Early April, Yu Province
In the grand hall of the Governor’s Mansion in Pingyu City, Runan Commandery, Yuan Shu sat in the seat of honor, casually looking down at the people below him.
“General of the Left!” With an ugly expression, Ma Midi said:
“I have come under Heaven’s mandate, bearing the imperial tally, solely to—”
“Enough, enough!” Yuan Shu interrupted impatiently.
“You’ve been talking about this tally for half the day. At the very least, you should show it to us. Otherwise, how are we supposed to know whether you’re telling the truth? Don’t you all agree?”
Recently, Yuan Shu had become rather full of himself.
Not only was his campaign in Yan Province progressing smoothly, but he had also absorbed the remnants of Sun Jian’s forces.
On the surface, Yang Province was now under his control as well.
After all, the current Inspector of Yang Province, Chen Yu, was one of Yuan Shu’s own men.
Yuan Shu himself had recommended him for the position at the beginning of the year, and the appointment was already paying dividends.
Among the territories now acknowledging him were Lujiang, Danyang, and Wu Commandery.
Although his domain looked full of gaps when viewed on a map, Yuan Shu could not have cared less.
In fact, he felt terrifyingly powerful.
After all, he believed himself to be the man chosen by Heaven.
“The one who will replace the Han is Dangtu Gao.”
Whenever he thought of that prophecy, he found Ma Midi increasingly unpleasant to look at.
“Hahaha! My lord speaks wisely!”
“If you’ve really got an imperial tally, old man, bring it out and let us all have a look!”
“Exactly! The lord is right!”
“Haha! Show it to us. What if the old fellow doesn’t actually have one?”
The assembled civil and military officials burst into laughter.
Most of them were just like Yuan Shu.
They felt terrifyingly powerful themselves.
None of them took Ma Midi seriously.
“The tally is here!”
Seeing the scene before him, Ma Midi became so enraged that he immediately pulled a sheep-shaped bronze token engraved with characters from his robes.
Holding it high, he shouted:
“The imperial tally is here! Why do you not immediately—”
“So this is the tally you’re talking about?”
Before Ma Midi could finish speaking, and while the officials were still hesitating, Yuan Shu somehow appeared before him.
Snatching the tally from his hand, he examined it briefly and declared:
“This is obviously fake!”
“Guards!”
Having already rendered his verdict, Yuan Shu waved his hand and said coldly:
“Throw these scoundrels impersonating imperial envoys out of here!”
“You… you… you villain…!”
Ma Midi had never imagined that Yuan Shu would outright seize the tally.
When he finally recovered from the shock, his rage overwhelmed him.
He spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot.
“Why are you all standing there?”
Seeing his officers frozen in place, Yuan Shu frowned.
“Throw them out at once!”
“Yes, my lord!”
The soldiers quickly recovered their senses and respectfully acknowledged the order.
Then, with remarkable efficiency, they dragged Ma Midi and all of his attendants out of the hall.
“My lord…”
“I’ve seen imperial tallies before.”
Before Yan Xiang could continue, Yuan Shu cut him off.
“This one is fake.”
In other words, the final authority on the matter belonged to Yuan Gonglu himself.
“My lord’s judgment is wise.”
Seeing that the matter was settled, Yan Xiang could only bow respectfully.
“My lord’s judgment is wise!”
The other officials followed suit.
Quite a few of them even genuinely believed the tally was fake.
“Good.” Yuan Shu nodded in satisfaction and ordered:
“Sun Ben, after this meeting, immediately assemble three thousand troops and send them to Yang Province to assist Chen Yu in suppressing the Shanyue tribes and recovering the remaining commanderies.”
The reason he had seized Ma Midi’s tally was not merely because he harbored ambitions of independence.
There was another reason:
Yang Province.
If Ma Midi managed to reach Yang Province, and Chen Yu actually obeyed the imperial command and ceased military operations, it would be highly disadvantageous for Yuan Shu.
Yuan Shu had already planned everything.
Once he completely controlled Yang Province, he would combine the strength of Yu and Yang Provinces to encircle Jing Province.
After conquering Jing Province, he would proclaim himself Emperor.
Then he would grant Zhang Yuheng a general’s title.
At that point, Xu and Qing Provinces would already be his for the taking.
A simple proclamation would suffice to bring them into line.
And if Yuan Shao behaved himself?
Yuan Shu might even grant him the title of king.
No one could say Yuan Shu failed to acknowledge his own brother.
“Your subordinate obeys!” Sun Ben stepped forward and respectfully accepted the order.
…………….
Meanwhile, in Ji Province
Before Zhao Qi even entered Hejian State, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao had already led several thousand soldiers and traveled hundreds of li to Wuyi City in Anping State.
They received Zhao Qi with the honors due to the Son of Heaven himself.
Every courtesy was observed.
“Lord Binqing speaks wisely!”
Faced with Zhao Qi’s reprimands, Yuan Shao wore the expression of a man sincerely repenting his mistakes.
Bowing respectfully, he said:
“The fault is mine. I shall immediately send a letter to Gongsun Zan and make peace with him.”
Through a series of such actions, he left Zhao Qi with no opportunity to lose his temper.
Instead, Zhao Qi came away convinced that Yuan Shao was indeed a loyal servant of the Han.
……………..
Yan Province, Dongping State
Wuyan City, Government Hall.
“Zhongde…” After listening to Cheng Yu’s report, Zhang Jing spoke slowly:
“Now that the Han court has sent an envoy into Ji Province, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan will most likely cease hostilities and make peace.”
Though Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan appeared to be fighting fiercely at present, the reality was that Gongsun Zan had already been severely crippled by Yuan Shao.
Zhang Yan was no match for Lu Bu either.
The fiercest fighting was actually taking place in Pingyuan Commandery of Qing Province.
However, Tian Kai and Liu Bei had already crossed the river.
Even if Yuan Tan commanded a hundred thousand troops, he would not be able to cross the Yellow River in a short period of time.
As a result, the war had fallen into a stalemate.
Furthermore, Yuan Shao himself had begun considering a truce.
Since taking control of Ji Province, he had been engaged in almost constant warfare.
Even the richest province in the empire could not withstand such exhaustion forever.
“My lord’s insight is admirable.” Cheng Yu nodded in agreement before continuing:
“What concerns me is whether, once the two sides make peace, they might possess the ability to jointly encircle our army.”
Had the imperial envoy not arrived, Cheng Yu would never have entertained such concerns.
But now that the Han court had intervened, the possibility existed.
Even if the Qihuo Army did not fear such a coalition, the outbreak of war would inevitably have a significant impact on the people living under its rule.
“Difficult.” Zhang Jing pondered for a moment before replying:
“At present, Gongsun Zan is holed up in You Province, licking his wounds. Qing Province can muster at most thirty thousand troops.”
“As for Yuan Shao, even if he wishes to seize Yan Province, he would not dare launch a massive offensive.”
“Besides, there is still Cao Cao in Ji Province.”
“Ever since Cao Cao retreated to Hebei, he has been drilling his troops and preparing for war, all the while eyeing Yan Province like a tiger watching its prey. However, Yuan Shu’s defeat came too quickly, cutting off Cao Cao’s opportunity.”
“As things stand, Cao Cao has only two choices.”
“The first is to completely attach himself to Yuan Shao.”
“The second is to seek another path and find a new territory from which to build his foundation.”
“Zhongde, what do you think he will choose?”
When it came to this formidable warlord, Zhang Jing never dared let down his guard.
If Cao Cao truly joined Yuan Shao, that would be troublesome indeed.
After all, in Zhang Jing’s previous life, when Cao Cao had been devastated by Lu Bu in Yan Province, he had once entertained a similar idea.
And Cao Cao’s current situation was not much better than it had been then.
“My lord.” Stroking his beard, Cheng Yu said:
“In my opinion, Cao Cao will not submit himself to Yuan Shao.”
“Why not?” Zhang Jing looked at Cheng Yu.
He clearly remembered that in the past, it was Cheng Yu who had most strongly opposed Cao Cao’s plan to seek refuge with Yuan Shao.
“Because Cao Cao has stationed his army at Guantao.” Cheng Yu replied seriously:
“If Cao Cao truly intended to throw himself into Yuan Shao’s service, then when Yuan Shao transferred his forces earlier, he should have marched alongside the main army and sought to distinguish himself through military merit.”
— The end of the Chapter–
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