I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 243 Seize the Day!

Shen Pei and Guo Tu searched almost the entire city of Ye, but still could not find Xu You.

"They've probably run away!"

Guo Tu was also gritting his teeth!

How could Xu You run away?

How dare Xu You run away?

Xu You's escape means that no matter what, we can't get solid evidence!

Fortunately, a lot of valuables from the south were found in Xu You's house, which was enough to convict Xu You.

Shen Pei and Guo Tu exchanged a glance, and finally decided to go find Yuan Shao and tell him the whole story of Xu You.

……

Unlike Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shao was known for his benevolence and wisdom.

Even when there were no military or political affairs, Yuan Shao would still meet with famous scholars and elders in Hebei and spread his favors.

"In that case, we will have to rely on you all!"

A tall, imposing man with dignified bearing and an air of authority was bowing to the three elders of the county before him.

Raising his head, the man had a face like jade, dragon-like eyebrows and slender eyes, a nose like a jade pillar, and a mouth like cinnabar. Who else could it be but Yuan Shao?

The three elders of the county quickly helped Yuan Shao up, saying, "What virtue or ability do we have to receive such a great courtesy from you?"

Yuan Shao laughed heartily: "The Han Dynasty governs the country with loyalty and filial piety. Isn't it the proper thing for a junior to treat the elderly well?"

"It's pitiful that some people in the South have abolished the Three Elders system and disregarded filial piety. This shows that the world has collapsed and all propriety and music have been lost!"

Upon hearing this, the three elders immediately nodded: "The one Lord Yuan is referring to must be General Liu Miao, right?"

"He is clearly a member of the Han imperial family, yet he disregards the law and replaces the Three Elders with the Three Seniors; he is truly a treacherous and wicked man!"

"We hope that Lord Yuan can defeat Liu Miao as soon as possible and restore peace and order to the world!"

Yuan Shao was extremely pleased with the three elders' praise and bowed to them again, saying, "I will certainly do my best!"

"Okay, okay!"

These three elders all came from prominent families in Hebei.

Their attitude itself reflects the attitude of the Hebei aristocratic families.

Seeing their respect, Yuan Shao was very pleased. Before parting, he gave them a lot of wine and meat as a sign of filial piety.

Once these three people left, Yuan Shao's momentum suddenly changed!
His demeanor had lost the gentleness he displayed when dealing with the three elders; instead, he appeared fierce and imposing!

“South, General Rules”.

It only uttered two cries, yet they inspired fear in people as if they were divine decrees.

Shen Pei and Guo Tu emerged from the side hall and prostrated themselves on the ground.

Yuan Shao pinched the bridge of his nose: "I was interrupted by the three elders just now. You two, please tell me about Xu You in detail again!"

Shen Pei and Guo Tu reiterated their judgment and handed over the complete list of valuables found in Xu You's house to Yuan Shao.

"Lord Yuan, Xu Ziyuan has done more than just this one bad deed!"

In order to deal with Xu You, Shen Pei had collected all the evidence of Xu You's crimes long ago.

"I've heard that officials from remote areas and envoys from other vassal states who wish to see you will be asked for bribes. Only those who offer the highest price will be granted an audience with you, while those who offer the lowest price may have to wait for up to six months! Previously, Liu Miao's envoy, Lu Su, had come to Ye City specifically to visit Lord Yuan. However, at that time, Liu Miao had only just pacified Jiangdong, so Xu You did not respect Lu Su much and demanded a bribe from him, which resulted in Lu Su not being granted an audience with you and returning directly to the south."

"And the last time your eldest son attacked Jiangdong, it was also because Liu Miao secretly bribed Xu You to obstruct the attack, which led to the defeat!"

"Even Xu You's unauthorized sale of warhorses and oxen to Jiangdong is evidence of his connection with Liu Miao!"

The list included silk from Sichuan and pearls from the East China Sea.

There is white porcelain from Jingzhou and ivory from Jiaozhou.

Throughout the entire world, only Liu Miao could produce these things! And the fact that these things are now in Xu You's residence basically confirms the connection between Xu You and Liu Miao.

Now there's only one thing missing—

Where is Xu You?

Guo Tu's face turned grim as he said, "They escaped."

The only thing missing now is Xu You's confession.

Since Xu You has fled, he cannot be convicted. At the same time, no one can truly take responsibility for Guo Tu and Yuan Tan's previous failure to conquer Jiangdong.

Yuan Shao sighed softly, "Xu Ziyuan, he is my trusted friend who has traveled far and wide for me!"

"He's not here with me today, so he's probably gone to see another friend of ours?"

Of all the heroes in the world, there are countless, but only Cao Cao could be called a "friend" by Yuan Shao!
Guo Tu was overjoyed and wanted Yuan Shao to force Cao Cao to hand over Xu You, but he was stopped by Shen Pei's gaze.

Shen Pei took the initiative and stood in front of Guo Tu.

"Master Yuan".

“You and Xu You have always been close. He knows everything about the soldiers and provisions in Hebei. It would be of no benefit to us if someone like him went to Cao Cao!”

"Cao Cao is a treacherous man by nature. Now he has kidnapped the emperor and is doing the same things as Dong Zhuo and Li Jue. He is a major threat to Lord Yuan!"

Yuan Shao sat alone on his couch, stroking his beard with his eyes closed. Shen Pei then revealed his strategy—

"Why not seize this opportunity to march south immediately, defeat Cao Cao, and take over the Central Plains!"

It would be pointless to advise Yuan Shao to ask Cao Cao for Xu You.

Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are no longer the close friends who formed a coalition of warlords to jointly attack Dong Zhuo, but now they are warlords of the Han Dynasty who have no choice but to fight with all their might!

Need people? Sure!
But there's no reason for Yuan Shao to speak up first!

Yuan Shao now has the right to refuse to compromise with anyone!

Cao Cao was trembling with fear and offered Xu You's head to Yuan Shao. There was no reason for Yuan Shao to be so cautious as to ask Cao Cao for Xu You.
Since that's the case, let's just mobilize a large army and put pressure on Cao Cao!

If Cao Cao backs down, we can seize this opportunity to compete for control of the Central Plains!

If Cao Cao hadn't backed down, he could have used this opportunity to vie for control of the Central Plains!

One Xu You was not enough to make Yuan Shao take drastic action.

But what about Cao Cao? What about the Central Plains? What about even the Han Dynasty?

Isn't this enough to make Yuan Shao send troops?

Guo Tu instantly understood Shen Pei's meaning and immediately agreed: "Before, we were implicated by Xu You and lost Qingzhou, causing Lord Yuan to lose the initiative in the Central Plains. Now, why not take this opportunity to sweep across the Central Plains and completely pacify the world!"

"As long as Lord Yuan defeats Cao Cao and seizes the Central Plains, then Lü Bu, Liu Miao, Han Sui, Liu Zhang, and others will be no threat!"

After listening silently, Yuan Shao asked Guo Tu about the matter: "What about Gongsun Zan?"

If Yuan Shao wanted to attack the Central Plains, given his size, he could completely overwhelm Cao Cao!

The reason why they are not yet willing to send troops south is because Yijing still has Gongsun Zan.

Although Gongsun Zan was left with only a breath left after the Battle of Jieqiao, he miraculously survived until today!

"If Gongsun doesn't die, Hebei will never be at peace."

Yuan Shao rose and paced back and forth, the hem of his robe slowly sliding off the table and onto the floor.

Seeing that Yuan Shao was still hesitating, Guo Tu finally couldn't help but say, "Lord Yuan! Is it possible that your forces are not enough to capture Yijing?"

"A direct assault on Yijing might result in some casualties, but it will buy Lord Yuan time!"

"During the time that Lord Yuan was confronting Gongsun Zan, how many things happened in the Central Plains? First, Liu Miao rose to power and became a warlord who controlled both Jing and Yang! Then the emperor fled and was welcomed into Xuchang by Cao Cao! Then Xuzhou changed hands several times, making the east no longer peaceful!"

"If Lord Yuan had quelled Gongsun Zan a year or even two years earlier, would Liu Miao, Cao Cao, and Lü Bu have had such an opportunity?"

Guo Tu said solemnly, "What Lord Yuan needs to do now is a matter of utmost urgency! Back then, Emperor Gaozu defeated Xiang Yu and dominated the world in just four years after he secretly crossed the Chencang pass! Even after Emperor Shizu went on a mission to Hebei, it only took him two years to capture Luoyang and establish his own dynasty! Now, Lord Yuan has been wasting too much time on Gongsun Zan!"

Yuan Shao's usually composed face finally showed some change.

Seize the day!

Hebei, which was too easily acquired, inadvertently became a quagmire that trapped Yuan Shao.

Originally, Yuan Shao didn't think he was that slow, but when he heard Guo Tu mention Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang and Emperor Shizu Liu Xiu, Yuan Shao suddenly realized that he wasn't much faster than that river turtle.

Not to mention Liu Bang and Liu Xiu, even compared to Liu Miao, who suddenly rose to power and directly controlled the two provinces of Jing and Yang, Yuan Shao's expansion speed seemed far too slow.

Perhaps, as Guo Tu said, if Yuan Shao had been able to pacify Gongsun a year or even two years ago and take control of Hebei, the world might be completely pacified by now, and there would be no situation of warlordism like we have now!

"It is indeed too slow."

When Yuan Shao's whispers reached Guo Tu's ears, Guo Tu immediately perked up!
"In that case, I urge Lord Yuan to immediately send troops to defeat Gongsun and march upon the Central Plains!"

"..."

But Yuan Shao suddenly fell silent once again.

Shen Pei then said, "Fighting on two fronts is a major taboo in military strategy."

"It would be better for Lord Yuan to first concentrate his forces to quell Gongsun Zan, and then transfer the main army to the south to fight Cao Cao."

"Furthermore, I have heard that Liu Bei, under Cao Cao, is leading troops to attack Xuzhou. In this case, Lü Bu will surely be drawn to Liu Bei and lead his main force to the south to provide support. At this time, if Lord Yuan sends a capable general to attack Qingzhou, then the lost territory of Qingzhou will surely be regained!"

Guo Tu then realized that Yuan Shao was still worried about Cao Cao, so he went along with Shen Pei's suggestion and stopped insisting that Yuan Shao suddenly start a war on two fronts.

However, Guo Tu still had his own selfish motives, so he asked Yuan Shao to have Yuan Tan lead troops to retake Qingzhou!
However, Yuan Shao rejected this seemingly reasonable plan.

"Lu Bu is not someone Xian Si can defeat."

"I've heard that Yuan Cai is currently recruiting talents from all directions, and he must have ample funds and provisions by now. How about we send Xian Si westward with the soldiers of Bingzhou to conquer Hedong and Guanzhong?"

Yuan Cai is Yuan Shao's nephew and the current governor of Bingzhou, Gao Gan.

Judging from Yuan Shao's words, it was clear that he was somewhat dissatisfied with Gao Gan's recruitment of scholars, so he wanted Yuan Tan to go and give him a warning.

Guo Tu felt somewhat regretful after hearing this.

Anyone with eyes to see could see that as long as Yuan Shao was willing to send troops, it was almost a certainty that he would retake Qingzhou.

Guo Tu recommended Yuan Tan, hoping that Yuan Tan would claim all the credit.

But now Yuan Shao wants Yuan Tan to go to Bingzhou, which is obviously not conducive to Yuan Tan's ability to make achievements.

But since Yuan Shao had already spoken, Guo Tu couldn't possibly refute him.

"Yes, Your Majesty! I will summon the eldest son for a meeting immediately!"

(End of this chapter)