Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1416 Ambition
Xu Shu said, "It's better to get closer, so that the Jin emperor can be paralyzed and careless."

"Now, Your Highness has to endure humiliation and confuse the State of Jin, making it complacent and careless, and then you can focus on dealing with the State of Wei, so that you can have the possibility of becoming emperor!"

Liu Chan did not show any joy when he heard this. Instead, he hesitated and said, "Prime Minister, is it necessary to be called Emperor?"

After hearing this, Xu Shu immediately knelt on the ground and cried bitterly, "Your Highness, have you forgotten the instructions of the late king?"

"Cleanse the world and restore the Han Dynasty!"

Liu Chan quickly got down from his seat and helped Xu Shu up, muttering, "I dare not forget, and I never dare to forget."

"But Prime Minister, if I were to become emperor, wouldn't Jin retaliate against Hannan?"

After hearing this, Xu Shu said confidently, "Your Majesty, don't worry. Jin also has its concerns."

"We don't want to raise an unknown army. As long as we say that the title of Han Dynasty was inherited from the Duke of Shanyang, what reason do they have to fight us?"

Although Liu Chan was young at this time, he had his own judgment. He couldn't help but ask, "But I heard that the title of Han emperor has been handed over to the Jin emperor by the Duke of Shanyang at the Fengshan Terrace in Xudu?"

Xu Shu shook his head and said, "At that time, Duke Shanyang was coerced by the State of Wei, so it is not certain. Moreover, although he was the emperor of the Former Han Dynasty at that time, it does not mean that he can give up the title of the Han Dynasty emperor."

"Strictly speaking, the moment he gave up the title of emperor, he had already lost his qualification as the Son of Heaven. The orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty now rests with Lord Xuande!"

"It's a pity that Lord Xuande didn't have time to become emperor. Your Highness, please don't forget his ambitions!"

Seeing Xu Shu so excited, Liu Chan couldn't help swallowing his saliva and said in a hoarse voice: "I know."

Xu Shu said ambitiously: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I also have a countermeasure."

"The Jin Kingdom may not be all smooth sailing. I heard that the Jin Emperor has been ill for the past few years. He may die suddenly one day."

"Your Majesty is still young, there is plenty of time to waste. The Jin court is not a monolithic entity. As long as the Jin emperor dies, Jin will be in chaos. That will be Hannan's chance!"

"If Jin raises an army, we will tell the world that Duke Shanyang handed over the orthodoxy to Your Highness, and Jin will become an unjust army. Then we can act according to the situation and help one side in the internal struggle of Jin. Then we can survive in the cracks and look for opportunities to turn the tables in one fell swoop!"

After hearing this, Liu Chan couldn't help but get excited, "Can I also be the ruler of the world?"

Xu Shu said firmly: "Of course you can!"

"Before that, Your Highness, just bide your time, show goodwill to the State of Jin, and wait for the right opportunity!"

The next day, Liu Chan ordered someone to write a letter to the country, saying that the Hannan Kingdom would send envoys to Nanchang to wait for the arrival of the Jin Emperor.

Hannan Kingdom knew that Yuan Xi was still in Shouchun at this time, so it did not rush to leave, but sent the letter to Nanchang first. After Lu Su received it, he did not send it to Shouchun, because he had received news that Yuan Xi had already left Shouchun.

In order to prevent the letter from being delivered incorrectly, Lu Su simply sent a boat to investigate and greet him. As a result, four or five days later, news came from Poyang Lake that Yuan Xi's boat had crossed the Yangtze River.

Lu Su quickly prepared the mansion. Two days later, Yuan Xi's fleet arrived at the dock under the city. Lu Su quickly brought a group of officials out to greet them.

Yuan Xi saw that Nanchang was in a better state since he left last time, so he couldn't help but hold Lu Su's hand and praised him, "Zijing's work really makes me feel at ease."

Lu Su quickly said a few words of humility, then called for a carriage and took Yuan Xi to the official residence. This was also Yuan Xi's usual practice during his inspections. Whenever he arrived at a place, he would first handle government affairs and understand the local situation in recent years.

Earlier, Lu Su had ordered people to set up several long tables, each more than ten feet long, filled with hundreds of bamboo slips, which were summaries of Nanchang's political affairs in recent years. Yuan Xi picked up a scroll, glanced at it, and nodded with satisfaction.

It was impossible for him to read all the bamboo slips by himself, so he called the host Yang Xiu Ni Heng beside him to help him select the key points.

After several years of intensive exploitation by Yuan Xi, Ni Heng no longer had the high spirits of the past, but became a social animal with a bitter face. He held the scrolls of letters obediently, and from time to time copied the summaries on blank scrolls.

Lu Su took the opportunity to take out the letter from Hannan and presented it to Yuan Xi, saying, "This was sent by Hannan the day before yesterday. They didn't know that Your Majesty would come so soon, so it hasn't arrived yet, but it should be soon."

Yuan Xi took it and checked it. When he saw the list of people, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "They are all acquaintances."

He read it over and over again twice, and for some reason, he felt that it was a little strange, so he asked Lu Su: "Zi Jing should have read it before. Do you think this letter is normal?"

After hearing this, Lu Su said, "I don't think there is any problem."

"Your Majesty, do you think there is something wrong?"

Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "I can't really explain it, because I don't know what Liu Chan is like now."

He thought for a moment, called Yang Xiu over, and said, "Dezu, help me check if there is any problem with this letter."

After Yang Xiu finished reading it, he pondered for a long time and said, "It seems that something is indeed wrong."

"There's nothing wrong with the writing, but the choice of person." He suddenly clapped his hands, "This person is not right."

Lu Su asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"

"I really don't see that."

Yang Xiu pointed at the names of Liu Xie and the other two, "Duke Shanyang, Mi Zhu, and Cai Mao."

"Among the officials of Hannan State, these three people have a special relationship with Your Majesty."

Ni Heng, on the other hand, raised his head and said casually, "Female relatives?"

After these words were spoken, Lu Su and Yang Xiu almost vomited blood. Why didn't you speak out, but instead you sought death?
Yuan Xi didn't care, but said: "Dezu's words make sense. If one or even two of them show up, it's normal to say that their intention is to get closer to me, but if all three of them are like this, it's a bit interesting."

"After all, it is a negotiation between two countries. There are peacemakers and old ties with Jin, but the key is that we need a leader who can safeguard the interests of Hannan. Who among these three people will play this role?"

Lu Su pondered and said, "It's true. The three of them are actually quite loyal to Hannan, but their positions are a bit awkward."

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "Yes, according to the information I received, Duke Shanyang does not participate in government affairs most of the time, but instead opens free clinics to treat the people."

"Because of the incident between Mi Fang and Madam Mi, Mi Zhu had already declined his real position in order to avoid suspicion, leaving only a nominal position."

"The same is true for Cai Mao. The Cai family has offended several other families in Jingzhou. Hannan occupied three counties in Jingzhou, and in order to win over other families, it did not reuse Cai Mao."

Yang Xiu thought to himself that even if this were to happen, Madam Cai and her son were still in the hands of His Majesty, so Cai Mao was destined to never be as powerful as he was in Jingzhou.

He said, "Either Liu Chan trusts them very much and thinks that the three of them are loyal to Hannan, or he thinks that no matter what they do, they won't cause any trouble. This appointment is simply to please His Majesty."

"If someone is being nice to you without any reason, he is either a traitor or a thief. I don't think that the people of Hannan have all become servile and fawning people. If that were the case, they would have surrendered to Jin long ago. Then, under the protection of Jin, wouldn't they be able to live a stable life without any worries?"

Yuan Xi said in a deep voice: "Is Dezu saying that they actually have some ideas and are plotting something big?"

Yang Xiu said, "Although I can't be completely sure, it is probably the case."

Yuan Xi knew that although Yang Xiu was not as good as Ju Shou and Zhuge Liang in military strategy and government affairs, he was superior to others in understanding people's hearts. Only Guo Jia at that time could be compared with Yang Xiu.

Thinking of Guo Jia, Yuan Xi couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Guo Jia had resigned from his post a few years ago, saying that there are talented people in every generation and he was no longer of any use to him.

Yuan Xi tried hard to keep Guo Jia, but finally conferred a title of marquis on him. After that, Guo Jia began to linger in the brothels, listening to music, drinking and enjoying life.

Yuan Xi was quite open-minded about this. He believed that every strategist had his own highlight period and it was impossible for them to have brilliant ideas all their lives. During the years that Guo Jia followed him, he did more than many people did in several lifetimes, so he was quite worthy of himself.

Now Yang Xiu replaced Guo Jia's role. He had a high success rate in guessing other people's thoughts from the subtleties. Yuan Xi had already agreed with Yang Xiu's opinion, so he asked, "What does Dezu think Hannan wants to do?"

Yang Xiu said without hesitation: "In the short term, it is just to deceive His Majesty. In the long term, there is only one possibility for his plot."

"Whether Hannan Kingdom can continue to exist."

"They obviously understand that this is in conflict with your majesty's long-term vision."

Yang Xiu didn't need to point out what he was going to say next, Yuan Xi understood and nodded, "I understand."

"Does Dezu think Guan Yu was involved in this matter?"

Yang Xiu thought for a moment and said, "Although I don't know General Guan very well, based on his experience with Your Majesty, I guess that this is possible, but it is not likely."

"He has received a lot of favors from His Majesty, but His Majesty has never given him any chance to repay the favor, which has become a yoke for him. So over the years, he could only focus on attacking the Nanman and cut off contact with His Majesty to avoid suspicion."

"If he was involved in this matter, he would definitely find a way to repay Your Majesty. At least he would write a letter to remind you."

After Yang Xiu's analysis, everyone present was convinced and praised him in unison: "As expected of you, you are the ancestor of virtue. You can see the big picture from the small details and understand people's hearts."

Yuan Xi let out a long breath and said with a smile: "It seems that it will be difficult to reach any conclusion in this meeting."

"Forget it. Anyway, my intention to unify the world is known to everyone in the world. It is reasonable for Hannan to respond in this way."

"Let's meet with them first and talk slowly. Take your time. Anyway, there are too many things to do and there is no need to rush."

He and the others watched only half of the video until nightfall, mainly because Jiangdong was too large and had too many things to do. Jiangdong spanned Jingzhou, Yangzhou and Jiaozhou, and although many places were desolate, there were many things to do, especially when it came to the Shanyue people, the situation was even more complicated. Strictly speaking, what Lu Su did was no easier than what Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun did.

Seeing that everyone was exhausted, Yuan Xi asked them to go back and rest. When he returned to the mansion, he heard that Madam Mi had arrived and was talking to Lady Xiahou.

(End of this chapter)