Chapter Twelve: The Predetermined Outcome

  After seeing off Xu Zhong, Li Yu ushered in the most corrupt period of his life in the Great Han Dynasty. Every day was spent drinking and chatting with Cao Zhen, playing pranks, and even going to ancient brothels with Cao Cao to have fun. The ancient girls were really beautiful!

  There are three irons for a man: one iron to bear arms, two irons to share a window, and three irons to share a prostitute; Li Yu's relationship with Cao Cao becomes more solid.

  Li Yu, who had not tasted feminine charm for three years, was very satisfied with his "licentious" behavior, but the happy days passed quickly.

  The largest "National Congress" at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty is about to open, and the venue is in Chenliu North's sour jujube tree, which is also a narrow pass. The allied forces will rely on this to confront the Western Liang Army 80 miles away; The focus of the meeting is how to break through Luoyang and behead Dong Zhuo.

  By the way, this alliance was initiated by Cao Cao one step ahead. Before Li Yu came to join, all the lords had received letters from Cao Cao, but they had not taken any actual action yet. Everyone was preparing for war and waiting for the right moment.

  Since the distance is not very far, just a hundred miles away, Cao Cao was not in a hurry, because there were still some things that had not been done.

  "Let's count the days, we should set off too!" Cao Cao sighed, but his eyes revealed a confident and eager gaze. Perhaps he still held a glimmer of hope for this already doomed Han Dynasty. Not everyone is born to be a hero, Cao Cao at this time had ambition, but was still loyal to the great Han!

  "Really? Big brother, achieving great things is now! " Xiahou Dun said loudly with excitement. "Sir, are we taking out all 5,000 horses or...?" Li Dian asked, who was in charge of training.

  "Haide, what do you think?" Cao Cao suddenly asked Li Yu. "Hmm, does the lord want to hear the truth or a lie?" Li Yu hesitated for a moment and glanced at the people surrounding him, including Cao Cao.

  "Oh? What's this all about? Let's talk nonsense first!" Cao Cao was taken in by this and his interest was piqued, asking with great enthusiasm.

  "It's all nonsense, our great army unites and Dong Zhuo is so scared that he wets his pants and begs for mercy. Then the many generals who attended the alliance will clean up the universe and restore the Han Dynasty to its former glory. Of course, those who participated in this alliance are all meritorious ministers, and everyone will be rewarded and delighted. But - is this possible?"

  Li Yu himself was wondering, he didn't know history, and when interests were at stake, the more people there were, the worse it would be to distribute them, and it was impossible for everyone to work together in harmony!

  Li Yu's words came out, Cao Cao's face changed, how could he not know this principle?! "Please speak clearly!"

  "This time the alliance will end in nothing but labor without gain!" Li Yu said slowly: "The reason is simple, even if Cao Gong has the intention of restoring the Han Dynasty, others may not think so. The various lords are mutually restrained and cannot achieve great things. And! The real troubled times should have begun!"

  "What's the point of going on, might as well..." Cao Ren said in a low voice.

  "Shut up, you fool!" Cao Cao said in a fit of rage. Li Yu's words were sharper than a knife and directly shattered his hopes for the alliance. However, being a seasoned veteran, Cao Cao quickly regained his composure: "Sir, since you've seen through our plan, what should we do now?"

  "Haha!" Li Yu's eyes narrowed, a sly smile spreading across his face: "Cool! This time we'll still go to conquer Dong, but since they can't achieve great things, we'll just do it ourselves. I suggest this time, let's only bring three thousand troops, at least we'll gain some fame, which will be beneficial for Cao Gong's future development!"

  "Hey!" Cao Cao let out a deep sigh: "I'll still try my best! If it really doesn't work, I'll rely on Master Yi's words. Manchester, this time you can stay here with them. Yuan Rang, Miao Cai, Zi Xiao, Zi Lian, Wen Qian come with me! And... Huai De! Can you lend me a helping hand?"

  "I'd like to follow Cao Gong forward!" Li Yu immediately expressed his intention.

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  Since the abolition of Liu Bian and the establishment of Liu Xie, Dong Zhuo has become more and more arrogant, sleeping in the imperial palace, ****, and becoming increasingly brutal. If anyone dares to disobey him slightly, he will be beheaded. The court is terrified, and Emperor's party members such as Wang Yun are anxious but helpless.

  Finally, there was a brave warrior who challenged Dong Zhuo, and this brave warrior was Bao Hong! He couldn't help but lead his soldiers to attack the Chancellor's mansion, but unfortunately, facing Lü Bu's Flying Bear Army, Bao Hong could only be like an egg hitting a rock, and was killed by Lü Bu.

  Dong Zhuo was still furious after Bao Hong's death, and ordered a thorough investigation of all those connected with Bao Hong. As a result, the number of people who lost their lives reached tens of thousands. Yuan Yi, Wang Yun and Zhong Fu were not implicated because they hid deep enough, but these few also had a scare.

  After this matter had passed, Wang Yun and others finally breathed a sigh of relief. Several people carefully spent several months under Dong Zhuo's rule, but unexpectedly Dong Zhuo became more and more arrogant. Every day in the imperial court was dominated by Dong Zhuo, and he was cruel and fond of killing. Every time he went out for a tour, he would slaughter ordinary civilians, claiming to be killing bandits when he returned. The people around Luoyang were so resentful that they wanted to eat his flesh alive.

  In the sixth year of Zhongping (190 AD), Wang Yun secretly met with Yuan Shu and said to him: "Nowadays, the court is full of Dong Zhuo's people. I am worried that Dong Zhuo will follow the example of Wang Mang. Do you have a good plan, brother?"

  Yuan Shu furrowed his brow and said, "Do I have a good plan? Now Dong Zhuo is in sole control of the capital, Bao Hong has been eliminated by Dong Zhuo, and you and I no longer have any soldiers or horses. How can I think of a countermeasure?"

  Wang Yun said in a low voice: "I think that now we must let Yuan Shu and Cao Cao rise up in arms to enter the capital to save the emperor, otherwise if Dong Zhuo usurps the throne, it will be too late to regret."

  Yuan Wei hastily said: "Now it can only be like this, I will write a letter to make arrangements."

  Yuan's two brothers were at...

  Yuan Shao recruited soldiers and horses in Bohai, and also utilized the Yuan family's reputation to gather a group of strategists and generals. The strategists included Xu You, Guo Tu, Feng Ji, and Chen Lin, while the generals included Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Han Meng, and Chunyu Qiong. At this point, Yuan Shao was also strong in military power, waiting for an opportunity in Bohai.

  On this day, Yuan Shao received a secret letter from Yuan Yi and was overjoyed. He gathered his civil and military officials and said: "Dong Zhuo has been acting recklessly and contrary to moral principles. Now I have received a letter from my uncle saying that he wants me to go to the capital to rescue the emperor. What do you all think?"

  Xu You knew that Yuan Shao had long wanted to lead an army to Luoyang, so he stood up and said: "My lord, Dong Zhuo's evil deeds are known throughout the world. If my lord can take the lead in righteousness, the world will surely respond, and my lord's reputation will surely rise. At that time, heroes from all over the world will gather together, and there is no need to worry about not achieving great things."

  Guo Tu and others also agreed with Xu You's opinion, only Gong Ji did not speak. Yuan Shao saw this and asked: "Yuan Tu, do you disagree with my proposal to lead the army into the capital to rescue the emperor?"

  Ji Yong shook his head and said: "No, I highly agree, but I'm worried that Dong Zhuo's power is too great, our army can't be its opponent."

  Yuan Shao smiled and said, "No matter, my uncle's letter clearly stated that after Cao Cao assassinated Dong Zhuo last year, he had already formed an alliance with people of ambition from all over the world to come and assist him. What is there to fear about Dong Zhuo's powerful influence?"

  Ji Cong nodded and said: "In that case, Your Excellency should quickly mobilize a large army to head towards Luoyang."

  In Ru'nan, Yuan Shu said to the crowd after receiving Yuan Yi's letter: "My uncle in Luoyang has sent a letter asking me to go and attack Dong Zhuo. I have decided to send troops there, who among you is willing to go?"

  "Let's go!" Yuan Shu's men immediately echoed in agreement;

  Yang Hong stood up and said: "My lord, Dong Zhuo's rebellious behavior has already enraged the world. Once we rise in revolt, heroes from all over the world will surely respond. My lord is a noble-born, this time it must be possible to make heroes from all over the world respond."

  Yuan Shu said: "Since it's like this, then we'll set out for Luoyang on a lucky day."

  The same things are happening all over the world, only some people are indifferent and want to quietly observe the overall situation of the world. Liu Yan of Yi Province is one such person. Since he arrived in Yi Province, he has pacified the rebellions of Ma Xiang and Zhao Qi, and with the help of Fa Zhen, Zhang Song, Yan Yan, Zhang Ren and others, he has firmly controlled Yi Province. Later, he sent Zhang Lu to occupy Hanzhong, cutting off contact with Luoyang, and freely became his own emperor.

  When Liu Yan received Cao Cao's letter, he sneered: "You are just a group of mediocre people. I, Liu Yan, will not stoop to your level. You can go and fight among yourselves, while I will slowly develop my power in Yi Province. One day, I will lead my great army to eliminate you all, and by then, I will be the emperor." After saying this, he burned the letter and ignored the matter.

  "Your Excellency!" Guo Tu: "We should first issue a proclamation, so as to rally the people of the world to jointly destroy Dong's villainy and make a name for ourselves!"

  Yuan Shao burst out laughing and said: "This is excellent! Where is Chen Lin?"

  Chen Lin stepped forward and replied: "Your subordinate is here."

  Yuan Shao said with a majestic air: "I order you to rewrite the letter, and it must be completed within the specified time."

  Chen Lin replied: "Don't worry, Your Excellency, this is exactly what I'm good at, and I will definitely do it perfectly."

  Just as Yuan Shao was about to disperse the meeting, a soldier outside reported that Cao Cao of Chenliu had sent a letter denouncing Dong Zhuo. Yuan Shao was shocked and stunned, standing there in a daze. His civil and military officials were also stunned, no one having expected that Cao Cao would be the first to send a letter of denunciation, and that he would take the lead among all the others.

  This was Cao Cao's own plan and not something Liu Ye told him, which is also the reason why Cao Cao never directly sent troops to attack Xuchang.

  The messenger stood under the hall, seeing Yuan Shao and all the civil and military officials in the hall stunned there, but he did not dare to speak more, so he knelt down and didn't dare to move. After a while, Yuan Shao came back to his senses and took over the decree to take a look.

  Only the imperial edict reads: "Dong Zhuo deceived heaven and earth, destroyed the country and murdered the emperor; polluted the palace, harmed the people; cruel and inhumane, accumulated crimes! Now Dong Zhuo has usurped the emperor, actually hiding evil intentions, wanting to usurp the Han Dynasty and establish himself. Now Cao Cao raises the righteous flag, gathers righteous troops, vows to sweep away the Chinese, and exterminate the villains. However, Dong Zhuo's power is great, and Cao Cao's strength alone is limited, and it is not possible for one person to resist. Therefore, this edict is issued, hoping that heroes all over the world will rise up in righteousness, share public anger; support the royal family, rescue the people. The edict arrives on the day, can be carried out quickly!"

  Yuan Shao sighed and said to his subordinates: "I didn't expect that Meng De would take the lead, what do you think we should do now?"

  Everyone was silent, only Xu You and Gong Ji burst out laughing. Yuan Shao saw this and hastily asked why they were laughing. Xu You spoke first: "My lord, Cao Cao's manifesto has arrived, he must be seeking to gain fame from it. What is the relationship between him and Cao Cao? The heroes of the world want to overthrow Dong Zhuo, so they must unite. In this way, there must be an alliance leader who oversees everything. After being castrated, Cao Cao's reputation is not enough, how can he compare with your family's four generations of three dukes? Therefore, the position of alliance leader will definitely go to you, my lord. When the time comes, you will command the world as the alliance leader, who dares not obey? In this way, isn't Cao Cao doing us a good deed?"

  Yuan Shao listened and asked Gong Ji: "Are you of the same mind?"

  Ji got up and replied: "Exactly, Ziyuan's words are just what I wanted."

  Yuan Shao burst out laughing and said: "Alright, let Meng De be the vanguard. Pass down the order to the great army, we will set out for Xiangping on a certain day."

  Throughout the country, all heroes received Cao Cao's proclamation, so except for Liu Yan, they all rose up and headed to Suanzao, preparing to join forces to attack Dong Zhuo.