Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 310: Arrogant and Successful, Indecisive and Strategist

Xianyang Garden is the emperor's headquarters.

"I, Guo Tu, have come to pay homage to Your Majesty on the orders of Marquis Zhang."

In the big tent, Guo Tu knelt and bowed to Liu Xie, who was sitting on a stool, and said with guilt: "Zhang Yang and I are late in coming to your rescue. I beg Your Majesty to forgive us!"

Seeing the long-awaited general of Zhang Yu, Liu Xie was excited. He stood up and helped Guo Tu up, and asked, "How many troops are you leading to help?"

"Five thousand elite infantry and cavalry, now led by Zhang Yang, are fifty miles away from here," said Guo Tu.

"Why only 5,000 people?"

Hearing this, Liu Xie looked disappointed, sighed, and said, "It will be difficult for me to return to Luoyang!"

Guo Tu hesitated for a moment and asked, "Could it be that the Grand Marshal wants to welcome Your Majesty south?"

"Ok!"

Liu Xie looked melancholy and said, "The Grand Marshal has decided to move the capital south to Wancheng on the grounds that Luoyang is in decline and close to Yuan Shao."

"This~"

Guo Tu showed a dilemma and said, "The Grand Marshal's actions violated the agreement to move east to Luoyang. If Marquis Zhang led his troops in person, Yuan Shu would still be afraid. But now Marquis Zhang is ill in bed, so he sent me and Xu Huang to go east to Henei to rescue the emperor."

As he spoke, Guo Tu sighed with regret and said, "Two days ago, because Yuan Shao's troops burned the Heyang ferry, I delayed the southern reinforcements. And the day before yesterday, the scouts reported the wrong news, thinking that Your Majesty was still in Luoyang. General Zhang Yang led his troops to Luoyang first, and then we learned that Your Majesty went west to Hongnong. If we had known where Your Majesty was earlier, we would not have let Yuan Shu be so proud."

Liu Xie waved his hand and sighed, "The Grand Marshal's army has arrived in Luoyang. Even with your few thousand soldiers and horses, it is difficult to change the situation. When the court moves south, I hope Marquis Zhang will not forget the Han Dynasty and treat the Han people under his rule well."

Guo Tu looked ashamed and said, "I have failed Lord Zhang's order and failed your majesty's expectations."

After paying homage to Liu Xie, Guo Tu pretended to be guilty and left the tent with a sigh.

After leaving the tent, Guo Tu met Liu Bei, who was waiting for him at the entrance of the tent. The two men greeted each other.

"Lord Xuande, we, along with General Zhang, feel guilty for not being able to rescue Your Majesty in time, which led to Yuan Shu kidnapping the Emperor." Guo Tu said with a guilty sigh.

Liu Bei was not like Liu Xie who kept complaining. Instead, he comforted Guo Tu and said, "First, Yuan Shao wanted to kidnap the emperor, and then Yuan Shu's troops arrived. The situation has changed frequently, and I don't know what the future holds. Therefore, you were unable to welcome the emperor because of the situation. I will comfort your majesty, and if your majesty has any complaints, I hope you will forgive me."

"Don't dare!"

Guo Tu bowed to Liu Bei and said, "My uncle, why are you waiting for me here? I wonder why?"

Liu Bei looked around, pulled Guo Tu to a secluded place, and said, "The Grand Marshal Nan is welcoming Your Majesty to Wancheng. If he behaves improperly, I and the other ministers are not talented enough. We are willing to follow the example of Wang Wenhou in killing Dong. I hope that Marquis Zhang can lend a hand at that time."

Knowing that he could not return to Luoyang, and worried about Yuan Shu's outrageous behavior, Liu Xie decided to follow Wang Yun's example and kill Dong in order to revive the Han Dynasty. As for the person to be entrusted with the important task, Liu Xie temporarily asked Liu Bei to secretly plan.

When Guo Tu heard the secret words from Liu Bei, his mind became active, but his face showed joy.

Guo Tu calmed down and said, "Since the emperor's uncle is willing to support the Han Dynasty, I will report this to Marquis Zhang. If you need troops, please send someone to inform the emperor."

"Thank you for your help, sir!"

"It's my duty!"

After bidding farewell to Liu Bei, Guo Tu, who was responsible for social interaction, was ordered to meet Yuan Shu.

Inside the military tent, Yuan Shu looked at Guo Tu, who was standing with his hands folded, and suddenly asked, "You came to see His Majesty earlier. I wonder what His Majesty talked to you about?"

Guo Tu said, "The conversation between the ruler and his subjects is a private matter. The Grand Marshal should not ask too many questions, lest he lose the relationship between the ruler and his subjects."

"The way of ruler and subject?"

Yuan Shu sneered and said disapprovingly: "The Han Dynasty was in decline, and it was only with the support of me and Marquis Zhang that we were able to move east to Luoyang. When Yuan Shao seized the tribute grain, I thought Luoyang was in decline and could not support the court, so I led the troops to welcome him to the Southern Capital. I have made great contributions to the Han Dynasty, so why can't I ask about it?"

Seeing this, Guo Tu's mind was slightly moved, and he thought to himself: "Your Excellency's words are true. Yuan Shu is very proud and complacent. Now that he has made great contributions to the Han Dynasty, he has no intention of being humble. I am afraid that he really wants to usurp the throne and become emperor."

Thinking of this, Guo Tu said: "The emperor blames me for not coming to help in time, and I don't want to move south to Wancheng. I want to live in Luoyang with you gentlemen."

Yuan Shu sneered and said, "It seems that the emperor is still full and does not know the pain of hunger!"

Hearing this, Guo Tu was greatly shocked. Yuan Shu was so bold that he dared to discuss the emperor in front of the envoys of the princes and even secretly satirized the emperor. His reputation for arrogance was truly well-deserved!
"Why have you come here today? Are you here to follow the orders of your Lordship Zhang, or do you want to stop me from welcoming the emperor to move south?" Yuan Shu asked.

Guo Tu said respectfully, "Luoyang is a desolate place surrounded by wars. You, my lord, are welcoming the emperor to Wancheng, perhaps for his own good. I, following the order of Marquis Zhang, have come to see you. I hope you can treat the emperor and the officials of the court well. As for sending troops to attack, you are joking. Without Marquis Zhang's order, how dare I be your enemy?"

Seeing that Guo Tu had no intention of becoming his enemy, Yuan Shu's expression eased and he said, "I have been friends with Marquis Zhang for ten years. Previously, Marquis Zhang and I fought against Li Jue together. Now that I have welcomed the emperor, I will definitely not fail to benefit Marquis Zhang. I will submit a memorial to Your Majesty in a few days and recommend your lord as the general, the lieutenant of the Sili Army, and the commander of the military affairs of the three states of Shanxi. The court will move south to Wancheng, and Hongnong and Henan can be temporarily under the jurisdiction of Marquis Zhang." "Thank you, my lord!"

Yuan Shu was well aware of the principle of giving a red date after a slap in the face. He first questioned Guo Tu's intentions and then offered him a high position as a reward. After all, Yuan Shu did not want to have a grudge with Zhang Yu for the time being, and his current diplomatic policy was to ally with Yu and control Shao.

Of course, in order to prevent Guo Tu from passing on false information to Zhang Yu, Yuan Shu gave him a lot of money and food and also made Guo Tu a marquis.

Not to mention that after Guo Tu paid a visit to Liu Xie and Yuan Shu, in order to prevent Yuan Shao from crossing the river to pursue him, Yuan Shu led a large army to stay in Luoyang, and let Chang Nu take Liu Xie south to Wancheng first.

At the same time, when Yan Liang and Chunyu Qiong fled back to Chaoge, they happened to meet Yuan Shao who was leading a large army.

Yuan Shao was furious and paced around the tent, accusing Yan Liang and Chunyu Qiong. But the two dared not say anything, fearing that they would make Yuan Shao even angrier.

"You two are stupid!"

Yuan Shao rebuked him, "Yuan Shu's army is mostly infantry. If there was a large army behind him, Yuan Shu would never agree to fight you. If I'm right, Yuan Shu only had cavalry at his side, and the large army's infantry was dozens of miles away."

"I am incompetent and cannot understand Yuan Shu's deep intentions!"

Yan Liang apologized and said, "General Zhong Jian and I surrounded the emperor. If Yuan Shu had not led his cavalry to catch him, I would have been captured by you. But now Yuan Shu has captured the emperor. I have failed your expectations."

"Please calm down, my lord!"

Ju Su advised: "Although Yuan Shu and you are enemies, your relationship is like that of brothers. Given the current situation, your first priority is to repair your relationship with Yuan Shu so that you can conquer Zhang Yu in the future."

Yuan Shao's face was uncertain. It was a pipe dream for him to bow to Yuan Shu. Unless he was defeated one day, he would never bow to Yuan Shu. But there was something to be thankful for. At least the emperor was not captured by the powerful enemy Zhang Yu.

"Yuan Shu was arrogant for a while, but now he is welcoming the emperor, so what?" Yuan Shao said stubbornly.

As he spoke, Yuan Shao looked at Yan Liang and Chunyu Qiong. Although he wanted to blame the two generals, he waved his hand and said unhappily, "You two should withdraw first. If you have any gains, you will be rewarded according to your military merits."

"Thank you Minggong!"

Generals Yan Liang and Chunyu Qiong immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly took their leave from Yuan Shao.

After the two generals left the tent, Yuan Shao looked at Ju Shou, Tian Feng, Xu You and other counselors and asked, "Now that the emperor has been captured by Yuan Shu, how should we use our troops?"

"Mingsir, Cao Cao fought against Lu Bu this month. He sent troops to attack Dingtao and defeated Wu Zi, the governor of Jiyin. When Lu Bu led his troops to rescue him, Cao Cao set an ambush and defeated him. Although he defeated Lu Bu, Cao Cao was unable to pursue him further due to lack of food. Lu Bu recruited Chen Gong from Puyang, and Cao Cao wanted to fight the two of them to recapture Yanzhou."

Xu You stroked his beard and said, "In my opinion, you are leading a large army here, and the emperor has been captured by Yuan Shu. So it is better to attack Puyang in the south, occupy Dongjun, and seize Yanzhou. Zhang Yu wants to become a strong Qin and rule Shanxi, but it is difficult for you to follow Guangwu's strategy of ruling Hebei, so it is better to defeat Zhang Yu with the land of Shandong."

"Occupy Yanzhou?"

Yuan Shao hesitated for a moment and asked, "What do you think, Gong Yu and Yuan Hao?"

"inappropriate!"

Ju Su objected, saying, "Lü Bu is Zhang Yu's vanguard, Zhang Miao is Yuan Shu's subordinate, and Cao Cao is your subordinate. It would be beneficial for you to have these three clash in Yanzhou. Your strong enemy is in the west, not in the south. So if you take Yanzhou, I'm afraid you will have to fight Yuan Shu. In my opinion, you should first attack Zhang Yu, and then fight Yuan Shu for the Central Plains."

Xu You sneered and said, "Ju Jun, do you think that you are not as good as Yuan Shu?"

Xu You analyzed the pros and cons to Yuan Shao and said, "Mr. My Lord, Shanxi is in a state of decline compared to the pre-Han Dynasty. If you expand Youzhou to the north, invade Yanzhou to the south, and conquer Xuzhou, then the five states of Ji, Qing, You, Xu, and Yan will be enough to destroy the two states of Shanxi."

"If what Ju Su said is true, Zhang Miao is Yuan Shu's vassal, and if you attack Zhang Yu now, won't Yuan Shu benefit? Besides, Cao Cao has only 10,000 soldiers, and is no match for Yuan Shu. If you don't take him now, Yuan Shu will definitely take him. Moreover, Yuan Shu welcomes the emperor, and he uses the emperor to command the Central Plains and appoint governors of prefectures and counties. So who do Yanzhou and Xuzhou depend on?"

Xu You spoke eloquently, promoting his strategic thinking to Yuan Shao, saying: "Yuan Shu is attacking Yizhou in the west, occupying Yangzhou in the east, and looking towards Yanzhou in the north. How can you focus on Zhang Yu and ignore Yuan Gonglu?"

Yuan Shao frowned and paced back and forth, thinking about the arguments of Xu You and Ju Su.

To be honest, Yuan Shao favored Xu You's opinion. Since Zhang Yu occupied Bingzhou, he gradually realized that his plan to occupy the four states of Hebei had failed. Especially when he saw Zhang Yu's development towards Guanzhong, he realized that Zhang Yu's development ideas were to follow the trend of Qin and Han to establish their dominance in the world.

Therefore, Yuan Shao consciously adjusted his strategy and appointed Gao Gan as the governor of Xuzhou. This was a subtle move on his part to try to change his strategy. If he could occupy the five states in Guandong, it would not be difficult for him to defeat Zhang Yu.

But what Ju Su said does make sense. If he invades Yanzhou in the south, wouldn't it be a pity to miss the opportunity to defeat Zhang Yu?
But according to Xu You, if Yuan Shu used the name of the Son of Heaven to appoint officials from the Central Plains, wouldn't he be watching Yuan Shu gain the Central Plains in vain?

"Why doesn't Yuan Hao speak?" Yuan Shao asked.

Tian Feng leaned on his cane, shook his head and said, "Mingsir, what Lords Xu and Ju said makes sense. If we attack Zhang Yu, Yuan Shu will be able to sit back and watch the Central Plains. If we fight Yuan Shu, Zhang Yu will be able to march west to Longyou. Now I need to ask what you think!"

Yuan Shao stopped pacing, exhaled, and said, "Zhang Yu has the mountains as a defense, and Liu He in the north is his support. Yuan Shu will send troops to rescue him if necessary. If I occupy Yanzhou now, Zhang Yu will attack Longyou in the west, and I will not have any trouble in the west for the time being."

(End of this chapter)