I will be the master of Xuande

Chapter 775 The strongest person in the Yuan family

Yuan Shu and Yuan Tan began to act separately.

Yuan Shu took Yuan Shao's appointment and some of the troops assigned to him by Yuan Shao and began to advance towards Jiangling.

At the same time, Yuan Shu also asked Yuan Tan to separate some of his direct troops and secretly follow him to Jiangling.

If the time comes, Yuan Shu will be ready to seize power in Jiangling.

At the same time, Yuan Tan also began to have close contact with Zhou Tai in Xiangyang.

The uncle and nephew discussed how to act separately, and then the two parties communicated at any time.

Jiangling is not very far from Xiangyang. Soon, Yuan Shu and others arrived at Jiangling.

He presented Yuan Shao's appointment to Cai Mao.

Cai Mao felt a little uncomfortable when he saw that Yuan Shao asked Yuan Shu to come as the consul of Jiangling City and at the same time supervise the army for himself.

Yuan Tan was also cheerful when he saw Zhou Tai.

Don't blame Yuan Shao for not believing in him, Cai Mao.

Following Yuan Shu's instructions, he first went to make friends with Zhou Tai.

So Yuan Tan randomly told Zhou Tai: "Youping, I have visited you many times, not for other reasons, but to discuss important matters! Now, my father is seriously ill, and the situation in Jingzhou is critical, and in Xiangyang City, there are many people who know how to fight. There are not many people.”

Moreover, Yuan Tan treated him with great courtesy, and he could even be called a corporal.

Zhou Tai was very puzzled by Yuan Tan's behavior. He asked Yuan Tan: "The eldest son was so kind to Tai and gave generous gifts. Zhou received the salary for nothing, and he was really scared. He didn't know who the eldest son was. What do you mean? If the eldest son doesn’t say anything, I’m afraid Zhou Tai won’t be able to have any further friendship with him.”

Compared to Yuan Shu's side, Yuan Tan's speed was much faster.

After all, when he was in Jianghuai, he also caused great anger and resentment.

Alas, distrust is normal!

But now, as Yuan Shao's eldest son, Yuan Tan took the initiative to make friends with Zhou Tai, which naturally made him feel flattered.

Moreover, he also had a reputation in Luoyang City as Yuan Jiujiu, a tough guy on the road. Cai Hao felt that he could not afford to offend such a person.

In this case, then serve Yuan Shu well.

After all, no one is a fool. Yuan Shao asked Yuan Shu to come over, and there was no doubt that he did not trust him.

Zhou Tai is quite a decent person, or perhaps because of his background, he has never been favored by Yuan Shao's high-born people. Originally, Yuan Shao also had Jiang Qin who had a good relationship with him, but now This only friend also died, and Zhou Tai lived a very lonely life.

……

"Zhao Yun's troops stationed in Xinye are really a serious problem for us."

Zhou Tai said: "Fifty miles south of here is General Huang Zu's army. If Xiangyang is changed, General Huang's army will arrive soon, and the eldest son does not need to worry too much."

It would be strange not to doubt it.

Seeing that Cai Mao was so smart, Yuan Shu felt very satisfied.

Moreover, after having known him for many days, I found that he also had an upright temper, just like Sun Ce, so I stopped talking to him.

Cai Mao had been captured alive by Liu Jian before, but he was released unharmed by him.

"You are my father's most important general. My father entrusted the defense of Xiangyang City to you. It can be said that my father has unique vision."

Zhou Tai and Yuan Tan got along very well. They came to visit Zhou Tai personally for several days and gave him heavy gifts.

This Cai Mao is really a person who adapts to the changing circumstances.

"If Zhao Yun's army suddenly attacks, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you alone to defeat them."

Although Yuan Shu has always been honest under Yuan Shao, Cai Mao also knows to some extent what kind of virtue he originally had.

From this point of view, it is not difficult for him to quickly control power in Jiangling.

Although he was reused by Yuan Shao, he was actually not very happy in his heart.

After he met Yuan Shu for the first time, he ordered people to quickly submit the land rolls and household registrations of Jiangling and the townships under Jiangling's jurisdiction, including the tax revenue of the past year, to Yuan Shu, indicating that he was willing to transfer all the land to Yuan Shu. Sincerity to transfer power to Yuan Shu.

Zhou Tai never thought that he would be so valued by the eldest son.

So lonely.

In this way, it depends on how Yuan Tan handles the matter.

Therefore, Cai Mao expressed his respect for Yuan Shu very seriously.

Let alone Yuan Shao, anyone else would feel a little uncomfortable.

"This is not a good thing after all."

In addition, Yuan Tan was originally a man of outstanding merit. Among Yuan Shao's sons, he was the best at military affairs, which was very attractive to Zhou Tai.

"Currently, everyone in Xiangyang City is paying attention to my father's illness, but no one has the intention to defend against the powerful enemy in the north."

Cai Mao also knew in his heart that his situation was special, and his sister was now Liu Jian's concubine...

"However, I'm afraid it won't be easy to defend the Northern Army with just the troops under your command."

Since Yuan Shao wants him to be his boss, then he should recognize him as his boss.

But now, what can he do?

Yuan Tan smiled when he heard this and said: "Although Huang Zu has many soldiers and horses, I really can't trust his own ability to use troops."

"When Youping and General Huang fought together in Nanyang County, they must have known this man's methods."

"Putting Xiangyang's safety on him, to be honest, I have no confidence in my heart."

After hearing what Yuan Tan said, Zhou Tai chuckled. In fact, he did think so in his heart. Huang Zu was indeed untrustworthy.

It's not that he is not loyal enough to the Yuan family, but that his level is indeed average.

In fact, Huang Zu's skill in using soldiers was not bad, but in Zhou Tai's eyes, he just wasn't good, at least not in terms of aggressiveness.

Zhou Tai then raised his hands to Yuan Tan and asked, "How dare I ask, Master, what do you think of the current situation in Xiangyang?"

Yuan Tan said: "I intend to send my elite soldiers to Xiangyang City to take turns guarding the four gates of the city with Youping's soldiers and horses, making Xiangyang City more stable. The elite soldiers under my command were all recruited from Yuzhou. It can be said that it has been battle-tested for a long time. If we can work together with Youping's elite troops to guard Xiangyang, even if Zhao Yun suddenly raises his troops to kill him, we will be confident that we can stop him from outside the city. "

"When the time comes, it won't hurt if General Huang is a little slower."

Zhou Tai seemed a little hesitant when he heard this. He immediately raised his hand to Yuan Tan and said: "The important matter of city defense is entrusted to me by the lord. If the eldest son's soldiers and horses are allowed to come to garrison, I'm afraid it will be a little troublesome." It’s against the rules.”

Yuan Tan said: "I also know that this matter is a bit against the rules."

"But now is an extraordinary time, and extraordinary things must be done."

"Now my father is seriously ill, and there are tigers and wolves approaching from the north, and Liu Jian has already conquered Yizhou. Under such circumstances, if we continue to act according to the usual method, we may not be able to defend Xiangyang."

"This is a time of life and death. If you are too rigid, you may be killed."

After listening to Yuan Tan's words, Zhou Tai thought seriously for a while.

Then, he saw Zhou Tai and said: "Master, I am a rough man and I don't know much about these things. I only know that the Yuan family is very kind to me, so I will help the Yuan family fight. As for how to fight this battle, it turns out that I am Listen to the lord, now the lord is seriously ill, from now on, I am willing to listen to the eldest son!"

This is said so well that anyone can understand its connotation.

Actually, think about it.

It is impossible for Yuan Shang to reuse someone with Zhou Tai's background.

If Yuan Shao dies, Zhou Tai's future will rest on Yuan Tan, which is the best choice.

Yuan Tan was very happy to see Zhou Tai being so enlightened.

"In that case, I will arrange for my men to come and assist the general in his defense on a certain day."

Finally, Yuan Tan finalized the matter with Zhou Tai.

At first, he did not dare to arrange too many people to come to Xiangyang City to change the defense, fearing that Zhou Tai and he were not of the same mind.

But as time went by, he discovered that Zhou Tai was really not very defensive about him.

No matter how many soldiers he sent, Zhou Tai would arrange them properly. Of course, the management of these soldiers still rested with Zhou Tai.

At the same time, good news came from Yuan Shu's side, which made Yuan Tan feel very excited!
The time has come to take action.

It seems that autumn is approaching, and at this time, the soldiers and horses from the north will not attack easily.

Various parts of the south are also catching up with the autumn harvest and are actively stocking up on food.

At this time, the official duties of officials at all levels were very complicated.

For Yuan Tan, this is a good time to make a move.

Therefore, after communicating with Yuan Shu, Yuan Tan decided to launch a coup in mid-October.

First, he imprisoned Yuan Shao, and in Yuan Shao's name, he began to appease the counties in Jingzhou and take power as quickly as possible. In addition, he also made up his mind to kill Yuan Shang no matter what this time.

Yuan Tan learned that Huang Zu's troops would assist the officials in Xiangyang City in harvesting grain during the autumn harvest. This was also to speed up the transportation and storage of grain and prevent Zhao Yun from Xinye in the north from sending troops to snatch grain and destroy the autumn harvest. .

Zhou Tai didn't know what happened during this period, but suddenly got sick.

He temporarily handed over the city defense of Xiangyang to his deputy generals, and Yuan Tan's generals now assisted Zhou Tai in changing the defense. Although they were nominally following his orders, they were actually independent.

This gave Yuan Tan a good opportunity to control the four gates.

The opportunity was too good to miss, so Yuan Tan no longer hesitated, but took action as soon as possible.

He led his trusted soldiers and horses to the south gate of Xiangyang on the night of October 15th, in the name of changing defenses. At this time, the person commanding the south gate of Xiangyang was Yuan Tan's confidant. He opened Xiangyang for Yuan Tan. The gate of the city.

After Yuan Tan's troops entered the city, he did not hesitate to divide half of his troops to seize the Xiangyang arsenal, while he himself led the troops and horses in a hurry towards Yuan Shao's official residence.

At the same time, he ordered his soldiers to block the four gates and not allow anyone to enter or exit!
According to Yuan Tan's plan, he will decide the overall situation within an hour!

But what Yuan Tan didn't know was that in the official residence in Xiangyang City, Yuan Shao was sitting on the main seat in the main hall, without the sick look of the past!
And Zhou Tai, who should have been ill at home, was standing next to Yuan Shao with a serious look on his face.

Yuan Shao was sitting in the main seat with his eyes half closed, thinking about something carefully.

The expression on his face seems to be quite calm, but if you look closely, you will find that there is a hint of pain in his expression.

Gan Ning hurriedly ran into the main hall.

"My lord, the eldest son has taken action!"

When he heard this, he saw Yuan Shao open his eyes.

There was grief in his eyes.

"This unfilial son finally took action."

"Xiansi, Xiansi, you are really worthy of me!"

"There are also roads. Do you really think I'm a fool?"

"Okay, in that case...since you are determined to take a dead end, then Yuan will use you...to calm the hearts of the people in Jingzhou."

Having said this, Yuan Shao stood up slowly and said to Gan Ning and Zhou Tai: "You two, follow the instructions in advance and welcome the unfilial son for me!"

"only!"

(End of this chapter)