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

Chapter 352 One hundred and thirty-two letters, asking how many are loyal and righteous?
While everyone in Cao Cao's camp was focused on Yang Xiu's report that Cao Anmin was colluding with Yuan Shao,

The three hundred followers brought by Cao Anmin had already infiltrated various parts of Cao's camp undetected, under the cover of Cao Cao's secret surveillance.

In Guan Yu's residence, a servant suddenly came to report:
"My lord, someone shot a letter in from outside the manor."

Guan Yu was surprised and quickly ordered someone to fetch it so he could open the letter and read it.

It reads:

"It's been a long time since we last met. Does Yun Chang still remember Ji?"
We parted ways in the State of Chen years ago and have not seen each other for a long time. I miss you dearly.

I never imagined that things would change so drastically, and now, when we meet again, Brother Guan is already a dog of the Cao family.

I recently heard that Xuande has entered Yanzhou, and his fate is unknown; Zhang Fei was defeated by Lü Bu, and his life or death is also unknown.

With the truth of my king's conquest of Qi revealed to the world, everyone knows that Lü Bu and the King of Han had long harbored resentment, and the King of Han would certainly not scheme against Che Zhou to help Lü Bu.

Therefore, Liu Bei's hypocrisy was already known to his subordinates. With everyone disloyal and alienated, Chen Gong, who had been fighting Shan Fu for more than ten days, finally broke through the Eight Gates Golden Lock by relying on the advantage of cavalry.

Lu Bu has already captured Puyang, and countless soldiers under Xuande's command have been killed or wounded. His wife, children, and family members have been displaced. In the vast Yanzhou, only Chenliu County remains to hold out.

Ling, I have long heard that Yun Chang and Xuan De made a pact to swear brotherhood in the Peach Garden, not seeking to be born on the same day, month, and year, but only to die on the same day, month, and year.

When we swore brotherhood, we vowed to live and die together. Now that Xuande has been defeated, he wants to ask his brother for help, but he cannot get it. Wouldn't that be breaking our oath?

When Xuande and Yide were in dire straits, Yun Chang'an watched them die, while he himself enjoyed the honor and wealth of a marquis.

Your sworn brothers are already facing certain death, why doesn't Guan Yu face death without fear?
You should hurry and seek emergency aid in Yan, which may save Xuande's life.

If this is the case, you can find an opportunity to lead your army out of the city and fight me. At that time, the Han army will naturally make way for you and let you go to Yanzhou.

This is the promise of the King of Han, Guan Yu, do not doubt it!
Given that Guan Yu possessed exceptional martial arts skills and was well-versed in classics and history, if he had not thought of joining Liu Bei in restoring the Han Dynasty, but instead had merely risked his life for Cao Cao at Huanyuan Pass to fulfill his personal ambitions and gain wealth and honor, could he truly be called loyal and righteous?

I urge my younger brother to consider this carefully.

"Who is your virtuous brother? Ji Ling of Nanyang, you scoundrel who sells his head for a living, you really have come!"

Despite his verbal abuse, Guan Yu secretly longed to draw his sword and fight Ji Ling to the death, thus clearing his name.

However, the matter mentioned in this letter still left Guan Yu with a lingering sense of unease.

"Big brother? Third brother!"

He had also heard some things about the military situation in Yanzhou.

The story is roughly set at the time when Lü Bu, acting on the orders of the King of Han, marched into Yanzhou. His elder brother Liu Bei was appointed to lead troops to support him in a time of crisis, but on the way, he fell into Yuan Shu's trap and mistakenly killed Cao Cao's general Che Zhou.

Guan Yu was initially relieved by this, thinking that his elder brother had finally escaped Cao Cao's control and was now free to roam the seas and soar through the skies, no longer bound by any constraints.

But as things stand now, this doesn't seem to be a good thing either.

After all, when his elder brother went to Yanzhou, how could he have imagined that Lü Bu's claim of "obeying the orders of the King of Han" was actually a lie?

While his base was being raided by the King of Han from behind, Lu Bu on the front lines was still stubbornly insisting that he was a subordinate of the Han state and was acting on behalf of the King of Han to punish the disobedient.

Now that the truth about why the King of Han turned around and rushed to Huanyuan Pass after conquering Qi has come to light, the rift between Lü Bu and the King of Han is obvious. It is truly a hatred for the killing of his son and the destruction of his country.

Under these circumstances, the elder brother's original argument that the King of Han plotted against Che Zhou to help Lü Bu advance into Luoyang and cause them to kill each other is no longer valid.

Thinking of this, Guan Yu could imagine the uproar that would ensue among his sworn brothers' soldiers, who had been united in their desire to avenge Che Zhou.

The virtuous reputation that my elder brother had painstakingly maintained throughout his life was tarnished by a single wrong thought.

Given this situation, it was not impossible that Lü Bu would seize the opportunity and that they would be defeated at Puyang.

The thought of his elder brother's defeat and his younger brother's fate unknown filled Guan Yu with anxiety. He wished he could immediately mobilize a large army and rush to Yanzhou to lend his elder brother a helping hand.

But Cao Cao would certainly find it difficult to agree. What should be done?

According to Ji Lingxin's plan, they secretly colluded with Yuan's army outside the pass, and under the pretext of going out of the city to fight, they led their troops through the territory of Han State and detoured through Yanzhou.

How can it be!

Thinking of this suggestion, Guan Yu couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

A weasel paying respects to a chicken; Ji Ling of Nanyang, with his many cunning schemes, what good intentions could he possibly have?
Cao Cao didn't want me to lead troops to aid Yanzhou, so how could Yuan Shao be so kind as to let me go?
What promise from the King of Han, and what talk of not having any doubts? He's the culprit behind the collapse of the Han Dynasty, the number one schemer of our time—what credibility does he have?
Guan Yu knew that if he dared to listen to Ji Ling and lead his troops out of the city, Yuan's army would surround him halfway and leave no one alive.

Moreover, Cao Cao had been very kind to him, and now that the two armies were at war, he could not betray him by leading his troops to Yan alone, leaving Cao Cao's army here to face the large number of Yuan's troops.

This also goes against his "righteousness".

Even if he wanted to leave without saying goodbye, given Cao Cao's current control over Huanyuan Pass, he would likely find it difficult to escape.

"Though I die, my name will be recorded in history. Now, because I cannot express the righteousness in my heart, what do I have to fear?"

As Guan Yu spoke, he took the letter and left the mansion, intending to find Cao Cao and speak frankly and sincerely to ask for his help.

Meanwhile, as Cao Anmin's three hundred followers became active in Cao's camp, a scene similar to that at Guan Yu's residence was playing out in the residences of the court officials.

Whether Cao Chen was at Yang Xiu's residence keeping tabs on Cao Anmin's affairs or stayed at his own residence, many people received a letter from Yuan Ying.

Meanwhile, the farce at Yang Xiu's residence came to an end when Cao Cao cut off his hair in place of his head and threatened to personally exterminate his entire family.

After all, Cao Cao had gone this far; he couldn't really force his lord to commit suicide, could he?
After this ordeal, all of Cao Cao's officials were filled with trepidation and felt utterly ashamed.

Fortunately, Cao Cao did not make things difficult for them. He put the matter of Cao Anmin to rest and let them go back.

When Man Chong and the others returned to the mansion, they were terrified to see a letter from Yuan Ying handed to them by a servant.

The truth is out. No wonder Cao Anmin was able to contact Yuan and Cao with his own version of events, always managing to be flexible and never getting into trouble. How come he was caught red-handed by Yang Xiu tonight?
It turns out that he was betrayed by Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu must have tricked him into persuading Yang Xiu to surrender by saying that Yang Xiu was Yuan Shu's nephew, thus deceiving Cao Anmin into believing that Yang Xiu had long harbored the intention to join Yuan Shu.

Unexpectedly, Yang Xiu proved to be extremely loyal and righteous, having never actually contacted Yuan Shu. Therefore, he immediately reported Cao Anmin.

This forced Cao Cao to cut off his hair in place of his head and threaten to exterminate his entire clan, creating a dramatic scene.

While everyone's attention was focused on this, Yuan Shu secretly sent us a letter to Yuan, attempting to sow discord. But would we agree to Yuan's letter?
When Man Chong, Xun You, and other loyal officials of the Cao family thought of this and saw the letter in front of them, a thought immediately came to mind.

Oh no, that traitor Yuan is trying to harm me!

They knew they could never communicate with Yuan Shu, so sending him a letter was meaningless.

Did Yuan Shu not know that they had no intention of colluding with him? Was he the kind of person who would do something so meaningless?
Yuan Shu's strategies are renowned throughout the land. Since he went to such great lengths, even sacrificing Cao Anmin, to send this letter, there must be a deeper meaning behind it!
Since this letter was meaningless to these loyalists of Cao Cao, it was obvious that the real influence of the letter to Yuan Shikai came from someone else!
This is for Cao Cao to see!
Damn it, that traitor Yuan has slandered me!
The key is that they themselves knew they had no intention of colluding with Yuan Shao, but Cao Cao did not know this and could not prove it himself, which is precisely the insidious aspect of the King of Han's plan!
With the Yang Xiu and Cao Anmin incident just happening, what would Cao Cao think of himself if a letter to Yuan Shikai were to appear in his home at this time?
Therefore, these people did not hesitate. Some opened the letter to see what Yuan Shu had said in order to prepare their response, while others did not even dare to look at the letter.

A group of people left Yang Xiu's place and had just returned to their residence when they hurriedly left again to look for Cao Cao.

In Cao Cao's camp, besides these loyal Cao family members, there were naturally also those who truly harbored intentions to collude with Yuan Shao.

These people, upon seeing Yuan's letter at home, were equally astonished.

Oh no, my allies betrayed me!
Your Majesty, even without this letter, we would have communicated with Yuan when the time came. What if someone sees this thing you're sending now?

Especially with the example of Cao Anmin, and the thought of Cao Cao's ruthlessness in not even sparing his own nine generations of relatives, they were even more terrified.

It wasn't that some people, after seeing the various benefits promised in the King of Han's letter, harbored wishful thinking and secretly kept the letter.

After all, these people didn't know that a certain Han king, who was not a good son, could send out more than a hundred similar letters in one night.

They thought they were unique, the most special one, and favored by the King of Han. They figured that with Cao Anmin leading the way tonight and secretly making moves, they probably wouldn't be able to find out about them.

Who made the King of Han so adept at calculations that his strategies were so effective that they had won the hearts of the people?

They assumed that since the King of Han had sacrificed Cao Anmin and gone to such great lengths to send the letter, he must have arranged everything quietly.

Next, all we need to do is patiently wait and coordinate with the King of Han from within and without. Since the King of Han came out of Shouchun, this method has always been successful. It can't be that when it happens to us, the King of Han's plan will fail, right?

Besides, if the correspondence with Yuan could be discovered, wouldn't it be pointless to send it to me? Surely the Prince of Han wouldn't go to all this trouble just to harm me, a loyal member of the Yuan family?

That night, all sorts of people reacted. Among Cao Cao's ministers, some were furious, some were trembling with fear, and some managed to hide.

Soon after, when Guan Yu arrived at Cao Cao's place with the letter, he was surprised to find that such a thing actually required waiting in line.

One by one, the officials entered to pay their respects, presenting their letters and solemnly swearing their loyalty before stepping aside to be replaced by the next.

Looking at the crowd of people ahead, with dozens of people lined up, Guan Yu was incredulous.

Guan Yu: "???"

"General Guan, are you going to line up or not? If not, please move aside and don't block the way."

Guan Yu looked back and saw shadowy figures moving about in the darkness behind him, as if people were still coming in an endless stream.

Guan Yu: "."

No, your eldest brother is also in grave danger, his fate unknown, and he's waiting to be rescued.
At this moment, even the slow-witted Guan Yu finally realized what was happening. He gripped the letter in his hand, gritting his teeth in hatred.

Ji Ling of Nanyang is indeed cunning!
How many people did you write this lousy letter to?
"Hey! Didn't you see Guan is holding a letter?"

Guan Yu said something, then took his place and quickly joined the queue.

If you fall behind, I don't know if you'll be able to finish lining up before dawn.

At this moment, the people standing in line with Cao Cao were chatting and laughing, and the panic they had felt when they returned to their residence and saw the letter from Tong Yuan was gone.

At the time, I thought I was the most special one, having received the Han King's unique favor. How could I not be flustered?

When I came over, I saw that everyone had it. Oh well, no matter how ruthless or crazy Prime Minister Cao is, he can kill his own entire family, but he can't kill all of us, can he?

Didn't you see that Xun You, Cao Xiang's most trusted confidant, was standing on the side where the letters had been exchanged, while General Guan, Cao Xiang's most beloved general, was standing right in the middle of us?
The saying goes that the law does not punish the masses, and since everyone came forward to confess voluntarily at the first opportunity, these people felt at ease. While queuing, they even had the mind to whisper among themselves and compare the promises Yuan Shu made in the letter.

Here, the King of Han has granted me the position of one of the Nine Ministers; there, the Three Dukes of Han have appeared; and even the prime ministers have now emerged from the east, south, west, north, and center.

This put Guan Yu in a rather awkward position, as he always felt out of place among the others.

"With General Guan's abilities, he must have caught the eye of the King of Han. I wonder what position he has been offered? Why don't you tell us and we can all have a go at it?"

Guan Yu blushed and remained silent.

Meanwhile, those who didn't bring the letter to Cao Cao immediately were in deep trouble.

Cao Anmin had already betrayed this matter. All three hundred attendants had people secretly following them. Everything was under Cao Cao's control. If they did not take the initiative to surrender, how could they escape?
Fortunately, there were three hundred messengers to deliver the letters, but only one hundred and thirty-two letters were received. Therefore, some people did not receive the letters at all, and they were so determined that they would rather die than not "hide" them.

However, some people who thought they could get away with it actually had their letters found and were caught red-handed.

While the entire Cao Cao camp was in an uproar over the matter of eliminating traitors, it was finally Guan Yu's turn to step forward.

Having practiced the procedure dozens of times, Cao Cao was already very familiar with it. When he saw Guan Yu approaching, he nodded slightly.

"Yun Chang has come too? He has indeed lived up to Cao Cao's high expectations."

Leave the letter behind and wait a moment.

To Cao Cao's surprise, Guan Yu did not rush to express his loyalty like others, but instead bowed deeply as if he had made up his mind.

"Yuan Ying wrote in his letter that Yanzhou was in grave danger, my eldest brother was defeated in Puyang, and the fate of my third brother was unknown."

Cao Xiang, Guan once swore an oath in the Peach Garden that the three brothers would die on the same day, in the same month, in the same year. Now that the eldest brother and the third brother are in trouble, how can you not be anxious?
I humbly request the Prime Minister's permission to lead my troops to Yanzhou.

Cao Cao's face suddenly darkened. He hurriedly took the letter that Guan Yu handed him and carefully examined it. Only then did he realize that Yuan Shu's abilities were truly unpredictable!

Even if Guan Yu voluntarily handed over the letter, even someone as loyal and righteous as Guan Yu could be persuaded by Yuan Shu to transfer troops from Huanyuan Pass to Yanzhou, thus undermining his own power.

And what about other people?
A similar case is Yang Xiu. Even though Yang Xiu didn't open the letter, he still harbored the ambition to collude with Yuan Shikai and wanted to exterminate his entire family.

These are the two people I know, but what about the ones I don't know?

So, are those who hand over letters truly loyal?

What about those who didn't hand in their letters?
How could Cao Cao not be horrified upon closer examination!
(End of this chapter)