I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 275 You have caused so much suffering to your father!
After Yuan Shu said this, Yuan Feng was a little confused.

He carefully thought back to the series of details of how the previous incident was resolved, as well as some of the details of "reconciliation" with the Yang group. After a careful search, he really did not find any oath-taking involved.

It was nothing more than forcing them to give up some interests in exchange for Yuan's no longer targeting them, so that the two sides could reconcile and then deal with the eunuchs together. That was all.

It was an exchange of interests, there was no vow, it was a temporary compromise, not a permanent commitment.

How can the dirty business of exchanging political interests involve something as sacred as an oath?

"What you said... does make sense..."

"That's right. We didn't swear an oath. It was just a tacit understanding that both sides would temporarily join hands to deal with the eunuchs."

Yuan Shu continued, "Besides, the past is the past, and the present is the present. We can't just apply the past situation to the present. At that time, the Yuan family had not yet taken power. Now that the Yuan family is in power, can it be the same? At that time, they insulted the Yuan family and mobilized the people of Luoyang to target the Yuan family. How arrogant and crazy were they?

Including my father, my third uncle, me, and even the ancestors of the Yuan family, there is no one they dare not insult, no one they dare not target. Has my father forgotten everything that happened at that time? Anyway, I have not forgotten it, and I dare not forget it! The arrogance of these people is still vivid in my mind, how can I just let it go like this? "

Yuan Feng was moved by what Yuan Shu said, and some emotions were stirring in his heart.

If this group of people could be used to buy temporary stability for the court and give the Yuan family a chance to consolidate their position and increase their authority, it would not be impossible. It would simply be a matter of setting up a new example to attract everyone's attention. As long as the Yuan family's position could be preserved and they were not targeted, that would be enough.

"In this case, let me think about it carefully..."

Seeing that Yuan Feng was persuaded, Yuan Shu struck while the iron was hot and continued the pursuit.

"Father, just a group of people like this is not enough. They are far less powerful than the eunuchs. It only takes us a few months or half a year to eliminate the eunuchs, but it will take us at most a year to deal with them. Is a year really enough for the Yuan family to stabilize their power?

This group of people is a minority after all. If they are eliminated, they are gone. Next, we will either have to find new enemies or face the situation where the Yuan family will take over the government and take over the emperor. There will still be turmoil and problems. Father has to prepare in advance!"

Yuan Feng's expression froze, and then he felt extremely tired.

"If I had known that I would be so troubled after taking power, I would have done nothing and been a minister of the Han Dynasty peacefully, rather than toiling day and night and being in a dilemma. You have caused me so much trouble!"

Yuan Shu immediately rolled his eyes.

Okay, so I was looking at Jackie Chan, but I was looking at the wrong person?

I helped my father seize the supreme power, so I was wrong?

Yuan Shu did not argue with Yuan Feng on this issue, but continued to attack, trying to achieve his goal.

"If father doesn't want to go through so much trouble, he should prepare more enemies in advance. While eliminating the enemies, he can also strengthen his authority. This is a good thing that can achieve the best of both worlds and make the Yuan family's position more stable. Why does father still feel troubled?"

"It's easy for you to say it, kid, but it makes your father work hard!"

Yuan Feng said dissatisfiedly: "Where do so many enemies come from? Tell me, which other enemies can be used to divert attention?"

Yuan Shu stretched out his hand and pointed to the north.

"Xianbei."

"…………"

Yuan Feng was suddenly speechless.

Isn't this obvious? Just as Duan Jiong and Yuan Shu were marching east to fight Liu He's rebels, at the end of the first year of Zhengshi and the beginning of the second year, the Xianbei once again went south to harass and plunder Youzhou and Bingzhou, destroying counties and killing countless people. This was certainly not the first time, and it is not even known how many times.

Tan Shihuai unified the Xianbei tribes more than ten years ago and became increasingly powerful. Starting from the middle and late period of Emperor Huan's reign, they went south every year to plunder the border. The Han Empire was in decline and could not resist, so it reluctantly sent Zhang Huan to attack once, but did not achieve a great victory. After that, the Xianbei continued to go south every year.

The imperial court was troubled by this and planned to repeat the old tricks. Emperor Huan arranged for envoys to visit Tan Shihuai outside the border, intending to win him over by offering him marriage and a title of king. However, Tan Shihuai saw through the weakness of the Han Empire, so he refused the marriage and continued to harass the south, becoming even more aggressive.

This guy was a natural leader and general. It was said that he was already a local tyrant when he was fourteen or fifteen years old, commanding his tribe to fight in the south and the north. When he was in his early twenties, he established a royal court in Danhan Mountain and became the common leader of all the Xianbei tribes. Relying on his prestige, he managed to unite a group of fragmented nomadic tribes that had not yet formed a unified national consciousness into a whole.

In the eyes of the border residents of the Han Empire, he was the "Xiongnu Chanyu" of the new era. He had a very fierce reputation in Youzhou, Bingzhou, and Liangzhou, and could stop children from crying at night.

Such a person invaded the border for years, devastated the three states of You, Bing and Liang, and even occupied parts of the territories of Liaodong, Liaoxi, Shanggu, Yunzhong, Yanmen and Wuyuan counties for a long time. He was a formidable enemy.

The reason why this guy did not become a terrifying existence like the Huns in their heyday that could threaten the survival of the Han Dynasty was that the accumulation and development of the Han Empire over the years gave the Han Empire a generational advantage over the grassland in terms of national strength and technology.

Besides, the Han Empire had been powerful for hundreds of years. Even if it was about to die, it would be like a centipede dying but still alive. The foundation built up over the years was still there, which was much stronger than the impoverished foundation of Liu Bang at the beginning.

The psychological advantage that the Han Empire had gained over the years by rubbing against the surrounding ethnic groups had not yet been lost. Even though the Xianbei people often plundered the borders of the Han Empire, they did not think they could destroy the Han Empire.

Moreover, the population of the great alliance after his unification was not large, only about 500,000 or 600,000 people, so there was no possibility of threatening the Han Empire at all.

However, mobilizing a full force of more than 100,000 combat personnel would still be a huge pressure for the three states of You, Bing and Liang. If they were ignored for a long time, as the population here continues to grow, the potential threat would still be huge.

Therefore, Yuan Shu had planned to kill Tan Shihuai and destroy the Xianbei tribal alliance early on, and then have the Han Empire take the lead in managing the grasslands and bring all nomads into this framework to serve the Han Empire.

However, this requires support at the national strategic level. Yuan Shu cannot make the decision on his own and needs Yuan Feng's approval.

Yuan Feng certainly acknowledged that the Xianbei existed as a major threat to the border of the Han Empire, but on the one hand, he did not think that the Xianbei could shake the foundation of the Han Dynasty, and on the other hand, he was really unwilling to let Yuan Shu take risks on the grassland.

So he was silent for a moment, sighed, and patted Yuan Shu's hand.

"Shu, I know you have great ambitions, but the Xianbei are not a big enemy after all. They may seem powerful now, but they are far from being as powerful as the Han Dynasty. They are just a threat to the border. It is hard to say whether they can become a serious threat or cause common concerns among the government and the people. Let's not discuss this matter for now!"

How could Yuan Shu accept such a statement?

This is an indispensable part of his established strategy!

"Father, it seems that the Xianbei are not yet a threat to the Han Dynasty, but all problems grow from small to large. Now they are not a threat, but they can invade the Han territory of You, Bing and Liang. What about in the future?
Not to mention other places, especially Bingzhou, Wuyuan County, Yunzhong County, and Yanmen County, many counties have been occupied by them. The Han Dynasty has actually lost a lot of land and is being devoured by these dogs. This is something that must be guarded against!
Yes, the Han Dynasty was indeed strong, but the Xianbei people were not weak either. I heard that Tan Shihuai had been fighting wars in the south, the north, the east and the west in recent years, constantly expanding the territory, and there was a trend of restoring the Xiongnu's heyday. Father, is this a trivial matter?

I have heard that the wise men of ancient times would pay attention to even the smallest worries when governing a country, and would observe in advance whether there was a possibility of further expansion. If there was, they would definitely deal with it and nip the crisis in the bud. This is what is called a good warrior without great achievements! "

Yuan Feng felt a little strange when listening to what Yuan Shu said.

He stroked his beard and looked at Yuan Shu.

"Shu, do you think the Xianbei can become the mortal enemy of the Han Dynasty? Just like the Xiongnu in the past?"

Yuan Shu smacked his lips, not knowing what to say.

The Xianbei did not become a mortal enemy of the Han Dynasty, because the Han Dynasty was about to collapse in just a few decades. The Han Dynasty collapsed before the Xianbei became its mortal enemy, so of course there was no mention of what happened later.

However, during the following hundreds of years of division during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Xianbei people did play an important and even leading role.

(End of this chapter)