xymnovel Chapter 2: I'm Fighting Sun Ce, Really?
Chapter 2: I'm Fighting Sun Ce, Really?
Yuan Yao's lengthy speech ultimately had only one purpose.
That is to make Yuan Shao, in his old age, grumble at Sun Jian and then take his anger out on Sun Ce.
Judging from the results, the effect was very good.
To be honest, Yuan Shu and Sun Jian were a pair of smiling tigers (referring to the two who used each other to devour each other) and they had tricked each other time and time again. Neither of them could say anything about the other.
But how could Yuan Shu possibly analyze things rationally?
Therefore, when Yuan Yao said that the decline of the Zhong clan was entirely due to Sun Jian, Yuan Shu immediately expressed his strong agreement—even though Sun Jian had died as early as the third year of Chuping (192), while the Zhong clan regime was established in the second year of Jian'an (197).
(Yuan Shu: Even if I am 99% to blame for the defeat, doesn't Sun Jian bear at least 1% of the responsibility?)
So Yuan Yao seized the opportunity and proposed a completely new strategic policy: instead of heading north to join Yuan Shao, they should head south to settle scores with the Sun family and attack the ungrateful Sun Ce.
To Yuan Yao's surprise, few of the officials opposed the new proposal; some even seemed eager and ready to fight.
After a moment's thought, he understood why.
Don't be fooled by the fact that Yuan Shu's army has suffered more defeats than victories over the years; it's because his opponents were all formidable men like Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Lü Bu, so it's normal that he couldn't win.
In contrast, although Sun Ce was known as the Little Conqueror of Jiangdong, he never officially fought against Yuan Shu's army, which is suspected of being a case of "smurfing" in Yangzhou, so it's hard to say how real he really was.
Moreover, from any perspective, Yuan Shu was ultimately the former master of Sun Jian and Sun Ce, giving him a natural psychological advantage.
Furthermore, the fact that the Sun family originated from Wu Commandery, while many of Yuan Shu's high-ranking military officers came from Henan, made them even less likable.
In fact, in the eyes of Zhong's ministers, whether in the past or now, they only have one thought about the Sun family father and son.
"Oh dear, you speak with a southern Jiangsu accent!"
In short, after Yuan Yao's disruption, although no final decision has been made at the meeting, the issue of siding with Yuan Shao has at least been temporarily put aside.
This is exactly the result Yuan Yao wanted.
Although he still doesn't know how to turn the tide, surrendering to Yuan Shao is a dead end that history has proven, and he absolutely cannot take that path.
That being said, judging from Yuan Shu's appearance just now, it seems that he was indeed somewhat persuaded by Yuan Yao and wanted to start a war with Sun Ce.
Yuan Yao immediately felt a little worried.
Attacking Sun Ce is not impossible. Theoretically speaking, Sun Ce should die at lightning speed in another year or two, and there will be an opportunity to attack at that time.
The question is, does Yuan Shu's army still have any fighting power?
After the meeting, Yuan Yao stopped Huang Yi, who was leaving the court with him.
"Brother-in-law, I remember you commanded a royal guard, didn't you?"
"Yes, what's wrong?"
As the Left General of the Central Army, Huang Yi commanded a central army of a thousand men, responsible for the security of the capital, Shouchun.
Yuan Yao suggested that he wanted to visit the military camp and check on the condition of the troops.
Huang Yi looked troubled, but given Yuan Yao's status, he hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing.
Soon, the two arrived at the military camp in the west of the city.
Yuan Yao stood at the entrance of the garrison, looking at the list of Imperial Guards in his hand and then at the camp in front of him.
"This...this isn't right, is it?"
Yuan Yao looked completely bewildered.
He may not know much about military affairs, but he certainly knows numbers.
Even counting them is unnecessary.
One glance is enough to tell that there are at most three hundred soldiers in this military camp.
Yuan Yao turned to look at Huang Yi: "Most of the positions are missing?"
For a moment, Yuan Yao thought Huang Yi was drawing a salary without working, but then he thought again that his brother-in-law was a man of great talent and ability, and even if he had that idea, he didn't have the ability to do it.
In that case, there is only one reason for the large-scale shortage of Imperial Guards.
Huang Yi said with a bitter face, "Originally there were more than 800 people, but over the years, one defeat after another has led to the deaths, injuries, desertions, and even getting lost. In the end, only these are left."
It's normal for the military to suffer casualties. As long as they aren't wiped out in an entire unit and can be replenished in time, there shouldn't be a big problem.
However... Huainan had been ravaged by Yuan Shu for so many years, and the entire Jiujiang Commandery was not only in dire straits, but also littered with corpses. There was hardly any manpower left to use.
As a result, Huang Yi's men dwindled with each battle, eventually leading to his current state.
Yuan Yao felt heavy-hearted. If even the Imperial Guards were in such a state, the other armies were probably in no better shape.
However, the large-scale shortage of personnel is only one of the many incurable problems plaguing Yuan Shu's army.
Continuing into the military camp, Yuan Yao carefully observed the condition of the soldiers stationed there.
The most obvious problem was severe malnutrition caused by food shortages. The soldiers were as thin as bamboo poles, skin and bones, with empty eyes, like walking corpses.
In this situation, it becomes quite reasonable for the camp to be neglected, littered with garbage, and stinking to become an unbearable mess.
Yuan Yao knew he couldn't be too harsh on them, so he tried to just observe without saying anything.
But there are still times when I just can't help it.
"How many is this?" Yuan Yao, unable to contain himself any longer, pointed to the skeletons at the foot of the camp wall. "Shouldn't the bodies be buried? What if there's a plague?"
Huang Yi also felt that this was a bit excessive, so he quickly summoned a military officer, Qu Chang, who was in charge of the camp.
Qu Chang seemed not to recognize Yuan Yao, glancing at him casually before reporting to Huang Yi: "General, there's no need to worry. This man starved to death last winter. If there were a plague, it would have been here long ago."
Yuan Yao was very unhappy. He took a few steps forward, pointed to another skeleton, and asked, "What about him? Did he starve to death or freeze to death?"
"I'm still alive," the skeleton said.
"..."
Putting those issues aside, with Qu Chang's further explanation, Yuan Yao finally received some good news.
Qu Chang said that the people in front of him were not all the soldiers in the camp. There were dozens of people outside carrying out missions, and they were all strong and capable soldiers.
Yuan Yao: "Great!—Wait a minute, the mission, what mission?"
Qu Chang: "Go catch fish and shrimp in the Huai River, otherwise we won't have enough military rations."
Yuan Yao: "Aren't you afraid they'll take the opportunity to run away and desert?"
"No," Qu Chang said confidently. "At least in the military camp, they provide half a meal a day."
"..."
Half an hour later, Yuan Yao ended his investigation with a look of despair.
He sadly discovered that Yuan Shu's army's most pressing concern was not how to defeat Sun Ce, but how to raise the average combat strength of their soldiers to the level of Sun Bin.
Yuan Yao felt a pang of sadness, so much so that he didn't want to go back with Huang Yi, saying he wanted to be alone.
Huang Yi knew he had exposed his backside today, so he awkwardly took his leave early.
Yuan Yao stood there in a daze for a long time before turning around and preparing to go back.
Unexpectedly, after walking only a few steps, they encountered another person, wearing a scholar's cap, dressed in an ochre robe, with a neat beard and a prosperous appearance.
He was Yang Hong, the chief clerk under Yuan Shu.
Yang Hong smiled and said, "Your Highness made it difficult for this old minister to find you."
Yuan Yao returned the greeting: "Master Yang."
After more than half a month of adaptation, Yuan Yao roughly understood his own personnel structure. Although Yang Hong was not well-known in history, he was the head of the civil officials in Yuan Shu's army, and could be said to have a high position and great power.
This person came to see me; it certainly wasn't just for casual conversation.
Considering the meeting that morning, it became clear what Yang Hong wanted to say.
Yang Hong: "Regarding the southern expedition against Sun Ce, this old minister would like to ask Your Highness for further advice."
Yuan Yao: "Does Lord Yang not support attacking Sun Ce?"
Yang Hong: "That's not the case. Your strategy for the southern expedition was extremely bold, and this old minister deeply admires Your Highness, but..."
Yang Hong glanced in the direction Yuan Yao had come from, towards the Imperial Guard camp behind him, his intention quite clear.
Given the state of Yuan Shu's army, regardless of whether Sun Ce is merely a figurehead, the outcome is probably a foregone conclusion.
So shouldn't we reconsider the southern expedition?
Yuan Yao nodded, agreeing.
Before he was clear about his own strength, he had been daydreaming. Now, reality has given him a rude awakening, and he knows exactly what he should do.
"Our army must launch a southern campaign against Sun Ce!"
Yuan Yao stated decisively, "Not only must we attack, but we must launch a large-scale attack!"
Yang Hong was speechless.
Given that the other party was the top civil official and that they would inevitably have to deal with each other in the future, Yuan Yao didn't keep him in suspense and directly stated his true thoughts.
Yuan Yao: "Lord Yang, the southern expedition is just a pretext. In reality, we are trying to make people think that we are going to attack Sun Ce."
Yang Hong: "Who should we think it is, Sun Ce?"
Yuan Yao: "It's not Sun Ce, it's Zhong Shi! Of course Sun Ce knows that's impossible!"