The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Compared to Earth's history in the previous life, the Kwantung Coalition in this world seems to be less numerous. However, this is not the case. The Kwantung Coalition in this life is of much higher quality than in the previous life. This is because Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu have become governors in this world, and Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, has also gotten involved. In fact, Liu Biao wanted to avoid suspicion, but he got involved in this matter from the beginning. It would seem too bad for him to withdraw as soon as the coalition was formed.

By the end of May, apart from the Northern Autonomous Region army and Ma Teng who was far away in Xiliang, the rest of the allied forces had basically arrived at Suanzao. The total number of allied forces that had arrived at Suanzao was nearly 300,000, including 60,000 troops under Yuan Shao, 50,000 troops under Yuan Shu, 30,000 troops each under Liu Biao and Lu Zhi, and 10,000 troops under Liu Bei.

Among them, Lu Zhi's army of 20,000 musketeers was the most eye-catching. Of course, the fact that Liu Bei, the governor of Ba Commandery, had a pure musketeer force also attracted a lot of attention.

Everyone knew why Chen Er didn't come: the conflict between him and Yuan Shao was too deep. However, Chen Er did send a message that he would launch an attack in another direction. As for where he would attack, he would obviously pass through Bingzhou and draw the Xiliang army to the north.

No one in the allied forces could do anything about Chen Er's actions, let alone Ma Teng of Xiliang. The distance was too far, making him an unattainable target. Ma Teng had practically become a figurehead. Therefore, at the time of the Suanzao Alliance, the allied forces actually only had thirteen garrisons.

With a coalition in place, there needs to be a leader. Without Chen Er's support and with Yuan Shao suffering several defeats in succession, Yuan Shu became a major competitor for the position of leader, causing Yuan Shao a great headache.

"Ziyuan, what do you think we should do now?" Yuan Shao asked Xu You. Xu You knew exactly what Yuan Shao wanted to ask, and he said to Yuan Shao, "My lord, I think we should retreat in order to advance."

After speaking, Xu You whispered a few words in Yuan Shao's ear. Yuan Shao laughed loudly and said, "What a clever tactic of retreating to advance! I'd like to see how Gonglu responds."

After speaking, Yuan Shao had his personal guards invite the various warlords to his main tent to discuss military matters. Since a leader had not yet been appointed, the various warlords were still acting independently and showed some respect for Yuan Shao, the initiator, though this respect was limited.

It took a leisurely hour for all thirteen leaders to arrive at Yuan Shao's tent. Seeing that everyone was present, Yuan Shao rose and addressed them: "Now, righteous armies from all over the land are gathering, with our thirteen allied lords being the most numerous. These armies have been arriving for several days now. I believe our allied forces should elect a leader as soon as possible to discuss the important matter of attack!"

"Yuan Benchu, are you planning to recommend yourself?" Upon hearing Yuan Shao's words, Yuan Shu immediately stood up and said to Yuan Shao. In Yuan Shu's view, Yuan Shao wanted to take his position. Yuan Shu had always been proud to be the eldest son of the Yuan family. To him, Yuan Shao, who had been favored by his elders, was his greatest enemy in this life. With his father's death, Yuan Shu felt even more that everything should be up to him.

"No, I believe that the responsibility of leading this alliance should ideally fall to the highway."

Yuan Shao's words shocked everyone present. Apart from Xu You, everyone else stared at Yuan Shao in disbelief, including Yuan Shao's own men. Was this really the lord they knew?

"This..." Upon hearing Yuan Shao's words, Yuan Shu hesitated. Why would his adopted brother compromise so easily this time? Could there be a trap? However, Yuan Shu was always ambitious. Although he had doubts, Yuan Shao had already backed down, and Yuan Shu felt that he had absolute power.

There was no other way; Yuan Shu controlled the 10,000 musketeers that Yuan Feng had taken with him—the core of Yuan's Ji Province musketeer force—along with another 10,000 melee troops. These were the same troops Yuan Feng had taken to Luoyang, and their combat effectiveness far surpassed that of the newly recruited soldiers. The coordination between the soldiers was also much better. This was the source of Yuan Shu's confidence.

"Since everyone is so enthusiastic, then I won't stand on ceremony." Yuan Shu was still the same playboy, and an impatient fellow at that. In his view, his family had held high office for four generations, and the position of leader of the coalition was rightfully his. Now that Yuan Shao had withdrawn from the competition, the position of leader was even more unshakeable.

The naive Yuan Shu had no idea that this was a trap set by Yuan Shao for him.

With Yuan Shao's 'cooperation,' Yuan Shu became the leader of the coalition. But that wasn't all. Yuan Shu actually naively believed that as the leader, he could command the entire coalition. The most absurd thing was that Yuan Shu even gave Chen Er a military order, requiring Chen Er to launch an attack north of Hulao Pass as soon as possible to support the main coalition force on the front of Hulao Pass.

When Chen Er received Yuan Shu's military order, he almost fainted. Did Yuan Shu really think he was something special? However, Yuan Shu's concession also made Chen Er a little wary. It wasn't hard to understand why Yuan Shao wasn't the leader of the alliance. After all, Yuan Shao's strength wasn't particularly great in this world, especially after his series of defeats. It was normal for some of Yuan family supporters to support Yuan Shu. But had the once arrogant and conceited Yuan Shao now learned to be patient? Chen Er had some doubts, but then he smiled. What did it matter to him what Yuan Shao was doing? He just needed to do his own thing.

However, Hulao Pass at this time was no longer the same Hulao Pass as before. In addition, the Xiliang army was brave and strong, and Yuan Shu was an incompetent and spoiled young master. After three consecutive attacks were repelled, Yuan Shu was furious and even wanted to kill a few generals to establish his authority. This stirred up a hornet's nest among the allied lords. The loss of soldiers could be dealt with by conscription, but Yuan Shu, as the leader of the alliance, failed in his command and instead of looking for problems within himself, he wanted to take the opportunity to cause trouble for the other lords.

“Alliance Leader Yuan, the blame for the failed attack does not lie with the soldiers at the front. As everyone saw today, it’s not that our allied forces didn’t try, but that Hulao Pass is just too difficult to conquer. From the daytime today until the attack began, our allied forces have suffered nearly 30,000 casualties. If we continue fighting like this, the allied forces may truly become a mere shell of their former selves,” Zhang Chao said, standing up.

“You are merely a prefect of a commandery, while I am the governor of a province. What do you intend to do?” Yuan Shu said.

Upon hearing Yuan Shu's words, some people below became uncomfortable. Kong Rong from Beihai stood up and said, "Is Alliance Leader Yuan the governor of the empire, or the governor of the traitor Dong Zhuo?"