Chapter 412

Chapter 412

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Final Volume: The Rise and Fall of Royal Power, Unification of the World Chapter 412: The Invitation from Chang’an

Book: Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne?

Chapter 412: The Invitation from Chang’an

Yuan Shao had never been more acutely aware than at this moment that Qiao Yan’s relentless pressure was closing in on him.

The scene of her ascension to the throne in Chang’an, with the masses cheering, was something that couldn’t be fully captured by live broadcasts or replicated by artists, making the reports reaching Ye City feel somewhat unreal.

Yet, this overwhelming barrage of criticism and condemnation vividly brought it to life.

These were not mere records but sharp daggers aimed at Yuan Shao from the perspective of the Da Yong court. In the face of Wang Can’s critique that Yuan Shao lacked benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, the luxurious robes and crowns Yuan Shao had worn for years were utterly torn apart.

If the previous three-month special edition could be published with such efficiency and volume, filling the government storehouses of Chang’an with responses to the Han Dynasty’s proclamation, then today’s compilation was surely a celebration by the masses, plotting against Ji Province!

One misstep leads to another.

The accumulated gap from the beginning now formed a deep chasm between Da Yong and the Han Dynasty, pushing Yuan Shao down to fill the void of dynastic transition.

When even the reputation of the Yuan Clan of Runan was severely tarnished by accusations of fraternal strife, what could he still rely on?

Was it the subordinates who had already left him, the soldiers who had fallen in battle, or the Han Emperor, who had yet to display any imperial majesty?

Even a man of iron like Yuan Shao couldn’t withstand such direct questioning.

The blood that had been choking him since he received the news of the three surrenders and the loss of Henei finally couldn’t be swallowed any longer.

“I’ve said it before! The Grand General’s health can’t take any more stress,” the imperial physician urgently summoned to Yuan Shao’s bedside said helplessly, under the intense gaze of his subordinates and sons.

Patients not following medical advice is not uncommon, and given Yuan Shao’s status, it’s hard to find a quiet environment for recovery. But such emotional turmoil is harmful, and it’s the physicians who suffer.

“Stop with the scare tactics. It’s because of your incompetence that my father’s illness from overwork wasn’t cured in time,” Yuan Shang interrupted harshly.

“…” The imperial physician felt like quitting.

Everyone in the field knows that the best physicians are at the Chiyang Medical Academy north of Chang’an. Those in Ye City are somewhat inferior.

Due to limited patient exposure and the loss of medical texts during Dong Zhuo’s rebellion, their progress has been limited.

But to seek better help, one must be able to bring them here.

Given the current hostility between the two sides, Yuan Shao could only rely on the physicians he had.

“Enough, can you stop talking?” Yuan Xi, unusually assertive, scolded Yuan Shang. “Do you think we want to see Father in this state? If we delay any longer because of this bickering, who will take responsibility?”

Yuan Shang reluctantly shut up but muttered, “You’re always the good guy,” before walking away.

The imperial physician’s diagnosis of Yuan Shao’s acute stress made Yuan Shang feel an imminent crisis.

No one could be sure if Father could recover his health after repeated shocks. If not, where would they, as sons, go?

Yuan Shang knew he was no match for his father. If even Father struggled against such opponents, he stood no chance. Once the protective umbrella was gone, fleeing might be his only option.

And if it came to that, he needed to arm himself sufficiently.

The best scenario would be inheriting Father’s subordinates.

After all, his elder brother Yuan Tan had been adopted by the deceased eldest brother Yuan Ji, leaving him with no legal claim. His only rival—

Was Yuan Xi!

Probably, only Guo Tu, who somewhat understood Yuan Shang’s thoughts, noticed his scheming. No one else expected that in such a critical moment for Yuan Shao, Yuan Shang was still plotting to eliminate rivals and secure more benefits.

Even Liu Bian, upon receiving the imperial physician’s report, asked, “In your opinion, can Grand General Yuan still command battles and oversee governance?”

Liu Bian didn’t care about the conflicts within Yuan Shao’s family or the accusations in the Leping Monthly Report.

What terrified him was the thought of Yuan Shao falling ill or even dying from this, leaving him, the Han Emperor, defenseless against Da Yong’s impending invasion.

With Yuan Shao at the forefront, issuing orders in the Emperor’s name, most attention was drawn to him, resulting in the proclamation’s focus on Yuan Shao.

With Yuan Shao handling the troubles, Liu Bian could temporarily forget the imminent threat of the enemy capturing Ye City, leaving the battle reports at others’ desks.

But if Yuan Shao fell…

Liu Bian couldn’t bear to imagine it.

Facing Liu Bian’s urgent questioning, the imperial physician, knowing the Emperor’s concern wasn’t genuine, tried to keep his cool and replied, “At least not for a month or two?”

A month or two?

Hearing this, Liu Bian felt his head might explode.

Initially, the Leping Monthly Report was only sent to Yuan Shao, but by now, it had inevitably reached Liu Bian.

He could empathize with Yuan Shao’s feelings.

But empathy was one thing; acceptance was another.

Look at what happened in the past month or two.

First, Qiao Yan ascended the throne, then Yuan Shao suffered major losses in Yu Province and Yanzhou, not only losing territory but also pushing Cao Cao to Qiao Yan’s side. Then came the loss of Henei, Wang Kuang’s defection, Zhang He and Xin Pi’s betrayal, and the proclamation failing to achieve the promised results, instead inviting a fierce counterattack.

If another month or two passed, would the last two provinces of the Han Dynasty also fall?

Two months were enough for Qiao Yan to do too much!

Liu Bian knew that pressuring Yuan Shao too much now would do no good. Pushing him to the brink would only cause more trouble. So, he hastily rose to ease his nervousness and summoned Kong Rong and Guo Tu.

Liu Bian had few subordinates he could trust not to defect, and even fewer who could offer advice.

He believed those who had joined him after his anti-bandit proclamation wouldn’t change sides hastily.

Kong Rong’s performance also showed…








It was not because Yuan Shao had any ability to oppose Qiao Yan, but because Liu Bian was the Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty.

Whether Yuan Shao conformed to the Confucian Five Constants was not something Kong Rong needed to care about.

Kong Rong, who had once served as the Prefect of Beihai, not only bore the high reputation of the Kong family, had the good name of hiding Zhang Jian during the Prohibition of Factionalists, had the battle achievements of dealing with the Yellow Turban Army, and also had the experience of governing a region. If Yuan Shao had not been the one truly controlling the court in Ye City, Liu Bian would have wanted to promote Kong Rong even further.

Now that Yuan Shao had fallen, Liu Bian inevitably thought of him.

But of course, he could not do anything like killing the donkey after it had done its job. For Yuan Shao, he not only had to take care of his illness but also had to consult his subordinates and sons.

With Ju Shou and Xin Pi not in Ye City, Liu Bian could only invite Guo Tu first.

Coincidentally, when Kong Rong and Guo Tu arrived, they happened to meet outside the palace gate.

Seeing that Kong Rong seemed to have a somewhat disdainful attitude towards him, Guo Tu felt uneasy.

Sure enough, when Liu Bian asked who could take over the affairs of the Grand General’s Mansion during Yuan Shao’s serious illness, Kong Rong replied, “At this time, rashly changing the arrangements of the Grand General’s Mansion would be a way to invite disaster. Changing generals in the midst of battle is a great taboo in the world. Therefore, in my opinion, it would be better to have the Grand General’s son take over the affairs, coordinate the instructions from all sides, and command from the center.”

“Order of seniority is an ancient ritual. Since the Grand General’s eldest son is still in Qingzhou, commanding the troops in Xuzhou to the south, it should be the second son who temporarily takes over military affairs.”

Guo Tu couldn’t help but twitch his eyelids.

He had already chosen his stance because Yuan Shao was closer to Yuan Shang, which was why he had repeatedly contacted Yuan Shang. If Yuan Xi, the second son, were to take power because of this sudden turn of events and gradually take over Yuan Shao’s influence, even though Yuan Xi had always given the impression of being good-tempered and fair, Guo Tu could not feel at ease at this time.

Kong Rong’s words were well said, and considering his childhood story of yielding pears, it was not difficult to understand why he would say this. But the appearance of this sentence at this time really made Guo Tu secretly hate him.

“What does Mr. Guo think of this decision?”

Hearing Liu Bian suddenly turn to him and ask this question, Guo Tu quickly replied, “In my opinion, it is not appropriate for only the second son to take power. Back then, the Grand General sent the second son to Chang’an to gather information. The second son, being young and ignorant, was deceived by Qiao Yan and Tian Feng, causing the Grand General to invest heavily but gain nothing, which has now become something criticized in the other party’s manifesto. With the second son’s experience and insight, if he were to rashly take over the Grand General’s duties, it is hard to guarantee that he would not be deceived again.”

Liu Bian nodded thoughtfully; this made sense.

Guo Tu continued, “The so-called ‘brothers of one heart can cut through gold.’ The monthly report pointed out that the Yuan family in Runan first had three brothers of the same generation competing, and then the Grand General’s sons fighting among themselves. Why don’t we let the three of them each guard a region? This can not only dispel rumors and regain some momentum but also allow any side to quickly adjust their arrangements and fully engage the enemy if a battle comes.”

“Currently, there is no need to worry too much about the north with Ju Gong in charge, but the Bingzhou army north of the Taihang Mountains is watching closely, and the armies from Henei and Yanzhou to the south are also approaching. It is time for each to have a main general to supervise the battle.”

“The second son is meticulous and can guard the passes, while the third son is bold and can intimidate the enemy with his momentum.”

Guo Tu did not propose this arrangement casually.

The main general defending the southern front would inevitably be closer to Ye City. If something irreparable were to happen…

No, it’s not time to think about that yet.

In any case, it’s not wrong to prevent power from leaning towards only one side.

Kong Rong frowned, but what he said was not a refutation of Guo Tu’s suggestion, but—

“What about the manifesto in response?”

Guo Tu: “…”

To be honest, he didn’t want more people to see that thing that completely stripped Yuan Shao of his dignity.

But with Kong Rong here, it was obviously impossible to hide it.

While the court in Ye City was busy dealing with the chaos after Yuan Shao’s fall and trying to limit the influx of the Leping Monthly Report through various means, Qiao Yan had already calmly started issuing subsequent orders.

“Your Majesty is not in a hurry to take advantage of the current situation to attack Ji Province?” The three dukes summoned by Qiao Yan for discussion were all surprised by her arrangement.

“The speed of information dissemination is known to all. The April issue of the Leping Monthly Report was immediately responded to by thousands of people upon its release in Chang’an, but in Ji Province and Qingzhou, they still consider themselves subjects of the Han Dynasty, not our Da Yong.”

“Since the desperate counterattack at the time of the dynasty’s fall is bound to be the most astonishing, why not wait a few more months for the information to ferment and the water to drip through the stone?”

Qiao Yan sighed, “Moreover, Zhongxuan wrote in ‘Answering the Old Farmer’s Questions’ that ‘not knowing where one will die, how can one be complete?’ This situation is not only caused by war but also by the droughts in the third and fourth years of Jian’an. This year’s rare good weather should not be wasted.”

In the midst of battle, no matter how superior the plan for the offensive route is, it is difficult to completely avoid the fields of these people. Once destroyed, it cannot be remedied this year.

The newly acquired Yanzhou and Yu Province also need a few months to be governed to avoid any opposition causing chaos.

So she could wait!

Although waiting these few months might allow Yuan Shao’s body to recover, the increasingly significant gap could never be bridged in such a short time.

Comparing her age with Yuan Shao’s, the one who couldn’t afford to wait was never her.

“I am not a warmonger, so there is no need to keep the soldiers constantly on the move.”

But then her expression suddenly turned serious, “However, not attacking at this time does not mean we do nothing.”

“On the northern Youzhou front, I plan to let Lü Fengxian continue according to the previous plan. The personnel sent south to Jiaozhou to supervise the completion of the Funan ship are also in place and may complete it before August, heading north to Youzhou.”

“I have also sent a letter to Jia Wenhe, instructing him to prepare for the attack on Qingzhou.”

To be precise, the letter Qiao Yan wrote to Jia Xu was like this.

Guo Jia’s position as the Governor of Yanzhou has changed from a nominal title to a real one. Shouldn’t Jia Xu’s position as the Governor of Qingzhou also take some action?

Regardless of Jia Xu’s thoughts upon receiving this kind of letter urging his subordinates, the troops stationed in Xuzhou preparing to move north to Qingzhou probably couldn’t sit still anymore.

“In addition, the farming affairs in each province must not be neglected. The inspectors sent from the court will strictly investigate, and if there are any who try to muddle through, it will be a good opportunity to establish the rules of our Da Yong.”

“Furthermore—”

Qiao Yan paused before speaking, “Please have the noble families of Yu Province, Jing Province, and Sili send representatives to Chang’an.”

The noble families of Liangzhou, Yanzhou, and Yangzhou have already been purged by her, Bingzhou has never left her control, Xuzhou has Chen Deng’s loyalty for now, Jiaozhou, Yizhou, and Youzhou have very few families that can truly be called noble, so the only ones left are Yu Province, Jing Province, and Sili!

In the face of the approaching unification of the world, and after giving several examples as warnings—

These people can no longer give her vague answers!