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

Chapter 291 The morale of Ye City is low; some will defect to Liu Bei, others to Cao Cao (3rd update)
Guo Tu's sharp retort cut off Feng Ji's words, and the tent fell into a deathly silence.

Yuan Shang's clenched knuckles turned white, and his gaze swept over Guo Tu like a blade: "Guo Gongze! You served under the Yuan family, yet you incited my brothers and me to submit to outsiders. You expect me to hand over the Yuan family's foundation with just the phrase 'able to bend and stretch'?"

"Hand over our foundation?" Guo Tu suddenly raised his voice, his gaze fixed intently on Yuan Shang: "May I ask, General! Is it better for Ye City to be breached by Cao Cao, for you and I to become prisoners, for our clans to be wiped out, and for our foundation to be lost? Or is it better to use Cao Cao's strength against him, to force him to retreat with the help of the Left General, so that the Yuan family bloodline can still remain in the fertile lands of Hebei, and for the General to still be able to hold Ye City, thus preserving our foundation?!"

Turning sharply to Yuan Tan, Guo Tu spoke rapidly, each word striking a chord: "General of Chariots and Cavalry! Pingyuan is your foundation! If Yecheng falls, Pingyuan will become Cao Cao's next prey! At that time, without the protection of Yecheng, can you still hold Pingyuan alone? Do you really have to flee north in disgrace, living as a guest in Liaodong or the Xianbei, dependent on others for survival? That would be truly losing the Yuan family's foundation! If you are willing to set aside some pride today, you will gain a chance for the Yuan family to breathe and a turning point in Hebei! It is a way to survive by abandoning empty fame and preserving real benefits!"

Shen Pei was furious and shouted, "Guo Tu! Stop spreading alarmist rumors and confusing the army! Liu Bei is a cunning and ruthless hero. To lure him into this trap is tantamount to opening the door to a thief! He only needs to occupy the key points in northern Hebei to cut off our communication. At that time, you, Guo Tu, will be his honored guest!"

"What a fine 'disrupting morale'!" Guo Tu laughed loudly, his laughter filled with sarcasm: "Shen Pei! You keep saying I'm disrupting morale, but I'd like to ask you! Your 'burning the boats' plan, besides putting the General on the fire of mutual destruction with Cao Cao, and gambling the lives of the entire city's soldiers and civilians for your heroic dream, did you have even the slightest chance of survival? Were you trying to drag everyone down with you, or were you trying to find a way out for the Yuan family?! You, Shen Pei, are the culprit who pushed the General to his death, the one who says I'm disrupting morale!"

"You!" Shen Pei trembled with rage, his eyes blazing with fury, but he was speechless for a moment.

Seeing this, Feng Ji quickly chimed in, "Guo Tu! Stop spouting nonsense! The Zheng Nan strategy is to fight with our backs to the river to save our lives! Unlike you, who are so servile and willing to give up the dignity and honor of a family that has been in power for four generations to an outsider."

"Dignity? Respect?" Guo Tu sneered, his gaze sweeping over the silent generals with varying expressions. His voice suddenly rose, piercing everyone's eardrums: "Generals! At this critical juncture of life and death, is the so-called 'dignity of four generations of high officials' of Shen Pei and Feng Ji more important, or the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers and the entire city's inhabitants? Is the Yuan family's empty reputation more important, or your own lives? Are you willing to risk your lives to emulate Xiang Yu's burning of the boats, or would you rather let General Zuo lead the troops to contain Cao Cao?"

In a suffocating silence, the generals' eyes flickered, none daring to meet Guo Tu's gaze directly, nor did any of them dare to respond.

Everyone still has to work under Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang. If you don't understand strategy, you can just pretend to be a scarecrow. Whether you agree with Feng Ji and Shen Pei or with Guo Tu, you're likely to get burned.

"Enough!" Yuan Tan's deep voice carried a hint of weariness, yet possessed an undeniable decisiveness.

Looking at Yuan Shang, whose face was ashen, Yuan Tan said coldly, "Arguing is pointless! Cao Cao is now eyeing us from outside the city, and he could take our lives! Guo Gongze's words, though unpleasant to hear, are at least a way out."

After a pause, Yuan Tan's gaze sharpened again, landing on Guo Tu: "Guo Gongze, you are personally in charge of the proposal to contact Liu Bei. But you must remember, 'seeking aid' is the bottom line! Obey your master's orders and never mention it again! You also need to find out what Liu Bei is asking for! If he takes the opportunity to demand land and troops, or makes exorbitant demands..."

A cold glint flashed in Yuan Tan's eyes, and his tone grew even colder: "Then so be it! My brothers would rather die fighting beneath the walls of Ye than serve as a stepping stone for Liu Bei!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shang's expression changed several times, but in the end he did not object. He simply closed his eyes wearily, which was tacitly agreeing to Yuan Tan's decision. Just as Yuan Tan said: This is also a way out.

Guo Tu felt a huge weight lifted from his heart and bowed deeply: "I will obey the General's orders! I will do my utmost to ensure the survival of Hebei!"

After a pause, Guo Tu then requested, "Zhongzhi's son is now under the command of the Left General. Can Zhongzhi accompany me?" Yuan Tan glanced at Xin Ping and granted permission, saying, "The two of you may proceed to Zhuo County as soon as possible. Whether you succeed or not is up to fate."

Shen Pei and Feng Ji exchanged a glance, both with grim expressions. However, Yuan Tan had already made his decision and Yuan Shang did not object, so the two could only swallow back the anger that was rising in their mouths.

Subsequently.

Yuan Shang then announced the implementation of Shen Pei's strategy of "publicizing Cao Cao's massacre of surrendered soldiers," changing the practice of eating a full meal every day to eating a full meal every three days. At the same time, he secretly sent elite cavalry out of the city to take the opportunity to harass Cao Cao's supply lines.

And after the meeting.

Meng Dai then called out to Jiang Qi and whispered, "Guo Tuxin is probably not coming back from Zhuo County. We should make plans as soon as possible."

Jiang Qi was taken aback: "How do you know, General?"

Meng Dai sneered: "Guo Tu and Xin Ping have always been on good terms with Liu Bei, and their families are in Pingyuan, not Ye City. Now that Young Master Shang and Young Master Tan are unwilling to serve Liu Bei as their master, why would Liu Bei waste money, provisions, and troops to come to Ye City to help us?"

Jiang Qi was stunned: "But if Young Master Shang and Young Master Tan are defeated, Liu Bei will also be unable to support the army alone. Liu Bei must understand the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold'."

Meng Dai gently shook his head: "You only know one side of the story. No matter how much personal grudge there is between Young Master Shang and Young Master Tan, they are still brothers, so it's natural to say that if one falls, the other will be vulnerable. But Liu Bei is an outsider, and he was almost cut off from his retreat by Young Master Shang and trapped to death in Hedong. How could Liu Bei tolerate such a grudge? The last time Lü Bu cut off Liu Bei's retreat, not only was he captured alive by Liu Bei in alliance with Cao Cao, but when Lü Bu surrendered at the White Gate Tower to help Cao Cao pacify the world, Liu Bei even used the story of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo to persuade Cao Cao to kill Lü Bu. Now, Liu Bei has already done more than enough by not joining forces with Cao Cao to attack Young Master Shang, so why would he come to rescue Young Master Shang?"

At this point, Meng Dai couldn't help but sneer again: "Young Master Shang is still too young, foolish enough to ally with Cao Cao to cut off Liu Bei's return route! Who is Cao Cao? He's the kind of person who would even consider the bigger picture and form an alliance with someone after his own son was killed! How could he be a man of his word? As soon as Young Master Shang failed to capture Huguan, Cao Cao deemed him no longer worth allying with and turned around to attack him. His actions were frighteningly decisive. It's just a pity that it wasn't Young Master Tan who was in Ye City at the time, otherwise, how could this disaster have occurred today?"

Jiang Qi took a deep breath and said, "If Liu Bei refuses to come, Ye City will run out of food in three months at most. What are your plans, General Meng?"

Meng Dai's eyes narrowed: "Surrender to Cao Cao!"

　Update 3 is here!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)