Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1207 Conspiracy
Facing Ding Yi's question, Yang Xiu was also considering his words in his mind. Naturally, he had different motives from the Ding brothers, but no matter what, it was not appropriate to speak out at this time.

Because unlike the Ding family, the Yang family's attitude and position towards the emperor are closer, because in a sense, the Yang family is under very heavy moral and public opinion pressure.

There was no other reason. At that time, the Hongnong Yang family and the Runan Yuan family were known as the only two large families in the world because both of them had three dukes in four generations, and the number of three dukes in the Yang family was more than that in the Yuan family. This situation certainly made the Yang family the largest family in the world, but in the eyes of the people of the world, it also became a moral shackle on the Yang family.

The Han court is so kind to you, Yang. Don't you want to serve your country but become a rebel?
Therefore, Yang Xiu could understand why Yang Biao had to risk his life to follow Emperor Liu Xie when he fled. This was certainly because Yang Biao was loyal to the Han Dynasty, but he had no other choice because the whole world was watching him.

Yang Xiu was somewhat envious of Yuan for this, because Yuan had the nerve to rebel, while Yang couldn't bring herself to do so.

There are two main reasons. First, the two clans passed down poetry and books and did not pay much attention to keeping slaves. They could be called aristocratic families, but not powerful families. Compared with the Mi family, which needed thousands of powerful slaves to protect its property, the reputation of the Yang and Yuan families was their biggest umbrella of protection.

Moreover, the three ministers of the Yang and Yuan families were all known for their integrity, which meant they were destined not to embezzle too much wealth. They were not engaged in business, so they could not afford to support too many servants.

The brothers Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu were able to raise an army because they escaped from Luoyang and left the court system. This allowed them to form an army in the Guandong region, which had always been dissatisfied with the Han court. Naturally, the Yang family, whose family business was in Sili, could not do this.

The second reason is that in terms of poetry and books, Yang was famous for studying the Book of Documents, but Yuan studied the Book of Changes. This also led to different concepts of the two sides on the explanation of imperial power. Therefore, Yang did not have the conditions for Yuan to start a rebellion.

Sometimes Yang Xiu thought that he was extremely envious of Yuan Xi. Although he was a bastard's son, his opportunities and starting point were actually higher than Yang Xiu's. Especially since he was adopted by Yuan Wei's family, Yuan Xi was freed from the shackles and fetters and could do whatever he wanted.

This kind of opportunity was what Yang Xiu had always dreamed of, but could not get, so Yang Xiu had quite complicated feelings towards Yuan Xi. He was a man with high standards and naturally wanted to compete with his peers.

This is also the reason why Yang Xiu, although he was concerned about the Han court, still turned to Cao Cao for advice. He also wanted to try to compete with Xionghu in the field he was good at to see who was better.

Therefore, he supported Cao Zhi for his own selfish reasons. If Cao Zhi came to power, Yang Xiu would be the military advisor and prime minister, and then he could use Cao's power to compete with Yuan Xi.

However, now all these wishes have vanished with the actions of the Yingchuan faction. Yang Xiu knows that he may never have the chance to compete with Yuan Xi again!
Not only that, his life now depends on the power of Yuan Xi, which is even more difficult for the arrogant Yang Xiu to accept. Ding Yi had seen this clearly before, so he asked this question, pointing directly to Yang Xiu's dilemma.

The four friends were all extremely smart people, but they could not avoid the limitation of being in the dark. Yang Xiu looked at Ding Yi, and Ding Yi looked at Yang Xiu, and they both saw things much more clearly than the people themselves.

Facing Ding Yi's questioning, Yang Xiu finally said, "I only speak for my personal opinion."

"Given the way the king behaves, he will never let us live."

Although the three friends were mentally prepared, Handan Chun couldn't help but ask, "Without our faction's restraint, isn't the king afraid that his descendants will be sidelined by the Yingchuan faction?"

After hearing this, Yang Xiu said in a deep voice: "The king will naturally consider these things, but he does not rely on us, but on the Cao and Xiahou families, as well as his true confidants."

"Although I'm not sure who it was, it obviously couldn't be us."

"The Yingchuan sect took action ahead of time, which confirmed our guilt. The king will never attack the Yingchuan sect again for the four of us, at least not at this time."

“So at this moment, we are already dead.”

The three friends looked gloomy. They had worked hard for the Cao family, but they didn't expect to end up like this!

Yang Xiu said in a deep voice: "But as for me, I am not willing to sit and wait for death."

"We have done nothing disloyal to the king, yet we are treated like this. You are not reconciled, and I am even more reconciled!"

"Why should we die?"

Ding Yi echoed: "That's right!"

"Why!"

"No matter what De Zu wants to do, I support De Zu!"

Yang Xiu smiled, "Even if I go and join the fierce tiger and become the king's enemy?"

The three friends were all stunned, but Yang Xiu stood up and said calmly: "I know that you two have a grudge against Xiong Hu for killing your father, so you will never do such a thing."

"So there is another way."

"If you kill me and present my head to the king, you should be able to save your life."

The Ding Yi brothers were stunned. Ding Yi cried out, "What does Dezu think of us? How could we possibly do such a thing?"

Yang Xiu asked, "What else can we do?"

"Even if we escape from the city, who can we turn to in such a big world?"

"Besides, it's still unknown whether we can get out of this mansion."

"On the contrary, if you offer my head, not only can you save your life, but it can also be used as a betrothal gift to marry the princess. It can be said that you kill two birds with one stone."

Ding Yi could no longer hold back and shouted angrily: "What do you think my brother and I are?" "I will rush out right now to lead the enemy away for Dezu and find a way out!"

By doing this, Yang Xiu naturally blocked the conversation. No matter whether Ding Chong had such an idea before, it was impossible for him to put it into practice.

Ding Yi and Handan Chun, who were standing by, also echoed after hearing this: "How could Dezu say such a thing? This really makes you look down on us!"

"We are four friends, so we should advance and retreat together!"

Yang Xiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, he was really afraid of Ding Yi, the biggest variable. If he sold himself out because of Cao Qing, he would be so frustrated.

Now, through his verbal skills, he successfully persuaded Ding Yi to temporarily give up his hatred for the fierce tiger. The initiative was now in his hands.

He said, "I know it's difficult for you two to cooperate with Xionghu."

"But there are three types of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no offspring. For the sake of the Ding family, please be a little more tolerant and patient. I believe that Mr. Ding will understand even in his grave."

"And what we have to do next is to use the power of the fierce tiger to achieve our wishes, so some concessions are inevitable."

Ding Yi said in a deep voice: "You don't need to say more, Dezu. Just tell us your ideas and we will do it together."

Yang Xiu heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this, knowing that most of the work had been done, so he said, "The first thing we need to do next is to save our lives and escape from Yecheng."

"But there are many ways to do this, and waiting here is one of them."

"But doing so is like handing our lives over to God, because the Yingchuan sect will definitely not give up, so we don't know when they will find this place, and then it will be our death."

"The people who sent us here also said before that this place is not absolutely safe, and the time limit for their guarantee of safety is almost up. In other words, we will have to face the Yingchuan faction's search and arrest next."

"So if we don't want to sit back and wait for death, we have to deal with it in our own way."

"I have already mentioned the way to quietly leave the city to the other side, but they said they don't have enough power to do it."

Hearing this, the Ding Yi brothers could not help but frown, but they found that Yang Xiu had not said anything final. Ding Yi could not help but said, "Dezu must have a way, so don't keep us in suspense, just tell us quickly."

Yang Xiu nodded. "It is impossible to catch all the officials in Master Zijian's faction. Many of them are betting on both sides."

"And if the power of these people can be utilized, it may be our chance of survival."

"In fact, many people are not optimistic about whether Cao can defeat Yuan. These people may have contacted Yuan privately."

"What I want to do is to exaggerate the consequences of these people joining the Yuan family, so as to stir up civil unrest in the city and make the Yingchuan faction start to point the finger of suspicion at these people, thus expanding the scope of the search."

"In this way, the Yingchuan sect will definitely injure or capture people by mistake. When there are more and more people, and they are captured by the Yingchuan sect, chaos will arise."

"Then we will use the forces that rescued us and the discontent of the centrists to use a two-pronged approach to confuse the situation in the city and completely disrupt Yecheng!"

"After that, whether we flee in the chaos or use this chaotic situation to counterattack the Yingchuan faction, the initiative is in our hands!"

"I have also thought of a way out. If the situation is really unfavorable, we will take the Fourth Young Master and the Princess and flee to seek refuge with the First Young Master. Then we can establish the Cao family under the name of cooperation with Xionghu!"

The three friends were all shocked when they heard this. This not only meant a complete break with Cao Cao, but also meant that they would have to obey the orders of the fierce tiger from now on!

Ding Chong's face changed several times, and finally he gritted his teeth and said: "Since Cao Cao is unkind to us, don't blame us for being unjust!"

"We were loyal to the Cao family, but Cao Cao abandoned us like a worn-out shoe. Why should we be buried with him?"

"I followed Dezu!"

After hearing this, Ding Yi and Handan Chun knew that there was no other choice, so they agreed. However, Ding Yi was thinking in his heart that his brother might have done this mostly for the eldest princess.

Yang Xiu showed a look of joy, and just as he was about to speak, Ding Yi said, “But Dezu’s plan has an extremely difficult key.”

"The people who rescued us should be Xionghu's men. What reason do they have to trust us and send spies to help us?"

"Aren't they afraid that we will betray them in order to return to the King of Wei?"

Yang Xiu said, "We have come to the key point of Zhengli."

"How to make them trust us is the most troublesome part of the whole thing."

(End of this chapter)