Brother, stop curling up! You're curling up like the founder of the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 225 The Emperor's Majesty Resounds in Hebei, Liu Bei Enraged Yuan Shao (Seeking Monthly Tickets and Destiny)
"Has Liu Bei truly declared himself emperor?"

Yecheng.

Yuan Shao stared blankly at Wu Qiong, incredulous.

Although spies had already discovered that Liu Bei's edict had been sent to various provinces, Yuan Shao initially did not pay any attention to it.

Not only were there rumors in Ji Province that Yuan Shao had declared himself emperor, but Yuan Shao had also sent people to Luoyang to spread rumors that Liu Bei had declared himself emperor, none of which should be taken seriously.

"Reporting to Lord Yuan, it is indeed as the rumors say, Liu Bei has declared himself emperor!"

Wu Qiong's affirmative answer ignited Yuan Shao's anger.

Yuan Shu declared himself emperor.

Liu Bei also declared himself emperor.

Am I the only one who would support Liu Yu as emperor?

Why!
If only Yuan Shu declared himself emperor while Liu Bei did not, Yuan Shao would have ridiculed Yuan Shu for being foolish.

Yuan Shao's plan was to wait for Liu Yu to die, then sideline Liu He, then emulate Wang Mang, and finally ascend the throne smoothly. Although it was somewhat hypocritical, Yuan Shao could legally fulfill the procedures for becoming emperor.

But now that Liu Bei has also declared himself emperor, Yuan Shao suddenly realizes that he was the one who was foolish.

He created a fake "Mysterious Talisman" to allow Liu Yu to ascend the throne as emperor by divine mandate, thus deciding that Yuan Shao could only become emperor by abdication from now on.

If Yuan Shao did not want to abdicate, he would first have to break with Liu Yu and then establish a separate court like Liu Bei.

But Yuan Shao's surname was Yuan, not Liu's. He broke with Liu Yu first and then established a separate court, which was a complete imitation.

Yuan Shu and Liu Bei were both people Yuan Shao had always looked down upon, yet both of them ended up declaring themselves emperors.

Although the political landscape wouldn't change drastically just because Liu Bei declared himself emperor, Yuan Shao was secretly frustrated.

If Yuan Shu were to launch a northern expedition, it would be like Emperor Da Zhong launching a northern expedition against the Han Dynasty.

If Liu Bei were to launch a southern expedition, it would be the Han emperor launching a southern expedition against Zhong.

Who is Yuan Shao? The Great General of Han led a southern expedition against the pseudo-Han and pseudo-Zhong?

No matter how you look at it, Yuan Shao seems inferior to Yuan Shu and Liu Bei.

Yuan Shao's biggest resentment was being overshadowed; the last person to be overshadowed, Yuan Wei, had grass growing several feet tall on his grave.

"My lord, Liu Bei's ascension to the throne may not necessarily be a bad thing," Feng Ji said slowly.

Is it not a bad thing?

Could it possibly be a good thing?
Yuan Shao's face was displeased, and his tone was tinged with dissatisfaction: "Liu Bei has already declared himself emperor. From now on, no one will be able to restrain Liu Bei. How can this be a good thing?"

If Liu Bei were merely a Grand General, Yuan Shao could have used spies like Wu Qiong to sow discord between Liu Xie and Liu Bei, and Liu Xie would have cultivated his own loyalists to compete with Liu Bei for power.

Now that Liu Bei has become emperor, the court is full of his confidants. No matter how many insiders Yuan Shao has, they can't instigate Liu Bei. On the contrary, if they open their mouths, Liu Bei will see through their scheme and seize the opportunity.

This is also why Wu Qiong dared not stay in Luoyang any longer.

Even though Liu Ai claimed that Wu Qiong might be an inside agent of Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu, Wu Qiong dared to remain hidden in Luoyang as long as Liu Ai did not have concrete evidence.

After learning that Liu Bei had decided to declare himself emperor, Wu Qiong dared not stay in Luoyang any longer, fearing that if he made the slightest mistake, Liu Bei would find a reason to find him and kill him.

In other words, Yuan Shao's internal agents, who had been stationed in Luoyang during Liu Hong's time, would become worthless after Liu Bei declared himself emperor.

This is like Yuan Shao setting up a chessboard for Liu Bei to play against, with each side having a lot of hidden pieces and eager to compete with Liu Bei. Liu Bei simply flips over the chessboard and smashes it down on Yuan Shao.

In an unequal game, who would obediently stay within the chessboard? They'd just smash the player, and all difficulties and conflicts would be resolved.

Yuan Shao understood this principle, which is why he was so angry about Liu Bei's claim to the throne.

However, Feng Ji remarked, "It's not necessarily a bad thing that Liu Bei has declared himself emperor." If Feng Ji hadn't been a trusted confidant who had followed him for many years, Yuan Shao would have been furious and rebuked him.

It was also because of good luck during the Ji period.

Of Yuan Shao's eight great strategists, Ju Shou and Shen Pei were both dead, Tian Feng was still defending Dong'e, and Zhang Jin, Xun Chen, Xin Ping, and Xin Pi could not compete with Feng Ji.

Guo Tu, who was supposed to serve Yuan Shao, has been missing ever since, and his fate remains unknown.

At Yuan Shao's core decision-making level, Feng Ji not only became Yuan Shao's unshakeable strategist, but also had the power to oversee both internal and external affairs, and served as a minister in Liu Yu's court.

Even if Feng Ji said something that would displease Yuan Shao, no one would come to confront him.

Feng Ji understood Yuan Shao's temperament. Seeing that Yuan Shao was displeased, he quickly said, "My lord, please calm down."

"If Liu Bei were only a general, the officials, powerful families and clans of various prefectures and counties might still have a glimmer of hope, thinking that by seizing Liu Bei's power, they could abolish the new policies he promoted."

"But once Liu Bei became emperor, the officials, powerful families, and influential clans of the various prefectures and counties had no way out. They only had one option: to support the new regime and do their utmost to get rid of Liu Bei."

Feng Ji succinctly explained the influence Liu Bei had on the officials, powerful families, and influential clans of various prefectures and counties after he became a general and emperor.

Seeing that Yuan Shao had put away his displeasure and was now deep in thought, Feng Ji quickly organized his thoughts and explained the rest of his ideas one by one:

"Although the core military and political officials appointed by Liu Bei were his confidants, how could all the officials outside the core be honest and selfless?"

"Officials who travel thousands of miles seek money, power, fame, or profit. Intimidated by Liu Bei's tyranny, officials in various prefectures and counties will pretend to be honest and selfless in the short term."

"However, over time, corruption will inevitably breed. Whether they are officials or clerks, they all want to be superior to others. If they don't even have a servant at home, how can they be superior to others?"

"Therefore, I believe that my lord only needs to sit firmly in Ye City, then cultivate persuaders, and then use money to win over the officials of the prefectures and counties under Liu Bei's rule, and he can induce them to become corrupt."

First, corrupt the officials under Liu Bei's rule. Once corrupt, these officials will collude with powerful clans and wealthy families. Once they collude, they will inevitably try to change Liu Bei's new policies.

Even if they cannot directly change the law at the legal level for the time being, they will find ways to outwardly comply with but inwardly distort the law at the implementation level.

Just like in Liu Bei's new policies, those who rent land and cultivate it with others need to sign a new contract. On the surface, powerful families and wealthy clans can also sign this new contract with tenants.

However, after the contract is signed, powerful families can force tenants to go through the motions. In reality, the grain harvested from the fields must be piled up in the warehouses of these powerful families, and the tenants can only receive the grain at the mercy of these powerful families.

This method has been used frequently throughout history.

As long as officials collude with powerful families, even the best policies for the people will be subject to a vicious cycle of "policies from above, countermeasures from below" in their implementation.

Whether it was Wang Mang's reforms based on ancient precedents, Liu Xiu's land surveys, or Emperor Shun's Yangjia New System, they all essentially led to this outcome.

Feng Ji was well-versed in human nature and did not have a good view of Liu Bei's new policies.

Once power is in hand, few people can remain honest and selfless.

Therefore, Feng Ji believed that to deal with Liu Bei, it was not necessary to compete with him militarily; one only needed to corrupt the officials under Liu Bei's rule and then wait for natural disasters to strike. Although Feng Ji's words implicitly acknowledged that it was impossible to compete with Liu Bei militarily, the method of corrupting officials and waiting for natural disasters was based on objective facts and was indeed an effective strategy.

These words immediately won Zhang Jin's support.

"My lord, Minister Feng's words make sense."

As Han Feizi said, "A thousand-foot dike can be breached by an ant's hole. A hundred-foot house can be burned down by a wisp of smoke from a crack." When there are too many corrupt officials, new policies become worthless.

"Throughout history, no matter how ambitious an emperor is, it is impossible to take care of everything. As long as one aspect is flawed, the situation will continue to tear apart and grow stronger."

“In the past, Wang Mang’s reforms, which were based on ancient practices, were initially effective, but ultimately, due to man-made disasters and natural calamities, the land became barren, prices soared, and the price of rice even rose to two thousand coins.”

“Since the reign of Emperor Guangwu, natural disasters such as earthquakes, hail, floods, droughts, locust plagues, and solar eclipses have occurred frequently. In the Sili region alone, there have been more than twenty recorded droughts.”

"In the fourth year of Yan Guang, six prefectures suffered from floods; in the fourth year of Xi Ping, seven prefectures suffered from floods; in the fifth year of Xi Ping, many prefectures suffered from severe drought; during the Zhong Ping era, plague, fire, and floods occurred simultaneously."

"Natural disasters are beyond human control. Even if Liu Bei was a skilled general, he could not stop them from raging. Although Liu Bei ascended the throne as emperor, encountering natural disasters was just like Wang Mang's old story."

Feng Ji said that corruption and collusion between officials and powerful figures are man-made disasters.

Feng Ji spoke of earthquakes, floods, droughts, and locust plagues, which he described as natural disasters.

If there were no natural disasters or man-made calamities, allowing farmers to have bountiful harvests year after year, then Liu Bei's new policies would be enough to ensure that no commoner in the land would go hungry.

Liu Bei did not completely block the path of powerful clans and wealthy families. They all had a bumper harvest, and the powerful clans and wealthy families were able to sell more grain than the common people.

With sufficient money and grain for the common people, ample national taxes, and guaranteed salaries for officials, the funds could be used for enjoyment or infrastructure construction.

Society will then enter a golden age.

however.

Natural disasters and man-made calamities are impossible to completely avoid.

The natural order is constant; natural disasters will not be prevented just because the emperor is Liu Bei.

People have both good and evil qualities; they are not all honest and upright just because the emperor is Liu Bei.

Under the analysis of Feng Ji and Zhang Jin, Yuan Shao gradually realized that Liu Bei's ascension to the throne would not lead to smooth sailing, but rather to greater and more numerous dangers.

However, Yuan Shao still harbored a deep-seated resentment towards Liu Bei's claim to the throne.

a long time.

A murderous glint flashed in Yuan Shao's eyes: "His Majesty ordered me to suppress the powerful clans and noble families in Hebei, and many are now dissatisfied. I intend to take this opportunity to have the Crown Prince succeed to the throne and bestow favors upon Hebei. What do you think?"

After killing Shen Pei and annexing the Shen clan of Wei Commandery, Liu Yu, under Feng Ji's scheme, became the villain, allowing Yuan Shao to continuously enhance his prestige in his campaigns against the powerful clans of Hebei.

This also allowed Yuan Shao to obtain a large amount of armor, weapons, and warhorses to arm his loyal troops and train elite soldiers.

Originally, Yuan Shao wanted to continue to let Liu Yu, despite his bad reputation, issue orders to continue annexing the powerful clans and wealthy families in Hebei.

Liu Bei's declaration of himself as emperor prompted Yuan Shao to expedite the process of abdicating, thus necessitating the succession of his son, Crown Prince Liu He.

Feng Ji discerned Yuan Shao's intentions and then suggested, "It is not difficult to make the crown prince succeed to the throne. His Majesty has always been careless and unprepared. We can secretly order assassins to kill him and then frame the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans, and then send elite troops to conquer him."

"In this way, we can eliminate His Majesty, remove the threat of the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans, and greatly enhance our lord's prestige!"

"Liu Bei interfered with the previous two campaigns against the Yellow Turbans of Black Mountain. Now that Liu Bei has just ascended the throne, it is the time to establish his benevolence. He will surely adopt a policy of recuperation and restoration and bestow favors upon the prefectures and counties."

"This is also the best opportunity for our lord to wipe out the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans in one fell swoop. If we miss this opportunity, it will be very difficult to launch another campaign in the future."

It must be said that Feng Ji's plan was both ruthless and decisive.

Emperor Liu Yu was the kind of emperor who would assassinate anyone he wanted.

Although it's impossible to force Liu Yu to abdicate directly to Yuan Shao, allowing Liu He, who has little prestige, to succeed him is not much different from directly declaring himself emperor.

Furthermore, since Liu Yu was tricked into playing the villain, he is now seen as a dragon by the powerful families of Hebei. His assassination will not only not cause turmoil in Hebei, but will instead make the powerful families of Hebei applaud.

If Yuan Shao could seize the opportunity to avenge Liu Yu by suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Heishan, he could further establish his prestige. At the same time, he could adopt a more moderate policy to show favor to the powerful clans of Hebei. This would greatly increase the chances of Yuan Shao reaching the peak of his prestige in Hebei.

A smile spread across Yuan Shao's face, and all the negative emotions that had arisen in his heart because of Liu Bei's claim to the throne were swept away.

"The assassination will be handled by Yuan Tu."

With just one sentence, Liu Yu's life came to an end.

Yuan Shao then turned to Zhang Jin: "Although Yuan Shu has consistently refused to join forces with me to deal with Liu Bei, I still hope that Yuan Shu can see the current state of affairs in the world."

"Now that Liu Bei has declared himself emperor, even if he temporarily adopts a policy of recuperation and establishing favors, he will inevitably launch another military campaign to establish the prestige of the new emperor."

"Either you fight me or you fight Yuan Shu, there is no third option; my conflict with Yuan Shu is just an internal conflict within the Yuan family, but the real enemy now is Liu Bei."

"If Yuan Shu and I unite, we will both benefit; if we separate, we will both suffer. If we cannot join forces to deal with Liu Bei, we may both be destroyed by Liu Bei in the future. We must be careful."

Zhang Jin resolutely accepted the order: "My lord, do not worry. I will go south to find Yuan Shu. Even if Yuan Shu is still unwilling to form an alliance with you, I will do my best to persuade him to attack Yu and Xu in the north."

Thinking of Yuan Shu, that arrogant arrogance, Yuan Shao felt a headache coming on.

What are the downsides of forming an alliance?
One is in the north, the other in the south, and neither side has any direct conflict of interest. Wouldn't it be better to join forces and eliminate Liu Bei first?
If it weren't for the concern that the three Zhou brothers wouldn't be able to unite the powerful clans of Jing and Yang provinces like Yuan Shu had, Yuan Shao would have wanted the three Zhou brothers to replace Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shao's thinking was incomprehensible to Yuan Shu.

In Yuan Shu's eyes, it was better to eliminate Yuan Shao first than Liu Bei.

After defeating Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu became the sole inheritor of the accumulated wealth and power of the Yuan family, which had held high office for four generations over a century.

After that, by destroying Liu Bei in one fell swoop, he could achieve the title of Emperor Zhongwu.

Of course, if Yuan Shao were to actively join his ranks, Yuan Shu would be quite willing to spare Yuan Shao's life.

the other side.

When Zheng Tai, who had also fled, arrived in Echeng of Jiangxia Commandery and told Yuan Shu about Liu Bei's claim to the throne, Yuan Shu was not as angry as Yuan Shao. Instead, he clapped his hands in delight.

"The thought that Yuan Shao's son, born of a concubine, hypocritically supported Liu Yu as emperor, only to find that Liu Bei directly declared himself emperor in Luoyang, fills me with immense pleasure."

“The son of a concubine is always hypocritical, he is afraid of losing his life when it comes to great things, he doesn’t even dare to become emperor, so what qualifications does he have to be compared with me?”

Yuan Shu's lighthearted tone revealed his sense of satisfaction at that moment. He would mock anyone or anything that could make Yuan Shao lose face.

After the laughter subsided, Yuan Shu looked at Zheng Tai, his gaze slightly sharp: "Gongye, do you think Lü Bu is trustworthy?"

(End of this chapter)