Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1307 Rise and Fall
Yuan Xi was actually a mean person. According to ancient morality, he was not actually a good person, he just hid his evilness very deeply.

Just like secretly controlling Liu Bei's strength, using targeted means to destroy Cao Cao's health, and forcing Sun Quan to collapse, all of these seem a bit shameful and are like jumping on the edge of morality.

Especially in the matter of Sun Quan, Yuan Xi fulfilled his promise to Mrs. Wu, but he felt uncomfortable when he thought about the trouble Sun Quan had caused him. So after much thought, he came up with the sinister idea of ​​letting the Jiangdong gentry represented by Sun Quan go to the north to engage in a big fight with the Hu people outside the Great Wall.

It is not appropriate to send Sun Quan and his subordinates, Sun Shao, Yan Jun and others to Jiangdong. After all, their family power and connections are deeply rooted, and they may revive in the future. In this case, they should be sent to the Hetao Plain to guard Yinshan in the name of exile.

Why should I work so hard to guard the gate of Jicheng while you can still live a good life in Jiangdong? No, I will let you taste the suffering that I have endured!

Yuan Xi found it extremely exciting when he thought of the intrigues between the overlord of Jiangdong and the fierce Hu people in the north across the Yinshan Mountains. Madam Wu also guessed that no one could have an easy time, but she could only respond with a wry smile. After all, her husband had too eccentric ideas, and Sun Quan had saved his life after all, so it was not easy for her to ask for anything more.

After Mrs. Wu spent a few days with Yuan Xi, news came from Jingzhou that Guan Yu took advantage of the summer flooding to defeat the Wei army. He not only captured Xiangyang, but also captured Yu Jin and seriously injured Cao Ren. The Cao army was defeated all the way to Nanyang, and the whole of China was shocked.

When Yuan Xi, who was being affectionate with Madam Wu at the time, heard the news, he sat up from the couch and said to Madam Wu, "I'm leaving."

"Guan Yu's victory came faster than I thought, and the change of ownership of Xiangyang will trigger a series of chain reactions."

"The loss of Xiangyang means that Wei has completely lost the river barrier of Jingzhou, and the Xinye Maicheng and other places in the north will have no strategic location to defend."

"If we lose Nanyang, the gateway to Jingzhou, most of Wei's routes from Xudu to Yizhou will be cut off. If Jingzhou is taken back by Hannan, Xudu will become an isolated city, which is unacceptable to Wei."

"Wei State I will certainly counterattack with all their might. They will either concentrate their forces to fight Guan Yu and retake Xiangyang, or they will send troops and move away from Xudu as quickly as possible to prevent any accidents in the capital."

"The former is unlikely, because Zhuge Junshi in Yecheng has been exerting pressure on the Luoyang and Xudu fronts. Wei State no longer has enough strength to fight on two fronts, so Qihe is likely to retreat from Xudu to Sili, occupy Luoyang, or even retreat to Chang'an."

"If I can seize this opportunity to march into Luoyang and force them to retreat to Chang'an, or even Yizhou, the overall situation in the world will be determined. So I cannot miss this opportunity. I must go to Yecheng immediately to discuss with Zhuge Military Advisor."

Then he smiled bitterly and said, "I said earlier that we would not fight for the next two years to recuperate. I have broken my promise again. The situation has changed too quickly, both for Wei and Jin. If we miss this opportunity, we may have to wait for many years. Now we can only race against time."

Madam Wu buried her head in Yuan Xi's arms and said, "My dear husband, please go. I don't know when we will meet again. I will take care of the internal affairs in Shouchun and wait for you to return after unifying the country."

Yuan Xi stroked Madam Wu's hair and comforted her, "Don't worry. It should be soon, even though we don't know when. Last time I asked Boyan to stay in Jianghuai, I saw him the next year."

"Teach Yuan Qian well, and I will come back to test his lessons."

Mrs. Wu nodded slightly. Seeing this, Yuan Xi pulled the quilt to cover the two of them. After a night of leisure, the next day Yuan Xi led his army north to Yecheng to meet up with Zhuge Liang, preparing to take advantage of this opportunity to send troops to completely tear through Cao Wei's Guanzhong defense line.

At the same time, Xudu was in chaos. Cao Pi threw the memorial to the ground in anger and shouted, "Waste! Waste!"

"Yu Jin is incompetent, Cao Ren is unwise, and I am so disappointed in them!"

"Twenty thousand men, twenty thousand men were killed in just one battle. How many soldiers do we have left in the Wei Kingdom?"

"The two great generals that the late emperor relied on joined forces, but they were unable to stop Guan Yu alone. This really disappoints me!"

Cao Pi has ascended the throne as emperor. He is now in his prime and full of ambition. Moreover, under the treatment of doctors, his urinary incontinence has improved a lot. With the help of medicine, he can also be more powerful in the harem. This also makes him very confident. He believes that as long as Wei State recuperates for a few years, it will be able to compete with Jin State again.

What he didn't expect was that problems arose in the direction of Xiangyang, which he had previously thought to be the most stable. Cao Ren and Yu Jin were already the top generals of Cao Wei, and the two of them joined forces but were unable to stop Guan Yu's attack!
After Zhong Yao resigned from the post of prime minister, he was replaced by Hua Xin. In the process of forcing Liu Xie to abdicate, Hua Xin played an extremely important role. Not only did he personally force Liu Xie to write four memorials, he also directly pressed the seal of the imperial seal on the memorials under Liu Xie's hand, and then took the seal away and presented it to Cao Pi.

Because of this behavior, Hua Xin showed his absolute loyalty to Cao Pi. After Cao Pi became emperor, he resumed using the official positions of the Han Dynasty, changing the prime minister to Situ, and handling state affairs with the three highest positions of Situ, Taiwei, and Sikong. Because of his great contribution, Hua Xin was listed as the first among all officials.

Hua Xin brought Cao Ren's memorial to Cao Pi. He said carefully, "Guan Yu is a treacherous man. He took advantage of the summer and autumn floods of the Han River to flood the cities of the two generals. Countless Wei soldiers died in the floods. He took the opportunity to occupy Xiangyang. This was the right time, not the fault of the people."

Cao Pi waved his hands in annoyance, "No matter what, the city is lost!"

"Now Guan Yu will definitely take advantage of the situation to attack Xu Du. What should we do?"

Hua Xin thought about it and realized that he had to say something, so he said, "If the natural barrier of Xiangyang is lost, the area around Xudu will be unsafe."

"Besides, we have Guan Yu on our side. He is extremely determined to attack Xu Du. I think he will definitely miss this opportunity and may even bypass Nanyang and attack directly."

"As for the Jin State, it is even more troublesome. The fierce tiger will never miss any opportunity and will definitely take advantage of the situation to attack. We will advance from two directions and threaten Guanzhong. I hope Your Majesty will make plans early."

Cao Pi became even more annoyed after hearing this, "What Situ said is just nonsense!"

"I can think of these things with my buttocks. What I want to ask is how to deal with them!" Hua Xin was sweating profusely. "Your Majesty, Xin only has a little knowledge of military affairs. When it comes to military strategy, the commander-in-chief and the military advisor are much better than Xin."

He was referring to Xun You and Sima Yi. Upon hearing this, Cao Pi calmed down and said, "I remember you are from Pingyuan?"

Hua Xin quickly said, "Your Majesty, I am from Gaotang in Pingyuan."

Cao Pi pondered and said, "There aren't many people from Qingzhou in Wei. Don't you have any old friends?"

"I remember you were once called a dragon together with the other two. You are the leader, right?"

"Where are they now?"

Hua Xin hesitated for a moment and said, "The other two are Guan Ning, Guan You'an, Bing Yuan and Bing Genju. They are said to be officials in Jicheng, Jin State. I have not been in touch with them for many years."

Cao Pi asked, "Oh? What important positions do they hold?"

Hua Xin replied: "It is said that one is a senior student of Yixue, and the other is a clerk in the governor's office."

Cao Pi laughed and said, "Isn't this an idle official position with a salary of less than 800 dan?"

"The person with the same name as you is not as successful as you. Does it mean that Jin State doesn't recognize talented people, or that there are too many talented people there?"

Hua Xin felt even more depressed when he heard this. He knelt down and said, "I am truly capable. I beg Your Majesty to give up my position as Minister of Education."

Cao Pi listened and said calmly: "Why do you have to do this? However, the order from now on will be changed."

"Hua Situ, remember, although being a lone minister can make me feel at ease, what I want now is someone who can save Wei from danger."

The next day, Cao Pi issued an edict to re-employ Zhong Yao and appointed him as the Grand Marshal, ranking first among the Three Dukes. The officials of Cao Wei now knew that Zhong Yao was going to make a comeback, but they did not expect that this day would come so soon.

And the fact that Hua Xin was abandoned immediately after being used made the officials feel grieved and wondered if His Majesty was too merciless.

The speed of Zhong Yao's restoration was beyond the expectations of the officials. He had been suspected by Cao Cao before, and many people thought that it would take at least many years for Zhong Yao to improve, or even that he would never recover. Who would have thought it would be like this? For a while, Zhong Yao's mansion, which had been deserted, became crowded with people coming to congratulate him.

However, all these people were stopped outside the door. The guard only told the officials that Zhong Yao was not feeling well and they could meet again at court tomorrow. Everyone had to leave in disappointment, but they didn't know that in the secret room of Zhong Yao's mansion, Zhong Yao was chatting and laughing with Xun You and Sima Yi.

Facing the two's congratulations, Zhong Yao said calmly: "I have experienced a lot of things, and now I am not surprised by praise or criticism. I just leave everything to fate."

He turned to the two of them and said, "I would like to congratulate Gongda first. Although Ming Gong was suspicious of Gongda before his death, His Majesty is now against Ming Gong. I am afraid that Gongda will soon be in power."

He turned to Sima Yi and said, "Zhongda's situation is more complicated. You are deeply trusted by the Lord and became a minister of state, so His Majesty should not have used you in a short time."

"But you are lucky, and you have a good opportunity right now."

Sima Yi asked, "The commander is talking about Xiangyang?"

Zhong Yao said, "That's right. After Xiangyang was lost, His Majesty no longer trusted many officials and generals, and was short of manpower. Now, in my opinion, the only one who can support the overall situation is Zhongda."

Sima Yi said hurriedly: "In terms of military strategy, Gongda is much better than I in terms of both qualifications and ability. I am ashamed to accept the title."

Zhong Yao shook his head and said, "The three of us have a deep friendship. I always speak my mind. Gongda has been defeated by the fierce tiger many times, and he was also defeated by Guan Yu. He has already lost his edge and is in poor health. Only you, Zhongda, are the only general in Wei who can face the fierce tiger and escape unscathed."

Xun You also smiled bitterly and said, "What the commander said is true. I am one step behind, and I have lost confidence in defeating the fierce tiger. From now on, I will rely on Zhongda."

Zhong Yao said: "If Zhongda is reinstated, the position of Shangshu must belong to you. After Guan Yu captures Xiangyang, he will probably attack Xudu from Fancheng. I will recommend him to Your Majesty."

Sima Yi bowed quickly and said, "I will never forget your kindness, Grand Commandant. I will never fail your Majesty and the Grand Commandant's trust."

"The Sima family will remember the Taiwei's kindness and wish to remain friends with the Zhong family forever."

(End of this chapter)