Chapter 73: Chaos of the Nine Provinces, the Four Seas Seethe (Seeking Monthly Votes)

The winds and clouds of the world are rising from all directions.

Yuan Shao doing this is naturally not a whim.

To him, among the four regions of You, Yan, Qing, and Bing, only Lu Zhi in Qingzhou holds an attitude of the utmost disrespect toward him.

——Cao Cao’s gifts of gratitude to him have never ceased;

although Gongsun the White Horse’s attitude toward him seems rather unclear, Gongsun the White Horse currently has Liu Yu as an opponent.

And as for Ding Yuan of Bingzhou, although his reputation has grown recently, and everyone says he has tiger-like generals under his command,

Yuan Shao is somewhat unimpressed.

How tiger-like can a tiger-like general be?

He currently has no shortage of great generals under his command; what is there to fear?

Moreover, there are constant rebellions within Bingzhou.

Ding Yuan has not even been able to resolve these chaotic troops, so he is naturally not worth fearing.

But Lu Zhi is different; Lu Zhi’s reputation is too high, especially having followed by Gu Xi’s side, which has made his prestige spread far and wide.

Regardless, for Yuan Shao, it is impossible to let such a person continue to develop.

Not accepting his recruitment?

Then die!

This is Yuan Shao’s current confidence!

——The second year of Han Prosperity, April.

Yuan Shao formally borrows the name of the imperial court to proclaim Lu Zhi’s crimes.

He orders the lords of the four directions to join him in attacking Qingzhou.

As the news spreads, the world is shaken!

Yuan Shao’s move to initiate hostilities is like pressing a switch; the lords who were already restless in the four directions now ignite the flames of war everywhere.

Gongsun the White Horse naturally will not follow Yuan Shao’s decree.

Lu Zhi is his teacher, after all; both publicly and privately, it is impossible for him to help Yuan Shao at such a time.

But he is also unable to help Lu Zhi.

There is no help for it; the conflict between him and Liu Yu has reached an irreconcilable point.

The two are at odds in everything, from their personalities to their attitudes toward the common people.

Inside and out, they are completely at odds.

Furthermore, Youzhou is separated from Qingzhou by high mountains and long roads, completely blocked by Jizhou, making it impossible to set out.

He intends to take this opportunity to destroy Liu Yu directly and seize control of the entire power of Youzhou for himself.

Cao Cao naturally cannot wholeheartedly help Yuan Shao either.

It can be said that among the lords of the four directions, Cao Cao is the most clear-headed person today.

He is currently using the tiger skin of the imperial court and Yuan Shao to develop his own power with all his might.

But unlike Gongsun the White Horse,

his situation and geographical location dictate that he cannot easily shirk his responsibilities.

However, at a time like this,

Cao Cao’s true nature as a hero of chaos is revealed.

He sends men to Langya Commandery to find Liu Bei, wanting to stage a grand play with him so that both sides can avoid the brunt of this conflict.

After all, Liu Bei is a disciple of Lu Zhi.

No matter what, he cannot avoid participating in this war.

This is indeed a good method.

It can avoid risks and also avoid a complete falling out with Yuan Shao, who is currently in the limelight.

If it were anyone else, they might have agreed to Cao Cao.

But Liu Bei is different.

With a "bang,"

Liu Bei slams the table in front of him, looks at the envoy sent by Cao Cao with a face full of anger, and scolds: "The Yuan clan is throwing the country into chaos, colluding with a puppet emperor to slander my teacher as a rebel."

"Your master, Cao Cao, as the Governor of Yanzhou, has enjoyed imperial grace for generations; it is bad enough that he does not eliminate the thieves for the country."

"Does he actually want me, Liu Xuande, to wallow in the mire with him?"

Liu Bei is full of annoyance, and without caring what the envoy has to say, he directly orders his men to drive him out.

The atmosphere in the hall is exceptionally heavy.

"Yunchang, Yide, prepare the three armies; I will personally lead the troops to Qingzhou to help Master Lu."

Liu Bei does not hesitate at all and issues the order directly.

His strength is not weak now.

In this current era, the benefit of having a reputation is that it can be exchanged for the support of powerful families.

And as long as he has the support of these people, Liu Bei has the wealth to recruit soldiers and buy horses.

Liu Bei’s reputation has always been quite good.

This is the prestige he carved out during his previous suppression of rebellions.

If not for that, how would he have gained Yuan Shao’s solicitation?

"My lord."

Chen Bo shows worry at this moment, bows, and says: "In the current situation, Yuan Shao is powerful and has the righteousness of the imperial court on his side."

"Judging by the actions of Cao Cao, the Governor of Yanzhou, he is destined to move troops against Qingzhou."

"If we go now, are we not taking a risk?"

He is a representative of the Chen clan, a powerful family in Langya, and naturally does not want Liu Bei to take such a risk.

"Hmph! Yuan Shao slanders my mentor; how can I stand by and watch?"

Liu Bei immediately frowns and looks at Chen Bo with some dissatisfaction: "No need to persuade me further; my mind is made up."

Hearing this, everyone cannot help but sigh helplessly.

But great generals like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun are very approving of Liu Bei’s attitude.

The entire Liu Bei camp immediately springs into action.

At the same time, Yuan Shu naturally lets his so-called elder brother continue to grow.

He is a person with extreme ambition.

Facing the current situation of the world, he has long harbored improper thoughts in his heart and naturally cannot fall behind others.

He originally wanted to indirectly control the entire Jingzhou through Sun Ce.

This is also the reason why he appointed Sun Ce as the Administrator of Changsha.

But Liu Biao’s combat power exceeded his expectations.

At present, he has not yet reached the point where he cannot control the noble families of Jingzhou.

Under these circumstances, Yuan Shu quickly makes adjustments and reaches a reconciliation with Liu Biao.

He gives up Changsha, thereby allowing Sun Ce to advance into Yuzhou and continue to expand his own power.

Meanwhile, Huangfu Song in the land of Liangzhou also begins to fight against Ma Teng, Han Sui, and the former subordinates of Dong Zhuo, such as Li Jue and Guo Si.

Gu Wei has already set a clear strategic goal for him.

That is to gather the strength of the entire province and wait for the situation to change.

All of a sudden, clouds rise in all directions of the world.

The flames of war spread across the Great Han once again, and they are far more severe than the previous Yellow Turban Rebellion!

A rebellion is a rebellion;

but now, it is the lords and administrators of the four directions taking the initiative to attack!

Luoyang.

When Liu Dai hears this series of news, he is completely stunned.

Only at this moment does he fully realize how ridiculous the throne he obtained through every possible means truly is.

He originally thought that by imitating the former Emperor Guangwu and joining forces with the noble families, he would be enough to solve all the current problems of the Great Han.

And he thought he could be like the former Emperor Guangwu, but he really did not expect things to develop to this point.

The provinces and commanderies in all directions have already broken away from his control as Emperor.

No, it cannot be said to be just the provinces and commanderies.

Even within Luoyang, apart from maintaining the superficial dignity of an Emperor, it is difficult for him to maintain anything else.

Even within this forbidden palace,

he has people watching him.

Apart from Yuan Kui’s granddaughter, he does not dare to favor any other woman.

Whenever he favors one, that woman dies the next day.

This has made him fully realize the ridiculousness of his position as Emperor.

If Liu Bian were still in this seat, would he have fallen to such a fate?

He cannot help but think of this question.

Previously, he firmly believed that as long as he ascended the throne, he would be enough to solve everything and would certainly do better than the young Liu Bian.

But now, he begins to doubt this question.

But what could that change?

From the moment he chose to bow completely to the great clans, he was already inferior to others.

How could the great clans possibly care about his opinion?

This so-called Son of Heaven of his was merely a proxy, nothing more!

This battle was destined to be unavoidable.

Yuan Shao was truly in high spirits now; although Lu Zhi’s reputation remained high, he did not hold him in any regard.

——The second year of Han Prosperity, June.

Yuan Shao’s three armies finished their preparations and officially set out from Jizhou, passing through the Qinghe Kingdom and heading straight for Pingyuan Commandery, intending to strike directly into the heart of Qingzhou.

Lu Zhi naturally would not be caught unprepared.

He had long known that this battle against Yuan Shao was inevitable.

A person of his stubborn character could never bow to Yuan Shao.

For this reason, Lu Zhi had long since made full preparations.

The terrain around Pingyuan Commandery was flat, with no natural barriers to defend.

The only thing that could be utilized was the time Yuan Shao spent crossing the river.

To this end, he had long since burned every bridge and set up an absolute defensive line at the Yellow River ferry.

Lu Zhi’s strength was not weak.

Back when Gu Xilin left, he had intentionally left behind quite a few troops for him.

Plus, with the development over this period, he now had tens of thousands of men under his command.

Especially with the arrival of Gu Tao, his major problem of lacking great generals was greatly reduced.

This gave him a fair amount of confidence for this great battle.

——End of June.

The two sides engaged in a great battle in Pingyuan Commandery.

Yuan Shao, in the end, had underestimated Lu Zhi a bit too much.

Lu Zhi’s ability to command troops was absolutely not poor.

Those waves of arrow rain severely hindered the progress of the Yuan Army as they landed.

But to say that these methods alone could stop Yuan Shao was clearly impossible.

Yuan Shao had always been this kind of person.

When he realized the situation had changed suddenly, he immediately became wise.

He decided to have men build pontoon bridges and launch a forced assault.

His subordinate general, Qu Yi, stood out at this moment.

He personally led over a thousand daredevils to build pontoon bridges to help the main army cross the river; although the casualties were heavy, they finally broke through Lu Zhi’s defensive line.

They finally helped the main army land.

Yuan Shao’s current strength was indeed too great.

His method of sacrificing to the ancestors of the Gu family could be said to have elevated him to the position of the number one warlord in one stroke.

The common people everywhere held high hopes for the Gu family.

Yuan Shao’s move showed them his regard for the Gu family, so they naturally flocked to join him.

The number of men under his command was already no less than one hundred thousand.

Although he could not bring all his troops this time, he could still form a crushing advantage in terms of military strength.

The most critical point was—

Yuan Shao had no shortage of generals under his command either.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou could each be called tiger generals capable of taking on ten thousand, not to mention someone like Qu Yi who was a daredevil.

The two sides engaged in a great battle on the banks of the Luo River.

As a great general, Gu Tao naturally had to be on the front line.

Seeing that Qu Yi was actually able to land under the rain of arrows, he naturally charged straight at him.

"Dog thief! Give me your life!"

Gu Tao took the lead, showing no fear, and slashed his long saber forward.

"Where did this junior come from, to be so arrogant!"

There was no fear on Qu Yi’s face; he also brandished his great saber and charged over.

Clang!!

A sound of weapons clashing exploded, sending sparks flying.

Gu Tao felt a massive force transmit through to him almost instantly, and his expression changed slightly.

Was this person actually this valiant?

The more one understood martial arts, the more one could feel the pressure from the opponent.

Gu Tao’s martial prowess was indeed not low.

In any era, he would be a capable general.

But compared to a fierce general like Qu Yi, who was worthy of being recorded in history, there was ultimately still some gap.

However, he still did not retreat.

If he couldn't win in strength, he had speed!

Qu Yi looked very sturdy.

The speed of such a person was destined to be somewhat inferior to an ordinary person.

In an instant, as the thought flashed through his mind, Gu Tao immediately retracted his saber and leaned to the side, avoiding Qu Yi’s heavy, powerful strike.

"Haha!"

Seeing this, Qu Yi laughed loudly and said disdainfully, "Junior, you are nothing more than this!"

"Why not dismount and surrender?"

"Less talk!" Gu Tao was not affected; he flicked his blade upward diagonally, intending to use this opportunity to knock Qu Yi off his horse.

But could a fierce general like Qu Yi be dealt with so easily?

Although he appeared clumsy.

He was actually extremely quick to react.

With one hand, he pulled the reins sharply; the warhorse beneath him let out a loud neigh and reared up, directly avoiding the saber.

In an instant, Qu Yi also swung his long saber, slashing straight down at Gu Tao!

Gu Tao’s expression changed drastically.

Everything happened too fast; he couldn't avoid the strike at all and had to block it with all his might.

Clang!!!

The terrifying force instantly made Gu Tao’s hands go numb.

Lu Zhi also sensed the abnormality; seeing that Yuan Shao’s army had landed one after another, he knew he absolutely could not drag this out.

He immediately ordered the retreat.

The importance of Gu Tao went without saying.

His main goal in this battle was to focus on defense; if a great general were killed in this first engagement, then this war would truly be impossible to continue.

Gu Tao naturally knew the gravity of the situation.

He first pushed upward with all his might to deflect Qu Yi’s saber, then immediately turned his horse to retreat.

Although he was fond of battle, he was not a brainless person.

Even though they had only exchanged a few blows.

He could feel the gap between himself and Qu Yi; no matter how unwilling he was, this was an undeniable fact.

Being brave and competitive was not the character of a Gu family descendant.

But he still couldn't help but ponder a question.

He was the best martial artist of the contemporary Gu family, yet he hadn't expected that he wouldn't be able to defeat a single general under Yuan Shao.

Could the Gu family really remain safe and sound in this coming chaotic world?

Gu Tao had originally been very confident.

The Gu family was the number one noble clan in the world, and he was the best martial artist in the clan, which inevitably gave him a feeling of being the best in the world.

All along, Gu Tao had thought about being able to compare himself to the ancestors of the Gu family like Gu Xiao and Gu Cheng.

But now it seemed... his performance was ultimately far too lacking.

The defending troops retreated like a receding tide.

The Yuan Army took the opportunity to press the attack.

Both sides fought constantly in cities and in the fields.

Although there were victories and defeats for both, on the overall front, Yuan Shao was still continuously advancing.

Before August had even arrived, he had completely taken the entirety of Pingyuan.

Helpless, Lu Zhi could only continue to withdraw his troops.

He engaged in a tug-of-war with Yuan Shao again in the Jinan Kingdom.

He was waiting for reinforcements.

That’s right, Liu Bei had already sent word that he would definitely come to assist.

But things were clearly not going to be that simple.

Cao Cao was not the type of person to stop acting just because Liu Bei refused to play along.

Even upon learning that Liu Bei would go to provide aid.

He made an even more astonishing decision.

——To attack Langya!

Yanzhou was a place with access in all directions; one only needed to pass through Taishan Commandery to reach Langya directly.

This move could be said to display his true nature as an ambitious warlord to the fullest.

Not only could he avoid falling out with Yuan Shao at this time, but he could also set foot in Xuzhou; from there, he could plot to take Qingzhou above and Yuzhou below.

Liu Bei had, in fact, already dispatched his troops.

It was just that Cao Cao’s actions forced him to halt his steps and face Cao Cao first.

The place where the two sides contended was naturally Mount Meng.

Moving troops from Taishan Commandery and passing through Mount Meng to strike directly at Kaiyang in the heart of Langya was a problem Liu Bei had to solve.

Unlike Yuan Shao.

Although Cao Cao’s current strength was far greater than Liu Bei’s, he had never underestimated Liu Bei.

Although he did not understand Liu Bei.

He did know Gu Xi.

Someone who could be evaluated as "extraordinary" by Gu Xi could not possibly be an ordinary person.

He personally led a detachment of five thousand men to cross Mount Meng with great fanfare, intending to lure out Liu Bei’s main force.

Meanwhile, in secret, he sent Xiahou Dun to lead an army to detour through Fei County and launch a surprise attack on the heart of Langya.

But unlike Lu Zhi.

Liu Bei’s strength now lay in the fact that he had many fierce generals under his command.

He ordered Guan Yu to hold the mountain passes of Mount Meng.

At the Mount Meng mountain passes, he soundly defeated the Cao Army vanguard, Yu Jin, at the narrow pass.

Xiahou Dun’s army was blocked by Zhao Yun, and at the same time, Liu Bei directly dispatched Zhang Fei to raid Fei County, burning the Cao Army’s supplies and forcing Xiahou Dun to retreat.

Although Cao Cao did not break through the Langya defensive line.

Just these actions alone severely dragged down Liu Bei’s pace.

The most critical point was—

Even if Cao Cao retreated, Liu Bei could not possibly take all his troops to aid Qingzhou, and could only divide his forces to go.

——The second year of Hanxing, November.

Liu Bei finally arrived in Qingzhou.

By this time, Yuan Shao had already taken all of Jinan, his military force pointing directly at the Qi Kingdom and Le'an.

The troops Liu Bei brought on this trip were not many.

But it was enough to boost the morale of the army.

Yuan Shao did not care about this in the slightest; he had long since anticipated that Liu Bei would come to help Lu Zhi.

The two sides fought another great battle at Linzi.

This time, the situation changed abruptly.

Liu Bei’s second brother, Guan Yu, shook Qu Yi off his horse in a single exchange before the battle lines, leaving him severely wounded; had no one come to save him, he would surely have died under Guan Yu’s blade.

This sudden change completely shocked the Yuan Army.

After many days of attacking, Qu Yi had always been the general charging at the very front, and his reputation within the entire Yuan Army was extremely high.

Such a great general could not even withstand a single exchange from Guan Yu.

This was destined to be a matter that greatly affected morale.

And under these circumstances, the two sides actually ended up in a stalemate.

Regarding this, Yuan Shao was also quite surprised.

Originally, he had thought that wherever his military force pointed during this campaign against Qing, the people from all directions would submit, just like in the years of Gu Xi.

The current situation had completely exceeded his expectations.

But how could he give up?

The momentum of an army is something that relies on pressing forward without hesitation.

He had made a special, grand display for this campaign against Qing, intending to use this opportunity to shock the world.

If he were to retreat, how would the people of the world view him, Yuan Shao?

No matter what, he had to take Qingzhou!

But this time, he was destined to have a much, much harder time; Lu Zhi’s ability to command troops combined with these great generals under Liu Bei.

This could be called a match made in heaven!

For an entire month, Yuan Shao did not make a single inch of progress.

At the same time, great battles were erupting everywhere.

The third year of Hanxing, March;

——In the land of Yuzhou, Sun Jian finally captured the Pei Kingdom and headed straight for the Liang Kingdom.

End of March;

Liu Yu could finally no longer tolerate Gongsun the White Horse and led his army to strike at him first.

In the end, he was instead defeated by Gongsun the White Horse, who completely seized control of the entire land of Youzhou.

Shortly after, he received news from Liu Bei.

He led his army to strike directly at Jizhou.

In his desperation, Yuan Shao had no choice but to summon Cao Cao, intending to quickly break through the land of Qingzhou.

But Cao Cao clearly would not board Yuan Shao’s carriage at such a time.

Cao Cao used the pretext of attacking Langya to provide only nominal aid to Yuan Shao.

But this move also forced Liu Bei to turn back.

April;

——In the land of Bingzhou, with the help of Lu Bu, Ding Yuan finally captured the two commanderies of Shangdang and Taiyuan.

He stood firmly in Bingzhou.

May;

——In the land of Liangzhou, under the suggestion of Gu Wei, Huangfu Song finally captured the entire Anding Commandery.

In fact, given Huangfu Song’s strength.

This speed was clearly considered slow.

Even Gu Wei had not expected that there would be so many disputes in the land of Liangzhou.

The rebel armies of the various tribes were fine.

The main difficulty was the former subordinates under Dong Zhuo.

No, it should not be called former subordinates.

Although Li Jue and Guo Si were brave, how could they be a match for Huangfu Song and Gu Wei in commanding an army?

The problem mainly lay with one person.

——Jia Xu!

Ever since those two, Li Jue and Guo Si, began to follow Jia Xu’s every word, the progress of Huangfu Song and Gu Wei in Liangzhou began to become difficult.

Although he had never met this person.

But do not forget, Gu Wei himself possessed a bit of ability in judging people.

Through the many actions of this Jia Xu, he realized the extraordinary nature of this person.

The most critical point was

He always felt that this Jia Xu’s desire to contend for hegemony was not that heavy; he seemed to just want to find a stable environment to stay in.

This speculation made Gu Wei somewhat self-doubting, but Gu Wei still sent people to make contact with Jia Xu.

Hanzhong.

Ever since Gu Chen led his army into Hanzhong, he had also been rapidly developing his own power.

The prestige of the Gu clan was still very useful.

Within a short period of time, he had already firmly established himself in Hanzhong, and naturally, he received news of the situation across the world one after another.

"Wenruo, it is just as you expected."

"As soon as we withdrew from Luoyang, the situation in the world became completely chaotic."

A faint smile hung on his face, his eyes very profound.

"Young Master." Xun Yu also smiled faintly, looking at Gu Chen and saying: "Those who gather for profit will naturally disperse for profit."

"This is what the late Lord Gu said; how could it be wrong?"

A trace of reminiscence immediately appeared in Gu Chen’s eyes.

However, he instantly suppressed this emotion, looked at Xun Yu, and said: "Wenruo, you say, if we were to reveal the matter of the Imperial Seal now, what would happen?"

"Young Master is wise!"

Xun Yu’s eyes brightened suddenly, as if he had already had this thought, and he said without the slightest hesitation: "The current situation in the world."

"The warlords from all sides intend to use the name of the Han Dynasty to carve up the world."

"The humble-born families and powerful clans in every region must have seen the situation clearly by now; how could they be willing to accept this in their hearts?"

"Think of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian; they are all of humble origins."

"If the Young Master releases this news."

"That false Emperor Liu Dai will become a rootless duckweed, and heroes from all directions will surely develop hearts of rebellion."

"However, the Young Master must remember not to let word spread that the Imperial Heirloom Seal is in your hands."

The Imperial Heirloom Seal is the symbol of Heaven's Mandate.

In the past, Liu Xuan relied on a piece of the Imperial Heirloom Seal he had picked up to eventually succeed in establishing the Profound Han.

An emperor without Heaven's Mandate cannot possibly win the support of the people in the current era!

Not to mention that Liu Dai holds no real power in his hands to begin with.

"Rest assured, Wenruo."

Gu Chen smiled faintly and said, "How could I be so foolish?"

Having said that, Gu Chen immediately summoned someone and gave instructions for this matter to be carried out.

Gu Yi had been watching the development of the situation, and his heart was also incomparably shaken.

The current situation is already completely different from the original history.

Although it looks much more chaotic.

But upon observation, he also saw the core of it.

This time, the troubled times seem to have turned into a struggle between the "humble-born" and the "noble families."

The reforms proposed by Gu Xi have already completely influenced the development of history.

Once these troubled times end.

What will the world eventually become?

If it is truly possible to allow the systems of later generations to develop throughout history in advance, how great will the changes to future history be?

At this moment, Gu Yi finally understood a little of just how extraordinary Gu Xi's "Pioneer" achievement really is.

Why it would be a rare achievement, surpassing everything obtained before.

If all of this can truly be accomplished.

The impact on the entirety of history will likely completely exceed that of anyone before!

PS: Kneeling to beg for monthly tickets at the start of the month; I will settle once every two thousand monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)