Chapter 214

The seventh year of Zhongping passed, and time came to February of the eighth year of Zhongping. In an open-air sacrifice, Yuan Shao was elected as the leader of the coalition. A few days later, Yuan Shao officially sent troops. After all, hundreds of thousands of soldiers consumed a terrifying amount of grain and grass every day.

The large army came to respond to his appeal, and it was impossible to let people send troops and grain.

The grain used by the large army was almost all borne by Yuan Shao. Where did Yuan Shao get the grain? Of course, it was provided by Han Fu of Jizhou and some feudal lords.

However, no matter how rich Jizhou was, this grain and grass could not be provided forever.

Yuan Shao sent troops, and after discussion, implemented a policy of dividing troops, dividing into three routes. One route took Henei Commandery as the main battlefield, threatening the northeast of Luoyang.

One route took Hulao Pass, directly east of Luoyang, and the last took Yinque Pass, south of Luoyang, as the main focus.

Among the three routes of the large army, Nanyang had the least, and could only be a partial division. However, Yuan Shu was the local snake of Nanyang, so this route of the large army was led by him, with a total of six feudal lords and a total of one million large armies.

Henei was composed of feudal lords such as Wang Kuang, Zhang Yang, Tao Qian, Kong Zhou, and Su Fan, with a full eight hundred thousand people.

It also served as a partial division.

The main force was the many Central Plains feudal lords led by Yuan Shao, gathering at Hulao Pass, using powerful frontal force to conquer Dong Zhuo's large army.

Once the plan was out, many feudal lords also began to march.

Su Fan followed Tao Qian to Henei.

Because Tao Qian, Kong Zhou, and Su Fan had been close in the coalition camp before, and the three had relatively large military forces, after the three formed a group, their group had the greatest right to speak.

Don't look at how everyone was harmonious before, but what they were thinking in their hearts, no one knew.

"Ning'an, in this great battle, I will hand over my Danyang soldiers to you to command. Ning'an, you must show the power of our Xuzhou."

After the large army marched, Tao Qian found Su Fan, pulled Su Fan, and said.

"Tao Gong, is this not good?"

Su Fan was a bit surprised in his heart, but on the surface, he pretended to be troubled.

"What's not good about it? I don't have any great generals under my command. Letting them deal with mountain bandits and bandits might still have some ability, but facing Dong Zhongying's elites, it won't work."

"You have the ability to lead troops, and I see that the military aura under your command is strict, and there are several great generals. Handing over my troops to you to command, I am more at ease."

Su Fan didn't know if Tao Qian was sincere or testing him, but in the end, Su Fan accepted it.

Of course, Su Fan estimated that the other party might be wary of him, and finally compromised, then made friends with him.

Tao Qian didn't have any ambition to dominate the world. He was already in his twilight years, and his descendants had nothing to achieve.

Although he controlled most of the military and political power of the Xuzhou army, when he was there, he would make those people in Xuzhou wary. If he left, he had offended quite a few people over the years.

Who could protect his family?

In the romance, Tao Qian entrusted Xuzhou to Liu Bei to protect his family, which was probably what he meant.

So when Su Fan returned to the military tent and found Xi Zhicai, talking about this matter, Xi Zhicai smiled slightly and explained.

"In this way, it's a good thing for me. It will be easier to plan for Xuzhou in the future."

Su Fan was sincerely happy.

"Congratulations, My Lord."

Xi Zhicai also smiled and congratulated him.

Before, when they planned to take Xuzhou, they were also considering how to deal with Tao Qian. After all, Tao Qian had been the Inspector of Xuzhou for several years, and although Tao Qian was from a civil official background, he had also experienced wars and had considerable military ability.

And his prestige in Xuzhou was relatively high.

It was not simple for Su Fan to take Xuzhou without shedding blood.

But now it seemed there was a new chapter.

"If Inspector Tao is sincere, it's the best thing for my Lord."

"Zhicai, do you think this is Tao Qian's sincerity, or is he deliberately showing weakness?" It was no wonder Su Fan thought so. Although Xi Zhicai just explained the reason why Tao Qian did this, it was to ensure the family.

But why choose him? Could it be that the noble families in Xiapi, such as the Chen clan, could not guarantee his Tao family's safety?

"My Lord, no matter what Tao Qian's purpose is this time, now that he has handed over the military power to my Lord, my Lord should take control of it first. It would be best if Generals Xuangao and Shuzhi could subdue these Danyang soldiers after the great battle ends."

"Occupying the magpie's nest!"

Su Fan instantly understood Xi Zhicai's idea and nodded, without any shame at all.

If Tao Qian sincerely wanted to hand over military power or even the future Xuzhou, then he was measuring a gentleman's belly with a villain's heart.

At worst, he would make the Tao family prosperous in the future; that was just a matter of hand for him.

But if Tao Qian wanted to calculate him, then what he did was nothing.

"In this way, Zhicai, you have to work hard."

"My Lord, rest assured."

The two old schemers smiled at each other.

The coalition army of Guandong set off in three routes, and the large army marched with great momentum. Dong Zhuo, far away in Luoyang, had long known about it.

Facing the coalition of feudal lords of Guandong.

Dong Zhuo was actually a bit panicked in his heart.

"Prime Minister, the Guandong coalition attacked in three routes, seemingly wanting to divide your troops, but in fact, it's just seeking death."

"The three routes of the large army attacking Luoyang, only the east Hulao Pass is the main force, with a full three million."

"However, Hulao Pass is the majestic pass of the world. As long as the Prime Minister sends elites to sit in the pass, it will be absolutely safe. Although the coalition has many people, their hearts are not unified, and most are new soldiers, not the Prime Minister's opponents at all."

"As for Yinque Pass in the south, the Lord can send Hua Xiong and Li Su to sit in the pass, and then have one hundred thousand large armies. Although this pass is not as dangerous as Hulao Pass, it is also easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"As for the eighty thousand troops of Guandong in Henei, Zhang Yang and Wang Kuang have many conflicts. If they mix together, it's good enough if they don't have internal strife."

"The Prime Minister can send General Niu Fu to sit in..."

Li Ru, as Dong Zhuo's strategist, naturally saw the worry in the depths of Dong Zhuo's eyes, so he hurriedly stood up and said.

As someone who could assist Dong Zhuo, supporting him from a small border general to the current Prime Minister who held power over the world, Li Ru's ability was naturally not bad.

His long-term planning and vision were rare in the world.

Many people in the Xiliang large army might fear the millions of large armies of Guandong, but in his eyes, the feudal lords of Guandong had no great threat at all.

First, the hearts of the Guandong feudal lords were not unified, which was their greatest advantage. Secondly, most of the troops under the Guandong feudal lords were new soldiers, and their combat effectiveness was not strong, not even a bit worse than the border army of Xiliang.

Secondly, Luoyang was surrounded by mountains and majestic passes, and they also had the advantage in terrain.

Finally, they still had the young emperor in their hands, which was simply invincible.

Therefore, he was not worried at all.

The only thing to worry about was inside Luoyang City. After all, as Luoyang City, more than 80% of the ministers in the court were unconvinced by the Prime Minister.

This was the greatest threat.