Chapter 391: Election of the Alliance Leader

With no dancers on stage to provide entertainment, the warlords, feeling a lack of excitement, had no choice but to start discussing formal matters.

The first was to elect an alliance leader.

At this time, the various warlords began to have differences of opinion.

Some warlords supported Yuan Shu.

After all, Yuan Shu’s status was clear; he was the legitimate son of the Yuan family, which had produced high officials for four generations.

Out of respect for this, the warlords all had to give Yuan Shu some face.

Others said that Yuan Shao possessed both talent and ability, his capabilities were a cut above, and his original official rank was also higher, so the position of alliance leader should be his.

Of course!

As Cao Cao, who had assassinated Dong Zhuo and was famous throughout the world, naturally had supporters as well. The host of this place, Chenliu Prefect Zhang Miao, had always been his die-hard fan.

However, relatively speaking, Yuan Shao still had more supporters.

Although he had failed in his struggle against Dong Zhuo for Luoyang and his official rank had been demoted to Bohai Prefect, and in terms of birth, his status as a concubine-born son of the Yuan family was not as good as Yuan Shu’s status as the legitimate son.

But there was a reason why Yuan Shao had the most supporters now.

First, Yuan Shao had participated in the action to purge the eunuchs, which was a very positive point. Many warlords hated the eunuchs, and because of this, he was famous throughout the world and won the admiration of the various warlords.

Second, Yuan Shao now had a very good relationship with Cao Cao. The two could be said to have worn the same pair of trousers in the past. It was rumored that when they were young, they had gone to brothels together and slept with the same woman...

And at this time, Cao Cao still regarded Yuan Shao as his big brother and good friend.

With this layer of relationship, Cao Cao, who was originally a candidate for alliance leader, undoubtedly supported Yuan Shao.

Then, Cao Cao’s die-hard fans, such as Zhang Miao, naturally had to cast a few votes as well.

Not only that, Yuan Shao was also very popular and called everyone brother. Even Su Li, having just received benefits from Yuan Shao—thirty beautiful dancers—stood out to support him.

Thus, the alliance leader vote directly KO’d the Yuan family’s legitimate son, Yuan Shu!

Finally, Yuan Shao was crowned.

Regarding this result, almost all the warlords had nothing to say, except for Yuan Shu, who was very unhappy inside and probably had the thought of cursing Yuan Shao’s ancestors for eighteen generations.

It was just a pity...

Cursing was useless; after all, although the two were legitimate and concubine-born, they were ultimately born of the same father...

However, this also created a greater rift between the two brothers who belonged to the same clan.

At this time.

Yuan Shao, having obtained the position of alliance leader, was happy to the extreme. He immediately stood up, looked at everyone, first cupped his hands, and then smiled: "Everyone! I am honored by your trust! By electing me as alliance leader, I swear here today that I will do my utmost to work with you all to eliminate the traitor Dong!"

After saying this, Yuan Shao began to pass the buck: "I wonder if you gentlemen have any ideas!"

Well, after the alliance leader was elected, it was naturally time to start formulating the strategy to defeat Dong.

Cao Cao, as a good friend who grew up wearing the same trousers as Yuan Shao, was the first to stand up and express his stance: "Alliance Leader Yuan is wise and martial. We shall naturally follow the lead of the alliance leader and obey all orders."

Alright!

Upon hearing this, Su Li’s gaze was somewhat surprised.

Was this future Great Emperor Wu of Wei just a sycophant now?

Someone who didn't know better would think he was Yuan Shao’s lackey.

Hearing Cao Cao say this, Yuan Shao was also very happy. Although he was born into the Yuan family of four generations of high officials, his status as a concubine-born son meant he hadn't received much good treatment in the past.

This made him feel very suppressed in his heart.

And over these suppressed years, Cao Cao was the only one who understood him.

And during many times of frustration, it was Cao Cao who had always accompanied him, accompanied him in seeking pleasure, and accompanied him in peeking at widows!

They even did things together...

Especially this time, even though it was Cao Cao who called for the warlords to gather for the alliance, he had pushed him to be the alliance leader. This friendship could be said to be that of a true friend.

However, Yuan Shao did not know that this so-called true friend would personally sever half of his empire!

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"Alliance Leader Yuan is wise and martial. We shall naturally follow the lead of the alliance leader and obey all orders."

"Mengde, you flatter me too much. With my ability, I am truly unworthy of the great responsibility of alliance leader. It is only because everyone has elevated me. Otherwise, with your talent, Mengde, you are fully capable of the great responsibility. How could it ever fall to me, Yuan Benchu??"

"Let us all formulate the strategy to defeat Dong together. Mengde, you, as well as the Governor of Jizhou, the Marquis of Wucheng... and Prefect Su are all people of great talent. You will surely be able to plan it!"

Yuan Shao was not yet arrogant at this period and had good judgment. These words not only praised Cao Cao but also backhanded the various warlords with the compliment of being "great talents." It could be said his methods were very sophisticated.

It made everyone so excited that they wanted to come on stage to talk at length, except for Yuan Shu, who sneered in his heart.

Because the people Yuan Shao had just praised included almost all the warlords, even the recently risen Outsider Su Li, but he had uniquely not mentioned him, Yuan Shu.

What did this mean?

In terms of official rank, power, or birth, who among those present could compare to him, Yuan Shu?

But Yuan Shao had mentioned almost all the warlords, yet uniquely lacked him, Yuan Shu. Wasn't this just to alienate him?

Yuan Shu knew it clearly and secretly held a grudge against Yuan Shao and even all the warlords. He felt that these people not letting him be the alliance leader was an offense to him—

A gentleman takes revenge in ten years; a villain takes revenge all day long.

Yuan Shu’s pair of gloomy eyes scanned everyone, already filled with sneers.

"Just wait. None of you had better fall into my hands, Yuan Shu, otherwise you’ll see!"

Next.

With Yuan Shao’s words of praise, the various warlords began to seriously discuss the strategy to defeat Dong.

During this process, Su Li remained silent throughout.

Because he felt that just watching these warlords discuss the strategy to defeat Dong was very interesting.

One or two of them were very good at commercial mutual flattery.

Clearly, no useful strategy to defeat Dong came out, but good heavens, everyone thought it was astonishing and applauded non-stop.

Then...

There was no "then."

They just praised you and didn't talk about execution.

As they spoke, they would switch to the next warlord to propose a plan.

Almost none of the plans proposed at the beginning could be adopted.

It was just empty talk; a plan that could truly defeat the enemy had not yet appeared.

The most critical thing was that even though they clearly knew it was useless, they still acted as if they admired you.

No wonder these people were warlords.

They truly spoke human words to humans and ghost words to ghosts.

If placed in the real world, every one of them would definitely be an Oscar-winning actor!

…………

…………

Next.

The warlords continued to show off their acting skills.

One by one, they scrambled to talk about the strategy to defeat Dong.

But almost none of them actually hit the point.

It was all general talk, with only a little bit of useful information, and no concrete plan.

Until...

Yuan Shao was tired of listening, thought for a moment, and then signaled to Cao Cao: "Mengde! I know your literary and military strategies are both top-tier, yet you haven't spoken. Why don't you offer a strategy?"

"This..."

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, also feeling that what the warlords were saying had no nutritional value. He tidied his appearance, stood up, and cupped his hands: "Since that is the case, I do have a plan. Please, gentlemen, evaluate it."

After a pause, when everyone’s eyes were focused on him, Cao Cao continued: "According to my understanding, the traitor Dong has now completely controlled Luoyang, Hulao, Hangu, Xingyang, and many other places that are easy to defend and hard to attack!"

"In terms of terrain, he completely occupies the advantage!"

"And we, although we lack the terrain, have the harmony of people! Our troop strength is more than ten times that of the traitor Dong!"

"Therefore... we can divide our forces into four routes!"

"One route as the vanguard to launch a surprise attack on Si Pass, feigning an attack on Hulao."

"One main army sets out from Henei, bypasses Hulao, and heads south to strike directly at Luoyang!"

"One surprise force attacks Hangu and Xingyang to attract the traitor Dong’s main force."

"One route attacks Chang'an to cut off the traitor Dong’s retreat!"

After Cao Cao finished speaking.

The warlords savored it for a moment, then looked at each other, their eyes lighting up.

Being able to become a warlord, no matter how poor their ability was, they had more wits than ordinary people. Naturally, they knew the essence of Cao Cao’s four points. Although concise, the analysis was very much to the point, and they couldn't help but look at Cao Cao with more respect.

Even Su Li wanted to give Cao Cao a thumbs-up after hearing it.

Praise him for being truly great!

Damn, this division into four routes was truly absolute, completely maximizing the advantage of the coalition’s large numbers and many generals.