Chapter 79 The fate of the Yuan family, the ownership of Yecheng in Jizhou
Liu Wu sent away Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, who had complicated expressions on their faces. Liu Wu understood what they meant.

Of course he knew that according to the system of inheritance by legitimate son, it was better for the heir to have children with his wife, and then the eldest son would inherit.

This way no one can say anything.

However, he could guarantee that his illegitimate son, Liu Wu, would definitely be better than his legitimate son.

Standing in the courtyard, Liu Wu didn’t know which wife or concubine to go to.

Mrs. Mi and Mrs. Gan have just given birth to children, so don’t even think about it in the short term.

And Sun Shangxiang had a conflict with him over the affairs of the Huang family.

It was really difficult for him to make any promises to Sun Shangxiang about this matter.

Sun Shangxiang was a very stubborn and aggressive person, so he could only try to coax her. However, he had already done that more than a dozen times and it was to no avail.

Thinking of this, Liu Wu walked towards the courtyard prepared for Mrs. Cai.

Although Liu Biao left, Mrs. Cai was reluctant to leave because she was used to living in this mansion.

It was not easy for him to chase her away, so he kept the courtyard for Mrs. Cai.

I wonder how comfortable Mrs. Cai is living in the General of Cavalry’s mansion.

As the owner of the General of Cavalry’s mansion, he naturally had to do his best to fulfill the duties of a good host.

“However, there are still few historical beauties in the backyard, and there is no window period!”

Liu Wu curled his lips and suddenly felt that his efficiency was a little low.

You should know that there were many beauties in the history of the late Han Dynasty.

Such as the Goddess of Luo River Zhen Mi, Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao of Jiangdong, Bu Lianshi, Mrs. Zou, Mrs. Feng, Mrs. Bian and so on.

He actually only has a few.

“I wonder how beautiful the goddess of Luo River Zhen Mi can be!”

Liu Wu thought of Zhen Mi in Yecheng, and a hint of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

You know, he had hinted to Shen Pei before.

Since the Shen family wants to surrender, they should know what to do, right?

………

In the three states under Liu Wu’s command, Yanzhou, Yuzhou and Jingzhou, large-scale military training was being carried out.

While people are resting and recuperating, all kinds of businesses are in full swing.

However, Xuzhou, Qingzhou and Jizhou were not at peace.

Qingzhou, Yucheng.

Yuan Shang led a large army. Because Yuan Tan had divided his troops in Xuzhou, Qingzhou was left with a lack of troops. Yuan Shang fought his way into Qingzhou until he reached the Yucheng area, where he was stopped by an army led by Yuan Tan himself.

The walls of Yucheng were filled with blood and stench. This city had been under attack for nearly a month.

Yuan Tan, with a face full of stubble and bloodshot eyes, looked at Yuan Shang’s massive army under the city and said angrily:

“Yuan Shang, do you really want to die with me?”

Yuan Shang, riding on a tall horse, was quite disdainful and shouted loudly:
“Yuan Tan, you think too highly of yourself. I don’t think there is much food left in your city. I wonder how long you can hold out!”

Yuan Shang was somewhat proud. Although he had not captured Yucheng for nearly a month, he was not impatient.

Because Yuan Tan came in a hurry and led the siege of Jizhou quickly, there was not much food and water in Yucheng.

“As long as I catch you, my dear brother, your Qingzhou and Xuzhou will all be mine, ahahaha.”

“Why don’t you surrender now? I can still give you wealth and glory for the sake of our brotherhood.”

Yuan Shang was thinking about Yuan Tan.

On the top of the city wall, Yuan Tan was extremely angry and shouted:
“Yuan Shang, forget it! Even if I perish together with you, you will never have an easy life!”

“Hmph! Then just wait for death!” Yuan Shang’s face turned cold and he waved his hand, ordering his soldiers to continue the attack.

The shouts of killing shook the sky.

Yuan Shang had just returned to his own tent and Yu Wu Ji had not yet started her battle when the impatient voice of General Yin Kai was heard from outside the tent.

“My lord, something bad has happened. We just intercepted a letter reporting that Sun and Liu have formed an alliance. The emperor has issued an imperial decree that they are going to attack the governor, Yuan Tan, and the second son. Sun Quan has ordered his general Zhou Yu to attack Xuzhou. Yuan Tan’s general Cen Bi fell into Zhou Yu’s trap and was badly defeated. Now Guangling County has been lost. Cen Bi fled to Xiaopei and asked Yuan Tan for help!”

“Sun and Liu formed an alliance and attacked our three brothers?”

Inside the big tent, Yuan Shang was frozen in place, with a look of shock on his face. He didn’t care about having fun anymore, and drove all the dancers out.

“what happened?”

Yuan Shang asked General Yin Kai to come in and asked anxiously.

General Yin Kai did not dare to delay and hurriedly handed the intercepted letter to Yuan Shang.

When Yuan Shang read the letter, his face instantly became extremely gloomy.

The letter reported that it was indeed the emperor’s decree that the Yuan family had overstepped their authority and ordered the Sun and Liu families to jointly attack the Yuan family’s brothers in the north.

However, Yuan Tan’s general Cen Bi reported that Sun Quan had already sent troops to Xuzhou. He fell into Zhou Yu’s strategy of besieging the city and attacking the reinforcements, and was defeated. Guangling County was lost. Cen Bi fled to Xiaopei and asked Yuan Tan for help.

“Damn it, Sun Quan, Liu Wu, I didn’t bother you, but you actually bothered us. Do you really think I, Yuan Shang, am easy to bully?”

Yuan Shang smashed the table in anger, showing his unwillingness and anger.

What he was unwilling to accept was that he had surrounded Yuan Tan with his troops. If he was given some more time, he would be able to capture Yuan Tan and then take over Qingzhou and Xuzhou.

However, at this very moment, Sun and Liu formed an alliance to attack them!
He is angry.

“My lord, now is not a good time to continue attacking Yuan Tan. If we continue to fight Yuan Tan, I am afraid that it will help Sun Quan and Liu Wu. The Jiangdong army has already attacked Qingzhou.”

“Let’s negotiate peace with Yuan Tan and invite the Second Young Master to come south to fight against the coalition forces of Liu Wu and Sun Quan together!”

Yin Kai persuaded Yuan Shang.

Among historical figures, Yin Kai was a general under Yuan Shang in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and served as the chief of Wu’an. In the ninth year of Jian’an (204 AD), when Yuan Shang attacked Pingyuan again, Cao Cao took the opportunity to attack Ye. Yin Kai stationed in Maocheng to open up the grain road to Shangdang, but was later defeated by Cao Cao, and there was no record of him in history.

It can be said that Yin Kai was not a famous general.

However, Yin Kai also understood that the three brothers of the Yuan family could not fight anymore. If they continued to fight, the enemy might break into their house. They had to unite to face the outside world.

“I won’t accept this. He got it so easily!” Yuan Shang knew this truth very well, but just thinking about it, the piece of meat he was about to bite suddenly flew away, Yuan Shang felt very unwilling.

However, Yuan Shang’s reason eventually overcame his unwillingness.

After a day of deliberation, the order to withdraw from the siege was finally given.

And retreat three miles.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

In Yucheng, all the soldiers under Yuan Tan cheered.

Yuan Tan was quite confused. Why would Yuan Shang retreat at this juncture? Was there some trick?
But soon the messenger from General Cen Bi brought urgent news into the city, which cleared up Yuan Tan’s doubts.

“What? Sun and Liu have formed an alliance to attack our Yuan brothers, and even Zhou Yu has occupied Guangling County. Cen Bi was defeated and is asking for help!!” Yuan Tan couldn’t believe that the news was true, but soon after, several more news reports came into the city.

Yuan Tan had no choice but to believe it.

However, at this moment, Yuan Tan felt cold all over.

Being surrounded by Yuan Shang in front, the road is almost over.

Now, Yuan Shang withdrew from the siege, and the Jiangdong army attacked again.

Yuan Tan’s mentality collapsed.

“My Lord, my Lord has come to invite you to come out of the city to meet with him to discuss the fight against the Sun-Liu alliance!”

Yuan Shang quickly sent an envoy to meet with Yuan Tan.

“My lord, you can’t go. Yuan Shang wants to kill you. This may be a trick.”

His subordinates tried to dissuade Yuan Tan. However, Yuan Tan shook his head dejectedly and said:
“There’s no need for that. Even if he doesn’t withdraw his troops, the food and grass in the city won’t be enough to sustain it for too long. We’ll be defeated anyway.”

“Rather than this, how can we let outsiders get away with the wealth accumulated by our Yuan family for four generations?”

“Oh, I’m confused. I’m really confused. What have I been doing all these years since my father died?”

Yuan Tan said with some painful self-blame.

Just when Yuan Shang withdrew his troops and escaped death, his general sent a letter asking for help, reporting that Sun and Liu had formed an alliance to attack the Yuan brothers. Yuan Tan suddenly woke up.

It seems that these brothers have been wrong all these years.

Cao Cao was the murderer of their father Yuan Shao.

When Cao Cao was fighting with Liu Wu in Wancheng, Sun Quan attacked Hefei in the north, and even Guanzhong was in rebellion. That was a good opportunity for the Yuan brothers to work together and march south together. Whether it was to attack Cao Cao or to seize the territory left by Cao Cao when he entered Guanzhong, it was always better than fighting each other.

In just a few years, Liu Wu replaced Liu Bei and once again occupied Cao Cao’s territory, becoming a powerful warlord. Now he has joined forces with Sun Quan to kill him.

And they are still fighting among themselves.

“This……”

In response to Yuan Tan’s words, his subordinates didn’t know what to say.

“Prepare your horses, I’m going to see Yuan Shang!”

Yuan Tan mounted his horse, and as the city gate opened, Yuan Tan rode alone towards Yuan Shang’s camp.

“What? Yuan Tan is coming alone?”

Inside the camp, Yuan Shang was stunned when he heard his subordinates’ report.

He thought that Yuan Tan would lead a large army out to talk to him, but the result was beyond his expectations.

“My lord, this is a great opportunity. If we can capture Yuan Tan now, Qingzhou and Xuzhou will be yours.”

Immediately, one of his generals said to Yuan Shang in surprise.

Yuan Shang’s face was uncertain, but he was tempted in his heart. However, when a great opportunity was presented to him, Yuan Shang did not dare to act rashly. The reason was that the Jiangdong army had already entered Xuzhou.

If he forcibly incorporated Yuan Tan’s troops, he would not be able to digest them in a short period of time and might even backfire.

“Go out and see what’s going on!”

In the end, Yuan Shang did not act impulsively. He walked out of the tent and came outside the camp. Sure enough, he saw Yuan Tan standing on horseback outside the camp, surrounded by his subordinates.

“Yuan Tan, aren’t you afraid?” Yuan Shang frowned at Yuan Tan.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Tan showed a hint of sarcasm on his bearded face and said:
“You haven’t scared me yet.”

“But I’m afraid I won’t be able to face my father.”

“Yuan Shang, if we continue to fight and struggle, the Yuan family’s foundation will be completely destroyed. There will no longer be a Yuan family with three generations of officials and students all over the world. Do you believe it?”

Yuan Shang looked very unhappy when he heard what Yuan Tan said. Did he believe it?
If he didn’t believe it, he wouldn’t have ordered the army to withdraw.

“Let’s join forces. I hope it won’t be too late.” Yuan Tan took a deep breath and said to Yuan Shang.

Yuan Shang looked at Yuan Tan and finally nodded seriously.

He still refused to submit to Yuan Tan, and he still wanted to kill Yuan Tan and seize Qingzhou and Xuzhou. However, if the fight continued, Sun Quan and Liu Wu would really attack their city.

“Send a message to my second brother, asking him to lead the army south immediately, along with the senior officials!”

Yuan Shang said.

“Okay!” Yuan Tan nodded heavily.

As Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan faced the alliance of Sun and Liu and Zhou Yu’s swift offensive, they temporarily put aside their hostility and the two Yuans assembled an army of 110,000 and immediately marched south to Xuzhou.

Because they found that although Liu Wu had formed an alliance with Sun Quan, he did not send a large army.

The 110,000-strong Yuan army marched southward in a mighty force. At the same time, urgent news was also sent to Yuan Xi in Youzhou and senior officials in Bingzhou.

Jizhou, Yecheng.

Court of Justice.

In the hall, Shen Rong said to Shen Pei angrily:
“This Liu Wu actually allied with Sun Quan and attacked us. Brother, you shouldn’t have gone to Wancheng in the first place.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Pei waved his hand and said:

“Didn’t Liu Wu send out troops?”

When Shen Rong heard what Shen Pei said, he immediately became excited and said:

“But the imperial decree has been issued. The Sun and Liu families have formed an alliance. Liu Wu will attack Jizhou sooner or later.”

Shen Rong was excited, but Shen Pei was calm, as he knew Liu Wu’s intention.

Liu Wu’s move was an open conspiracy.

Although Liu Wu did not personally send out a large army and was only nominally allied with Sun Quan, this told him that he could surrender Jizhou.

Sun Quan and Zhou Yu have become the weapons that Liu Wu uses to seize Jizhou!
If Sun Quan and Zhou Yu were unstoppable and defeated the Yuan brothers, then they would have no choice but to surrender Jizhou to Liu Wu.

After all, the Yuan brothers couldn’t even defeat the armies of Sun Quan and Zhou Yu, so how could they defeat Liu Wu’s troops?

Of course, if Sun Quan and Zhou Yu were not unstoppable and the war stagnated, or if Sun Quan and Zhou Yu were defeated and did not defeat the Yuan brothers, then Liu Wu would probably have sent out his army himself.

Therefore, the current situation is very unfavorable for the Yuan family.

But for Liu Wu, it was like sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai.

Can the Yuan brothers quickly defeat the armies of Sun Quan and Zhou Yu?

If you show strong fighting ability, then you still have a chance to survive!

Hard!

“It’s a little late!” Shen Pei sighed.

“Too late? What do you mean?” Shen Rong asked with a frown after listening to Shen Pei’s words.

Shen Pei did not answer, but asked:

“What’s the situation at the front?”

Shen Rong listened to his brother’s words and said:
“The Lord has joined forces with Yuan Tan and led an army of 110,000 to Xuzhou. In addition, the second son Yuan Xi is also recruiting troops and will be heading south soon. As for Bingzhou Mu Gao Gan, he does not dare to mobilize his army easily because he needs to be wary of Cao’s army on the south bank of the Yellow River. I’m afraid he will not send troops to help.”

Shen Rong said, somewhat excitedly:

“The three princes united and mobilized no less than 200,000 soldiers and horses, which is at least half of the strength of Lord Yuan when he was alive. How could Liu Wu and Sun Quan be their opponents? If they were defeated, the Yuan family would unify the nine provinces and be even more glorious than when Lord Yuan was alive!”

Shen Pei looked at his brother’s excited and expectant expressions, and felt that this was a very beautiful blueprint.

Just, is it possible?

Shen Pei had a deep understanding of the Yuan brothers. He did not think that they could compare with Sun Quan and Liu Wu, especially Liu Wu.

“Is Zhen Mi still in the second young master’s house?” Shen Pei asked another question.

“Ah, yes, brother, why are you asking about her?” Shen Rong was surprised when he heard his brother asking about Zhen Mi, the most beautiful woman in Hebei.

“The situation has been uneasy recently. You should send more people to protect outside the Second Young Master’s mansion. You must ensure Zhen Mi’s safety. The Second Young Master Yuan Xi is leading his troops south this time to assist the lord. We must not let anything unexpected happen to Madam Zhen Mi, otherwise we will fail our mission.” Shen Pei did not say much.

Shen Rong nodded and said quickly, “Okay, I’ll send more people for protection.”

Zhen Mi was the wife of Yuan Xi, who was the governor of Youzhou. Logically, Zhen Mi should have been in Youzhou. However, Zhen Mi was not in Youzhou, but stayed in Yecheng.

This is also related to Yuan Shao who is already dead.

A few years after Zhen Mi and Yuan Xi got married, Yuan Shao appointed Yuan Xi as the governor of Youzhou in order to consolidate his control over Youzhou, while Zhen Mi stayed in Yecheng to serve her mother-in-law, Liu.

Shen Pei looked at his brother Shen Rong’s back and couldn’t help rubbing his aching temple.

He set his eyes on the map of Xuzhou in the hall.

In Shen Pei’s view, the battle between the Yuan brothers and Zhou Yu would determine the future ownership of Jizhou and also concern the fate of the Yuan family.

(End of this chapter)