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Chapter 289: 184 A.D., The Dogs-Eat-Dogs Year
Battle Royale of the Sinners
**Warning, this chapter will show you how chaotic the entire country has become. Prepare your Aspirin or Paracetamol!**
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Li Feihong: "I've recruited Ju Shou. We can relay messages to Shangdang now."
Tong: "Are you in Shangdang?"
Li Feihong: "Yeah, I've been here since December."
Tong was impressed by Li Feihong's efficiency. Last year, this seemingly coward strategist was the most active among all strategists in his forces.
Ju Shou: "Ah, excuse me. It's quite difficult to type."
Ju Shou: "My typing is slow. Forgive me."
Tong: "Take your time. Anyway, is there anything unusual, or do you have a report from Shangdang?"
Li Feihong: "I'll report instead. That bastard Dong Zhuo tried to bribe Zhang He and me. I don't know how many people he had tried to poach, but all of our elites are still staying."
Ding Yuan: "I also have a report. Yesterday, I caught a spy from Dong Zhuo. He's trying to recruit Lu Bu again."
Tong: "Again!?"
Ding Yuan: "Someone tipped him off about your fight last year. The spy confessed that he knew Lu Bu is at odd with you."
Another headache.
Dealing with the mind game was difficult enough, Dong Zhuo gave him another trouble to work with. Now, Tong had to deal with the insubordination and the talent poaching.
'This shouldn't be Dong Zhuo's move. It should be the work of Li Ru. Haiz, fighting with two elite strategists and that Cao Cao at the same time is troublesome.'
Tong: "Should we retaliate?"
Jia Xu: "Young master Zhang. No matter the intimidation, stay firm!"
Xun Yu: "The time isn't right, my lord. Don't make any move and let them show us their hidden cards. Besides, the longer we keep quiet, the more restless they become."
Jia Xu: "That's right. Regardless of what all three monkey clans are doing, let's keep developing our economy and our military projects. Please stay positive."
Jia Xu: "BTW, Thanks to Sir Li and Sir Te's knowledge, the bore drill project is completed, and we might be able to construct our first cannon this year."
Last year, Tong, Li Feihong, and Te Langpu had brainstormed, trying to import their little knowledge in gunsmithing to this world. It took them three months to finalize their blueprint, construction plan, project timeline, and the resources. Then, it took Li Feihong a few months to impart his knowledge to the local blacksmiths and laborers.
As a result of their hard work, a glimpse of the hot weapon era could be seen.
Reading the encouragement of his officers, Tong reevaluated his forces.
"Fine, two more years of passive play. Our force will remain as firm as a mountain! We will not move!"
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As Tong decided to ignore the demands and the politic games of the other forces, many warlords were also busy dealing with their internal affairs and external issues. None of them was free enough to bare fangs at Tong and men, only a test of water.
Meanwhile, the peasants noticed the anomaly on their farms in January. Experienced farmers predicted that the drought will be worst than the last year, and they would not have anything to eat in the upcoming Spring.
Because of such a natural disaster, a new game changer came and threw off Cao Cao, Li Ru, and Tian Feng from their prepared strategies against Tong.
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February, 184 A.D.
As people had nothing to eat, a bandit leader, Guan Hai, rose to power and proclaimed himself as the legit successor of the Yellow Turban. He gathered 20,000 jobless peasants and attacked Pingyuan County, a small city under the protection of Yuan Shao which lied south of Nanpi.
Pingyuan fell to the Guan Hai's Yellow Turban within the same month. All nobles in the city were killed and plundered while young women were taken as slaves.
Pingyuan turned into Hell, which shocked all neighbor lords and Yuan Shao.
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Meanwhile, at the Capital City.
Peasants in Luo Yang and Hongnong attempted to rebel against Dong Zhuo because of his harsh taxes.
Niu Fu, who was guarding Hongnong, led his garrison forces and slaughtered 10,000 rebellions in the city.
At Luo Yang, Hua Xiong and Li Ru made quick work on the uprising peasants. The situation escalated as innocent bystanders got caught into the fight, and they had no other choice but to join the rebellion.
In the aftermath, no able men remained in the Capital, only young women, slaves, and Dong Zhuo's subordinate remained.
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Tong saw the signs. He made an outrageous decision by blockading the borders from all forces. People could still get into his territory, but none of them could go out.
Jia Xu, Xun Yu, and Ju Shou were put to work, spreading the news that they were providing food and water to anyone who was willing to serve Tong.
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March, 184 A.D.
Yuan Shao rallied his forces to retaliate against the major bandit forces. Wen Chou, Tian Feng, and 50,000 elites were sent to suppress the rebels.
Meanwhile, bandit remnants around the land had heard about Guan Hai's exploit. They began traveling to Pingyuan.
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You Province of Gongsun Zan also suffered from the uprising of another bandit force. Zhang Kai, who was inspired by Guan Hai, led 10,000 self-proclaimed Yellow Turban bandits to attack Beiping City, which was the Capital of Gongsun Zan's forces.
As elites, Gongsun Zan dispatched multiple sortie legions, consisted of 40,000 soldiers. Liu Bei was also mobilized along with his subordinates.
During the battle, Liu Bei met Zhao Yun, who was serving as Gongsun Zan's 1,000-man white-rider commander. Jiang Man attempted to recruit him to Liu Bei's side, but Zhao Yun postponed his decision, saying that he was in the middle of gathering experiences, and he would not change side anytime soon.
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April, 184 A.D.
At Pingyuan, Wen Chou killed Guan Hai and chased the bandits out of Pingyuan County. The rest of the captured bandits were executed.
Gongsun Zan also destroyed Zhang Kai forces at Beiping. However, the bandit leader fled south toward Kong Rong's territory, Beihai Commandery, while the routed bandits fled north toward Xiongnu territories.
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Meanwhile, at Runan Commandery, south of Xuchang, Gong Du and Liu Pi gathered all wandering bandits into the city and raised other forces of Yellow Turban.
Because of the uprising news in Pingyuan, many bandits gathered here, banding together and waiting to join Guan Hai. Unfortunately, Guan Hai was defeated before they could join them so they joined Gong Du and Liu Pi instead.
The number of the bandits reached 100,000, which alarmed Cao Cao in Xuchang, and other lords.
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May, 184 A.D.
Yuan Shao requested help from Gongsun Zan, claiming that they want to help the people in Pingyuan and provide humanitarian aid. However, they lacked resources and manpower.
In reality, Yuan Shao lacked supplies to support the peasants as Tong suddenly shut the borders during their war with bandits. Yuan Shao could not buy the provision from Julu.
Jiang Man utilized his prepared scheme. He suggested Gongsun Zan to use Liu Bei to steal Yuan Shao's Pingyuan, which Gongsun Zan agreed.
Replying to Yuan Shao's request, Gongsun Zan offered to transfer Liu Bei, 10,000 soldiers, and 50,000 tons of provision to assist Pingyuan City. However, Gongsun Zan demanded a condition that his junior disciple would be the governor of the city.
Yuan Shao did not like it as he could see that Gongsun Zan was stealing his city by using his subordinate, but Tian Feng advised him to accept.
Thus, they came to an agreement.
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At Runan Commandery, the city turned into another Hell as the bandit forces ransacked their territories for wealth and women.
Kong Zhou, the Governor of Qiao Commandery, which located northeast of Runan and east of Xuchang, rallied 30,000 soldiers from his nobles to attack the bandits.
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June, 184 A.D.
Unlike Gongsun Zan or Yuan Shao who excelled at military tactics, the mercenaries forces under Kong Zhou were undisciplined and outnumbered. Kong Zhou suffered a defeat by the hands of Liu Pi and Gong Du.
Kong Zhou fled back to Qiao, while 10,000 remaining mercenaries of noble clans surrendered to the bandits and switched side, reinforcing the Gong Du Army further.
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At the south of Luo Yang, Yuan Shu of Wan Commandery and Liu Biao of Jing Province had enough of Dong Zhuo's unreasonable demand of heavy taxes in exchange for his protection.
Yuan Shu and Liu Biao formed an alliance and mobilized an army to attack Wu Pass, aiming to take Hongnong from Dong Zhuo and isolate him from his supply bases in Tianshui and Chang'An.
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July, 184 A.D.
Liu Bei and his brothers arrived at Pingyuan. He finally obtained what he always wanted, power and authority!
Liu Bei began what he did best, gaining people's sympathy. He began distributing supplies to the civilians himself, relieving them from the starvation.
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Meanwhile, Cao Cao finished gathering more allies in the central plain. Zhang Miao of Chen Liu, Qiao Mao of Puyang, and Kong Zhou of Qiao Commandery formed a coalition against the plaguing bandits in Runan.
The total forces of this alliance surpassed 200,000 soldiers in number.
Cao Cao was afraid that Tong might seize this chance to attack Xuchang while they went out to Runan, but Cheng Yu, the newest strategist that Pu Jing had recommended to Cao Cao, advised him to ignore Tong.
Heeded the advisor, Cao Cao moved to Runan with everything and left Xuchang without a garrison troop.
The news reached Ye City where Tong had moved into. He wanted to siege this chance to eliminate Cao Cao from the picture and rescue Medusa, but Jia Xu, Xun Yu, and Ju Shou advised against it. Should they mobilize, Yuan Shao, Dong Zhuo, and all other lords would band together to attack their unprepared cities. Furthermore, they would not be able to defend Xuchang after occupying it, and they would provoke many enemies at once, which was a bad idea.
Following the advice of his strategists, Tong did not move, which was under Cheng Yu's prediction.
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At Wu Pass where Yuan Shu and Liu Biao were attacking, Hua Xiong appeared with his troops and routed Yuan Shu main force.
Huang Zu and Huang Zhong united and joint-attacked against Hua Xiong, which turned the situation to become a stalemate.
Yuan Shu requested Sun Jian's assistance as they could not push forward. Sun Jian, who was still in Jing Province agreed.
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August, 184 A.D.
Cao Cao and his coalition force marched south to suppress Gong Du and Liu Pi's army of 150,000 bandits, which had been increasing in the past months.
Within the same month, Cao Cao Army, led by Xiahou brothers and Cao family, swiftly killed both of bandit leaders and captured 50,000 self-proclaimed Yellow Turbans. They were absorbed to Xuchang forces afterward.
Pretending to work as the prime minister of Empress Diao Chan, Cao Cao used his position to occupy Runan, expanding his influence. Unfortunately for him, Runan was ruined by the bandits. Times and labors were required to restore the city to its former glory.
The plan to force Tong into a corner had to be put on hold.
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Meanwhile, at Wu Pass. The stalemate continued while both sides suffered from the limited provision because of the drought.
Sun Jian, who were planning to march north to help Liu Biao and Yuan Shu, changed his mind mid-way.
At the south of Changsha, Shanyue Tribe, which was the tribes located within Vietnam and Southern China, cooperated with the local bandits and attacked Lingling County and Guiyang County.
Had these counties fell, Shanyue Tribe would become a threat to Sun Jian's home ground. Thus, he ignored the pleas of Liu Biao and Yuan Shu to repel the new invaders.
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September, 184 A.D.
Before Sun Jian, Sun Fang, or Li Jing even arrived at Lingling or Guiling County, Shanyue soldiers withdrew from the territory after they had finished plundering the civilians and nobles, leaving the devastated land behind.
Sun Jian could only find ransacked counties and villages. The Yellow Turban bandits, however, came to Sun Jian and surrendered to him without a fight. After the thorough investigation, Shanyue Tribes utilized the internal conflicts within the country to manipulate the bandits. Afterward, they robbed the people and withdrew before they got hurt.
Hearing the details, Sun Jian swore that he would get rid of Shanyue for good. However, he forgot about another important matter.
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At Wu Pass, Huang Zhong and Huang Zu Army ran out of supplies while Yuan Shu refused to share his provisions with Liu Biao's men.
The coalition force disbanded after that as they withdrew their forces back to their city. Because of the internal conflict, Yuan Shu and Liu Biao glared at each other's throat, blaming the other for the failure of the campaign.
Sun Jian, who did not participate in the fight, was also blamed for not showing up on time. His relationship with the two other forces worsened without him realizing it.
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October, 184 A.D.
200,000 Immigrants around the country traveled to Ye City and Julu City, hoping to find their paradise as the drought and recent civil wars devastated the land.
All warlords were at a loss as they could not stop the waves of civilians. Most of these people were elders, women, and children which they did not want to touch them.
Cao Cao managed to entice 50,000 of the immigrants to Xuchang before they crossed Xuchang border to Tong's territory. In his vision, he needed these people to develop his country, especially children who would become the country's future.
Dong Zhou and Yuan Shao, however, saw these people as burdens. They allowed them to migrate through their borders willingly.
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Meanwhile, at Liang Province, the northwestern region of Han China.
An army of 50,000 Xiongnu soldiers was spotted, and they had crossed the Great Wall.
Ma Teng and Han Sui, the two great generals of the western borders, led a force of 70,000 soldiers to meet them on the plain. However, they were trapped and tied in a prolonged war against these nomad forces.
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November, 184 A.D.
Another Xiongnu Army appeared in Tianshui, Dong Zhuo's previous home.
Because of the absence of Dong Zhuo's main army and Hua Xiong, the overwhelming forces of 100,000 Xiongnu took down Tianshui and occupy it as their new territory.
Dong Zhuo and Li Ru learned about it within the same month. To take back their city, They sent a dispatch order to Li Jue and Guo Si, who were guarding Anding City, northeast to Tianshui. At the same time, they sent Hua Xiong back to Chang'An to conscript the troops from the local and prepare for another war.
Li Ru also dispatched his messenger to Liu Yan, who had returned to Chengdu, to request for reinforcement against the foreigners. The messenger went out and chose the road to Hanzhong, which led to Zitong and Chengdu perspectively.
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Ma Teng and Han Sui also learned about the diversion plan of the Xiongnu. They attempted to retreat to assist Tianshui people, but they were stopped by Shanyu, AKA the King of Xiongnu, who came here personally.
Both Ma Teng and Han Sui were injured from the battle and they were forced to withdraw back to Wuwei County, the border city of Liang Province.
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December, 184 A.D.
The order reached the hands of Li Jue and Guo Si. They immediately rallied their force to retake their Tianshui.
Before they could march outside of the city, a new army of Xiongnu appeared in their territory, which forced them to change their attention to the new threat.
The plan to retake Tianshui was canceled!
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Meanwhile, the fast horse messenger of Dong Zhuo reached Hanzhong, the territory of a new rebellion army called "Five Peck of Rice", which led by Zhang Lu.
Before the messenger managed to pass the border, Zhang Lu's men captured him and got the info about the invasion of the westerners.
Instead of helping Dong Zhuo, Zhang Lu executed the messenger and ignore the plight of the country as he was not a part of the Han Dynasty anymore.