The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 172 Liu Bei is thriving in Hebei, and even Yuan Shang has to bow down (2nd update)
Although Yuan Shao intended to make Yuan Shang his heir, he was dissatisfied with Yuan Shang's excessive closeness to Shen Pei.

The father and son had very different approaches to things: Yuan Shao focused on weakening the powerful clans of Hebei, while Yuan Shang tried his best to win them over.

This occasionally made Yuan Shao lament that "the son is not like his father."

However, Yuan Shao was unaware that he had created this situation himself.

Ju Shou had previously advised Yuan Shao that the division of power among his sons would lead to disaster.

It's like the story of "chasing a rabbit and deciding who gets it": everyone races for the rabbit until it's decided, and then they stop once the ownership is clear.

The same applies to establishing an heir: if the sons are significantly different in age, the eldest son should be chosen; if they are of similar age, the most virtuous should be chosen; if their virtues are difficult to distinguish, divination can be used to decide.

However, Yuan Shao insisted on adopting a strategy of separate power among his sons, which led to the following: as long as Yuan Shao was alive, his sons would spare no effort to cultivate their own factions, even if the people they were trying to win over were disliked by Yuan Shao. In fact, the more Yuan Shao disliked someone, the easier it was for his sons to recruit them.

This situation has evolved into a clear confrontation: Yuan Shao wanted to suppress Shen Pei, so Yuan Shang tried to win Shen Pei over; Yuan Shao intended to employ Liu Bei but also wanted to check and balance him, so Yuan Xi promised that Liu Bei could take charge of both civil and military affairs after he gained power; Yuan Shao disliked Yuan Tan, so Yuan Tan recruited civil and military officials who were dissatisfied with Yuan Shang for his own use; even Gao Gan, who was self-aware, recruited talented people in Bingzhou to consolidate his position.

Yuan Shao's group, which could have united the power of four provinces, disintegrated due to its poor strategy in choosing a successor, which led to its power far exceeding that of Cao Cao.

Before the world was settled, Yuan Shao began to emulate emperors by playing power games, but unfortunately, his skills in these games were poor, and he was both incompetent and fond of playing games.

An ancient saying goes: If a ruler favors virtuous ministers, even petty men will appear upright; if a ruler favors sycophantic ministers, even virtuous men will become cunning.

Yuan Shao's incompetence not only failed to restrain Liu Bei, but also allowed Liu Bei to use Yuan Xi, Xin Ping, Guo Tu and others to gradually increase his power within Yuan Shao's group.

Compared to Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang, and Gao Gan, Liu Bei was more adept at recognizing talent and managing subordinates: he was generous when it was time to bestow favors and did not hesitate to establish authority when necessary.

Especially after the defeat at Guandu, Yuan Shao's prestige declined while Liu Bei's status rose daily. Countless civil and military officials who were not favored by Yuan Shao in the past turned to serve Liu Bei.

After witnessing Yuan Shao indulging in wine and women again, Xin Ping decided not to disturb him and quietly left the hall.

As soon as he stepped out of the lobby, Xin Ping ran into Madam Liu again.

Xin Ping has always been more inclined to support Yuan Tan and look down on Yuan Shang, which makes Lady Liu quite dissatisfied with Xin Ping.

Seeing Xin Ping hastily meet Yuan Shao and then leave, Lady Liu became suspicious and stared sharply at Xin Ping: "Officer Xin, why did you leave in such a hurry?"

Seeing Madam Liu's accusatory manner, Xin Ping suppressed his displeasure and bowed with a forced smile: "Your Majesty, I just delivered General Zuo's victory report to the Grand General. General Zuo has subdued more than 100,000 Black Mountain bandits, and has defeated the combined forces of the Tu Ge and Wuhuan, captured Chanyu Huchuquan alive, and killed Wuhuan King Afugan in battle."

Lady Liu's breath hitched instantly, and she was secretly shocked: Liu Bei had been in Changshan Kingdom for less than a month, yet he had already quelled the Black Mountain bandits and captured Huchuquan alive.

Although Lady Liu had once considered using the historical ties between the Liu family of Zhongshan and Liu Bei to win him over, she had given up the idea due to Yuan Shang's dislike of Liu Bei. Now, upon hearing of Liu Bei's military achievements, Lady Liu's desire to recruit him rekindled.

"What does the General mean?" Madam Liu asked calmly.

Xin Ping truthfully reported: "The General ordered me to inform Young Master Shang and to oversee the allocation of 200,000 shi of grain to Changshan Kingdom to help General Zuo settle the surrendered people. The General also instructed me to tell him: The key to employing people is to maintain a balance of power. Shen Pei's family is powerful and has a strong army. We can only use their wisdom and courage, but we cannot trust them completely."

Xin Ping deliberately did not hide the truth from Lady Liu, aiming to clearly show Yuan Shao's dissatisfaction with Yuan Shang's close relationship with Shen Pei.

The shrewd Madam Liu immediately understood his intentions. To prevent Xin Ping from interfering, she took the initiative to deliver the message: "I was just about to see Xianfu, so I won't trouble you, Xin. I will remember your hard work today."

Xin Ping's strategy of advancing as a form of retreat worked. Seeing that Madam Liu had taken the initiative to handle the matter, he went along with it, cupped his hands in farewell, and said, "In that case, I will trouble you, Madam!"

After Xin Ping left, Lady Liu immediately drove to see Yuan Shang and recounted in detail Liu Bei's great victory and Yuan Shao's order for her to oversee the grain supply.

"Two hundred thousand shi of grain? Liu Bei really dares to ask for that much!" In front of Lady Liu, Yuan Shang did not hide his emotions and spoke his dissatisfaction directly.

Madam Liu secretly felt fortunate: If I hadn't come in person, Xin Pingding would have used Yuan Shang's anger to cause trouble!
Thinking of this, Lady Liu raised her voice slightly: "How can Shang'er not understand things? Liu Bei pacified Black Mountain within a month, saving a huge amount of military expenses. Now he only needs 200,000 shi of grain to pacify the people, yet you are stingy and unwilling? The General ordered you to supervise the work, which is to ask you to do a favor for Liu Bei. How can you not do your best? If Yuan Tan's people find an opportunity to slander and frame you in front of the General, wouldn't that make the General dislike you even more?"

Seeing Lady Liu's anger, Yuan Shang quickly defended himself, saying, "Mother, please forgive me. It's not that I'm unwilling to oversee this matter, but Ji Province has been engaged in war for years, and last year we suffered a major defeat at Guandu, so our grain reserves are already tight. This time, Liu Bei should have taken the bandits' grain to supply himself when he attacked Heishan, but instead, he accepted the surrender of over 100,000 bandits! What do the lives of those lowly people have to do with Liu Bei? He wants to gain a reputation for benevolence, but he's wasting the General's grain. His heart is despicable! Mother, you should know that if Tao Sheng hadn't betrayed us in battle, we would all have died at the hands of the Heishan bandits!"

In Yuan Shang's eyes, the Black Mountain bandits were bandits for life, and bandits should not have the right to live. It was already good enough that he did not levy grain on the Black Mountain bandits, so why would he need to give them grain to feed them?

Seeing Yuan Shang's insistence, Lady Liu's tone became even harsher: "Shang'er, how foolish you are! Who gave you permission to take the grain stored in the treasury? This time, the General ordered Liu Bei to conquer Black Mountain, and Shen Pei was in charge of procuring the grain. You only needed to supervise the process!"

Yuan Shang shook his head: "The Shen family's grain didn't come from thin air. Besides, I'm currently showing Shen Pei kindness, how can I let Shen Pei harbor resentment?"

Seeing that Yuan Shang still hadn't grasped the priorities, Lady Liu kicked over the wine table in front of him in anger, shouting, "Foolish child, how ignorant you are! The General originally intended to have Xin Ping convey the message that 'the way to employ people is to prioritize checks and balances. The Shen clan is large and powerful; we can only use their wisdom and strength, and we cannot blindly trust Shen Pei.' I thought you had a sense of propriety, which is why I didn't say anything earlier. I didn't expect you to actually ruin everything for Shen Pei? Do you really think your position as heir is secure? Don't forget, Liu Bei once recommended Yuan Tan as a talented scholar! Today you are harsh on Liu Bei because of Shen Pei, tomorrow Liu Bei will go to Yuan Tan for grain. Before, when you sent Yuan Xi to Zhongshan, I thought you were a strategist, but I didn't expect you to be so foolish!"

After being scolded by Madam Liu, Yuan Shang was both ashamed and afraid, and dared not talk back. He hurriedly said, "Mother, please calm down. I will go and supervise the two hundred thousand shi of grain!"

After seeing off the furious Madam Liu, Yuan Shang kicked the overturned wine table.

Yuan Shang dared not blame Madam Liu, but instead directed his anger at Xin Ping, saying with deep resentment, "You old bastard Xin Ping, once I have my own territory, I'll make you pay!"

　Chapter 2 is here! Please vote with your monthly tickets!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)