Chapter 22

Let alone the Guandong coalition, which was currently at a disadvantage.

Even the Guandong coalition in the original history, which seemed to be in great shape at first glance and forced Dong Zhuo to burn Luoyang, eventually could not avoid the fate of disbanding.

To put it bluntly, the coalition couldn't achieve anything big.

Because they were just a group of interests gathered together.

Once they couldn't get enough spoils, internal strife would automatically occur.

"My lord, have you forgotten what our purpose was for joining the coalition?"

Xu You asked Yuan Shao while the iron was hot.

Hearing this, Yuan Shao pondered slightly and then said:

"Naturally, it was to further enhance the fame of me, Yuan Benchu, so that I could take the entire Hebei region as soon as possible!"

After saying this, Yuan Shao's face changed drastically!

Yes!

The reason for joining the coalition was, first, to enhance his influence, and second, to take the entire Hebei region as soon as possible.

But now...

Jizhou was in the hands of Han Fu.

Youzhou was in the hands of Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu.

Bingzhou was in the hands of Zhang Yang and the Southern Xiongnu.

Qingzhou was in the hands of Kong Rong and the remnants of the Yellow Turbans.

These four provinces were all places Yuan Shao was determined to get!

But these four provinces had nothing to do with Dong Zhuo.

Moreover,

due to Gu Yi's butterfly effect,

Yuan Shao's uncle Yuan Kui and others, who should have died at the hands of Dong Zhuo, were still alive and well!

According to the original historical trajectory,

they should have been executed by the angry Dong Zhuo before the Battle of Hulao Pass, and their heads hung on the gate tower of Hulao Pass.

Why did Dong Zhuo want to kill them?

First, to prevent them from tipping off the coalition.

Second, to vent his anger.

But now,

the coalition had suffered continuous losses at Sishui Pass and Hulao Pass.

The Dong Zhuo army had been advancing triumphantly and had basically suffered no losses.

Old Dong's emotions had also been kept at a stable threshold.

So he was not in a hurry to order the execution of Yuan Kui and the hundred members of the Yuan family.

Instead, he chose to imprison them in the Luoyang jail.

In other words,

the Guandong aristocratic group represented by the coalition had an irreconcilable conflict with Dong Zhuo.

But Yuan Shao himself did not have a blood feud with Dong Zhuo.

Even the conflict of interests had gradually disappeared.

At least in the short term, Yuan Shao actually had no need to fight Dong Zhuo to the death.

His goal was to use the four provinces of Hebei as his base.

And Dong Zhuo's base was in Guanxi.

Yuan Shao's real enemies should be the various coalition allies!

Especially Han Fu and Gongsun Zan!

Now, the situation had become increasingly clear.

The coalition was showing signs of fatigue.

Even if they continued to fight, they would likely be defeated by Dong Zhuo.

In this way, wasting troops would have no benefit for Yuan Shao.

Thinking of this, the gaze in Yuan Shao's eyes gradually became hot.

He hurriedly asked Xu You:

"Ziyuan, do you have any good strategies to solve the current predicament?"

"My lord, I wouldn't call it a good strategy."

"But this plan can allow you to get out of the quagmire of war and even help you take Jizhou and Youzhou in advance!"

Xu You spoke eloquently.

His words instantly attracted Yuan Shao's full attention.

The two discussed for a long time in the tent.

In the end, Yuan Shao decided to adopt Xu You's plan.

Under the cover of night,

what no other warlord noticed, except for Yuan Shao himself, was that

Xu You quietly left the coalition camp.

And the direction he was heading was Hulao Pass!

However, what Xu You didn't know was that

the moment he left the coalition camp,

Gongsun Zan and Sun Jian's tent also welcomed two messengers.

And these two came from inside Hulao Pass.

To be precise, they came with Gu Yi's plan!

... ===== CHAPTER 45 =====

In Sun Jian's tent,

the faint candlelight flickered in the wind.

Sun Jian and a thin scholar sat opposite each other.

This person put down his teacup and smiled:

"General Wentai, Zu Mao has not suffered any punishment inside Hulao Pass."

"But according to the meaning of our Chancellor, if you want to exchange back Zu Mao, you must pay some price."

"What price?"

"If I don't want to agree, but choose to hijack you, can it have the same effect?"

Before the thin scholar could react, Sun Jian quickly drew his Ancient Ingot Saber and held it against his neck.

"Hahahaha, my military advisor had already said that General Wentai is a water bandit leader who doesn't talk reason and likes to flip tables."

"I didn't believe it at first, but now it seems it is true!"

The thin scholar, facing Sun Jian and the Ancient Ingot Saber, was not afraid, but instead mocked him.

Hearing this, Sun Jian frowned and asked in a deep voice:

"Are you sure I don't dare to kill you?"

"You must know that since I brought troops north from Changsha, the number of Inspectors and Administrators who have died at my hands is countless."

"Killing you is just a matter of a moment!"

Facing Sun Jian's intimidation, the thin scholar smiled:

"If I die, Zu Mao will be buried with me."

"Besides, our Chancellor is extremely protective of his own."

"How many people can your Jiangdong army have for my Xiliang army to kill?"

"Bang!"

Sun Jian's pupils contracted. ===== CHAPTER 46 =====

In the end, he threw away the Ancient Ingot Saber he was holding.

He chose to renegotiate with the thin scholar.

In fact, the thin scholar was not a famous person, nor was he a person with great ability.

But he was a Xiliang loyalist who followed Dong Zhuo and knew Old Dong's protective temper.

Therefore, the thin scholar took the initiative to volunteer to go to Sun Jian and discuss the issue of Zu Mao with him.

And the military advisor he mentioned in his words naturally referred to Gu Yi.

In the end,

in Sun Jian's lonely eyes,

the thin scholar walked out of the tent.

He had excellently completed this "alienate Sun Jian" mission!

At the same time,

a similar scene was happening in Gongsun Zan's tent.

But the difference was that

Gongsun Zan did not choose to draw his sword to intimidate the messenger, but was anxious to exchange back the captured Yan Gang from beginning to end.

"What!?"

"To exchange Yan Gang, I need to give up three hundred White Horse Volunteers?"

Gongsun Zan couldn't help but exclaim.

"Yes, besides this, we also need a captain-level figure."

"It is said that a Changshan volunteer army recently joined your command."

"The captain of that volunteer army can also be used for the exchange."

The messenger said lightly.

Hearing this, Gongsun Zan fell into deep thought.

Gongsun Zan naturally wouldn't feel pained about that Changshan volunteer captain.

But three hundred White Horse Volunteers did indeed make him struggle for a moment.

The training of each White Horse Volunteer was not easy.

Three hundred White Horse Volunteers accounted for one-tenth of the total number of White Horse Volunteers.

"General Gongsun, if you miss this village, you won't find this shop."

"The other captured generals do not have the treatment of being exchanged back."

"Our Chancellor is benevolent."

"Seeing that you are also a fierce general guarding the frontier,"

"that is why he gives Yan Gang this treatment."

"If you don't agree to the exchange today,"

"then the only end for Yan Gang will be to die at Hulao Pass!"

The initiative was always on Dong Zhuo's side.

There were only two options left for Gongsun Zan.

One was to agree to the exchange, and the other was to accept the fact that Yan Gang was indirectly killed by him!

Either way made Gongsun Zan feel very stifled.

But thinking of losing Yan Gang, Gongsun Zan wanted to slap himself.

With a long sigh,

Gongsun Zan finally agreed to the exchange request of the Dong Zhuo army messenger.

He would exchange three hundred White Horse Volunteers and the Changshan volunteer captain for the captured Yan Gang.

If we talk about the person who was most confused in the whole process, it was the Changshan volunteer captain.

That night, Gongsun Zan suddenly found him and said he wanted to give him a very arduous task!

Regarding this, the Changshan volunteer captain was very excited.

Not long ago, the reason he chose to join Gongsun Zan's command was precisely because he had heard of the fame of General White Horse, Gongsun Zan.

He hoped that he could be like Gongsun Zan, contributing to the cause of protecting the country, guarding the frontier, and resisting the Wuhuan.

However,

Gongsun Zan's command also emphasized seniority.

The newly joined Changshan volunteer captain was just a young newcomer.

He wouldn't be valued by Gongsun Zan at all.

To be honest, if the Dong Zhuo army messenger hadn't mentioned the Changshan volunteer captain today, Gongsun Zan probably wouldn't have remembered that there was such a person under his command.

Subsequently, Gongsun Zan also gave the Changshan volunteer captain three hundred White Horse Volunteers.

He told him to take them and escort the Dong Zhuo army messenger into Hulao Pass.

Although the Changshan volunteer captain was very confused about this task,

thinking that this was the first task General Gongsun had given him,

he had to keep encouraging himself in his heart, hoping that he could live up to General Gongsun's entrustment!

PS: The handsome readers must have guessed who the Changshan volunteer captain is; you can type it in the comment section, and by the way, let the little author know that I am not coding in a vacuum, so I can add more updates with higher enthusiasm to reward you handsome guys.

In addition, according to multiple historical records, the year the Changshan volunteer captain joined Gongsun Zan's command was roughly between 189 AD and 191 AD (before the Battle of Jieqiao).

That is to say, there is no timeline problem with the Changshan volunteer captain appearing here. ===== CHAPTER 47 =====