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

Chapter 250: To pacify external threats, first secure internal stability; Yuan Shang intends to replace Yuan Shao (2nd update)
Ye City, the governor's residence.

Yuan Shang was startled and stood up, the bronze wine vessel in his hand falling to the ground with a clatter.

"The Grand General is stepping down? And ceding Hebei to Liu Bei?" Yuan Shang's voice trembled with shock, his fingers clenching involuntarily. "This is absolutely impossible!"

Even if Yuan Shao ceded Hebei to Yuan Xi, Yuan Tan, Gao Gan, or even the youngest Yuan Mai, Yuan Shang still felt there was some credibility to it.

Should it be given to Liu Bei?

Crazy!
If the messenger hadn't been a member of the Liu clan, Yuan Shang would have wanted to kill him.

Shen Pei and Feng Ji were also quite surprised. Had Yuan Shao and Liu Bei's relationship become so good that they could entrust their foundations to each other?

"Young Master Shang, please calm down." After a moment of contemplation, Feng Ji whispered and guessed, "Although Guo Yuan claims that Liu Bei has the ambition to establish himself, he is, after all, Zhong Yao's nephew, and his words cannot be entirely trusted. The General is also known for his suspicion, so this move is very likely a test of Liu Bei. If the test reveals that it is Zhong Yao's scheme to sow discord, then the General will not need to turn against Liu Bei."

Shen Pei chimed in, “What Yuan Tu said makes a lot of sense. If the General truly intended to cede Hebei, he would have discussed it with us. It is quite unusual that he is only plotting with Xu You. The lady may not know the deeper meaning from what she overheard, and she has not asked the General whether it is true or not. This news should not be taken seriously! Young Master Shang should not let this cause you to lose your composure.”

Feng Ji and Shen Pei's judgment reassured Yuan Shang somewhat. Yuan Shang took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

After waving away the Liu clan members, Yuan Shang sat down again, his brows furrowed: "Yuan Tan attacked Xuzhou and fought against Zang Ba and others several times, winning each time. Now he has even pushed the battle line to Langya Kingdom."

Changing his tone, Yuan Shang became indignant again: "It was clearly me and Yuan Tan who divided Yan Province and Xu Province. However, in Xu Province, only Zang Ba and Sun Guan were resisting Yuan Tan, while in Yan Province, generals such as Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, and Cao Ren were confronting me. Even those two traitors, Zhang He and Gao Lan, were in Yan Province! It's truly hateful!"

Cao Cao carefully considered his troop deployment.

While deploying a large force in Yanzhou, he also issued a military order to Zang Ba to "lure the enemy deep into his territory."

In other words, it wasn't that Zang Ba repeatedly fought despite defeats, but rather that Zang Ba was feigning defeat while carrying out Cao Cao's military orders, while Cao Cao concentrated his superior forces to confront Yuan Shang first.

The results were obvious: Yuan Tan was victorious in battle and advanced his troops to Langya, but he could neither quickly take Xuzhou nor launch a separate attack on Yanzhou due to the obstruction of Mount Tai; Yuan Shang was defeated by Cao Cao in battle after battle, and Cao Cao even crossed the river to take Liyang, driving Yuan Shang back to Ye City.

After the Battle of Guandu, the Yuan family was already short of troops, and Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan divided their forces. Cao Cao must have been laughing in his dreams: I didn't even need to use the strategy of dividing my troops, Yuan Shao's two stupid sons took the initiative to divide their forces.

As for Liu Bei's attack on Hedong, Cao Cao didn't take it seriously at all.

Cao Cao knew very well that Liu Bei would never fight him for Yuan Shao's sake.

The geographical location of Hedong meant that even if Liu Bei conquered it, he couldn't hold it. He would gain nothing but suffer heavy losses; even if Cao Cao were in Liu Bei's shoes, he wouldn't have been willing to put in the effort.

Therefore, after receiving Zhong Yao's battle report, Cao Cao only sent someone back with the military order: "If Liu Bei attacks, you can only defend and not attack; if you cannot defend, then temporarily abandon the city and lure him deeper into the territory."

Cao Cao knew better than anyone that Yuan Shao's preferred heir was Yuan Shang, not Yuan Tan. He believed that by focusing his efforts on severely punishing Yuan Shang, he could completely crush any remaining ambition Yuan Shao might have.

Seeing Shen Pei and Feng Ji bow their heads and remain silent, Yuan Shang turned to Feng Ji and asked in a sinister tone, "Commander Feng, when will you be able to bring Zhang He and Gao Lan's families and relatives back to Ye City?"

Feng Ji sighed softly, his tone tinged with resentment: "I was just about to report to Young Master Shang, but Zhuge Liang refuses to release them, saying that the exile of Zhang He and Gao Lan's families and clansmen to Zhuo County for land reclamation was approved by the Grand General. Unless the Grand General gives the order, no one is allowed to take them away from Zhuo County without authorization. What's even more infuriating is that this country bumpkin actually mocked us, saying, 'If you can't beat Cao Cao, you resort to underhanded methods, which is a disgrace to gentlemen!' That's utter nonsense, truly hateful!"

"This was definitely intentional!" Yuan Shang slammed his hand on the table again, his tone even more vicious: "Zhuge, you village scoundrel, I will definitely avenge this humiliation one day!"

Taking a deep breath, Yuan Shang forced himself to calm down, his eyes cold and his words carrying a hidden meaning: "Now that I am at a disadvantage in the struggle with Yuan Tan, if the General's resignation is just a test of Liu Bei, the position of heir may fall into Yuan Tan's hands! You two share my glory and my loss, and you should make a decision!"

Both Shen Pei and Feng Ji felt a chill.

After exchanging a glance, the two suppressed their doubts and declared boldly, "Young Master Shang's decision is our decision!"

"Excellent!" Yuan Shang slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "The General is old and no longer the Yuan family hero who once boasted, 'To hold the Yellow River in the south, block the Yan and Dai tribes in the north, unite the Rong and Di tribes, and march south to contend for the world.' But I, Yuan Shang, will inherit this ambition!"

Yuan Shang's sharp gaze swept over Shen Pei and Feng Ji, his tone even colder: "To contend for the world, one must eliminate internal troubles. Only by first securing internal stability can one establish authority, and only then can one defend against external threats. Therefore, even if the Grand General's resignation is a test of Liu Bei, I must ensure that the Grand General truly resigns! Only in this way can I replace the Grand General and become the ruler of Hebei!"

Shen Pei and Feng Ji both sharpened their eyes.

Yuan Shao's prestige in Hebei gradually declined, yet he still occupied the position of the ruler of Hebei, to the point that Yuan Shang was constantly constrained, and Shen Pei and Feng Ji were like skilled cooks without rice to cook.

At this time, Yuan Shang harbored ambitions to replace Yuan Shao, which was exactly what Shen Pei and Feng Ji wanted.

"Young Master Shang is wise!" Feng Ji first praised Yuan Shang, then continued along Yuan Shang's train of thought: "If Young Master Shang wants to replace the Grand General, he can make peace with Cao Cao. Although Cao Cao holds the emperor hostage to command the other warlords, there are many who are not loyal to him; moreover, he has been fighting for years, and the people are exhausted, so he is not suitable for a prolonged war. If he sees that Young Master Shang wants to settle internal troubles and compete with Yuan Tan and Liu Bei, he will be happy to see it happen. Although this is like seeking a tiger's skin, as long as Young Master Shang can first settle internal troubles and integrate the strength of the people of Hebei, he will not have to fear Cao Cao reaping the benefits."

Shen Pei also said, "Cao Cao thinks highly of himself and believes that only the Grand General and Liu Bei can contend with him for the world. If the Grand General were to step down and relinquish his position, Cao Cao would definitely use Young Master Shang's power to eliminate Liu Bei. This would be the perfect opportunity for Young Master Shang to gain the Emperor's favor. Young Master Shang can send someone to Cao Cao to ask for the position of Grand General and to oversee the military affairs of the four provinces of Qing, Ji, You, and Bing. Cao Cao will certainly not refuse!"

Seeing that Shen Pei and Feng Ji both agreed, Yuan Shang was even more in high spirits: "In that case, we can first spread the news that the Grand General intends to step down and hand over the position to Liu Bei. After the rumors spread, I will take the opportunity to make peace with Cao Cao and demand the position of Grand General!"

　I'm home. The second update is here; I'll try my best tonight.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)