“Can strategists really not ascend the throne?”
Chapter 412 – Invitation from Chang’an
Yuan Shao had never been more painfully aware than in this moment that Qiao Yan’s relentless pressure was now right in front of him.
What had the scene of her ascending the throne in Chang’an looked like, with the masses cheering wildly, was unclear. Without a livestream or an artist to capture her divine aura, the words reaching Ye City were just lacking that touch of reality.
But the overwhelming critiques thoroughly painted the picture.
It was no longer just a record; it was a series of sharp blades aimed at Yuan Shao from the perspective of the Da Yong court, completely shredding the lavish robes he’d donned over the years in front of Wang Can’s comment about “none of the virtues correspond.”
The earlier special publication from three months ago had managed to be distributed with such efficiency and volume that it filled Chang’an’s government storehouse with responses to the Han’s edicts. And today’s collection rollout was nothing less than a celebration for the masses, plotting to take over Ji Province!
One wrong step led to another.
The widening gap that had built up from the start now carved a deep chasm between Da Yong and the Han, pushing Yuan Shao down to fill the gap created by the shifts in dynasty.
With even the Yuan Clan’s reputation in Runan damaged by accusations of infighting among brothers, what could he still rely on?
Was it the subordinates who had already left his side, the soldiers who had died in battle, or that Emperor of Han who, to this day, still hadn’t shown any signs of imperial greatness?
Even if Yuan Shao had a body of iron, he couldn’t stand against such direct questioning.
Since receiving the news of the three thank-yous and that the territory had changed hands, the blood that had been pent up inside him finally couldn’t be swallowed down anymore.
“I already said! With the Grand General’s current condition, he really can’t be subjected to any more stress!” The chief physician was yanked to Yuan Shao’s sickbed, seeing all his subordinates and his son staring at him with worry, he helplessly stated.
It wasn’t unusual for patients to ignore medical advice, and given Yuan Shao’s position, it was clearly hard to find a peaceful environment for recovery. But such emotional highs and lows were troublesome for the healers, honestly.
“Stop with your scaremongering! It’s not like you guys didn’t lack skills, causing my father to run around and worsening his condition!” Yuan Shang interrupted sharply before the physician could finish speaking.
“…” The chief physician was almost ready to throw in the towel.
Who in the world doesn’t know that the best doctors are found in Chiyang Medical Academy up north? The ones in Ye City aren’t quite up to snuff.
Given the limitations in diagnosing patients and the chaos of the Dong Zhuo rebellion that had caused the loss of medical texts, their level of progress was quite limited.
But hiring better ones also required being able to get them here, right?
Looking at the current standoff, it was clear that the only healers Yuan Shao could rely on were these.
“Okay, can you keep it down?” Yuan Xi sharply called out to Yuan Shang. “Do you think we want to see Father in this situation? If this argument delays things any further, who’s going to take responsibility then?”
Yuan Shang unwillingly fell silent, but as he walked away, he muttered, “You’re the only one trying to be the good guy.”
The chief physician couldn’t help but feel a pressing sense of crisis due to the urgency of the diagnosis.
No one could be sure whether their father could recover from repeated provocations, and if he couldn’t, what would they, the sons, do?
Yuan Shang knew he wasn’t as capable as his father. If his father struggled against such a formidable foe, he clearly wouldn’t stand a chance. Once the protective umbrella was gone, he’d have no choice but to flee.
If it got to that point, he’d better arm himself well enough to protect himself.
He could only hope to inherit his father’s subordinates.
Yuan Shao had already adopted his late older brother Yuan Ji’s son as his own, leaving Yuan Shang with no legal basis to compete. The only opponent left before him was—
Yuan Xi!
Perhaps among those present, only Guo Tu, who somewhat understood Yuan Shang’s thoughts, noticed what was brewing inside him. No one expected that during such a precarious moment for Yuan Shao, Yuan Shang was still scheming to eliminate rivals for personal gain.
Even Liu Bian, who later received a report from the physician, asked, “Do you think the Grand General can still command troops and manage affairs?”
Liu Bian didn’t care about the disputes within Yuan Shao’s household or the various accusations hurled at him in Leping Monthly Report.
What he feared more was if Yuan Shao ended up bedridden or even worse, how would he, the Son of Heaven, withstand the looming assaults of Da Yong?
With Yuan Shao leading the charge and drawing most eyes away from him while giving him peace of mind, they had managed to keep the focus on Yuan Shao in the denunciation put forth earlier.
If Yuan Shao fell…
Liu Bian couldn’t even begin to imagine that scenario.
Facing Liu Bian’s urgent questions, the chief physician understood that the emperor wasn’t genuinely concerned about his subordinates, trying hard to suppress the sweat of nervousness on his brow, he replied, “At least not for a month or two?”
A month or two?
Upon hearing this answer, Liu Bian felt like his brain was about to explode.
That initial edition of Leping Monthly Report had primarily reached Yuan Shao, but now news had surely made its way to Liu Bian’s ears by this point.
He could sympathize with Yuan Shao’s current feelings but understanding was one thing, accepting another.
Just look at what had unfolded over the past month or two.
First, Qiao Yan ascended to the throne, then Yuan Shao suffered major losses in Yu Province and Yanzhou, losing territory and pushing Cao Cao to align with Qiao Yan, and then the loss of Henan, and Wang Kuang defecting while Zhang He and Xin Pi turned traitor. That previous proclamation did nothing to ease the situation and instead brought down the storm on him.
If more time passed, would the last two states of the Han really change hands?
Two months was ample time for Qiao Yan to accomplish a great deal!
Liu Bian also understood that pressing Yuan Shao too hard wouldn’t do any good. If he cornered him, it would only create trouble for himself. So, he hastily got to his feet to ease his own anxiety and called for Kong Rong and Guo Tu.
In his eyes, there were few trusted subordinates who wouldn’t defect at this moment, and the ones still willing to advise him had already been sifted through.
He figured that anyone who had sided with him after that call to arms likely wouldn’t flip in a hurry.
Kong Rong’s response was already hinting at…
“It’s not that Yuan Shao has any real ability to challenge Qiao Yan, but rather that Liu Bian is the Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty.”
So whether Yuan Shao meets the Confucian ideals doesn’t really concern Kong Rong.
Kong Rong, the former Prefect of Beihai, carried a rather impressive reputation—not only as a well-respected Kong family member but also for hiding Zhang Jian during the Prohibition of Factionalists, negotiating with the Yellow Turban Army, and having some solid governance experience. If it weren’t for Yuan Shao being the true power behind the scenes in Ye City, Liu Bian would be more than eager to elevate Kong Rong further.
Now that Yuan Shao has fallen, Liu Bian couldn’t help but think of him.
But of course, he couldn’t suddenly turn on Yuan Shao; he had to care for his health and consult his subordinates and son as well.
With Ju Shou and Xin Pi missing from Ye City, Liu Bian could only call in Guo Tu first.
As luck would have it, when Kong Rong and Guo Tu arrived, they bumped into each other right outside the palace gates.
Seeing Kong Rong’s somewhat dismissive look, Guo Tu immediately felt uneasy.
Sure enough, when Liu Bian asked who could manage Yuan Shao’s affairs during his serious illness, Guo Tu heard Kong Rong respond, “At this time, rashly changing the Grand General’s arrangements would be inviting disaster. Swapping commanders in the midst of battle is a major taboo. So in my view, it’s better for the Grand General’s son to take charge of affairs, coordinating orders from all sides and overseeing commands.”
“There’s a hierarchy by age, as per ancient rites. Since the Grand General’s eldest son is still in Qingzhou and the troops in Xu Province are under his command, the second son should take on military affairs.”
This made Guo Tu’s eyelids twitch.
Long ago, he had already positioned himself closer to Yuan Shang, so this unexpected turn of events where Yuan Xi, the second son, might gain power and gradually take control of Yuan Shao’s influence was worrying—especially since Yuan Xi was known for his good temper and fairness.
Kong Rong’s statement made sense, considering his childhood tale about yielding pears. However, hearing this now only fueled Guo Tu’s resentment toward him.
“What does Master Gong think about this decision?”
When Liu Bian turned to him and asked, Guo Tu quickly replied, “In my opinion, it’s inappropriate for just the second son to be in power. Years ago, the Grand General sent the second son to Chang’an to gather intelligence, and in his youthful ignorance, he was deceived by Qiao Yan and Tian Feng, leading the General to waste resources without achieving anything. If the second son takes over as Grand General now, he might just get tricked again.”
Liu Bian nodded, considering Guo Tu’s reasoning valid.
Guo Tu continued, “As the saying goes, ‘brothers united can cut through metal.’ That report mentioned the Yuan brothers in Runan quarreling over the Grand General, and now the Grand General’s sons are at odds. Why not have them each stationed in different regions? This would not only discredit the rumors but also allow for quicker coordination if any faction faces attack.”
“Currently, with Ju Gong overseeing the north, there’s no need to worry too much, but the Bingzhou troops north of the Taihang Mountains are lurking, and the armies from the south in Henei and Yanzhou are on the way. There should ideally be a commander to lead the defense.”
“The second son is meticulous and likely to guard the critical passes, while the third son, bold, might intimidate the enemy with a straightforward attack.”
Of course, Guo Tu was not suggesting this lightly.
Having a commander stationed close to Ye City could be a double-edged sword if anything went seriously wrong…
No, now isn’t the time to dwell on that.
Overall, it’s always wise to ensure power doesn’t tilt too far toward one side.
Kong Rong frowned, but his response wasn’t a rebuttal to Guo Tu’s suggestion, rather it was—
“What’s this about the response document?”
Guo Tu: “……”
Honestly, he didn’t want more people to see that document that stripped Yuan Shao of his dignity.
But Kong Rong wasn’t going to let this slide.
As the Ye City court scrambled to manage the chaos after Yuan Shao collapsed while trying to limit the flow of the Leping Monthly Report by any means necessary, Qiao Yan had already begun issuing subsequent orders calmly.
“Isn’t it too early to forgo taking advantage of this situation to aggressively assault Ji Province?” The three officials summoned for consultation were taken aback by Qiao Yan’s question.
“You all know how fast information spreads. The April issue of the Leping Monthly Report, as soon as it was released in Chang’an, got a huge response from the public. Yet in Ji and Qing provinces, they still consider themselves subjects of the Han, not our Da Yong.”
“When a dynasty falls, their desperate counterattack is always the fiercest, so why not wait a few months for the information to ferment and gradually make an impact?”
With a sigh, Qiao Yan added, “Besides, as Zhong Xuan wrote in ‘Response to the Farmer’s Queries’, if one doesn’t know where they might die, how can there be a complete outcome? This situation isn’t solely due to war; the droughts of the third and fourth years of Jian’an play a part too. We shouldn’t waste this year of rare good weather.”
In warfare, no matter how excellently you design your attack routes, it’s hard to avoid impacting the common folks’ fields. If destruction occurs, it won’t be something that can be repaired this year.
The newly acquired provinces of Yanzhou and Yuzhou would also need several months of governance to prevent any dissenting voices that might spark turmoil.
So yes, she could afford to wait!
Even if waiting a few months might allow Yuan Shao to recover, the widening gaps couldn’t possibly be bridged in such a short time.
Considering her age compared to Yuan Shao, she wasn’t the one who couldn’t wait.
“I’m not one to exhaust my troops, there’s no need to keep soldiers at a constant pace.”
Yet as she spoke, her expression suddenly turned serious, “However, not attacking now doesn’t mean we do nothing.”
“In the northern Youzhou front, I plan to have Lü Fengxian continue with the previously laid-out plans. The manpower in Jiaozhou tasked with overseeing the completion of the Funan flagship is already in place and may finish before August, heading north to Youzhou.”
“I’ve also had someone send word to Jia Wenhe to prepare for the attack on Qingzhou.”
To be precise, Qiao Yan’s letter to Jia Xu stated this more clearly.
Guo Jia has gone from being a mere title to a position of real authority in Yanzhou, shouldn’t Jia Xu, the official in Qingzhou, also start to make some moves?
What Jia Xu thought about the push for action from his superior was anyone’s guess, but the troops that were originally stationed in Xuzhou, preparing to advance toward Qingzhou, likely wouldn’t be able to just sit still anymore.
“Also, we cannot let the farming matters across various provinces slacken. The inspectors dispatched from the court will conduct strict investigations, and if anyone is found trying to benefit from the chaos, we’ll be sure to uphold our Da Yong’s rules.”
“In addition—”
Qiao Yan paused for a moment before continuing, “Please have representatives from the noble families of Yuzhou, Jingzhou, and Sili come to Chang’an.”
The noble families of Liangzhou, Yanzhou, and Yangzhou had already been dealt with by her, Bingzhou had never slipped from her grasp, Xuzhou was temporarily safe with Chen Deng’s loyalty, and the families in Jiaozhou, Yizhou, and Youzhou were barely significant, leaving only the needs of Yuzhou, Jingzhou, and Sili!
Facing a near unification of the realm and after setting examples to intimidate these families—
These people could no longer be satisfied with vague answers!
