Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

The atmosphere in the meeting hall was heated. Yuan Xi suddenly drew his sword, the cold light making his cheeks flush red. He said, "If father claims the title of king, I am willing to be the vanguard and flatten Xu City!" Yuan Shang knelt on one knee and said in a voice like a bell, "The Wuhuan cavalry has been reorganized. We only need father's order to make Cao Cao surrender!" The generals responded by drawing their swords one after another. The sound of armor clashing shook the roof beams.

Yuan Shao reclined on a jade-inlaid dragon couch, his gilded crown trembling with laughter. He gazed at the enthusiastic crowd of civil and military officials in the hall, and suddenly felt the wine on the table lose its flavor—compared to this tangible flattery, what was the empty title from the Xudu court worth? He reached out and pressed, and the clamor in the hall abruptly ceased. He said in a deep voice, "Prepare the nine gift ceremonial vessels immediately, and state this in the victory report..." His eyes paused as he glanced at Feng Ji, "It must be stated that I am the pillar of the Han Dynasty!"

Inside the conference hall, gilded dragon candlesticks flickered. As Tian Feng emerged from the crowd, his wide, dark sleeves swept the bamboo slips from the desk. He gazed at Yuan Shao, seated high in the main seat, and rapped his jade scepter with his powerful knuckles. "My Lord! The eldest son and General Yan Liang have been attacking Chang'an for over a month. Although victory reports reached Tongguan ten days ago, there has been no news since. If you rashly request a title now, and the situation in Chang'an deteriorates..." Even before he finished his words, the hall erupted in laughter.

Yuan Shao stroked his black armor and the gilded crown with a look of contempt: "Tian Beijia is too cautious! The military report states in black and white that our army broke through Tongguan in one day and laid siege to Chang'an in three days. The city will fall at any moment!" He suddenly slammed the table and stood up, causing the wine jar to overturn. The amber wine flowed like blood on the map. "Youzhou has been secured. Ju Yi's vanguard camp, Zhang He's halberd soldiers, and the Wuhuan cavalry are all ready for battle. Even if Chang'an suffers a setback, I will personally lead the troops westward. What fear do I have?"

Ju Su stepped forward, clutching the jade pendant at his waist. The soft jade color contrasted sharply with his solemn expression. "My lord, Chang'an is the throat of the world. Even if we capture it, we must leave a heavy garrison there. The Xiliang cavalry is valiant. Although Ma Chao is not in Chang'an, Li Ru is no ordinary man..." His exhortation was interrupted by Yuan Shang's sneer. The third young master stood with his sword, his deerskin boots rolling heavily over the blue bricks: "My father is a great man in the country. Why should a mere Ma Chao be mentioned?"

Yuan Shao looked at the indignant officials and generals in the hall, but his anger gradually subsided. Tian Feng's wisdom and Ju Su's prestige were both his arms in his fight for world domination. He raised his hand and pressed it lightly, and the noise in the hall receded like a tide: "That's all! Let's postpone the matter of becoming king for now." His eyes swept across Tian Feng's tense jawline, and he suddenly laughed out loud, the sound shaking the bronze bells on the beams. "When the news of victory from Chang'an arrives, I will let everyone in the world know - the king of this great Han Dynasty is named Yuan!"

Night fell over Yecheng, the lights above and below the high platform shimmering like an inverted galaxy. Yuan Shao, draped in the Nine-Chapter Mysterious Mist, sat at the head of the table. His desk was piled high with luminescent cups, tributes from the Western Regions. Amber wine shone with a honeyed halo under the candlelight. The steps were filled with civil and military officials, jade tablets and armor shimmering against each other. The sound of stringed instruments, mingled with the aroma of barbecue, filled the carved beams and painted buildings.

"Mingshang, your majesty is mighty!" Xu You stumbled forward, his crown askew, his madness undiminished. "This campaign of recruiting the Wuhuan cavalry is truly a groundbreaking feat! The three great truths must be revealed!" Before he had finished speaking, Guo Tu led the civil officials in a chorus of shouts, the sound shaking the snow from the eaves. The military commanders could no longer contain their excitement. Yan Rou drew his scimitar, dancing it in a brilliant arc across the banquet table. The blade's cleaving wind, carrying the aroma of wine, struck Yuan Shao in the face.

Brothers Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang pressed forward, carrying bronze wine jars. The fine wine within the jars splattered in tiny pieces of gold flakes as they poured out. "Father, drink this celebratory wine!" Yuan Shang's roar mingled with the rhythm of the jie drum. "When news of victory reaches us from Chang'an, I will lead the Wuhuan cavalry to crush Xu Du!" He raised the wine bowl high above his head, the wine dripping down his wrist armor and leaving dark red marks on the blue bricks.

Yuan Shao tilted his head back to quaff the wine, the pungent liquid mingling with the sweet aroma of honey bubbling in his throat. He gazed at the drunken courtiers below him, and suddenly felt that this feast, filled with clinking glasses, was even more intoxicating than the imperial edict. The musicians struck up new hujia tunes, and the dancers swung their golden bell belts, creating a crisp clatter. In a trance, he imagined his royal flags hoisted across the walls of Chang'an, and heard the roars of the princes bowing in obeisance.

Outside the hall, hurried footsteps suddenly approached, accompanied by the soft clatter of armor. Before the guards could announce anything, a servant stumbled into the hall, sending up a cloud of snow as he knelt. "My lord! A galloping horse is coming from the direction of Chang'an. Mr. Xin Ping... Mr. Xin Ping has returned in person!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall was filled with discussions. Xu You laughed while shaking his wine bottle: "It must be the news of the eldest son's victory in conquering Chang'an! If it wasn't such a great joy, why would Xin Zuozhi rush back overnight in the wind and snow?" Guo Tu clapped his hands in agreement, and the jade tablet hit the ground with a clear sound: "Exactly! General Yan Rou's cavalry is as fierce as a tiger, and Master Yuan Tan is a man of extraordinary strategy. Chang'an should have been named Yuan long ago!"

Yuan Shao leaned back on the Panlong couch, a smile growing brighter beneath his gilded crown. He took a sip from his luminous cup, watching the swaying wine reflect the fawning faces in the hall, and his heart surged with pride: "Alright! Send in Mr. Xin immediately! Today, we'll all drink this Chang'an celebratory wine!" Before he finished speaking, the 仞drums and stringed instruments roared again, as if celebrating a great victory that had yet to come.

The moment the palace door burst open, a biting cold wind, whirling snowflakes, rushed in. Xin Ping stumbled in, his usually neatly combed hair disheveled like grass. The dark red stains of clotted blood on his black official robes formed a terrifying contrast with his pale face. When he left the city a month ago, he had been a high-spirited strategist, chatting and jokingly plotting the conquest of Chang'an. Now, he looked like a ghost crawling out of a siege.

"Xin... Mr. Xin, what's going on..." Guo Tu's hand, holding the jade sceptre, froze in mid-air, his voice trembling unconsciously. Xu You's drunkenness suddenly dissipated, and he stared intently at the broken seal at Xin Ping's waist—a token of trust bestowed by Yuan Tan himself, now broken in two, dangling in the cold wind.

Yuan Shang's sword clattered to the ground, the resounding sound of metal falling to the ground resonating through the deadly silence of the hall. Yuan Shao's knuckles, gripping the luminous cup, suddenly turned pale. Wine dripped down the rim, leaving dark stains on the table with coiled dragon patterns. The ministers, who had been talking so pompously just moments ago, now stood frozen in place as if their bones had been pulled out, their fawning smiles frozen into comical masks.

"Impossible..." Ju Su staggered and held onto the pillar, his eyes full of disbelief.

Xin Ping kowtowed heavily, his forehead leaving a bloody mark on the blue bricks: "My lord! Our army... fell into Li Ru's treacherous scheme, and the 50,000-strong army was completely wiped out! The eldest son Yuan Tan and General Yan Liang were both captured alive!" Before he finished speaking, gasps were heard one after another in the hall.

The luminous cup in Yuan Shao's hand exploded with a bang, shattering jade-like fragments into his palm. Blood trickled down the gilded table. He violently overturned the table, sending a delicacies cascading to the ground. His roar shook the bronze bells in the beams. "How is this possible!" The warlord, his crown askew, stumbled and grasped the Panlong Pillar, his knuckles white from the exertion.

Xin Ping rested his forehead against the wine-soaked bricks, a strangled sob rising from his throat. "My Lord! It's absolutely true!" Before he could finish his words, Yuan Shao had already snatched up the bronze wine jug from the table and slammed it against the pillar. Gilded fragments flew everywhere, and as everyone stared in astonishment, he tore off his crooked crown, his hair standing on end in fury. "Yuan Tan! Yan Liang! Fifty thousand cavalrymen were completely annihilated, forced to surrender?! Their strategies are even worse than those of a three-year-old child!"

Xin Ping trembled all over as he poured out his tragic account of days of flight: "The arrogant soldiers advanced recklessly, fell into an ambush and were trapped... Li Ru lured our army deeper with a letter of surrender, and Tongguan changed hands twice. Soldiers..." His voice was shattered by Yuan Shao's roar: "Defeat is incompetence, and capture is a disgrace! The sons of the Yuan family should die on the battlefield, not beg for mercy!"

Yuan Shao staggered and kicked over the leftovers on the ground. His brocade robe embroidered with coiled dragons was stained with wine. He pointed at Xin Ping's nose and shouted, "Pass my order! If Yuan Tan and Yan Liang cannot commit suicide to show their resolve, I will kill their entire clan!" He gasped violently and beat his chest, "I, Yuan Shao, have been all over Hebei, but today I have become a laughing stock of the world because of such an idiot!" The green jade table shattered in his rage, and wood chips flew everywhere. All the civil and military officials in the hall knelt down like sieved chaff, not daring to look directly at their lord's face which was twisted like a ghost.

The atmosphere in the hall was frozen. Guo Tu suddenly stumbled to Yuan Shao's side, sweeping the mess on the ground with his wide sleeves: "My lord, calm down! The eldest son has always been calm and composed. This time he must have fallen into a conspiracy among treacherous schemes! Li Ru is a shrewd and calculating man. In the past, even the eighteen princes were toyed with by him. It's not that our army is incompetent!" He banged his forehead heavily on the blue bricks, his voice filled with tears, "Now that General Yuan Tan has escaped death, if we issue a killing order now, won't it chill the hearts of the soldiers?"

Xin Pi knelt and stepped forward, his jade sceptre clenched in his palms, sweat forming in his eyes. "My Lord! General Yan Liang is the bravest of the three armies. He was captured to protect his soldiers. Sparing these two lives, we may be able to join forces and recapture Chang'an one day!" He stole a glance at Yuan Shao's gloomy face and said anxiously, "Although 50,000 troops have been lost, the newly surrendered Wuhuan cavalry in Youzhou have not yet been deployed. If we regroup and fight again now, we will surely avenge our previous defeat!"

Wen Chou's towering figure sank to his knees, the sword at his waist clanging with a dull thud. This usually silent warrior's eyes were red, and his voice was hoarse as a broken gong: "My lord! Yan Liang and I are sworn brothers. He is definitely not a coward! If he truly has second thoughts, I, Wen Chou, will be the first to take his head! But I beg you, my lord, to consider his service to you for over a decade and allow him to redeem himself for meritorious service!" He kowtowed heavily, blood oozing from his forehead.

Yuan Shao's chest, which had been heaving violently, gradually calmed, his bloodstained fingers clutching the hem of his brocade robe tightly. He glanced at the three weeping ministers below him, and a beast-like growl emanated from his throat: "For now, spare their lives!"

Yuan Shao's pacing figure suddenly froze, his pupils constricting beneath his gilded crown—a detail he'd overlooked in his rage, like a poisoned arrow, now piercing the back of his neck. He spun abruptly, the hem of his robe sweeping up the scattered food, setting the bells in the corridor ringing. "Wait! Fifty thousand troops were annihilated, and only you, Xin Ping, escaped?"

The temperature in the hall plummeted. Guo Tu's exhortation, raised in the air, froze at his lips, and Wen Chou's clenched fist trembled slightly. Xin Ping's pale face instantly lost its color. As he knelt backward, he knocked over a wine cup, and the wine splattered across the blue bricks, forming blood-stain-like streaks.

Xin Ping's back instantly arched, his Adam's apple rolling up and down with difficulty. Yuan Shao's icy questioning fell like a hammer, the gazes of the civil and military officials in the hall piercing the back of his neck like sharp blades. His knees buckled, and he stumbled forward half an inch. "My lord..." His voice was hoarse, as if someone was strangling him.