Three Kingdoms: Let Yuan Shen be great again

A few days later, as Sun Ce's vanguard marched from the east and entered Yuzhang territory, reinforcements from other warlords in the anti-Sun alliance also arrived one after another.

Liu Biao made a rare decision, though it was also possible that Huang Zu was strongly encouraging him. In any case, as Sun Ce's shared enemy who killed his father, they dispatched a full 5,000 troops from Jiangxia, making them the largest force in terms of numbers.

In addition to the initial thousand men, Yuan Yao, considering the changing situation, dispatched an extra twenty warships and five hundred naval troops to Pengli Marsh to stand by, ready to flee if the situation turned unfavorable.

Chen Deng originally did not intend to send troops, but Yuan Yao thoughtfully informed Xu Du about Sun Ce's encirclement and spread the theory of the threat from Jiangdong. Under the court's hint, Guangling had no choice but to send a thousand naval troops to make a statement.

In Jiaozhou, the governor, Zhang Jin, is a rather abstract figure. He is a Taoist who opposes Confucianism. When he heard that Sun Ce had killed the famous alchemist Yu Ji, he specially sent two thousand infantrymen to join in the fun. However, they are too far away and it will be at least half a month before they can meet.

Other local minor forces, such as Liu Ji, Xu Gong, and the remnants of Yan Baihu's faction, contributed three hundred here and five hundred there, totaling more than a thousand people.

In addition to the more than 4,000 garrison troops in Yuzhang Commandery, and the temporary conscription of able-bodied men, the total strength of the anti-Sun alliance, scattered and fragmented, reached more than 15,000 men, roughly the same number as the invading Jiangdong army.

Although this kind of coalition, which is like a Pinduoduo (a Chinese e-commerce platform), is bound to have many problems such as insufficient quality, chaotic command system, and difficulties in logistics and supply, it is already quite remarkable that it was put together.

Yang Hong himself deserves the most credit. Heaven knows how many names this scoundrel has in his head. He can accurately find key figures from all sides through his network of connections and quickly determine how to contact and communicate with them based on their background, preferences, and even quirks, thus putting the anti-Sun alliance into practice.

only……

Although the anti-Sun alliance has truly transformed from a concept on paper into a reality, and all parties are indeed wary of Sun Ce, investing considerable resources and manpower, it remains a big question mark whether this loose coalition can truly defeat the enemy.

According to intelligence, Sun Ce's army is crossing the Wannan Mountains, with the vanguard already entering the northeastern part of Yuzhang County, and the main force will arrive in two days.

On the other hand, the biggest problem for the anti-Sun coalition is to choose a recognized leader. Otherwise, they are all incompetent and scattered, perfectly embodying the image of a rabble, and it is impossible for them to win.

In Nanchang, the capital of Yuzhang Prefecture, the leaders of various reinforcement armies gathered together to prepare for a military strategy meeting with Hua Xin.

The first topic of the meeting was naturally the election of a commander-in-chief. After thinking for a moment, Yuan Yao took the lead in offering his suggestion to everyone:

"Gentlemen, I, Yuan, am willing to recommend one person."

Everyone turned to look.

Yuan Yao looked at Guan Yu and said, "This man is quite brave and strong, and his martial arts are outstanding. He is famous throughout the world."

"In the past, it dealt a heavy blow to the Sun family of Jiangdong. Its outstanding achievements are evident to all."

"I believe he is absolutely capable of leading us to victory, and he is the one everyone hopes for."

"This person is—"

Huang Zu, who had personally led the Jiangxia army to provide support, immediately stood up: "That's right, it is I!"

Yuan Yao and Guan Yu: "..."

Fine, Huang Zu it is.

To be honest, Yuan Yao was not optimistic about the prospects of the anti-Sun coalition, which consisted of a bunch of scoundrels. He set only two goals for himself: one was to plunder a large amount of money and grain from the local tyrants in Yuzhang, and the other was to inflict as much damage as possible on Sun Ce.

Since the odds of winning are slim, let Huang Zu be the one to stand out.

In mid-May of the fifth year of Jian'an (200 AD), the Battle of Yuzhang officially began as Sun Ce's vanguard, led by Taishi Ci, approached Poyang.

This war should have been an ordinary, insignificant skirmish.

Sun Ce's prestige was greatly diminished during the Huainan Campaign, and he desperately needed to find an easy target to prove that he was still capable of fighting. Hua Xin was clearly an extremely weak and rotten target, even easier to bully than the Yue tribes, and naturally became the object of Sun Ce's anger.

As a result, Yuan Yao intervened unexpectedly, and with a series of smooth moves involving alliances and counter-alliances, he directly escalated and expanded the war.

When Sun Ce learned of this, he cursed Yuan Yao for half an hour in his command tent, deeply regretting that he hadn't launched a strong attack on Wancheng and killed him.

But since he had already made the declaration, the consequences of backing down would be even more severe. Therefore, he had to reinforce his troops to ensure that he could take Yuzhang firmly.

From this perspective, Sun Ce's attitude towards this battle was very serious and determined. He could not accept the cost of losing again and had to win.

Now let's look at the Allied forces...

Yuan Yaozheng led his team of officers on an inspection tour, offering sharp critiques of the military situations of various parties.

"Ziming, what are your thoughts?"

"Not very optimistic, the overall situation is even worse, ugh—"

It's more than just pessimistic.

Now that things have come to this, Yuan Yao finally understands why the Zhong clan's ministers agreed to his southern expedition plan last year, and how they dared to disregard Sun Ce.

Because the warlords south of the Yangtze River were really too incompetent militarily; they were a bunch of terrible chess players.

The Zhong clan's army was not particularly strong, and Yuan Yao's force included a large number of new recruits, so they should have been at the bottom of the pack, relying entirely on Guan Yu to hold them up.

Only now do I realize that the Zhong family's army's dishes were compared to those of the heroes of the Central Plains. Their previous opponents were Cao Cao, Lü Bu, Liu Bei, and at the very least, Liu Biao. It's not shameful to be inferior to them.

Besides, being beaten up a lot can give you some experience and broaden your horizons.

This time, things turned out differently; I learned something new and truly experienced what it means for humanoid beings to shine.

Nearly 10,000 allied troops were concentrated in Nanchang, but before they could deploy according to Huang Zu's troop deployment plan, a large number of them fell ill.

The mere problem of not being able to adapt to the local environment caused the anti-Sun coalition's strength to drop by nearly 30%.

The entire military camp was filled with a foul odor, and vomit and excrement were everywhere. Lü Meng was immediately nauseated by the smell.

In contrast, the situation of Zhong's army was much better.

It's not that they have any miracle doctors; it's just that Yuan Yao conducted special training on military health and medical issues during the recent military reforms.

Yuan Yao personally gave lessons to officers of all ranks, repeatedly warning them not to drink talisman water, not to believe in witchcraft, and that if they were sick, they should rest peacefully, eat well, sleep well, and get plenty of rest.

Just like when you get injured, rinse the wound with clean water, bandage the wound with a clean cloth that has been scalded with boiling water, and then eat and drink well and get a good night's sleep.

Physicians like Hua Tuo are rare, but as long as people don't treat themselves haphazardly and instead rely on their own recovery and immune systems, it will be quite effective.

Yuan Yao shook his head slightly, even less optimistic about the future of the allied forces.

Just then, someone invited him over.

"Young Master Yuan, my master, Lord Hua, invites you to his residence for a chat."

"Oh?"

Why did Hua Xin come to me?

After thinking for a moment, Yuan Yao decided to take a team of guards to check it out, and also asked Guan Yu to meet him.

Soon, Yuan Yao met Hua Xin, who had a serious expression.

Hua Xin immediately dismissed everyone and whispered to Yuan Yao, "Young Master Yuan, I will introduce you to someone later, but this person has a special identity, so please keep it a secret."

"No problem," Yuan Yao casually assured him. "I can swear by the Gan River."

"That's good." Hua Xin was relieved.

Having said that, he led a man out from the back hall; the man was a handsome young scholar.

The scholar bowed and slowly said, "Lu Yi of Wu County, courtesy name Boyan, greets Young Master Yuan."

Yuan Yao leaned back instantly.