Battle Royale of the Sinners

May 5th, 190 A.D.

Qiao County.

Cao Cao received the news about Tong's northern campaign. He turned to Pu Jing.

"Can we attack Yuan Shao now? Zhang Tong isn't a person who will wage wars on two fronts, right?"

Pu Jing nodded, "Indeed. Zhang Tong is a cautious person, so he won't attack us. It's time for us to rush east and end Yuan Shao."

Cao Cao laughed, "Good. Let's tell Xiahou Yuan to be prepared. We'll take Xiaopei first! Should I mobilize other units in Jibei and Chenliu?"

"Jibei can attack Langye, but Chenliu has to remain there. We need those troops to intimidate Xiao Wu and Zhang Liao that we are defending the border cities even though we are allies. It will stop Zhang Tong's subordinate from moving on their own."

"Wait, Zhang Tong doesn't hold absolute control over them?"

"I suspect not. Zhang Tong has given back authorities to his men. I think it was because of Te Langpu's system."

Cao Cao nudged his temples as he had a headache about Tong's talented officers. Tong had too many good people that could pose a threat to Cao Cao without him doing anything.

Not a day that Cao Cao was not envied of Tong's human assets. He tried his best to gather more exceptional men to his side, but the progress was slow.

Still, Cao Cao stayed positive as he had another back-up plan, which he was waiting for the result.

'I wonder when Yuan Shu will send me Sun Jian Army.'

.

Xiapi City, inside Xiahou Yuan's private tent.

Xiahou Yuan got the clan message the same day. He relayed his info to Guo Jia.

"What do you think?"

Guo Jia revealed a faint smile, "Well, it's the order. What can I do?"

"You don't have an opinion about this move? It seems too early to me."

"Nah, it doesn't matter if we should strike now or later. Zhang Tong won't attack us until the Xiongnu issues are solved."

"What do you mean?"

"Khan and Zhang Tong are otherworlders, and both want the other dead. He won't be able to sleep soundly if the north and the west of his territories connect with the Xiongnu's borders. Knowing his personality, he will mobilize a couple of legions to attack Xiongnu's hometown to put pressure on Khan in Liang Province."

As Guo Jia explained, he placed a map on a table. Then, he pointed at the north of Xiangping, Beiping, and Ji.

"These Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes are still here, so they will continue to invade Zhang Tong's cities. He has to get rid of these tribes or make them submit, which will take a few years to get everything under his control. Also …"

Gou Jia pointed at the Liang Province of Khan.

"Even though Jinyang, Zhongshan, and the entire Bing Province are protected by the natural mountain ranges, they are not safe from the Xiongnu. Zhang Tong will need to dispatch Jinyang's legion to the northwest and stab the Liang Province from behind. It won't be an easy task since the north of Jinyang is a wide range of desert and the west are all mountains and hills, so I expect about five to ten years-long campaign. In conclusion, Zhang Tong requires about a decade to stabilize his northern fronts before he can turn to us."

"We have so much time! Shouldn't take it easy? Isn't our lord too rush?"

"Nah, our lord is right about this. The faster we conquered Xu Province, the more times we have to unify the south and the central plain. By the time Zhang Tong eliminated Khan, we would have gathered enough forces and cannons to fight against his massive armies."

Xiahou Yuan's face grimaced when he thought of the disadvantages in their troop's number. Tong's cities flourished, and more people joined forces with him. Although the majority of Tong's men were policemen of the garrison forces, they were still a threat to Cao Cao.

From their spy reports, each county housed at least 10,000 police officers to maintain order. Some major cities like Julu and Ye hosted over 20,000 to 30,000 men!

Using mathematics, Tong controlled 11 major commanderies and over 20 affiliated minor counties. The number of policemen would be beyond 150,000!

This did not include the legions controlled by Tong's great generals. Just Zhang He and Xu Huang's soldiers alone, they could march to the central plain, and Cao Cao would have a hard time dealing with them. With the addition of Zhang Liao and Xiao Wu's legions, Cao Cao would not have a chance.

Wiping his sweat, Xiahou Yuan nodded, "Aye, let's hurry then. We really have no time at all."

"Haha! Yeah, we have a tight schedule. Let's contact Mi Zhu and Chen Family."

"What about Yan Liang? He's a good general."

"I don't like him as an ally. He smells and acts like your brother, but he did not have his discipline. Don't include him in this plan."

"Hahaha! Alright."

.

May 10th, 190 A.D.

Yuan Shu kept hearing about spy reports from Ye City. Whenever he heard about how Tong scored great beauties like Lady Du and Cai Wenji, he got jealous.

As Yuan Shu had never met with Tong's consorts or had seen an accurate portrait of the two, his imagination ran wild. He believed that the two ladies were goddess-like beauties since everyone said they were.

It enraged him more when he found out that Tong impregnated them. 

"Can't I have one of those goddess beauties like that bastard has!?"

An officer with scholar robe walked to Yuan Shu's side and whispered him, "My lord, you have the Imperial Seal, while Zhang Tong doesn't have one. Righteousness is with you."

Yuan Shu's eyes gleamed. He wanted to declare himself an emperor by using the Imperial Seal as a reason, but he did not dare. Several of Yuan Shu's officers admonished him about his plans, such as Yang Hong and Yan Xiang.

However, he wanted to go through with it. He already claimed the capital city of Luoyang and a few commanderies. He also had Sun Jian's forces under his control, so he did not fear anything.

Also, Khan and Liu Yang had been sending them tributes and opened their borders for merchants. The west of his kingdom was secured.

"You're right! I'm legitimate to ascend to the throne, but I can't simply proclaim myself an emperor without supporters from others!"

Yuan Shu was smart. He had been delaying his decision so far because of this reason.

His affiliate cities were weak in both economy and military. Yuan Shu's forces were no match to either Tong or Cao Cao, and his average tax income could upkeep the officers' salary and military budgets.

Yuan Shu had to acquire more resources one way or another before he could claim the throne. Or else, his empire would crumble before Yuan Shu could force other warlords to submit under him.

The young officer gazed at Yuan Shu with a cold smile. He continued whispering, "My lord, currently, Sun Jian's forces had many soldiers and officers. Their salary and army upkeep are draining our treasury."

Yuan Shu glared at his officer, "His army is a must! Do you think it's easy to acquire a legion that can stop Zhang Tong's army? What do you plan to do, weaken my forces?"

"No, no! Lord Yuan Shu, you misunderstood me. Let me explain. We don't need to disband Sun Jian's army. Instead, why don't we lease his troops to Cao Cao?"

"WHAT!?"

"You heard me right, my lord. We should lease Sun Jian and his men to Cao Cao, so we can save our upkeep gold while we obtain gold from Cao Cao. Isn't this move like hitting two birds with one stone?"

Lending soldiers or leased army was something that had never occurred in this era.

Yuan Shu understood the terms of mercenaries, but he never heard about a lord lending his men to other forces before.

"Elaborate!"

"Yes, my lord. Leasing is like loaning. We let other warlords borrowing our troops for a price, just like how they hire mercenaries and private forces of military clansmen. It's the same, but we are the supplier, and Cao Cao is our customer."

Yuan Shu had to pause and think for a minute before he could understand the logic behind this young man's advice.

"I get it! We become a mercenary organization, and we receive gold from Cao Cao, who will be our customer, right!?"

"… Yes. You can say it that way."

"What about provision for Sun Jian Army?"

"If we lend them to Cao Cao, obviously, Cao Cao will have to provide them with supplies."

"What about their pay?"

"We can have Cao Cao pay the wages for these men, but we have to negotiate with Cao Cao for the terms."

"Very good! Well, eh, what's your name? I'm not very good at remembering my subordinate's name lately. Many new guys come and go, and I lost tracks of who is who."

The scholar smiled, "I'm Chen Qun, Chen Changwen, my lord. Sir Yang Hong promoted me here to help you."

"Good! Chen Qun, I'll promote you as my advisor from now on! I'll pay you a thousand gold a month for your service!"

Chen Qun bowed while he hid his mocking grin, "Thank you, my lord."

"You'll also be in charge of this project! Here is my token. You can tell Sun Jian about this plan! Make it quick, though, because we don't have enough gold to pay them if we wait for too long!"

.

At night, Chen Qun dispatched his men from Luoyang to Xuchang.

In reality, Chen Qun was Cheng Yu's subordinate. The scholar was sent here as a mole to sabotage Yuan Shu's forces. Also, the idea of leasing came from Pu Jing.

Cheng Yu and Pu Jing did not forget to involve Yuan Shu in their plan to attack Yuan Shao. As Sun Jian Army was strong enough to contend with one of Tong's legions, Cao Cao and others had planned to draw them to their side.

Pu Jing had already told Cao Cao about Sun Jian's fate and the future of the Wu Kingdom, which Cao Cao was fascinated by the potentials of the Sun Clan.

Cao Cao came with a plan. Instead of allowing Sun Ce to unify Jiangdong, he would rather recruit this young tiger into his force before he grew wings.

As long as Sun Jian was alive, Sun Ce would not rise to the top!

Also, Sun Fang had been known as an idiot after an incident. From Pu Jing and Cao Cao's point of view, they could have sent assassins to kill this otherworlder at any time.

They could even frame Tong if the assassins were caught.

With the elaborate plans, Cheng Yu sent his junior scholar in Xuchang, Chen Qun, to Luoyang so that he could infiltrate Yuan Shu's ranks.

The task was a success, and Chen Qun completed his duty. Furthermore, he became a deep mole for Cao Cao in the future.

Chen Qun got back to his new resident in the inner district of Luoyang. He chuckled as he admired the decoration of the courtyard.

'That was too easy. Now, I'll wait here and let those guys do all the work.'