Chapter 41: The Eighteen Lords of the Various Regions Unite to Punish Dong

  "Cao Cao and others hereby proclaim to the world with utmost righteousness: Dong Zhuo has deceived Heaven and Earth, destroyed the state and murdered the ruler; corrupted and disrupted the palace, harmed innocent lives; cruel and inhumane, his crimes are heaped up! Now we receive a secret edict from the Emperor, gather righteous troops, vow to sweep away the evil of China, and exterminate the rebellious villains. We hope to raise righteous armies, share public outrage; support the royal family, rescue the common people. When this proclamation arrives, please quickly obey."

  The various lords who received the edict to punish Dong Zhuo also raised their righteous flags and led their troops towards Chenliu, responding to the call to arms. The first town was led by Yuan Shu, the General Who Guards the South and the Governor of Nanyang. The second town was led by Han Fu, the Governor of Ji Province. The third town was led by Kong Rong, the Governor of Yu Province. The fourth town was led by Liu Dai, the Governor of Yan Province. The fifth town was led by Wang Kuang, the Governor of Hebei Commandery. The sixth town was led by Zhang Miao, the Governor of Chenliu. The seventh town was led by Qiao Mao, the Governor of Dong Commandery. The eighth town was led by Yuan Yi, the Governor of Shanyang. The ninth town was led by Bao Xin, the Chancellor of Jibei. The tenth town was led by Kong Rong, the Governor of Beihai. The eleventh town was led by Zhang Chao, the Governor of Guangling. The twelfth town was led by Tao Qian, the Governor of Xu Province. The thirteenth town was led by Ma Teng, the Governor of Xiliang. The fourteenth town was led by Gongsun Zan, the Governor of Beiping. The fifteenth town was led by Zhang Yang, the Governor of Shangdang. The sixteenth town was led by Sun Jian, the Marquis of Wucheng and the Governor of Changsha. The seventeenth town was led by Yuan Shao, the Marquis of Quyang and the Governor of Bohai. In addition to Cao Cao's own troops, there were a total of eighteen towns with over 600,000 soldiers, who came to punish Dong Zhuo.

  For a time, the whole world was shaken.

  Bang! In the Zhongshangong Mansion of Luoyang, Dong Zhuo's stout body was furiously smashing the precious decorations placed in the house.

  "Abominable! These treacherous courtiers, especially that Cao Cao, our family must capture him and chop him into a thousand pieces, as well as those other lords!" After Dong Zhuo vented the resentment in his heart, he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

  Li Ru carefully walked into the house, went forward and helped Dong Zhuo up, saying: "Your Excellency, what's most important now is not to say how detestable Cao Cao is. We must consider how to respond to the coalition forces of the Eastern Lords. According to the scouts' reports, the coalition forces of the Eastern Lords have already grown to over 600,000, and if those lords are willing, they can gather another 100,000 elite troops in an extremely short period of time."

  "What's there to say, now that we're at war with those rebellious vassals? Hmph! A bunch of rabble, my camp has Autumn Water and Lü Bu, plus several tens of thousands of Western Liang troops. How could I be afraid of those scattered remnants? Wen You, summon the generals for me." Dong Zhuo said gruffly, then hastily summoned the generals to discuss urgent matters. Although Dong Zhuo's words were light, this was an army of six hundred thousand, how could it be so simple?

  In Luoyang City, in the mansion of Chancellor Dong Zhuo, all civil and military officials were present.

  Dong Zhuo sat with a dark face and did not say a word, while the other generals also dared not speak much.

  Dong Zhuo glanced at the various generals, his tone filled with anger, and said: "Now that the eighteen vassals are blocking the gate, all of you think of a solution for me."

  Li Ru slowly stood up with a gloomy face and said: "Your Excellency, now that the eighteen vassals have gathered to attack Luoyang, they must first attack Tiger Trap Pass. If Tiger Trap Pass is as solid as gold soup, the eighteen vassals will not threaten us. As long as we can drag it out for a year or two, the eighteen vassals' grain and grass will be exhausted. But if Tiger Trap Pass falls, the eighteen vassals will be able to attack Luoyang, and our army will be in danger."

  Lü Bu and Qiaoshui heard that all the heroes of the world had arrived at Tiger Trap Pass, and they stood up together, clasped their fists and shouted loudly: "My lord, I regard the heroes of the world as mere weeds, I am willing to go to Tiger Trap Pass to subdue the princes."

  At this time, a man suddenly rushed out from the side and shouted: "Why use an ox knife to kill a chicken? I will not go with General Qiu Shui and General Lü. If our lord is willing to let me be the vanguard, I can cut off the heads of the Eastern princes like taking things out of my pocket."

  Dong Zhuo turned his head to look, and the man was nine feet tall, with a tiger's back and bear's waist, and a leopard's head and ape's arms. It was none other than Hua Xiong, one of his own generals. Dong Zhuo was overjoyed at the news, and immediately prepared to send Hua Xiong to lead the troops. However, Li Ru stood up and shook his head, saying: "General Hua is known for his bravery throughout the land, but the rebels have over 600,000 men. Even if they stuck their heads out for General Hua to behead them, it would take ten days and nights to finish them off."

  Dong Zhuo looked at Li Ru coming out, his eyes full of inquiring gaze towards Li Ru.

  Li Ru slightly shook his head and said: "Your Excellency, the rebel situation is now very serious, it requires Your Excellency to lead the troops personally to quell the rebellion."

  Dong Zhuo hesitated after hearing this, after all, it was more than 600,000, and he could only mobilize less than 300,000 troops in total. Although there was the Tiger Trap Pass, one of the strongest passes in the world, Dong Zhuo was still worried.

  Li Ru saw Dong Zhuo's expression and shook his head secretly, saying seriously: "My lord, order Xia Qiu to be the vanguard, Lü Bu and Hua Xiong as deputies, leading their troops to advance first."

  Dong Zhuo then remembered that he still had the world's most powerful warrior in his hands, and suddenly felt relieved. He sank into thought for a moment before saying, "Alright, I'll lead my troops to Hu Lao Pass to meet with these various lords."

  The curtain of a great war slowly opened.

  Thirty miles before Luoyang's Tiger Pass, eighteen vassal lords gathered in one hall, with their large camps stretching over a hundred miles.

  The vassals sat in the big account according to their ranks, and the official positions were fixed. At this time, Wang Kuang, the governor of Hebei, stood up in the chaotic camp and said: "Now we are gathering here for a great righteousness, but the army is in chaos and should establish an alliance lord, everyone listens to orders, unified mobilization, and advances!"

  Everyone who heard it felt that it made sense. Although there are many troops now, if they are not unified and directed, wouldn't the chaos give Dong Zhuo's army an opportunity to take advantage of?

  At that time, the camp was in an uproar, with some saying that Cao Cao was the one who issued the manifesto and should be the leader of the alliance, while others said that Gongsun Zan had fought against the Xiongnu tribes in Youzhou and had no temper, so he should be the leader of the alliance. Anyway, everyone had their own reasons, and for a time the whole camp was like a vegetable market.

  Cao Cao looked at the vassals in the grand tent, his eyes shifting. Now that all eighteen vassals had gathered, they must be unified under one command. The alliance leader seemed to be in a position of power, but in reality was just a shield to take the arrows from the front. If they won, it would be due to everyone's efforts; if they lost, it would be because he led them poorly.

  Although Cao Cao thought so, he also knew that he himself was the weakest among all the lords, and his family background was not prominent. If he were to become the leader of the alliance, would the other lords be willing to obey him? Wouldn't it be laughable? It's better... Cao Cao's bright eyes scanned the various lords, then stepped forward and said: "Since Yuan Shu is a descendant of the Yuan family, with four generations of high-ranking officials and countless relatives and former subordinates all over the world, today we gather to form an alliance, let us make Yuan Shu the leader of the alliance, and together attack Dong Zhuo!"

  At this time, after hearing Cao Cao's suggestion, the various lords thought about it carefully and felt that letting anyone be the leader would also lead to some people being dissatisfied. However, if they let Yuan Shao, a fourth-generation noble with three public offices, become the leader, the various lords wouldn't dare to act recklessly, after all, the Yuan family was one of the most prominent aristocratic families of their time.

  Cao Cao was the initiator of this alliance, and his words naturally carried great weight.

  Hmph!

  As Cao Cao proposed, it also coincided with the wishes of the vast majority of people, only Yuan Shu, who was also a descendant of the Yuan family, secretly snorted in discontent.

  In Yuan Shu's view, he was the legitimate son of the Yuan family and more orthodox than Yuan Shao in terms of status. The position of alliance leader should have been his.

  Unfortunately, no one recommended him, and even if Yuan Shu had the thickest skin, he couldn't possibly recommend himself at this time, or else he would be laughed at.

  And it's not just prestige, but also actual strength. In this alliance, the troops led by Yuan Shao are the most numerous and all of them are elite soldiers and powerful generals, making people convinced and admiring.

  So after a cold hum, Yuan Shu could only secretly get angry and did not dare to openly oppose.

  It's actually laughable that among those who came here, the lowest rank was at least a governor of a commandery, or even an inspector of a province, but in the end, Yuan Shao was still elected as the leader.

  This is the use of reputation, and throughout the Han Dynasty, only the Yuan family, with four generations of three dukes, had such great prestige.

  In the end, Yuan Shao naturally gained everyone's recognition and took on the role of alliance leader. Others also led their respective armies, especially Yuan Shu, who was appointed as the supervisor of grain supply.

  Woooo! A thick sound of a horn echoed through the army.

  The altar for worshiping heaven was five or six zhang high, with flags inserted all around it. More than 600,000 troops gathered, forming a boundless and endless scene that seemed to touch the sky.

  Yuan Shao stood alone on the platform of the alliance, looking at the tables above which were filled with offerings to heaven, including sheep heads, pig heads and cow heads.

  Yuan Shao burned incense and kowtowed to the ground, and the other lords also followed suit and kowtowed below the platform.

  "The Han dynasty is unfortunate, the imperial authority has been lost. The treacherous minister Dong Zhuo took advantage of the chaos to wreak havoc, bringing disaster to the emperor and cruelly oppressing the people. Shao and others feared that the state would be destroyed, so they gathered righteous troops and rushed to save the country. All of us who have joined this alliance will unite our hearts and efforts, devote ourselves to loyalty and duty, and must not have any second thoughts. If anyone betrays this oath, may their name be cast aside and their descendants perish. The heavenly gods and earthly spirits, as well as our ancestors' wise souls, are all witnesses to this."

  Yuan Shao stood on the high platform, majestic and heroic, as he made a sworn oath with the vassals. After drinking blood to seal their alliance, Yuan Shao immediately issued orders decisively.

  "Advance in all directions, depart from the Tiger's Lair!"

  More than 600,000 soldiers shouted together, their voices shaking the sky.

  All the vassals were also hot-blooded, such a grand event, how many have been seen in the world? To leave a thick stroke in history, all the vassals with enthusiasm led their troops to Tiger Pass after hearing Yuan Shao's order.

  Woooo! The horn for the grand army's departure sounded, heavy and powerful footsteps clanged loudly, and for a time, the morale of the Allied Army reached its peak.

  Bang! After Dong Zhuo received the news from the Eastern Han dynasty's vassals, he slammed the wine cup in his hand to the ground in a fit of rage. With such a big incident happening, Dong Zhuo naturally also got the news.

  "This young whippersnapper actually dares to deceive me like this! Considering his family background, I have already appointed him as the Governor of Bohai, and yet he still doesn't know enough?"

  Cao Cao issued a proclamation, inviting the lords of the world to punish Dong Zhuo. Now that he has received news that eighteen lords have gathered at Tiger Trap Pass and proclaimed Yuan Shao as their leader, Dong Zhuo is even more furious than ever.

  "My lord, calm your anger."

  Li Ru sat calmly beside him, at this moment Li Ru showed the appearance of a strategist.

  "This Eastern Coalition Army is strong, but wanting to break through the Tiger Trap Pass and press on to Luoyang is not that easy. Our army is united in heart and effort, while the coalition army's hearts are not as one. After our lord and we display our strength at the Tiger Trap Pass, intimidating the vassals, it will be a year or two before they retreat due to lack of supplies. Then we can pursue and attack, certainly defeating their army, capturing their leader, and after that who in the world would dare defy our lord?"