, and Liu Yu's high regard for him in the Han Dynasty is indispensable.

How could Yuan Shao, who is so talented and ambitious, not value him?

Although Yuan Shao did not forget to indirectly appease Guo Tu and Xu You in his words, if Li Ji was willing to join his command and serve him, Yuan Shao would almost hesitate to entrust him with the position of "Chief Advisor."

As for the small conflicts between Li Ji and Xu You and Guo Tu, Yuan Shao would naturally not mind, knowing that Li Ji, such a capable person, would definitely be able to reconcile the conflicts between his subordinates.

It's just a pity that Yuan Shao had to admit that Xu You's words made some sense.

Wu Commandery is located in Jiangdong, far away from the Central Plains. It is not easy to lead troops to Suanzao.

Even if the information transmission is delayed, Liu Yu's "Exhortation to Punish the National Traitor" may have only recently reached Wu Commandery. How can Wu Commandery have time to participate in this alliance?

While Yuan Shao felt a little regret in his heart, after resting in the camp for a while, he personally went to the camp to meet with the other lords.

In Yuan Shao's view, the success or failure of the campaign against Dong was not the most important thing.

Anyone with a little vision can see that the chaotic world has arrived!

The most important thing in Yuan Shao's eyes was to find out the truth about the other lords during the alliance, and then win over capable people.

With Yuan Shao's arrival, the other lords who can now be truly regarded as occupying one side also began to arrive at Suanzao one after another.

General of the Rear, Administrator of Nanyang, Yuan Shu, Governor of Ji Province, Han Fu, Administrator of Beiping, Gongsun Zan…

This also made the strength gathered in Suanzao grow day by day at an almost visible rate.

Although participation in the alliance was entirely voluntary, only those leading armies of over five thousand were permitted to garrison within the Suanzao stronghold. Even those lords encamped outside were welcome to enter and discuss the matters of the alliance, but this undoubtedly created a subtle division among the lords, separating them into two distinct tiers.

Those who could garrison within the main camp were the major lords.

Those who encamped independently around the periphery were the minor lords.

(End of Chapter)