The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 61: Liu Bei's side is full of experts; Yuan Tan's petty tricks are useless.

While Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong were discussing how to get Yuan Shao to also sign the "handover order" as a "friendly gift," Liu Bei and Yuan Tan also reached a preliminary agreement.

Liu Bei promised to support Yuan Tan in taking control of the Yuan family.

Yuan Tan promised to assist Liu Bei in establishing himself in Youzhou.

As to how long this preliminary agreement could last, neither Liu Bei nor Yuan Tan discussed it.

They can come together for profit, and they can also separate for profit.

But at least for now, Liu Bei and Yuan Tan can work together for mutual benefit.

After discussing with Pang Tong, Zhuge Liang approached Yuan Tan and suggested that they temporarily enter Pingyuan and let the people who had traveled north stay there for a year so that they could adapt to the climate and soil of Hebei.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Tan immediately had an idea and offered his support: "If General Zuo does not mind, he may temporarily serve as the Chancellor of Pingyuan."

If the initial agreement with Liu Bei was merely verbal, then having Liu Bei temporarily assume the position of Chancellor of Pingyuan is a practical matter.

Firstly, Pingyuan State was subordinate to Yuan Tan, and Liu Bei's temporary rule over Pingyuan was tantamount to directly siding with Yuan Tan.

Both were located in Pingyuan, which bordered the Yellow River. Liu Bei's temporary appointment as the Chancellor of Pingyuan was also a way to intimidate Cao Cao.

Liu Bei did not answer immediately, but looked at Zhuge Liang instead.

Zhuge Liang understood and said, "General Zuo is a guest in Pingyuan. As a guest, you should follow the host's lead and you will be safe and sound. However, if you temporarily take over as the Chancellor of Pingyuan, you will surely arouse suspicion."

Yuan Tan raised his voice: "With Tan as guarantor, who would dare to doubt General Zuo?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yuan Tan understood Zhuge Liang's veiled meaning and said, "The counties of Qingzhou were all conquered by me. As for who I should temporarily replace in Pingyuan County, even Yuan Shang cannot interfere."

Liu Bei sighed, “How can I let Governor Yuan suffer because of my own sake? Even if Governor Yuan really wants me to temporarily take over as Chancellor of Pingyuan, it should be decided by the General.”

Liu Bei emphasized the words "Great General".

The implication was that Yuan Tan could not control Yuan Shang, but Yuan Shao would not. He could compete with Yuan Shang, but not with Yuan Shao.

"Once I meet the General, I will personally recommend the Left General for the position of Chancellor of Pingyuan!" Yuan Tan assured Liu Bei.

Liu Bei replied, "If the General agrees, I can temporarily serve as the Chancellor of Pingyuan for one year. After one year, I will still have to return to Zhuojun."

Yuan Tan was overjoyed.

Although a year is not a long time, Yuan Tan did not really intend for Liu Bei to stay in Pingyuan for an extended period.

If Liu Bei had remained in Pingyuan, it would have been uncertain whether Pingyuan would have belonged to Liu Bei or Yuan Tan.

As for Zhuojun, that was Yuan Xi's territory.

Yuan Xi always followed Yuan Shang's lead, and Youzhou was essentially Yuan Shang's territory.

Using Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang's territory to curry favor with Yuan Tan is a very worthwhile deal!
is the day.

Yuan Tan held a grand banquet in Zhuxu City to entertain Liu Bei and his entourage, and also distributed soup and food to tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians who had followed Liu Bei northward, showing great courtesy.

The banquet ended.

Yuan Tan then sent his trusted confidant Hua Yan to Pingyuan to settle matters and ensure that Liu Bei felt the "warmth" of the officials and people of Pingyuan.

This move puzzled Hua Yan: "My lord, General Zuo has always been good at winning people's hearts. It is not appropriate to let General Zuo temporarily act as the chancellor of Pingyuan."

Yuan Tan smiled confidently: "I know it's not a good idea. But I'm only letting General Zuo temporarily serve in Pingyuan for a year. How can the officials and people of Pingyuan be won over by General Zuo?"

"A year is enough time for me to build up enough momentum to make Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi mistakenly believe that I have the support of the Left General. At that time, Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi will definitely make secret promises to the Left General in order to make me lose the Left General's support."

"As for me, I can petition the Grand General to appoint the Left General as the Governor of Zhuojun; Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi believe that since the Left General has kept his promise, he will certainly not object."

"In this way, General Zuo will be grateful for my favor and will be able to leave Pingyuan to try to win over the officials and people under Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi. Why wouldn't I be happy to do so?"

Hua Yan suddenly realized, and said obsequiously, "Your Excellency's wisdom and strategy are unparalleled, I admire you greatly!"

Yuan Tan laughed loudly, then sternly warned, "Go to Pingyuan State immediately, and don't let anyone offend the Left General. Anyone who ruins my grand plan will be executed without mercy!" Meanwhile...

Liu Bei was also delighted.

The plan to transit through Pingyuan before heading to Zhuojun was something Zhuge Liang had already discussed with Liu Bei. Therefore, Liu Bei did not discuss any practical benefits when he initially made an agreement with Yuan Tan.

Zhuge Liang asked Pang Tong this question so that Pang Tong could identify and fill in any gaps in his knowledge.

Being cautious is always the right thing to do.

"Just as the strategist predicted, Yuan Tan couldn't hold back and actually asked me to temporarily take over as the chancellor of Pingyuan."

Despite his joy, Liu Bei also felt a pang of regret.

"Unfortunately, Yuan Tan was not Yuan Shao's adopted son after all. No matter how much trouble he caused, he could not gain Yuan Shao's favor. On the contrary, he would be suspected by Yuan Shao because of this."

After Yuan Tan was adopted by Yuan Shao's elder brother as his heir, Yuan Tan lost his eligibility to inherit Yuan Shao's legacy.

The reason Yuan Tan still carries some weight in his words is entirely due to his military achievements in defeating Tian Kai in the north of Qingzhou, attacking Kong Rong in the east, and deploying troops to the coastal areas.

Even so, there were very few aristocratic families, civil and military officials, and generals who were interested in Yuan Tan.

This was also one of the reasons why Liu Bei did not immediately agree to temporarily assume the position of Chancellor of Pingyuan.

Even if he were to temporarily assume the position of Chancellor of Pingyuan, Yuan Shao would still need to make the promise.

Liu Bei had his reasons for temporarily assuming the position for a year.

Yuan Tan's goal was not to actually make Liu Bei the Chancellor of Pingyuan, but to create a false impression that Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi believed Liu Bei supported Yuan Tan.

Yuan Tan himself doesn't have much territory!
If the plains were truly given to Liu Bei, it would be tantamount to cutting off Yuan Tan's wings.

An eagle without wings, no matter how much it aspires to soar through the sky, can only stare blankly.

Temporarily assuming the position for a year would allow Yuan Tan to understand that Liu Bei did not intend to forcibly seize Pingyuan.

Yuan Tan, who understood that Liu Bei did not want to seize Pingyuan Kingdom, would definitely encourage Liu Bei to establish himself in Youzhou.

after all.

Since Liu Bei cannot go to Youzhou, he will have to stay in Pingyuan for a long time.

Since Liu Bei was staying in Pingyuan, Yuan Tan couldn't very well ask Liu Bei to "voluntarily resign"!
For Liu Bei, resigning voluntarily wouldn't be a big loss, but Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi would be overjoyed.

Adding flowers to brocade is not as useful as providing charcoal in the snow.

Imagine: Would a "Left General" who was abandoned by Yuan Tan still support Yuan Tan after being won over by Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi?

Absolutely impossible!
When Liu Bei led tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, along with over seven thousand volumes of books, into Yuan Tan's territory, Yuan Tan had already fallen into a trap.

Although Yuan Tan was somewhat clever, Liu Bei's side consisted of highly skilled individuals.

In the presence of a true master, petty cleverness is utterly ineffective.

"Next, we'll see if Yuan Shao can overpower Cao Cao in the Battle of Baima."

"If Yuan Shao is able to overpower Cao Cao, he will not take the arrival of General Zuo seriously; if he is unable to overpower Cao Cao, Yuan Shao will definitely come to welcome General Zuo in person."

Zhuge Liang's eyes were piercing.

Another deeper meaning behind entering the plains for transit is that Zhuge Liang was waiting to see the outcome of the Battle of Baima.

If Cao Cao wins the Battle of Baima, the original plan will proceed as scheduled.

If Cao Cao loses the Battle of Baima, the plan will have to be changed.

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(End of this chapter)