Chapter 418

Chapter 418: Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne? Final Volume: The Rise and Fall of Kingly Enterprises, Unification of the World, Chapter 418: Yuan Shang is Captured

The state letter ultimately boils down to just one sentence.

At the time of the autumn harvest in August, it is not appropriate to have two courts issuing orders!

She should personally come to Ye City to complete the grand task of unifying the world.

And now, there is only a little over a month left until August.

Liu Bian doesn’t even know the specific war situation in Qingzhou and northern Ji Province, yet he is already in such a state of panic and confusion. Yuan Shao cannot imagine what would happen if Liu Bian knew the true crisis he is facing—would he directly imitate Prince Ying of Qin and open the city gates to surrender?

No, that’s not right.

He cannot imitate Ying.

His half-brother has already delivered the Imperial Seal to Qiao Yan in such a manner, declaring that the Han dynasty’s legacy has been passed to the Son of Heaven of Da Yong in an extremely legitimate way.

His order, which should not come from another court, should indeed be considered a false court!

Therefore, Qiao Yan has no need to accept his surrender!

After all, due to the actions of Liu Yu and Liu Xie, the Han dynasty’s transition to her hands already has a perfectly legitimate reason, and there is no need to add the charge of forcing her to “surrender.”

She only needs to rely on the current popular support and the momentum of this great victory to march the troops from Henei, Luoyang, and even Chang’an directly into Ye City, capturing the false emperor and all the officials.

“Grand General, what should we do?”

What to do?

If half of Qingzhou had not been lost, and the Yi River still served as a barrier for Ji Province, Yuan Shao might have been able to offer Liu Bian five strategies to deal with the situation. Regardless of whether they could be implemented, in this desperate struggle, he should at least deceive the puppet emperor, making him believe that the court in Ye City still exists.

But now… now, when the enemy has not yet launched an attack due to concerns about damaging the farmland, Yuan Shao himself feels surrounded with no way out, and he has nothing left to say.

Perhaps the only thing he can tell Liu Bian is that the promise of “golden seals and purple ribbons, canopies and red wheels” he once read in that proclamation seems to have become an impossible dream of “if we become rich and noble.”

Just as he was about to muddle through with Liu Bian by saying, “Wait for me to discuss with my subordinates and make a decision,” he heard Liu Bian ask with rare sharpness, “Grand General, is it already beyond saving?”

This Han emperor, who had never held real power for many years, seems to have only now realized that the accumulated prestige of the four-hundred-year Han dynasty no longer remains in the hearts of the people, and that the call for unity he imagined might have worked for the Emperor Guangwu of Han, who revived the Han dynasty and turned the tide, but it would never work for him.

The noble family’s foundation that Yuan Shao relied on to support his household also seems to have been cracked open by the judgment of heaven and earth and the boiling public opinion, destined to collapse completely under the trend of the times.

The noble families that can survive in this reconstruction of order are those who can stand upright and have broad knowledge, not the likes of Yuan Shao.

For example, in Chang’an at this moment, Qiao Yan is not concerned about the waves her state letter might cause but is instead discussing another matter in the council—whether to replace the later-rising Yuan clan of Runan with the Yuan clan of Chen Commandery, restoring them to their original position.

“Your Majesty, do you wish to further suppress Yuan Shao with this?”

“Not entirely,” Qiao Yan replied. “For many years, the Leping Monthly Report has never lacked records of exemplary prefectures and commanderies, encouraging the people to follow their example. Now, due to the changes in Yanzhou and the discussions of Chang Yan, the noble families are in a state of panic, almost forgetting this. However, the principle that too much of anything is never good remains unchanged. The scholars of the world still need time to rise through the enlightenment books. It is time to let the upright among the noble families gain fame.”

“Therefore, Minister Yuan Xi of Chen Commandery, who holds the reputation of the Yuan clan of Chen Commandery, is pure and desires little. Even at the height of his power, he never spoke ill of others. His son, Yuan Yaoqing, inherited his father’s legacy. When he served as the Prefect of Yingchuan, he was self-disciplined and devoted to public service, treating the people of Yu Province with courtesy. In the few months since he arrived in Yanzhou, he has not disappointed my expectations, completely different from the luxurious and extravagant attitude of the Yuan clan of Runan in the past.”

“The so-called noble families should follow the example of the Chen clan of Yingchuan’s journey to the east, the reputation of the eight dragons of the Xun clan, and the upright conduct of the Yuan clan of Chen Commandery. They should not sit and accumulate wealth, hiding thousands of private soldiers and households. When chaos arises, they should not carve out their own territories, believing themselves to bear great responsibilities, issuing orders and causing political chaos and hardship for the people.”

“All the students of the world should come from the public, not from private households. This is my wish.”

Those present could easily hear that the phrase “all the students of the world should come from the public” is likely what she most wants to achieve.

Even though Qingzhou and Ji Province have been at war, in the sixth month of the first year of Yuan Zhao, the selection named “imperial examination” in Hongwen Hall, proposed by Qiao Yan, was still held without delay.

This year is the first year of the reign of the Son of Heaven of Da Yong. Local officials are in a relatively vacant state due to the wars and other events of the past few years. It is precisely because of the urgent need to fill these vacancies that this long-prepared examination is strict, but the number of officials selected is greater than in previous years.

Since Hongwen Hall was proposed by Qiao Yan when she was still the Grand Marshal, and because the second round of interviews in this examination was personally presided over by her, these officials selected through the examination can indeed be called the emperor’s students.

And this is clearly not the only one.

Because when the officials selected through this examination set off for their posts, these lucky participants in the first imperial examination received a message—because the world has not yet been unified, this selection of scholars from Hongwen Hall was held before the details were fully perfected to first select a group of usable people.

But a year later, there will be a second round of examinations. By then, whether they will be replaced by newcomers will depend on whether they can protect the borders and bring peace to the people, fulfilling their duties diligently.

The intimidation of the noble families in the past month has made few dare to test Qiao Yan’s bottom line in this selection, trying to push their family members to the top. But after the world is pacified, whether this situation will change, or even whether there will be cases of examination fraud, Qiao Yan cannot guarantee. So, all she can do now is to suppress the Yuan clan of Runan as a negative example, pressing them into the ground with the attack on Ye City, while pulling the upright scholars represented by the Yuan clan of Chen Commandery to the forefront.

And if we take a ten-year period to cultivate talents, her Leping Academy should not only have those with the most superior talents standing in the front. By next year, more people should join this examination, further helping her maintain this “rule.”

Before that, those who have already served under her should have already been promoted based on their merits in conquering Ji Province and Qingzhou.

But speaking of the war situation in Qing and Ji Provinces…

In her…








When the news of the successful operation east of the Weishui River in Qingzhou and the capture of Beiping County by Lu Lingju, Lü Bu, and others reached her, it wasn’t exactly as she had anticipated, but it brought her an unexpected joy.

As the Empress of Da Yong, her role wasn’t to meticulously plan every detail. Just like after the somewhat hasty imperial examination, Xin Pi and others responsible had each submitted a proposal to her, much like the surprises brought by the war in these two provinces.

These talented subordinates had their own ways of bringing victory to her.

This was the result of accumulated efforts coming to fruition today!

They also did not violate the restrictions mentioned in Qiao Yan’s orders to minimize the impact on the autumn harvest.

The common people in the Qingzhou army, who once came from the Yellow Turban Army, cherished the harvest in Donglai and Beihai more than anyone else.

The skirmishes on the border of Ji Province, along with the rapid capture of Beiping and the swift action in Quanzhou, created an almost overwhelming advantage.

In the face of these two great victories, what comforted her the most was not just Gao Shun seemingly following some historical trajectory by returning to “General Lü,” or that Yuan Shao had lost another capable general, but that her founding team was showing an increasingly prosperous outlook.

This was far more refreshing than the situation in Ye City, where Yuan Shao and Liu Bian were at their wits’ end, waiting for their execution in August.

When Ye City received the state letter, the border of Ji Province also received an edict written by her.

Promoting Lu Lingju, the Protector of Wuhuan, to the rank of Middle General, and Sima Yi, the Magistrate of Zhuo County, to the position of Personnel Officer in Yuzhou, to assist Cui Jun in governing Yuzhou after the war in Ji Province was settled.

This was the benchmark she set with the students of Leping Academy!

As for Lü Bu…

He already had the title of Middle General of the North and was also given the title of Tiger Tooth General. For now, he could only be rewarded with wealth, and his total merits would be calculated after Ji Province was pacified.

Thinking back to how he initially joined her because of the grand spectacle of her leading her subordinates to pacify the Xiongnu, and now, through the north and south campaigns, he has gradually learned to cooperate with other generals, it also seems to be a comforting thing.

And who has grown like this, is it only Lü Bu?

With such a vast world to explore, who could still confine their heart to a tiny space!

In stark contrast was Yuan Shang in Liyang.

It’s hard to say whether he was too foolish or more confident than his father.

When the war situation in Qingzhou reached his ears, the first thing he thought of wasn’t the loss of half a province that would inevitably weaken their momentum, nor whether his subordinates would be unwilling to fight for the Han or the Yuan clan anymore, but rather—

With such a defeat, his elder brother truly wasted the trust their father had in him by urgently recalling him, and the responsibility given by their father when he handed over his side sword!

Thus, Yuan Tan was even less likely to compete with him for the position of heir to the Yuan clan!

It’s unclear whether Yuan Shao’s long-standing influence on Yuan Shang’s judgment with the idea of four generations of dukes, or the flattery he received due to his superior looks and his father’s favor, had inflated him beyond measure in recent years. Coupled with Yuan Shao’s slight recovery from his near-death state after being angered to the point of spitting blood, Yuan Shang reignited his ambition to achieve greatness by attacking Henei.

The news Yuan Shao received from his subordinates, along with the disastrous defeat in northern Ji Province, prompted him to hastily send a letter to Yuan Shang, intending to withdraw this unreliable son from the southern front, but it was too late!

After Cao Cao spread the news of his insufficient磨合 with the self-recommended Wei Yan and Pan Zhang, Yuan Shang “decisively” led his troops into Henei.

And it was here that he encountered a battle with the least number of enemy soldiers but the heaviest casualties on his side.

Had he heard of explosives? Yes.

Had he heard of the elephant troops transferred from Luoyang to Henei? Yes.

But he never expected to face such an attack the moment he crossed the border.

Most of the garrison in Henei County was busy with military farming to ensure that this newly subjugated area under Da Yong’s rule could store some grain this year without relying on relief from Guanzhong. At the border of Henei and Wei County, explosives were launched into the attacking troops via catapults, along with the simultaneous counterattack of thunderbolt vehicles firing stones.

Just as the thunderous sounds were fading, startling Yuan Shang’s horses into chaos, the elephant troops, trained to be accustomed to such noises, rolled towards them like boulders on the ground.

In the face of the bloody battlefield, Yuan Shang finally realized how foolish his reckless attack was.

But his regret at this point was of little use.

As he tried to calm his war horse with cold hands and feet, he frantically ordered the sounding of the gong to retreat, only to see two cavalry units following the breach opened by the elephant troops, charging in with the same ferocity, heading straight for him!

Who else but the most conspicuous figure in the crowd, the son of Yuan Shao!

However, no matter how much he hoped for his soldiers to protect him and return him to safety, the collapsing formation allowed Wei Yan’s cavalry to reach him with little resistance, knocking him off his horse with the back of a sword.

Subsequently, this young master Yuan was tied up and brought before Cao Cao.

The ambition he had to avenge his father’s escape from Yanzhou by targeting Cao Cao first was now matched by his狼狈.

Cao Cao before him showed no signs of being restrained by rising stars like Wei Yan, nor any annoyance at Qiao Yan’s distrust and the successive stripping of his subordinates, only a calm demeanor in the face of Yuan Shang.

This majestic posture made Yuan Shang dare not accuse Cao Cao of betraying his father at this moment.

The heatwave at the end of June scorched the ground he was forced to lie on to near boiling, and the life-threatening situation made him sweat profusely on his forehead and back.

Seeing the surrounding gazes evaluating his worth, Yuan Shang felt extremely nervous.

He didn’t even know what he was saying, only instinctively开口: “It’s so hot… Could I have some ice to cool down?”