All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 345 You will regret it!
"The army is short of food, what can we do?"

At the military meeting at Hulao Pass, Dong Zhuo also said helplessly, "At this point, the only option is to retreat."

The generals of Xiliang had already received the news and did not comment.

Only Chen Ran and Lu Bu, who came from miscellaneous backgrounds, were the last two to be informed.

Chen Ran didn't say anything, but he looked at Lu Bu who was obviously confused.

"Father."

Lu Bu stated, "If you want to retreat, where should you retreat to?"

Compared to Chen Ran, Lu Bu really had no choice because his logistical supplies entirely depended on Dong Zhuo's support.

"Retreat to Luoyang first." Li Ru replied, "Then retreat to Guanzhong for food."

Lu Bu had nothing to say.

Everyone's eyes fell on Chen Ran.

The opinion of this leader of the ragtag army of the Xiliang Legion, who commands tens of thousands of soldiers, is very important.

"Since the Grand Master has made the decision, let's withdraw our troops." Chen Ran changed the subject and said, "But how do we arrange the affairs of the Palace Army?"

Li Ru, who was confident, immediately said with a smile, "The Grand Master has already made up his mind. Let's burn down Luoyang City!"

The Xiliang army general had a blank expression on his face. They had done such things many times in Xiliang, so they didn't care at all.

Lu Bu was so surprised and unbelievable that he wanted to burn down the capital.

But he didn't dare to object, after all, he was now eating with Dong Zhuo.

"No."

Chen Ran shook his head and refused. "Luoyang is the capital. Burning down the capital might stop the pursuers, but the reputation of the Grand Tutor will be ruined."

"It's okay." Li Ru explained, "We just need to take the emperor and the court away, and then say it was a fire."

This is a forced explanation.

As for whether people in the world believe it or not, that doesn’t matter.

"Not appropriate." Chen Ran still shook his head in objection, "Don't treat everyone in the world as fools."

Li Ru was also a little angry, his face darkened, "What do you think we should do?"

"Of course, we should leave someone behind to defend Luoyang City."

Everyone's expressions finally changed and they began to whisper to each other.

There are hundreds of thousands of coalition troops, and those who are left behind as the rear guard are surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people and have no food to eat. Isn't this putting themselves in a desperate situation?
Li Ru was stunned at first, then he asked, "Who is willing to stay? This is a life-or-death situation!"

"I."

Chen Ran simply responded, "I would like to stay in Luoyang City as the rear guard."

When these words were spoken, everyone looked excited.

Dong Zhuo showed an expression of disbelief, and Li Ru blurted out, "Are you planning to surrender to the coalition forces?"

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he thought to himself, "Oh no."

As expected, Chen Ran immediately slammed the table and stood up, glaring at me, "You are such a despicable villain! If I wanted to join the coalition, I would have already defected and opened Hulao Pass!"

"Zihou, don't be angry." Dong Zhuo glared at the embarrassed Li Ru at first, then eased the atmosphere and said with a smile, "Wenyou said something he didn't care about, just forgive him this time."

"Grandmaster." Chen Ran cupped his hands and said, "I am willing to defend Luoyang City."

"Okay." Dong Zhuo couldn't refuse after hearing what was said. He nodded again and again, "In that case, Zihou will guard Luoyang City as the rear guard."

"Zihou, don't worry." Dong Zhuo patted his chest and promised, "When the army has enough food and grass, we will come back to help immediately!"

Chen Ran sneered in his heart, "You are kidding me."

But he nodded repeatedly, "Then I will wait for the return of the Grand Master."

The Xiliang army began to retreat, and the coalition forces immediately received the news.

Cao Cao strongly advocated that the entire army should attack and take advantage of the opportunity of the Xiliang Army's retreat to pursue and kill them.

But Yuan Shao refused.

It's not that he doesn't want to chase them, but Hulao Pass has not been captured yet, and it is meaningless to force a pursuit. "Don't worry, if they retreat, they will at least retreat to Guanzhong, there will be plenty of opportunities to chase them."

Cao Cao thought about it and didn't insist.

A few days later, the defenders of Hulao Pass began to retreat. The coalition forces then launched a large-scale attack and captured Hulao Pass, opening the road to Luoyang.

At the same time, Sun Jian, who was in front of Sishui Pass in the south, had already captured the abandoned Sishui Pass early and rushed towards Luoyang City frantically.

In history, Sun Jian was the first to rush into Luoyang City which was abandoned by the Western Liang Army, and even found the imperial seal.

But this time, when Sun Jian arrived at the city of Luoyang, he saw the closed city gates and armored soldiers covering the city walls.

He was scratching his head. "How do I fight this?"

Luoyang City is the most solid city in the world, with complete defense facilities and extremely high city walls.

Sun Jian looked at the troops under his command and immediately lost confidence in attacking the city.

"Forget it, let's wait until the leader and the others arrive."

Within a few days, hundreds of thousands of allied forces arrived in full force and quickly surrounded Luoyang City.

The coalition forces rested for a while and built various siege weapons.

Because there were no longer enough large trees to cut down around Luoyang City, they could only demolish the houses outside the city and use large trees such as beams as materials.

After everything was ready, Yuan Shao convened a military meeting to prepare for the siege.

"Everyone~~~" Yuan Shao, the high-spirited leader of the alliance, shouted loudly, "We have successively defeated Dong's troops, killed Hua Xiong and other famous generals, captured Hulao Pass, Sishui Pass and other natural barriers, and have arrived at the city of Luoyang today."

Yuan Shao on the stage was full of ambition, but among the heroes around him, many looked anxious.

After the morale-boosting speech was over and Yuan Shao officially issued the military order, arranging the various troops to besiege Luoyang City, someone finally couldn't help but step out to salute.

"Leader!" Shangdang Governor Zhang Yang said, "My troops cannot participate in the siege."

Yuan Shao's good mood was immediately ruined.

His face darkened and he asked, "Zhang Taishou, what do you mean?"

"Let the leader know." Zhang Yang smiled bitterly. "A fast horse came from Shangdang to report that the remnants of the Baibo bandits have risen up and are besieging Shangdang! The army is in chaos and there is a risk of mutiny. I have to rush back to Shangdang as soon as possible."

Obviously, this reason is impeccable.

You can't let your hometown be occupied by the enemy army just because you work for you, Yuan Shao.

Even if Zhang Yang was willing to sacrifice his life for the Yuan family, the soldiers whose families and relatives were still in their hometowns would definitely not do so.

Yuan Shao, looking grim, took a deep breath and said, "Well, in that case, then Governor Zhang should return home immediately."

Zhang Yang quickly bowed and thanked him, then turned around and left in a hurry.

"With more than a dozen troops, it doesn't matter if he's missing one."

Yuan Shao consoled himself, "When my Yuan family controls the world, I will find his weaknesses."

After adjusting his mood, Yuan Shao was about to issue military orders, but Kong Rong, the governor of Beihai, and Bao Xin, the prime minister of Jibei, stepped out in unison and said, "Master, we can't join the siege either."

Yuan Shao was furious. "What's wrong with you? Could it be that the Baibo bandits are also attacking your territory?"

In a fit of rage, Yuan Shao directly shouted, "This is your territory."

"Alliance leader, calm down."

Kong Rong quickly explained, "It's not the Baibo bandits, but the remnants of the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou. They raised hundreds of thousands of troops to cause chaos in Qingzhou and Yanzhou, and the army's morale is unstable~~~"

Yuan Shao's eyes turned red with anger. "Okay, okay, let's go! We can take Luoyang City even without you!"

Kong Rong and Bao Xin didn't dare to say anything more and turned around and left in a hurry.

Yuan Shao looked around at the remaining heroes and asked, "Who else wants to leave?"

Someone really stepped out here.

Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, stepped out and saluted, saying, "Leader, the Taishan bandit Zang Ba and others attacked Xuzhou and Xiapi. I had to go back to quell the rebellion."

Then, Gongsun Zan, the governor of Beiping, stepped out and said, "Military intelligence has come from Beiping, saying that the Xianbei are marching south in large numbers. I have a duty to defend the territory and must return to drive them away."

The governor of Yuzhou, Kong Zhu, also said, "The remnants of the Yellow Turbans in Runan (Zhou Cang, Liao Hua, etc.) are also causing chaos, so we have to return."

What made Yuan Shao most uncomfortable was that Han Fu, the governor of Jizhou, also said that the Black Mountain Army was in chaos, so he had to return to Jizhou.

The location of Jizhou is extremely important, as it is located on the grain route and rear road of Bohai Kingdom, the Yuan family’s old nest.

If Han Fu had any intentions after returning to Jizhou and cut off Yuan Shao's retreat, and Gongsun Zan led his troops south again, the Yuan family's wealth would be wiped out.

Under such circumstances, Yuan Shao no longer had the heart to besiege Luoyang City and even wanted to withdraw his troops.

At the critical moment, Cao Mengde jumped out and shouted, "Everyone, everyone! How could so many rebels rebel together? Someone is obviously plotting something!"

"Don't fall for the evil schemes of the thieves and fail to accomplish your great cause~~~"

It has to be said that Cao Cao had an excellent vision. He saw through at a glance that this was a strategy to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

Jia Xu sent people with money and goods to various places to make it look like he had mobilized troops from all over the place. The movement was definitely real, but the force was very weak.

It’s a pity that in this era where communication basically relies on shouting, no one can prove that their hometown is safe and sound.

What if it's true?

Did he lose his territory to help Yuan family seize Luoyang City?

Not to mention whether I am willing or not, even if I am willing to devote my life to the Yuan family until my death, will the Yuan family help me take back the lost territory?

Can the soldiers who have lost their families and relatives forgive themselves?

To put it bluntly, the heroes are just a group of loose sand. Once their own interests are in danger, disbanding is almost inevitable.

Cao Cao's call received no response as the heroes were all thinking about their own affairs.

Yuan Shao was so angry that he was shaking. When he saw Yuan Shu grinning, his eyes went dark and he almost vomited blood.

I was actually mocked by Yuan Shu!
He was not stupid. He knew very well the extent of the threat posed by Han Fu and Gongsun Zan withdrawing their troops first.

He stomped his feet angrily, left a sentence "In this case, let's just go our separate ways" and left.

Cao Cao was horrified and hurried to chase after him, "Benchu, Benchu, no, no~~~"

Yuan Shao was a stubborn person and would never change his mind once he had made a decision. The more he was persuaded, the more stubborn he became.

Cao Cao tried to persuade Yuan Shao for a long time, but Yuan Shao became even more determined to break up.

Cao Mengde was so angry that he beat his chest and stamped his feet, "You really are, really are."

I wanted to swear, but considering Yuan Shao's temper, I could only say "You will regret it!"

In fact, Chen Ran's army only had a little over 20,000 soldiers.

If hundreds of thousands of coalition forces really launched a reckless attack, he would not be able to defend such a large city as Luoyang.

Giving up this opportunity is equivalent to giving up the best opportunity to suppress Chen Ran's rise.

From then on, no one could stop him from soaring into the sky!

(End of this chapter)