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

Chapter 313 My Xiahou family is full of loyal martyrs!
Faced with Guan Yu's question, Xiahou Ba answered sincerely:
"Ba and his uncle have endured for years, biding their time and suffering hardship, and tonight they have come to defeat Yuan."

General Guan, are you aware of the alliance between Cao Cao and Lü Bu?

"An alliance between Cao Cao and Lü Bu?"

Seeing Guan Yu's surprised expression, Xiahou Ba quickly answered for him.

"Yuan Shikai's power is so great that no one in the world can control him."

Now that most of the warlords in the south have been destroyed, only Cao Cao and Lü Bu remain who can resist Yuan Shao.

In order to deal with Yuan Shao's northern expedition, Lü Bu understood the principle of mutual dependence and thus formed an alliance with Cao Cao.

The feigned attack on Yan is actually a pretext for a surprise attack on Yuan's army from the rear, aiming to break Yuan's momentum and blunt his advance.

This was a good plan, but unfortunately Lü Bu was not discreet and inadvertently revealed his whereabouts, which were discovered by Yuan Shao's army.

Yuan's camp is now prepared. Chen has deployed a large force behind Yuan's camp, with pitfalls and thorny bushes everywhere, just waiting for Lü Bu to launch a surprise attack and walk right into the trap.

My uncle discovered this matter and knew that this was the best opportunity to defeat Yuan's army and cut off his arm before the main force of the Yuan bandits arrived.

Otherwise, if Lü Bu falls into the ambush, Cao Cao will lose his only ally, and if Yuan Shao's main force arrives soon, the overwhelming force will be unstoppable, and there will be no chance of victory.

Taking advantage of the camp meeting that night, he single-handedly restrained the Yuan camp members and secretly ordered Ba to come and deliver a message.

If Lü Bu arrives, my uncle and I will try our best to set fire to Yuan Shao's camp to disrupt his army's formation. We hope General Guan will make a decision and come to our rescue.

With Lü Bu defecting and generals attacking from both sides, and with my uncle and I turning against him on the battlefield, Yuan's army will surely be thrown into chaos. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to defeat the enemy!

I urge the General to consider this carefully and not to betray us.

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu's face flushed red with anger, and he slammed his fist on the table, rebuking him:

"How dare you!"
You, who have recognized a thief as your father and surrendered to Yuan, are using your silver tongue to bewitch me into your treacherous scheme. Do you think I don't know it?

Someone come!

"Quickly drag this heir apparent of the Han King out and behead him to bolster our army's morale, and present his head to the Emperor in Luoyang!"

"General, your loyalty is as clear as the sun and moon, why doubt me so much?"
It's not that I'm unwilling to die for my country, but I came here tonight in disguise. If I don't return soon, I fear Yuan's army will find out, which would harm my uncle who delayed everyone and created this opportunity for me.

General, my uncle and I are less important than the fate of the nation!
If Ba does not return tonight, and the traitor Yuan discovers that he was sending a message, he will surely take precautions in secret.

At that time, Lü Bu defected to Yuan Shao, only to find himself in a life-or-death situation, causing the alliance between Cao Cao and Lü Bu to collapse overnight, and the day of the Han dynasty's downfall to be imminent.

Seeing that the soldiers had come up to drag him away, Xiahou Ba almost burst into tears.

General Guan!

"The life or death of Lü Bu, the survival or demise of the Han Dynasty, rests on your decision at this very moment. You must not disappoint Lord Liu!!!"

Guan Yu listened and laughed coldly. "The fate of Lü Bu?"
What does Lü Bu's life or death have to do with Guan Yu?
If he were indeed ambushed and killed, Guan would immediately send a letter to his third brother in Luoyang, who would surely be overjoyed and raise a large cup of wine.

But what about Lord Liu?

Upon hearing Xiahou Ba mention his elder brother, Guan Yu's narrowed phoenix eyes suddenly widened, and he said: "...Wait!"

Remembering his elder brother's previous letter, instructing him to be cautious in his dealings with others and to prioritize his own safety.

Yes, the most urgent task right now is to wait for Cao Cao to arrive, and then take him as the leader and "assist" him as needed, not to risk our lives for Cao Cao here.

Regardless of whether Xiahou Ba's words were sincere or feigned, and regardless of whether his previous surrender to Yuan was genuine or feigned,

At least for now, his identity is that of the adopted son of the King of Han!
If we kill him now, Yuan's army will fight us to the death, sparing no expense to avenge him.

But Cao Cao hasn't arrived yet!
Guan Yu should just stay here and guard the pass peacefully; there's no reason for him to die for Cao Cao!

In his eyes, Yuan Shao was a traitor and Cao Cao was a usurper; they were both traitors and there was no difference between them.

Even not long ago, there was the great fire in Luoyang caused by Liu Yao, in which Han officials were killed in the streets and members of the imperial family died in the palace.

At that time, Liu Yao and Liu Biao, one Grand Tutor and the other Grand Preceptor, had both been killed by Cao Cao. If it weren't for the fact that they had their own old troops under their command, Cao Cao would have been wary of them and might have allowed them to leave with their troops to Yuan Shao.

Guan Yu was terrified that his elder brother would also be harmed by the traitor Cao Cao.

Therefore, our own forces and those of our own men are the only bargaining chips that allow our elder brother to survive in Luoyang. As our elder brother said in his previous letter, we must not lose them.

Therefore, Guan Yu stopped his soldiers, realizing that Xiahou Ba was truly not someone to be killed.

We can only kill them when Cao Cao's main force arrives, and when Cao Cao can hold off Yuan Shao's counterattack and retaliation.

In the hall, upon hearing Guan Yu's single word "Wait," which spared his life, Xiahou Ba calmly and respectfully bowed.

"General Xie, please believe me!"

"Now that the intelligence has been delivered, Ba will withdraw. He must return to Yuan's camp quickly to avoid arousing suspicion."

Guan Yu: "."

I don't believe you for a second. I just don't want to kill you, as it would dirty my knife, splatter my blood, and get me into a lot of trouble.

He carefully examined Xiahou Ba in front of him without saying a word, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was a hot potato.

If we kill him, even if the Yuan army retaliates, and we actually send his head to Luoyang, it's not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing.

After all, Xiahou Yuan was still alive, and not only alive, but also a confidant of Cao Cao.

Although we cannot openly protect this son who surrendered to Yuan and betrayed the enemy, if he harbors resentment and seeks revenge in secret, how can my poor elder brother, all alone in Luoyang, endure his humiliation?

However, if they were detained, as Xiahou Ba said, Yuan's army would inevitably notice after a while.

Whether Xiahou Dun was truly enduring hardship and biding his time, or was feigning an attempt to harm him, will remain unknown by then.

If news spreads from Yuan Shao's camp tomorrow that Xiahou Dun was secretly colluding with Cao Cao's camp and has been beheaded, it will confirm that he has been biding his time for years.

If that's the case, when Cao Cao arrives, how will I be able to explain myself for the crime of delaying military operations?

With this in mind, Guan Yu thought it best to play along, pretend to fall for the trap, and actually observe from the sidelines to see what tricks Yuan Shao's camp would pull.

His face was flushed, and he managed a forced smile.

"I am fully aware of the loyalty and righteousness of Young Master Xiahou and General Yuan Rang."

As for Lü Bu's matter, Guan Yu has his own plans.

You may return in peace. Continue to lie low in Yuan's camp and do not expose yourself.

"The general is a man of great righteousness, and I admire him greatly."

Watching Xiahou Ba's departing figure, Guan Yu's eyes were clear and sharp. He picked up the half-scroll of the Spring and Autumn Annals on the table and continued to study it.

He simply instructed, "Tell Cao about the situation here and let him make a decision."

In any case, by the time the letters have been exchanged, everything is already too late.

As for the loyalty and treachery of Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Dun, or the life and death of Lü Bu, these were matters for Cao Cao to concern himself with, and had nothing to do with Guan Yu.

He only needs to guard this pass to preserve his elder brother's strength.

However, to Guan Yu's surprise, before his letter even reached Cao Cao, Cao Cao's order arrived first.

The next morning, soldiers reported that Xiahou Yuan was leading 8,000 troops to rush to their aid.

Guan Yu hurriedly welcomed him into the hall.

After the two were seated, Guan Yu asked:

"At present, the main force of Yuan's bandits has not arrived, the enemy's offensive is not urgent, and Guanzhong can still be defended."

"General, what brings you on this urgent journey of a thousand miles?"

Xiahou Yuan, acting on Cao Cao's orders, rushed here day and night without delay. Without hesitation, he went straight to the point and asked:

"General Guan, are you aware of the Cao-Lü alliance?" Guan Yu: "."

I didn't know that at first; your son told me last night.

Unclear about the father and son's attitudes, Guan Yu, his face still flushed and showing no emotion, deliberately tested them by saying:
I know a little bit about it.

What the general says is true; Yuan Shao's power is now so great that no one in the world can control him.

In order to deal with Yuan Shao's northern expedition, Lü Bu understood the principle of mutual dependence and thus formed an alliance with Cao Cao.

Is the pretense of attacking Yan a pretext for a surprise attack on Yuan's rear, aiming to break Yuan's momentum and cripple his advance?

Xiahou Yuan: "???"

Xiahou Yuan was shocked!
No, I haven't even said anything yet, how did you already know!

He looked at Guan Yu, whose expression was unreadable, and felt that he was unfathomable.

"General Guan is incredibly resourceful; his information network is remarkably efficient."

To be honest, General, I am on the orders of Prime Minister Cao to cooperate with Lü Bu.

If we see Lü Bu launch a surprise attack and Yuan Shao's camp thrown into chaos, that will be our opportunity to leave the city and come to his aid.

At that time, our army of 38,000 men, combined with Lü Bu's 10,000 cavalry, will easily defeat Yuan Shao by attacking from both sides.

Guan Yu: "."

Guan Yu sneered!
He immediately gave the order, "Guards!!!"
Capture this spy from Yuan Ying immediately!
"Returning to report to Cao Cao, the entire Xiahou family surrendered to Yuan Shao."

Before he could finish speaking, Xiahou Yuan was already terrified.

"What does Yun Chang mean by this?"
I came here on Cao Cao's orders; how could I have ever surrendered to Yuan Shao?

"If it weren't for Yuan's spies colluding with each other, how could your father and son's statements be exactly the same?"

Guan Yu coldly recounted the events of the previous night involving Xiahou Ba, then glared at Xiahou Yuan and rebuked him:
"You still dare to say that you did not surrender to Yuan?"

Xiahou Yuan was taken aback when he heard this. He hadn't expected that his unlucky kid had come by yesterday and said the exact same things as him.
In this situation, there are only two possibilities. One is, as Guan Yu said, that the Xiahou family colluded with each other and had long intended to surrender to Yuan Shao, so they came to frame Guan Yu and trick him at the pass.

But Xiahou Yuan knew he had never surrendered to Yuan!

What I am saying now is all on the orders of Lord Cao.

If that's the case, then how did Xiahou Ba know in advance about the Cao-Lü alliance and Lü Bu's plan to defect to Yuan Shu?
It should be noted that even Prime Minister Cao had only just received the news before he set off from Cao's residence.

The only conclusion is that Xiahou Ba is telling the truth!

Xiahou Dun had endured for many years, all for this day. They had stolen intelligence from Yuan Shao's camp about the Cao-Lü alliance and Lü Bu's impending surprise attack, and were here to deliver it.

Otherwise, how could Yuan's camp have known in advance that Lü Bu would defect and launch a surprise attack, thus setting up a trap to harm him?

So it wasn't that the Xiahou family was full of surrendered officials, but rather that the Xiahou family was full of loyal and righteous men, which is why this scene of father and son working together was possible.

But in fact, Xiahou Yuan did not expect that there could be a third possibility in this matter.

That is, Yuan Shu's main objective this time was not Luoyang, but Xuzhou.

Therefore, regardless of whether there is a Cao-Lü alliance or not, Yuan's camp will portray him as part of the Cao-Lü alliance. Regardless of whether Lü Bu will defect and launch a surprise attack, they will treat Lü Bu as a defector and attack him.

Therefore, upon hearing Guan Yu's words, Xiahou Yuan hurriedly called out to him:

General Guan, you've misunderstood!

My family is full of loyal martyrs!

The alliance between Cao Cao and Lü Bu is true. I came here hastily on the orders of Prime Minister Cao to persuade General Guan to put aside his past grievances with Lü Bu and join forces against Yuan Shao's army.

How could he possibly conspire with Ba'er?

Seeing Guan Yu looking at him suspiciously, Xiahou Yuan quickly recounted all the strange things about Xiahou Dun that Guan Yu had mentioned when he relayed Xiahou Ba's words.

"Yun Chang is wise and discerning!"
What Ba'er said last night about those strange things about Yuan Rang has been investigated by our spies over the years, and Cao Xiang is also aware of it.

It is precisely because of these many strange things that Cao Xiang and I have long suspected that Yuan Rang's surrender to Yuan might be suspicious.

After all, Yuan Rang and we grew up together and have been friends for decades, never abandoning each other. The affection between us is just like that between Guan Yu and Xuan De.

Guan Yu asked himself, "If I were ever defeated and captured, would I betray Lord Xuande?"

Guan Yu snorted proudly, “Jade can be broken but its whiteness cannot be changed; bamboo can be burned but its integrity cannot be destroyed. Though my body perishes, my name will be recorded in history.”

How can you speak of surrendering?

"That's exactly right!"
I also do not believe that Yuan Rang will surrender, and there are many doubts in Yuan's camp, so I often use this to persuade Cao Xiang.

Cao Xiang also thought it made sense, so he remained skeptical, but he lacked concrete evidence. Later, the Ba'er incident occurred, so he finally gave up.

Now it's clear that Yuan Rang was controlled by others, so he endured hardship and humiliation to survive, all for the sake of turning the tables one day.

It turns out that Ba'er was instructed by Yuan Rang to infiltrate Yuan's camp with him, so that he could be of use in order to help Cao Xiang achieve his great cause!
good! OK!

Now, with Yuan Rang and Ba'er working together from within and without, and Lü Bu having defected, we are being attacked from both sides. If General Guan doesn't send troops to coordinate then, when will he?

Xiahou Yuan was clearly very excited when he received this news. You see, in the entire Cao camp, if anyone was most willing to believe that Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Ba had not surrendered to Yuan, but instead had turned against him.

Apart from Xiahou Yuan, there is no one else!

He was also the most proactive in inquiring about Xiahou Dun's whereabouts in Yuan's camp.

Therefore, upon hearing that Xiahou Ba had come to deliver intelligence and mentioned the strange circumstances surrounding Xiahou Dun's control over others, he immediately believed it to be largely true.

However, Guan Yu remained indifferent when facing Xiahou Yuan, who was quite agitated.

"General Xiahou, please don't get agitated. Let alone General Yuanrang and your son, even the suspicion against you for colluding with Yuan has not yet been cleared. So what else is there to say?"

"Guards, seize him first. We'll await Cao Cao's arrival to determine his fate."

"How dare you!"
Do you think I don't know whether Yuan has colluded with Yuan or with my son?

Guan Yu!

Yuan is a confidant of Cao Xiang. He has come as an imperial envoy to lead troops to aid you and to convey Cao Xiang's orders!

"What right do you have to arrest me?"

He then took out Cao Cao's military order and rebuked him, saying:

"Cao Cao orders you to cooperate with Lü Bu to attack Yuan Shao from both sides and defeat the rebel Yuan Shao."

"Guan Yu, are you going to disobey military orders?"

Guan Yu stood firm and did not retreat, saying, "I was personally appointed General Who Guards the South by the Emperor, solely to guard Huanyuan Pass and cut off Yuan Shao's path northward."

It's not that I, Guan, am disobeying the imperial edict, but rather that there are many suspicious points surrounding your Xiahou family, and you may be loyal to Yuan Shikai.

I have not yet been cleared of suspicion, how can I listen to you?

If we fall into Yuan Shao's trap, wouldn't that truly betray the Emperor's grace and fail Chancellor Cao?

"You fart!

My Xiahou family is full of loyal and righteous men; how could we allow you to slander us?

"I see clearly that you harbor personal grudges against Lü Bu, prioritizing personal feelings over public duty, intending to watch him perish, showing concern for your former subordinates, and disregarding the greater good of the nation."

Guan Yu glared at him coldly, "You petty person, judging me by your own standards!"

Xiahou Yuan glared angrily, "You selfish man, you've ruined my lord's great cause!"

(End of this chapter)