Chapter 248

Lord Yuan Shao said decisively, "I will never go back on my word!"

"Good! You are worthy of being Brother Benchu! Truly magnanimous!"

Upon hearing this, Su Xuan gave Lord Yuan Shao a thumbs-up and praised, "Brother Gonglu is not as generous as you! When I asked him for some grain and fodder earlier, he was quite stingy about it!"

"Come to think of it, he even used a favor I owed him to threaten me, pushing me to nominate him as the alliance leader for this campaign."

"What?"

Lord Yuan Shao's expression changed instantly upon hearing this. "Lord Yuan Shu actually asked you to nominate him as the leader? And you agreed? On what grounds? What qualifications does he have to be the leader?"

Lord Yuan Shu was nothing more than a spoiled brat; where would he find the brains or the spirit to be this leader?

Cao Cao stood to the side, silent, feeling deep contempt in his heart for Lord Yuan Shao's intense reaction.

You, Lord Yuan Shao, are really no better than Lord Yuan Shu!

Isn't the current situation of your own making?

And now you've lost control of it, haven't you?

Oh! Or perhaps you haven't lost control—was it intentional?

That would make Cao Cao look down on him even more!

If you can even scheme against your own kin, what kind of future can you possibly have?

Su Xuan nodded helplessly. "Although I favor you more, Brother Benchu, and believe that even if I supported Brother Gonglu, your prestige would ultimately make you the leader;"

"But since I owed Brother Gonglu a favor, I had to keep my promise to him!"

"Brother Benchu, please don't hold this against me and withhold my grain later! I was forced into a corner!"

"Why must you brothers always be at each other's throats? It puts us friends in such a difficult position!"

Su Xuan wore an expression of utter helplessness.

Seeing this, Lord Yuan Shao couldn't help but ask, "Su Boyuan, do you really think I have a better chance of becoming the leader than Lord Yuan Shu?"

"Naturally!"

Su Xuan replied with absolute certainty, "You know Brother Gonglu's reputation and capabilities as well as I do!"

"If forced to choose between you and Brother Gonglu, most of the lords would certainly choose you, Brother Benchu!"

"Besides, I don't believe you would have come here for so long without making any preparations;"

"I assume you have already secured the position of leader, haven't you?"

"Haha!"

Lord Yuan Shao's annoyance vanished, and he laughed heartily. "Those who know me, know it is Su Boyuan! Correct! I have long been prepared; Lord Yuan Gonglu could never compete with me!"

"On the contrary, Su Boyuan, you are now the General of the Vanguard and Inspector of Jingzhou, a position of great power. I feel you are my greatest competitor. I didn't expect... could it be that you, Brother Su Boyuan, never thought of becoming the leader yourself?"

After speaking, Lord Yuan Shao stared fixedly at Su Xuan, wanting to see his reaction.

Su Xuan waved his hand dismissively. "I'll pass! Being the leader requires more than just high rank and power!"

"Reputation and connections are what matter most!"

"My foundation is too shallow, I don't know many of the lords, and I cannot supply the grain they require. I'd better not overreach!"

"Actually, being an ally is quite good enough."

Being the leader of the coalition? Not even a dog would want that!

There's not much benefit to it anyway!

Did he not understand what this alliance was really about?

It was nothing more than a stage for Lord Yuan Shao to show off!

It wouldn't yield any significant results in the end.

His participation in the alliance was, in essence, not for the sake of the alliance, but purely for the Imperial Jade Seal and the population of Sili.

"Haha! Su Boyuan, you are too modest!"

Lord Yuan Shao laughed aloud.

He was overjoyed, and at the same time, his guard against Su Xuan relaxed.

He now felt that Su Xuan was quite decent; he spoke well and was pleasant to deal with.

It was truly wrong of him to have been so wary of him before!

"Since you are so sensible, I will target you less in the future. Even if you cast your vote for Lord Yuan Gonglu, I will continue to supply you with grain!"

Lord Yuan Shao thought happily to himself.

With Su Xuan, a powerful competitor, out of the way, Lord Yuan Shao felt his position as leader was all but guaranteed!

From the very beginning, Su Xuan was the only one he had feared.

After all, Su Xuan's current position was very strong.

As for Lord Yuan Shu?

He had never taken him seriously.

Even with Su Xuan's vote, he was confident he could easily crush Lord Yuan Shu and secure the leadership.

Cao Cao, standing to the side, heard every word and observed the expressions of both Su Xuan and Lord Yuan Shao. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "Alas! Lord Yuan Shao! Lord Yuan Shao! You really are a fool! You've been played by Su Boyuan the entire time, and you haven't even noticed!"

"Su Boyuan is truly formidable; he actually managed to hoodwink Lord Yuan Shao to this extent;"

"However, I am slightly surprised that you didn't choose to compete for the leadership."

"It seems you, too, have seen through this coalition—it's all empty talk, and it won't lead to any real results!"

Despite these thoughts, Cao Cao still led his army to join the alliance.

It was his final effort to try and save the Great Han.

Though the chances were slim, it was his last attempt.

After this, he would have to strive for himself, for his family, and for the subordinates who trusted him.

Afterward, Lord Yuan Shao brought Su Xuan to the main army's command tent to host a banquet in his honor.

At the same time, he introduced the various feudal lords to Su Xuan one by one.

"Greetings, Governor of Jingzhou!"

"Governor of Jingzhou, to have achieved such accomplishments at such a young age is truly enviable!"

"Hearing of your reputation is not as good as meeting you in person. General Su is indeed heroic and extraordinary, even more formidable than the rumors suggest!"

"..."

Facing the goodwill of these people, Su Xuan merely responded to each one with a modest smile.

He did not act haughty or offend anyone.

Instead, he appeared as refreshing as a spring breeze, causing the feudal lords' favor toward him to increase significantly in an instant.

They felt that he was actually quite easy to get along with!

Another five days passed.

The remaining feudal lords who were expected to arrive had all come, and at this point, the coalition reached a total of nineteen regional forces.

At the same time, Su Xuan saw the trio of Liu, Guan, and Zhang once again.

This time, they had come with Gongsun Zan.

Clearly, Liu Bei was still following the path of his past life's history: whipping the postal inspector, abandoning his official post, and temporarily seeking refuge under Gongsun Zan to fleece him for resources.

"What a pity! Zhao Zhao Zilong was recruited by me long ago; he didn't even go under Gongsun Zan's command. Don't even think about getting Zhao Zilong this time! Heh!"

Su Xuan thought to himself with glee.

At the same time, he observed them and noted that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were indeed still only at the peak of the Gang-Qi realm.

However, Guan Yu's mental will had been honed to be exceptionally strong.

If things continued this way, it would likely be no problem for him to break through to the early stage of the Heaven-Human realm in another eight to ten years.

"So, does this guy read the Spring and Autumn Annals just to hone his mind and will?"

Su Xuan wondered.

He felt this was highly probable.

Zhang Fei's mental power and will were also not weak, only about thirty percent lower than Guan Yu's.

"It seems Zhang Fei has his own methods for honing his will and mind!"

"Fighting? Drinking? Or perhaps painting?"

Su Xuan found it difficult to judge for the moment.

— Author's Notes —

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