Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 432 Yuan Benchu's Path

Upon seeing Guan Yu's army, Yuan Shao felt a strange sense of relief.

It's like a sense of relief in my heart.

The world seemed to have fallen silent.

At this point, victory or defeat seems unimportant.

"Hahaha……"

Yuan Shao suddenly chuckled softly, which gradually turned into a wild laugh that was quite eerie.

The laughter grew louder and louder, as if he wanted to embed his entire past into this maniacal laughter.

Yuan Shao noticed the fear and panic in the eyes of the ragtag army behind him.

The Buyeo troops had halted their advance, and the Yilou tribe, who were subordinate to Buyeo, also stood still.

The Wuhuan people remained by Yuan Shao's side, but they also lacked any will to fight.

Jiang Yiqu, leading the troops recruited by Yuan Shao from Youzhou, was desperately organizing the army.

In the distance, Guan Yu and his men's banners were rapidly approaching, and shouts of "Kill the Hu!" could be clearly heard.

But Yuan Shao was still laughing.

"General Yuan, we should avoid the enemy's sharp edge..."

King Yuchitai of Fuyu looked at Yuan Shao, who was still laughing wildly, with some panic: "Shall we retreat?"

"Hahaha... Where can we retreat to?! Liu Yi is already behind us... We're surrounded by enemies, where can we go?"

Yuan Shao pointed to the Han army covering the mountains and plains ahead: "Did you hear that? What are they shouting?"

The shouts of "Kill the Hu!" are getting closer and closer.

Yuchi Tai was covered in sweat and didn't know what to do.

They are now located on the south bank of the Daling River, with Guan Yu directly in front of them and Zhao Yun and Xu Huang to their sides.

Liu Yi's troops are now on the north bank of the Daling River, behind them.

Enemies on all sides.

"Now that they've come this far, they won't leave empty-handed... They want our heads to claim titles and honors, and they'll pursue us to the ends of the earth... And you still want to retreat?"

Yuan Shao, sword raised, a maniacal smile on his face, shouted, "There's no way out! We have no choice but to fight to the death!!"

"All troops, advance!!"

Perhaps this is also a kind of understanding at forty.

Yuan Shao knew what he had done and what he should have done.

He had many choices, but ultimately he ended up on this path of no return.

Neither side resorted to any further tactics in this battle.

All the strategies that could be used have already been employed.

……

……

My name is Yuan Shao, and I am an orphan.

My father once served as the General of the Five Offices, a very prominent position, but he passed away the year I was born.

My birth mother left me when I was a teenager.

I was raised by my first mother... My birth mother was once my first mother's maid.

My birth mother was of lowly status, and I, as a son born out of wedlock, was of lowly status. Moreover, both my parents were deceased.

My paternal uncle, Yuan Feng, said I was exceptionally handsome and the eldest son of the main branch. He called me his son and often provided me with financial assistance, but people said I was his illegitimate son...

I was often slandered within my clan from a young age.

They say I have the hands of a woman, a face like a powdered maid, and it's hard to tell if I'm male or female; I'm sure I'll bring trouble.

They say I'm a lone star, bringing misfortune to my parents, and that being near me brings bad luck.

I know why they say that; it's nothing more than jealousy.

From a young age, I had no companions in my tribe.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this that I was able to concentrate wholeheartedly on studying the classics, honing my martial arts skills, and delving into various schools of thought, excelling in everything compared to my peers in the clan.

I always came in first place in every clan school exam, whether it was martial arts, military strategy, or classical texts.

This includes appearance and demeanor.

I remember what my mother looked like; she was very beautiful.

I haven't looked closely at what I look like, but I imagine I'm quite beautiful, because I can see jealousy in the eyes of those who dislike me.

Many people try to imitate my posture... but they can't learn it.

A person who harbors jealousy has eyes full of hostility and lacks the talent to overpower others; how can they possibly possess outstanding demeanor?
At the age of fifteen, I was sent to Luoyang to be selected as a Gentleman of the Palace through the hereditary system in the capital.

This is due to my father's influence, not my paternal uncle's recommendation.

Actually, apart from financial assistance, my uncle didn't give me any other help.

He wanted to avoid suspicion; he disliked the gossip, especially the so-called 'illegitimate child'.

Even when I turned eighteen and was about to come of age, I still did not receive any help from my clan.

They didn't arrange a master for me, didn't spread my fame, and didn't give me any other way to advance.

Instead, I received a task from the clan to take on the role of shop manager and oversee the caravans in Luoyang.

It was as if they regarded me as a steward or retainer within the clan.

My paternal uncle didn't say a word about this, only telling me to do my job well within the clan, saying it was my responsibility.

responsibility……

I should do something for my clan, after all, they raised me for eighteen years.

My paternal uncle's eldest son, Yuan Ji, is the same age as me. He has already decided that he will be recommended as a filial and incorruptible official in two years, and he will definitely be recommended by the government with high marks. He can become a palace attendant as soon as he comes of age.

Yuan Shu, the second son of his paternal uncle, would be granted the title of Tiger General as soon as he turned fifteen, and would become a Colonel of the Northern Army as soon as he came of age.

—Over the years in Luoyang, I've met quite a few scions of wealthy families, and I know it was all pre-arranged.

The official positions are waiting for them; once they reach a certain age, everything is predetermined.

This is the path to success for the legitimate son of a wealthy family; I, a son born out of wedlock, cannot tread upon it.

In fact, Yuan Ji's knowledge is far inferior to mine, whether in literature or military affairs.

As for Yuan Shu... well, let's not mention him.

After all, I am neither my paternal uncle's biological son nor a legitimate son.

I was only regarded as an adopted child by my clan, as an illegitimate child. Yuan Shu even cursed me to my face as the son of a maid...

But it's okay.

At least I have the surname Yuan, and even if I'm not the legitimate son, I still have a powerful family to rely on.

Even without help, I can still find my own way.

It was around that time that I met Li Yuanli.

Li Yuanli, whose given name was Ying, was the grandson of Grand Commandant Li Xiu. He was also the leader of the partisans, the head of the Eight Worthies, and was known as a model for the world.

Li Ying was extremely famous. At that time, all the scholars recommended by Li Ying were able to become officials. Every day, Li Ying's mansion was filled with carriages and horses. Being received by Li Ying was regarded as "passing the dragon gate".

I also planned to go and climb the Dragon Gate, but I was told that the reservations were already booked until March.

So this is what fame is.

Looking at the carriages and horses in front of Li Ying's residence, I had a sudden and profound realization for the first time.

Climbing over the Dragon Gate is not the future; becoming a 'dragon' like Li Ying is the future!
Actually, my paternal uncle was also very famous, but he never taught me these things.

Since then, I have begun to make friends with chivalrous heroes and visit scholars in Luoyang.

He debated classics at the Imperial Academy, discussed martial arts with swordsmen, feasted with wealthy young men, and befriended talented individuals.

By the time I was twenty, I was already famous throughout Henan.

I did not go to pay my respects to Li Ying, but Li Ying took the initiative to find me and wanted to marry his daughter to me.

I have come to understand the power of fame.

They also found their own path.

When my uncle was promoted and returned to the capital, he learned that Li Ying wanted to arrange a marriage between us. He called me "Jia'er" and wanted to give me a courtesy name.

My uncle asked me what my ambitions were.

I said I wanted to be a role model for the world.

My paternal uncle said this was a difficult matter, as there was no precedent for it in the clan, and he was afraid he could not help me.

I said I would start with myself and set an example for others.

Therefore, my paternal uncle gave me the courtesy name 'Benchu'.

"Benchu" means origin or beginning, and also means model or example.

My paternal uncle probably never imagined that this was also the reign title of Emperor Xiaozhi... the reign title of Emperor Huan when he ascended the throne.

But my paternal uncle did start to see me in a different light.

I had just come of age when I was recommended by the government to be the magistrate of Puyang.

At that time, Puyang was in ruins, the Yellow River was flooding, and the population was scattered. The total number of households reported was only four thousand, which was not a large county.

I helped people relocate and resume production in Puyang, and investigated corrupt officials. In less than six months, I gained a reputation for integrity.

However, at this time, Chen Fan and Dou Wu were murdered, and the disaster of the partisan purges began.

Li Ying was convicted and tortured to death in Luoyang Prison. His entire family was exiled, and his students and former officials were imprisoned and barred from holding office.

My wife, Li, was also killed by the eunuchs at that time.

At that time, my mother had just passed away, so I resigned from my official post and returned to my hometown to observe mourning for my mother, thus avoiding being implicated.

I have a reputation for benevolence, filial piety, and integrity. My reputation has reached such a level that neither the emperor nor powerful ministers can stop me from observing filial piety for my mother.

After that, I did not serve as an official again. After observing mourning for my mother, I observed mourning for my father and was no longer summoned by the court.

At that time, the clan was greatly affected by the Party Prohibitions, and the two clan elders were also suspected by the court.

I proposed a plan to the clan: Use our reputation to command the world, and use the world to command the emperor.

The Qingliu faction is famous, and the partisans are resentful. So let's help the Qingliu faction deal with the eunuchs, win the hearts and minds of the people from the Yuan family, and make sure that no one in the world can be an enemy of the Yuan family.

After the clan elders discussed the matter, they granted me permission to allocate clan funds.

I gained the authority to allocate resources within the clan; manpower, finances, connections... I had everything I needed.

In Luoyang, I rescued Qingliu and acted as a bridge between party members, enabling them to form alliances for mutual protection.

My official residence can provide refuge from disaster, my recommendation can lead to officialdom, and my family can provide financial assistance. My retainers can take lives or protect people.

I worked tirelessly for the Party members, and the Party members also made a name for themselves.

I rescued officials who had been convicted of crimes, enabling them to escape punishment, and my reputation spread throughout the land.

I befriended wealthy and dissolute families and formed an alliance of righteous men. These families provided me with wealth and shared my fate.

Regardless of social status, I, Yuan Benchu, treat all scholars with equal courtesy, for I was originally just a son of a concubine.

The streets and alleys of Luoyang were crowded with the vehicles of visiting guests, and my residence became the new "gateway to success".

After my paternal uncle passed away, I became the most respected member of the Yuan clan in Runan.

Perhaps... he is also the most prestigious person in the entire Kanto region.

My plan succeeded, and I became a well-known figure in the Han Dynasty.

The prestige of the Yuan family of Runan surpassed that of all other ancient families with a history of over a thousand years.

At that time, I was twenty-eight years old and had already gained the respect of the nation. No one regarded me as an illegitimate child anymore; they all called me a "model for the world."

I have also done a lot for the clan.

They're all dirty things.

For example, murder, assassination, coercion, intimidation...

It's all for personal gain, but it's all something that should be done, and it's indeed something I should do.

I have many retainers who can do these things, and my reputation can cover them up. Even if things are exposed, my retainers will turn themselves in, and no one will hold the model of the world accountable.

I can manipulate the mouths of the virtuous, and I can also manipulate the pens of scholars.

Everyone loves fame, and no one wants their reputation to be tarnished after death. Even the emperor would not go against his reputation.

Even if the palace knew I had committed a crime, they would only come out to reprimand me as a formality.

At that time, I felt like I was invincible.

But perhaps I underestimated my paternal uncle, Yuan Wei.

After his paternal uncle Yuan Feng passed away, Yuan Wei took over the Yuan family business.

In the middle of the Guanghe era, Yuan Kui's son, Yuan Manlai, died of illness. He was Yuan Kui's eldest son, on whom he had placed great hopes, and he was indeed exceptionally intelligent.

My paternal uncle's three sons all died young, and he said he would treat me as his son from now on.

He said he wanted to eliminate the eunuchs, control the emperor, and make Yuan Shikai the true leader of the country.

He said that now the world hates Liu Han, and it is time to return the world to the rule of the Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period, and even establish a hereditary system of three dukes. My Yuan family has served as three dukes for four generations, so it is only right to establish a hereditary system of government.

He said that he was old and had no children, so he could take a gamble and that the responsibility of leading the people in the future would be handed over to his generation.

But he didn't tell me that he wanted to incite the party members and use the Taiping Dao to create chaos.

He also didn't tell me that when he said "my generation," he wasn't referring to me.

He didn't tell me that he actually failed to control Zhang Jiao, the leader of the Way of Peace.

I organized party members to deploy in various places and arranged manpower to be dispatched in various states. Taking advantage of the tax collection, the Qingliu Party members who could not become officials due to the party prohibition quickly stirred up popular uprisings in various places.

I thought this popular uprising was controllable. After all, it was the party members, namely the local powerful families, who stirred up the storm. They wouldn't let the uprising go too far, otherwise they would suffer serious losses.

To quell this widespread peasant uprising, the emperor must rely on upright officials from all over the country, and he must also rely on my Yuan family.

That would force the emperor to kill the eunuchs, lift the ban on factional strife, appoint upright officials, and change the political system...

At that time, no one would listen to the emperor's decrees, only to the orders of the Yuan family.

This is not for the throne... If it succeeds, future emperors will all have to rely on the Yuan family.

Moreover, our purpose is to eliminate the eunuchs and traitors, to set things right, and to do what every role model should do, not to seize power by force.

If this succeeds, my Yuan family will surely be known as a family of sages and virtuous men, and may even establish a hereditary family—with generations of generals or grand tutors.

but……

Just when everything was going smoothly, Zhang Jiao had a different idea.

The patriarch's scheming and coercion of the emperor turned into a real upheaval in the world.

But this unrest can still be quelled, albeit with some twists and turns.

The emperor ordered General He Jin to quell the rebellion, and I was recruited into He Jin's household.

He Jin was a rather simple-minded man who wanted to emulate famous scholars in every way, but he didn't know what the "famous" in "famous scholar" really meant.

I let He Jin take this opportunity to strengthen himself, to control more power and compete with the eunuchs, so that he would become an ally of my Yuan family.

My uncle helped Huangfu Song quell the main force of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Zhang Jiao was killed, and my uncle also got what he wanted—the emperor lifted the ban on political parties and appointed the Qingliu faction, and my uncle became the leader of the Qingliu faction.

However, the task was not fully accomplished, as the emperor and the eunuchs still held considerable power.

My paternal uncle asked me to contact the Qingliu Party members and various powerful clans, in an attempt to use Zhang Wen to control the troops and once again force the emperor to make concessions by taking advantage of the Liangzhou rebellion.

He wanted to do it again.

However, Zhang Jiao had already set a precedent for other bandits.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, all the bandits in the world called themselves Yellow Turbans, making it impossible to distinguish who was real and who was fake, and everyone had their own ulterior motives.

To coerce the emperor with the power of the entire realm, one must at least be able to control the realm itself...

The world is in complete chaos, and it cannot be quelled by the alliance of various powerful clans... or rather, the powerful clans of the world have different intentions.

Actually, if my paternal grandfather had let me know the whole story earlier, if he had told me everything, if he had given me more time, things wouldn't have turned out this way.

To coerce the emperor, there was no need to use the Way of Peace.

But my paternal uncle... doesn't trust me.

It turns out that even though the world regards me as a role model, and even though I have gained widespread respect, the Yuan clan still regards me as an illegitimate son, a child born out of wedlock, a retainer... and merely a useful tool.

Later, when the emperor died, I marched my troops into Luoyang, but I did not go to rescue my paternal uncle, nor did I rescue Yuan Ji.

I have my own path, and I no longer trust them.

However, there has always been a stumbling block on my path.

Liu Bei ruined my grand plan in Luoyang, then defeated my allied forces in Chenggao, and further damaged my reputation with a widely circulated picture album...

I should have killed him long ago...

I shouldn't have let him off the hook back then when he broke the law and was convicted!
But who knows...

Who knows.

Who knew I, Yuan Benchu, would end up like this?

Now, I've tried everything, but I still can't get past this stumbling block.

Liu Bei is always one step behind me, yet he always seems to have divine help. Perhaps this is my fate.

Fate is not in my hands.

I'm not a true role model either... I know.

But I am Yuan Benchu!

I may accept my fate, but I will never give up!
The winner becomes the king and the loser becomes the bandit.

I haven't gone down the wrong path, it's just that there are too many thorns.

……

The battlefield was in chaos, with debris everywhere.

"come!!"

Yuan Shao, covered in blood, stood beneath Lou Ban's wolf-like banner, brandishing his sword and roaring wildly.

There are hardly any living people left around him.

Yuan Shao had no fewer than ten arrows stuck in his body, his handsome face was covered in blood, and his knees were pierced by crossbow bolts.

But Yuan Shao still raised his sword and looked around, forcing himself to stand up.

He was searching, searching for that stumbling block.

"Liu Bei! Come out!"

Yuan Shao's eyes were bloodshot as he looked around and shouted, "Come out and kill me!"

There is no banner of Liu Bei here.

But Yuan Shao was convinced that Liu Bei must be here.

Liu Bei was indeed present.

Currently, Liu Bei is a squad leader, not yet at the rank of someone who can carry a flag.

Guan Yu spurred his horse and charged towards Yuan Shao with his sword. Seeing that Yuan Shao was covered in wounds and looked as if he would fall over if the wind blew him down, Guan Yu did not attack him, but instead cut off the wolf banner with a single stroke.

Yuan Shao wasn't carrying any flags, and his face was covered in blood; Guan Yu didn't recognize him.

Liu Bei killed a Fuyu man in front of him, and only stepped forward when he saw Guan Yu stop.

"...Yuan Shao!"

When Liu Bei saw Yuan Shao, his eyes lit up: "Yun Chang, capture him alive!"

"Don't bother... you can't catch him alive."

Yuan Shao finally saw Liu Bei, stuffed a pill into his mouth and swallowed it: "Liu Bei, I only want to ask you one thing."

It was clearly poison.

Guan Yu paused for a moment, then spurred his horse to move aside.

Liu Bei also saw Yuan Shao's actions and frowned: "Ask him if he has any last words."

"Hahaha...Is there a young man named Jiang Ye at your Linzi Academy?"

Yuan Shao smiled strangely: "Do you know where he is right now?"

(End of this chapter)