The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 237 Volume Jiangdong rats?

Yangzhou, Shouchun.

"You mean, that maid gave birth to a child and that eunuch raised an army to attack the imperial court?"

"Exactly!"

Shouchun was once the capital of the Chu State, a dominant power in the Warring States Period.

This place controls the Huaiying River and borders the Jiangtuo River.

It is adjacent to the Feishui River in the east and has the huge Shaopo Lake in the south. To the east, you can go to Xuzhou along the Huaishui River; to the west, you can go to Runan along the Huaishui River; to the north, you can go to the hinterland of the Central Plains along the tributaries Yingshui and Woshui; to the south, you can go to Caishiji in Jiangnan along the Feishui River into the Yangtze River. Through the water network, it has truly become a hub with many connections.

After Yuan Shu arrived, he built a large-scale palace on the basis of the original Chu palace, making this place magnificent and prosperous, and it was not inferior to the imperial capital.

At this moment, Yuan Shu was hunched over, with his ribs clearly visible under his gorgeous clothes, like a terminally ill civet cat, listening to the reports from the people below the stage.

"What do you think?"

The people in the audience hid their faces in the shadows and gestured with their hands: "The general should take this opportunity to go north and seize Xuzhou!"

"Xuzhou itself is a fertile land. It is also the hometown of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang and Overlord Xiang Yu. It is surrounded by royal aura... If the general gets this place, he can emulate Xiang Yu in the past, sweeping across the world and unifying the world!"

"By then, I'm afraid the general will really be able to replace the Han Dynasty."

Hearing the last sentence, Yuan Shu shushered all over. A tingling sensation rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He couldn't help but close his eyes comfortably.

"Wenyou, you are truly talented!"

The person who instigated Yuan Shu to establish himself as the emperor in place of the Han Dynasty was none other than Li Ru, who had once poisoned King Hongnong.

Although Li Ru encountered some setbacks after coming to Huainan, he eventually became a guest of honor of Yuan Shu.

All this was because Li Ru said to Yuan Shu: "The one who replaced the Han Dynasty is Dangtu Gao, don't you want to have a taste of the throne?"

No one has ever exposed Yuan Shu's ambition so bluntly.

But Li Ru did it.

Yuan Shu immediately appointed Li Ru as a provincial official, brought him in as his strategist, and asked him for advice.

Now that the situation in the world has changed, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao seem to be forced into a panic by the imperial court's attack on Shu, and they launch a thundering attack on the imperial court, leaving their rear empty.

Yuan Shu was right behind the two of them, and seeing that the door was wide open, how could he not go in and make some noise?

"Okay! Let's attack Xuzhou!"

He immediately assembled his troops, appointed Ji Ling as the general, and rushed straight to Xiaopei, vowing to capture the place in one fell swoop!
At this moment, news suddenly came from Jiangdong.

"Jingzhou, split open?"

It turned out that it was Sun Ce who brought the news.

After learning that Zhang Xian in Jingnan had rebelled against Liu Biao, Sun Ce immediately took notice and hurriedly reported the situation to Yuan Shu. He declared that the opportunity was rare and would never come again, and requested Yuan Shu to immediately allow him to lead his troops to Jingzhou, and then seize Jiangxia and open the gateway to Jingzhou!
"Jingzhou."

Yuan Shu seemed to be drooling with desire.

Yuan Shu dreamed of obtaining the rich Jingzhou.

Jingzhou is in civil strife right now, which is naturally a perfect opportunity for me to seize Jingzhou!
but……

"Sun Bofu?"

Sun Ce, also known as Sun Bofu, was the son of Sun Jian, a former general under Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu has always been very fond of him.

However, as Sun Ce continued to show his prowess, Yuan Shu's love for Sun Ce turned into fear.

picture!
so similar!
Like his father Sun Jian, he was invincible in attack and battle, and was even given the title of "Little Overlord" and was famous throughout Jiangdong.

When he was only in his teens, Sun Ce led his troops to conquer the entire Lujiang County and helped Yuan Shu completely occupy Huainan.

Afterwards, he led his troops to attack Jiangdong, defeated Yangzhou Governor Liu Yao, Kuaiji Prefect Wang Lang, and Wujun Prefect Yan Baihu, and unified Jiangdong!
Right now, Sun Ce actually wants to lead his troops to attack Jingzhou... If this continues, I'm afraid Yuan Shu himself will not be able to suppress this young tiger.

"Wenyou, how do you think we should deal with this?"

Yuan Shu asked Li Ru again and threw this difficult question to him.

Li Ru's complexion is much better now. Because he has been too comfortable with Yuan Shu, he has gained some fat around his waist and his cheeks are no longer dry. He looks amiable and friendly.

When Li Ru heard Yuan Shu's question, his mind became active.

Persuade Yuan Shu not to attack Jingzhou?

That's definitely not possible.

Sun Ce was right. The sudden division of Jingzhou was a great opportunity for Yuan Shu.

After that, no matter whether the imperial court occupied Jingzhou or Cao Cao occupied Jingzhou, Yuan Shu was afraid that he would never have the opportunity to get involved in Jingzhou again.

Li Ru's advice to Yuan Shu not to attack Jingzhou at this time would undoubtedly make Yuan Shu suspicious of him.

But if Yuan Shu really captured Jingzhou, what would the court do?
Li Ru thought about the young emperor in the Weiyang Palace, then looked at Yuan Shu and shook his head slightly.

He didn't dare to conclude who the winner was.

But he could tell who the losers were.

Yuan Shu, no!
At this time, Yuan Shu noticed that Li Ru shook his head and one of his eyelids lifted: "Wen You think we shouldn't attack Jingzhou?"

"it's not true."

"Jingzhou is located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. It controls the waterway and is the gateway to Yangzhou. We must not give it to others."

"I was just wondering whether I should let General Sun lead the troops to attack Jingzhou."

Li Ru's answer clearly touched Yuan Shu's heart once again, making him feel comfortable again. "Go on."

"I think we can order General Sun to attack Jingzhou!"

This time, Yuan Shu was obviously dissatisfied with the answer again: "Why?"

Sun Ce is to Yuan Shu as Cao Cao is to Yuan Shao.

Their power is already large enough.

If we capture Jingzhou again, who will be the master?

"Don't worry, General."

Li Ru is neither arrogant nor impatient.

"General Sun is brave after all. Jiangxia is well-known for being easy to defend but difficult to attack. If we don't send a brave general, we may end up with nothing."

"Now that General Hou has sent General Ji Ling to attack Xuzhou, who else can replace General Sun Ce to attack Jingzhou?"

"Besides, General Sun Ce already had a grudge against Huang Zu, who was guarding Jiangxia, for killing his father. Isn't it a good idea for the general to send General Sun Ce there?"

Li Ru persuaded him earnestly: "But I have heard that General Sun Ce is a filial son. Since he is leading the army outside, there must be no one to take care of his mother at home. It would be better to borrow his mother, Madam Wu, and his brothers to Shouchun. This way, General Sun Ce can also relieve his worries!"

Yuan Shu’s eyes lit up!
He naturally understood the hidden meaning of Li Ru's words.

Helping with support is fake, taking the opportunity to control is real.

The reason why Sun Ce could have so much fun outside was that all the clan forces followed Sun Ce to Jiangdong.

If we could bring his mother and brother back to Shouchun, we would naturally have the means to control Sun Ce!
"Wenyou is right..."

Just as Yuan Shu was about to agree, someone immediately stood up and rebuked him: "This plan is too vicious!"

It was Yuan Shu's chief clerk, Yan Xiang.

Although Yan Xiang is weak, he has a righteous look on his face.

"Have you forgotten what you promised Madam Sun Jian?"

When Yuan Shu heard this, he felt a little embarrassed.

Since Sun Jian's death, his family has actually been staying in Shouchun.

It was not until Yuan Shu forced Madam Wu to take the imperial seal from her that he allowed her to return to Jiangdong. (Note 1)

Now that he has obtained the imperial seal, he is using this method to force Sun Ce to return Madam Wu. This is really not a gentleman's behavior!
"Besides!"

Yan Xiang's voice is even louder -

"General Hou has already decided to follow the imperial order and go north to attack Yuan Shao and Cao Cao! But now he turns around to attack Jiangxia, which is controlled by the imperial court. Isn't this a betrayal?"

"If you act like this, General Hou, aren't you afraid that people will poke you in the back and call you a dishonest person and a rat from Jiangdong?"

In dealing with people, trust and integrity come first!
He promised to let Sun Jian's wife go, but now he wants to use her to control Sun Ce. How can he convince the people with such behavior?
He promised the court to join forces to attack Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, but now he is forsaking his loyalty for the sake of profit. Seeing the unrest in Jingzhou, he wants to lead his troops to attack Jiangxia. How can such behavior not disgust the princes! It will be a disgrace to future generations!
Therefore, Yan Xiang petitions:

"I hope the rear general will not allow Sun Ce to engage in excessive military campaigns, but only station troops for defense!"

"Sun Ce is a man who hates evil. Although his conquest of Jiangdong was as swift as the wind and as aggressive as fire, it also angered most of the scholars in Jiangdong. Therefore, I ask the general to send someone to appease them and not to cause the people of Jiangdong to boil over!"

……

Li Ru turned sideways and looked at Yan Xiang, with admiration in his eyes.

Yan Xiang is a man who is both talented and far-sighted.

Today, Yuan Shu’s power is far less than that of the imperial court, Yuan Shao, and Cao Cao, so he must not offend both parties at the same time and put himself in an isolated and helpless situation.

Also.

Yan Xiang also saw through Sun Ce's weakness, which was that although he was fierce in fighting, he did not know how to appease the Jiangdong families.

As long as Yuan Shu could send people to appease and reach a consensus with the Jiangdong families, he could easily undermine Sun Ce's foundation and prevent Sun Ce from becoming too powerful to be eliminated.

If Sun Ce rebelled against Yuan Shu one day, the division of Jingzhou would be his future fate.

This approach is indeed more clever than directly abducting Sun Ce's mother and clansmen.

but……

How could Li Ru let Yan Xiang succeed?
"Master Yan is wrong."

"The land of Jingzhou is a place that military strategists must fight for!"

"As the saying goes, all is fair in war. If we don't take this opportunity to fight for Jingzhou, I'm afraid it will only become more difficult in the future!"

"As for Sun Ce... Ha! He was originally a subordinate of the rear general! If he hadn't been raised by the rear general, he would have had no one to rely on after his father died. How could he still be so powerful and influential?"

"We are only bringing his mother and relatives to Shouchun to provide for them. We are not going to take his mother's life! Why can't we do this?"

After hearing what Li Ru said, Yan Xiang finally couldn't bear it anymore -

"Li Ru! How dare you say something like taking someone's mother's life? Are you afraid that Sun Ce will resent the general? Or are you deliberately trying to sow discord between Sun Ce and the general?"

"Li Ru! What on earth are you thinking!!!"

------

Note 1:

When Yuan Shu was about to usurp the throne, he heard that Jian had obtained the imperial seal, so he arrested Jian's wife and took it away. —— Pei Songzhi's note to "Records of the Three Kingdoms, Volume 46, Book of Wu, and Biography of Sun Po Lu and the Rebels"

(End of this chapter)