My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 366 Yuan Tan's Three Requests

After listening to Zhuge Jin's final explanation, Guo Tu suddenly understood.

It turned out to be the case.

At the beginning, he also felt that the conditions Liu Bei offered to Yuan Tan were a bit too favorable, so much so that they seemed unreal and unbelievable.

After all, Yuan Tan only controlled one and a half states of land, and it was impossible for him to restore the Yuan family's peak influence and fight for the world himself.

If Liu Bei allowed Yuan Tan and his son to guard Qingzhou regardless of how miserable he would be in the future, then if Yuan Tan lost more territory before surrendering, wouldn't Liu Bei have to pay more? How could such a good thing happen in the world?
And Zhuge Jin hinted that "the later you come, the less you get, and the part that Yuan Tan loses because of your hesitation will be deducted from Yuan Tan's treatment in the future", which is very reasonable and its authenticity is greatly increased.

After Guo Tu had finalized some details with Zhuge Jin, two days later he returned from various counties with Xin Pi and went to Linzi to report to Yuan Tan.

……

After meeting Yuan Tan, Guo Tu did not dare to persuade Yuan Tan to surrender immediately, but first mentioned the good news that Yuan Tan was most concerned about, as a prelude:

"Congratulations, my lord. The princes have asked the General of Chariots and Cavalry for instructions. The General of Chariots and Cavalry has ordered the Qingxu army to organize another reinforcement for Nanpi City as soon as possible.

Instruct General Taishi and Captain Zhou to pass through the Zhangshui waterway, break the encirclement of Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang, and deliver a batch of military provisions to General Guan to facilitate long-term defense.

With such strong support, my lord can rest assured, and Nanpi will be as safe as a mountain."

After hearing this, Yuan Tan's face really showed joy. He had been extremely depressed in the past six months, and he had never felt so relieved before.

But perhaps because he had been suppressed for too long, Yuan Tan was beginning to have some "paranoia".

Hearing that Uncle Liu was so righteous again this time, he felt a little unreal, and immediately asked subconsciously with fear:

"This time the General of Chariots and Cavalry came to reinforce our army to defend the city, but he did not ask for any conditions? Do the princes have any recommendations for who should be the governor of Beihai?"

Yuan Tan always felt that if the other party did not put forward some straightforward conditions, he would feel uneasy in accepting the assistance.

Last winter, on the basis of the previous Donglai County, he promised to hand over the governance of Beihai County to Liu Bei's people, but the handover has not been fulfilled yet. Now it seems that it can't be delayed any longer, otherwise I am afraid that the "interest will be compounded" in the future.

However, Guo Tu's response surprised him.

Guo Tu said with a sincere face: "This time, the general sent troops to reinforce our army and did not ask for any reward. As for the governor of Beihai mentioned earlier, the princes did mention it. He said that the general had discussed with him a long time ago. As long as the lord has no objection, they will ask Cui Jigui, who lives in seclusion in Buqi Mountain, to be the governor of Beihai. They don't need to place their confidants in Beihai."

After hearing this, Yuan Tan felt that Uncle Liu's requirements were getting lower and lower, but at the same time he felt a little depressed and slapped in the face.

It also reminded him how little his appeal had declined.

Cui Yan escaped from Yecheng and fled to Qingzhou, but he would rather live in seclusion in Buqi Mountain than serve as an official for the Yuan family anymore.

Yuan Tan also sent people to invite Cui Yan several times, but Cui Yan always said: Although my mentor Zheng Xuan has passed away for three years, now that he has returned to Buqi Mountain, the place where my mentor opened the school, he should pay tribute to him and live in seclusion in order to make progress.

Although I know this reason is just an excuse, I can't force anyone to do it.

When Yuan Shao was alive, after he finished mourning for his mother for three years, he remembered that he was a posthumous child and had never met his biological father. It was impossible for him to observe mourning when he was a baby, so he had to make up for the three years, and he observed it for six years in a row.

People in the Han Dynasty valued filial piety and integrity. Cui Yan now said that he had returned to Buqi Mountain and was reminded of his father by the things he saw there and had no intention of becoming an official, but Yuan Tan could only support him.

But now Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin wanted to invite Cui Yan to work, even if he had to be a little shy for a few months before he was willing to come out to work, that was just to save Yuan Tan's face. In fact, Yuan Tan still knew in his heart: the people he couldn't recruit, Uncle Liu could.

This was undoubtedly another critical blow to Yuan Tan's psychological defenses. Without hurting his face too much, he could be prompted to see his own worth.

Fortunately, Yuan Tan had been accustomed to setbacks recently. After a brief loss, he quickly stopped thinking about Cui Yan and other resigned ministers, and just waited and saw how things would develop.

Yuan Tan pulled himself out of his depression and continued to question Guo Tu: "Is this all the General of Chariots and Cavalry asks? Does he have the confidence to break the siege of Nanpi by Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang with only General Taishi and the new Captain Zhou? And send military rations in?
The situation this year is different from last year. Last year, I asked General Zhang to defend the city, and General Guan and Lieutenant Wang were outside to coordinate. It took the combined efforts of many parties to temporarily relieve Nanpi and repel Cao Hong. Now our army is exhausted, and the reinforcements outside the city depend on General Taishi and his men. Don't miss the big event. "Yuan Tan fought with Yuan Shang last year and lost several battles in the field, so his direct troops suffered heavy losses. There is no need to elaborate too much on these chicken-pecking dramas. In short, the strength of both sides has been greatly weakened.

Yuan Tan can no longer spare any field troops as reinforcements, so there is a big difference between dealing with Yuan Shang's Lü Kuang and Lü Xiang this year and dealing with Cao Hong, Zhang He, and Gao Lan last year. Liu Bei's reinforcements will play an absolute main role.

In response to Yuan Tan's disbelief, Guo Tu naturally told him Zhuge Jin's original words: "The General of Chariots and Cavalry has entrusted all matters in Qing, Xu and Yang to the princes for full disposal and dispatch. The princes said that he has absolute confidence and can temporarily relieve Nanpi with only the troops of the General Taishi and the Zhou Xiaowei.

Because he expected that Yuan Shang would not last long, and as the Zhang River rose, it would be more advantageous for us to defend Nanpi, and given Cao's cunning, he would probably take advantage of the flood to tear up the reconciliation with Yuan Shang last year and attack Yecheng. So as long as we can withstand this wave of Yuan Shang's offensive, there will be no next wave, and the situation will be much easier than we thought.

It was precisely because the General of Chariots and Cavalry believed in the judgment of the princes and did not want to mislead the lord, nor did he want to take advantage of the danger to threaten the allies and deceive the lord into paying too much for this round of new reinforcements that he told the truth and did not ask for an exorbitant price. He said... he hoped that the lord would understand the situation of the Yuan family and make long-term plans. The prestige and appeal of the general's legacy had been exhausted by the Yuan family's civil war. "

After hearing these revealing words, Yuan Tan was moved by Liu Bei's sincerity, but at the same time he also felt a sense of sadness and loneliness.

Uncle Liu hopes that he will talk things over and surrender peacefully.

Yuan Tan's eyes turned cold, and he asked Guo Tu, "What do you think, sir?"

Guo Tu: "This matter is of great importance, and you are the master. No matter what decision you make, I will support you. I swear to heaven that I will never betray you for glory."

Yuan Tan's mouth twitched: "Then Zhuge Jin didn't put forward any conditions this time? You know, I'm not talking about the conditions for providing reinforcements this time, but the subsequent... long-term conditions."

Guo Tu: "How dare the princes make such conditions? However, he did report to the General of Chariots and Cavalry, who also took it very seriously and personally wrote back to promise some intentions. I and Zuo Zhi also witnessed it...

But they are just intentions. How dare I take these things back without authorization? The princes also said that this matter is not urgent. The general of the chariot and cavalry is kind and willing to convince others with virtue and prove his intentions with facts.

He also said that after you have witnessed with your own eyes how Cao Cao treated the already submissive Yuan Shang, and then think about how he treated you, you will make your own decision.

Yuan Tan fell into silence.

Uncle Liu hopes to use Cao Cao's cunning and fickleness to set him off and make him face reality.

However, Yuan Tan still heard something wrong from Guo Tu's narration. For example, how could Zhuge Jin ask for instructions from Liu Bei who was thousands of miles away so quickly? He should not have enough time.

Guo Tu said confidently that Liu Bei's camp had made great progress in domesticating pigeons, innovating breeds, and making communications, which relieved Yuan Tan's suspicion. He then took the opportunity to subtly publicize the earth-shaking changes that Langya County had undergone under Liu Bei's rule in the past year, implying that Zhuge Jin was very popular among the people of Langya.

Yuan Tan had no doubt about this, he just smiled bitterly:
"How can the governance of the Zhuge family be compared with that of ordinary people? When it comes to governing the people and managing finances, no one in the world can compare to them. Moreover, the Zhuge family is originally the patriarch of Langya County. If they return to govern the local area, who dares not obey them? Naturally, everything is in good order, is there any need to explain it?"

Yuan Tan obviously felt that Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Jun's return to their hometown was a perfect combination of time, place and people. Langya County developed well, and people all over the world would think it was natural.

Guo Tu observed Yuan Tan's expression and saw that he also showed signs of wavering, so he tried to test Yuan Tan's attitude towards surrendering to Liu Bei in a subtle way. He then tactfully described the conditions that Liu Bei had revealed through Zhuge Jin in general and obscure terms, implying that "the sooner you surrender, the better the treatment will be. If you wait until you are beaten the worse before surrendering, the treatment will gradually decrease."

Yuan Tan also understood this condition, but after thinking it over again and again, he still had a trace of doubt, so he opened up to Guo Tu and Xin Pi and said:

"I also know that at this point, the Yuan family no longer has the ambition to fight for the world. They only want to protect their ancestors' family name. It would be a great blessing to have power. But at the moment, there are still a few doubts:
I no longer have any doubts about the integrity of the General of Chariots and Cavalry, but his integrity does not mean that he can fulfill his promises, because it depends on whether he can win the battle with Cao Cao in the world. Otherwise, Cao Cao will eventually take over the world, and no matter how many promises the General of Chariots and Cavalry has made, what can he do to fulfill them?
In the battle of Donghai last year, although General Guan defeated Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Yuan was not the full strength of Cao's army, and it was Cao's army that underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, and General Guan defended and delayed, causing the enemy to be exhausted, and only then did he win by chance. If in the future General Chariot and Cavalry can take the initiative to attack Cao's bandits on the front battlefield and defeat them, expand the territory and expand the army, and chase the enemy to the north, why would I have any doubts?

Secondly, the siege of Nanpi has not yet been lifted, and the thief Yuan Shang is still showing off his power. If I completely submit to the General of Chariots and Cavalry while Yuan Shang is still separatist, what will happen to the honor and disgrace of my Yuan family? If the spirit of my father in heaven sees this, won’t he think that I am even worse than that thief Yuan Shang?

Since the princes dare to predict that Cao will break the alliance and attack Yuan Shang, let's wait and see if this prophecy is accurate. If it is accurate, it means that he can predict the enemy like a god and see through it. The way he advises must be good advice, and I will listen to it.

Finally, I bear the heavy responsibility of the Yuan family. As the saying goes, one should not change one's father's ways for three years. I haven't even completed the mourning period for my father. Even if I can't do anything in the future, I can only hand over the real power to others. The reputation of the Yuan family must be maintained until the end of the period.

Gongze, George, please stop trying to persuade me. I know that the later I vote, the worse the treatment will be, but I would rather my descendants enjoy one or two fewer generations of wealth than give in on the reputation of the Yuan family. "

After Yuan Tan said this, Guo Tu and others knew clearly that Yuan Tan was "willing to surrender with conditions while waiting and seeing".

It all depends on whether Liu Bei is capable, whether he can demonstrate strength that will reassure Yuan Tan, and whether Zhuge Jin's predictions are accurate.

(End of this chapter)