Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

For a moment, the entire central military tent was packed.

Almost all the lords from the thirty-six towns of the allied army had arrived, with a large number of personal guards wearing armor and holding swords. In addition, the banquet and food in the tent were destroyed into a mess, and the scene was a complete chaos.

Liu Bei frowned and looked around, feeling a little disappointed.

Liu Bei originally thought that this would be a grand event where heroes from all over the world would gather to revive the Han Dynasty, but he did not expect that the situation would be so terrible before he even arrived at Sishui Pass.

For a time, Liu Bei agreed with Li Ji's words that "not all the participants in the alliance are for the country and the people", but he also made up his mind to reorganize the alliance according to Li Ji's words.

No matter how weak the allied forces were internally, if they wanted to defeat the traitor Dong, they would have to rely on their strength.

If Liu Bei were the leader of the alliance, then it would be easy to take himself as an example.

However, even if he was not the leader of the alliance, the opportunity before him was what Li Ji had said, to completely mobilize the allied forces to attack the thief Dong with all their strength.

Liu Bei's spirit was shaken, and he cast aside the slight confusion that had just arisen in his heart. He first saluted the alliance leader Yuan Shao and the princes of all parties, and then spoke.

"I have heard about the cause of the disturbance in the tent, but the country has its laws and the army has its regulations. The grain officer secretly intercepted Sun Wentai's grain and grass, which violated the military law and regulations. How can he be killed privately?"

After a pause, Liu Bei, who had always behaved gently, shouted with dignity on his face.

"Furthermore, how a small grain officer secretly intercepted grain and then sold it outside is not so simple. We need to investigate carefully and find out the accomplices, so that our allies' grain will not be in danger in the future."

Liu Bei's words were selfless and well-reasoned, but they made Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu look quite ugly.

At this moment, anyone with a discerning eye would know that cutting off Sun Jian's food supplies was Yuan Shu's intention, otherwise it would be impossible for a small grain official to do such a thing.

"Liu Xuande, do you really want to do this? Do you want to be an enemy of the Yuan family?"

Yuan Shu spoke with a sullen face, his tone threatening.

However, facing Yuan Shu's threat, Liu Bei took a step forward, and surrounded by the other princes behind him, he drew out the double-edged sword from his waist, fixed his eyes, and shouted angrily.

"What I want to ask more is, who wants to be the enemy of the Han Dynasty? Who wants to be the enemy of the Han Dynasty? And who is in league with the thief Dong?"

These three questions in a row and the determination revealed in Liu Bei's eyes made Yuan Shu, who was facing him, instinctively startled.

Such a look without a trace of hesitation made Yuan Shu think of Sun Jian just now.

However, Sun Jian's eyes were filled with madness and anger, while Liu Bei's were filled with a firm determination to pursue his ideals. Anyone who stood in the way of his ideals was considered an enemy to be killed.

As for the other princes in the central army tent, facing this big hat, naturally no one dared to accept it.

The Han Dynasty may have fallen to decay, but it is still in people’s hearts!

Yuan Shao frowned, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

From a personal perspective, Yuan Shao was happy to see Yuan Shu in trouble, but since both parties belonged to the same Yuan family, Yuan Shao had an innate sense of obligation to protect Yuan Shu.

At least we must not let outsiders think that the Yuan family has split, as this will be of no benefit.

In addition, Yuan Shao did not want to see Liu Bei's prestige among the allies grow, as this would only be a threat to his position as the leader of the alliance.

"Xuan De, your words are too serious."

After some thought, Yuan Shao, acting as the leader of the alliance, began to smooth things over.

"This grain official did such a wicked thing, he deserves to be cut into pieces, but he is still a retainer of Yuan Gonglu, so let Yuan Gonglu handle it himself and give him some face."

Without waiting for Liu Bei to speak, Gongsun Zan, who had long disliked the two Yuans, started to mock them.

"Haha, Yuan Gonglu's face is face, but does that mean the Allied military law is no longer military law? Are the lives of those soldiers under Sun Wentai who risked their lives for the Han Dynasty insignificant?"

Although Sun Jian was originally feeling aggrieved, he had to start accepting the reality that he could not do anything to Yuan Shu. Now, seeing Liu Bei leading a group of princes to support him, his expression became fierce again, and he stared at Yuan Shu and questioned him harshly.

"That's right. Or does the leader think that protecting Yuan Gonglu's reputation is more important than anything else? He even protects Yuan Gonglu so much. Could it be that the leader is the one who is behind this?"

When these words were spoken, Yuan Shao's eyebrows twitched slightly. He couldn't help but curse Yuan Shu for being stupid again in his heart. He felt that if he continued to get involved in this confusedly, he would be easily suspected.

However, within a few breaths, Yuan Shao realized the key point and spoke first to state his position.

"The matter of grain and grass is all under the control of Yuan Gonglu alone. How can it have anything to do with this leader?"

After a pause, Yuan Shao continued to appeal to the emperor's emotions and explain the benefits.

"I am also shocked and surprised that Yuan Gonglu has such greedy people under his command, but now that we are about to reach Sishui Pass, we must not engage in internal strife that would chill the hearts of the loyal Han people and make Dong the thief happy."

"So, Brother Wentai, instead of worrying about trivial matters, why don't you focus on how to quickly reorganize the soldiers and restore their combat effectiveness?"

"Although this was done by a grain official, Yuan Gonglu is the governor of grain and fodder, so he undoubtedly has a responsibility that cannot be shirked. Therefore, in my opinion, it would be better for Yuan Gonglu to compensate for the grain, armaments, etc., and both sides would shake hands and make peace and fight against Dong the thief together."

It has to be said that this series of speeches has quite a bit of the demeanor that a leader of an alliance should have.

First, he pointed out the seriousness of the matter, and declared that internal strife was inappropriate. Then, he proposed a solution of Yuan Shu compensating Sun Jian with money and food to appease him. As long as Sun Jian accepted it, Liu Bei's constant entanglement with Yuan Shu would make him look ignorant of the overall situation.

Moreover, for the princes, soldiers and money and food are equivalent in a sense. As long as there are enough money and food, they will not have trouble recruiting soldiers in troubled times.

After hearing these words, Sun Jian was angry, but also a little moved.

Sun Jian's anger was not only caused by being backstabbed by his allies, but more importantly, it was a kind of anger that his ideals were shattered and he had given up hope.

And if Yuan Shu compensated with a large amount of money and food, Sun Jian suddenly felt that it was not unacceptable for the sake of the greater cause.

The only person who felt somewhat aggrieved at the scene was undoubtedly Yuan Shu himself.

However, Yuan Shu knew what he had done and felt guilty. Even though he felt that he had lost face, he also knew that Yuan Shao was secretly protecting him, so he could only frown and agree.

As Sun Jian and Yuan Shu both acquiesced to this solution, the only variable at the moment was Liu Bei's involvement in the name of "military law".

Just when Yuan Shao was preparing to use the righteousness to pressure Liu Bei to retreat.

Liu Bei was the first to speak.

"Sun Wentai's defeat was caused by a lack of food. If Yuan Gonglu is willing to compensate him with money and food, that would be the best."

After a pause, Liu Bei changed his tone and spoke.

"When a war is imminent, it is not appropriate to make a big fuss to find out who is causing the rebellion, but as the saying goes: the army does not move before the food and grass are sent."

"Yuan Gonglu is obsessed with other things and has no idea how to lead his subordinates. He even made mistakes in transporting grain and fodder to the front line. How can he continue to be the governor of grain and fodder?"

"This time they are just the vanguard. Will the entire Allied Forces be out of food next time? For the sake of the Allied Forces, to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future, we should change the person in charge of food and grass."

At this moment, Yuan Shao suddenly realized that he seemed to have underestimated Liu Bei.

Before this, Yuan Shao thought that Liu Bei merely wanted to use the name of Sun Jian and military law to forcibly influence the prestige and reputation of the Yuan family by "secretly cutting off food supplies."

However, what Yuan Shao did not expect was that Liu Bei might have been targeting the "Governor of Food and Grass" from the very beginning.

If Liu Bei alone controls both the military law and the food supplies of the allied forces, then what is the difference between Yuan Shao feeling self-conscious and being sidelined?
However, Yuan Shu made such a mistake in his grain supply just a few days after he became governor. Even if Yuan Shao wanted to defend Yuan Shu, he didn't know where to start. Even many princes who originally tended to support Yuan Shu looked away.

Almost none of the princes present were truly stupid.

Yuan Shu can use his power as "Governor of Grain and Grass" to assassinate Sun Jian and eliminate dissidents today, but he may cut off their food supply in the future.

Once the food supply was cut off, the morale was lost and the army was defeated without a fight.

However, just as Yuan Shao was still thinking of a foolproof plan and trying to find a way to continue to keep the food and grass on the Yuan family's side.

Yuan Shu was the first to lose his patience and questioned Liu Bei.

"Liu Xuande, I am not worthy of being the governor of grain and grass. Are you worthy?"

"I am responsible for supervising military law, so it is not appropriate for me to continue to be the governor of grain and grass..."

Liu Bei first said this modestly, then changed his tone and said.

"But I think it would be more appropriate for Brother Wentai to be in charge of the food and grass. Brother Wentai has suffered heavy casualties and is no longer suitable to be on the front line. It is a good opportunity for him to be in charge of the transportation of food and grass while using money and food to recruit young and strong men to replenish the troops as soon as possible."

"Brother Wentai has a strong character and is well aware of the harm of food shortages. I believe he will ensure that your baggage is transported without worries in a fair and just manner."

Yuan Shu's face turned red with anger at this moment. He pointed his finger at Liu Bei and was unable to utter a word for a long while.

"you……"

On the contrary, many of the princes present felt that Liu Bei's words were reasonable and well-founded.

Sun Jian has suffered heavy casualties and will need some time to regroup before he can fight again. Under such circumstances, it is undoubtedly most appropriate to let Sun Jian be in charge of food and grass in the rear.

His strong character also meant that Sun Jian would inevitably act more fairly than Yuan Shu.

Among them, Tao Qian took the lead in expressing his attitude.

"In my opinion, Xuande's words are very thoughtful and are for the sake of the important matter of defeating Dong. I hope the leader of the alliance will agree."

"That's right. If Yuan Gonglu was the one supervising the grain, how could I dare to fight with Dong the thief at the front?"

"Sun Wentai is indeed more suitable to be the governor of grain and grass than Yuan Gonglu. Please understand this, leader."

……

For a moment, the princes who had more frequent communication with Liu Bei spoke first, while the other princes who were closer to the two Yuans on weekdays remained silent.

Sometimes, silence is also an attitude. (End of this chapter)