Chapter 50: The truth will soon be revealed, and Yuan Shao will start the road to self-salvation!
The Guandong princes are here.

The three heroes fought against Lu Bu. Although they did not defeat Lu Bu, they managed to hold him back. Yuan Shao used deception to send his generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou to take a detour and directly attack Hulao Pass, bypassing Lu Bu and his men.

The situation at Hulao Pass is somewhat dangerous at this time!
Because Lu Bu led his troops out of the pass to challenge, the suspension bridge was lowered, allowing Yan Liang and Wen Chou to lead their troops through the moat smoothly and attack the city unhindered. The only checkpoint left for them was the Hulao Pass wall.

Thanks to the defense of the strong city and high walls, Hulao Pass is not at risk of being lost in the short term.

But the problem was that Lu Bu and other generals were leading their troops outside to challenge the enemy. When Yuan Shao divided his troops to attack Hulao Pass, the other princes from Guandong rushed forward, and the Bingzhou army suddenly seemed to be in danger.

Lu Bu and other Bingzhou troops were unable to advance or retreat!

If they advance, the princes of Guandong are numerous and powerful, and the three heroes can fight against Lu Bu, so they cannot exert the deterrent power of a tiger general with ten thousand enemies. If they retreat, Yan Liang and Wen Chou will attack Hulao Pass from behind, and there is no way to retreat.

Lu Bu and other Bingzhou army soldiers were like a sandwich, unable to advance or retreat!

At the critical moment, Zhang Liao led his troops to the scene and commanded the soldiers to fight. Arrows fell like a rainstorm. After briefly repelling Yan Liang and Wen Chou, Zhang Liao risked his life and went out directly to rescue the Bingzhou army.

They were all comrades in the Bingzhou Army. When the familiar horn sounded, Zhang Liao, Lu Bu and other generals cooperated tacitly. After the final round, they triumphantly returned to Hulao Pass and successfully climbed onto the suspension bridge.

At this point, Hulao Pass once again became the dangerous pass that "one man can guard the pass against ten thousand men".

"Thank you Wenyuan for the rescue this time."

Lu Bu was secretly resentful in his heart. If it weren't for the damned Liu, Guan, and Zhang, he could have won the duel directly and shocked the princes.

After several generals were killed in succession, the princes did not dare to lead their troops to attack. He could completely suppress the princes of Guandong with his own strength.

This is a great achievement!
Who knew that Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei would suddenly appear, and Lu Bu cursed them in his heart as "big-eared thief" and "ring-eyed thief".

Especially the damn "ring-eyed thief", who also called him a "traitor"!
"Marquis Wen, if we hold the pass, we will be invincible!"

Zhang Liao did not blame Lu Bu for his rash challenge, but advised: "It is already past noon, I think all of Yuan Wei's family and the generals of the Xiliang Army have been beheaded in public!
As long as we send their heads to the front line and inform all the princes, the coalition forces will surely collapse. The Yuan family's conspiracy will be exposed! When they lose their composure, we will take advantage of the opportunity and win a great victory! "

...

"I understand."

Lu Bu felt somewhat frustrated after this battle, but it was not because he was reckless. After being defeated successively by Cao Zhengchun and Li Siye in the capital, Lu Bu also urgently needed a battle to prove himself!
Who knew that when he arrived at Hulao Pass, he killed several generals, Yang Wei, and then killed Liu, Guan, and Zhang. The world's number one general was almost defeated. If he hadn't been equipped with double stirrups, he would have lost face today!

Thinking of this, Lu Bu became disheartened and frustrated!

...

Zhang Liao was in no position to persuade them any further, and at this moment a messenger came to report, which was a good opportunity to divert attention: "General Zhang, the allied forces of the Guandong princes retreated to Xingyang and then retreated directly to Suanzao!"

"Um?!"

Zhang Liao was immediately a little surprised and asked, "Have they given up Xingyang?! Send troops to investigate immediately to see if this is the enemy's strategy of retreating to advance and luring the enemy deeper into our territory!"

"I obey my orders!"

After the messenger withdrew, Gao Shun and other generals were somewhat confused and did not quite understand the military strategic dynamics of the coalition forces of the Guandong princes.

Hulao Pass is located in Chenggao, west of Xingyang, facing the Yellow River to the north and Songshan Mountain to the south. To the east of the city, the Sishui River flows northward from Songshan Mountain into the river. It has always been a military stronghold to protect Luoyang and ensure the safety of Guanzhong.

Therefore, this is a place that must be fought for!
The most famous one is the Chu-Han contention. At that time, Chu and Han were between Xingyang and Chenggao. Neither Liu Bang nor Xiang Yu was willing to retreat first, as retreating first would lead to defeat. This was a protracted battle that determined the rise and fall of Chu and Han.

Now the troops of the capital controlled the area around Hulao Pass, while the princes of Guandong marched into Xingyang and approached Hulao Pass, engaging in a seesaw battle over this important military location.

Facing the powerful Guandong lords, the capital troops could not attack at all and could only retreat to Hulao Pass. Of course, relying on this dangerous pass, the Guandong lords could not even think of breaking through!
But now, they actually gave up Xingyang and retreated to Suanzao? !

This is equivalent to giving up the frontier position. If you want to make further progress in the future, you will no longer have the opportunity to do so.

Therefore, Zhang Liao could not believe it and suspected that this was a strategy of the princes in Guandong to retreat in order to advance and lure the enemy deep into their territory.

After all, there is a Sishui Pass on the other side of the Yellow River, where the troops of the princes of Guandong are also gathered.

What if they were so happy that they marched directly to Xingyang, and before they could gain a foothold, the princes from Guandong would come back and launch a surprise attack, station troops at Sishui Pass and cross the river to surround them.

By then, the capital's troops will suffer heavy losses!
Zhang Liao did not rush ahead, but Lu Bu was somewhat tempted and asked:
"Wenyuan, maybe the enemy saw that the situation was not favorable and simply gave up besieging the capital and decided to withdraw?
Why don't we lead our troops into Xingyang? If the enemy is trying to retreat in order to advance, we can just retreat back to Hulao Pass!"

"No!"

Zhang Liao was still worried.

It’s not that Zhang Liao is afraid of death, it’s just that they can’t afford to lose.

In the future, Zhang Liao can lead 800 elite soldiers to attack Sun Shiwan's army of 100,000. This shows that Zhang Liao has the genes of madness and adventure in his blood, which is also a proof of his bravery and strength.

Although Zhang Liao has not yet grown to his peak level, as Qin Qiong commented, "he has the style of a famous general in ancient times" and "a promising future." Therefore, Zhang Liao also sees the current situation of the capital.

Your Majesty controls the capital, but after a series of turmoil, it can no longer withstand the turmoil. If they fall into the enemy's trap and return in defeat, it will be a great blow.

Therefore, Zhang Liaoning is willing not to be greedy for merit and advance rashly, but also to seek stability!

After Lu Bu opened his mouth, he finally gave up in disappointment.

If he had not been defeated by Liu, Guan and Zhang, he would probably have attacked on his own, but after this defeat, it would be difficult for him to act recklessly!

"Marquis Wen, there is no need to rush. When two armies fight, it is not necessary to attack cities and villages and fight bravely to kill the enemy. Disrupting the enemy's strategic intentions is also a great victory!"

Zhang Liao saw that Lu Bu was eager to try, so he advised:

"What is the strategic intention of the Guandong lords? They want to intimidate the capital and frighten the capital, in order to force Your Majesty to withdraw his order!
“But now that noon has passed, their strategic intention has obviously failed. We are in an invincible position, so why should we take risks with them?
"Don't chase after desperate enemies, to prevent them from jumping off the wall and fighting a desperate battle! When the heads of Yuan Wei and the Xiliang army are delivered, the princes in Guandong will be thrown into disarray and even turn against us!"

...

Lu Bu nodded, then looked at Zhang Liao with some doubt, and asked: "Wenyuan, I haven't seen you for a few days. Your military tactics have shown a different performance again!"

Gao Shun and other generals were also amazed at Zhang Liao's military growth, but they did not express it as bluntly as Lu Bu.

...

Zhang Liao just smiled when he heard this. Recalling Qin Qiong's military talent, he shook his head and said, "The higher a person stands, the farther he can see, and the more he will realize his own insignificance!"

During these days, through fighting side by side with Qin Qiong and under his teaching and example, Zhang Liao's military ability has made rapid progress. If not a thousand miles a day, then at least he has made five hundred miles a day!

This made the generals of Bingzhou Army look at him with new eyes, but only Zhang Liao knew that every one of those capable and battle-hardened generals under His Majesty's command was more powerful than him!

……

In fact, not only Zhang Liao and other generals did not understand the intention of the Guandong princes to withdraw their troops, but even the Guandong princes themselves did not quite understand it.

The person who gave the order to abandon Xingyang and retreat to Suanzao was the alliance leader Yuan Shao.

After Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei won the battle against Lu Bu, their prestige among the allied forces increased significantly. And because of their status as relatives of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bei finally raised his doubts:
"Alliance Leader Yuan, your majesty is trapped. The Xiliang bandit army has caused chaos in the capital and held the emperor hostage, causing shock throughout the country. Although we have been unable to capture the city for a long time, we have not lost the advantage in the battle. Why should we give up Xingyang and retreat to Suanzao?"

Liu Bei was being euphemistic. Not only did they not lose the advantage in the battle, they actually gained some victories.

The three heroes fought against Lu Bu, which greatly boosted the morale of the coalition forces of the Guandong princes. It should be noted that Lu Bu was the most powerful general in the world, and he even killed several generals of the Guandong princes. When the morale of the army fell to the bottom, Liu, Guan and Zhang stepped forward and tied with Lu Bu, like heroes!

When Yuan Shao divided his troops to attack Hulao Pass, Lü Bu and other Bingzhou troops were caught in a pincer attack and were unable to move forward or backward. Although they were able to escape in the end because Zhang Liao led his troops to rescue them, the Bingzhou troops also suffered heavy casualties.

It was obvious that the coalition forces of the princes from Guandong had the upper hand. Yuan Shao, the leader of the alliance, not only did not order a continuation of the attack, but he actually abandoned the frontier position of Xingyang and retreated to Suanzao.

This statement clearly shows that he is planning to back off!
Liu Bei did not understand, nor did Liu Dai, Bao Xin, Gongsun Zan and other generals. But Yuan Shao suppressed them with his authority as the leader of the alliance, and they were helpless. However, the coalition forces undoubtedly had cracks because of Yuan Shao's arbitrary decision-making!

At this time, Qiao Mao, the governor of Dongjun, stepped forward to smooth things over. He said:
"Everyone, we have received news that the Xiliang Army will execute the entire family of Grand Tutor Yuan Wei at noon today!

Leader Yuan was saddened and worried that the morale of the army would be shaken, giving the enemy an opportunity to take advantage, so he ordered the troops to retreat and waited until he returned to Suanzao before preparing to inform everyone.

...

After hearing this, all the princes were suddenly shocked!

The Yuan family of Runan, whose family was composed of three officials for four generations, had its entire family executed?!
This matter will surely shock the world!!!

Yuan Shao sighed and said, "It's not that I'm giving up the offensive advantage, but I'm worried that this matter is so shocking that the small advantages that have been created with great difficulty will be wasted."

...

"Alliance Master Yuan, please accept my condolences!!!"

"The Grand Tutor is loyal to his emperor and his country. He works for his country and his people. He loves the people and is deeply loved by them. I never thought that he would be killed by the thieves from Xiliang!"

"Alas, the Xiliang army is a bunch of ungrateful wolves. You must know that the Grand Tutor is Dong Zhuo's former master. Don't give face to the monk, give face to the Buddha!"

"Haha! They even dared to hold His Majesty hostage, so His Majesty had to issue a secret decree, calling on us to enter the capital to purge the emperor's court. What's more, who is the Grand Tutor?"

"What should we do now? We can't break through Hulao Pass, so what about the other passes?"

"Alas, the Han Dynasty was unfortunate and the imperial power was lost. First, Dong Zhuo caused chaos in the government, and then the Xiliang bandit army caused chaos in the capital.

"We were summoned to quell the rebellion, but we were unable to do anything, causing the emperor to be trapped, the country to be in turmoil, the people to be displaced, and the country to be in ruins! We are truly ashamed of the world!"

“…”…

After hearing this, Liu Bei also retreated because he knew it was difficult.

The death of Grand Tutor Yuan Wei and the execution of his entire family was indeed too shocking. If the soldiers knew about it, their morale would be shaken!
After hearing this, Zhang Fei was furious and said: "If I had killed Dong Zhuo at the beginning, I guess there wouldn't be any disaster today!"

"Third brother, be careful with your words!" Guan Yu scolded.

The princes were somewhat confused and didn't know what Zhang Fei was talking about? !

In fact, it’s not that Zhang Fei is pretending to be cool.

At the beginning, the three brothers Liu, Guan and Zhang were common people. They recruited soldiers and fought against the Yellow Turban bandits on their own, and then they relied on Lu Zhi, the General of the North, who was also Liu Bei's mentor.

Who knew that after they won a series of battles, Lu Zhi was escorted to the capital in a prisoner car, and Dong Zhuo took over Lu Zhi's position. He led the capable and battle-hardened Xiliang army, but was defeated in a series of battles and almost died.

Fortunately, he was rescued by Liu, Guan and Zhang at that time, so he was spared. After learning that the three were commoners, he was ridiculed by Dong Zhuo, which made Zhang Fei remember it in his heart.

If we had done nothing at that time, there probably wouldn't have been disasters like Dong Zhuo taking over the capital and the Western Liang army causing chaos in the capital. How could even Your Majesty be trapped and held hostage by the enemy army?

...

Because of the news that Grand Tutor Yuan Wei and his entire family had been beheaded, the atmosphere among the Guandong princes was somewhat low, and finally they simply adjourned the meeting and returned to their camps.

After Yuan Shao returned to his camp, he was also worried, because he was heartbroken about what happened to Yuan Wei's family and worried about his own future.

Yuan Shao naturally knew that this time "issuing a false edict, raising an army of righteous men, clearing the emperor's side, and punishing treacherous ministers" was not an edict from Your Majesty at all, but a false edict they had forged, risking the world's taboo, and counterattacking the capital.

Yuan relied on the six seals of the emperor and the imperial seal to cover up the truth and spread a huge lie. He wanted to use the momentum of the siege by the princes to intimidate His Majesty and force him to withdraw his order.

As long as Yuan Wei can survive, everything will be fine!

But the problem is, noon has passed and there has been no news from the capital. No news, that would be the worst news!
This means that the Yuan family’s overall plan has definitely failed!

Yuan Wei's entire family was beheaded, and the generals of the Xiliang Army were estimated to be in great danger as well.

As long as the heads of his uncle and the generals of the Xiliang Army are delivered to the front line, then all the princes will know that it was not the Xiliang Army that held His Majesty hostage, but Yuan Wei was in collusion with the Xiliang Army and was determined to depose and enthrone!
How will Yuan Shao deal with it then? !

The truth is out and it can no longer be concealed!

Even if Your Majesty does not have the six imperial seals and the imperial seal to write the imperial edict, the heads of Yuan Wei and the generals of the Western Liang Army alone are enough to make all the princes realize the truth!
It was with this in mind that Yuan Shao decisively abandoned the frontier position of Xingyang and retreated to Suanzao, and even wanted to disband his troops on the spot.

"What do you think?"

Yuan Shao sighed inwardly, looking at his trusted generals and advisers present. These people were all on the same boat, so they had already known about Yuan's plan and participated in it.

Feng Ji said:

"My lord, Xu You lost contact with us yesterday, and I guessed that he was in danger. Now it's past noon, and there is still no news from the capital, so we have to prepare for the worst!"

"I'm mentally prepared!" Yuan Shao said in a deep voice: "My uncle has suffered a tragic fate, but we also need to face the future!"

"My lord is indeed a hero!"

Feng Ji praised him and said:

"We are now in trouble. When the heads of the Grand Tutor and the Xiliang Army are delivered to the front line, the princes will surely be enlightened. When the truth is revealed, they will probably turn against us in battle!

"We must take action before this! I think we can use carrier pigeons to instigate the Southern Xiongnu in Bingzhou to cause chaos.

"Bingzhou is the hometown of Lü Bu and other Bingzhou troops, and Wang Yun's Taiyuan Wang family is the first to bear the brunt. Moreover, Bingzhou controls the fate of the world, and can directly go south to Henei to intimidate the capital.

“If there is unrest here, it will inevitably affect the Bingzhou army. Your Majesty will also need to send troops to Bingzhou to suppress the rebellion. We will have more time and opportunities to develop.

"We can even spread the news that the six imperial seals and the imperial seal are missing, and fish in troubled waters. I believe that His Majesty is also very anxious now!

"Then, through the false information about the location of the Six Seals and the Imperial Seal, we can lure the tiger away from the mountain and lead the troops of the capital to Bingzhou or other places to buy time for us!"

After hearing this, Yuan Shao nodded, thinking that this was a strategy that killed two birds with one stone.

Feng Ji asked, "My Lord, do you know the whereabouts of the Six Seals of the Emperor and the Imperial Seal? This is a matter of great importance!"

Since they could issue forged edicts and stamp real seals, the six seals of the emperor and the imperial seal must be in the hands of the Yuan family.

Everyone knew it tacitly but no one mentioned it.

But now, one can make use of the six seals of the emperor and the imperial seal to do something. In fact, if one possesses the imperial seal, it is equivalent to possessing the mandate of heaven!

Wang Mang could usurp the Han Dynasty, so why couldn't the Yuan family?!

I just don't know whether the six seals of the emperor and the imperial seal are in the hands of Yuan Wei in the capital, or have already left the capital and are in the hands of Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu?

"I do not know either!"

Yuan Shao shook his head and said, “This matter is the responsibility of my uncle himself. He should hand it over to Brother Deji (Yuan Ji). After all, he is the eldest son and heir of our Yuan family.

"However, they are trapped in a mess and no news has been sent out. I don't know if Brother Deji will pass it on to others, and Ziyuan (Xu You) has not sent back any news. But compared to me, Yuan Shu is more likely!"

Thinking of this, Yuan Shao felt somewhat unwilling, because he was a bastard's son, and Yuan Shu was the second legitimate son. After the death of Yuan Ji, the eldest legitimate son, Yuan Shu became the legitimate heir.

Even if Yuan Shao was more outstanding than Yuan Shu, it was not legally possible. Under the patriarchal inheritance system, that is, the eldest son inheritance system, Yuan Shao would not be in line for the throne.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this unwillingness and the desire for what he lacked that in the original history, Yuan Shao always wanted to depose the eldest son and enthrone the youngest son.

In addition to his love for his youngest son, it was actually also a way of venting his dissatisfaction with his own experience and his opposition to the patriarchal system!
...

After hearing this, everyone felt a little regretful!
Feng Ji felt a little regretful, but after a pause, he quickly collected his thoughts and continued:

"We also need to find a way to disintegrate the forces of the Guandong lords. Otherwise, once the truth is revealed, they will turn against us and it will be difficult for us to suppress the situation. Gongsun Zan, the governor of Beiping, leads the White Horse Volunteers and is good at fighting. We must try to transfer him away.

"We can pretend to have received news of the Wuhuan rebellion and order Gongsun Zan to return to Youzhou to guard the border. There is also a group of Yellow Turban remnants in Qingzhou causing rebellion. We can try to secretly support them and stir up trouble here, involving Kong Rong, Tao Qian and others.

"Also, my lord, although Han Fu is a former student of the Yuan family, he also has wolfish ambitions. Bohai is not a place for long-term development. We must try to seize the entire Jizhou. Relying on the North China Plain, we will surely be able to grow and develop!"

...

This time Yuan Shao did not hesitate and said decisively: "Just follow what Yuan Tu (Feng Ji) said!"

...

At this time, Guo Tu also added:
"My Lord, according to our plan, we will order the grain merchants in the capital to burn the grain and fodder, and threaten Your Majesty with a food shortage and famine in the capital to revoke your order. If Your Majesty insists on his own way, then the result will obviously be a lose-lose situation.

"The capital is absolutely short of food now. As long as we control Jizhou and guard the Yellow River, Youzhou and Jizhou will have no food to enter the capital.

"But in addition to the North China Plain, the Han Dynasty also has the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain, and Nanyang is also a fertile land. Now that Nanyang is controlled by Yuan Shu, he will obviously control the land of Nanyang and block the transportation of grain from Jingzhou and Yingchuan to the capital.

"My lord, you should put aside your prejudices with Yuan Shu and work together. In this critical moment, it concerns the survival of the Yuan family and the future of my lord. We must unite to face the outside world and force a famine to break out in the capital to buy us time!

"If the children of the Yuan family join forces, relying on the network of connections throughout the world of Yuan's students and former officials, as well as the complex connections and in-laws of the aristocratic families, a miracle may happen!"

...

"Gong Ze (Guo Tu) speaks from the bottom of his heart!"

Yuan Shao sighed, nodded and said: "I will write a letter to Gonglu (Yuan Shu) in person. I believe he will understand that the current situation is no longer a joke!"

...

This made Yuan Shao's civil and military officials somewhat happy. Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu represented the descendants of this generation of the Yuan family. After the death of Yuan Ji in the capital, the two of them would be the successors.

Although Yuan Shu was the second legitimate son, he was not as outstanding as Yuan Shao, the illegitimate son. The two of them fell out over conflicts of interest.

But it has not yet come to the point of war as in original history. If we can put aside our prejudices at this time, we can certainly work together!

In fact, at this time, it was not only Yuan Shao's civil and military officials who were making suggestions and planning for the future.

Yuan Shu, who was fighting outside Xuanyuan Pass, also understood the current situation, and his civil and military officials worked together.

The Yuan family's conspiracy and tricks came to nothing with the death of Yuan Wei, and their plans in the capital were completely ruined!

however!
The Yuan family of Runan had three dukes in four generations, and their students and former officials were all over the country. Moreover, the aristocratic families and relatives who were closely related to the Yuan family would definitely stand on the side of the Yuan family.

Because this is a struggle between aristocratic families and imperial power!
After Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling launched the "Party and Faction Persecution", the conflict between the aristocratic families and the imperial power had become increasingly serious.

During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the aristocratic families secretly fanned the flames. It was their revenge against the "Party and Faction Ban" of Emperors Huan and Ling, forcing the court to delegate military power and lift the ban on party and party bans.

The situation has reached the point where the aristocratic families overwhelm the imperial power, local warlords are divided and the imperial court is out of control!
This time, Yuan just wanted to go a step further and turn the emperor into a puppet by deposing and enthroning the emperor!
But who would have known that the current emperor was so wise and brave, with great talent and strategy, and his previous cowardly behavior was just a disguise!
Because of the current emperor's forbearance, all the scheming of the Yuan family came to nothing in the end, and they even lost all their plans for the capital!

But it doesn’t matter, they can still look at the world!
They will let the emperor see that the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, and the world belongs to their family, not the emperor!

The aristocratic family is permanent, but the emperors come and go!
……

(End of this chapter)