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

Chapter 300 Ju Shou Enters Ye City, the Old Supervisor's Prestige Overwhelms the New Supervisor (2 Updates)
Cao Cao was well-versed in the art of war, particularly the strategy of "seizing the enemy's supplies" from Sun Tzu's Art of War, and always coordinated his military campaigns with the harvest season.

Cao Cao did not care whether the enemy's soldiers and civilians would starve to death.

Cao Cao's motto was: surrender means life, resistance means death.

If city officials and commoners resolutely defend the city and resist, they are all regarded as accomplices. Unfortunately, Yuan Shang, Yuan Tan and others who were defending the city were not good enough. They could not fight outside the city and could not defend the city.

Logically speaking, the troops from Hebei should have been more formidable.

However, in reality, the strength of an army does not depend on whether it is from the north or the south, but on who can eat their fill.

Cao Cao was frugal and prioritized providing funds and provisions to his soldiers; Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, on the other hand, were extremely extravagant and kept all the funds and provisions for their own use.

Yuan's soldiers, subsisting on mulberries, were naturally no match for Cao's well-fed soldiers. Moreover, Cao's soldiers were plunderers who viewed "conquest" as an opportunity to make a fortune, and their morale far surpassed that of the hungry and exhausted Yuan army.

Therefore, when the conflict between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao first broke out, many people from Wei Commandery and Julu Commandery fled north. These people did not believe that Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan could compete with Cao Cao.

However, those who could move their entire families north were mostly people with some wealth or relatives and friends in the north. Most scholars and commoners had to stay behind and guard the unripe wheat in the fields, hoping to make a living after the harvest.

After Yan Liang and Wen Chou issued the proclamation, the people of Handan were thrown into a state of panic:
They were reluctant to abandon the wheat fields and flee north; even if they did escape, they might not survive in a foreign land; and if they encountered Cao Cao's army on the way, their entire family might perish...

Yan Liang and Wen Chou did not offer much advice to those who wished to leave or stay. They allowed those who wanted to leave to do so, and did not force those who wished to stay. They simply stationed their troops in Handan and observed the situation in Ye City.

the other side.

Ju Shou's sudden arrival in Ye City further complicated the situation there.

In the past, Ju Shou was in charge of both internal and external affairs and his prestige shook the three armies. Therefore, Ju Hu, Yin Kui, Chen Lin, Han Meng, Lü Kuang, Lü Xiang and others still had expectations of Ju Shou; while Shen Pei, Feng Ji, Yin Kai, Liang Qi, Li Fu, Ma Yan, Zhang Yi, Guo Zhao, Shen Rong and others were deeply afraid of Ju Shou.

The most dissatisfied party was Shen Pei.

Ju Shou arrived at the perfect moment, just when Ju Hu was determined to go all in, and his arrival immediately drew Ju Hu, Yin Kui, Chen Lin, Han Meng, Lü Kuang, Lü Xiang and others to his side.

Although Ju Shou was stripped of his military power after the Battle of Guandu, his prestige in the army did not diminish in the slightest.

This former "military supervisor" relied not only on his military power, but also on his genuine wisdom, military prowess, and prestigious reputation.

Shen Pei once considered sending assassins to kill Ju Shou to eliminate future troubles, but Ju Shou was closely guarded by the White Feather Soldiers dispatched by Liu Bei, so he had no way to do it and could only watch helplessly as Ju Shou gathered Ju Hu and others.

Taking advantage of the situation, Yin Kui and Chen Lin pleaded for Cui Yan in prison. Ju Shou released Cui Yan without hesitation and assigned White Feather Soldiers to protect him.

Ju Shou's purpose for this trip was purely to take away as many of his clansmen, relatives, friends, and the families of his officers and generals as possible.

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Shen Pei finally couldn't hold back: "If all the officials' families are taken away, the officials will certainly be willing to fight to the death, but won't the people in the city be terrified and lose their will to fight?"

Ju Shou stared coldly at Shen Pei: "Defending the city is the business of the officers and soldiers. What does it have to do with the people in the city? If you can defend Ye City, the people in the city will naturally not be in a state of panic."

"Soliciting nonsense!" Shen Pei was trembling with anger, but seeing that Ju Hu, Yin Kui, Chen Lin, Han Meng, Lü Kuang, Lü Xiang and others were all standing behind Ju Shou, he wanted to say something harsh but was afraid of provoking the wrath of the crowd.

Both were military supervisors, but Shen Pei, the new supervisor, was actually outmatched in prestige by Ju Shou, the old supervisor, which made Shen Pei even more upset. "I ask the General to make the decision." Shen Pei turned to Yuan Shang, since he couldn't reason with Ju Shou, he would let Yuan Shang issue the military order directly.

If Ju Shou hadn't come, Yuan Shang would definitely have supported Shen Pei.

Given the current situation in Ye City, the only options are to surrender or resist. Since Yuan Shang is unwilling to surrender, resistance is the only way out.

However, when Ju Shou arrived, Yuan Shang's thoughts changed.

In particular, Ju Shou lied that Yuan Shao pitied Yuan Shang, so he asked Liu Bei for help; Liu Bei, remembering his kindness to Yuan Shao, sent troops from Changshan south to Handan to provide support, and also sent Ju Shou to Handan to devise a plan for Yuan Shang.

This made Yuan Shang feel both the care from Yuan Shao and the sense of relief that as long as he survived, he could always find a way to rebuild. Furthermore, Shen Pei had initially said that if things went wrong, Yuan Shang should retreat first. Therefore, when questioned by Shen Pei, Yuan Shang chose to remain silent.

Seeing that Yuan Shang valued his life, Shen Pei was secretly furious and could only turn his gaze to Yuan Tan.

Yuan Tan had a private agreement with Shen Pei, so he naturally wouldn't let Ju Shou succeed. He snorted coldly and said, "Ju Gongyu, I won't stop you from leaving with your officers' families, but you can't let the defense of Ye City be compromised. Unless you can come up with a solution that satisfies both sides, don't blame me for not warning you beforehand. I might kill you as an example to warn others."

Yuan Tan's threats did not sway Ju Shou. If he were truly afraid of death, Ju Shou would not have repeatedly offered his honest advice to Yuan Shao.

"Young Master Shang will be leaving with me, and the General's sword and seal can be entrusted to Shen Pei." Ju Shou succinctly stated a strategy that Yuan Tan could not refuse.

really.

Upon hearing that the General's sword and seal would be entrusted to Shen Pei, Yuan Tan's eyes widened. He had been fighting with Yuan Shang for years, all for the sake of the General's sword and seal.
"Words are meaningless. Besides, can you and Ju Gong really make decisions for Xianfu?" Yuan Tan turned his head and stared at the general's seal hanging on Yuan Shang's waist, secretly swallowing.

Yuan Shang was also dumbfounded: I didn't say anything, so why should I entrust the sword seal to Shen Pei? Ju Shou, whose side are you on?

“Young Master Shang, the Grand General’s sword and seal are the foundation for maintaining the stability of Ye City. Hesitation will only lead to chaos.” Ju Shou seemed to be seeking Yuan Shang’s opinion, but his tone was undeniably forceful.

This greatly angered Yuan Shang: "What if I don't want to?"

Ju Shou sneered: "Since Young Master Shang is unwilling, he must want to stay in Ye City and fight Cao Cao to the death. I admire such courage. In that case, I will only take Young Master Shang's family to Handan and wish Young Master Shang a glorious victory on the battlefield. I will ask General Zuo to take good care of Young Master Shang's wife and daughters."

Yuan Shang was speechless.

They could either entrust the sword and seal to Shen Pei and leave Ye City with Ju Shou, or they could cling to the sword and seal and stay in Ye City to fight Cao Cao to the death.

As for abandoning the city with the sword and seal, Yuan Shang had this idea but dared not actually put it into practice. Ju Shou taking away the families of the officers and soldiers had already angered Shen Pei and Yuan Tan. If he were to abandon the city with the sword and seal, even Shen Pei would probably shoot Yuan Shang in the back.

finally.

Yuan Shang still chose to entrust the sword seal to Shen Pei. The sword seal was an external thing; life was the most important thing. If he lost his life because of the sword seal, he would not even have a chance to make a comeback!

Seeing Yuan Shang entrust the General's sword and seal to him, Ju Shou coldly looked at Yuan Tan and asked, "Young Master Tan, now that the General's sword and seal are in Shen Pei's hands, can you ensure that the defense of Ye City is flawless and cover my journey to Handan with my officers' families?"

　Update 2 is here!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)