My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 283 The Reactions of the Two Yuans
The royal palace in Shouchun City was shrouded in gloom and despair.

The roars of the past were nowhere to be heard. The once mighty and domineering Skeleton King now slumped on his throne, muttering to himself with lifeless eyes, "How dare Liu Bei... How dare the Emperor? What gives them the right to do this?"

The news that Liu Bei had issued an imperial edict to the world, dismissing Yuan Shu from his post as Left General and his title of Marquis of Yangdi, had spread from Runan to all directions.

The explosive nature of this news, the speed at which it spread, and the breadth of its reach far exceeded everyone's expectations.

It can only be said that Yuan Shu, the Skeleton King, was still a top-tier figure in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. The emperor directly stripped Yuan Shu of all his titles and ranks and labeled him a traitor to the court. This had a tremendous impact.

For the Jianghuai region controlled by Yuan Shu, this impact was undoubtedly quite severe.

The local gentry and powerful families who had been deeply resentful of Yuan Shu's exploitative methods began to stir. Meanwhile, the marquises sent by Yuan Shu to various counties and towns in the Jianghuai region saw Yuan Shu's weakness and decline and began to harbor disloyal thoughts.

Those who were relatively honest began to plan for their future, while those with greater ambitions began to seek ways to contact warlords from all directions.

In particular, the counties of Runan and Pei State turned against their masters very quickly. In these two prefectures, apart from a very few important towns such as Ruyin, Shencheng, and Longkang, most of the other counties changed sides and sent people to the city of Ruyin to surrender.

The situation in the Jianghuai region is somewhat better, but the overall situation remains dire.

Originally, various resources were being transported to Shouchun via waterways and land routes, but suddenly a host of problems erupted in the counties and towns where the troops were stationed. In some places, bandits suddenly appeared, roads were damaged, and local instability occurred. Regardless of the cause, the result was that the remaining supplies and troops could not be transported for the time being.

Yuan Shu and his civil and military officials were not fools; how could they not see through the duplicity in these men's actions?

But the fact that they dare to waver means they're not afraid of your military threats.

On the bright side, at least he hasn't completely betrayed you by being two-faced.

If you really push someone too far, then breaking off relations would be tantamount to betrayal.

If all the counties and towns in the Jianghuai region were to follow the example of Runan and Pei, then the very framework that Yuan Shu is currently supporting would completely collapse. At that point, not only Liu Bei, but also Liu Biao, Liu Yao, and even the Yellow Turbans of Runan would likely pounce on him, tearing him apart and devouring him completely.

The thought of this terrifying scene left Yuan Shu too weak to even roar.

Yuan Shu slumped on the throne, muttering complaints that Liu Bei and the emperor were too heartless and had broken the rules.

The ministers below looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.

Previously, Yuan Shu even dared to curse the "big-eared thief" and mock the young emperor.

That was because he was at the height of his power at the time, possessing the fertile lands of the Jianghuai region, 80,000 elite troops, and expanding in all directions.

But things are different now. Liu Bei has cornered him, and he can't even beat him.

Yuan Shu's foul mouth and arrogant demeanor disappeared; instead, he began to complain that Liu Bei and the emperor were not following the rules.

Yuan Shu's true nature was that of someone who was outwardly fierce but inwardly weak, outwardly strong but inwardly feeble.

The weaker you are, the more he will bully you and take advantage of you.

The stronger you are, the more he fears you and will turn a blind eye to your insults.

"Gentlemen, what can I do for you?"

After complaining for a long time, Yuan Shu realized that he couldn't kill Liu Bei by just nagging, so he could only place his hopes on his strategists.

But the strategists below were also at a loss. They originally wanted to force Liu Bei to retreat by defending, and that as long as they could hold out until Liu Bei's army suffered too many losses or his reinforcements ran out of supplies, he would naturally retreat.

That's how it's always been done in wars.

But now Pei State and Runan have both turned against us, and there are signs of instability on a large scale in the Jianghuai region.

This is a harbinger of national ruin.

Seeing that his advisors remained silent, Yuan Shu became furious.

After a moment's thought, he revealed his idea: "I intend to appoint Zhang Xun as the commander-in-chief to guard Shouchun in my stead. I will lead 10,000 elite troops south to garrison Liyang. From there, we can either advance north to relieve the siege of Shouchun or retreat across the Yangtze River to Jiangdong to join forces with Bofu. What do you all think?"

"My lord, you can't do that!"

"My lord, you mustn't!"

"My lord, this is a very poor strategy. Please reconsider."

Yan Xiang, Yang Hong, Li Ye, and others never expected that Yuan Shu, such a clever man, would actually try to flee.

At this moment, the three advisors spoke in unison to dissuade them.

The people of Jianghuai are already restless, and the counties and towns in various places are not listening to orders. If you act more assertively at this time, the powerful clans and gentry of Jianghuai will not know your hand and will be wary of you, so they will not dare to act recklessly in the open.

If you run away, the whole of Jianghuai will know that you, Yuan Shu, have admitted defeat and are powerless to resist Liu Bei. Wouldn't they immediately turn against you and rush to Liu Bei to curry favor and gain credit?
By then, not only will Ruyin be lost, but even Shouchun will be unable to be defended.

Once people's hearts are scattered, it is very difficult to bring them back together.

Yuan Shu, however, did not understand these principles. He simply frowned and asked in return, "The situation is so dire now that only in this way can we regain the initiative. It is not that I am afraid of Liu Bei, but that staying in Shouchun is a dilemma. It would be better to step out and look for opportunities on the periphery."

Yan Xiang is almost in despair of Yuan Shu. Are you not afraid of Liu Bei?
Liu Bei was still in Ruyin, and you were already so afraid that you wanted to go to Liyang.

Once Liu Bei enters Shouchun, you'll probably have to cross the river and jump into Jiangdong.

Despite his despair, Yan Xiang still tried his best to persuade the other party: "At this moment, you are the pillar of Jianghuai. As long as you are in Shouchun, the people of Jianghuai will all be at your service, and the grain, soldiers, and weapons from all over the country can be mobilized. If you go to Liyang, no matter who is sent to guard Shouchun, how can the other cities in Jianghuai obey the orders of Shouchun?"

Yan Xiang's words were quite blunt, almost as if he were telling Yuan Shu directly that if he ran away, Jianghuai would no longer belong to him.

Yang Hong also tried to dissuade him, saying, "My lord, Qiao Rui, Li Feng, and Liang Gang are still holding out in Ru and Pei. What they are holding onto is nothing more than your support. If you leave Shouchun now, what will the generals at the front have to rely on? If they have no one to rely on, I fear there will be trouble from within."

Yang Hong's words were quite clear: if you run away, Qiao Rui and the others might surrender directly. At that point, not only would Ruyin and Longkang be unable to hold out for more than a few days, but even Shouchun would be difficult to defend. How long could you hide in Liyang?

Li Ye went further, saying, "Although the situation is dangerous now, Ruyin and Longkang have successfully blocked Liu Biaoqi's southward advance. The other day, General Qiao reported that Liu Biaoqi had attacked the city for two days without any success and had no choice but to begin a siege. This is Heaven's help to our lord. As long as we hold firm, the situation will surely change."

Seeing that his three trusted advisors were all trying to stop him from leaving, Yuan Shu softened his stance.

Yuan Shu then glanced at the other side of the military officers' ranks.

Upon seeing Yuan Shu's gaze, Zhang Xun, who was in the lead, stepped forward and said, "My lord, please sit comfortably in Shouchun City. We will fight to the death for you and vow to defeat Liu Biaoqi."

At this point, very few people in Yuan Shu's group dared to call Liu Bei by his name anymore. Even Yuan Shu himself changed his address from "Big-Eared Thief" to "Liu Xuande," which shows that Yuan Shu was not an unreasonable person.

Seeing that his civil and military officials disagreed with his plan, Yuan Shu hesitated for a moment.

It wasn't that Yuan Shu was particularly humble and open to advice; rather, he had already lost his outward strength and was gradually revealing his inner weakness.

After much hesitation, Yuan Shu ultimately did not dare to act unilaterally, but instead pretended to listen to the opinions of others and temporarily remained in Shouchun City.

"Where have Sun Xiang and Zhou Yu arrived?"

Yuan Shu suddenly remembered the reinforcements from the south and inquired about Yang Hong.

Yang Hong had actually been keeping a close eye on this matter, since it concerned everyone's lives and fortunes.

As soon as Yuan Shu asked the question, Yang Hong immediately replied, "The latest news is that they have entered Chengde County. After resting for a day, they will take the route through Shaopi and continue north. In another seven or eight days, they will reach Shouchun."

Yuan Shu was not satisfied with this and muttered under his breath, "They are too slow. They are still in Chengde. Aren't they still nearly two hundred miles away from Shouchun?"

Yang Hong gave Li Ye a wink, and the latter nodded slightly before stepping forward to explain, “My lord, it is indeed very slow. Commandant Zhou and General Sun are not only protecting more than 5,000 laborers and 8,000 shi of grain, but also various long and short weapons, breastplates, and other supplies. They have already done their utmost.”

Li Ye's words were indeed quite objective. To put it bluntly, in this era, even the retainers of ordinary aristocratic families and powerful clans might not be able to travel thirty li a day while maintaining a well-organized encampment.

Not to mention that Zhou Yu also brought a large number of civilian laborers and vehicles, which doubled when he was in Hefei.

Sun Xiang's troops are more powerful and independent, so Zhou Duwei will have to take full responsibility for all the dirty and hard work.

The Zhou family was originally the most powerful family in Jiujiang, and even in the entire Jianghuai region. The fact that they were willing to help you when your power was waning was already the greatest support they could give you. How could you be so arrogant as to criticize them for not doing their job well enough?

After hearing Li Ye's words, Yuan Shu's expression softened slightly. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Could we urge them to speed up and get to Shouchun as soon as possible?" Yan Xiang didn't even need to look at Yang Hong and Li Ye before stepping forward himself: "My lord, Commandant Zhou is a rising star of the Zhou family, renowned for his virtue in the Jianghuai region and highly respected by the people of Jiangzuo. Even if such a virtuous man makes mistakes, we should be more tolerant, so that he may be grateful for your kindness and serve you."

“My lord, what the chief clerk said is quite right.”

Yang Hong, Li Ye, and even Zhang Xun, Lei Bo, and others stepped forward to speak.

Li Ye went even further, saying, "Commander Zhou has made great contributions and deserves our reward. He should be promoted. With your encouragement and favor, Commander Zhou will surely serve you even more."

Stop being so dramatic.

This is what Yuan Shu's civil and military officials unanimously wanted to say.

If you force powerful local clans like Zhou Yu to rebel again, you won't be able to control the entire Jianghuai region, whether you flee or not.

No, could it be that our lord wanted to run away but was dissuaded and is deliberately trying to force Zhou Yu to rebel?
Suddenly, everyone's gazes toward Yuan Shu became strange, to the point that even Yuan Shu himself noticed.

"Alright, alright, I understand. Then let's recommend Zhou Yu for the position of Colonel."

Yuan Shu suddenly became somewhat afraid of the looks in his subordinates' eyes, and finally listened to their advice and promoted Zhou Yu's official position.

However, given the current situation, Yuan Shu himself has already been dismissed from his post as Left General and stripped of his title as Marquis of Yangdi. He has become a traitor to the court, so how could he still be qualified to recommend Zhou Yu for the position of Colonel?

The civil and military officials below are also pretending to be ignorant. They know we are pretending not to know, so Yuan Shu is the Left General and the Marquis of Yangdi. The only thing to worry about is whether Zhou Yu will accept this memorial.

However, judging from Zhou Yu's current actions of transferring troops and supplies to Shouchun, he should still approve of Yuan Shu.

********
Yuan Shu suffered greatly from Liu Bei's move of cutting off his supply lines, but his brother in the north was overjoyed.

On this day, Yuan Shao was discussing matters in his residence when a group of civil and military officials from Hebei noticed that Yuan Shao seemed to be in a very good mood as he walked in, and the smile on his lips could not be suppressed.

"Gentlemen, I have just received a message."

Yuan Shao didn't keep his confidants waiting long and quickly confessed the cause of the matter.

"That fool from Huainan brought this upon himself. He offended the emperor, and Xuande petitioned the emperor to strip him of all his titles and honors."

After saying this, Yuan Shao burst into laughter.

For Yuan Shao, seeing Yuan Shu suffer setbacks was one of the greatest joys of his life.

As is widely known, Yuan Shao was born to a maid.

But few people know that there are actually two versions of Yuan Shao's birth.

The most well-known account is that his father was Yuan Feng, who was a sibling of Yuan Ji and Yuan Shu.

Because Yuan Shao was of the lowest social status, he was adopted by the deceased Yuan Cheng as his heir, thus gaining the status of a legitimate son.

Another theory suggests that he was born to Yuan Cheng. Although his mother was of low status, Yuan Shao was Yuan Cheng's only son, and like Yuan Ji and Yuan Shu, he was born as a legitimate son and was not affected by his mother's lowly status.

The reason why Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao completely broke off relations was because Yuan Shu insulted Yuan Shao by calling him a "son of a concubine," which led to a complete falling out between the two sides.

Aside from being pressured by elders to comply with family orders, both sides viewed each other as thorns in their side.

Yuan Shao was famous for his outstanding appearance and demeanor when he was young, and he was often imitated. He also had a reputation for being upright and capable, which made him very famous despite his young age.

Yuan Shao was handsome, and later Yuan Shang surpassed him in appearance, which shows how good-looking the father and son were.

At the same time, Yuan Shao was dignified, benevolent, and valued his reputation. In addition, Yuan Shao humbled himself to make friends with scholars, who all considered it an honor to befriend him.

As the next head of the Yuan family, Yuan Ji was somewhat displeased, but he didn't say much.

But Yuan Shu, like a dog whose tail had been stepped on, flew into a rage and sought all sorts of trouble for Yuan Shao.

Especially when he saw that Yuan Shao had a wide circle of friends, Yuan Shu couldn't help but try to poach Yuan Shao's men, but he always failed.

When the people in the hall heard that Yuan Shu had been stripped of all his posts and titles, and that Liu Bei had also requested an imperial decree to designate him as an enemy of the court, and that nearly half of the counties under his command had rebelled in one fell swoop, they were astonished.

This news left the prominent figures in Hebei and Henan speechless, and at the same time, a thought couldn't help but arise in their minds.

So the emperor can be used in this way?
Yes, these scholars were discovering for the first time that controlling the emperor had such benefits.

Even Yuan Shao himself regretted not going to greet the emperor back then.

If we could bring the emperor back to Ye City and hold him in our own hands, wouldn't we be able to strip others of their titles and honors?

Upon realizing this, Yuan Shao, who had just been in a pleasant mood, turned gloomy.

This means that he has finally realized his own situation.

If Liu Bei and Cao Cao joined forces, they could directly persuade the emperor to remove Yuan Shu from his official positions and titles.

If the two of them join forces against me, will I still be able to keep my titles of Grand Marshal and Marquis of Yecheng?
Perhaps because everyone realized this, the atmosphere in the room became somewhat awkward.

On the contrary, the scholars of the Hebei faction were quite arrogant, as if they had won a great victory.

You didn't welcome the emperor when I told you to, now you know you regret it, right?

Yuan Shao initially regretted his decision, but seeing the smug and arrogant expressions on the faces of the Hebei scholars made him very unhappy.

Although Yuan Shao maintained a smile, intelligent people like Guo Tu, Xun Chen, and Xin Ping could already sense his displeasure.

"I have gathered you all here today to discuss a matter."

Yuan Shao coughed lightly and asked, "Gentlemen, I intend to submit a memorial to the court, requesting the emperor to strip Gongsun Zan of his titles and ranks. What do you all think?"

The people in the hall suddenly realized that this was Yuan Shao's plan.

Yuan Shao was clearly trying to copy Liu Bei's strategy: to have the emperor strip Gongsun Zan of his titles and ranks, thereby alienating Gongsun Zan's forces and allowing Yuan Shao to divide and weaken the enemy.

Yuan Shao was forced to do this because Gongsun Zan was simply too stubborn and unyielding.

Working together with the Black Mountain bandit Zhang Yan, they disgusted Yuan Shao to no end, infuriating him to the point that Yuan Shao wanted to eliminate them at all costs.

However, this goal has not yet been achieved.

Seeing that Liu Bei's tactic against Yuan Shu seemed to be quite effective, Yuan Shao immediately wanted to copy it.

Yuan Shao thought this tactic was quite effective, but the clever people in both the Hebei and Henan factions felt it was somewhat impractical.

Putting everything else aside, the good relationship between Liu Bei and the emperor is something Yuan Shao can't compare to.

To put it bluntly, Yuan Shao is more like a traitor to the emperor than Gongsun Zan.

In the eyes of the young emperor, Gongsun Zan might actually be a loyal minister. After all, Yuan Shao wanted to support Liu Yu as emperor, and Gongsun Zan had executed Liu Yu in broad daylight.

Ju Shou, Xun Chen, and others simply felt that Yuan Shao was overconfident.

Even if the young emperor was powerless and easily fooled, what were Cao Cao and Liu Bei thinking?

If they were in their shoes, they certainly wouldn't want Yuan Shao to speed up the unification of Hebei.

Cao Cao, in particular, has almost broken ties with Yuan Shao over the issue of money and grain in Hebei.

Yuan Shao sometimes thought too optimistically, which may be a common problem among people from prestigious families.

They have received care and protection from all sides since childhood, which makes them consider things from the perspective of the best possible outcome rather than the worst-case scenario.

(End of this chapter)