Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 302 Gongsun Zan: I have a plan, everyone please do not doubt it!

"Since our lord has been called the King of Han, his power must have already shaken the land of China."

Cao Mengde is barely able to take care of himself, how dare he come to the rescue?

Guo Jia's eyes were clear and sharp as he looked up at Gongsun Zan on the main seat and smiled faintly.

"General, please consider this!"

If someone other than the Liu family becomes king, then the whole world will attack him.

Now that my lord is in power and Cao Cao controls the government in Luoyang, how can we sit idly by?

If Jia's prediction is correct, the fate of the South and the Central Plains will be decided in this battle!
If my lord were to wage war against the court, it would be over in an instant. I ask you, General, at that time, how could Cao Mengde spare even a fraction of his troops to attack Yuan Shao?
Waiting for them to come to the rescue is like someone trapped in water and fire praying for a leaky boat, or someone terminally ill seeking a dying doctor!

His own death is imminent; if no one can save him, how can he save you?

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yu composed himself, looked at him sternly, and rebuked him:
"How narrow-minded is Fengxiao's theory!"

My lord is no ordinary feudal lord; he serves the Son of Heaven to command those who do not submit, and he controls the key aspects of the government. This is the essence of righteousness in the world.

Located in the heart of the Central Plains, it possessed the wealth of the entire land, with millet piled up like mountains and cloth filling its treasury.

He commanded a million Yellow Turban rebels and trained 100,000 Qingzhou soldiers; he held the Central Plains for a long time and gained 100,000 Yanzhou soldiers; he accepted the surrender of former officials of Dong Zhuo in Sili and gained 100,000 Xiliang soldiers!

Their fine armor and sharp blades made them invincible.

His benevolence and power extended throughout the four seas, and the feudal lords sought refuge under his command. He wielded his long-term strategies to establish his rule in the Central Plains and used his chariots to crush Yu and Xu.

Yuan Gonglu's presumptuous veneration of the King of Han is truly laughable!
He had only a nominal title and had not received any imperial decree, yet he usurped the country for his own use.

My lord will take action, which is perfectly justified, and the world will respond, with heroes gathering in alliance.

Lu Bu of Xuzhou, Liu Bei of Yuzhou, Liu Biao of Jingzhou, and Liu Zhang of Yizhou were all loyal and virtuous men of the Han Dynasty who had long harbored the desire to restore order.

My Lord Dan issued a proclamation to the world, just as he had done in the past when he attacked Dong Zhuo, and the eighteen vassal lords all went to join him.

Although the highway has a foundation, how can a single individual compete with all the powerful lords of the world?

This sudden thunderclap shattered the egg-laying pile, and the mighty army swept across and split the rotten wood. Its momentum was unstoppable and invincible. How could it be said that it was too busy to take care of itself?

General, rest assured. Even if Yuan Shu makes a small provocation, he will surely collapse in an instant. My lord did not exert his full strength, but only made a slight move, which has already made him fearful and uneasy.

Therefore, even though we divided our forces to attack Shao, we still had spare strength!

If the general wishes to abandon darkness and embrace light, why not wait patiently for our lord's reinforcements?

Firstly, one can secure one's safety by relying on the imperial court; secondly, one can avoid the dangers of chaos and turmoil. This is a foolproof plan.

Fengxiao only cared about his master's personal interests and failed to see the greater good of the world. He advised the general to abandon the great principles and join the rebels, and to abandon loyalty and help the treacherous minister.

How can someone with such a treacherous heart be trusted?

Gongsun Zan was taken aback upon hearing this!
"Does Cao Mengde still possess such strength?"

If Cheng Yu's statement is true, Cao Cao had 300,000 soldiers under his command, then adding Liu Bei, Lü Bu, Liu Biao, and Liu Zhang would also make up the numbers.

Yuan Shu's declaration of himself as king will invite attacks from all the warlords in the land, and he will inevitably be destroyed in the long run. Going to surrender at this time would be a very unwise move.

If Cao Cao possessed such strength and had the support of various warlords, it wouldn't be impossible for him to send troops north to assist him when he was campaigning against Yuan Shu.

However, before Cheng Yu could even offer any advice, he continued to provide examples and arguments for Gongsun Zan, demonstrating how powerful his lord Cao Cao was and how easily he could destroy Yuan Shu.

Then one of the people in the room suddenly burst into loud laughter, clutching his stomach as he pointed at Cheng Yu, unable to stop laughing.

It was none other than Gan Ning.

Cheng Yu's face darkened at his laughter, and his tone turned cold and sharp.

"I heard you are the adopted son of Shu, how come you don't even know basic manners?"
Why are you laughing for no reason now?

Gan Ning kept pointing at Cheng Yu, laughing more and more as he spoke, and talking more and more as he laughed.

"I laugh at you, you fool! You are a strategist who is ignorant of the times and the people. You only talk big and make people laugh!"
Mr. Cheng, you have been in Youyan for a long time, and I'm afraid you haven't received any news from the court for a long time.

Not to mention your lord Cao Mengde, who was repeatedly defeated by his adoptive father, whose soldiers were on the verge of death and whose generals surrendered to gold, even his eldest son Cao Ang died under the spear of my sworn brother Zhang Xiu.

They are fleeing in panic, living in constant fear. How dare they invade my territory?

Not to mention that what you said would be attacked by all the feudal lords in the world, which is simply laughable.

Let's open our eyes and take another look at the world!

Now, my adoptive father has conquered Jingzhou and pacified the southwest, his power shaking the entire land!
Liu Biao surrendered the entire province, Liu Bei lost his foothold, Lü Bu defected and formed an alliance, and Cao Cao narrowly escaped death.

In such a vast Central Plains, where do the feudal lords of the world come from?

This is the land of my father's family!
All the feudal lords under heaven dare not disobey, and all the people under the four seas share the same heavenly rule!
"You scoundrel, if you dare bark and howl again, one day I'll sail to Youyan and deliver your dog's head to you, Cao Mengde!"

"Shuzi!
How dare you insult my lord!

Cheng Yu, enraged, hurriedly said to Gongsun Zan:

"General Gongsun, this boy is full of wild and boastful words and cannot be trusted. It would be better to kill him and present him to the court."

The Emperor has decreed bestowing great favors and rewards; the possibility of being ennobled as a marquis is indeed achievable!

Seeing this, Guo Jia hurriedly tried to speak up to refute, but Gan Ning waved his hand and blocked his way.

Why do you need to persuade him, sir?
Gongsun Zan brought about his own death; why waste words on a dead man?

Since my father set out from Shouchun, he has been invincible, destroying Yao, Bei, and Biao, conquering all without exception.

The so-called feudal lords of the world are nothing but a laughing stock!
Lü Bu's life was only a matter of time, and his defeat was imminent. Cao Cao was also like a skeleton in a tomb, and he would be captured sooner or later.

If General Gongsun were to heed the words of that fool Cheng Yu, and risk his life for death, discarding a precious pearl for a hidden box, this would be a path to certain death. Even if I die now, I will laugh at him from the afterlife!

Gongsun Zan: "."

No, it hasn't been that long!

So, according to you, Yuan Shu has already defeated all the southern warlords? Only Lü Bu and Cao Cao are left?
Real or fake?

My battle with Yuan Shao isn't even over yet, and he's already wiped out every single person in the south, every single one of them.

Is it really that fast?!

The main problem is that he is currently blocked by Yuan Shao. The distance was already far, and with Yuan Shao's blockade, it is indeed quite slow for him to receive news and intelligence from the south.

So should we believe Cheng Yu's statement that Cao Cao still has 300,000 troops under his command, enough to conquer the south and the north and eliminate all disloyal subjects?

Or should we believe Gan Ning's words that Yuan Shu has already defeated all the warlords, that Lü Bu is on the verge of death, and that Cao Cao is just a skeleton in his tomb?
Gongsun Zan fell into deep thought.
His gaze swept over everyone in the room, passing over the aggressive Cheng Yu, the fearless Gan Ning, and the smiling Guo Jia.

Just as everyone was waiting for his decision—whether to follow Cheng Yu's advice and wait for Cao Cao's reinforcements, or to heed Guo Jia's advice and flee to the sea with his wealth—

After a long silence, Gongsun Zan suddenly had a flash of inspiration!

He stroked his beard and smiled, then addressed the crowd:
"Stop arguing, Zan has a plan!"
Please listen to what I have to say!

Cheng Yu and Guo Jia exchanged a glance. These two rivals seemed to have a tacit understanding, a vague sense of familiarity rising in their hearts. Both of them thought to themselves, "This is bad!"

Sure enough, Gongsun Zan laughed and said:
"Now, Zan shall proclaim himself King of Yan, and announce this to the world!"

Cheng Yu/Guo Jia: "." (Damn it!)
Seeing that everyone seemed stunned by his brilliant idea, Gongsun Zan beamed and began to speak eloquently to them.

"This is a brilliant plan, everyone, please do not doubt it!"

Zan was trapped in Youzhou. Although he managed to hold on by his own strength, the White Horse Alliance meant that the whole world would attack him. Apart from Shao, who could kill me?
The war between You and Ji has dragged on for a long time. If I do not declare myself king, will Shao not fight?

Not also!

If we fight against Shao without claiming the title of king, and the king also fights, and we fight as well, is it acceptable to claim the title of king?
Furthermore, since Gonglu has already declared himself king, how can Shao tolerate Zan declaring himself king as well? We should hold a grand ceremony to declare ourselves king, issue royal decrees to Shao, and use this momentum to provoke him.

I've provoked him; he'll surely declare himself king!

If Shao were to declare himself king, the whole world would unite against him!
Even if his family had held high office for four generations and controlled four states for a long time, how could they possibly stand against the masses of the world?

Zan should issue a proclamation, convene a meeting of all the warlords to punish the rebellious Yuan Shao, and then the perilous situation in Youzhou will soon be resolved.

Cheng Yu and Guo Jia looked at each other in bewilderment!
Wonderful!

He declared himself king and used the imperial edict to command Yuan Shao, thus provoking Yuan Shao to also declare himself king.

Once he declares himself king, he will issue a proclamation calling on all the lords of the land to join forces against Yuan Shao.

At that time, Yuan Shao will be too busy to take care of himself, and the crisis in Youzhou will be resolved on its own.

Why is it that this outrageous plan, which seems so illogical, also somehow makes a strange sense of logic?

Have we all misjudged him? Is General Gongsun really a genius?
To prevent Gongsun Zan from acting on a whim and doing something outrageous that would further tarnish the dignity of the court.

Cheng Yu hurriedly offered his advice:
"General, you are mistaken!"

Now that Shao has seized control of the four provinces of Ji, Qing, You, and Bing, the world is united against him, and the only ones capable of defeating him are my lord and Lü Bu.”

However, before he could finish speaking, Gongsun Zan looked at him coldly and interrupted him.

"So what? I did this just to test your words!"
If Cao Mengde were truly as you say, he would possess the wealth of the Central Plains, command prestige throughout the four seas, and command an army of 300,000.

With both Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao declaring themselves kings, it wouldn't matter who they attacked; they would no longer be bound by righteousness and would have to attack Yuan Shu first.

"At that time, responding to my proclamation, while deploying troops in the south to defend against Yuan Shu, they should be able to march north and join me in attacking Shao. I believe this will not be difficult."

"This"

Despite his talent, Cheng Yu was rendered speechless by Gongsun Zan's words.

After all, only Cao Cao himself knew whether he actually possessed the strength he had just boasted about.

But since Guo Jia had already pushed the situation to this point, he could no longer boast or exaggerate to bolster his own reputation.

It's possible that Gongsun Zan was truly intimidated by Guo Jia, and he led his troops to flee to the sea, heading to Shouchun to surrender to Yuan.

But at this very moment, he was again silenced by Gongsun Zan using his own words from earlier.

Indeed, if Cao Cao truly possessed the 300,000 troops he boasted about, he could have easily sent them to guard the south while simultaneously heading north to join forces and attack Shao.

If both Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao declared themselves kings, then there would be no necessary order in which they were to be attacked.

In this situation, Gongsun Zan only needed to see if Cao Cao responded to the proclamation and marched north to attack Shao, and his lies would be exposed.

Sure enough, seeing him speechless for a moment, Gongsun Zan laughed coldly.

"Mr. Zhongde, why are you not saying anything?"

What? Could it be that what the adopted son of the King of Han said just now was the truth?

Your lord Cao Mengde has long been hiding in Luoyang, living in constant fear. Not to mention Yuan Shao's claim to be king, Yuan Shu alone has kept him busy and unable to spare any troops to come north to aid me.

Even if Yuan Shao were to actually declare himself king, would he simply be left to watch helplessly?

Cheng Yu remained silent, staring blankly at the white-horse general before him, meeting his cold, piercing eyes that chilled even the northern barbarians, unable to utter a single word.

No matter what he says, as long as Gongsun Zan can provoke Yuan Shao to declare himself king, then the court, or even his lord, will be in danger.

Its weakness and exhaustion are known to all!

The branches and leaves are strong, but the main trunk is weak.

Today, the central government of the Han Dynasty, the imperial capital of Luoyang, has long lost the strength to conquer all directions and quell rebellions.

How then can we subdue those who do not submit?
Shock!

To everyone's surprise, Gongsun Zan, with his clever little brain, saw through the situation, saw through Cheng Yu's smooth talk, and even forced him into a situation where he could not speak.

Guo Jia's eyes lit up, and he quickly advised him:

"General, your plan is brilliant!"
It turns out that the general's plan was not to become king, but merely to test Cheng Zhongde's heart!

Now that his words have been revealed and all matters are clear, General, you should quickly follow my advice, gather the best of the province, take the strongest troops from You and Yan, invest all your resources, take ten thousand horses, and travel by large ship to cross the sea to Huainan.

"Now that you have surrendered with your entire army, you will not lose your title of king in the future."

However, before he could finish speaking, Gongsun Zan interrupted him with a cold laugh.

"You should also refrain from saying anything more!"

Each one of them, driven by their own selfish desires, plotted for their own masters. Did I not know this?
"Zan can become king today; why wait until tomorrow?"

Guo Jia: “???”

"What you have seen and heard today is all your own opinion, how can it be trusted?"

Did Cao Mengde actually have the strength to march north to aid us? And had Yuan Gonglu already defeated all the other warlords and become a powerful force throughout China?

All of this will become clear once Yuan Shao and I both declare ourselves kings!

As Gongsun Zan spoke, he looked at Guo Jia and smiled meaningfully.

"But rest assured, sir, your plan is excellent, and Zan is not a stubborn and self-willed person."

After I become king, I will take the best of Youzhou and retreat to Beiping. I will be ready to transport wealth, elite troops, and horses by large ship to Huainan.

The remaining soldiers, generals, and supplies that could not be taken away were left to guard Yijing, defending the city and delaying Yuan Shao for as long as possible.

If Cao Cao truly had an army of 300,000, relying on the fortifications of Yijing, it would have been sufficient to hold out until Cao Cao responded to the proclamation and led his troops north to provide reinforcements.

If this is the case, then Zan will once again march south from Beiping to join Cao Cao in attacking Yuan Shao, in order to protect the foundation of Youzhou.

If they are powerless, we will immediately flee to the sea by boat when the city of Yijing falls; it will not be too late.

"Is it skill? Or manipulation? Regardless of which of you is genuine or false, Zan can discern the truth and stand firm in his position."

Guo Jia: "."

Well, even Guo Jia was rendered speechless by Gongsun Zan's shameless and ingenious plan.

He declared himself king to provoke Yuan Shao to do the same, and then immediately fled to Beiping, ready to travel by boat at any time.

At that time, we only need to sit back and watch the outcome. If Cao Cao can send troops north and Yijing is defended, then we can return and all the warlords of the land can join forces to attack Yuan Shao in order to protect the foundation of Youzhou.

If Cao Cao had not come, and Yijing had fallen, he would have fled by boat in Beiping overnight, gone to Huainan, and surrendered to the King of Han with the wealth of an entire province.

Even if Yuan Shao rode his horse behind him, he couldn't catch up.

Excellent! Excellent! What a perfect example of being invincible! I must say, you truly live up to your reputation, Gongsun Bogui!

In Guo Jia's opinion, the most important point was probably what Gongsun Zan had just said:
[Zan can be king today, why wait until tomorrow?]

That's when he truly revealed his true feelings!
All these reasons are simply to justify his act of declaring himself king.

As long as there is a proper reason to declare himself king, then even if he later escapes to Huainan by large boat and submits to the King of Han.

By then, even the King of Han probably wouldn't be able to strip him of his throne without a reason.

Otherwise, wouldn't we be betraying the trust of the people and losing the hearts of the nation?
And the surrender of General Gongsun Zan, the White Horse General, and the surrender of Prince Gongsun Bogui of Yan!

Their status in the Han state was incomparable to what it was on the other side.

(End of this chapter)