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

Chapter 187 Liu Bei and Cao Cao each withdraw their troops, Zhuge Liang and Guo Jia employ a combined strategy (2nd update)
During the meal, Liu Bei brought up the matter of capturing Xu You alive the previous night.

Upon hearing this, Yan Liang flew into a rage, slammed his fist on the table, and stood up abruptly: "Traitorous villain! General Zuo, do not stop me! I will go and kill him right now to avenge the Great General!"

His face was flushed red, clearly showing that he hated Xu You's betrayal to the extreme.

Wen Chou, quick-witted and agile, grabbed Yan Liang's arm and advised in a deep voice, "Wait! Xu You is, after all, an old friend of the General. If we rashly kill him, not only will we fail to win the General's favor, but we may also displease him."

Compared to Yan Liang's ruthlessness, Wen Chou was more thoughtful: Yuan Shao was most wary of his subordinates acting on their own initiative, and the matter of Xu You's betrayal was closely related to Shen Pei. Right and wrong were not something that Yan Liang and Wen Chou could decide.

If any more petty people spread rumors and sow discord in front of Yuan Shao, Yan Liang and Wen Chou will be reprimanded again.

Reminded of his earlier impulsiveness, Yan Liang calmed down and sat down sullenly, turning to Liu Bei to ask, "In your opinion, General Zuo, how should this man be dealt with?"

Wen Chou also looked at Liu Bei. Liu Bei had captured Xu You, and there must be a reason why Liu Bei did not kill him immediately.

Seeing their reactions, Liu Bei revealed his plan: "I originally intended to escort Xu You to Ye City and let the General decide his fate. However, I was worried that Xu You might be intercepted and killed by Shen Pei and his men before he even reached Ye City, and my secret trip to Dongwuyang must not be revealed. Therefore, last night I ordered my left and right captains to impersonate Yuan Tan's subordinates, claiming that they were ordered by him to escort Xu You to Zhen Ding for detention. After we return to Zhen Ding, I hope that the two generals will personally escort Xu You to Ye City. In this way, we can avoid Shen Pei's spies and ensure Xu You's safe meeting with the General; secondly, we can leave his life or death to the General's decision. If the General wants to kill him, he will give the order; if he spares him out of consideration for our past relationship, we need not worry about being blamed or slandered by petty people for acting on our own."

After hearing this, Yan Liang and Wen Chou exchanged a glance and then nodded heavily, showing even greater admiration for Liu Bei's meticulous arrangements.

Yan Liang downed a cup of wine and patted his chest, guaranteeing, "If it weren't for General Zuo's surprise attack on Cao Cao's main camp last night, we would have all suffered heavy losses due to Yuan Shang, and might even have died at the hands of Cao's generals. We will never forget this kindness. If we are slandered again because General Zuo's secret trip to Dongwuyang was exposed, it will be our fault! General Zuo, rest assured, once we return to Zhending, we will personally escort Xu You safely to Yecheng, and we will not allow any slander to harm you in the slightest!"

Wen Chou also solemnly said, "General Zuo's military affairs are for our consideration. Are we people who do not understand the situation? Even if someone uses this slander, we two will definitely defend General Zuo!"

For Yan Liang and Wen Chou, Yuan Shao was definitely someone they had to be loyal to.

However, Yuan Shao had more than one son, Yuan Shang, so there was no need for him to shamelessly fawn over Yuan Shang. It was still uncertain whether Yuan Shang was even his adopted son.

Liu Bei treated everyone with sincerity and acted with integrity. Compared to Yuan Shang, Yan Liang and Wen Chou preferred to befriend Liu Bei. Although there were some unpleasant incidents at the beginning, those were all in the past.

Even Liu Bei, who was assassinated, didn't care about the past.

Liu Bei laughed heartily, raised his cup in a toast, and said, "In that case, I thank you both generals for your noble deeds!"

Until noon.

A scout report came from the direction of Cangtingjin: Cao Cao's army has crossed the river and retreated south.

Upon hearing the news, Liu Bei immediately stopped drinking and said to Yan Liang and Wen Chou, "The soldiers are exhausted and should not stay any longer. Now that Cao Cao's army has retreated, we should also return to Zhen Ding as soon as possible." Whether to stay or leave, the three men understood each other without saying a word: Liu Bei was unwilling to hand over the new soldiers to Yuan Shang or Yuan Shao; Yan Liang and Wen Chou, on the other hand, deeply resented Yuan Shang's forceful attack that nearly led to the annihilation of his entire army, and were happy to pretend not to hear, so they simply took their troops back to Zhen Ding together.

It wasn't until the army began to break camp and was about to set off that Yan Liang and Wen Chou sent someone to briefly inform Yuan Shang, who was still in Dongwuyang.

Such contempt enraged Yuan Shang upon receiving the document: "Those two scoundrels, Yan Liang and Wen Chou, dare to disobey my military orders! Without my permission, they dare to withdraw from Zhengding without authorization! How hateful!"

Feng Ji carefully read the document, then sighed and comforted him, "Young Master Shang, please calm down. The document states that 'there are still 100,000 surrendered Black Mountain people and over 8,000 captured Hu people in Zhen Ding who need to be managed and guarded.' Yan Liang and Wen Chou used this as an excuse to lead their troops back to Changshan Kingdom, and their reasoning is plausible on the surface. Even if they meet the Grand General in the future, they will have their own excuses. The most important thing right now is for you to make good use of the merit of defeating Cao Cao this time and do your best to secure the position of heir! Shen Zhengnan and I will do our utmost to make it happen."

Feng Ji's meaning was self-evident: as long as Yuan Shang could secure his position as heir and control the overall situation, the fates of Yan Liang and Wen Chou, or the ownership of a small number of troops, were merely minor details that would be dealt with in the future.

Yuan Shang took a deep breath, suppressing the raging fire in his chest, and said through gritted teeth, "What you say is absolutely right, Mr. Feng! As long as I succeed to the throne, no matter how unwilling Yan Liang and Wen Chou are, they will have no choice but to submit! Do you think they can go and serve Yuan Tan?"

Thinking of this, the ruthlessness in Yuan Shang's eyes intensified, and his desire for the position of heir became even more fervent.

After leaving his trusted lieutenant to guard Cangting Ferry, Yuan Shang and Feng Ji hurriedly returned to Ye City.

Yuan Shang needs to make preparations in advance to maximize the benefits of this military achievement in defeating Cao Cao. Ideally, he should directly persuade Yuan Shao to declare Yuan Shang as his heir!
At the same time, Cao Cao, who was retreating south, also received intelligence that Shen Pei was harassing Baimajin.

After hearing the report, Cao Cao sneered: "Hmph! If Shen Pei really dares to cross the river and seize Baima, I will have to look at him with new eyes! He only dares to harass with a small force, and hesitant and timid. What great things can he accomplish? The people that Yuan Shao relies on are all such cowards who want to do great things but are afraid of death!"

Seeing this, Guo Jia offered a timely suggestion: "My lord, since ancient times, the best way to defeat an enemy is to win their hearts and minds, not just conquer them. I have three strategies for your consideration. First, we can recall Zang Ba's troops to temporarily halt the offensive in Qingzhou. If Yuan Tan can free himself, he will surely rush to Ye City to contend with Yuan Shang for the succession. Second, our army can use this opportunity to rest and regroup, or spread rumors throughout Hebei to sow discord among their rulers, ministers, and generals; or we can use small benefits to divide and win them over, causing internal strife and chaos. Third..." My lord, you may employ another feint attack, pretending to march south to attack Liu Biao while simultaneously forging a strong alliance with Sun Quan, urging him to invade Jingzhou under the pretext of avenging his father. Once this momentum is established, Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, knowing that our army has "moved south" and the "pressure in Hebei has greatly decreased," will undoubtedly intensify their ambition for power, leading to fierce infighting! At that time, my lord, you only need to remain in Xuchang and await the opportune moment. If internal strife recurs in Hebei, our army can cross the river again, achieving twice the result with half the effort and securing victory in one fell swoop!

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao exclaimed, "Fengxiao's theory is insightful and far-sighted, exactly what I was thinking! Let's proceed with this plan."

In the Plains Kingdom.

Jiao Chu, acting on Zhuge Liang's orders, secretly opened the second brocade pouch given to him by Zhuge Liang after meeting Yuan Tan.

The cloth strip inside the brocade pouch read:

If Cao Cao retreats to the south bank, the Grand General might take this opportunity to adopt Yuan Shang as his heir, and this could be communicated to Yuan Qingzhou.

　The third update is here.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)