The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Kong Rong's words immediately put Yuan Shu in the eye of the storm. Yuan Shu was furious, but there was nothing he could do. The Yuan family was a great clan with four generations of high-ranking officials, and Kong Rong was a descendant of a sage. If he dared to lay a hand on Kong Rong, the consequences would be something he could not afford.

"Exactly! Doesn't he even know who bestowed this title of Governor on him? How dare he call himself the leader of the alliance?" Just as Yuan Shao was in a dilemma, a voice came from somewhere below. Although it was just a muttering, the guy's voice was so loud that it echoed throughout the entire tent, even in the empire.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu trembled with rage: "Who are you to dare utter such arrogant words in the command tent of my allied forces!"

Upon hearing Yuan Shao mention him, the burly man was visibly taken aback. He hadn't expected that his casual remark would be overheard by Yuan Shao. However, the man was not one to back down easily. He paused for a moment, then stepped forward and said to Yuan Shao, "I am Zhang Fei, a general under Liu Bei, the Prefect of Ba Commandery. I wonder what advice the Alliance Leader may offer?"

"Liu Bei, the Prefect of Ba Commandery?" Yuan Shu paused for a few seconds, seemingly recognizing such a person. At this moment, Liu Bei stood up and said to Yuan Shu, "Please forgive me, Alliance Leader. My third brother is used to being idle and has offended you today. Please forgive him, Alliance Leader. I will certainly discipline him strictly."

Liu Bei's meaning was quite clear: I will intervene now, but not now. You are the leader of the alliance. If you keep pestering me and show your petty nature, then don't blame me.

Only after being reminded by his strategist did Yuan Shu realize that this guy, whom he had never heard of before, had brought 10,000 musketeers. It seemed that 10,000 musketeers was probably not the limit. Although Yuan Shu was arrogant, he still knew when to be a little more patient. However, Yuan Shu's patience at this time was for a more brutal revenge in the future.

“Since he is Prefect Liu’s sworn brother, then let’s drop this matter,” Yuan Shu said, waving his hand.

Watching Yuan Shu's performance, Yuan Shao shook his head inwardly. Where was the Yuan family's style in this guy? But it was fine this way. The worse Yuan Shu performed, the more victories Yuan Shao could achieve. A contest between Yuan Shu and Yuan Shu would clearly show who was better. This was Yuan Shao's plan from the beginning. Xu You's strategy of retreating to advance was not only to help Yuan Shao obtain the position of alliance leader, but also to take this opportunity to make Yuan Shao's own reputation known, instead of relying on the Yuan family's prestige as before, not to mention that Yuan Shao had suffered several defeats before.

“Alliance Leader, our army has just suffered a defeat. It is inappropriate to punish the soldiers on the front lines, since the blame for the defeat does not lie with the generals,” Yuan Shao stepped forward and said.

"Yuan Benchu, are you blaming me, the leader of the alliance?" Yuan Shu stared at Yuan Shao suddenly. He didn't have much respect for Yuan Shao, his nominal elder brother. In Yuan Shu's view, he was the only heir to the Yuan family. If it weren't for Yuan Feng, as the head of the family, supporting his hard-won son Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu would have become the rightful first heir of the Yuan family long ago. At least, that's what Yuan Shu thought.

But little did he know that with his personality, how could he possibly be chosen as the heir? What is the foundation of a noble family that has lasted for hundreds of years? It is the family itself. And to lead a family to thrive, a good head of the family is essential. Even if it doesn't seek to expand territory, it must at least be able to protect the existing land. This time, the most important criterion for a large family to choose an heir is this, although bloodline is also very important.

“Gonglu, I kindly reminded you, yet you spoke so rudely. I am truly saddened.” Yuan Shao touched his chest and said, “Since the alliance leader is unwilling to accept my suggestion, then I shall take my leave.”

After speaking, Yuan Shao led his elite troops straight out of the tent, accompanied by Lu Zhi, Kong Rong, and others. Only a few small fry remained in the tent. Yuan Shu was furious again, but what could he do? Did he really want to punish those generals at the front? That was just wishful thinking on Yuan Shu's part. Those generals were the apple of the eye of all the warlords. Although Yuan Shu was the leader of the alliance, he was just the leader. When it came to their core interests, who would care about him?

"Damn it! Damn it!"

Shortly after Yuan Shao left, Yuan Shu received a report from his spies that seven or eight warlords had entered Yuan Shao's tent and seemed to be discussing something.

The next day, Yuan Shu ordered another attack. This time, although all the warlords outwardly obeyed Yuan Shu's orders, they actually sent out only miscellaneous troops. As for their elite soldiers, none of them were willing to send their men to their deaths meaninglessly on such a battlefield.

On the second day of the war, cracks had already appeared within the Kwantung Allied Army, which made Ding Yuan and other high-ranking officers of the Xiliang Army laugh and say that there was no one left in Kwantung.

However, Ding Yuan and his companions' laughter did not last half a day before scouts reported that Youzhou army flags had appeared on the north bank of the river, and that many red-clad cavalrymen were patrolling the bank, seemingly searching for a crossing point.

While the Guandong Allied Army was advancing on Hulao Pass, Chen Er was not idle either. He took a detour through Huguan in Bingzhou and headed south directly. After several days of rapid marching, his army arrived near the river and put pressure on the Xiliang army in Luoyang.

Although the river was turbulent, it was not without places to cross, a fact both sides were aware of. Unlike Hulao Pass, the most crucial point for Chen Er's autonomous region army and the opposing Xiliang army was finding a crossing point.

In this respect, Chen Er had a certain advantage. As the attacker, he had the right to choose to cross the river at any point, while the Xiliang army had to monitor all possible locations and station a certain number of troops in some key areas first.

As a result, most of the reinforcements that Ding Yuan originally wanted to send to Hulao Pass were immediately tied up. As for the elite of the Youzhou Army (the various warlords in the south still habitually referred to the forces under Chen Er's command as the Youzhou Army), everyone in the world knew that the Youzhou Army had completely defeated the Yellow Turbans, the northern barbarians, and the Jizhou Army, and had never suffered a defeat.

It's impossible for Ding Yuan not to be flustered when facing such an enemy. Even Li Ru, who had just returned to Luoyang, said, "Among the warlords of Guandong, only the Youzhou army is worth taking seriously."

"Wenyou, what should our army do now?" Ding Yuan asked Li Ru.

Li Ru replied, "Father-in-law, the best option now is to move the capital."

"Does Wenyou mean to move the capital to Chang'an now?" Ding Yuan asked Li Ru. Li Ru nodded in agreement and said, "The Guandong Allied Forces are allies in name only. They are a bunch of hypocrites. If we retreat to Chang'an and leave Luoyang to them, the allied forces will definitely hesitate after arriving in Luoyang. Even if one or two warlords want to continue their attack..."