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

In the temporary governor's mansion of Ji Province in Shiyi City, Changshan State, Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi, and Gao Gan gathered together.

Last year, after Yuan Shang's remaining forces in Zhao, Julu, and Anping were defeated by Han Hao, Cao Ren, and Li Dian, he fled north to Bohai to seek help from Yuan Shao.

Although Yuan Shao and Yuan Shang had a previous falling out, he could not resist Yuan Shang's kneeling and pleading, as well as Liu Bei's persuasion, and had no choice but to shamelessly ask Liu Bei to find a place for Yuan Shang to settle down.

Liu Bei then settled Yuan Shang in Shiyi County in the southern part of Changshan State, and made it the capital of Ji Province. He also appointed Yuan Shang as the governor of Ji Province and ordered him to recruit the former troops who were still under Cao Cao's rule.

The purpose of this move was twofold: first, to prevent Yuan Shang from interfering in the administration of Changshan, Zhongshan, Hejian, and Bohai Commandery; and second, to use Yuan Shang's appointment as governor of Ji Province by imperial decree to counter Cao Cao's interference in internal affairs by "holding the emperor hostage to command the princes."

However, Yuan Shang was unwilling to be merely a governor in name only.

Not only did he repeatedly write letters demanding real power over the three commanderies and one kingdom, which Liu Bei politely refused, but he also secretly allied himself with Gao Gan and Yuan Xi.

On one hand, he secretly ordered Gao Gan to contact his former subordinates in Shangdang and persuade his cousin Gao Rou, who was then the Chancellor of Changshan. On the other hand, he instructed Yuan Xi to secretly contact the Zhen family of Zhongshan State to raise money and grain, intending to seize Shangdang, Changshan and Zhongshan as his base.

To achieve his goal, Yuan Shang even secretly contacted Wang Yi, the governor of Hedong, Han Hao, the chancellor of Zhao, and Cao Ren, the governor of Julu, all sent by Cao Cao. He falsely claimed that he was willing to act as an inside agent, inducing them to harass Liu Bei's borders and disrupt spring planting. He attempted to divert the main forces of Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, who were stationed at Huguan, Zhengding, and Lunu, so that he could seize power in the rear.

Inside the mansion, Yuan Shang paced anxiously in the hall, his brows furrowed, his voice filled with suppressed anger: "Xianyi! You've been trying to raise funds for months, and you've only managed to gather this little bit of money and provisions? How can that be enough?"

To win over his old subordinates, he needed money and supplies; to secretly train assassins, he needed even more money and supplies. At present, the only source of income he could rely on was Yuan Xi, the son-in-law of the Zhen family. However, Yuan Xi was ineffective in raising money and supplies, which made Yuan Shang both anxious and angry.

Faced with Yuan Shang's questioning, Yuan Xi's face was equally gloomy, and his tone was stiff: "What can I do? Now that I have lost power, Zhen Yao's willingness to allocate grain is already out of consideration for our past relationship. How can I force the Zhen family to do their best to help me?"

Yuan Shang abruptly stopped, his gaze turning sinister as he stared at Yuan Xi: "Xianyi, don't forget your place! You're the son-in-law of the Zhen family! If you can't even control your own in-laws, what grand plans are you talking about? If supplies run out and morale collapses, when will our important matters ever be accomplished?"

Yuan Xi took a deep breath, his tone somber: "I am not the only son-in-law of the Zhen family. I am currently only holding the empty title of Governor of Youzhou, with no troops or power. Zhen Yao's willingness to provide me with provisions is already a great honor. The Zhen family are merchants who are shrewd and calculating. Right now, they are preoccupied with currying favor with Liu Bei. How could they possibly have the energy to care about my life or death? If you think I am too slow in raising money and provisions, you can go and raise money and provisions yourself."

Yuan Shang's face was ashen, and veins were bulging on his forehead. He was clearly extremely dissatisfied with Yuan Xi's "difficult situation" and even more annoyed by Yuan Xi's question. His eyes were almost bursting with anger.

Just as he was about to lash out, the high-ranking official, who had been silent all along, spoke up at the opportune moment: "Young Master Shang, please calm down. What Xianyi said is also true. It is human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm. If we force the Zhen family, it may create rifts and be counterproductive."

Changing the subject, the senior official added, "However, the shortage of military funds is indeed an urgent matter. Although it is difficult for Xianyi to raise funds, we must still do our best, and we must not stop even if it is just a drop in the ocean."

Seeing Gao Gan trying to smooth things over while maintaining both sides of the argument, Yuan Shang felt a surge of frustration with nowhere to vent it. He turned to Gao Gan and questioned him, "Did you make any progress in persuading Gao Rou?"

The high-ranking official hesitated slightly before saying, "Wenhui has already given us a private reply. He said that if the timing is right and he sees that we have accomplished something, he will not prevent us from entering the city."

Yuan Shang's brows furrowed suddenly: "If we're going to conspire on something important, why are we so hesitant and timid? Does he mean that if things don't go smoothly for us, he'll turn against us and prevent us from entering the city?"

A hint of disdain flashed through Gao Gan's mind, but he cautiously advised, "Although Wenhui is the Chancellor of Changshan, there is still the valiant general Guan Yu in Zhen Ding City, and Yan Liang and Wen Chou are also stationed there. It is not something that can be decided by one person alone. If the plan is not kept secret and the secret is exposed, not only will it fail, but it will also bring disaster upon us. It will be too late to regret it then."

Yuan Shang grew increasingly impatient as he listened: "Absurd! How can we wait for everything to be perfect before we can accomplish anything extraordinary? If we just sit and wait for the right opportunity, how long will we have to wait?"

For a moment, Yuan Shang felt that Yuan Xi was ineffective in procuring grain, and that Gao Gan was slow in handling affairs; there was no one who could truly share the burden. His thoughts involuntarily drifted to the deceased Shen Pei and Feng Ji, and his heart grew increasingly heavy.

When Shen Pei and Feng Ji were alive, they were able to strategize and act with utmost sincerity, strictly enforcing orders. Why is it that now, Yuan Shang has to personally plan everything? And these two people in front of him are even handling their own duties so clumsily, causing Yuan Shang unnecessary trouble.

Since ancient times, a fallen phoenix is ​​no better than a chicken.

Yuan Shang angrily accused Yuan Xi of failing to procure grain and Gao Gan of being slow in handling affairs, but in reality, Yuan Shang's efforts to win over his old subordinates were not very effective.

Yuan's former protégés and subordinates are not fools; anyone with a discerning eye can see the current situation in Hebei clearly.

Aside from those who lacked ability and virtue and believed they could not obtain wealth and honor under Liu Bei's command, no one would actually follow Yuan Shang to seek that illusory wealth and honor.

As for the former Yuan clan members under Cao Cao's rule, it goes without saying that Liu Bei might only punish the ringleaders, but Cao Cao would eradicate them completely.

However, Yuan Xi and Gao Gan did not take the opportunity to question Yuan Shang, thus saving face for Yuan Shang.

There's a saying: "Three lousy generals are better than Zhuge Liang."

In reality, those three incompetent subordinates couldn't even touch Zhuge Liang's feet, let alone surpass him.

The plans that Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi, and Gao Gan made together were not only looked down upon by Yuan's former disciples and officials, such as Zhen, but also by the assassins that Yuan Shang had recruited.

The so-called "suicide squad" were just people who wanted to earn a living under Yuan Shang's command.

Therefore, when Yuan Shang angrily rebuked a certain assassin due to his irritable mood, the assassin immediately ran to Zhen Ding City and revealed to Guan Yu that Yuan Shang was secretly training assassins.

Guan Yu had long seen through Yuan Shang's restlessness, and Gao Rou had also told Guan Yu about Gao Gan's repeated attempts to persuade him. Guan Yu found Yuan Shang and his group's conspiracy laughable.

If it weren't for the need to use the three men's status as governors to appease Cao Cao's imperial righteousness, Guan Yu would have arrested Yuan Shang and the others long ago, to avoid the annoyance of them causing trouble right under his nose.

But soon.

Guan Yu's troubles were also resolved.

Sun Qian entered Zhen Ding, bringing with him Liu Bei's new instructions: "Recently, Gongsun Du of Liaodong sent envoys to form an alliance. My lord wishes to send Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi, and Gao Gan to Xiangping to show the intention of the two sides to form an alliance and make peace."

Upon hearing Liu Bei's instruction, Guan Yu immediately understood Liu Bei's intention: Yuan Shang and the other two could not die now, at least not openly, otherwise they would not be able to continue arguing with Cao Cao over the appointment of governors of the three provinces. But if Yuan Shang and the other two went to Liaodong, everything could be resolved smoothly.

Since ancient times, using someone else to do one's dirty work has always been considered the best strategy. (End of Chapter)