I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 203 The three founding emperors couldn't find a single eldest son to succeed them.
Unable to obtain funds and provisions from Yuan Shao, Guo Tu had no choice but to return to Qingzhou to explain the situation to Yuan Tan.

"Now that Lord Yuan is unable to pay Lü Bu, I'm afraid it will be up to you, eldest son, to deliver the money and provisions to Lü Bu!"

As Yuan Shao's eldest son, Yuan Tan should have been closer to him. However, Yuan Shao actually adopted him as his elder brother Yuan Ji at a young age.

Yuan Tan harbored resentment over this matter. Now, hearing that Yuan Shao was unwilling to provide even a small amount of money and provisions, he became even more disheartened.

"I was clearly working hard for my father's great cause, but did he really care about me? He wouldn't even provide me with a little money or food?"

Seeing that Yuan Tan seemed discouraged, Guo Tu quickly encouraged him to cheer up.

"That's not the case."

"I heard that Lord Yuan was originally going to agree to this matter, but it came to nothing because of the dispute between Shen Pei and Xu You."

"Yuan Gong's wisdom is beyond our comprehension. Just like this time, although he refused to provide Lü Bu with money and provisions, he also did not follow Xu You's advice to completely befriend Liu Bei and break with Lü Bu... Doesn't the eldest son feel that there is something amiss?"

Yuan Shao's attitude on this matter was clearly extremely ambiguous.

On the one hand, Yuan Shao was indeed concerned about the reputation issue mentioned by Xu You.

Liu Bei took the initiative to befriend Yuan Shao, but now Yuan Shao wants Lü Bu to attack Liu Bei. If this gets out, won't the world laugh at Yuan Shao and think he's a fool?

On the other hand, Yuan Shao was indeed unwilling to give up this opportunity.

Once Lü Bu defeats Liu Bei and reclaims Xiaopei, it will be like putting a sharp knife to Cao Cao's waist, while also putting pressure on Liu Miao, forcing him to abandon his attack on Jingzhou and return to Jiangdong.

Is it truly impossible to have both fame and fortune?

Not also!

At this moment, with Guo Tu's prompting, Yuan Tan finally understood Yuan Shao's intention: "Father wants me to step forward?"

“Young Master, you misunderstand. Liu Bei recommended you as a talented scholar, how could you take the initiative to attack him? Lord Yuan’s reputation is important, and yours is equally important.”

Yuan Tan asked, "Then what should I do?"

"Prepare money and provisions, then negotiate with Zang Ba of Mount Tai and ask him to send these money and provisions to Lü Bu."

"In this way, we can both avoid tarnishing the name of the eldest son and fulfill Lord Yuan's wish. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"

Yuan Tan paused for a moment, then shook his head slightly.

"This is indeed killing two birds with one stone, but even the most skillful cook cannot cook without rice."

"Qingzhou was severely affected by the Yellow Turban Rebellion. After that, I fought Kong Rong for half a year before finally taking Qingzhou... To be honest, Qingzhou's treasury is not full now. It's not even enough to feed my own army, so how can I support Lü Bu?"

Guo Tu then asked, "Is the eldest young master declining because of insufficient funds and provisions in Qingzhou, or is there another reason?"

"Naturally, the funds and provisions are indeed insufficient."

"Is it unrelated to Yuan Gong's decision to have you adopted by Yuan Ji?"

Suddenly, the veins on Yuan Tan's arm bulged, and he immediately picked up the ceramic cup on the table and smashed it heavily on the ground.

Yuan Tan was indeed angry!
Despite being Yuan Shao's eldest son, he was adopted by Yuan Shao and given to someone else. How could he accept this?

Since Guo Tu had so clearly pointed it out, Yuan Tan no longer concealed his intentions: "Now I have been adopted by someone else and become someone else's son! If I were to become the father in the future... wouldn't this vast foundation be taken away by someone else? Wouldn't all the achievements I have made and the territories I have conquered become someone else's wedding dress?"

Yuan Tan did not want to continue the war.

Even if we conquer Xuzhou, Huainan, and Jiangdong, what then?

Now that the legal and inheritance rights are not on Yuan Tan's side, Yuan Tan has no motivation to go through the thankless task of conquering all sides and expanding territory.
Guo Tu: "That's precisely why the eldest son should strive to achieve great merit and prove himself to Lord Yuan."

"is that useful?"

Yuan Tan scoffed.

"Could it be that they can bring me back from where I was adopted?"

Guo Tu then asked, "Does the eldest son know why Lord Yuan wanted to adopt you to Yuan Ji?"

Yuan Ji, Yuan Shu's elder brother from the same father and mother, was a true direct descendant of the Runan Yuan clan and had already risen to the rank of one of the Nine Ministers at a young age.

If it weren't for the Dong Zhuo incident, Yuan Ji's future would have been incredibly bright! He wrote books, rose to the rank of one of the Three Dukes, firmly defended the reputation of the Runan Yuan clan, and made the Runan Yuan clan the foremost family in the Han Dynasty.

To be honest, Yuan Tan did not consider it a disgrace that Yuan Shao had adopted him to Yuan Ji.

Yuan Ji is dead! But Yuan Shao is still alive! And he is currently the most powerful warlord in the Han Dynasty! He is only one step away from the supreme throne!
Yuan Tan had read the history books.

Qin, Pre-Han, and Later Han.

Ying Zheng, Liu Bang, Liu Xiu.

These three founding emperors who established unified dynasties all had one thing in common: none of their eldest sons succeeded to the throne!
Ying Zheng's eldest son, Fusu, was forced to commit suicide by Li Si and Zhao Gao.

Liu Bang's eldest son, Liu Fei, became a vassal king and was enfeoffed as the King of Qi.

Liu Xiu's eldest son, Liu Qiang, was a vassal king and was enfeoffed as the King of Donghai.

Now it was Yuan Tan's turn, and he couldn't help but feel apprehensive. He thought he was about to become the next Fusu, Liu Fei, or Liu Qiang!
As for why Yuan Shao adopted him, Yuan Tan didn't know, and could only guess: "Could it be that my father and my uncle are close?"

Guo Tu scoffed at these words.

"Although Yuan Gong and Yuan Ji were not as sworn enemies as Yuan Shu, they were by no means close either."

Yuan Tan's expression immediately darkened: "Then it must be that my father doesn't like me anymore?"

When Yuan Tan was adopted, Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang had already been born.

Instead of adopting his youngest son, Yuan Tan chose to adopt his eldest, adult son instead. Aside from dislike, he couldn't find any other reason. "The eldest son is mistaken."

Guo Tu corrected Yuan Tan.

"A hero like Yuan Gong would never act according to his own preferences."

“He is thoughtful in every step he takes, but those who do not understand him call him ‘indecisive’.”

“Yuan Ji is actually the direct descendant of the Yuan family of Runan.”

"And you must know something about Lord Yuan's background."

Yuan Tan nodded.

It was because his uncle Yuan Shu kept referring to him as "a son born to a concubine" that Yuan Tan had such a deep impression of him, so Yuan Tan did have some understanding of his father's background.

"Now that Lord Yuan has adopted his eldest son to Yuan Ji, he is actually inheriting the legitimate lineage of the Yuan family of Runan!"

Guo Tu placed his hand on Yuan Tan's hand: "So, does the eldest son understand?"

"You are the only direct descendant of the Yuan family of Runan today!"

Yuan Tan was breathing rapidly!

However, Yuan Tan quickly realized something: "My uncle Yuan Shu also had a son, right? I think his name was Yuan Yao..."

Guo Tu was also taken aback for a moment, but immediately waved his hand and said, "That's not important!"

Guo Tu didn't believe that Yuan Shu's descendants could cause any trouble.

Could it be that in the future someone will support Yuan Shu's descendants to compete with Yuan Tan for the right of succession?

Guo Tu couldn't believe that anyone in this world could be so shameless and yet so farsighted.

Guo Tu believed, and also made Yuan Tan believe—

"You are the true heir of the Yuan family!"

"If that day ever comes, all those Yuan family disciples scattered throughout the Han Dynasty will surely vie to attach themselves to your wing!"

Yuan Tan's breathing quickened immediately: "Does that include the general rules as well?"

Guo Tu rose and bowed to Yuan Tan, saying, "I will certainly serve you, my lord, with the utmost loyalty!"

Yuan Tan was overjoyed!

"If that's the case, then we should indeed conquer Jiangdong! Let's win over Father and his civil and military officials!"

Guo Tu said with satisfaction, "Excellent!"

"May I ask about the matter of money and provisions? Has the eldest son made a decision?"

"nature!"

Yuan Tan was no longer in a difficult position as he had been before.
"Go ask the wealthy households in the city to raise some money, and collect taxes and grain ahead of schedule. That should be enough."

"Although it's tough on the common people, they should understand for the sake of the greater cause!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Tu smiled and said, "It would be wonderful if the young master could understand!"

However, the two did not expect that Qingzhou was so dilapidated that even the landlords could not spare any grain.

After collecting taxes for three years, no matter how much they tried, they were still short a certain amount.

"What should we do? Lü Bu is determined to send troops only after he sees the money and provisions. If he finds out that the amount is insufficient, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain?"

Guo Tu reassured Yuan Tan, "Leave this matter to me!"

Guo Tu first went to Zang Ba and asked him to transport money and grain, promising that he would give Zang Ba 10% of the money and grain, as well as 3,000 warhorses, after the matter was completed.

Zang Ba was originally a cavalry commandant under Tao Qian. After Tao Qian's death, he gathered troops with Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Yin Li, and others, and stationed them in the Kaiyang area, becoming a local overlord. He no longer obeyed the orders of the two later governors of Xu Province, namely Liu Bei and Lü Bu.

As a result, Zang Ba naturally received no financial support from the state or county, and was practically penniless. Therefore, when he heard that Yuan Tan wanted to "outsource" the grain transport task to him, he did not hesitate at all and decisively accepted the task.

Following Guo Tu's instructions, Zang Ba transported the money and grain to Xiapi. After counting them, Lü Bu flew into a rage: "Why is so much missing?"

Guo Tu also arrived in Xiapi at this time. Seeing that Lü Bu was angry, he shifted all the blame onto Zang Ba.

"These bandits from Mount Tai must be greedy for money, which is why they embezzled the general's money and provisions!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu was about to chase after Zang Ba to demand an explanation.

But Guo Tu advised, "Now that you are about to fight Liu Bei, how can you provoke Zang Ba and put yourself in a vulnerable position?"

"In my opinion, it would be better to attack Liu Bei first and take back Xiapi. We can deal with Zang Ba later."

Lu Bu cursed and swore, but fortunately, Zhang Liao, Chen Gong, and others around him persuaded him in the same way, which prevented Lu Bu from directly attacking Zang Ba.

"Once Liu Bei is killed, you bandits from Mount Tai will be next!"

On his way back, Zang Ba sneezed several times.

Sun Guan asked, "General, are you feeling unwell?"

"No, that's not it. It's just that my lower back feels a bit heavy, as if I'm carrying something on my back..."

(End of this chapter)