Chapter 141

Gu Yi led 100,000 troops to station in Luoyang, while the other armies showed no signs of any deployment.

Including elite cavalry units like the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry and the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, all of them seemed to have vanished into thin air!

The scouts of the coalition warlords could not detect any intelligence regarding them.

Yellow River Ferry

Near Liyang

Yuan Shao and Cao Cao met here first.

Don’t look at how these two seemed to be worlds apart during the Battle of Guandu in history.

That was because Cao Cao moved his administrative center from Yanzhou to Xuchang in Yuzhou.

But now Cao Cao does not have the Emperor in his hands, so there is no such thing as moving the capital to Xuchang.

His home base is still in Yanzhou.

Separated from Yuan Shao’s Jizhou by only the Yellow River.

However, given the disparity in strength and reputation between the two sides.

Cao Cao ultimately decided to head north, cross the Yellow River, and meet with Yuan Shao first in Liyang City, which was on the banks of the Yellow River.

Liyang City belongs to Yuan Shao.

As the host, he arrived early with his troops to wait for Cao Cao’s arrival.

At this moment, Yuan Shao, wearing a golden helmet, golden armor, and jade pendants at his waist, was dressed with great majesty.

Seeing Cao Cao walking toward him.

He immediately put on an eager expression!

"Hahahaha, Mengde, I have finally been waiting for you!"

After saying this, Yuan Shao walked straight up, intending to give Cao Cao a bear hug.

Seeing this, Cao Cao responded with a smile:

"Brother Benchu, I have kept you waiting."

If someone who didn’t know the situation saw this scene, they would definitely think that the friendship between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao was extremely deep!

In reality.

The two of them were indeed friends who had known each other for many years.

When they were young, they spent every day hanging out together in Luoyang City.

But... now that everyone is in their middle years, they are no longer the impulsive youths they were in their teenage years.

Especially after experiencing the failure of the first coalition against Dong Zhuo.

Whether it was Cao Cao or Yuan Shao, both had long since buried the romantic sentiments deep within their hearts.

In their hearts, the most important thing is their own hegemony!

Everything else can be sacrificed for it.

"Speaking of which, Mengde, you and I haven’t seen each other for nearly three years since the last coalition disbanded."

"Meeting this time, we must have a good drink!"

After saying this, Yuan Shao signaled his personal guards behind him to bring a pot of Dukang wine.

He actually intended to invite Cao Cao to drink fine wine in front of the three armies.

"Hahaha, Brother Benchu is truly heroic!"

"In that case, you and I shall drink until we are drunk today!"

Cao Cao accepted Yuan Shao’s invitation without hesitation.

The two exchanged cups, and soon there was a hint of drunkenness on their faces.

But... in their conversation, besides reminiscing, there was more probing.

This meal of wine could be said to be full of hidden agendas!

After three rounds of drinks, Yuan Shao sighed:

"Mengde, the old thief Dong Zhuo is powerful."

"Plus, he has that executioner Sun Ce as his assistant."

"This battle is going to be difficult!"

These few sentences were Yuan Shao’s true thoughts.

In order to counter Dong Zhuo, who had unified the western border of the Han territory.

Yuan Shao had to stop the war with Gongsun Zan and form the anti-Dong coalition again.

The tragic thing is.

Their goal is not to eliminate Dong Zhuo, but only to weaken him!

Why not eliminate Dong Zhuo in one battle?

Doesn’t Yuan Shao want to?

Of course he wants to!

But... Dong Zhuo’s power has already taken shape.

The Dong Zhuo army in its full state is simply not something the Guandong Coalition can eliminate in one battle!

"Brother Benchu, there is no need to be overly anxious."

"This time, although the number of warlords participating in the coalition is not as many as the last time."

"But everyone’s strength has improved to some extent compared to the last time."

Cao Cao comforted him with a smile.

In the last Guandong Coalition, many warlords actually held the mentality of just making up the numbers and taking the opportunity to boost their own reputation.

But this time, except for the two lucky ones, Zhang Yang and Kong Rong, the remaining small-fry warlords had all been eliminated.

Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, Tao Qian, Gongsun Zan, and Liu Bei—each of these six is not weak.

Perhaps some might think Tao Qian is not very capable and is just a "nice guy."

But... when Tao Qian was young, he once campaigned against the Qiang and Di tribes in Liangzhou together with Dong Zhuo.

He also partnered with Huangfu Song to quell the rebellion in Bingzhou.

The 10,000 Danyang elite troops under his command are the elite of the elite!

It is only because he is old and encountered Cao Cao, who is developing rapidly, that he appears somewhat powerless.

Compared to other small warlords, Tao Qian, the master of Xuzhou, can completely be called a behemoth.

After hearing Cao Cao’s comfort, the expression on Yuan Shao’s face relaxed a lot.

On the surface, it is the eight Guandong warlords against Dong Zhuo.

But... behind the Guandong warlords is the full support of the Guandong noble faction.

Who will emerge victorious is still unknown!

At the very least, if it comes to a contest of recovery power.

Dong Zhuo is currently no match for the group of "nurses" in the Guandong noble faction.

After Yuan Shao and Cao Cao met first.

Kong Rong, Tao Qian, and Gongsun Zan also came together.

The diplomatic relations between their three families have always been quite good.

Before, when Kong Rong was besieged in Beihai, he even thought about requesting reinforcements from Tao Qian.

It just so happened that Tao Qian and Cao Cao were on the verge of war.

Kong Rong had no choice but to give up this idea and turn to request reinforcements from Gongsun Zan instead.

That was how Gongsun Zan came to send Liu Bei to lead over a thousand elite troops to rescue Beihai.

And now.

Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are like two peas in a pod.

Kong Rong, Tao Qian, and Gongsun Zan naturally also travel together.

As for the remaining three, Liu Bei, Yuan Shu, and Zhang Yang, they brought their troops alone.

The eight warlords arrived in Suanzao one after another.