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

Chapter 335 It's all Yuan Shu's fault!
At the Chenliu government office, Liu Bei bowed and asked, "What is the best course of action now, sir?"

Shan Fu spoke eloquently.

"Our lord desires to uphold righteousness throughout the land, restore the Han dynasty, and rescue the emperor. Why would he willingly serve as a subordinate of Cao Cao?"

Liu Bei's eyes were filled with tears, and he wept bitterly.

"Liu Bei had long desired to eliminate Cao Cao and restore the Han dynasty, but Cao Cao's power in the court was too great, and he executed all the officials who were loyal to the Han dynasty."

All the kings who rose up across the land were men of ulterior motives; only by remaining humble and content with one's lot can one await the opportune moment.

Dan Fu laughed loudly, “If that’s the case, then the time has come.”

"Heaven desires that Your Majesty seize Yanzhou to establish a foothold."

He gently waved his feather fan and smiled faintly, "If you want to take Yanzhou, then you must control all the troops in the Western Garden."

"If one wishes to command troops, Che Zhou has become a serious threat; he should be eliminated quickly."

Liu Bei hesitated slightly, and Shan Fu advised him:
Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trivial matters.

Now that the Han dynasty is in decline and the country is in ruins, how can Your Majesty, who wishes to defy the tide and save the nation from collapse, be concerned with trivial matters?

Moreover, Che Zhou was a henchman of Cao Cao, a confidant of the traitor to the state, a parasite that corrupted the Han dynasty, and a villain who brought about the downfall of the Han dynasty.

Why bother with morality when dealing with such treacherous rebels?

What is there for my lord to hesitate about?

"Very well, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Since we are eliminating traitors for the country, we should not be bound by rigid rules."

Seeing that Shan Fu had offered a way out, Liu Bei no longer hesitated and nodded slightly.

"But Cao Cao's defenses are so deep that he has already completely undermined the West Garden."

Now that the troops are all under Chariot Commander's control, eliminating them will likely be difficult.

Upon hearing this, Shan Fu chuckled, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he lowered his voice to say something.

"My lord, have you not heard of the old story of the Feast at Hongmen hosted by Emperor Gaozu of the Ming Dynasty?"

With the puppet Qi state invading, a crisis is imminent. Che Zhou is worried about the war and only thinks that they should join forces to fight against Lü Bu's army. Little did he know that while there is external trouble in front of him, there is internal strife on his side.
Moreover, since our lord's benevolent reputation is widespread and the whole world praises his virtue, Che Zhou will be completely unprepared for our lord. Under the pretext of discussing strategies to defeat the enemy, Che Zhou will surely comply without question.

When the time comes to kill Che Zhou, what need will there be for soldiers? Just a banquet, a sword dance, and General Zhang San'er!

Upon hearing this plan, Liu Bei shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Che Zhou trusted me and went to the banquet, but I have turned around and plotted against him. What will the world think of me?"
This plan is absolutely unacceptable; I urge the strategist to devise another strategy.

Shan Fu: "."

Didn't we agree that we don't need to talk about morality with traitors?

Besides, when Xiang Yu set up the Feast at Hongmen, the people of the world didn't really pay much attention to him, did they?
Although it may seem disrespectful to think this way, it was precisely because Xiang Yu was soft-hearted and did not actually kill Emperor Gaozu at the Feast at Hongmen that he was ridiculed by many and should take this as a warning.

However, as a strategist, since my lord is facing difficulties and is unwilling, I can only resolve the difficulties and make him willing.

Dan Fu was quick-witted, and in the blink of an eye, he came up with another plan based on what he had said before.

"My lord has misunderstood. Since I offered the advice, how could I disregard your reputation?"
This Feast at Hongmen may not necessarily have been hosted by the lord himself.

I have only been here a short time, but I have already discovered the secret letter from our lord to Yuan Shikai, in order to present Che Zhou to him as part of a scheme to set up a trap at the Feast at Hongmen.

There are forged letters between the lord and Yuan Shikai as evidence, and the plot to harm the lord at the Hongmen Banquet is used as a pledge of loyalty, which is enough to gain people's trust.

Che Zhou will surely consider me a confidant, and he will be confident that the banquet, hosted by the executioners, will be foolproof and will not suspect anything.

When the lord arrives at the banquet, without saying a word, he should take the initiative and ask the three generals to kill Che Zhou with a spear. Then, although there will be many axemen at the banquet, they will be leaderless and not a threat.

At that time, my lord will use the emperor's decree to resist the false Qi regime as a matter of righteousness, and I, as a trusted confidant of Che Zhou, will take the initiative to serve him and bring him under my command.

If this is true, then all the troops in the Western Garden will be at the Lord's service, and Che Zhou first used the Hongmen Banquet to harm the Lord. The Lord, having no choice but to protect himself, was forced to kill Che Zhou, thus preserving his reputation for benevolence.

Upon hearing this plan, Liu Bei nodded repeatedly. Any plan that did not damage his reputation was a good plan.

As for whether there is any danger in voluntarily entering Che Zhou's Feast at Hongmen?
With Shan Fu as Che Zhou's confidant, devising and in charge of the Hongmen Banquet plan, and as his inside man, coordinating with both inside and outside forces, and constantly relaying messages, how could he possibly fall into the trap and be harmed?

Moreover, Liu Bei had confidence in his third brother. Killing Che Zhou was just a sudden attack, and the others couldn't react in time.

To ensure safety, one can also prepare trusted guards outside of banquets for immediate rescue.

Just as Liu Bei was quite satisfied with the plan and was about to nod in approval, he suddenly realized that there was a fatal problem hidden in the plan.

He frowned and looked at Shan Fu in front of him, speaking with suspicion.

"Sir, isn't this wrong?"

Che Zhou suspected that Liu Bei was colluding with Yuan Shao, and thus set up the Hongmen Banquet. If Liu Bei had actually launched an attack at the banquet and killed this man, wouldn't that have made him look guilty and confirmed his crime?
At that time, everyone in the world will think that Liu Bei is colluding with Yuan Shikai. What more can be said?

Shan Fu: "."

Impressed!

Just because everyone says you're in cahoots with Yuan Shikai, does that mean you are?

In truth, which of the warlords of the Nine Provinces—Cao Cao, Lü Bu, Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan—hadn't been known to have colluded with Yuan Shao?

Cao Cao, who claimed to be irreconcilably opposed to Yuan Shu, had his trusted generals either leaving or surrendering to Yuan. He even sent his own nephew to Yuan's camp as a liaison officer, clearly having already planned his escape route.

He himself probably wouldn't believe it if you said he had no knowledge of Yuan Shikai at all.

In today's world, who doesn't know Yuan?

Who cares!

My lord, if you can't do this or that, how can we possibly achieve the great feats that surpass those of our ancestors?

He was originally named Shan Fu, but he changed his name and surname, abandoned martial arts for literature, and studied military strategy and tactics, hoping to cure the world's ills.

When I returned after completing my studies, I found that the world had changed. The promised warlords were fighting for supremacy, and the people of the land were suffering. They were all waiting for me to come out of seclusion and choose a wise ruler to save the world and bring peace to the people.
After they came out, there was already a latrine for everyone to sit in. The world was either controlled by the two Yuan brothers or Cao Cao. Each of them had a cloud of strategists and a rain of talents under their command, so that there was no room left.

Moreover, his mother always taught him to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country. If he were to follow the traitors now, his mother would surely feel ashamed and would never recognize him again.

These three warlords, Yuan and Cao, were either false kings or traitors to the Han dynasty; none of them seemed like good people.

Otherwise, there's the pseudo-Qi leader Lü Bu, a skeleton in a tomb; Liu Zhang of Yizhou, a dog guarding a door; and Ma Teng of Liangzhou, a rabble. I can't see a single one who can accomplish anything.

He had no other choice but to go to Luoyang to see the emperor when he passed through this place.

Who knows, taking advantage of Cao Cao being forced to send out all his troops from Yuan Shu, and with Luoyang vulnerable, this Han emperor might be able to do something?
Unexpectedly, they encountered a wild Liu Bei who had just come from Luoyang. He had soldiers and generals, was known for his benevolence and righteousness, and his reputation spread throughout the land. People at the time called him a "hero".

As it happened, he was in need of a strategist, so Xu Shu, under the pseudonym Shan Fu, took the initiative to come and join him, intending to see if he was a wise ruler.

However, he was moved by Liu Bei's words, "Regardless of whether one is talented or not, as long as one has the heart to serve the Han, I will not hesitate to lead one's horse and put one's feet down," and thus completely submitted to Liu Bei.

The reason he preferred to be the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix, and sought a wise ruler in Xuande, was precisely to continue the glorious Han dynasty's three-fold revival, assist Emperor Guangwu's great achievements, and accomplish a great feat that surpassed that of his predecessors.
Who would have thought that after years of hard study and finally emerging from seclusion, the first setback would be against his own lord?

Lord Xuande is a good lord in every way, except that his view on reputation is a bit outdated. We are doing great things to restore the Han Dynasty. Even if others say that we are in cahoots with Yuan Shao, we can just deny it.

There are many people in the world who are in cahoots with Yuan Shikai today. Who knows if those who accuse others of being in cahoots with Yuan Shikai are themselves not clean? Who would bother to investigate?

But there's no way around it; you have to accept the wise ruler you chose, even if it's with tears in your eyes. You can't just abandon your lord because he has too high moral standards.

In the blink of an eye, meeting Liu Bei's suspicious gaze, Shan Fu's eyes darted around, and another plan came to mind.

"My lord is overthinking it. How could I not be concerned about such oversights? All I need to do is have my lord also bring the forged letter from Che Zhou to Yuan Shikai to the banquet, and launch an attack before Che Zhou can make his move."

He sent a letter to Yuan Shikai rebuking him and ordered General Zhang San to act immediately and kill Che Zhou with a spear.

Once Che Zhou is dead, I will lead the executioners out to deliver a letter to Yuan Shikai, demanding an explanation of our lord.

My lord did not believe me and immediately compared the letters with mine, and found that they were all forgeries.

Then the matter becomes clear: this must be a conspiracy by Yuan Shu!
Their purpose was to make us block Lü Bu's troops, causing internal strife and helping the puppet Qi army to advance unimpeded, attack the capital, bring disaster to the emperor, and cause the Han dynasty to lose its glory.

When my lord and I discovered this, we immediately realized the truth, but it was too late to regret. We reconciled and together exposed Yuan Shu's malicious intentions to everyone. We even cried for General Che, tears streaming down our faces.

Indeed, everyone hates Yuan Shu's cunning, and our lord can win the hearts of the entire army.

If we use the pretext of General Che Zhou's revenge to stop Lü Bu and thwart the old traitor Yuan Shu's ambition to conquer the Han capital, then who in the three armies will not fight to the death? Why should our lord worry that his reputation for benevolence and righteousness will not spread throughout the world?
Moreover, since everything is based on the pretext of Yuan Shu's conspiracy, even the lord can give a reasonable explanation to the court in Luoyang.

Upon hearing this plan, Liu Bei was astonished!
I underestimated the strategist; his plan is so profound and complex, with its secrets hidden within.

With the reputation of Yuan Shu, the King of Han, as the greatest schemer of his time, he managed to cause our army to fall into internal strife with just two forged letters, thus aiding Lü Bu's offensive.

If this got out, people would definitely believe it. Even Cao Cao would be skeptical and doubtful after hearing it, because Yuan Shu was really capable of doing such a thing!
They manipulate people's hearts and minds like puppets, controlling the world like a puppet.

This is so Yuan Shu!

And what about yourself?

I, Liu Bei, am merely a victim who fell into Yuan Shu's trap, whose thoughts were not in control, and who was forced to mistakenly kill General Che Zhou.

I am very remorseful and saddened by General Che Zhou's death, but how can this be blamed on me?
It’s all Yuan Shu’s fault!
Anyway, ever since the conspiracy theory about Yuan Shu became popular and spread wider and wider, it has been constantly embellished by people.

Now that we're embroiled in an inexplicable conspiracy, attributing it to Yuan Shu would clear many suspects.

There was no other way; using Yuan Shu to settle accounts was not the first, nor would it be the last.

"Good, good! Strategist, this plan is brilliant! Let's do it this way!"

Seeing Liu Bei's satisfied expression and his repeated praise, Shan Fu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, there are still conspirators like Yuan Gonglu in the world, who have terrified the world and are believed by everyone.

Otherwise, if the lord were determined to protect his own reputation and there was no one to take the blame, this plan would almost have failed.

The following day, Shan Fu secretly contacted Che Zhou and reported that "Xuande had sent a secret letter to Yuan Shikai."

Che Zhou was shocked and exclaimed, "How is this possible?"

Xuande's benevolence and righteousness are renowned throughout the land, and as a descendant of the Han dynasty, how could he possibly associate with Yuan Shao?

Dan Fu smiled faintly, "The King of Han has been a high-ranking official for four generations. He has sent 830,000 troops north to the Central Plains, which has shaken the land and caused fear throughout the nine provinces."

At that time, who in the world did not know Yuan? How much more so Xuande?

My mother always taught me to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country. Now, I cannot bear to see the Han dynasty perish at the hands of the traitor Yuan Shao, so I have come to confess. Please, General, do not doubt me.

Che Zhou was filled with unease, saying, "The only one I can rely on to defend against Lü Bu is Xuande."

If he colludes with Yuan, what am I to do now?

Taking advantage of the situation, Shan Fu offered the following advice:
"Lord Xuande's benevolence and righteousness spread far and wide, and his virtue was known throughout the four seas."

If we accuse him of colluding with Yuan Shikai, I fear the people will not believe it, and there may be unforeseen circumstances. Moreover, his sworn brother Zhang Fei is the bravest in the army. If we confront him directly, it will be difficult to stop him from resisting.

I have now secretly communicated with the general and presented him with this secret letter. He is unaware of it yet. It would be better to take this opportunity to follow the example of Emperor Taizu Gao and kill him at the Hongmen Banquet.

First eliminate internal threats, then deal with Lü Bu; plan for the present, then consider the future.

Che Zhou agreed wholeheartedly with this.

Although Shan Fu was Liu Bei's man, his sudden message to him was something to be wary of.

But let's set aside their intentions and focus on their actions first.

Look at what he's done.
First, he presented a secret letter accusing Liu Bei of colluding with Yuan Shikai. Then, he offered the plan of the Feast at Hongmen, intending to use a foolproof strategy to kill Liu Bei.

Anyone who didn't know better would think he had a blood feud with Liu Bei!

How could someone offering such a plan be an enemy spy?
Moreover, setting up a trap was indeed a safe move. Che Zhou didn't think that such a tactic of suddenly having hundreds of axemen appear at the banquet could harm him in any way.

He then grasped Shan Fu's hand tightly and said to him:
"Fortunately, you are loyal and righteous, otherwise I would have been deceived by Liu Bei and almost harmed by him!"

Shan Fu shook hands tightly, feeling an instant connection with him, and together they discussed strategies to eliminate the enemy.

With Shan Fu's talent, during the discussion, Che Zhou was even more impressed by his knowledge and strategy. He was delighted to have such a talented person join him and began to give Shan Fu important responsibilities.

Shan Fuyan:

"The general hosted a banquet inside, and I and the axemen sent by the general were secretly hidden in the shadows."

They waited only for the general to raise his cup as a signal, then suddenly attacked and killed Liu Bei at the banquet.

Upon hearing this, Che Zhou secretly thought that the axemen he had arranged were all his trusted confidants. They would rush out the moment they saw the signal. Even if Shan Fu were present, he would not be able to command the troops. Therefore, he did not suspect anything.

However, upon hearing the second half of the sentence, I vaguely felt something was off, so I asked about it.

"Mr. Shan, I have heard of people using smashing a cup as a signal, but I have never heard of using drinking as a signal."

Before he could finish speaking, Shan Fu interrupted him, "General, you're being foolish!"
Because the breaking of the cup was used as a signal, it spread widely and everyone knew about it, let alone Liu Bei.

What if he becomes suspicious and wary because of this?

On the contrary, drinking was a common occurrence at banquets, and would not arouse suspicion.

Che Zhou was astonished, saying, "Sir, your thinking is so thorough that I cannot match it."

Shan Fu also said:

"If secrets are not kept, harm will result."

In this day and age, there are many who are in cahoots with Yuan Shikai.

The fewer people who know about this, the better, lest there be someone in league with Yuan Shao who secretly informs Liu Bei, allowing him to turn the tables and harm the general instead.

Fu believed that there was no need to tell a third person about this matter. Even the executioners at the banquet knew that if they saw the signal, they could take action to eliminate the thief. There was no need to teach them the inside story, lest the information leak out.

Che Zhou thought to himself that although he didn't tell a third party, he could handle this matter himself and make the arrangements.

With everything arranged by myself, I don't have to worry about Shan Fu having ulterior motives or interfering.

In any case, as long as the executioners see drinking as a signal, they will immediately rush out. It's simple, direct, and efficient, and they don't need to know any more details.

Che Zhou nodded repeatedly, thinking that Shan Fu was meticulous and thorough, and said, "Excellent."

Soon after, with all preparations complete, Che Zhou invited Xuande to a banquet under the pretext of discussing strategies to defeat Qi.

Xuande readily agreed.

Throughout the entire process, Shan Fu cooperated perfectly with Che Zhou without showing any abnormality.

Just before the banquet was about to begin, with only a few moments left, he secretly replaced the wine vessel on Che Zhou's table with a heated bronze one and poured in boiling hot wine.

(End of this chapter)