"What does everyone think we should do?"
After a while, Yuan Shao saw that everyone was silent, so he asked again. His brows were tightly furrowed. No one knew if he was thinking or vexed.
The civil and military officials present had more or less grasped Yuan Shao's temperament. Seeing Yuan Shao's expression, they naturally guessed what he was thinking. So, they all began to offer suggestions.
"My lord, why don't we send messengers to urge the various vassals to tell them the truth and reason? Let them understand the danger of Blazing Sun and speed up the pace of their attacks. My lord's important matter is just around the corner …"
Someone offered a suggestion.
"That's reasonable. The vassals of the world prioritize their immediate interests. They must understand the strength of Blazing Sun. Only then can they pay enough attention to him. To make them understand the strength of Blazing Sun, they must first be led to fight with Blazing Sun …"
Someone chimed in to make up the numbers. In essence, they didn't offer any constructive suggestions.
"My lord, I have an idea. Why don't you follow the example of the heroes who went after Dong and form an alliance with the various vassals? Combine everyone's strength to deal with Blazing Sun?"
Someone finally put forward a very constructive suggestion. However, he didn't consider that the current situation was already different.
Back when the heroes went after Dong, the Han Dynasty was almost unified. The local separatist forces had not yet taken shape. Most of the vassals had a common orientation to protect the Han Dynasty. There were almost none who truly considered hegemony.
Now, the vassals were divided into different regions. Each of them had their own interests. What they wanted was no longer the common goal of supporting the Han Dynasty. It could be said that it was very difficult to combine them.
"That's reasonable. It should work …"
"With my lord's status as one of the Three Dukes of the Fourth Generation, you can make the vassals of the world agree …"
"I second that …"
"…"
Perhaps it was because the capable officials and generals of Ji Zhou were too convinced of Yuan Shao's identity or because their vision was limited, but a proposal that wasn't very realistic received the approval of most people.
There were only a few people left, but they didn't say anything to stop this. The situation was already like this, and even if they tried to stop it, it wouldn't have much effect.
Even Yuan Shao himself didn't feel that there was anything wrong with it. This suggestion was quickly approved by Yuan Shao. He also confirmed the location of the meeting — Jiao County.
Jiao County was located within Si Li Province's Henei Prefecture. According to the considerations of Yuan Shao and his subordinates, there were a few reasons for choosing Jiao County as the location of the meeting.
First, considering the convenience of crossing the river, there was no need to cross the Yellow River and the Ji River. If the meeting was to be held east of the Yanjin Ferry, the situation would be exactly the opposite.
Secondly, for the convenience of the Vassal Alliance, Huojia County of Henei Prefecture was located near the intersection of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Chen Gong, and other forces. It could allow as many vassals to participate as possible.
On the other hand, Yuan Shao and his subordinates also intended to involve Chen Gong, who was currently holed up in Henei Prefecture, in order to increase their strength.
Coincidentally, the Jiao County that Yuan Shao had chosen was located directly opposite Guandu. If Yuan Shao and the other forces could successfully organize the Vassal Alliance and cross the Yellow River, Guandu would be directly opposite.
Previously, Yang Rui had considered that the third large-scale system storyline might have something to do with the Battle of Guandu. Thus, he had already used the captives of Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, Lu Bu, and the other vassals to strengthen and repair Guandu. The current Guandu was very different from the historical reality.
Yuan Shao had decided on the strategy of the Vassal Alliance and also used the idea of assigning envoys. However, at this time, Yuan Shao's envoys were no longer just urging the various vassals to use troops against Yang Rui. Instead, their main mission was to persuade the various vassals to go to Huojia County to participate in the Vassal Alliance.
Not to mention whether Yuan Shao's operation would succeed or not, the whole process would definitely take a long time. Even after two or three gaming days, Yang Rui still did not know anything about it.
After two or three gaming days, Yang Rui gradually stopped his activities in Yuan Shao's hinterland. This was because Yuan Shao had ordered the various cities to be on high alert. Most of the food and other resources were also moved into the cities by Yuan Shao.
Because of the previous reason, if Yang Rui only used Huang Wudie and Mogami Yohime's special forces to attack the city, the cost and the results obtained were not worth it according to Yang Rui's standards. The "cost-performance ratio" was too low.
Thus, with Yuan Shao on guard, Yang Rui simply gave up on his actions of sabotaging and harassing the enemy's rear.
However, Yang Rui did not stop there. According to the battlefield information sent back by the Void Ninja, Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu seemed to have reached a consensus after a few days of pause. Although they did not join forces, they gathered at Dong Ling Pass and tried to break through it a few times.
Judging from the movements of the two armies, it was possible that they could launch a large-scale attack on East Ridge Pass at any moment. Under such circumstances, Yang Rui drove the soul of the Void Traversing Airship directly to the area near East Ridge Pass, preparing to launch a sneak attack during the chaos.
The defending general of Dong Ling Pass was still General Ji Ling. Before Yuan Shu died, Ji Ling had successfully stopped the advance of Cao Cao's troops. After Yuan Shu's death, although his remaining troops were not able to form a faction, Ji Ling seemed to be the leader.
Although the other generals under Yuan Shu's command also had quite a number of troops under their command, they all seemed to have a common understanding of Ji Ling's fighting strength, ability, and the importance of guarding East Ridge Pass. Many times, Ethereal Ninja had also found out that Yuan Shu's remaining generals were transporting supplies to East Ridge Pass.
With Ji Ling's abilities, although it would be difficult for him to truly stop Cao Cao and Zhang Xiu's troops outside the pass, he should be able to hold them off for a few days. Yang Rui had considered this point, which was why he wanted to join in. At the very least, he wanted to increase the attrition between the two sides.
However, on the night Yang Rui arrived at the area near Dong Ling Pass, before he could take any action, the Imperial Guards reported to Yang Rui a piece of news that the Void Ninja had obtained.
The Void Ninja had coincidentally intercepted and killed a disguised Yuan Shao's envoy. Among them was a letter written by Yuan Shao himself. From there, he obtained news of Yuan Shao's plan to hold an alliance meeting in Joy County.
"System Announcement: The region of the Three Kingdoms Civilization has encountered a cold winter that is hard to come by in a hundred years. Coincidentally, there are frequent battles. The people in the north are starving and cold. The mountains and rivers are frozen. There is a shortage of livestock and fodder. The disaster situation is worsening …"
Yang Rui was considering the possible outcomes of Yuan Shao's alliance meeting when a system announcement about the disaster situation came out.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
