About Cao Cao's reincarnation as the emperor's uncle

Chapter 45: Introducing the First, Continuing the Second, Guiding the Way

A mist began to rise, gradually enveloping the two of them.

But it couldn't hide the deep thoughts in Liu Fang's eyes.

Looking closely at the past life...

Whether it was the talents cultivated by the royal family who eventually followed Yuan Shao, or whether Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu each raised their own banners and split the Yuan clan.

Or perhaps Yuan Shao used Dong Zhuo to purge Yuan Wei's entire family.

Every detail suggests that Liu Hong must have reached some kind of cooperation with Yuan Shao.

But... that was more about using Yuan Shao.

Although he had severed ties with this young man and even turned against him in battle.

But in this life, he wants Benchu ​​to embark on a path that belongs to him.

……

Xu Feng, holding his sword, leaned against a gnarled plum tree, watching the two people talking at the bluestone table.

Liu Fang stroked the stone table and chuckled softly:

"Yuan Feng's so-called magnanimity and sincerity are actually the work of a great villain disguised as a loyalist."

“Yuan Kui was good at speculation, but his seemingly ingenious web of power struggles would eventually bind him.”

"Although Yuan Ji is talented, he has never truly experienced any trials and tribulations; he is merely a theorist."

“Yuan Shu… he’s a child with a naive mind, not worth worrying about.”

As he spoke, he plucked a plum petal that was about to fall:

"First, cut off Yuan Feng, then plot against Yuan Ji, and wait for Yuan Wei to bind himself..."

"We must keep Yuan Shu alive and see how Yuan Feng's lineage completely collapses from his hands."

Yuan Shao's expression was solemn:

"But Yuan Feng and Yuan Wei are both high-ranking officials, with numerous protégés and former subordinates. Cutting off this branch of the family is no easy task..."

Liu Fang's gaze pierced through the thin mist, looking towards Luoyang:
"The affairs of the court are governed by a game of chess; Your Majesty need not worry..."

"However... this final killing move requires your assistance."

Yuan Shao suddenly stood up, his robes scattering plum blossom petals all over the table:
"Rest assured, sir, Shao will obey your command."

Liu Fang gazed at his youthful face and nodded slightly:
“Good…this is the solution, but if a forest is to be formed, a single tree cannot support it.”

"Sir, are you referring to the lineage of Uncle Yuan He?"

"more than."

"And then there's the lineage of Yuan Pang, my cousin from Chen Commandery?"

"One move is still needed."

Yuan Shao frowned:

"Still needing?"

"Your grandfather, Yuan Tang, had twelve sons..."

Liu Fang paused, then tapped his fingers on the table, producing a crisp sound:

"Does this vast Yuan family of Runan only have one illegitimate son, Jun?"

Yuan Shao's pupils suddenly contracted:

"Sir, are you referring to my cousins, Yuan Yi and Yuan Xu?"

His voice was like a murmur, and as his eyes darted around, he recalled these fellow villagers whose experiences were similar to his own.

Amidst the thickening fog, Liu Fang smiled:

"Exactly..."

“The Yuan He and Yuan Pang lineages are easy to deal with, but the real variables lie in these scattered collateral branches.”

"If you can gather these three parties together, and break off branches to form a forest, then the ancestral tablets of the Yuan Clan Ancestral Hall in Runan will be..."

"I'm afraid we'll have to rearrange them."

Yuan Shao stared blankly at Liu Fang.

These words sounded like profound and mysterious sounds, stirring up a storm in my heart.

He bowed deeply to the ground once more:
"Shao, I understand."

Liu Fang stepped across the fallen petals and steadily supported Yuan Shao's arms:
Back then, people said, "When things don't go well, ask Wen Kai."

"Who doesn't know the name of Wen Kaigong? Who doesn't understand the heart of Wen Kaigong?"

"Even if people like Yuan Feng and Yuan Wei hold high positions, would they dare to face the upright character of Wen Kaigong?"

"What a pity! Duke Wenkai suffered a terrible persecution, but... his will must not be extinguished!"

"Therefore...the successor has two meanings: first, to continue; second, to guide."

The mountain wind ruffled the stray hairs at Yuan Shao's temples, revealing the turbulent emotions surging in his eyes.

Liu Fang's voice, mingled with the fragrance of plum blossoms, seemed to seep into his very bones:

"To carry on my father's legacy and guide the Yuan family from their misguided path..."

"Presumably, your mother named you this so that you would take up the great banner left by Wen Kai Gong for the Yuan family."

These words struck Yuan Shao's heart like a branding iron.

The adoptive mother's earnest teachings from childhood, and her heartfelt words of advice before her death...

As Liu Fang finished speaking, everything appeared before my eyes.

Liu Fang helped the speechless Yuan Shao to his feet and gently patted his shoulder:

"Go to meet the lineages of Yuan He and Yuan Pang with the spirit of Wen Kai Gong..."

"Let them know that the loyal and virtuous Yuan family of Runan is not extinct, just like the plum blossoms covering the mountain, which remain unchanged year after year despite the frost and snow." After saying this, Liu Fang put a bronze talisman into Yuan Shao's palm.

Yuan Shao gripped the imperial seal tightly, choking back tears for a long time.

……

As the sun dipped below the mountainside, Liu Fang had already bid farewell to the fragrant plum blossoms.

The sound of Xu Feng leading his horse came from the foot of the mountain, mixed with a series of messy footsteps, startling the crows returning to their nests.

Liu Fang suddenly turned around.

Suddenly, Yuan Shao appeared, holding the plum branch he had just broken off.

"May I leave my name, sir?"

Liu Fang raised his hand and pointed towards Luoyang City:
"Liu Fang of the Han Dynasty".

As he turned around, the setting sun cast his shadow in front of Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao gazed in the direction Liu Fang had left, where wisps of smoke were rising from chimneys.

Suddenly, he remembered the "Imperial Uncle" that had been circulating among the nobles of Luoyang recently.

It seems that the name of the emperor's uncle is... Liu Fang?
Immediately, Yuan Shao straightened his clothes, prostrated himself on the ground, and shouted loudly into the distance:

"Shao thanks Lord Yuanyi!"

In the distance, horses' hooves trampled the fallen petals on the ground.

Liu Fang gazed at the plum branch given to him by Yuan Shao in his hand, smiling but saying nothing.

……

Dusk was falling.

The tombstone inscribed with "Wife of Yuan Cheng" stands silently in the cold wind.

Yuan Shao knelt before the tomb, the plum trees behind him rustling.

"Mother, if you have any knowledge in the afterlife, please watch over Shao'er..."

"I will certainly live up to your expectations."

Just then, a gust of wind pressed down on the branches, and a few plum blossoms took advantage of the moment to gently brush against Yuan Shao's cheek.

Yuan Shao stood there stunned, tears streaming down his face before he could finish speaking.

He suddenly leaned forward, his fingertips slowly tracing the inscription on the stele, finally stopping at the last stroke of the character "妻" (wife).

Memories flood back.

……

There was no tomb there at that time.

The blue stone table was so new that it reflected a person's image; the mother was wearing a light blue ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress).

He was gently scraping the ash from the tip of his nose with his muddy hands.

"Shao'er, do you know what Shao means?"

"First, continue; second, guide!"

Young Yuan Shao eagerly chimed in, his knees still covered in soil from where he had just planted the plum trees.

"My mother has said it a hundred times!"

He looked up at his mother, where the sunlight filtered through the plum branches, and saw his small reflection in her eyes.

And behind him was the newly planted plum sapling, shorter than him.

His mother wasn't angry; her fingertips brushed against his sweaty hair.

"But Mother wants to tell it for the hundred and first time."

She suddenly took out a scroll of bamboo slips from her sleeve:

When Shao'er comes of age, his mother will give him the courtesy name "Benchu".

"Primordial?"

"Shao'er, do you know what the Analects means when it says, 'The superior man attends to the fundamentals; when the fundamentals are established, the Way will naturally arise'?"

“My mother once said that the foundation is the basis for self-cultivation and governing the country… A gentleman should focus on the virtues of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness, and use them to cultivate his character.”

"Then, what does the Book of Rites mean when it says, 'Rites are about returning to the roots and revisiting antiquity, without forgetting the beginning'?"

Young Yuan Shao tilted his head, gazing at the clerical script on the bamboo slips:

"Ritual is about returning to one's roots and revisiting antiquity, never forgetting one's origins..."

"Therefore, in times of calamity, no imperial edict is issued, and court affairs are conducted with joy... The original nature of one's heart is bestowed by Heaven, and it is valuable to reflect upon it and not forget it."

"It means to stay true to oneself, inherit from our ancestors, never forget our original aspirations, and constantly reflect on ourselves."

The mother smiled as she closed the bamboo scroll, the shadow of a plum blossom falling precisely between her brows:

"This is precisely what is meant by the origin, but..."

"My son, remember this well: what is easy to obtain at the beginning is difficult to maintain at the end."

She gently held her son's hand:
"The heart, like a tree, needs constant pruning and trimming..."

The image shattered here.

Yuan Shao suddenly laughed, but his tears fell even more rapidly.

"What is easily obtained at the beginning is difficult to maintain in the end..."

He stood up, murmured to himself, and stroked the moss in front of the monument, revealing the almost completely covered carving.

The characters "Ban" are faintly visible...

(End of this chapter)