Chapter 351 Yuan Shao's Response
Even though Yuan Shao was informed by his subordinates shortly after he woke up that the previous letter had been delayed in delivery, it did not affect him at all and he still maintained the idea of inviting Cao Cao to Yecheng for a meeting to reach an alliance.
No matter how much Liu Bei could not compare with him in terms of the number of civil and military officials, he was definitely not like Gongsun Zan who only had brute force but a lack of talented people under him.
Yuan Shao had witnessed with his own eyes what abilities Guan Yu and Zhang Fei possessed during the Battle of Hulao Pass.
He had to admit it even if he didn't want to, that these two were rare and powerful generals in the world.
And Liu Bei himself was by no means mediocre.
He was able to get a ticket to officialdom with his military exploits during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and took advantage of the campaign against Yuan Shu to gain a foothold in Pei State in Yuzhou. He also received such a special "investment" during the turmoil in Xuzhou, and since then he has been entitled to the title of governor of a province. If Yuan Shao were in his position, he might not be able to do so.
The advisers under his command might not be composed of various aristocratic forces like Yuan Shao's, but from the moment Liu Bei was welcomed into Xuzhou by Chen Deng, his interests were tied together with those of the Xuzhou scholars. These people would certainly plan for him with all their heart and soul to ensure that he could secure his position as the governor of Xuzhou.
Among these people, whether it is Zhao Yu, Wang Lang, Chen Deng or Chen Gui, they would not appear too inferior if placed in Yuan Shao's own team of advisers.
But even such a Liu Bei, as Qiao Yan personally went to Yangzhou and then went north to Xuzhou, did not even get a chance to turn the tables after the defeat. He was directly driven to the bottom of the valley, and all three fronts were defeated. He ended up being imprisoned and about to die.
If this was the result of the battle with the combined efforts of all the forces in Jingzhou, Yangzhou and southern Xuzhou, plus the soldiers brought by Qiao Yan from Luoyang, Yuan Shao might have felt better, but this was not the case.
Yuan Shao knew that Liu Biao in Jingzhou was quite capable. He might support Qiao Yan because of her strength, but the aristocratic families in Jingzhou would never let Liu Biao lend too many of their private soldiers to prevent the clan bandits in southern Jingzhou from causing trouble for them.
Sun Ce of Yangzhou had just passed away. Not only could he not provide any support to Qiao Yan with his extraordinary military talent, but he would become a hindrance to her at this time.
But these two points did not prevent Qiao Yan from completing the siege and killing of Liu Bei.
Even before Yuan Shao had time to rescue him, the war was already over.
How could Yuan Shao accept this!
Liu Bei's today may very likely be his tomorrow.
Unite, must unite!
"Draft a letter to Cao Mengde for me." Yuan Shao sat up with the help of Yuan Shang, and said to his subordinates who rushed here again after hearing the news of his awakening.
Xu You and Xin Ping exchanged glances.
"What are you two doing standing there like idiots?" Yuan Shao noticed this little action and immediately said angrily.
Xu You hesitated and said, "I was wondering if you want to make some preparations."
Seeing that Yuan Shao was listening, Xu You said, "After all, Cao Mengde and Qiao Yeshu have a close relationship. Xuzhou has just undergone a change, and you have not even made any moves yet, but you have already... decided to join forces with him and use the strength of the four states to counterattack him. The momentum of the alliance has already been weakened a bit."
"But I still haven't figured out why Cao Mengde has reached various deals with Bingzhou and sent his son to study at Leping Academy, while still standing on our side and being an enemy of Qiao Yeshu. His attitude is too ambiguous, which is not a good thing."
"Mingsir, let me put it bluntly. You cannot be sure that if we form an alliance with Cao Mengde at this time and are forced to make concessions to him due to the situation, he will not accept Qiao Yeshu's solicitation in private and deal you a fatal blow at some crucial moment."
"He is not you. He does not have the position to preside over the debate between the princes and can walk away at any time. Over the past few years, Yanzhou has been gradually managed by him into an iron plate. Even if there are still a few families who wrote to you at one time and obviously have conflicts with him, they can never be his opponent. The title of Yanzhou Mu no longer relies on the imperial decree of the Yecheng court."
"If you can't gain the upper hand in this alliance, you will be in a disadvantageous situation before you even start fighting with Qiao Yeshu."
When Xu You was halfway through his speech, Yuan Shao's face already looked a little ugly.
If he had not been hit by more devastating news before, he really couldn't guarantee that he would not faint again when faced with the possibility described by Xu You.
He hesitated and asked, "Then according to what you just said, what should I do now?"
Xu You replied: "During your illness, news came from Yangzhou, proving that Sun Bofu's death was not fabricated by the messenger intercepted by Liu Xuande, but was a real event."
Yuan Shao said: "So what? I already know."
Xu You: "This shows that Yangzhou has indeed become no longer a solid block because of Sun Ce's death. In order to win the opportunity to march north without worries, Qiao Yeshu first risked her life to personally lead an expedition against Zu Lang and defeated the Shanyue tribe in Danyang. She then detained all the four Wujun families who were related to Sun Bofu's death. These two actions seemed to have temporarily won her the support of Sun Bofu's subordinates, but at the same time they also planted many hidden dangers, especially the latter."
Hearing this, Yuan Shao's expression relaxed a lot.
Xu You continued, "If Yangzhou is due to the conflict between the Shanyue and the aristocratic families, which may make her lose her advantage here overnight, Xuzhou is due to Liu Xuande, which may give us an opportunity to take advantage of it."
"Think about it, since Liu Xuande became the governor of Xuzhou in the north of Xuzhou, what kind of reputation have you heard of him in this area in the past few years?"
Yuan Shao thought for a moment and replied, "A capable official with benevolence and virtue?"
"That's right," Xu You said, "Then Liu Bei was defeated in one night, and was executed by Qiao Yeshu. Would the people of Xuzhou have no resentment towards her? My lord, you only need to march towards Xuzhou under the banner of revenge for Liu Xuande. I'm afraid that all the counties along the way in northern Xuzhou will certainly welcome your army. If there is a change in Yangzhou at this time, at least you can retake northern Xuzhou."
"With this military achievement in hand, can we discuss the alliance with Cao Mengde and gain more initiative?"
Yuan Shao was absolutely unwilling to admit that he, a nobleman from a family with three generations of officials, who also supported an emperor, had failed more than Qiao Yan, who almost started from scratch. He could not accept that Cao Cao, whom he regarded as the descendant of a eunuch, could be on equal footing with him. Hearing Xu You's words, he felt confident again.
The suffocating feeling in his chest that had caused him to collapse before had already been mostly healed without any medicine as Xu You uttered each word. Yuan Shang was dumbfounded by this.
Yuan Shao asked, "Then I should put off writing to Cao Mengde for now?"
"No, write it now." Xu You replied: "Even though he is the governor of a state and in charge of another state, he should return to the court to report on his work. The weather is still not good this year. If the emperor wants to grant amnesty to the people and promote officials in the court, he should also come back."
"Besides, his eldest son is not young anymore, and it is not a good idea for him to continue to gain experience in the local area. It would be better for him to come to the central government for promotion and then be sent out to be a governor. It would be a good opportunity for him as a father to send him off."
When mentioning Cao Ang, Yuan Shao's mind couldn't help but move.
By asking Cao Cao to send Cao Ang to Yecheng to serve as an official, what he could do might be more than just asking Cao Cao to send him as a hostage. Cao Ang was raised by Cao Cao's wife, Madam Ding. His biological mother died early, so for Cao Cao, he was the legitimate son and quasi-heir. If he could marry the daughter of the Yuan clan, the alliance between the two families would surely become closer.
He should indeed come.
However, just as Xu You did not speak of such family matters so bluntly, there was no need to make such statements in the letter inviting Cao Cao to come to Yecheng for discussions.
"Write a letter immediately and do as you say!" Yuan Shao looked at Xu You with admiration in his eyes.
Although Xu You and his family were a bit greedy, and Xu You sometimes spoke rudely after drinking, this flaw could be completely tolerated given that he was actually able to get things done.
"If we can take back Xuzhou this time, I will definitely give Ziyuan a great credit!"
Xu You shook his head and said, "This is not the work of me alone, but the result of our joint discussion."
When he said this, some subtle thoughts flashed through his mind.
What is scary about Qiao Yan is that under such pressure, the advisers on Yuan Shao's side clearly have their own positions, such as the Yingchuan faction, the Hebei faction, the Nanyang faction, and they have even had some fights before, either openly or secretly, but now they have to stick together to form a whole. But what about Qiao Yan?
It stretches from Youzhou in the north to Yangzhou in the south, from the four Hexi counties of Liangzhou in the northwest to the southern barbarian territory of Yizhou in the southwest. It is a vast territory that stretches from north to south, but we only hear of heroes from all over the world gathering there to show their talents, but rarely hear of them vying for power and rising to the top.
This only proves one thing, that this Sima who can suppress everyone is truly terrifying and respectable!
To have achieved this at the mere age of 22, there is no other explanation except that he was born with talent.
He didn't dare to think any further, lest he destroy his own people's prestige. Seeing that Yuan Shao had turned his gaze to the people behind him because of his words, he asked, "Who among you is willing to go to Yangzhou for me to instigate the Wujun family and Sun Bofu's brothers to cause chaos? Who is willing to go to Qingzhou to send troops south for me to seize Xuzhou?"
Guo Tu had long been anxious about not having made much contribution to Yuan Shao. When he heard Yuan Shao's question, he thought of Ju Shou and Xin Pi being away, Tian Feng having rebelled, and Shen Pei having made arrangements for his replacement, so he quickly replied, "Let me go to Yangzhou."
He was very aware of his own abilities. He was good at making him see Yuan Shao's thoughts clearly, giving him suggestions in line with his ideas, and making him feel that he was a helpful arm. But he didn't feel that he had the ability to directly command the soldiers of Qingzhou and assist Yuan Tan, Jiang Qi and others in taking Xuzhou.
It's better to choose what he is good at.
In Guo Tu's opinion, it would be much easier to go to Yangzhou and persuade the Wujun family and the reckless men of the Sun family.
He was able to do very well here with Yuan Shao, so how could he fail in Yangzhou?
Thinking of Tian Feng's negative example, Guo Tu said, "Your Excellency, don't worry about any loss during your trip to Yangzhou. Yangzhou is not Bingzhou, and it cannot be considered Qiao Yeshu's territory."
Yuan Shao thought about it and felt that this was the case. He immediately decided, "Well, you go. I'll trouble Zhongzhi to go to Qingzhou."
Shen Pei could be dispatched by him to assist on the northern battlefield at any time, or to assist the troops marching into Henei to threaten Luoyang. It was not suitable for him to go to Qingzhou to assist Zhang He.
Xu You had always been the one who gave him the most ideas and was the one he could talk to the most. He also had to help him deal with the alliance with Cao Cao, so it was not appropriate for him to be sent out at this time.
Looking at it this way, the only suitable place left is Xinping.
Yuan Shao had some complaints about Xin Pi, but Xin Pi and Xin Ping were his assistants after all, and it was not appropriate to suppress them too much. Since he wanted to be more restrained in his use of Xin Pi, he should make a high-profile appointment to Xin Ping.
I think in order to clear his brother's previous record, Xin Ping must give him a satisfactory answer.
As expected, he saw Xin Ping bowing to him and replied, "I will never let you down."
Having reached such a unified plan, and thinking of the urgent military situation at the moment, Yuan Shao did not consider sending the content of this appointment to the north to discuss with Ju Shou and others, nor did he plan to read out the news in the court in Yecheng before the victory was achieved. Instead, he quickly asked someone to carefully write the letter to Cao Cao and sent it out.
Guo Tu, who was heading south to Yangzhou, and Xin Ping, who was heading east to Qingzhou, also left Yecheng without any delay.
Yuan Shao was thinking that after Xin Ping and Yuan Tan joined forces, the counties in Xuzhou would surrender and would soon gather a force to fight against Qiao Yan. Guo Tu would be able to persuade the Yangzhou nobles to rise up and expel Qiao Yan's men from the country, and even put the blame on her for murdering Sun Ce. Cao Cao would also arrive in Yecheng and marry his children to him.
The body recovered at an extremely fast speed.
But just two days later, when he was able to drag his sick body and walk, another urgent military report was delivered to Yuan Shao, and the news still came from Xuzhou.
The messenger who brought the news met Yuan Shao's almost cannibalistic gaze as soon as he raised his eyes, and he shuddered subconsciously.
Yuan Shao tightly grasped the cup in front of him. He felt that the news was not good news, such as Liu Bei being rescued and taking advantage of the opportunity to turn the tables. However, no matter how bad the news was, he couldn't just ignore it...
"Go ahead."
The messenger said, "The people of Xuzhou begged for mercy on behalf of Liu Xuande and surrounded Tan County, where the Xuzhou government is located, hoping that Qiao Yeshu would not kill him. Cai Boyi seemed to have received the news long after Qiao Yeshu made his move in Yangzhou, and he also came to Xuzhou to plead for mercy on behalf of Gu Yuantan, who was from one of the four surnames of Wujun, with his hair loose and barefoot."
"And then?" Yuan Shao's eyes lit up when he heard the unexpected news.
Xu You had said before that Liu Bei had a very high reputation in Xuzhou, which was bound to bring trouble to Qiao Yan. It seemed that this sentence had already revealed some clues!
If he launched such a loud plea when his Qingzhou army marched south, it would really be his chance.
However, the messenger's next words brought Yuan Shao's newly-born hope back to the bottom.
"Afterwards, she released Chen Yuanlong from prison due to the petition of the common people in Xuzhou. Because of what Chen Yuanlong said about Liu Shijun's behavior in Xuzhou, she decided to spare his life and send him to Chang'an to take up a nominal position."
"But the four surnames of Wu County did a lot of evil in her previous investigation in Xuzhou. Just because of Lord Cai's plea, she sent them to Yizhou on the sea and will release them only after they have reformed."
Yuan Shao tried his best to control his voice so as not to reveal his feelings at this time, and asked: "How did the people of Xuzhou react to this incident?"
The messenger replied honestly, "They said that General Qiao can listen to the people's voice and has a great reputation. Now that he has taken over Xuzhou, they are willing to follow his arrangements. Chen Yuanlong, the captain of Xuzhou's agriculture department, will follow him to the Sili to govern Luoyang. Envoy Liu can die under the emperor. They have fulfilled their wishes and are leaving."
As if he was afraid that Yuan Shao was not stimulated enough, he added, "Before I went north to return to Jizhou, Xuzhou had already begun to arrange Xuzhou's defense line in the direction of Qingzhou under the coordination of Lu Zijing, Jia Wenhe and others, and the people did not stop me."
The battle situation and follow-up of Xuzhou written by the Xuzhou spies were all recorded verbatim on paper when the messenger arrived and presented to Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shao did not throw the cup in his hand away, nor did he overturn the table. He just felt that he recognized every word on the paper in front of him, but when they were put together, they became something extremely unfamiliar to him.
For example, he totally couldn't understand why Qiao Yan seemed to be able to calculate Liu Bei's escape route and intercept him at sea; why Zang Ba, Sun Guan and others who had been in Langya County for a long time were suddenly persuaded by Qiao Yan to defect to her; why a situation that was clearly one of pleading and forcing would suddenly turn into one of complying with public opinion and Xuzhou's submission!
"What a vicious mind!" Xu You, who had been confident before, now looked gloomy. "She is clearly using Liu Xuande's reputation in Xuzhou to fulfill her own wish."
The details of the plea in the letter made Xu You dare to make such an assertion even if he had not witnessed the scene with his own eyes.
If Qiao Yan had the real intention to kill Liu Bei before the people pleaded for him, he, Xu You, would send his head to Xuzhou right now!
Absolutely not!
This drama of one person wanting to be killed and a group of people wanting to be rescued was clearly performed for outsiders, and it was not a touching scene of people being persuaded to come back.
After this incident, it was almost impossible for the people of Xuzhou to open the city to welcome someone who wanted to avenge Liu Shijun upon hearing that someone wanted to avenge him.
Liu Bei was in Chang'an, holding an idle position that could be held by members of the Han royal family in the Chang'an court. This was already the best outcome for a loser. If another incident in Xuzhou was caused by him, then no matter how virtuous he was, he would never have a chance to survive.
These people who have been deeply indebted to him would not risk harming him by doing such a thing.
The situation in Yangzhou was not much better.
If the plea from Xuzhou was false, then could the plea for the four surnames of Wujun initiated by Cai Yong in Yangzhou be true?
The result caused by this plea is still developing in the direction that is most favorable to Qiao Yan and most unfavorable to Yuan Shao!
The fact that the Four Families of Wu County were uprooted and thrown overseas caused a much better response in Yangzhou than if Qiao Yan had killed them all. If she had made use of Zhou Yu and other talents from other Yangzhou families at this time, or even promoted them to positions that were not based on their qualifications, she would most likely have been able to gain the support of a group of Yangzhou forces.
The unstable situation in Yangzhou was simply an unfounded speculation they had made earlier.
Since she had already considered the handling of Liu Bei and the Wujun family so meticulously, would she really not consider Sun Ce's former subordinates and relatives?
Yuan Shao and Xu You looked at each other and saw the answer in each other's eyes.
Absolutely not!
"Not good!" Xu You exclaimed, "If Mr. Guo finds out about this after arriving in Yangzhou, won't it be troublesome?"
The situation on Xin Ping's side was not bad. Once he received the news that Liu Bei was not dead, with his keen eyesight, he would definitely know that they had missed the best opportunity to attack. They would temporarily stop and wait for the next news from Yuan Shao. But what about Guo Tu?
What if, after arriving in Yangzhou, he did not realize that the situation in Yangzhou was not as turbulent as they imagined, and went directly to find Sun Hao and others? It is very likely that he would be reported directly to Qiao Yan, and then he would have to repeat the old path of Xin Pi or Tian Feng!
Yuan Shao shouted: "Send someone south on horseback to chase Guo Gongze as soon as possible, and make sure to intercept him and bring him back to me."
He cannot be allowed to go to Yangzhou. Whether he falls into the hands of Qiao Yan or is directly killed because persuasion is useless, where will Yuan Shao put his face then!
But if Qiao Yan knew Yuan Shao’s psychological reaction at this moment, she would probably think that Yuan Benchu really didn’t need to have such worries.
Guo Tu and Tian Feng are different.
The latter is a talent, while the former is a fool in the guise of talent.
Qiao Yan had no interest in Guo Tu's family legal books or his family background of seven court judges - anyway, the law-making team in Chang'an had been perfected to a level that Yuan Shao could not even imagine.
She didn't want the other party's ability to flatter and curry favor - after all, the actual battle records in the Shanhelu had been sent to all corners of the world with the printing of this book, and were much more useful than Guo Tu's mouth.
Although they both have the surname Guo like Guo Jia, there is still a big difference between this Guo and that Guo.
Thinking of Guo Tu's performance in Yuan Shao's camp, which was like an enemy undercover agent, she might not intend to make Yuan Shao bleed like she did when she returned Xin Pi and Gao Lan.
Simply throwing the person back might bring her greater benefits.
From this perspective, Yuan Shao really doesn't need to worry about Guo Tu's safety. The most he needs to worry about is whether Guo Tu will do more to provoke Yuan Shao after returning to Yecheng with a stable situation in Yangzhou.
What Qiao Yan was more concerned about was the reaction from Chang'an.
In order to prevent any further changes in Xu and Yang states, and because she needed to make some adjustments after the imperial edict arrived in Chang'an, she did not plan to return to Chang'an directly. Instead, after Sun Ce's funeral, she first sent the group of people who were going to Leping Academy on their way, and then planned the team returning to Chang'an.
If Chen Deng wanted to go to Luoyang, he would have to travel with the team returning to Chang'an.
Zhang Yi, the former governor of Xuzhou who is about to return to Chang'an to report on his work, must be brought along.
Yu Fan, who claimed that he was very suitable to live in the wealthy city of Chang'an, was included in the group.
After Liu Bei, the crucial prisoner, was brought to Yangzhou by her, he should also be sent to Chang'an.
However, in order to prevent Guan Yu, Guan Ping and others from being around and possibly performing some miracle of riding alone for thousands of miles, Qiao Yan decided to keep the two of them by his side and detain them first, and then arrange their stay or departure after Liu Bei was safely sent to Chang'an.
Afterwards, Qiao Yan added Zhou Tai and Dian Wei into the team as guards, and only then did he feel a little more at ease.
And since she was going back to Chang'an, she would take the same route she came from, which meant passing through Jingzhou. Qiao Yan thought about it and ordered the Jingzhou navy led by Zhang Yun and the Jingzhou army led by Wen Pin to set off together. He only seized a few ships from Jingzhou for use in travel between Xuzhou and Yangzhou.
As for whether Liu Biao would let the two groups of "bodyguards" return to work under her quickly after receiving the battle report of the two states and the troops sent back by Qiao Yan, or would he just let his imagination run wild, it didn't matter to Qiao Yan.
Afterwards, she removed Lu Kang, the prefect of Lujiang whom she had dismissed from his post and investigated, from the team that was about to set out to sea and put him into this team.
When Lu Kang had his son Lu Ji, he was already an old man. Now several years have passed and he is even older. If he encounters rough seas while sailing at sea, or encounters a disaster or disease on Izu Island, he will most likely not survive.
By then, she won’t be able to explain to those people from the Lu family.
Anyway, there is a reason to send him to Chang'an. After all, he was appointed as the prefect of Lujiang by the Han Dynasty. If Qiao Yan casually exiled him to Yizhou, he would not be able to challenge it under the law.
Her authority as the Grand Marshal was not yet at that level, so she had to send this "criminal" to Chang'an first, and let Liu Yu decide whether to let him stay or go.
Zhou Yu watched Qiao Yan write a letter as he said that if Lu Kang was to be sent to guard the border, he should be sent to Liangzhou nearby. There was no rebellion by the Qiang people in Liangzhou now, so there was no need to worry that the exiled prisoners would collude with the Qiang people.
Zhou Yu: “…”
What is the difference between exiling Lu Kang to Liangzhou and sending him to reunite with his daughter?
Being able to speak of such differential treatment as if it were nothing, in a sense Qiao Yan's realm is unique.
Then he saw Qiao Yan fold the letter and hand it to Dian Wei.
"These prisoners must be delivered to Chang'an safely. No mistakes are allowed. This envoy Liu carries the support of the people of Xuzhou. If something happens to him, it will be difficult for Gongjin to govern Xuzhou."
Dian Wei nodded solemnly and asked, "But I'm going to escort the team to Chang'an. Don't you have to worry about your safety?"
Zhou Yu looked at Dian Wei's face and was surprised to find that the other party was actually worried about Qiao Yan. Thinking of the entourage she brought with her when she returned to Yangzhou from Xuzhou, and the two-section three-barreled spear that she almost never left behind, he didn't know how to react to this for a moment.
He just felt that Qiao Yan would never encounter the same thing as Sun Ce, where "the white dragon was conquered by the fish and trapped in Yuqie".
Qiao Yan waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, go down, I have enough guards here."
She is surrounded by more than just human guards...
After Dian Wei and Zhou Yu retreated, she heard the system muttering in her mind: [Even if those servants are unreliable, there is still me as a guard. 】
Qiao Yan couldn't help but laugh: "Yes, yes, you have improved."
How can changing from an alarm clock to a guard not be a progress?
It just seems that it still doesn’t have much to do with the counselor system.
The system had no idea of the ridicule that Qiao Yan was feeling at the moment. After all, it didn't have the ability to read minds installed. It simply accepted the compliment that sounded a bit perfunctory and asked, "Aren't you planning to put all the points you've accumulated recently into luck?" 】
"No," Qiao Yan looked out the window, as if looking at Chang'an in the distance, "I'm afraid if I ask too high, they won't even have a chance to make a move."
She didn't want the scene of a poisonous snake falling into a pot to happen again.
How boring that is.
After all, she had sent all the east wind to Chang'an...
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