Meanwhile, within the encampment of the eighteen warlords, the assembly call suddenly rang out. The entire camp stirred like a tiger waking from slumber, baring its sharp claws and fangs.
Countless heads began to surge and gather throughout the camp. After assembling in orderly fashion, they formed marching squares outside the encampment. A vast sea of dark heads carpeted the ground—shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot, horse head to horse tail. Colorful banners covered the sky and blotted out the sun as they fluttered in the wind.
Then the formations bearing commander banners marked "Sun," "Bao," "Wang," "Zhang," "Qiao," "Han," and so on began to move. Breaking away from the main formation, they kicked up billowing dust as they headed west toward Sishui Pass. The remaining formations, bearing banners marked "Yuan," "Cao," "Gongsun," "Ma," and the like, moved southwest instead.
Counting carefully, the eighteen warlords had unexpectedly split into two forces, each containing the armies of eight warlords, advancing west and southwest respectively. With each small square formation numbering five thousand men and horses, the two great forces totaled more than eighty thousand troops. The remaining soldiers stayed behind to guard the main camp.
The warlords, who had originally harbored their own schemes and had even come merely to go through the motions and earn some fame, now displayed extraordinary unity.
And all because of one person—or rather, one symbol: imperial authority!
Just as Li Shuangmu had predicted, once that news was announced to the eighteen warlords, it immediately caused an uproar that nearly blew the roofs off the tents. After confirming again and again that Cao Cao was not making fools of them, the eighteen warlords' minds began to race. Before long, they had maneuvered and reached an agreement!
Sun Quan, Bao Xin, and seven other warlords would lead