Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 340: Yuan Family Suspicion
Zhang Yan finally entered Guanzhong with the title of General of the Western Expedition and 200,000 households of the Yellow Emperor's people, and joined Yang Feng in Hongnong!
In terms of quantity, the number of "immigrants" brought by Zhang Yan exceeded the remaining population in Guanzhong!
Of course, the Huang Tian people brought by Zhang Yan had an average of only four people per household, which was significantly lower than the five people in the Central Plains. Because of their long-term displacement, one can imagine the number of elderly people... very few.
After accepting Sima Yi's advice, the speed at which the Huang emperor's people dispersed slowed down. Although there were still a few who lost contact, Zhang Yan did not take it too seriously and just thought they were being instigated to rebel.
On the contrary, after reading the intelligence Zhang Yan gave him, Sima Yi's mind emerged with the map of this route and the routes of each unit. After comprehensive analysis... he felt a little worried about the missing unit!
"Young sir, there's no need to look. You've made a great contribution to our entry into Guanzhong this time! Come on, Yu Du, carry the young sir with you, and let's go have a drink!" Zhang Yan waved his hand, interrupting Sima Yi's thoughts.
"I'm not feeling well, drinking or..." Sima Yi's mouth trembled, cursing inwardly: I have rheumatism, rheumatism! You still want me to drink? Are you afraid that I won't die?
"That's wrong! As the saying goes, if you suffer from rheumatism, you can get out of bed and walk after drinking! Hahaha, if you drink today, you may be cured tomorrow! Come on, come on, carry the young master up!" Zhang Yan patted Sima Yi on the shoulder and asked someone to take him to the banquet without saying anything.
Sima Yi: ...
And in Henei County, near Huainei County of Yanzhou, the "Yellow Turban Army" led by Qu Yi has been lurking there!
That's right. When Cao Cao was not on guard against the Black Mountain Army, Qu Yi, acting as a substitute for the Black Mountain remnant, had already made a big circle from Hebei and was about to reach Xinzheng, which was only a hundred miles away from Xuchang!
Previously, because it was predicted that the Black Mountain Army would not dare to attack the city by force, the Prime Minister's Office was negligent in guarding against the Black Mountain Army's transit, so Qu Yi's actions were not discovered. Xinzheng was the bottom line of the Prime Minister's Office in the west.
"General Tao, we will attack Xinzheng tomorrow, and your Yellow Turban Army will be required to fight for their lives... After the mission is accomplished, it won't be a problem for you to confer titles on your wife and children!" Xu You said to Tao Sheng.
Tao Sheng, a guy whose name suggests he has a strong desire to survive, was also the commander of the Black Mountain Army not long ago.
He was originally a minor official in Weijun and Neihuang County. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he also raised the banner of rebellion. Later, he participated in Zhang Niujiao's Black Mountain Alliance and became one of the leaders of the Black Mountain Army.
In history when there was no White Rabbit Effect, shortly before Lu Bu was expelled from Yanzhou, the Black Mountain Army was at its most glorious time. They joined forces with the rebels in Weijun and destroyed the base camp of Yuan Shao, who had just occupied Jizhou - they broke through Yecheng!
Of course, it was only a brief attack and failed to occupy the city. Yuan Shao soon came back and beat them up. At the same time, when Lu Bu first left Yanzhou, he stayed briefly under Yuan Shao's command. At that time, Lu Bu also played a big role in defeating the Black Mountain Army.
During this period... Tao Sheng of the Black Mountain Army, with a strong desire to survive, turned against Yuan Shao and protected Yuan's family and escaped after the capture of Ye City. After Yuan Shao fought back, Tao Sheng not only successfully cleared his name, but was also named General of Jianyi by Yuan Shao.
However, according to Bai Tu's understanding, in the Cheng Ji world, the Black Mountain Army did not perform so bravely, and he didn't know how he pricked up his ear to cause the storm... Logically, Bai Tu had just traveled through time and the impact should have been small, but he didn't know how he changed the situation in Jizhou.
But Tao Sheng was still the same Tao Sheng. After Qu Yi expressed goodwill to him on behalf of Yuan Shao, he immediately began to cooperate with Qu Yi's actions!
Previously, Qu Yi was defeated by Zhao Yun's Mandarin Duck Formation in Nanyang. When he was defeated at Tongbai Mountain, he barely escaped with the remaining hundred or so halberd soldiers.
However, when he returned to Hebei, Yuan Shao had already been defeated at Bai Ma, and he was so angry that he fell ill in Yecheng...
The situation in Yecheng is now also very "delicate".
Originally, when Yuan Shao was on his southern expedition, the Yecheng base camp was left to Feng Ji to guard - from this choice of person, it can be seen that Yuan Shao was biased towards Yuan Shang at the time.
Before Yuan Shao's southern expedition, the seven best advisers under his command were Tian Feng, Xu You, Ju Su, Feng Ji, Shen Pei, Guo Tu and Xin Ping. Among them, Tian Feng, Xu You and Ju Su did not have a clear side. Tian Feng was a upright gentleman with a strong and upright character. He disdained to do these things, but because he was a gentleman, he naturally supported the eldest son. Xu You thought that he was Yuan Shao's old friend, and Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang were both his nephews and nephews. Ju Su was also an honest man.
Feng Ji and Shen Pei were from Yuan Shang’s faction, while Guo Tu and Xin Ping were from Yuan Tan’s faction…
Historically, Yuan Shao entrusted Yecheng to Shen Pei, and "this time" it was entrusted to Feng Ji - both were Yuan Shang's men!
So historically, after Yuan Shao died in the Battle of Guandu, although Yuan Shang was the youngest son, he naturally became the first heir. Yuan Tan had to depend on Yuan Shang at the beginning because most of Qingzhou had been lost.
In history books, it is generally believed that it was Feng Ji and Shen Pei who forced Yuan Shang to succeed to the throne. After all, Yuan Shao died too quickly, and it was not clear who the heir was before. Moreover, Yuan Shao, who was so ambitious at the time, would not have thought that his "heir" would be used so soon...
In theory, Yuan Tan's status as the eldest son was not abolished. However, Feng Ji and Shen Pei were worried that Guo Tu and Xin Ping would be at odds with them and that they would be held accountable later, so they forced Yuan Shang to be the heir.
After all, Yecheng was guarded by Shen Pei, and Yuan Tan's old nest Qingzhou had been lost...
However, Yuan Shao did not die, but Yuan Shang died instead. Shen Pei and Feng Ji felt quite frustrated at this time, but Guo Tu and Xin Ping were "elated".
The latter was still holding back a little and was still troubled by Cao Cao, while Guo Tu had already unilaterally declared "victory" - it didn't matter if he lost in the front, at least he would win a great victory "in the back"!
As for Tian Feng, Xu You and Ju Su, these three were once Yuan Shao's real core aides, but their fates were different at this time.
Before the war, the three men each "sold" their own major policies to Yuan Shao. Tian Feng believed that there was no rush to fight, but that they should take advantage of Hebei's vast territory and abundant resources, gather strength, and wait for Cao Cao and Liu Bei to create chaos on their own!
Tian Feng believed that the strength of the four states of Qing, Ji, You and Bing was stronger than the three states of Yan, Yu and Xu, and that the alliance between Cao Cao and Liu Bei would not last long. As long as it dragged on, Yuan Shao would win without winning.
This idea coincided with that of Cao Cao's staff. Indeed, the counselors in the Prime Minister's Office also tended to believe that it was better to fight early than late. The longer the battle was delayed, the greater the score gap would be...
Ju Shou and Xu You were both hawks, but the former believed that the Central Plains should be gradually disintegrated by the "nibbling tactics", while the latter suggested that Yuan Shao delay Liu Bei in Qingzhou, and then the main force would head all the way to Xu Du and cooperate with a small force to launch a surprise attack.
Yuan Shao finally decided to launch a frontal attack, but he did not adopt Ju Shou and Xu You's suggestions on tactics...
Guo Tu timely proposed the tactic of suppressing the enemy with a large army and achieving victory in one battle, which was well received by Yuan Shao.
This is also the reason why Yuan Shao had so many advisers but they always came up with bad ideas - in essence, Yuan Shao was just following the "calling" of his heart, and he would accept the advice of whoever said what he wanted most!
The core operating mechanism of Yuan Shao's staff has always been "the lord is good at accepting advice when opinions are unanimous" and "the lord makes decisions on his own when opinions are inconsistent"... Fortunately, he has enough advisers and a smart guy like Guo Tu, so he can maintain his image of being "good at accepting advice."
Xu You and others had already adapted to it, but Tian Feng was stubborn. As a result, after a tit-for-tat confrontation, he was imprisoned by Yuan Shao!
Yuan Shao was not magnanimous, he just liked to show his magnanimity. If Yuan Shao returned triumphantly now, he would definitely release Tian Feng, and even pat him on the shoulder and say a few words like "I like people like you who dare to talk back", "Keep up the good work in the future", "Don't be afraid of saying mistakes, it's normal that you are not as wise as me".
However, after losing the battle, Yuan Shao felt uncomfortable!
In history, it was Feng Ji who slandered Tian Feng, saying that after hearing the news of the defeat, he almost died of laughter in prison...
When Yuan Shao found out, he ordered him to be beheaded while he was ill.
But the situation is different now. Feng Ji originally framed Tian Feng simply because Tian Feng was too stubborn. Although he did not take sides, he always claimed to be a gentleman. He and Shen Pei wanted to support Yuan Shang, who was not the eldest son, to succeed to the throne, and did not want Tian Feng to hinder his release from prison.
However, now that Yuan Shang is dead, Feng Ji and Shen Pei are in a constant state of panic. Naturally, they dare not offend Tian Feng again, and even say a few good words to him.
Although Yuan Shao did not want to see Tian Feng, as he always felt that this guy was laughing at him, he also did not want to ruin his reputation, so he sent Tian Feng to Liaoxi to stop Gongsun Du - seeing that he had been defeated and had obtained a new batch of soldiers and armor, Gongsun Du wanted to cross the eastern part of Liaoxi and advance to the western part of Liaoxi.
Yuan Shao also didn't want to meet Ju Shou and Xu You. After all, he didn't adopt their suggestions on tactics and ended up losing.
Tian Feng's ridicule was imagined by Yuan Shao, but Xu You's ridicule was real !
Ju Su was an honest man, but as Yuan Shao's health deteriorated, his mind became increasingly unclear and he became more and more concerned about his reputation.
I prefer to listen to Guo Tu's talk every day. He speaks nicely and always to my liking...
Guo Tu not only had "happiness" written on his face day after day , but also instigated Yuan Tan to liquidate Feng Ji and Shen Pei who supported Yuan Shang!
Normally, Xu You treated Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan as his "eldest nephews" and never took sides with them. However, when he was following the army on the southern expedition, something happened that made him extremely unhappy.
That was in Yecheng, members of the Xu family were imprisoned by Feng Ji because of some "minor problems" - nothing more than lending money at high interest rates and forcing people to sell their children!
Feng Ji is not completely without merits, at least he is fair in this respect...
In the original historical line, Xu You went to plead with Yuan Shao, but after being rejected, he simply surrendered to his other old friend Cao Cao, which directly affected the outcome of the Battle of Guandu!
However, due to the white rabbit effect, Yuan Shao was defeated before Xu You even knew the news...
Guo Tu also seized this opportunity. Before, he and Xu You were just competing for favor, and Feng Ji and Shen Pei were his biggest enemies. Now that Yuan Shang was dead, in order to give Yuan Shang a good fight, Guo Tu took the initiative to show goodwill to Xu You. The two of them joined forces to put pressure on Feng Ji to release the people as soon as possible.
Xu You naturally would not refuse. The two of them were more arrogant than each other and put pressure on Feng Ji from all sides.
Feng Ji was now poor and had low aspirations. When he returned home at night, he drank cup after cup of bitter wine, thinking about Guo Tu's character, the conflict between the two of them, and that he had offended Xu You this time...
For a moment, Feng Ji felt that he would not live long!
Just at this time Shen Pei also came to find him. The two of them actually had some minor disagreements in the past, but they were both on Yuan Shang's boat to begin with, and now they were even more like grasshoppers on the same string.
How could Shen Pei not know that Guo Tu was already sharpening his knife?
After hearing about Feng Ji's recent experience, Shen Pei knew that he couldn't just sit there and wait for death...
One person's plan is short, two people's plan is long... They really came up with an idea!
Taking advantage of Guo Tu and Xu You, he forced Feng Ji to release the people. The next day... Feng Ji not only did not resist, but released the people with great fanfare. He even bowed and apologized to Xu You's family at the gate of the government office, as if he were Xu's servant.
When they thought about how this "dog official" had dared to arrest them before, but now he was apologizing to them with his tail between his legs, the people of the Xu family became more and more arrogant...
Feng Ji and Shen Pei secretly sent people to spread the news in Yecheng. Feng Ji even went so far as to defame himself, portraying himself as a cowardly "dog official" in the rumors.
Of course, the main purpose is to depict how arrogant Guo Tu was because he had Yuan Tan's support, and to imply that it was Yuan Tan who was trying to win over Xu You!
It is somewhat difficult for others to arouse public indignation, but for Feng Ji, who is still in charge of the government of Yecheng, isn't it easy for him to arouse public indignation against himself?
And "just happened" to reveal this to Ju Shou...
Ju Su didn't think much about it. Seeing that the people in Yecheng were in turmoil, he immediately went to Yuan Shao to report the matter.
Although Yuan Shao was seriously ill and confused, he still called Feng Ji and Guo Tu when he heard about this.
Feng Ji naturally seized this opportunity, almost hugging Yuan Shao's thigh and crying, but he did not cry out for injustice, but wanted to hand over the token Yuan Shao gave him, and strongly recommended Guo Tu and Xu You...
At first, Guo Tu thought that Feng Ji was being cowardly, but... when he noticed that Yuan Shao's expression was becoming more and more wrong, his heart suddenly skipped a beat!
That’s right, Yuan Shao is very angry now.
Originally, the death of Yuan Shang dealt him a great blow, but since he was dead, Yuan Shao could no longer think of deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son. Although Yuan Tan also suffered a defeat in Qingzhou, he was increasingly valued, especially now that Yuan Shao was seriously ill, and the military power of Jizhou was gradually transferred to him.
Yuan Shao even felt a little fortunate that Qingzhou was also defeated, otherwise where would his father's face be?
But what is happening now?
I'm not dead yet, are you guys just pretending I don't exist?
How dare you collude with Xu You and do this under my nose?
Whether Xu You's family is pardoned or not is not the point. The point is... what do you want to do by winning over Xu You? Can't wait?
When he thought of this, Yuan Shao's body trembled and his eyes widened, and Wang Ba... no, it was a surge of evil energy... and he almost passed out.
Jiang Feng Ji was scared half to death. If Yuan Shao turned his back now, he would be buried with him.
But in the end, Yuan Shao still stubbornly took on the blame. On the one hand, he forbade Yuan Tan, who was gathering the military power of Jizhou and resisting Cao Cao's northward advance, to return to Yecheng. On the other hand, he handed over the military power of Yecheng to Shen Pei and Ju Su, and at the same time asked Guo Tu to go home and "repent under house arrest."
It was at this time that Qu Yi finally returned to the greatly changed Yecheng...
With the little bit of rationality left in Yuan Shao's mind, he felt that Xu You was still more useful than Guo Tu. However, he was worried about leaving Xu You in Yecheng, so... Yuan Shao thought, wasn't Xu You planning to launch a surprise attack on Xu Du?
Go! Go quickly!
It just so happens that Qu Yi has returned, so the two of you should go and launch a surprise attack on Xu Du. Don’t stay in Yecheng!
