novelSusiti Chapter 1 Yuan Shu's life was ruined by 4 people
Chapter 1 Yuan Shu's life was ruined by 4 people
February of the fourth year of Jian'an (199 AD).
Inside Shouchun City, Yuan Yao was staring blankly at the sky.
And incidentally, I started to question the meaning of life.
Although he had been in this world for more than half a month, he still couldn't fully accept reality.
The vast differences between the two worlds are one aspect, but the more important reason is his identity in this life.
After all, Yuan Yao's current adoptive father is none other than Yuan Zhongjia, a noble family with four generations of high-ranking officials, known as the "Emperor of the Yuan Zhong Family, the Fierce Ghost on the Road, the Dry Bones in the Tomb, and Hakimi Shu!"
Later generations generally agree on the assessment of Yuan Shu, and Yuan Yao, after observing him closely for half a month, also came to a very fair conclusion.
High emotional intelligence: He doesn't look like a ruler.
Low emotional intelligence: Poet of Wanquan.
Having such a father was bad enough, but what was even worse was that Yuan Shu was now at his wit's end and his future was hanging by a thread.
Since Yuan Shu recklessly declared himself emperor in the second year of Jian'an (200 AD), calling himself Zhongshi, he has become the target of everyone's criticism. He has been repeatedly defeated by various warlords, and his strength and territory have shrunk continuously. Now he only has half of Jiujiang County left, trapped in Shouchun City waiting to die.
This was undoubtedly bad news for Yuan Yao.
As Yuan Shu's only son and the theoretical heir apparent of the Zhong family, he received no benefits whatsoever, but a severe beating was imminent.
Faced with such a disastrous start, Yuan Yao naturally wanted to turn the tide, but how easy was that?
Let's look at the current situation:
In the north, Cao Cao had just captured and killed Lü Bu, and his momentum to unify the Central Plains was already established. Once he had some free time, he could easily crush Yuan Shu, who was just a nobody.
In the south, Sun Ce holds sway over Jiangdong and may not launch an offensive for the time being, but he still has a strong interest in eliminating Yuan Shu's entire family.
In addition, there was Liu Bei, the fanatical ruler who was obsessed with the restoration of the Han dynasty. He didn't care about anything else and charged over while shouting about benevolence, righteousness, and bonds.
Yuan Yao sighed and rubbed his forehead. With these three great gods serving a mere Yuan Shu, how could the Zhong family's fortune be small?
Just as Yuan Yao was racking his brains for a way to break the deadlock, a guard suddenly came to report.
"His Majesty is summoning his ministers in preparation for a meeting in the palace."
"Meeting?"
Yuan Yao's heart skipped a beat.
Judging by the time, it is now the spring of the fourth year of Jian'an, and only a few months have passed since Yuan Shu's complete defeat and death.
So this meeting was most likely Yuan Shu's last desperate attempt to survive, a last-ditch effort to fight for his life.
With that in mind, Yuan Yao decided to go and listen, hoping he might be able to do something about it.
Thanks to the achievements of years of warfare, the population of Shouchun City has decreased sharply, and the transportation conditions are excellent. Yuan Yao did not spend much time before arriving at the imperial palace located in the north of the city.
I also bumped into an acquaintance.
"Your Highness has arrived too? Perfect, let's go to court together."
Huang Yi, the Left General of the Central Army, was also the son-in-law of the Zhong family and the brother-in-law of Yuan Yao.
Huang Yi looked rather gloomy—most of the Zhong clan officials looked like this at the moment—and complained to Yuan Yao as soon as he saw him.
"The war in Xuzhou went poorly, and even after the fall of Xiapi, they were unable to break through the encirclement to support Lü Bu."
"Now that Lü Bu is dead, we are completely isolated and helpless. We don't know what to do in the future. Sigh."
"Your Highness, please say something! Is there any way?"
You ask me, who do I ask?
Yuan Yao gave Huang Yi vague and perfunctory answers, while quickening his pace and soon entering the main hall of the palace.
At 3:45 AM that day, a crucial meeting that would determine the future fate of the Zhong regime was officially convened.
Yuan Shu, dressed in the emperor's crown and robes, leaned back on the dragon throne, looking listless and withered.
Below him stood the civil and military officials, lined up on either side, all equally listless and demoralized.
This is the natural outcome.
Now that things have come to this point, anyone with eyes can see that Yuan Shu's army is doomed, and even a god couldn't save them.
Moreover, one bad news after another continues to arrive.
Yuan Yao looked up and saw that his cousin Yuan Yin was currently giving Yuan Shu a report on the latest military situation.
"Since Cao Cao's army captured Xiapi, they have been clearing out Lü Bu's remaining forces for more than a month."
"Now that the southern part of Xuzhou has completely surrendered to Cao Cao, it is expected that the north will soon be pacified as well."
"Our army attempted to reinforce Lü Bu's remaining forces and fought Cao Cao's army several times, but... we were no match for them."
Sighs and groans began to emanate from the crowd.
Yuan Shu was also very anxious, but he was always stubborn and still held onto the hope that "as long as Zang Ba's Taishan Army launches an attack on Cao Cao, everything will be fine."
Yuan Yin was clearly stunned, his Adam's apple bobbing as he struggled to speak: "Your Majesty, Zang Ba..."
Chief Clerk Yang Hong took the initiative to speak: "Zang Ba did not launch an attack; he led the generals of Mount Tai to surrender to Cao Cao."
His illusions were completely shattered. Yuan Shu was speechless for a long time. In the end, he could only reach out a trembling hand and straighten his slightly crooked crown.
Seeing that Yuan Shu was gradually gaining power, Yang Hong spoke up just before the other party broke down: "I have something to say that may relieve Your Majesty's worries."
Not only Yuan Shu, but everyone turned their attention to Yang Hong.
Yang Hong spoke eloquently: "In my humble opinion, Huainan has suffered from disasters for years and is in ruins, making it difficult to continue. As for Hebei, Yuan Shao is currently engaged in a stalemate with Gongsun Zan of Youzhou. Just a few days ago, Yuan Tan, the governor of Qingzhou, wrote a letter seeking help. Why don't we accept his request and go to Jizhou to lend our assistance?"
These words were somewhat exaggerated and were purely meant to save face for Yuan Shu.
It's true that Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan fought a major battle, but the situation was completely one-sided. The latter was holed up in Yijing and would be exposed sooner or later.
Therefore, the claim that Yuan Tan sought help from Yuan Shu is unfounded; at most, he may have had correspondence with Yang Hong.
However, even if everyone saw through it, they wouldn't say it. On the contrary, once the plan was proposed, it quickly received unanimous approval from the court officials.
After all, nobody's stupid. Staying trapped in Huainan is a dead end, so sticking with Yuan Shao is definitely a better option.
Even when Yang Hong hinted that he might give the imperial title and the imperial seal to Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu himself did not directly object.
It's easy to understand that a deposed emperor is better than a false emperor, and even better than the former emperor.
Right now, the only one who disagrees with Yang Hong is probably Yuan Yao.
Yuan Yao whispered to Huang Yi, "Brother-in-law, I'm new here and don't quite understand the procedures. Can you help me come up with an explanation?"
Huang Yi asked, "What explanation?"
"It's just finding a politically correct reason to oppose going to Hebei."
"Your Highness, this is a matter of national importance; how can you speak so recklessly!"
Yuan Yao glanced at Huang Yi, realizing that this man also wanted to join Yuan Shao.
Well, since even his disciples are unreliable, Yuan Yao decided not to rely on anyone else and prepared to take matters into his own hands.
To be fair, without the ability to see clearly, Yang Hong's proposed solution does seem to be the best solution at present, and it is hard to refute.
But it's okay.
Yuan Yao knew that when an opponent's theory had no obvious flaws, the best way to deal with it was not to analyze it in depth to find the loopholes, but to throw out an even bigger bombshell.
"Gentlemen, I have something to say."
Everyone turned around and saw that it was Yuan Yao, who was eighteen years old, not yet of legal age and not even considered an adult. He was not qualified to speak at a meeting of this level.
Young General Yuan, unfazed, asked, "I would like to ask a question. Recalling our army's rise from Nanyang, our territory once spanned four provinces: Jing, Yu, Xu, and Yang. Why has it ended up like this?"
This question struck a chord with many people, who couldn't help but recall the past, when our army was warmly welcomed wherever it went by the former officials of the Yuan family. It was truly a time of perfect harmony, and the vibrant and flourishing scene was still vivid in their minds.
How could things have changed so drastically in less than ten years, leaving them trapped in Shouchun City with no chance of survival?
Someone secretly glanced at the front; if a reason had to be found, Yuan Shu himself would undoubtedly bear full responsibility.
Yuan Yao completely agreed, but unfortunately he couldn't be a filial son for the time being.
He has someone else to talk about today.
Yuan Yao: "In my opinion, the reason why our army has declined can be attributed to four people in the final analysis."
A person nearby asked, "Which four?"
Yuan Yao raised his finger: "Nanyang is a major prefecture in the country, which could have become the base of our army. However, someone killed the original governor of Jingzhou, which led Dong Zhuo to send Liu Biao to pacify Jingzhou. After Liu Biao stabilized the internal situation, he became an enemy of our army, making Nanyang's rear unstable and making it difficult to achieve great things."
"Later, our army fought against Yuan Shao, and the two sides clashed many times over Yu Province. At that time, Yu Province was under our command, and even the governor of Yu Province was appointed by His Majesty. However, Yuan Shao's army seized Yangcheng, the governor's seat. This governor of Yu Province was the second one."
"Later, His Majesty sent a general to attack Liu Biao in Jingzhou. This battle should have been a foregone conclusion, with our army holding a clear advantage and the siege of Xiangyang seemingly imminent. However, this general acted rashly and recklessly, dying in battle, which led to our army's failure. This person was the third one."
"As for the fourth person, he died after fathering several children. His Majesty kindly took them in, but his son used the excuse that the fourth person's brother-in-law was in trouble to borrow troops to launch an eastern expedition against Yangzhou. As a result, he became ungrateful as soon as he conquered Jiangdong and turned against our army!"
After he finished speaking, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
After a long pause, the chief clerk Yan Xiang slowly asked, "May I ask, Your Highness, were the four people you just mentioned Sun Jian, Sun Wentai, Sun Polu, and the Marquis of Wucheng?"