Chapter 040: Destruction Before Construction

  Yuan Fu, Yuan Wei leaned on the bed, his face was withered and sunken, his eyes were deeply set. Overnight, he seemed to have aged ten years, even his hair had turned white a lot.

  Malan sat on the edge of the bed, holding Yuan Wei's hand, with red and swollen eyes. After hearing what had happened in the imperial court, Malan couldn't help but blame herself. She hadn't been able to give birth to a son or daughter for Yuan Wei, which was why he had suffered such great humiliation today, and she felt extremely distressed.

  At the same time, she also hated Emperor Liu Bian to the bone.

  Yuan Shao sat on the couch in front of the bed, his body slightly leaning forward, listening intently to Yuan Wei's words. Yuan Shu was somewhat impatient, with his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth in the room, his footsteps quick and heavy.

  "You'd better stop arguing." Yuan Shu suddenly stopped in front of his bed and said loudly, "I'm telling you, this butcher's son is not someone to be trifled with. By the Yellow River, he manipulated Dong Zhuo into a mess, and today he humiliated my family in front of all the officials. Who knows what evil plan he'll come up with next? In my opinion, striking first is the strongest move, while striking later will lead to disaster... Let's rise up in arms..."

  "Highway!" Yuan Shao glared at him: "Uncle needs rest now."

  "'Rest'?" Yuan Shu glared back at Yuan Shao: "If we rest for a few more days, I'm afraid that butcher's knife will be chopping down on our heads."

  "Does he dare?! " Yuan Shao was also getting angry: "The southern army is in your hands, the western garden army and the northern army are all in my hands, what does he rely on? Just relying on Dong Zhuo's troops?" Yuan Shao suddenly remembered something: "Right, has the matter with Ding Yuan been handled yet? Have you arranged for someone to contact Lü Bu again?"

  As soon as Lü Bu was mentioned, Yuan Shu became annoyed. This matter had made him lose face greatly. "That rustic fellow, why bother to put him in mind." Yuan Shu curled his lip: "I'm very busy now, no time to care about him."

  Yuan Shao was secretly delighted, but his face remained calm: "Since you're busy, I'll take care of this matter. I'll send someone to take a look."

  "Go ahead, if you want to pick it up, then go ahead." Yuan Shu was dismissive: "I don't care."

  "In the beginning, the highway... "Yuan Wei let out a sigh: "Military power is fundamental, we cannot repeat Chen Fan's mistakes."

  Yuan Shao hastily replied: "Uncle, rest assured, we will not let go." He paused for a moment and then said: "Uncle, are you really going to send Ah Hui into the palace?"

  "If Ah Hui is sent to the palace and you take over as Da Jiangjun, that would be the most ideal outcome. But now it seems, I'm afraid it's hard to get what we want." Yuan Wei said weakly: "The young emperor is ignorant and unwilling to surrender, we can't not make preparations for contingencies. Ben Chu, Highway, you two contact the heroes of Shandong, make early preparations, in case of unexpected events. At that time, respond from inside and outside, and see how the emperor will react."

  "Yes." Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu answered in unison. Yuan Shu immediately asked again, "Uncle, which provinces and counties should I form an alliance with?"

  Yuan Yi was silent for a moment: "Last time Xu Shao said that the White Tiger of the Western direction retrograde into Jingzhou, it is possible to respond on Sun Jian's body..."

  Yuan Shu's eyes lit up and he hastily said: "I am familiar with Sun Jian, so I will go to Jingzhou."

  Yuan Shao glanced at Yuan Yi and smiled in understanding.

  ……

  Liu Bian had one hand behind his back and the other scratching his brow, his brow was bright red, he almost scratched out blood.

  He was in a dilemma. Yang Biao's words were too unexpected for him. He had always thought that the vassals were discussing Dong, referring to Dong Zhuo, but now it seemed that whether or not there was a Dong Zhuo was actually unimportant, and even whether or not there was a Yuan family was also unimportant. The problems involved here far exceeded his imagination.

  To put it simply, this is an interest group struggle.

  To put it more simply, this is a dispute over regional culture.

  Nanyang Group, although located in the Central Plains, absorbed interest groups from Guanzhong, Liangzhou, and Pingzhou during its long-term rule, transforming into the Shanxi Group, which became the foundation of imperial power. The Hebei Group, due to similar cultural and economic factors, absorbed Qing, Xu, Yan, Yu, Jing, and Yang, expanding into the Shandong Group, becoming the main component of the bureaucratic class.

  The two groups are divided into Shandong and Shanxi cultures, with the Taihang Mountains as the boundary. Shandong culture is superior, while Shanxi martial arts are superior, hence the saying "Shandong produces prime ministers, Shanxi produces generals." Because from Emperor Guangwu onwards, they emphasized literary affairs, even moving the capital to Luoyang, during the Eastern Han dynasty, Shandong's dominance was already an indisputable fact.

  More than half of the national tax revenue comes from Shandong, and Pingzhou and Liangzhou in Shanxi have to rely on allocations from the imperial court. The once prosperous Guanzhong region, which was known as the "Eight Hundred Miles of Qin", is now desolate and no longer as glorious as it used to be. If the Yuan family were to rise up in Shandong, the Han dynasty would inevitably collapse, and the biggest problem would be that there would be no more money or food, causing the imperial court to fall into economic crisis.

  No money, no food, even the best general can't do anything. Historically, from the Yellow Turban Rebellion, chaos lasted for over 30 years, and finally, the three kingdoms of Wei, Wu, and Shu were established in Shandong, with Shu occupying Yizhou and relying on its unique geography to control a region. Liangzhou and Bingzhou produced elite troops but failed to establish their own regimes due to their poor economic foundation, which was insufficient to support long-term warfare.

  If the Yuan family controls Shandong, is there still a chance for me to turn things around? Or will I end up like Emperor Xian of Han, living in exile and barely clinging to life?

  I shouldn't have taken this task in the first place, it's too troublesome. Why don't I just take off my imperial robe and slip out of the palace to find my dragon instead?

  Liu Bian was indecisive.

  Jia Yu hastily walked over. Seeing Liu Bian's reddened brow, he knew what Liu Bian was worried about. He quietly walked to Liu Bian's side and stood still, his eyes calm.

  Liu Bian stood up straight and asked in a low voice: "Wenhe, if the Yuan family occupies Shandong, will we have the opportunity to quell their rebellion?"

  "Your Majesty, the east produces strategists, and the west produces generals." Jia Xu said: "Moreover, if we deal with it in time and don't let the Yuan brothers escape from Luoyang, although there are many people in Shandong, they have no leader, they are just a scattered sand."

  Liu Bian looked around, the surroundings were empty, but he felt that countless eyes were watching them in secret. It was difficult to deceive Yuan Shao's ears and eyes, and to capture the entire Yuan family at once.

  Liu Bian sighed: "In any case, Pingzhou Army is the key. If we let Pingzhou Army fall into Yuan's hands, we will have no chance at all. Wenhe, you can go find Lü Bu now?"

  Jia Xu smiled: "Your Majesty can rest assured, the Yuan brothers are noble sons who are good at talking and boasting, but they are not skilled in military affairs. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, their performance has already proven their incompetence. However, there is one person that Your Majesty should prepare for in advance, it's best to recruit him as your own. If that doesn't work, then just kill him."

  "Who?"

  "The year before, he had assisted Huangfu Song in suppressing the Yellow Turbans at Changshe, Cao Cao."

  Liu's eyebrows rose, and then he burst out laughing. Jia Xu had a keen eye for talent, and besides, he hadn't been idle these past few days, but had been making preparations all along. It was extremely wise to have poached him from under Dong Zhuo's nose.

  "Words are not broken, they are established." Liu Bei made up his mind and said with a sigh: "Take my edict and go talk to Ding Yuan and Lü Bu first."