Late Han Zhao Tang

"Guo Jun, Yuan Shu has been captured by the King. It should not be difficult to persuade the false Chen to surrender now."

Inside the carriage, Xun Chen and Guo Tu sat together and began to speak.

Xun Chen was originally supposed to go to Huainan to persuade Cao Cao to send troops to help Zhang Yu attack Yuan Shu. However, Zhang Yu unexpectedly defeated Chen's army and captured Yuan Shu, making his mission unnecessary. Therefore, after the Battle of Yucheng, Zhang Yu sent someone to urgently recall Xun Chen and change his mission to Wancheng, where he would persuade Chen and Yuan to surrender together with Guo Tu.

Guo Tu remained calm and composed, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty will take Yuan Shu's daughter as your concubine and enfeoff Yuan Shu as the Marquis of Ruyang with a fief of ten thousand households. This is already an expression of your respect. The Chen people have been defeated and are terrified. Now that they see our army treating them well, how could they possibly disagree?"

Xun Chen said, "If Your Majesty grants Yuan Shu the title of Duke, it should not be difficult for Chen Yuan to surrender."

Guo Tu raised an eyebrow and said, “The Chen state usurped the throne of the Han dynasty, and now it has enfeoffed Yuan Shu as a duke. Doesn’t that mean Chen is the former dynasty? So why would Your Majesty do that? The dynasty before Tang was the Han dynasty, not the usurped Chen dynasty. The only person in the world who can be granted the title of duke is the Han emperor.”

When Yuan Shu first surrendered and negotiated with Zhang Yu about titles, he actually wanted to see if Zhang Yu was willing to recognize the Chen Kingdom as the former dynasty.

After all, according to the system of "two kings and three retainers", all of them were required to be granted titles of nobility to the descendants of the previous royal family, such as the titles of king and duke.

When Cao Pi usurped the throne, he enfeoffed Liu Xie as the Duke of Shanyang; when Sima Yan usurped the throne, he granted Cao Huan the title of King of Chenliu, and Liu Xie's lineage retained their titles. Liu Shan, relying on the name of the Han dynasty and his voluntary surrender, obtained the title of Duke of Anle County; while Eastern Wu was not recognized by Jin, and due to its resistance, Sun Hao only received the title of Marquis of Submission, and was not among the Two Kings and Three Honored Guests.

What was so special about the two kings and three retainers?

This means they can enjoy the dynasty's fate forever and will not be stripped of their fiefdom. In terms of status, as descendants of the previous dynasty, they are, in a sense, guests rather than subjects.

Yuan Shu knew that Chen Yuan would most likely be destroyed by Zhang Yu, so he tried to obtain the status of two kings and three honored guests in order to gain more political benefits.

Zhang Yu understood the extraordinary significance of the two kings and three retainers. If he acknowledged Yuan Shu's Chen dynasty as the previous dynasty, he would be implicitly admitting that the Han dynasty was destroyed by the Chen dynasty, and that the Chen dynasty was destroyed by him. But if he followed this logic, wouldn't he be implicitly acknowledging that Yuan Shu was above him? This was something Zhang Yu could not tolerate.

Therefore, in Zhang Yu's plan, since the Han dynasty claimed to be the successor to the Zhou dynasty, he would also be the successor to the Han dynasty. He would enfeoff the descendants of the Zhou and Han imperial families as two kings and three honored guests, but Yuan Shu's Chen dynasty would definitely not be among them.

"I almost forgot about the matter of the two kings and three ministers, thank you for your guidance, Mr. Guo."

Xun Chen understood the deeper meaning behind it and cupped his hands, saying, "This time, we are going to Wancheng as envoys to carry out a foolproof plan to make Chen and Yuan surrender to Your Majesty. We still need to secretly befriend the ministers and have them persuade Yuan Yao."

"Yuan Mi and Yan Xiang need no further introduction; according to others, they used unorthodox methods to subdue me."

Guo Tu pondered for a moment and said, "According to those who surrendered, Yuan Shu's son-in-law Huang Yi commands ten thousand troops and is on good terms with Yuan Yao, Yuan Yin, and others. Given the current situation, Huang Yi holds troops in his hands. If he strongly advocates surrendering to us, then Yuan Yao will have no choice but to surrender to our army."

On his way to Wancheng, Guo Tu received numerous letters of greeting from officials of the Chen state. These letters revealed almost everything about the recent situation in Wancheng, giving Guo Tu a general understanding of the city's situation.

"Is Huang Yi greedy for money?" Xun Chen countered.

Guo Tu said, "As far as I know, Huang Yi is fond of wealth and status. If we want to win over Huang Yi, we can do it in two ways: grant him official titles and important positions, and also tell him that he is related to Your Majesty by marriage."

“Offering substantial rewards, granting important positions, and cultivating relationships with relatives and friends are all ways to win people’s hearts. We can now follow Lord Guo’s suggestion,” Xun Chen said.

"good!"

After a day's journey, the two finally arrived in Wancheng. Yuan Mi greeted them outside the city and invited them into Wancheng.

Upon arriving in Wancheng, numerous officials and military officers from Chen and Yuan dynasties sought to pay homage to Guo Tu, hoping to establish a connection with the rising power of Zhang Yu. Guo Tu welcomed all, sending Xun Chen to negotiate on his behalf. He, meanwhile, met secretly with Yuan to discuss the matter of surrender.

Inside the room, the two sat facing each other at a table, their conversation relaxed and the atmosphere light.

"Your Majesty often thinks of our past friendship, so before I went on my mission, I instructed Guo Tu to pay a visit to Lord Yuan," Guo Tu said with a smile.

Yuan Mi inquired, "It has been more than ten years since we parted in Pei State. I wonder how the King of Tang is?" "Your Majesty is about to unify the world, full of vigor and ambition, and has the thought of building up the Central Plains. However, since the southern campaign, I have seen the Central Plains' prefectures and counties in ruins, fertile fields lying fallow, and the population sparse. I am deeply saddened for the people." Guo Tu pondered for a moment and said, "Therefore, I have sent me as an envoy, firstly to inquire after Lord Yuan, and secondly to request an end to the war."

Yuan Mi nodded slightly and said with emotion, "What the King of Tang seeks is also what I seek."

Then, Yuan Mi countered, "I wonder what my lord is like, and how the King of Tang treats him?"

Guo Tu said, "King Tang remembers our old friendship and has appointed Yuan Gong as the Marquis of Ruyang, with a fief of ten thousand households. Moreover, King Tang has heard that Yuan Gong has a beautiful daughter and wishes to marry her. At that time, Yuan Gong and Zhang Jiang are related by marriage. If any of you surrender, King Tang will reward you one by one, and virtuous and capable people will surely be promoted."

Yuan Mi was overjoyed and asked, "Any other requirements?"

Guo Tu hesitated for a moment, then said, "To be honest, as a high-ranking official, you are well aware of the dangers of turmoil. In order to ensure the stability of Yuzhou, His Majesty intends to relocate the Yuan family and the clans of the Chen dynasty's high-ranking officials to Guanzhong to settle down."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Mi breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Moving to Guanzhong is the proper course of action for the country. I have no other worries now, and I only hope that the Tang King will treat my Yuan family members well."

Although the migration to Guanzhong has greatly damaged the current economy and social connections, the Yuan family still has the ability to rise again, maintain its family status through maneuvering, and even become a major central family.

For example, when Liu Bang founded the Western Han Dynasty, in order to weaken the power of the nobles of the six states in Guandong and strengthen the foundation of Guanzhong, he relocated more than 100,000 people to Guanzhong.

Among them, Tian Qi moved to Guanzhong and branched out into eight lineages, one of which was the famous Fifth Surname. These noble sons from Guandong rarely declined after migrating to Guanzhong; instead, they rose to become powerful and influential families in Guanzhong. Their descendants then became high-ranking officials in the imperial court, and some even served as prime ministers, such as Tian Yannian, Tian He, and Tian Guangming.

Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian mentions the situation of the nobles in Guandong, namely, "The wealthy merchants and big businessmen in Guanzhong mostly own all the land, such as Tian Se and Tian Lan".

Furthermore, although Wang Mang was not born into the Tian clan of Guanzhong, he was still a member of the Tian clan of Qi, only his ancestors had fled to Hebei. His surname, Wang, came from the local people of the former Qi family, who referred to them as "Wang Jia" (王家).

Other typical examples include the Du clan of Jingzhao, to which Du Ji belonged. The Du clan of Jingzhao settled in Nanyang, and after being moved to Guanzhong, the family continued to grow and prospered until the Tang Dynasty.

The meritorious officials who rose to prominence during the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, such as the Geng, Liang, Dou, Deng, and Ma families, all traced their ancestry back to powerful clans or gentry families in Guandong. After migrating to Guanzhong, they used their political resources to intermarry and become prominent families in Guanzhong.

Now that the Yuan family has moved to Guanzhong, Yuan Mi boasts of his past relationship with Zhang Yu, and Yuan's daughter is Zhang Yu's concubine. Therefore, how could the Yuan family be weakened?
Needless to say, the result was nothing more than redevelopment. Through marriage alliances, academic pursuits, and leveraging existing connections, the Yuan family rose again, becoming a family like the Du family of Jingzhao and the Ma family of Fufeng. Even if they could not restore the prosperous era of four generations of high-ranking officials, they could still leave a name in Guanzhong.

Seeing that Yuan Mi did not object, Guo Tu continued, "The Yuan of Qi is different from the Yuan of Chen, I hope you are aware of this. You are talented and virtuous, and the King of Tang will surely entrust you with another post."

Yuan Mi cupped his hands and said, "I am already deeply grateful for the generous treatment the Tang King has shown to my Yuan family. How could I dare to ask for anything more?"

Guo Tu took a sip of wine and smiled, "I have heard that Young Master Yao values ​​Huang Yi highly, but I do not know where Huang Yi is now. Could you please ask Lord Yuan for directions?"

"Huang Yi is in charge of the military and is highly regarded by our Crown Prince, but Huang Yi is afraid of his wife!"

Yuan Mi chuckled a few times and said, "I will have my wife visit my lord's daughter and tell her about the king's favor and the matter of the king taking her as his concubine. She will also speak to her about the father-daughter relationship. Huang Yi, urged by his daughter, will naturally side with the king."

Upon hearing this, Guo Tu couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh, saying, "I originally intended to persuade him with benefits, official titles, and marriage alliances, but I didn't expect Huang Yi to be afraid of his wife. The people of Jing and Yu have not suffered the ravages of war, and the soldiers have been spared the toil of battle, all thanks to Lord Yuan. If Your Majesty hears this, you will surely be very pleased."

"Don't dare!"

Yuan Mi bowed and sighed, saying, “Even without me, you will still gain something. The Tang King has captured our lord, and his fame has shaken the Central Plains. Now, the soldiers and officers are terrified of the Tang army, and they have no will to fight. The court officials regard the Tang King as an enlightened ruler and praise his policies. The officials have no intention of exerting their power. Tell me, how can you stop the Tang King from surrendering to our dynasty?”

The reason Yuan Mi was so eager to take the lead was not only because he wanted to get in early and benefit early, but also because he saw the despair on the faces of the strategists and soldiers who fled back to Wancheng after the defeat at Yucheng. They were all spiritually conquered by Zhang Yu.

Since there is no hope of resistance, it is better to accept reality and actively take the lead, working to persuade Chen and Yuan to surrender to Zhang Yu, so as to gain more benefits for the Yuan family. (End of this chapter)