New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

"That's how it happened: all three generals were killed by Lü Bu."

The messenger, who had stumbled back from the city wall, knelt in the center of the command platform, his face still covered in blood. His voice trembled as he recounted in detail how Lü Bu had killed the three generals.

After uttering the last word, he collapsed to the ground, his shoulders still trembling uncontrollably.

The feudal lords looked at each other in bewilderment, and the scene fell silent for a moment.

Normally, they would have just laughed at the idea of ​​three generals being killed by one person.

But the earth-shattering roar still echoed in their ears, and the screams coming from the city wall were undeniable. Whether they believed it or not, they had to.

Yuan Shao's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He cursed Ju Yi a thousand times over in his heart, but Ju Yi was already dead, and no matter how harshly he cursed him, he couldn't bring him back to life.

He gritted his teeth, his face grim, and waved to the messenger: "Pass down the order: keep the city gates tightly shut. No one is allowed to go out to fight without authorization. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

Cao Cao, his face grim, slowly rose from his seat. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Yuan Shao, his voice low but clear:

"Alliance Leader Yuan, with a formidable enemy at hand and the traitor Dong Zhuo personally arriving, victory is our only option in this battle. I, Cao, though unworthy, am willing to arrange the troops and formations for our allied forces."

Yuan Shao glanced at Cao Cao suspiciously, but then thought that arranging troops wasn't a matter of taking away his military power, so he didn't bother to argue. He nodded, forcing a smile, "Brother Mengde, please."

Just then, Gongsun Zan's personal guards rushed in from outside the command platform, leaned down and whispered a few words in his ear.

Gongsun Zan's expression changed instantly. He abruptly stood up from his seat and hurriedly clasped his hands in a fist salute to the assembled lords.

"Gentlemen, I apologize, but there is an urgent matter in the army that requires my attention. I will be right back." Without waiting for Yuan Shao and Cao Cao to nod, he turned and left. His steps were so hurried and fast that no one could stop him.

Yuan Shu observed this scene, picked up his wine bowl, took a sip, and a faint smile, barely perceptible to others, appeared on his lips. Xuande's operation had indeed begun.

The real show is just beginning.

Cao Cao watched Gongsun Zan's hurried departure and recalled how Liu Bei had also used the same opportunity to extricate himself. His heart sank.

These two events are no coincidence. His expression changed slightly, and he glanced at Cao Ren beside him.

Cao Ren immediately understood, nodded silently, and quietly retreated, following in the direction where Gongsun Zan had disappeared.

After dealing with this incident, Cao Cao strode to the center of the command platform, glanced at the various warlords present, and began his speech in a loud voice.

"No matter how fierce and brave Lü Bu is, he's still just a commoner. Where does he get the audacity to come alone on horseback and challenge us?"

"I'm certain that Dong Zhuo's army is lying in ambush not far away. He intends to use Lü Bu as bait to lure us out of the city and have a decisive battle with his Xiliang cavalry in the open field."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the generals in the tent, his tone becoming even more resolute.

"In my opinion, our army must not leave the city to meet the enemy within three hours. We should wait until after noon, when the Xiliang soldiers are exhausted and their morale is low, before we can open the city gates for battle."

As soon as he finished speaking, the princes below the stage rushed to echo his words.

"Mengde is absolutely right!"

"That's right! We should act according to the plan!"

Not a single person dared to utter a single word of dissent.

According to the second strange tale of Chenliu City's rules, you must agree with whatever Cao Cao says. Of course, they do not genuinely agree, but rather dare not disagree.

Cao Cao was looking around at everyone with satisfaction and was about to sit down when a sharp sound of someone slamming their hand on the table suddenly came from below the stage.

"But the 20,000 catties of grain that Yuan Shu promised to give me have not yet materialized!" A man stood up angrily from the table; it was Han Fu, who had just been speaking up for Yuan Shu.

At this moment, his temper flared faster than turning the pages of a book. He raised his hand, pointed directly at Yuan Shu, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Yuan Gonglu! Without provisions, are you going to send my troops on a hunger pang?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than another figure suddenly stood up. This person had disheveled hair and his clothes were half-open, looking exactly like someone who had just been released from a cage; it was none other than Ma Teng.

His eyes widened in anger, his voice even deeper than Han Fu's: "And the two thousand soldiers you promised to give me! Where are they?!"

Before Yuan Shu could even speak, Gongsun Zan's generals stood up, their faces grim, and stared coldly at Yuan Shu: "Where are our provisions? Vice Alliance Leader Yuan, when are you going to issue them? What are we going to eat if we don't receive them?"

Yuan Shu's face darkened. Although Xuande had informed him of today's situation beforehand, being questioned by so many people still made him furious.

Moreover, he had already allocated all the grain and fodder that Han Fu needed, the troops that Ma Teng needed, and the supplies that Gongsun Zan's subordinates needed, without missing a single ounce or a single horse.

Now these people are attacking him in public; either they are deliberately framing him, or someone is stealing his things from behind.

He coldly swept his gaze toward Yuan Shao, who was seated in the main seat. Yuan Shao happened to be looking at him as well, and the moment their eyes met, Yuan Shao guiltily turned his head away.

Sure enough it was him!

Yuan Shu was furious, but with all eyes on him, arguing would be a waste of breath. So he simply turned his face away and ignored them.

Yuan Shao saw this and felt a rare pang of guilt.

They were brothers from the same lineage, after all. He stood up, waved his hand, and forced a smile at everyone:

"Generals, with a formidable enemy at our doorstep, let's set aside this trivial matter for now. After we've eliminated Dong Zhuo outside the city, we can sit down and discuss this at our leisure, shall we?"

But he wasn't Cao Cao. The other lords could disregard his words. No sooner had he finished speaking than the tent erupted in chaos.

Gongsun Zan's general suddenly stood up, pointed at Yuan Shao's nose, and cursed, "How much benefit has Yuan Shu given you that you always speak up for him? Is he your own father?!"

Unexpectedly, Han Fu stepped forward, pointed at Gongsun Zan's general, and retorted sharply, "Gongsun Li! You've gone too far! Since the alliance meeting, when has Alliance Leader Yuan ever taken a single soldier's worth of personal gain?"

Before the words had even finished, Tao Qian slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his anger directed at Han Fu: "Han Fu! You've seized three counties of Dangyang and haven't returned them yet. How are you going to settle this score?!"

"Well, that's exactly what I was going to ask you!" Han Fu suddenly turned around, spitting almost onto Tao Qian's face. "You should give me an explanation today for allowing your subordinates to destroy my city!"

"Pah!" Ma Teng spat a mouthful of phlegm on the ground, pointed at the other side and cursed, "You bastard, you stole my warhorse, I haven't settled the score with you yet!"

"Then you'd better explain yourself clearly first!"

"You go first!"

As they argued, it's unclear who started it, but the situation completely spiraled out of control.

The feudal lords were fighting amongst themselves, pulling each other's hair, overturning tables and chairs, and smashing bowls, plates, and wine pots all over the floor.

Yuan Shao and Cao Cao exchanged a glance across the mess, wanting to break up the fight, but those fists had no eyes, and whoever went up would get hit a couple of times.

Cao Cao raised his voice, trying to drown out the shouts and curses from the hall: "Gentlemen, silence! Listen to what I have to say! Dong Zhuo's army is challenging us outside the city, while we are here scheming against each other. How can the world not be in chaos? How can Dong Zhuo not be invincible!"

The tent fell silent for a moment. Just a moment. Almost all the feudal lords turned their attention to him.

"Stop talking nonsense! I'm done! Being allied with someone like you is a disgrace!"

"Ma Teng! You savage! Give me back my things!"

Before the roar had even faded, the group was already grappling with each other again. Yuan Shao, watching from a corner, felt a complex sense of satisfaction welling up inside him.

Looking at the boiling broth before him, he knew it was futile to stop them, so he simply let them fight to their hearts' content. With a flicker of his figure, he vanished from the command platform in an instant.

Cao Cao was furious, his face turning ashen. He muttered "Damn fate!" and stormed off. He walked through the fighting crowd, his steps unwavering, his curses never ceasing.

"Foolish fools and reckless brutes! Scoundrels and ambitious schemers! They are not fit to discuss important matters!"