funbook-pk Chapter 3: Did Cao Cao Recommend Yuan Shao as the Alliance Leader? Of course, there was a purpose be
Chapter 3: Did Cao Cao Recommend Yuan Shao as the Alliance Leader? Of course, there was a purpose be
Cao Cao arrived relatively early.
Following Cao Cao, various warlords such as Sun Jian, Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, and Kong Rong arrived one after another.
Seeing that Sun Jian had arrived so late, a hint of impatience flashed across Yuan Shu's brows.
Su Yu quickly caught the hint of impatience and came up with a plan.
What was the relationship between Sun Jian and Yuan Shu?
It wasn't that Yuan Shu simply looked down on Sun Jian, but rather that Yuan Shu paid Sun Jian to come to the alliance meeting!
Sun Jian, a southern warlord with impeccable revolutionary credentials, was extremely far from the north.
To come to the alliance meeting, one must not only cross the Xiang River, but also the Yangtze River.
Without sufficient military provisions, Sun Jian's Jiangdong army would likely have been wiped out halfway through the journey.
This isn't a strategy game like those of later generations, where you can simply bring your supplies in advance.
Transporting grain and fodder is far more difficult than carrying it.
In addition, we also need to calculate the consumption along the way, as well as the extra food and fodder lost when traversing special terrains such as mountains and rivers.
All things considered, let alone the impoverished Sun Jian's army, even the wealthy Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu had to carefully manage their food supplies.
So, knowing that the losses would be so great, why did Sun Jian travel thousands of miles to join the alliance?
Could it be that he is truly a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty, disregarding everything else and only wanting to rescue Emperor Liu Xie?
Of course not!
If he were truly a loyal subject, he wouldn't have rushed back to Jiangdong and engaged in any clandestine activities after obtaining the Imperial Seal in the original historical records.
To put it bluntly, the reason Sun Jian traveled so far to attend the alliance meeting was because he had a powerful backer who was willing to provide him with military funds and supplies.
This benefactor was none other than Yuan Shu.
And don't ever think that Yuan Shu was some kind of loyal minister of the Han Dynasty who wanted to be a great traitor to Sun Jian, so he provided him with money and food.
Yuan Shu also had his own needs.
His requirement was for Sun Jian to conquer Jingzhou along the way!
Sun Jian's Changsha Commandery was located in the southern part of Jingzhou.
Compared to northern and central Jingzhou, southern Jingzhou was relatively barren during this period.
Yuan Shu, who coveted northern and central Jingzhou, valued his own reputation and could not easily launch an attack.
Therefore, he set his sights on the mercenary Sun Jian.
Sun Jian fought against river pirates, Yue people in the mountains, and the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and repeatedly made military achievements.
In terms of combat experience, they are quite experienced.
Among all the warlords of the Han Dynasty, their combat strength was among the best.
By hiring Sun Jian and the Jiangdong army, Yuan Shu could acquire vast tracts of land simply by providing money and supplies. Why wouldn't he do it?
In the early stages, Sun Jian's progress was indeed quite smooth.
Just as Yuan Shu had predicted, almost no one in the central and northern parts of Jingzhou could stop Sun Jian.
But an embarrassing thing happened soon after.
Liu Biao, a member of the Han imperial family, entered Jingzhou!
Furthermore, they allied with powerful clans in Jingzhou such as Cai Mao and Kuai Yue to launch a counterattack against Sun Jian and reclaim lost territory.
Sun Jian was a very strong fighter, but the united Jingzhou army was also quite powerful.
After months of war, Sun Jian still failed to defeat Liu Biao.
Yuan Shu had no choice but to temporarily order Sun Jian to withdraw his troops and detour north to participate in the alliance meeting.
But don't think this is the end of the story.
The feud between Sun Jian and Liu Biao was thus established.
Historically, it was shortly after the coalition forces disbanded that Sun Jian launched an attack on Liu Biao, only to be ambushed and killed.
At present, for Yuan Shu, the fact that Sun Jian did not eliminate Liu Biao means that all of Yuan Shu's investments over such a long period of time have gone down the drain.
Having been taken advantage of, how could Yuan Shu possibly have a good attitude towards Sun Jian?
Yuan Shao smiled slightly. In fact, he also wanted to win over Sun Jian, but his territory was far away from Sun Jian's, and there were a large number of other warlords and Yuan Shu in between, so he didn't know where to start for the time being.
Seeing that all the feudal lords had arrived, Kong Rong, the governor of Beihai and a 20th-generation descendant of Confucius, began to preside over the election of the alliance leader on behalf of the feudal lords.
Just as Kong Rong was about to speak, Cao Cao suddenly spoke up:
"Prefect Kong, there is something I wish to make clear."
"Heh, could it be that Cao Cao also wants to be the leader of this alliance?"
They whispered amongst themselves, though it was unclear which warlord they were from.
The way everyone looked at Cao Cao was full of amusement.
Even Yuan Shao's previously gentle gaze gradually turned sharp.
If Cao Cao were to also step forward and become the leader of the alliance, Yuan Shao would be extremely displeased.
In Yuan Shao's eyes, Cao Cao was his younger brother, and he should unconditionally support his elder brother.
He himself jumped out to want to be the leader of the alliance. Isn't this going against the Heavenly Gang?
Ignoring the scrutinizing gazes of the crowd, Cao Cao laughed:
"Gentlemen, I believe that we should work together and not have disagreements over the position of leader of the alliance."
"What do you think?"
"What Mengde said is very true."
"Yes, yes, if that old scoundrel Dong Zhuo finds out about this, wouldn't he be a laughingstock?"
The various warlords echoed his sentiments, agreeing that Cao Cao's words made sense.
Even Yuan Shu nodded in agreement.
Unexpectedly, Cao Cao's next words immediately broke Yuan Shu's defenses!
Cao Cao then said:
"Therefore, I recommend that Benchu assume the position of leader of this alliance!"
"Only Yuan Shao dared to draw his sword against the old traitor Dong Zhuo when he entered the capital a few months ago!"
"Only Yuan Chu can lead my allied forces forward bravely and fearlessly!"
"Well said!"
"We think so too!"
The warlords supported by Yuan Shao, such as Han Fu, Bao Xin, Zhang Yang, and Zhang Miao, all rose up to offer their support.
The warlords in Yuan Shu's faction, on the other hand, had gloomy expressions.
Yuan Shu was so angry that his face turned ashen, and he wished he could slap Cao Cao to death.
"Cao Mengde! What nonsense are you spouting?"
"How can the position of leader of the alliance be held by someone born out of wedlock?"
Even though Yuan Benchu has been adopted by my uncle, it still cannot cover up the fact that he is a despicable illegitimate child!
Yuan Shu could no longer contain himself and roared angrily at Cao Cao on the spot.
However, Cao Cao and Su Yu exchanged a smile.
Yuan Shu has fallen into a trap!
Yuan Shao, who was standing nearby, also reacted quickly.
Only Yuan Shu remained, staring blankly at Cao Cao.
Unbeknownst to him, the expressions of Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, Zhang Chao, the prefect of Guangling, and Kong Rong, the prefect of Beihai, had long since lost their gentleness.
why?
Because these warlords, who secretly favored Yuan Shu but did not completely take sides, were all born out of wedlock!
In essence, Yuan Shu offended all the potential warlords with a single sentence.
Yan Xiang, Yuan Shu's strategist, was so anxious that he stamped his feet, but he still couldn't stop Yuan Shu's foolish behavior.
Cao Cao ignored Yuan Shu's murderous glare and smiled slightly:
"Since General Hou is not satisfied with this matter (Yuan Shu at this time appointed himself General Hou), why not hand over the decision to the heroes present here? What do you say?"
See you in the picture!
Cao Cao stepped forward precisely because of Su Yu's strategy.
They set a trap for Yuan Shu, thus sending Yuan Shao to the position of leader of the alliance.
Then, it was up to Cao Cao and Su Yu to decide their interests.
……
P.S.: Please add my new book to your bookshelf and give it some support.