HLnovel Chapter 2: The Struggle for Leadership of the Allied Forces; Su Yu Advises Cao Cao Against Competing
Chapter 2: The Struggle for Leadership of the Allied Forces; Su Yu Advises Cao Cao Against Competing
"Ziyi, half an hour ago, the various lords held a formal meeting at the Allied Forces' main tent."
"But Yuan Benchu and Yuan Gonglu have always been at odds over the position of leader of the alliance."
"Finally, Cao proposed that the leader of the alliance be chosen by the various lords at the beginning of tomorrow morning."
After saying this, Cao Cao's face showed bitterness.
He had thought that once all the warlords had gathered together, even if they each had their own ulterior motives, at least they could maintain a facade of harmony.
After all, Dong Zhuo's power became extremely strong after he occupied Luoyang.
Only by gathering the strength of various warlords in the Guandong region can they barely manage to fight against it.
But now, before the allied forces have even formally sworn an oath of allegiance, a dispute has already arisen over the position of leader.
As mentioned earlier, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were both members of the Yuan family, the most powerful clan in the land. Yuan Shu had the support of many elders of the Yuan family, making him determined to win the position of leader of the alliance.
Yuan Shao was in the same boat. After planning for so long, how could he easily give up the position of leader of the alliance?
Therefore, it's not that Cao Cao didn't want to be the leader of the alliance in the original history.
Instead, the position of leader of the alliance can only be chosen from either Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu.
If it were anyone else, this coalition would never have been formed.
Hearing Cao Cao's complaint, Su Yu smiled slightly:
"Does my lord know what the true meaning of the position of leader of the allied forces is?"
Cao Cao remained silent for a full half minute before asking, puzzled:
"Does this mean you can command all the warlords in the coalition?"
Su Yu shook his head: "My lord, you are mistaken."
"All the warlords in the Central Plains, except for you, my lord, Bao Xin, the chancellor of Jibei, Zhang Miao, the governor of Chenliu, Yuan Yi, the governor of Shanyang, Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, and others, all follow Yuan Shu's lead."
"The various warlords north of the Yellow River obeyed Yuan Shao's orders."
"These two factions, each surrounding the two Yuan brothers, were eager to profit from this war."
"What our lord should do is to ensure his own rights and interests while paving the way for the future as much as possible."
"In other words, whether or not our lord, as the initiator of the coalition, serves as the leader of the alliance is not important."
"In fact, once he becomes the leader of this alliance, he will be secretly distressed by the open and covert struggles between the Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu factions."
"Is my statement clear to you, my lord?"
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao took a deep breath.
At this time, he both craved power and had not yet given up on the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, deep down, Cao Cao longed to compete for the position of leader of the alliance, lead the warlords of Guandong to attack Luoyang, and rescue the emperor.
But now, after Su Yu said that, Cao Cao finally understood.
For Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, the position of leader of the alliance was very important.
But for Cao Cao, the position of leader of the alliance was like a chicken rib—tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away.
What Cao Cao didn't know was that Su Yu had one more thing he didn't say.
The Kwantung Army was ultimately a group of people driven solely by self-interest.
Cao Cao's strength is insufficient for the time being. If he were to become the leader of the alliance, he would not only be unable to command the various heroes, but would also be easily attacked.
Throughout history, the most terrifying thing has been when one's virtue does not match one's position.
Strength is often directly proportional to status.
If Cao Cao had possessed the strength to challenge Dong Zhuo one-on-one, he wouldn't even need to bother initiating this alliance; other warlords would have voluntarily supported him as their leader.
And now?
Despite Cao Cao's forged imperial edicts and the dispersal of his personal wealth, no warlord ever suggested that he, the initiator of the coalition, should assume the position of leader.
There's no way around it; our strength is undeniable.
In the eyes of the various warlords, Cao Cao was less of an independent warlord and more of a vassal of Yuan Shao.
On the contrary, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were seen by everyone as the real powerhouses!
Seeing that Cao Cao looked somewhat sad, Su Yu comforted him:
"My lord need not worry. Although these various lords are scheming against each other..."
"But there are also considerable internal conflicts on Dong Zhuo's side."
"This time, the allied forces will at least be able to capture Luoyang."
"Is Ziyi telling the truth?"
Cao Cao looked delighted.
Cao Cao had personally witnessed Su Yu's strategic abilities.
Putting everything else aside, at least so far, everything Su Yu said has come true.
Su Yu smiled and nodded.
That's right, the allied forces did indeed capture Luoyang in history.
However, after entering Luoyang, Dong Zhuo left them with only the ruins of Luoyang, which had been burned to the ground.
Subsequently, the various warlords in the Kanto region felt that they could no longer gain any more benefits from this war and decided to disband the coalition.
Only Cao Cao, with a small force, pursued Dong Zhuo, but was ambushed in Xingyang and suffered a major defeat.
With Su Yu by their side this time, they naturally wouldn't sit idly by and watch Cao Cao suffer a crushing defeat at Xingyang.
But to think that a coalition could eliminate Dong Zhuo was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Even though in the original history, Dong Zhuo was ultimately killed by the warlords of Guandong, not by Lü Bu's rebellion.
What Su Yu needed to do was to help Cao Cao gain as much benefit as possible in this coalition of wolves and tigers.
That's enough.
……
The next morning
Cao Cao took Su Yu with him to the allied forces' command tent.
Inside the commander's tent
All the warlords had already gathered.
On the left and right, the factions of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu stood clearly separated.
Seeing Cao Cao walk in, Yuan Shao smiled and waved.
In Yuan Shao's view, if Cao Cao, his "little brother," didn't support him, his "big brother," then how could he possibly support Yuan Shu?
Yuan Shu gave a cold snort.
He always looked down on Cao Cao, believing that Cao Cao must be a staunch supporter of Yuan Shao.
Even if he tried to curry favor with Cao Cao at this point, it would be to no avail.
In that case, it would be better to make our stance clear.
Cao Cao ignored Yuan Shu and led Su Yu toward Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao gave Cao Cao and Su Yu a conciliatory smile, then asked:
"Mengde, may I ask who this young man beside you is...?"
Cao Cao introduced with a smile:
"This is my newly acquired strategist, Su Yu, also known as Su Ziyi."
Su Yu then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao quickly searched his mind for the surname "Su," but couldn't find it among the major first- or second-tier aristocratic families in the land. He immediately concluded that Su Yu was just an ordinary, lowly nobody.
There's nothing we can do about it; don't blame Yuan Shao for his arrogance.
Many of Yuan Shao's advisors, such as Tian Feng, Xu You, and Guo Tu, came from prominent families.
Su Yu, a minor character, is no match for them in terms of background.
However, Su Yu didn't care about Yuan Shao's change in attitude.
To outsiders, Yuan Shao had a powerful background and good abilities, making him a good candidate for protection.
But Su Yu, who was well-versed in history, knew that Yuan Shao was ultimately defeated by Cao Cao.
Choosing to assist Cao Cao before he grew powerful was not just providing timely help, but a meritorious act of supporting a rising star!
As for seeking refuge with Yuan Shao?
Let whoever wants to go, go ahead; anyway, Su Yu is bound to Cao Cao.
……