The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 379: The Proposal to Become King
Gongsun Kang's face suddenly showed a strange expression. He glanced at the three Yuan brothers and chuckled, "I think it's because Qin Shou knew the situation in Liaodong and wanted to make an expedition to Liaodong, but the losses were too great, so he didn't dare to attack Liaodong."

Yuan Tan and others nodded after hearing this. Only those who have been to Liaodong know how harsh the living environment is in Liaodong. People in the Central Plains are not used to it at all. It is unknown how much loss there would be in the expedition of 100,000 troops to Liaodong. It is really a loss for them to waste countless money and food for themselves.

"Congratulations to the three of you. You are safe from now on." Gongsun Gong congratulated hurriedly.

"Happy together, rejoice together."

The three Yuan Tan brothers also showed joy on their faces.

After all, it was already a pleasant surprise that he could stay safe and save his life without being attacked by Qin Shou and continue with his next plan.

"I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. I'll hold a banquet tonight and let everyone have fun." Gongsun Kang laughed heartily, looking relaxed.

"That's great. The three of us brothers will take our leave first." Yuan Tan quickly led Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang to retreat.

"Second brother, what do you think about this matter?" Gongsun Kang asked as he watched the three brothers leave.

"Brother, do you want to kill these three people?" Gongsun Gong felt the murderous intent in his heart, but he did not show any surprise.

The two brothers had a very good relationship. After Gongsun Du died, Gongsun Kang inherited the position of Liaodong prefect, and gave the title of Yongning Xianghou to Gongsun Gong.

"Three incompetent guys relied on Yuan Shao's reputation and brought 8,000 people to join me. I took them in with good intentions, but they were still not satisfied and wanted to covet our territory. It's really despicable." Gongsun Kang seemed very dissatisfied.

"What? They want to usurp my brother's throne?" Gongsun Gong was furious.

He knew the intention of his brother in taking in the three brothers, which was to resist Qin Shou. Now that Qin Shou had withdrawn his troops, the three brothers were of little use. If they stayed by his side, they would be a scourge and might even shake the morale of the army and the position of the Gongsun family in Liaodong.

"Yuan Tan wants to conquer Goguryeo and take it as his own territory, ready to attack the Central Plains at any time." Gongsun Kang told the news.

"They are indeed ungrateful. We took them in with such kindness, but they still want to occupy our territory. Humph, if we don't solve this problem, these three brothers will turn the tables and kill us." Gongsun Gong snorted coldly.

The territory of Goguryeo had clearly not yet fallen into their hands, but the two brothers believed that Goguryeo was already their territory, and anyone who wanted to occupy Goguryeo would be their enemy.

The Gongsun brothers had long wanted to occupy Goguryeo and expand their territory. But before they even started a war, they were discovered by the three Yuan brothers, who even wanted to take them down.

How could this be possible? If the three brothers got it, it would be like having a sharp sword suspended over their heads, ready to fall at any time and take Gongsun Kang's life.

"I originally thought that we could part ways amicably. When we have enough time, we will help the Yuan brothers seize Youzhou. Now that they are not understanding, I might as well kill the three brothers and send their heads to the court." Gongsun Kang clenched his fists.

"Brother, what you said is very true. Qin Shou is in charge of the world now, and the three Yuan brothers have offended Qin Shou. We can only send the heads of the three brothers to him so that Qin Shou will not target us." Gongsun Gong also spoke.

"It's all because Wuhuan is useless, otherwise, how could the current situation happen?" Gongsun Kang felt very depressed.

He forgot that if he was not incompetent and did not dare to lead the army to unite with the Wuhuan to deal with Qin Shou, the current situation would not have happened.

The Wuhuan were defeated, and he could only retreat to Liaodong, and even killed his allies in exchange for Qin Shou's mercy. "Brother, Qin Shou retreated to Hebei. I think it was because the situation in the Central Plains changed that he was forced to retreat. When the next time comes, we will have occupied Goguryeo. Why should we be afraid of Qin Shou?" Gongsun Gong said solemnly.

Gongsun Kang nodded and ordered: "At the banquet tonight, arrange for the swordsmen to smash the cups as a signal. When I give the order, the three Yuan brothers will be beheaded, and then their heads will be taken to force the soldiers outside the city to surrender. Finally, their heads will be sent to Yecheng."

With just a few words, Yuan Tan arranged everything for the three Yuan brothers in an instant. Yuan Tan never expected that things would turn out like this. Before he had the chance to plot against Gongsun Kang, Gongsun Kang was already thinking about killing him.

That night, Gongsun Kang really sent people to kill the three Yuan Tan brothers. The three of them never expected that Gongsun Kang would attack them just as Qin Shou's army withdrew. They didn't even have time to react and were killed easily.

At this time, Yecheng seemed to have become the center of the north.

Qin Shou leaned on the soft mat with a whole roasted lamb in front of him. Jia Xu, Pang Tong, Sima Yi, Xu Shu and others gathered together, enjoying the rare sunshine in winter.

With the end of the grassland expedition, the army began to rest in Yecheng. After the beginning of next spring, the army will go to Luoyang to prepare for the war against Jiangnan.

"Prime Minister, some people in the court today believe that you have made great contributions to the country and should be the king of Jin." Xu Shu suddenly said.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly changed. Everyone looked at Qin Shou, waiting for his decision.

Everyone knows what Qin Shou is thinking. Everyone knows that Qin Shou will usurp the throne in the future, but no one knows when. If he claims to be king now, it means that this time point is coming soon.

"What do you think?" Qin Shou put down the golden knife in his hand and asked.

He really didn't care about these things. Whether he was king or not, could it change Qin Shou's current appearance? It was definitely impossible.

"My lord, you treated Li and Guo equally, destroyed Yuan Shu, defeated Cao Cao, executed Ma Chao, pacified Hebei, and conquered Wuhuan. Your contributions are enormous. Countless people in the Central Plains and Hebei live thanks to you. I believe no one will dare to object if you become king." Sima Yi said immediately.

"Not cooked, not cooked." Pang Tong suddenly said from the side, he was chewing on the mutton and seemed to be saying something.

Everyone looked at each other, with a thoughtful expression on their faces.

"What did Shi Yuan say?" Qin Shou asked again.

"Not yet." Pang Tong answered directly this time: "My lord, your power is now equal to that of the emperor, so why do you want to be king? Emperor Gaozu once said that only those with the surname Liu can be king. My lord, why do you want to give others an excuse for a false title? It's better to wait a little longer."

Sima Yi retorted: "But the ministers all want to follow the lord and make achievements!"

"Does achieving success have to do with status and title?" Pang Tong sneered, "The lord's ambition is known to the world, so what if we wait for a while?"

Why did these people persuade Qin Shou to become king at this moment? Isn't it better to become emperor quickly so that he can also get the merit of following the dragon and thus give his wife and children titles.

(End of this chapter)