Three Kingdoms: Let Yuan Shen be great again

Chapter 19 What's most important in the 2nd century? Talent!

"Nobody told me that being a powerful minister is such a miserable thing."

Yuan Yao's political career was not ideal.

In his initial vision, overthrowing Yuan Shu's reactionary rule would be equivalent to removing the biggest cancer in the Zhong clan's regime. He would then only need to play the role of a wise ruler step by step, and he would be able to take off from the spot and sweep across the world.

On his first day at work, Yuan Yao saw a mountain of wooden tablets and bamboo slips piled up on his desk.

Huang Yi explained, "These are about one-third of the documents. The rest are still being organized. Please wait a moment, Your Highness, and we will send them to you soon."

Yuan Yao quickly raised his hand: "No, well, you should tidy it up first. Slow and steady wins the race. We'll talk about it after you've finished."

Sitting at the long table, Yuan Yao was filled with worry.

As the saying goes, only family members know their own affairs. In terms of handling political affairs, his talent is just as terrible as his military talent. He can give some pointers on the general direction, but when it comes to actual implementation, he is completely clueless.

Unfortunately, there were very few people who could help him.

Look at the people under your command:

Cao Xing was very good at fighting, but that was all he was good at.

Huang Yi is quite smart, but his brain isn't very sharp.

Yan Xiang is indeed capable, but he's only one person!

Yuan Yao really wanted to dump all the work on Yan Xiang, but the other party was not young anymore, and such behavior would have been considered abuse in his previous life, so he really couldn't bear to do it.

Worse still, due to Yuan Shu's laziness over the years, the internal affairs of the Zhong clan regime were already in a mess. After the coup, many officials were frightened by the dramatic scene of the father leaving and the son crying out, and fled overnight, leaving a lot of work unattended and completely paralyzed.

Of course, there are solutions.

These problems may seem serious, but they are actually minor issues. As long as Yuan Yao is willing to delegate authority to Yang Hong, this scoundrel will definitely be able to take over immediately.

But Yang Hong was already the head of the civil officials. If he were to further expand his power, would Yuan Yao be able to accept it?

"Sure, what's wrong with that!"

Yuan Yao stated that the prerequisite for authoritarianism is a functioning state apparatus, and what can it accomplish in its current state?

It must be understood that this is a rare strategic opportunity period for Huainan. The surrounding troublesome neighbors all have their own problems and have no time to deal with Yuan Yao for the time being. Every minute and every second is precious.

Although the recent internal strife was short-lived, it caused some internal strife within the Zhong clan, further weakening their already fragile national strength.

Therefore, Yuan Yao needs to seize every opportunity to restore and improve his family's overall strength, even if it may come at the cost of being short-sighted.

"Someone, take all these bamboo slips to Chief Secretary Yang Hong and let him handle them as he sees fit. Return them to him when he's done!"

The desk instantly became empty, and Yuan Yao felt a sense of relief.

I am the Grand Commander, leading the Zhong regime from one victory to another, not a nanny who spends her days studying and deciding on trivial matters.

So what important matter does Yuan Yao plan to study?

It's very simple. Let's start with Zhong's next strategic development direction.

Yuan Yao has a very clear understanding of his family's current situation.

The Zhong family's territory is still too small.

Not only is it small, but it is also located in a strategically important area, so any attempt to develop inevitably leads to conflicts with other forces.

It is obvious that at this crucial juncture, keeping a low profile and making a fortune is the best course of action.

But Yuan Yao also knew that working in isolation would lead nowhere; he had to launch appropriate external offensives.

Therefore, he must carefully manage the degree of expansion.

If expansion is insufficient, the development speed will be hampered by the limited resources available to the company. In that case, the company will be unable to defeat anyone in its surrounding area, and anyone who comes will have to submit.

If they expand too much, they will be targeted by the surrounding feudal lords first. Given the Zhong clan's bad reputation, they will definitely be attacked by all sides and die prematurely.

The only thing Yuan Yao could do was compromise with reality and act within his means.

The first thing to do is to reorganize the Zhong family internally and consolidate their power.

Over the next few days, Yuan Yao made constant inspections in various parts of Wancheng. Ostensibly, he was there to comfort the officials and people who had suffered during the internal turmoil, but in reality, he was secretly observing what they thought of him as the regent Grand Commander.

The results were both positive and negative.

The good news is that most people don't oppose Yuan Yao's rise to power—the previous leader was a godlike figure like Yuan Shu, and compared to him, even if a dog were put on the throne, people would accept it.

The bad news is that everyone's attitude towards Yuan Yao is just at the level of not opposing him.

Yes, Yuan Yao had recently achieved a great victory over Liu Bei, making numerous military achievements. He also frequently came to the countryside to put on a show, so overall he was quite popular.

But ultimately, the time was too short, and this support was largely superficial and insufficient to form the basis of his rule.

Moreover, he was tainted with the stain of breaking his oath and imprisoning his father. Although the official account carefully crafted a self-consistent explanation for the coup, several unofficial versions of the story still circulated among the people, which were absolutely unofficial.

That won't do. Yuan Yao has many grand plans in mind, but now he may not even be able to get everyone to build water conservancy projects.

Yuan Yao kept reflecting in his mind:

"I must enhance my authority and reputation."

"Yuan Shu was already a tyrant, and I am the tyrant of tyrants. Without performance to support my rule, even my legitimacy is questionable."

"Only by achieving some political accomplishments and gaining people's trust can a virtuous cycle be formed."

"I placed my cronies in the civil service and the military to gradually gain control from the bottom up."

"A trusted confidant... Oh right, did I forget something?"

With a sudden realization, Yuan Yao remembered that there was a Liu Ye locked up in the prison!

That's why the Zhong regime is currently malfunctioning; no one has even bothered to remind him of this!

Yuan Yao hurried to the cell and soon found Liu Ye looking gloomy and muttering to himself, questioning the meaning of life.

"I was wrong, I was really wrong. I shouldn't have come to Huainan to seek refuge in the first place. If I hadn't come, I wouldn't have been dragged down by Liu Xun. If I hadn't been dragged down, I wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable place..."

It's clear that Liu Ye is now filled with regret, deep regret.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

"Brother Ziyang!" Yuan Yao greeted him with a beaming smile.

Liu Ye seemed to be wearing a mask of pain: "Young Master Yuan."

Yuan Yao asked directly, "Brother Ziyang, I am eager to revitalize the country, but I am lacking in talent and learning, and my strength is insufficient. I would like to ask you to come out of seclusion and help me. What do you think?"

Liu Ye spoke the truth without hesitation, directly asking, "If I refuse, will you kill me?"

Yuan Yao didn't say anything, but gave the other person a very kind look.

Liu Ye sighed helplessly, "Very well, I am at their mercy. I will obey your command."

Yuan Yao was very satisfied; he knew Liu Ye would eventually come to his senses.

In fact, several days earlier, after Yuan Yao publicly released Liu Xun, Liu Ye had already been disgraced in the literary circles and had no way out.

As a descendant of Emperor Guangwu, he actually became sworn brothers with a traitor like Yuan Yao. Based on this alone, his career in the Han court was essentially over.

After all, in the eyes of the world, Yuan Yao even tolerated the open rebellion because of Liu Ye. Who would believe that the two of them had no relationship?

Liu Ye was at a loss for words to defend himself, and he couldn't even distance himself from Yuan Yao, otherwise he would not only be guilty of a moral failing, but also of a moral failing.

Fortunately, one of Liu Ye's many strengths is his extreme agility; he is unlikely to have any suicidal thoughts.

Since I've already been forced onto this pirate ship, I might as well stay here for now and find a way to clear my name later.

Liu Ye rose and bowed: "If Your Highness does not mind, I am willing to serve as a clerk in the army."

Yuan Yao grinned from ear to ear: "Having Ziyang is like a fish finding water!"

Helping Liu Ye up, Yuan Yao couldn't wait to tell him about his grand plan: "Ziyang, I have a lot to ask you. As you know, the Zhong family's carriage is going downhill. At times like this, as the driver, I have to whip it hard to speed it up!"

"Uh, Your Highness." Liu Ye's expression was subtle.

Yuan Yao: "What's wrong?"

Liu Ye: "When the carriage is going downhill, what you need to do is not to speed up, but to tighten the reins."