Three Kingdoms: Let Yuan Shen be great again

Chapter 10: Eliminate! Insects! Shoot! Sun!

It should be noted that only about 30% of Yuan Yao's anger was genuine; the other 70% was an act for Cao Xing's benefit.

After all, in the matter of the marriage alliance between Yuan and Lü, it was actually the Yuan family that suffered.

What was Lü Bu's background? He was just a commoner from Jiuyuan. How could he possibly be worthy of the renowned Yuan family of Runan, whose lineage spanned four generations of high-ranking officials?

If it weren't for Lao Lü's exceptional fighting skills and Yuan Shu's lack of other options, he would never have agreed to the marriage alliance.

Now, things are really messed up. The unparalleled Lü Bu is dead, and the once mighty Bingzhou army is reduced to only five hundred remnants under Cao Xing's command. The Lü family's stock price has plummeted to rock bottom, making it almost worthless.

Otherwise, why would Cao Xing be so grateful to Yuan Yao? The fact that Yuan Yao managed to rescue Miss Lü was only one aspect; his willingness to maintain the marriage agreement was the real indication of his sincerity.

That is why, when Cao Xing learned that Yuan Shu had canceled the engagement, he had no choice but to ask Yuan Yao for clarification and see what Yuan Yao's attitude was in this matter.

Therefore, Yuan Yao had to put on this show to tell Cao Xing in the most resolute way that he stood with them and that he still considered himself the son-in-law of the Lü family.

That being said, Cao Xing's worries were completely unnecessary.

Putting aside Miss Lü's good looks and figure, Yuan Yao is not exactly a gentleman, and he would never abandon the tall beauty he had finally managed to seduce just because of a few gossips.

On the other hand, Yuan Yao was counting on Cao Xing and his group to help him accomplish great things. Just for that reason alone, even if Miss Lü was unfortunately extremely ugly, he would still have to pick up his gun with tears in his eyes and deal with it later.

As for what major things to do, and when to do them?

Yuan Yao pondered to himself that the opportunity he had been waiting for might soon be ripe...

Yuan Shu's decree to cancel the marriage agreement between Yuan Yao and Lü Bu's daughter marked a new phase for the Zhong family.

That means Yuan Shu himself has started to micromanage military and political affairs again.

Prior to this, due to the precarious state of the Zhong regime, Yuan Shu had essentially entered a state of complacency, spending his days seizing the last opportunity to indulge in extravagance, practically living in a honey pot, and hardly caring about anything.

This gave Yuan Yao room to maneuver. Even though Yuan Shu had been looking down on Lü Bu for a long time, he was able to fight alongside Lü Bu's remnants and almost married Lü Bu's daughter.

But now, perhaps spurred by the news of Cao Cao's impending attack, or perhaps having just realized that he now possessed Lujiang Commandery, giving him a tiny bit more room to maneuver, Yuan Shu felt confident that it was time to make his move and launch a major offensive.

A few days later, the Zhong clan's central government officially moved from Shouchun to Wancheng. Liu Xun, who had been claiming illness and not leaving his residence, was forced to relinquish his governor's mansion to Yuan Shu and find another house to continue recuperating.

Sitting in the main hall of the prefect's mansion, Yuan Shu was in high spirits, throwing himself into his endless work.

The first thing to do is to deal with a legacy issue from before.

Under the careful planning of General Zhang Xun, Yuan Shu's army successfully recruited Chen Ce, a bandit entrenched in Lujiang, and gained a population of over 10,000.

This was naturally a good thing, and Yuan Shu was overjoyed. He first rewarded Zhang Xun for his hard work and merits, and then ordered Chen Ce to be summoned so that he could personally bestow honors upon him.

Soon, Chen Ce arrived at the hall. Yuan Shu was overjoyed to see that this man was big and burly, with a broad back and a strong waist, and was also of noble mountain bandit origin. He immediately decided to appoint him as General Who Subdues Rebels and Marquis of Fuchun.

There's clearly a reason behind this title.

General Who Subdues Rebels is Sun Ce's current position.

The Marquis of Fuchun was the hometown of Sun Jian and Sun Ce, in Fuchun County, Wu Commandery.

It seems that Yuan Shu was still influenced by Yuan Yao's theory that the decline of the Zhong clan was entirely due to Sun Jian, and he harbored resentment towards the Sun family. Since Chen Ce, who was in front of him, had the character "Ce" in his name, he wanted to use Chen Ce to suppress Sun Ce and gain a verbal advantage.

That's not a big deal. It's just that Chen Ce is a nobody, and it's a bit much for him to receive such a heavy reward right away. But the Zhong family is already in such a mess, so let it be.

However, what happened next was that her blood pressure gradually started to drop.

After Chen Ce stepped down, Zhang Xun seized the opportunity to step forward and continue his report, saying that in addition to Chen Ce, there was another bandit force in Lujiang, whose numbers were even greater than Chen Ce's. He was handling this matter and, if all went well, he would be able to successfully subdue and bring them under his control in a few days. At that time, everyone would also be able to see the two familiar faces.

acquaintance?

Yuan Shu had some doubts.

Zhang Xun explained that this group of people were none other than former subordinates who had left Yuan Shu's army a few years ago. The leaders were Lei Bo and Chen Lan, and they had now become outlaws in Qianshan, north of Wancheng, with at least tens of thousands of followers.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Xun's mention of this matter only made things worse. After he did, Yuan Shu flew into a rage, cursing Lei Bo and Chen Lan, and resenting them for daring to abandon him.

The ministers looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Given the current situation, it is clear that the Zhong family needs Lei Bo and Chen Lan's help. They are doing well as mountain kings in Qianshan, eating meat and drinking wine. Even if they want to be recruited, they have a place to go. Why should they come back and get involved in the Yuan family's mess?

But if Yuan Shu could listen to these truths, he wouldn't be Yuan Shu.

He bypassed Zhang Xun and personally wrote an extremely strongly worded edict, which he then sent to Lei Bo and Chen Lan.

The contents of this edict are self-evident—

Yuan Shu: "Lei Bo and Chen Lan, kneel down! I have a favor to ask of you!"

Zhang Xun was completely numb.

On the other side, Lei Bo and Chen Lan were also stunned.

They weren't dealing with Yuan Shu for the first time, so they naturally knew what kind of person he was.

However, they had all been Zhang Xun's subordinates before and had received his care. Now that the other party was being polite and had made many promises, it would be inappropriate not to give them face.

As a result, when Yuan Shu intervened, they discovered that all the previously agreed-upon conditions were gone, leaving them with only Yuan Shu's order to immediately return and apologize with thorns on their backs.

Even more outrageous, when Lei Bo and Chen Lan learned that Chen Ce, whose strength was inferior to theirs, had been recruited and surrendered, he was actually granted a title and appointed as a general by Yuan Shu, while the two of them received nothing but curses.

If they can still stand this, the two of them will probably have to become Buddhas at the White Horse Temple.

Several days later, Yuan Shu received a reply from Lei Bo Chen Lan.

"This, this, this!" Yuan Shu trembled with rage after reading it, slamming the bamboo slip in his hand onto the table: "You lowly servants and lackeys, these highway robbers and bandits, how dare you insult me!"

Yan Xiang, sitting below the hall, sighed inwardly, but finally couldn't help but offer his advice.

Just as he was about to step forward, someone tugged at his sleeve. Turning around, he saw Yuan Yao, who had somehow appeared beside him.

After the court session, Yan Xiang was immediately invited by Yuan Yao to his camp to recount his experiences.

When Yan Xiang arrived, he found that besides himself and Yuan Yao, there were also Huang Yi and Cao Xing.

Yuan Yao spoke first, cutting straight to the point without any preamble: "What are your thoughts on the recent situation in Wancheng?"

Yan Xiang remained silent.

Huang Yi stammered and couldn't speak.

Cao Xing sneered and said bluntly, "This is going against the tide."

Yuan Yao asked again, "Cao Cao is about to launch his campaign against Huainan. Given our army's current condition, can we withstand the enemy?"

Yan Xiang remained silent.

Huang Yi still couldn't say anything.

Cao Xing showed no fear: "I will fight to the death!"

Yuan Yao's final question was: "Does anyone have any ideas on how to salvage this deadlock?"

This time, all three of them fell silent.

There's really no way around it.

If we had a solution, we would have used it already.

"Okay." Yuan Yao nodded: "You don't have it, but I do."

Before the three could speak, Yuan Yao continued, "Since we've been forced into a corner, our only option is to fight to the death and take control of the Zhong family's future!"

Yan Xiang was the first to realize what Yuan Yao meant, but he was interrupted before he could speak.

Yuan Yao's eyes were incredibly sharp, and the pent-up anger in his chest burst forth. He finally shouted out the big thing he had always wanted to do:

"We must aim for Zhong's heart with the heart of a beast!"