Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 841 The situation changes

When Yuan Yao fled back to the Qingzhou Plain, it was already more than ten days later. The news of Yuan Shang's assassination also reached the ears of Cao Cao who returned to Taishan County at the same time.

After hearing this, Cao Cao laughed at everyone present, "Zhongde really did not disappoint me!"

All the counselors and generals in Cao's camp also looked relieved. Yuan Shang's life and death were uncertain, and Jizhou had lost its backbone. Now is a great opportunity for Cao Jun and Yuan Tan to join forces and attack the fierce tiger together!

Cao Cao pointed to the map and said: "After Fierce Tiger defeated Yuan Tan, he has been repairing in Langya, waiting for an opportunity to counterattack. I think it's time for him to enter Qingzhou again in the next few days!"

"As long as we echo each other in Beihai and Yuan Tan, and attack the head and tail of the fierce tiger while it is marching, we will definitely defeat it."

"Now we are waiting in the mountains to the north of Taishan County to see how the fierce tiger will attack!"

Xun You said worriedly: "The Taishan thieves here have many eyes and ears. I'm afraid I won't be able to hide it from them."

The generals nodded, and Cao Cao said: "This is the best way at present, otherwise the chances will be even slimmer in the future."

"The key is how to cooperate with Yuan Tan. You must organize your troops first and follow orders at any time."

Xun You felt strange. He raised his head and took a closer look at Cao Cao's expression. Then he suddenly realized that Cao Cao's expression was not natural, indicating that he had something else in mind!

Sure enough, after everyone dispersed, Cao Cao asked Xun You and Chen Qun to stay and said to them, "Do you know what the fierce tiger is doing these days?"

The two looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time. Cao Cao said solemnly: "The spies in Qingzhou also sent a message, saying that Jiuhu sent someone to send a letter to Yuan Tan with the intention of reconciliation."

"After all, no matter how loyal he is to Duke Ming, he is also a descendant of the Yuan family, so his heart will definitely be different. How can he be as at ease as a descendant of the Cao family?"

"Now we will go north to Taishan County and wait at the junction of the three counties of Qingzhou, Jizhou and Yanzhou to wait for the opportunity."

Because Yuan Xi initially supported Yuan Shang, but Yuan Tan was unwilling to give in and demanded that he be the head of the family, so the conflict between the two parties was irreconcilable. This is why Yuan Xi took the opportunity to attack Qingzhou.

The reason why Yuan Xi and Yuan Tan fought was because of their differences about the Yuan family.

Because as long as Yuan Shang dies, Jizhou will lose its backbone, and the Jizhou nobles will inevitably look for someone else to be loyal to them, and the candidate will almost certainly be chosen among the Yuan family’s children, in other words, Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi!

Cao Cao smiled and said: "Gongda still understands me!"

"Right now, Yuan Shang is dying, Fierce Tiger is cautious, but Yuan Tan may not necessarily understand the joints, but this is an excellent opportunity!"

And Cao Cao, who was caught in the middle, did his best, but he didn't necessarily get any benefits. Instead, he made a wedding dress for others?

Cao Cao saw the look of surprise on Chen Qun's face and sighed, "Has Chang Wen figured it out now?"

After all, he had no choice but to join Cao Cao in the first place. Now he has another choice. He has become the head of the Yuan family, won Jizhou, and has Yuan Xi as an ally. How can he be willing to be Cao Cao's subordinate?

As soon as Chen Qun figured out the link, his face suddenly turned ugly. Although assassinating Yuan Shang was a clever move, it gave the Yuan family's children more choices!

Xun You had already reacted and said, "Not good."

In this way, Yuan Tan's wish can be realized. As long as he occupies Jizhou, he will be a greater threat than Yuan Shang, and he is likely to break away from Cao Cao and stand on his own. Now that he and Yuan Xi have a common enemy in Cao Cao, they will turn their hostility into friendship!

In the opinion of Cao Ying's counselors, Yuan Xi is not a man who will die alone. If Yuan Shang dies and Yuan Tan gains Jizhou, there will be no reason for him to fight Yuan Tan to the death.

"The third son of the Yuan family is really difficult to deal with."

Xun You nodded and said: "Ming Gong is right. Only when the Yuan clan is destroyed can we rest easy!"

And Yuan Tan is also a smart man. In order to bribe Yuan Xi, he is likely to pay a considerable price for reconciliation, and may even send most of Qingzhou away.

Chen Qun spoke up: "After the fight is like this, is there any possibility of reconciliation between the two parties?"

But with Yuan Shang's assassination, this fundamental contradiction showed signs of being resolved!

Chen Qun also understood at this time and shouted: "Oh no, if Fierce Tiger learns the news of Yuan Shang's assassination, the most fundamental opposition between the two sides will have disappeared!"

"Yuan Tan is a capricious person. We cannot expect him to always be loyal to Duke Ming. The best way is to wait for an opportunity to attack him and capture Qingzhou!"

"According to common sense, the possibility of reconciliation between the two parties is very low, but now it is not necessarily the case!"

"If they don't die, I won't be able to pacify the Central Plains!"

Yuan Xi has previously stated that he is not interested in Jizhou, and Yuan Tan has been operating in Jizhou for a long time. Many nobles have actually secretly taken refuge in Yuan Tan. As long as Yuan Shang dies, these people will immediately welcome Yuan Tan and regard him as his leader. The new Lord of Jizhou.

"If Yuan Tan has any objections, we will strike first!"

The two of them quickly accepted the order, and Xun You said: "About Yuan Yao?"

Cao Cao sneered: "Compared to Yuan Benchu's son, Yuan Shu's son is really a fool!"

"However, he knew the opportunity and chose to go to Yuan Tan. It seems that he is not so stupid."

"But if the Yuan family wants to choose a puppet, he is obviously more suitable than Yuan Benchu's three sons."

"Let him go. Sooner or later he won't be able to escape."

What happened when Yuan Shang was assassinated finally reached Yuan Tan's ears.

Yuan Tan had returned to Beihai County at this time, and the small harassment by Yuan Xi's army still did not stop, causing a lot of trouble to Yuan Tan's food supply and troop formation. He also held a breath in his heart and ignored Yuan Xi's letter asking for peace talks. .

He also knew that what Yuan Xi did was common sense among military strategists, but Dongwu was defeated so quickly that Yuan Tan couldn't help but feel ashamed for a moment. If he agreed to negotiate peace at this time, wouldn't he admit that he was inferior to Yuan Xi?

At this time, news came from Pingyuan Kingdom that Yuan Yao had escaped.

At the same time, there was also news that Yuan Yao had assassinated Yuan Shang. After Yuan Tan heard it, he was not very happy. Instead, he said calmly to Guo Tu, who reported the news: "Why should Yuan Shu's team deal with our team's affairs?" Intervene? Yuan Yao is too pretentious!"

"If you want to kill Yuan Shang, I will kill him with my own hands. Who is he?" "Now that you have come to join me, do you think you will reward him for it?"

After hearing this, Guo Tu quickly laughed and said, "It's my fault. I came up with this idea at the beginning. I didn't expect him to actually do it."

When Yuan Tan heard this, he asked doubtfully: "Did you do it?"

"What terms did you promise him?"

Guo Tu replied: "Just to let him inherit Yuan Shu's branch and some property, the conditions are not many."

Yuan Tan pondered, "He is also a person who has seen the world, can these things impress him?"

Guo Tu's heart skipped a beat and he said with a smile, "This is a short-sighted person, and he will naturally be fooled by small profits."

Yuan Tan snorted coldly, "But he is a villain. The third brother released him and reused him, but he repaid him with kindness!"

"Just kill him!"

After hearing this, Guo Tu hurriedly said: "No matter how you say it, he has done a big thing for you. If you kill him like this, I'm afraid it will chill the hearts of others."

Yuan Tan heard this and said displeased: "It's really unnecessary. I wanted to conquer Jizhou in an upright manner, but in the end I have to be favored by such a person?"

Guo Tu advised: "Your Majesty, these are trivial matters. The most important thing now is to rush to Jizhou and seize Yecheng!"

Yuan Tan's eyes flashed, "You mean I give up on Qingzhou now?"

Guo Tu spoke up: "The situation in Qingzhou is almost out of control now, and the grain collection is excessive. Even if we can survive the autumn harvest, the people will not have enough food to survive the winter."

"Instead of doing this, it is better to hand over this mess to the fierce tiger and let him consume food in it. If he doesn't care about the people, his reputation for benevolence and righteousness will be destroyed."

"But we can directly enter the prosperous Jizhou and regain our foundation. By then relying on Jizhou, we will be much stronger than Qingzhou!"

Yuan Tan said: "How can it be so smooth? Yecheng is not easy to fight. Not only is my second brother staring at me at this time, I'm afraid Cao Cao won't let me get my wish, right?"

Guo Tu was confident, "So in order to successfully capture Jizhou, we must rush back as soon as possible and at the same time cease the war with the fierce tiger."

"If Yuan Shang dies, Fierce Tiger will have no reason to support him. He can't keep beating us, right?"

Yuan Tan said: "You haven't answered me yet, what if Cao Cao goes to plot Yecheng now?"

"Should I fight him first, or should I fight with my third brother and let Cao Cao reap the benefits?"

Guo Tu hesitated for a moment, "It's not appropriate to fall out with Cao Cao at this time, after all..."

Yuan Tan interrupted him, "How can I make a truce with my second brother if he and Cao Cao don't fight to the death?"

Guo Tushi said: "So we just need to stabilize the fierce tiger first."

The atmosphere fell silent, and it took a long time before Yuan Tan nodded and said, "I understand."

"The situation in Beihai has fallen into complete chaos, and I have no way to deal with it. In this case, it makes no difference to stay here."

"I will send people to negotiate peace with my second brother to delay time. At the same time, the entire army will retreat to the plains and enter Jizhou without stopping!"

Guo Tu then breathed a sigh of relief and said goodbye and went out.

Yuan Tan was sitting in the room, looking at the sky outside the window. His thoughts seemed to go back to the time when the three brothers lived together in Yuan Shao's mansion a few years ago.

At that time, the third brother was still young and the second brother was weak. As he followed his father in the war, he once thought that he was the heir to the Yuan family.

When did things change and everything was so different?

At what point did I make the mistake?

The news of Yuan Shang's assassination reached the ears of Yuan Xi in Dongwu City. He had not taken off his armor very well the day before. He had caught some cold and his nose was a little blocked. After hearing the news, he was shocked and his body was sweating profusely. He felt relieved. Quite a few.

But his mood was not so smooth. The news was too sudden, especially at this time!

He quickly found Zhuge Liang, told what happened, and finally said: "What are we going to do now?"

Zhuge Liang thought about it carefully, shook his head and said, "It's really troublesome."

"The impact of this incident will be apparent immediately, and we need to respond early."

"Although I'm not sure what Cao and Yuan Tan are thinking, there is no doubt that Yecheng has become the point where problems are most likely to arise."

"If Yuan Shang dies, Ye City will inevitably be in chaos. Which side, Cao Cao or Yuan Tan, will take Ye City? Will the lord accept it?"

Yuan Xi was extremely entangled in his heart. It seemed that neither party would be good for him if he got his wish!

(End of this chapter)