Chapter 291

The livestream room also exploded.

"Guo Jia is awesome; he's come up with the Ten Victories and Ten Defeats Theory again."

"The straight-A student does two assignments and does them so well! He's worthy of being a straight-A student!"

"This is the drunkard the Big-Eared Thief picked up at a tavern! Who would have believed it before?"

"I feel my blood boiling just listening to it."

"The pressure is back on Ding Yuan Shao and Cao Cao."

With the spread of the Ten Victories and Ten Defeats Theory.

The people in Liu Bei's territory, who were originally worried, were now full of confidence.

The soldiers were even more proud and eager to kill the enemy, build merit, divide land, and be awarded concubines!

Suanzao, Allied camp.

At this moment, there were thousands of banners, the sound of people was deafening, and warhorses were neighing!

Nearly 200, 00 troops had already arrived here, and more than 200, 00 more were marching toward this place in a mighty force.

There were even more laborers. For this battle, Ding Yuan Shao and Cao Cao conscripted a million laborers to transport grain and supplies.

The two of them controlled less than 20 million people combined, yet they conscripted a million young men and had 350, 00 troops. It could be said that this time they were absolutely using all their resources!

Although there were no eighteen warlords this time, only three, the momentum was even greater than last time!

Sun Ce would not arrive at Suanzao for a few more days.

Ding Yuan Shao and Cao Cao had already arrived with their civil and military officials.

Both sides had been drinking for several days.

Guo Tu said loudly.

"My lord, this time we will definitely break Chang'an and let that mat-weaving, shoe-selling Liu Bei go back to selling straw sandals!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Cao Hong said angrily.

"The Big-Eared Thief plotted against my brother Cao Ren; I must avenge this!"

The victim Gao Gan did not go to attack Huguan this time but followed Ding Yuan Shao to battle. He still couldn't forget the beauty of Zhen Zhen Jiang on the city wall.

"The Big-Eared Thief bullies men and women; heaven will not tolerate it!"

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu hadn't arrived yet, otherwise they would have felt the same.

Ding Yuan Shao laughed.

643

"Everyone, once we break Liu Bei, everyone can settle their scores and grievances!"

Cao Cao also said.

"This time we have sent 410, 00 troops, claiming to be a million. Liu Bei has only sent 150, 00 troops, not even half of ours; he will definitely be defeated!"

Everyone's morale was greatly boosted. With a nearly three-fold troop disparity, it would be hard for Liu Bei not to be defeated.

At this moment, the soldiers outside the camp were very noisy.

Cao Cao frowned. "What is the noise outside the tent?"

Captain America entered the tent and cupped his hands.

"My lord, Liu Bei's strategist Guo Jia has written another Ten Victories and Ten Defeats Theory, which has now flowed out from Guanzhong."

Cao Cao's eyelids twitched. The last denunciation had already cursed them enough; he didn't know about this time...

However, he wanted to see what Guo Jia had actually written.

"Bring it up and let me see."

"Yes!"

Soon, everyone had passed it around, and none of their faces looked very good!

Before, the situation had looked excellent.

But after Guo Jia's analysis—exhausting troops on a long expedition, poor supplies, boiling public resentment, unfavorable conditions for soldiers, and the possibility of uprisings at home...

Everyone pondered it and felt that Guo Jia's points were reasonable and well-founded, leaving them unable to refute!

Ding Yuan Shao's face also looked bad. Am I ambitious but talentless? Am I jealous of the talented? And I even hindered Cao Cao's performance?

This is too insulting!

He secretly resolved in his heart that if he caught Guo Jia, he must eliminate him!

Cao Cao looked around and saw that everyone's faces were grim, so he laughed loudly.

"Gentlemen, no need to worry. This is all Liu Bei's sophistry. If he were truly powerful, wouldn't he come to Hulao Pass to fight us to the death?"

"He abandoned Luoyang and Emperor Hongnong, and also abandoned the region south of Mount Mount Zhongtiao in Hedong, shrinking back to defend while spouting nonsense. How laughable, how laughable!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's morale recovered quite a bit. Their side had nearly three times the troops of Liu Bei; three against one, surely they could beat Liu Bei to a pulp.

Ding Yuan Shao said in a deep voice.

"Mengde, Liu Bei and Guo Jia hold you in high esteem. This time, you should be the Alliance Leader."

Cao Cao cursed inwardly. If he really became the Alliance Leader, wouldn't Ding Yuan Shao just quit and leave!

The one who had sent the most troops this time was Ding Yuan Shao; with his own strength alone, it was impossible to chew through Liu Bei.

Cao Cao cupped his hands.

"Brother Benchu, this is Liu Bei and Guo Jia's scheme of alienation. Brother Benchu is the hope of the realm, with a spirit that swallows ten thousand miles like a tiger. You led us to defeat Dong Zhuo back then; this time, the Alliance Leader must be you by popular acclaim!"

Ding Yuan Shao stroked his beard and laughed loudly.

"Mengde, you flatter me!"

Cao Cao indicated that he was absolutely not exaggerating.

Xu You curled his lips and thought to himself.

"This Cao Cao Aman is truly treacherous; he can endure what others cannot!"

The faces of Cao Cao's subordinates were also somewhat grim. Their lord occupied three provinces, and his population and troops were only slightly inferior; to suck up to Ding Yuan Shao like this was truly unpleasant.

The American live broadcast room also exploded.

"Cao Cao is too cowardly!"

"To the one above: you don't know anything. This is looking at the big picture; my Boss Cao has sacrificed too much."

"The Big-Eared Thief is too insidious, alienating the relationship between Cao and Ding Yuan."

"My Boss Cao is breaking his heart for the Alliance."

"Now it seems the Alliance is indeed not as united as the Big-Eared Thief's side."

"Your Cao Cao is just a lackey for my Sakura Kingdom's Alliance Leader Ding Yuan!" The Dwarf Kingdom people were clamoring there, and were naturally sprayed with insults!

"Ding Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are both old. My Little Overlord of Jiangdong, Sun Ce, will be the one to win in the end. Youth is capital." (A Goose netizen).

Several more days passed.

Sun Ce finally arrived at the Suanzao camp with his troops.

He was very unhappy the moment he arrived; he hadn't even come yet, and Ding Yuan Shao and Cao Cao had already decided on the position of Alliance Leader!

Although he indeed lacked the strength to be the Alliance Leader, this was looking down on people too much.

Fortunately, Cao Cao comforted him.

"Worthy nephew, you are even more valiant than Wentai. A tiger father has no dog sons; the student has surpassed the master!"

Sun Ce cupped his hands.

"Lord Mengde, you flatter me!"

He looked at the two tower-like strongmen behind Cao Cao.

"Are these Dian Wei and Xu Zhu? I wonder how many moves it would take for me to defeat their combined strength."

Xu Zhu saw Sun Ce looking over and also looked back provocatively!

If Cao Cao hadn't glared at him, he might have started fighting Sun Ce.

Cao Cao looked at Zhou Yu again.

"Is this the Zhou Lang who is a hero of the world and a romantic beauty of Jiangzuo? Truly beautiful in appearance and heroic."

Zhou Yu cupped his hands.

"Lord Mengde, you flatter me."

Everyone entered the tent, and naturally, there was drinking and bragging!

Ding Yuan Shao seemed to return to the days of the eighteen warlords' campaign against Dong Zhuo, sighing with emotion.

"The great waves wash away the sand; of the eighteen warlords from back then, only a few remain today."

Cao Cao laughed.

"What is the same is that this time we will also crush Liu Bei, and the Allied forces will win a great victory!"

"Good, Mengde said it well!"

All three parties arrived, and everyone swore an oath of blood and began to discuss strategies for dealing with the enemy.

Cao Cao introduced the situation to everyone.

"Gentlemen, Liu Bei has abandoned the defense of strong cities and intends to fight us to the death in the area south of Mount Mount Zhongtiao in Hedong. Scouts report that his army of one hundred and fifty thousand has arrived and is rushing to build camps!"

Sun Ce frowned.

"What about Tongguan? Who did he send to guard it?"

"Lu Xun, the grand-nephew of the former Administrator of Lujiang, Lu Kang, currently nineteen years old!"

Sun Ce was shocked.

"Liu Bei is actually this arrogant!"

Ding Yuan Shao also said.

"Lu Xun has been responsible for farming in Emperor Hongnong in recent years, just suppressing bandits; he has no combat experience at all. Liu Bei giving the heavy responsibility of Tongguan to a child is truly..."

Cao Cao, however, had a different opinion.

"Liu Bei has a unique eye for talent. Guo Jia, Gao Shun, and Zhao Yun were not prominent back then, and now... there is also that Zhuge Village-Folk, who took command in Xinye and crushed our army."

"This Lu Xun might be the next Zhuge Kongming-like figure. He also has the fierce general Xu Sheng assisting him. Tongguan is a natural barrier; it will surely be very difficult for our army to take it."

Sun Ce? This Lu Xun will become the next Zhuge Village-Folk?

However, he hadn't thought about recruiting Lu Xun; Lu Kang's family of several dozen people died because of him—it could be said there was a blood feud.

How could he recruit him? Should he marry his daughter to Lu Xun?

Historically.

After Sun Ce died, it was only under Sun Quan's deliberate cultivation that the twenty-one-year-old Lu Xun became Sun Quan's staffer, and the relationship between the Jiangdong gentry and the Sun family eased.

Some people were unimpressed, feeling that Lu Xun was just a greenhorn who couldn't be much.

Gao Gan cupped his hands.

"My Lord, I am willing to lead troops to break Tongguan, take the dangerous pass for you, and clear the obstacles for advancing into Chang'an!"

He had attacked Huguan, guarded by Hao Zhao, twice and suffered heavy losses; this time he wanted to regain face and attack a different majestic pass!

Failure is the mother of success; Gao Gan felt that having the lesson of failure was also experience!

If Hao Zhao were guarding Tongguan, he really wouldn't dare to attack, but Lu Xun!

Ding Yuan Shao rose to his feet.

"Good! Gao Gan, Zhen Jiang Jiang Yiqu, take your orders!"

"Subordinates are here."

"I order you two to lead sixty thousand troops to attack Tongguan, and you must kill the child Lu Xun and occupy Tongguan!"

"Yes!"

Ding Yuan Shao also had his own little agenda; by occupying Tongguan, he could be the first to take Chang'an. In this alliance, Cao Cao and Sun Ce were just working for him.

Cao Cao pointed to Wuguan on the map.

"Alliance Leader, Liu Bei intends to hold a stalemate with us in Hedong. Our army should attack on multiple fronts, break through Wuguan, and the road to Guanzhong will be completely flat."

"As long as our army breaks through Wuguan, Liu Bei will surely not dare to hold Hedong, and our army will follow and kill him; we will surely win a great victory!"

Ding Yuan Shao frowned as he looked at Wuguan.