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

Chapter 259 Zhuge Liang's Actions: Once He Makes a Move, He Takes Yuan Shang's Life (1st Update)
Upon receiving the summons, Zhao Yun did not delay and rode straight in.

"military adviser."

Zhao Yun respectfully inquired about the etiquette.

Although he was a full twelve years older than Zhuge Liang and was a peerless warrior who could defeat ten thousand men, Zhao Yun showed no disrespect to Zhuge Liang whatsoever. On the contrary, during his time as the camp commander, he humbly followed Zhuge Liang and was always at his beck and call.

Zhuge Liang also took good care of Zhao Yun, and in his spare time he would discuss with Zhao Yun matters of civil and military affairs, such as farming and supporting the people, military strategy, and tactics.

In Zhuge Liang's eyes, Zhao Yun was exceptionally intelligent and brave, humble and courteous, neither arrogant towards scholars nor unsympathetic to petty people, perfectly meeting Zhuge Liang's standards for a great general.

Whenever Zhuge Liang saw Zhao Yun, he would recall the Battle of Jieting: At that time, due to Ma Su's loss of Jieting, the organization of the Han army on the Qishan battlefield was in complete disarray; only Zhao Yun, who retreated from Jigu, was organized as if he had set out on the battlefield; Zhuge Liang wanted to reward Zhao Yun to commend his merits, but Zhao Yun thought that rewarding him was inappropriate and suggested that the reward be put into the Chian Treasury and distributed to the soldiers in the cold winter of October.

In terms of talent and character, he is impeccable!

He can be called a pillar of the Northern Expedition!

Today's Zhao Yun, limited by his experience and knowledge, is not as good at commanding troops as he was during the Northern Expedition, but he is younger and braver than he was during the Northern Expedition.

Zhuge Liang would spend time correcting Guan Yu's arrogance and Zhang Fei's disregard for petty people, and he would also spend time giving Zhao Yun more experience.

Therefore, although Zhao Yun was officially in charge of the affairs of the military camp in Youzhou, he would often participate in matters outside the military camp.

For example, in the news of the Zhongshan upheaval that Tao Jing reported back this time, Zhao Yun didn't actually need to participate in the discussion; Zhuge Liang only needed to issue military orders for Zhao Yun to carry out.

However, in order to encourage Zhao Yun to participate more actively in military and political affairs so that he could take charge of things independently sooner, Zhuge Liang still summoned Zhao Yun alone to discuss matters.

Upon Zhao Yun's arrival, Zhuge Liang, using this as a pretext, inquired, "Today, the son of Tao Sheng, the Chancellor of Zhongshan, suddenly arrived in Zhuo County with his mother, claiming that Yuan Shang had suddenly led troops into Lu Nu. Zilong, do you have any thoughts on this?"

Realizing that Zhuge Liang was testing him, Zhao Yun lowered his head and pondered, recalling the intelligence that had been sent back to Zhuo County recently.

The rumor that Yuan Shao wanted to abdicate in favor of Liu Bei was just that in Ji Province, but it was true in Zhuo County, because Xu You had mentioned to Zhuge Liang that he had devised three strategies for Yuan Shao after arriving in Zhuo County.

Xu You hadn't expected that his secret plot with Yuan Shao would be overheard, and he could guess without even thinking that the person who overheard it was none other than the Liu family.

Zhuge Liang had already discussed these related events with Zhao Yun a few days earlier, so Zhao Yun was quite familiar with the current situation, even more so than Guo Tu and others.

After a long silence, Zhao Yun looked up and slowly analyzed, "Yuan Shang suffered a defeat in the battle of Yanzhou and no longer has the advantage of merit to compete with Yuan Tan for the succession. If the original agreement is followed, the heir will be Yuan Tan. However, given Yuan Shang's character, he will not be willing to lose power. Moreover, Yuan Shao intends to step down and hand over the throne to our lord. In his anger, Yuan Shang may resort to extreme measures. His invasion of Lu Nu this time should be an attempt to seize power."

Zhuge Liang nodded slightly, his words filled with praise and encouragement: "Yuan Shao wants to emulate Tao Qian's act of yielding Xu Province, but he doesn't realize that this move is like adding fuel to the fire for Yuan Shang. Once he loses power, Yuan Shang will become someone who can be slaughtered at will. How can Yuan Shang sit idly by and wait for his death? Zilong, what do you think Yuan Shang would do if he were determined to seize power?"

Zhao Yun's voice was as steady as iron as he continued, "Those who seize power throughout history have always used the name of righteousness. In the past, Gongsun Zan used Liu Yu's name to command the prefectures and counties, and today Cao Cao also holds the emperor hostage to command the princes. It is the same in all of these cases. Therefore, in my opinion, Yuan Shang will secretly place Yuan Shao under house arrest, and then act in Yuan Shao's name. He may summon those who are not convinced to a banquet and capture them during the banquet, or he may order Yuan Tan and the lord to gather troops and march south to eliminate him through Cao Cao's hands."

"If we can get rid of Yuan Tan and the lord, Yuan Shang can take the opportunity to show favor to Yuan Tan and the lord's former subordinates, so that they can unite against Cao Cao; even if we can't, we can still weaken Yuan Tan and the lord's military strength, and then use our superior military force to coerce Yuan Tan and the lord into acknowledging Yuan Shang's position as Grand General."

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang smiled and waved his fan, saying, "If Yuan Shang is truly as Zilong says, then our lord is in grave danger."

Looking at Zhuge Liang, who remained calm and composed, Zhao Yun couldn't help but wonder, "Does the strategist mean that Yuan Shang wouldn't do the same thing?"

Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "The difference between people lies in their nature. However, in my opinion, Yuan Shang is arrogant, conceited, cold-hearted, cunning, and impatient. He may not be as cautious and patient as Zilong."

Zhao Yun pondered for a moment, then asked, "Even if Yuan Shang has flaws in his character, Shen Pei and Feng Ji are both shrewd men. At this critical juncture, they will likely advise Yuan Shang against making a decision."

Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan and said, “No. Shen Pei is too domineering and has little strategy; Feng Ji is decisive but not very useful. One rose to a high position because of his powerful clan and army, and the other became a close advisor by flattering his superiors. Both are arrogant and conceited. How could they advise Yuan Shang to be cautious and patient? That is why I said that the difference between people lies in their nature. If one’s nature is flawed, even if one is resourceful and decisive, it will be of no use.”

Zhao Yun suddenly realized something and said with a hint of joy, "If Yuan Shang does not take a cautious approach and is unwilling to use the name of righteousness to command the prefectures and counties, then there will definitely be many people in the prefectures and counties who will not submit. We may be able to take this opportunity to win them over and help our lord gain momentum in Hebei."

Seeing that Zhao Yun had grasped the deeper meaning, Zhuge Liang stopped testing him and directly ordered: "Qian Zhao, the official in Ji Province, is deeply indebted to Yuan Shao and is also a sworn brother of the lord. He is currently stationed at Lingqiu in northern Zhongshan to intimidate the Wuhuan of Yanmen. Zilong, you can send someone to tell Qian Zhao, 'The General is in trouble at Lunu, go to his aid immediately.' Upon hearing this, Qian Zhao will surely go in person."

“Yuan Shang is worried that if our lord returns, he will surely send troops to Bingzhou to try to keep our lord in Hedong. However, Yuan Shang also has to be wary of Cao Cao, so he will not dare to use too many troops in Yecheng. The only troops that can be transferred to Bingzhou are the eight thousand troops stationed in Changshan. These eight thousand troops were originally recruited and trained by our lord. Many of the officers and soldiers in the army have received our lord’s kindness. Yuan Shang is worried that this will cause a mutiny and will surely put the original officers and soldiers under house arrest.”

"When I returned to Changshan last time, many people in Zhao Family Village in Zhengding admired Zilong's name. The Zhao clan chief even gave Zilong a separate page in the clan genealogy to record his achievements, in order to encourage the clan members. He also repaired the tombs of Zilong's elder brother and sister-in-law, Zhao Jun and Fan Xiu, so that the clan members could worship them in all four seasons. Zilong can lead his dozens of white horse cavalry to return to Zhao Family Village as soon as possible, and with the help of Zhao Family Village, sneak into Zhengding City to rescue the officers who were being held captive by Yuan Shang."

“Changshan Chancellor Gao Rou is the Left General’s Decision Clerk. Yuan Shang will surely doubt his stance and place him under house arrest. Zilong can rescue him as well, and then use Gao Rou’s power to cut off Yuan Shang’s food supply.”

"In that case, those eight thousand soldiers will collapse without a fight!"

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(End of this chapter)