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

Chapter 54 The Key to Establishing a Foothold in Hebei: The Perfect Teamwork of the Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix

After receiving Zang Ba's "assistance," Liu Bei kept his promise and did not stay in Langya.

Heading north to Zhuojun will take a long time and several days.

It is now February of the fifth year of Jian'an.

If only Zhuge Liang hadn't intervened after the fact.

In February, Yuan Shao led his troops to Liyang and sent Guo Tu, Chunyu Qiong, and Yan Liang to attack Liu Yan, the governor of Dongjun, at Baima.

In February, Cao Cao will lead his elite troops eastward to attack Liu Bei, occupy Xiaopei, attack Xiapi, and capture Guan Yu.

Then in April, Cao Cao will go north to rescue Liu Yan.

Furthermore, adopting Xun You's strategy of dividing the troops, they first pretended to cross the river at Yanjin to create the illusion of attacking Yuan's army from the rear, thus inducing Yuan's army to divide its troops at Yanjin. Then, they advanced rapidly with light troops, with General Zhang Liao and the newly surrendered Guan Yu as the vanguard, and Xu Huang and others as the rearguard, to launch a surprise attack on Yan Liang.

This battle.

This not only enabled Cao Cao to achieve his first victory at the Battle of Baima, but also allowed Guan Yu to perform the only recorded feat in the entire history of the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period where he could take the head of a general from among ten thousand troops as easily as taking something out of a bag.

In the camp.

Zhuge Liang picked up his brush and sketched out the entire picture of the Battle of Guandu from his memory onto a blueprint.

The names of the military supervisor Ju Shou, strategists Tian Feng, Xun Chen, and Xu You, generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou, commanders Shen Pei and Feng Ji, the three sons Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, and Yuan Shang, and other important civil and military officials such as Guo Tu, Zhang He, and Gao Lan are also noted.

The current situation has undergone subtle changes compared to the Battle of Guandu in my memory.

Although Cao Cao attacked Liu Bei in the east, he failed to capture Guan Yu alive. Instead, under the guidance of Zhuge Liang's wisdom, he sent troops to Baima ahead of time.

Whether Yan Liang and his men could launch a surprise attack on Baima, prompting Liu Yan to urgently request reinforcements, and whether Cao Cao could defeat and kill Yan Liang, remains to be seen.

The outcome of a battle is determined more by the command of the general, not only by the deployment of soldiers, but also by the deployment of supplies.

The better you are at maneuvering, the greater your chance of victory.

While a general's personal bravery can boost the morale of soldiers, its impact on the overall war effort is not absolute.

The larger the scale of the war, the smaller the influence of the individual military commander.

In comparison.

Yuan Shao's command ability was inferior to Cao Cao's, which was Cao Cao's greatest advantage in the battle against Yuan Shao!
If it were someone else.

Based on their understanding of history, they might wait for the moment when Cao Cao defeats Yuan Shao.

Zhuge Liang was different.

The defeat at Jieting taught Zhuge Liang a lesson: details determine success or failure.

Although the factors contributing to Yuan Shao's defeat were complex rather than singular, it is undeniable that Xu You's angry surrender to Cao Cao was the most crucial and direct factor.

When Shen Pei, with his great wisdom, arrested Xu You's wife and children on the grounds that Xu You's family had committed a crime, everyone—from Yuan Shao to Ju Shou, Tian Feng, Xun Chen, and Feng Ji—was stunned.

Arresting the wife and children of a strategist who knew important military secrets without asking for permission during a major battle is no less outrageous than Mi Fang, Liu Bei's brother-in-law, surrendering to Lü Meng.

Perhaps Shen Pei believed that he could eliminate Xu You in one fell swoop, and that Xu You would have no choice but to confess his crimes.

But who is Xu You?
In their youth, he and Yuan Shao were close friends, sharing a bed when they were at home, riding in the same carriage when they went out, and even going to the brothel together.

Back then, Xu You even conspired with heroes such as Wang Fen, the governor of Ji Province, and Zhou Jing of Pei State to depose Emperor Ling of Han. Even after the plot failed and Xu You fled, Yuan Shao secretly hid him in Luoyang.

Even if Xu You's family members broke the law, or even if Xu You himself broke the law, Yuan Shao would still laugh and say, "Ziyuan is drunk again," to exonerate Xu You.

For Yuan Shao, the fact that Xu You's family members had broken the law was no big deal!
Xu You, a ruthless man who dared to plot to depose the emperor, would hardly confess obediently.
“Shenpei—”

"This man may be useful to the Left General."

Zhuge Liang was skilled not only in military strategy and domestic affairs, but also in diplomacy.

The enemy of the enemy is the friend.

Regardless of Shen Pei's reasons for arresting Xu You's wife and children during the Battle of Guandu, as long as Shen Pei could reduce Yuan Shao's chances of winning, he was worth winning over by Liu Bei.

Subsequently.

Zhuge Liang then turned his gaze to Yuan Tan. As Yuan Shao's eldest son, Yuan Tan became a pitiful person because his birth mother died early and his stepmother gave birth to Yuan Shao's handsome younger son, Yuan Shang. He was neither loved by his stepmother nor by his younger brother.

Fortunately, Yuan Tan lived up to expectations and made many military achievements in helping Yuan Shao pacify Hebei, winning the support of some important civil and military officials under Yuan Shao.

Just when Yuan Tan thought his position as heir was secure, Yuan Shao unexpectedly adopted him as his deceased brother's heir.

In prominent families, it was common for a younger brother to adopt a son to be his heir if the elder brother had no son.

Yuan Shao himself was an adopted son.

However, adopted sons are usually the second son of the legitimate wife or a son of a concubine, rather than the eldest son of the legitimate wife.

Unfortunately, Yuan Shao gave his eldest son, Yuan Tan, to his brother as his heir!
Anyone with eyes to see can see that Yuan Shao favors his youngest son, Yuan Shang, and is paving the way for Yuan Shang's future.

To appease Yuan Tan, Yuan Shao appointed him as the governor of Qingzhou, and later as the prefect of Qingzhou.

Yuan Tan lost his mother at a young age and was disliked by Yuan Shao and his stepmother. His ambition far surpassed that of ordinary people, which led him to defeat Tian Kai in the north, attack Kong Rong in the east, and display his military might in the coastal areas. He even reached Dong'an in Langya State.

Although the generals of Mount Tai recaptured the counties of Langya and Yuan Tan lost some counties and townships in Qi and Beihai, most of Qingzhou was still under Yuan Tan's control.

"Since ancient times, the practice of deposing the eldest son in favor of the youngest has been a path to disaster."

"Yuan Shao deposed his eldest son Yuan Tan and cleverly installed his younger son Yuan Shang as emperor. How could Yuan Tan not resent this?"

"Whether General Zuo can establish himself in Hebei depends heavily on Yuan Tan's attitude."

"I wonder if Shi Yuan's mission to Yuan Tan went smoothly."

Zhuge Liang murmured to himself, then picked up his brush and drew a circle over the two characters "Yuan Tan".

Qingzhou.

Linzi.

Pang Tong, along with Sun Qian and Huang Zhong, rode up to them.

Although Liu Bei appointed him as the Chief Clerk of the Left General and Military Advisor, Pang Tong did not achieve any merit and often lamented that he was unworthy of the position.

Therefore.

Pang Tong volunteered to be an envoy to Qingzhou.

The reason given to Liu Bei was: to ask Yuan Tan to send troops to provide support.

But in fact.

Pang Tong had a deeper reason.

Pang Tong, a contemporary hero who was as famous as Zhuge Liang and came from a prominent family in Jingzhou, understood Yuan Tan's predicament when he learned that Yuan Tan had been adopted as the heir of Yuan Shao's elder brother.

His situation was exactly the same as that of Liu Qi, the eldest son of Liu Biao, the General Who Guards the South of Jingzhou: Liu Biao neither loved his stepmother nor his younger brother.

Deposing the eldest son in favor of the youngest is a path to disaster.

but.

For Liu Bei, who wanted to establish himself in Hebei, the Yuan family, which was internally divided, was his opportunity to establish himself in Hebei!

If Yuan Shao's three sons had been harmonious and respectful to each other, and Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang had both assisted Yuan Tan, even with UR cards like the Crouching Dragon, the Young Phoenix, and the Five Tiger Generals, as well as SSR cards, Liu Bei would not have been able to establish himself in Hebei.

"Who are you, and why are you lingering at the city gate?"

While I was thinking.

Several riders arrived quickly, each carrying a spear and keeping a wary eye on Pang Tong and his companions.

Especially Huang Zhong behind Pang Tong, whose imposing presence made the cavalry of Linzi wary even without him making any move.

Pang Tong snapped out of his thoughts, straightened his sleeves slightly, and introduced himself.

"Please inform them."

"Pang Tong, the chief clerk and military advisor under the General of the Left, along with Sun Qian, an aide under the General of the Left and a disciple of Kang Cheng Gong, requested an audience with Governor Yuan of Qingzhou."

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(End of this chapter)