noffsinger Chapter 232 Yuan Xuan and Feng Fangnu! How to deal with Yuan Shu's family?
Chapter 232 Yuan Xuan and Feng Fangnu! How to deal with Yuan Shu's family?
Under the candlelight
Liu Xun fell into a brief silence.
Compared to his disloyal generals, Liu Xun clearly preferred to trust his cousin Liu Ye.
Seeing that Liu Xun still hadn't spoken, Liu Ye said urgently:
"Is there anything else you need to worry about, Brother Xun?"
Liu Xun nodded and said:
"Ziyang, to be honest, the generals under my command only nominally serve me as their master."
"In reality, they each had their own agendas."
"Even if they don't say it, I understand that there are many who intend to join Sun Ce, and many who intend to continue their independent rule."
Liu Ye smiled and said:
"I thought it was something serious!"
"Is such a small thing worth worrying about, Brother Xun?"
"Brother Xun might as well send someone to inform them that we will have a meeting at the City Lord's Mansion at noon tomorrow."
"Those who refuse to come will be executed as traitors!"
“Those who are willing to come, Brother Xun can take the opportunity to control them, recruit their subordinates, and then make them have no choice but to follow you, Brother Xun.”
Liu Xun opened his eyes wide, his fingers trembling slightly.
"Ziyang, am I being a little unfair?"
Liu Ye patted Liu Xun on the back and sighed:
"Are you expecting them to chop off your head before you realize what's happening?"
Liu Xun suddenly realized what was happening.
What a load of rubbish about morality and ethics!
Those who follow the rules live, those who defy them die—that's the way things are done in this chaotic world.
Noon the next day
With Liu Ye's assistance.
Liu Xun successfully brought his restless subordinates under control.
Subsequently, Liu Xun surrendered Lujiang County to Cao Cao and volunteered to be the vanguard in attacking Shouchun!
Shouchun was the last stronghold of the Zhong family dynasty.
Yuan Yin, Yuan Yao, Ji Ling, Yang Hong, and others all occupied this place.
……
Cao Cao's temporary camp near Huainan
More and more separatist forces in Huainan sent envoys to surrender to Cao Cao.
Of course, there were also a few who dreamed of remaining independent and ignored Cao Cao's warnings.
In response, Cao Cao's generals divided their forces into several groups and dealt with these people who failed to recognize the situation one by one.
Right now
Cao Cao's tent
Su Yu and Cao Cao shared a pot of Dukang wine.
Gazing at the continuous drizzle outside the tent, Cao Cao sighed deeply:
“Runan, Nanyang, and Huainan were once some of the wealthiest regions in our Han Dynasty.”
"Nowadays, thanks to Yuan Shu's meddling, the people's livelihood is in such a state of ruin."
"I wonder how long it will take to restore the prosperity it once was."
Even Su Yu couldn't give Cao Cao an answer to this question.
If Su Yu remembered correctly.
These areas, historically speaking, had not recovered even half of their former prosperity until the mid-Cao Wei period, specifically in 240 AD when Deng Ai established military farms in the Huai River region.
Under Yuan Shu's "wise leadership," the population loss and land abandonment were unprecedented.
This is why, during the Battle of Guandu, although Cao Cao's territory seemed to be about the same as Yuan Shao's, or even slightly larger, he simply couldn't muster enough troops.
Every single one of Cao Cao's territories was a desolate and ravaged land!
Needless to say, Yanzhou and Xuzhou were both places where Liu Bei, Lü Bu, and others caused a lot of trouble.
The destruction of Yuzhou, Nanyang, Huainan and other places by Yuan Shu was far more severe than the damage caused by war!
The Guanzhong region, particularly Chang'an, was in utter chaos, having been successively ruled by Dong Zhuo, Lü Bu, Li Jue, and Guo Si.
now.
With Su Yu's help, Yanzhou and Xuzhou did not suffer the same devastation as in previous histories, and their base remained quite stable.
However, Yuzhou, Nanyang, Huainan and other places will definitely require a lot of effort to manage.
How should it be managed?
Su Yu is a good-for-nothing; how would he know how to manage things?
He could at most write a title for the paper and let Xun Yu and the "young talents" of the Ministry of Personnel figure it out slowly!
At this moment, faced with Cao Cao's lament about the hardships of the people, Su Yu, in order to avoid continuing into this sorrowful atmosphere, changed the subject, saying:
"My lord, let's talk about serious matters."
"What do you plan to do with Yuan Shu's family?"
Cao Cao stroked his chin and pondered:
“Then Yuan Yin and Yuan Yao should naturally be executed.”
"As for the women, I, Cao, should not have made things difficult for them."
"But Yuan Shu committed the heinous act of declaring himself emperor, and according to Han law, all his family members should be executed."
Su Yu curled his lip and said:
"I heard that Yuan Shu's wife is only in her early thirties, and is still very beautiful."
"Is our lord truly so heartless that he won't help this woman?"
After Su Yu said that, Cao Cao said righteously:
"Although the laws of the Han Dynasty were strict, they should also be analyzed on a case-by-case basis."
“After all, the highway and Cao have known each other since childhood. Cao has left behind a widow who is still alive, and Cao cannot but take care of her.”
"As for the daughter of the highway, I can only trouble Ziyi to take good care of her."
Su Yu also looked solemn and clasped his hands in greeting:
"This is naturally my duty."
"It is our duty, and we cannot shirk it!"
The two looked at each other with great admiration.
The division of female relatives is now complete.
But Su Yu didn't expect that he would soon have a new surprise.
……
Shouchuncheng
Yuan Yao somehow acquired a knock-off dragon robe and indulged in the fantasy of being an emperor for a while.
As the second emperor of the Zhongjia Dynasty, Yuan Yao had the potential to become a ruler who would bring about the downfall of his kingdom.
Although Ji Ling and Yang Hong were there to assist him.
However, the people in Shouchun City were filled with fear and had no hope for the future.
Everything seemed to have become numb.
City Lord's Mansion Backyard
A girl who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old was holding a flute and had tears streaming down her face.
Her name was Yuan Xuan, and she was Yuan Shu's illegitimate daughter and only daughter.
Yuan Xuan did not have much affection for her father, Yuan Shu.
After all, she was just a concubine's daughter, and at best, she would be used as a tool for political marriage when she grew up.
Yuan Shu, a man of such pragmatism, would not take a mere concubine's daughter too seriously.
But now, Yuan Shu is dead, and he died as the emperor of the Zhong Dynasty.
According to Han law, all family members of a person who plots a rebellion would be executed.
Yuan Xuan was filled with fear.
Her fear subsided somewhat when she saw another woman walking towards her.
“I was just as panicked when my father passed away.”
"He fled Luoyang and almost lost his life."
"Now, it is just another life-or-death ordeal."
"Don't worry, Miss Xuan, I will go with you."
"I will never let you suffer humiliation before I die."
The woman was even more beautiful than Yuan Xuan, possessing a natural beauty that was "like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without any artifice."
Her father was Feng Fang, one of the Eight Colonels of the Western Garden and a colleague of Yuan Shu.
Due to the different timelines, Feng Fangnu has not yet married Yuan Shu; she is merely being raised in the Yuan household.
(Historically, she married Yuan Shu around 197 AD.)
……
P.S.: Happy first day back to work! Here's the first update of the day~ I'd love to ask you all for 50 gifts, please help me by clicking to send them and contributing your love. I'll keep you in suspense for a bit, I'll post some beautiful pictures of Feng Fangnu in the "Author's Note" later!