Chapter 10: Yangzhou Mu

  Wang Yun was worried, and Yuan Wei was also worried. However, what he was worried about was not the re-emergence of the Warring States period, but rather whether the Yuan family should continue in such a chaotic situation.

  As the Grand Tutor, he stood second only to the Emperor in the imperial court, and his vision naturally had to be farther. Moreover, after Liu Xuan ascended to the throne, although he was polite to Yuan Wei, he never intended to reuse him. Now, letting him sit in this position as Grand Tutor was just to appease the Yuan family's mind.

  Yuan Shao was the governor of Qingzhou, occupying Bohai and eyeing Jizhou; Yuan Shu was the General of the Rear, governing Nanyang, occupying the northeastern part of Jingzhou, and also controlling Yuzhou from afar. These were all forces that occupied a region.

  Moreover, Yuan Yi still nominally held the position of Governor of Yangzhou and could occupy the southeast at any time.

  How many states are there in the Great Han? The Yuan family occupies three of them, and maybe even more. Such a powerful family, which emperor can ignore?

  Although Yuan Wei always had a kind of 'being treated poorly by the emperor today', but he also took it as something that a powerful clan would inevitably encounter. At least the emperor has not moved him, and he is still in good condition, putting him in the position of Taifu, it can be seen that the emperor now does not dare to do anything to the Yuan family.

  But the current situation is changing too rapidly, leaving Yuan Wei somewhat unable to keep up.

  First, let's look at the Yellow Turbans. It's no secret that they harbor a deep-seated grudge against the wealthy and powerful families. When the Yellow Turbans first rose up in rebellion, many of the wealthy families in Yingchuan suffered greatly, with only a few who were vigilant managing to escape disaster. The Yuan family, despite their current immense power, will inevitably become a thorn in the side of the Yellow Turban army.

  This is not the point, the key is: "If Your Majesty wants to take this opportunity to weaken the Yuan family's power..." After thinking about it, I always feel that it's not appropriate. The Yuan family is now too powerful, maybe it's better to restrain themselves a bit?

  He has always been low-key in the imperial court, the emperor doesn't ask, and he doesn't offer any opinions either, lest he becomes too prominent - being so powerful outside and still so powerful in the imperial court is a path to death.

  "It would be better to give up being the governor of Yangzhou!"

  After some thought, the position of Yangzhou Governor is indeed useless and too eye-catching. As long as Yuan Shu can defend Nanyang and Yuan Shao occupies Qingzhou, the Yuan family will not fall, there's no need to be overly greedy.

  But Yuan Wei was particularly worried that these two brothers would have inflated ambitions, and when the time came, they would not be satisfied with occupying such a small place. In that case, they would sooner or later thoroughly oppose the imperial court, and what could he do then?

  "Resign from office?"

  This is clearly not in the interest of the Yuan family, but he did not resign from office. Looking at how much today's emperor dislikes rebellious things, even if he stays on in court, he probably won't be able to do anything.

  "Is it proper to show loyalty?"

  After some thought, it seems that this approach is the most reliable. As long as the emperor thinks he is a loyal minister, even if Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu really go down that road of no return, or are defeated by the imperial army in the end, the Yuan family can still continue to pass on.

  Of course, if it succeeds, there's no need to say more. Even if the emperor executes him to vent his anger, the rise of the Yuan family will still be unstoppable.

  Yuan Wei was no longer young, and his view of life and death had become somewhat indifferent. After considering it from his own perspective for a moment, he immediately knew what he should do.

  "Now the Yellow Turbans have risen again in Yu Province, and to the west there is General-in-Chief Yuan Shu's brother, Yuan Shao, with a strong army. I'm sure nothing will go wrong! Moreover, Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province, can provide support at any time, so we don't need to worry about the western front!"

  Then he closed his eyes and thought about the map - as he grew older, his mind was not as good as that of young people. Although he had memorized the new states and counties, he still had to think hard: "Tao Gongzu's east-facing resistance may not be able to withstand it, but it won't collapse in one battle. As long as we hold on for a while and drag down the Yellow Turbans' military strength, that will be enough! The Yellow Turban army lacks food and ammunition, the longer they fight, the more unfavorable it is for them."

  "As long as we gain time, when the time comes, we will attack from all sides and the Yellow Turbans will surely be defeated!"

  "Huh? Four sides besieged? Which four sides?" Liu Xuan was quite curious, this usually sitting on the imperial court and that KFC old man generally pretending to be a sculpture Yuan Wei, today actually took the initiative to speak, this is a rare thing to see, especially for such an important military and national affair.

  He curiously asked another question, especially about the four-sided attack... He suspected that Yuan Shu was going to be promoted from Governor of Yangzhou to State Duke of Yangzhou? Then there's Yuan Shu in the west, Yuan Yi in the south, and Yuan Shao coming to assist in battle from the north... Good grief, the Yuan family is really going all out.

  If that's the case, then the Yuan brothers can take advantage of the situation to expand their power to places like Yanzhou, Xuzhou and Yuzhou. If they succeed, it's likely that the entire eastern side of Tiger Pass will be under the control of the Yuan family, and they might even establish a new dynasty.

  However, to Liu Xuan's surprise, Yuan Wei did not propose such an opinion, but instead suggested that Liu Xuan remove Yuan Yi's position as Governor of Yanzhou and appoint a capable military officer to take his place, forming a pincer movement with Tao Qian to rely on each other and avoid the fall of Xuzhou.

  "Hmm? That's interesting!"

  At the same time, Kong Rong was ordered to assist Liu Dai, the governor of Qingzhou, while Yuan Shao sent troops to prevent the Yellow Turbans from uniting in Taishan and Langya.

  "According to the latest division of provinces and counties by Your Majesty, there is still Dongguan County between Taishan and Langya. Since Langya was occupied, it blocked Tao Gongzu's path northward, so it would be most appropriate for Yuan Shao to lead the troops from Qingzhou to attack."

  Yuan Yi originally did not want Yuan Shao to get involved, fearing that Yuan Shao would lose control of his own ambition and take advantage of the situation to occupy Xuzhou. However, the current situation can only rely on Yuan Shao.

  Dongguan County (not the current Dongguan, but located in the northern part of Xuzhou, now within Shandong province) was a strategically important location that could not be occupied by the Yellow Turbans under any circumstances. After careful consideration, it seemed that only Yuan Shao's army was close enough and had sufficient military strength.

  Liu Xuan thought for a moment about the distribution of the lords in Guandong and found that it was indeed so, so he didn't say anything and gestured to Yuan Wei to continue speaking.

  Unexpectedly, Yuan Wei nodded and said: "It's roughly like that!" And then he actually finished speaking...

  Liu Xuan was stunned, thinking that although Yuan Wei also understood some military affairs, it was only on a 'macro' level. If he really wanted to talk about details, he probably wouldn't be able to say much.

  Turning to look at Lü Bu and Cao Cao, these two are the ones who truly understand how to fight. Lü Bu is not very good at strategy, but Cao Cao is a master of this way. Apart from Cao Cao, another one who is good at strategy is Xun Yu, but these two people are unexpectedly silent, just sitting there with a thoughtful expression.

  Liu Xuan thought for a moment and immediately understood why they were like this.

  Because this time against the Yellow Turbans, the imperial court did not send troops at all - the imperial court did not send troops, no matter how well they planned here, it was useless to see if those lords with troops were willing to listen to you.

  Yuan Yi said a lot, but the truly meaningful thing is still that sentence: Choose one good warrior to be appointed as the governor of Yangzhou! Apart from this point, other things cannot be controlled by the court, at most it's just issuing an edict.

  Liu Xuan turned his head and took another look at Yuan Wei, this old man only gave a general idea, probably also considering this point, this old devil who has been in the imperial court for decades is indeed not to be underestimated.

  "In that case, gentlemen, is there a suitable candidate you would recommend?"

  This is what needs to be decided today, whether to fight or not, how to fight, the imperial court can't interfere, at most it's just a matter of who goes to fight, and there is still room for maneuver in the appointment.

  Several people thought for a moment, and suddenly saw Zongzheng Liu Ai said: "Yanzhou Governor Liu Dai's brother Liu Yue has some talent, and he also has a reputation, why not let him take the post of Yangzhou Governor!"

  Liu Ai's proposal was obviously made from the perspective of a member of the imperial family. Liu Dai, the governor of Yan Province, was a close relative of the Han imperial family, and Liu Yao was his younger brother, also a close relative of the Han imperial family.

  In Zong Zhengqing's eyes, the world is in chaos now, and only the Han imperial relatives can be trusted. Appointing outsiders as governors would only create future enemies.

  Liu Xuan would certainly not be so naive, as there were no fewer Han imperial relatives holding positions in various parts of the country today, but the court's control over local areas was not seen to have increased much.

  Yanzhou Governor Liu Dai is outside the Tiger Pass, can the imperial court's edict be implemented in Yanzhou? The imperial court ordered the troops of Yanzhou to enter the capital for reorganization and then dispatched the Imperial Guard to garrison Yanzhou. Do you think Liu Dai will agree or not?

  So what's the use of having a Han dynasty clan or relatives, they're not necessarily better than those outsiders, so it's better to send someone capable rather than sending a Han dynasty clan or relatives, at least they can prevent the expansion of the Yellow Turbans.

  He knew that the terrain in Jiangdong was complex, and there was also the natural barrier of the Yangtze River. If Nanhua saw that Xu State and Yu State could not be occupied, he would directly head south and confront him across the river, which would be quite troublesome to deal with.

  In addition, the reform of the army during this period was aimed at the North, and if Liu Xuan really escaped to the South, he would still have a headache about the navy - not only the navy, but also the generals who were good at naval warfare were also absent from his side.

  So in any case, it cannot be called the Yellow Turban thieves occupying the place south of the Yangtze River. In this way, Liu Yu, who is not very outstanding in military affairs, cannot be used.

  "I've long heard that Sun Ce, the son of Sun Jian, the former governor of Yu Province, is brave and skilled in battle. With his father's old generals to assist him, I think he can definitely take on this important task!"

  Everyone was stunned when they heard this, none of them had expected the Emperor to suddenly mention Sun Jian's son.

  How old is Sun Jian's son? Doesn't seem like he has even had his coming-of-age ceremony yet? However, thinking carefully about it, the Emperor's proposal isn't entirely implausible - perhaps Sun Jian's son is still young, but Sun Jian's generals are truly capable. If the Emperor were to make Sun Jian's son a general to deal with the Yellow Turbans, those generals would naturally go all out as well.

  "Not a bad choice!"

  What's more important is that the Sun family has a great reputation in Jiangdong, and if the Sun family goes, they can unite the major clans of Jiangdong at the first time, and it will definitely be possible to block the Yellow Turban thieves army north of the Yangtze River.

  "However, being so young and taking on the role of Yangzhou Prefect is a bit..."

  Liu Xuan didn't mind, directly waving his hand: "If he can handle the Yellow Turbans, what's wrong with being a bit young? If he can't handle them, how many more days can he sit as the governor of Yangzhou?"

  Everyone thought it was the case, and agreed to the Son of Heaven's proposal. They drafted an imperial edict, appointing Sun Ce, son of the late Wu Cheng Hou and Yu Zhou Governor Sun Jian, as the Shepherd of Yangzhou, succeeding his father's title of Wu Cheng Hou.

  It's been over a dozen minutes late, this chapter is the update to repay my debt, which is also the last chapter I owed! After posting this chapter, I let out a sigh of relief. The days of owing debts are really not easy to get through.

  At the same time, it's also a coincidence that this chapter is the last one for the public version. The next chapter will be uploaded, and it's also the beginning of a new month. I hope everyone can continue to support me, and please vote with your monthly tickets... Of course, please wait until it's available before voting...