Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1454 Gentleman
As soon as Guan Yu finished speaking, all the voices in the court fell silent.

Although everyone was shocked by Guan Yu's determination, it was too risky to refuse peace talks and continue to go to war with Wei. For a moment, everyone's eyes were on Liu Chan.

When Liu Chan saw that everyone was looking at him, he felt panic for no reason. He subconsciously turned his gaze to Xu Shu, only to find that Xu Shu was looking at someone else.

Xu Shu saw the current situation and knew that it would be difficult to negotiate peace with the State of Wei, but he still wanted to fight for it, so he looked at Jian Yong, who was second only to himself in civil servant status.

Jian Yong had something on his mind, and seeing that he could not avoid it, he gritted his teeth, stood up and said, "I have been following the late emperor for more than 30 years, and have seen too many disputes among the princes."

"When the late emperor was alive, he hated Cao Wei very much, not only because it was a cruel and despicable regime, which was not tolerated by the world, but also because Cao Mengde was a sinister and despicable person, and many people fell into his trap."

"At that time, Cao Wei was not the strongest, but it used the strategy of sowing discord to break up its allies that opposed it one by one, thus achieving the final victory."

"When Yuan Benchu ​​passed away, his two sons Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang had not yet fallen out, but Cao Cao used marriage with Yuan Tan as a lure and successfully made Yuan Tan join Cao. As a result, the two sons turned against each other, broke up and fought among themselves, and in the end both were defeated, allowing Cao Cao to obtain Jizhou."

"Similarly, when Liu Jingsheng died, he also used the strategy of supporting Liu Cong and using the Jingzhou scholars to suppress Liu Qi, which led to the Jingzhou scholars turning against him and surrendering. He then seized most of Jingzhou without bloodshed."

When Jian Yong said this, the officials from Jingzhou who spoke up felt hot on their faces. What he said was too harsh, and they were unable to refute it. If it weren't for the Jingzhou gentry wanting to cling to Cao Cao, Jingzhou would never have been divided into its current situation, divided up by the Jin, Wei, Han and Nan factions.

Jian Yong's expression remained unchanged. "This was especially true when Cao Cao took Yizhou before his death. Liu Zhang was clearly in power at that time, and although Liu Mao was older, he was idle and did not care about government affairs. As a result, when Cao Cao tried to surrender, he gave both of them the same official position."

"This made Liu Zhang wary, fearing that Liu Mao would take advantage of this opportunity to take power, so Liu Mao died suddenly for unknown reasons, which led to a complete split between the two factions. When the Cao Wei army arrived, officials from Liu Mao's faction surrendered without a fight. This led to the Cao Wei army's unstoppable force, which fought all the way to the city of Chengdu. Liu Zhang saw that the situation was hopeless, so he had no choice but to open the city and surrender."

After these words were said, it was the turn of the Yizhou officials to feel uneasy. Jian Yong's words stabbed into their hearts like a knife, and after a few twists and turns, they exposed the bloody truth about the loss of Yizhou.

However, Xu Shu's heart was in turmoil. In his eyes, all these years, he had always thought that Jian Yong was just a good-natured man who worked diligently, never offended anyone with his words, and seldom expressed very clear opinions on anything. But now, the way he spoke and argued had completely exceeded Xu Shu's understanding. Was Jian Yong hiding his incompetence, or was there someone behind him?

Jian Yong's expression remained unchanged as he continued, "Cao Wei also used the marriage to win over the Sun family in Jiangdong. Sun Ce was assassinated and Sun Quan took the throne. Although the truth is unknown, Cao Wei must have played a role in this."

"Cao Wei's marriage alliance method is a tried and tested one. It was even used on the King of Jin. What they are best at is to create rifts in the enemy alliance and cause it to break up."

"I have concluded that Cao Wei must have also privately contacted and negotiated with Jin. If they are like this with our Ji Han, how could they not bow to the more powerful Jin?"

"However, this attempt must have hit a wall in Jin State, so Wei State is so anxious to cease fire with Hannan, so the price offered is higher and more tempting."

"I guess that Cao Wei may have secretly used marriage to ally Your Majesty, right?"

After hearing this, Xu Shu pretended to be calm, but Liu Chan almost jumped up and asked subconsciously: "How did you know that, my dear?"

When the officials saw this, they were immediately shocked and thought to themselves, how could this really be true!
And judging from the situation, I'm afraid Liu Chan and Xu Shu knew about it but kept it hidden from everyone. But I don't know why Jian Yong found out and revealed it in public!

Everyone had a look of surprise and doubt on their faces, and they all looked at Jian Yong, thinking that the only person who could get this information must have some extremely high-level secret channel. How did Jian Yong have such means?

Xu Shu couldn't help but ask: "How did Xianhe know?"

"Did the Jin State tell them?"

Jian Yong shook his head and said, "I have nothing to do with the State of Jin. I just have something to say that I can't help but express."

"It's the same with General Guan. Although we have had contact with Jin, we have always stood on the side of Hannan."

"We have followed the late emperor for decades and understand his bottom line. If we make peace with Cao Wei, how can we face the late emperor if he knows about it?"

After this was said, Sun Qian stood up and sighed: "Xianhe is right. I was eager for quick success and instant benefits, but I forgot the teachings of the late emperor. I am really ashamed."

"The late emperor once said that Cao Cao was a Han minister in name only, but in reality he was a Han traitor. He would rather die in battle against Cao Wei than live in disgrace."

"Cao Wei was the culprit for the fall of the Han Dynasty. Now that I, Ji Han, have revived the Han Dynasty, should I forget this great hatred?"

Jian Yong said in a deep voice: "That's right, the Han and the thieves cannot coexist, and the king's cause cannot be half-hearted!" As soon as these words came out, the officials who had followed Liu Bei the earliest stood up and echoed them, saying in unison: "The Han and the thieves cannot coexist, and the king's cause cannot be half-hearted!"

The remaining officials of Jing and Yi looked at each other. When they saw Xu Shu lowering his head and not saying anything, they also stood up and said, "We second the motion."

Xu Shu lowered his head, listening to the voices coming one after another. The outcome was already decided, and his heart was filled with frustration. He had ultimately failed this time. Did he really take the wrong path?
But for some reason, he gradually felt a sense of relief in his heart. Over the years, he had tried every means to keep Hannan alive, and he felt that this was the true way to carry on the late emperor's will.

Little did he know that he was blinded by one thing and forgot the original intention of following the late emperor. The reason why the Han Dynasty existed and the reason why Ji Han gathered these people in front of him was not because they agreed with the late emperor's ideas and were unwilling to compromise anymore?

Thinking of this, Xu Shu showed a trace of relief on his face. He raised his head and clasped his hands to Liu Chan from a distance, "I second the proposal."

"Your Majesty, please issue an order to attack Cao Wei and wipe out the Han thieves!"

Half a month later, Xiahou Dun, who was stationed in Baidi City, received the letter from Ji Han. He unfolded it and his face changed drastically.

In the letter, Ji Han not only rejected Cao Wei's request for peace talks, but also denounced Wei for destroying the Han Dynasty, which was a heinous crime. He said that Ji Han and Wei were irreconcilable and that he would send troops to destroy Cao Wei that very day to repay the Han Dynasty and Liu Bei's spirit in heaven.

Xiahou Dun summoned Xin Pi and showed him the letter. Xin Pi was speechless for a while. After a long pause, he sighed and said, "These crazy people of Ji Han, even if they let Jin State take advantage, they still want to fight to the death with Wei State?"

"This is dangerous. Jin has also refused to negotiate. Both sides will send troops by the beginning of next spring at the latest, or even now."

"The Jin army attacked Hanzhong from Fangling Shangyong and Wuzhangyuan, and Ji Han attacked Chengdu from Baidi City along the Yangtze River. With the national strength of Wei, they are simply unstoppable!"

"Let's not talk about the route to Hanzhong. It's difficult to get supplies to Baidi City. With the current military strength and logistical materials, it's difficult to stop Hannan, which has the support of Jin State. We must prepare for a rainy day."

Xin Pi tried his best to speak politely. In his opinion, it was not necessarily impossible to stop the war. If it were Sima Yi, it might be possible to delay it for two years, but Xiahou Dun, who was in charge of logistics, could not do so.

It is impossible to change the defense now, because it is obvious that the pressure on the Hanzhong route is greater. Now, in Xin Pi's opinion, the possibility of defending both routes is not great, so we need to prepare early to deal with the worst case scenario.

Xiahou Dun said in a deep voice: "I think so too. Now, although it is dangerous to go along the Yangtze River for supplies, at least most ships can only come here, but it is difficult to go back, so the ships are stationed in Baidi City. If we only defend, these ships are useless."

Xin Pi was also in a great headache. It was easy to come from Chengdu to Baidi City, but difficult to go there. The supply ships were almost disposable, and the cost of shipbuilding was not a small amount. The loss and time spent on land transportation were too great. After two years of fighting, the finances of the originally prosperous Yizhou had begun to become tight. There was really no point in wasting time here.

He said, "If we want to slow down Ji Han's offensive, the most economical way is to shrink our defense and move the defense line back hundreds of miles to the west. This way, Ji Han's supply line will be lengthened, and it will pass through the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. Even if we can transport troops here, they won't pose much of a threat."

"Hannan will launch an offensive by the beginning of next spring at the latest. Our plan now is to survive this winter and retreat as soon as spring comes. This is the only way to protect the route to Chengdu."

Xiahou Dun listened and nodded helplessly, "Okay, I will send a letter to the court now and ask them to respond as soon as possible."

The news that Ji Han refused to negotiate and continued to fight with Cao Wei soon reached Nanchang. At the same time, a secret letter containing details of the debate in Ji Han's court also arrived.

Yuan Xi leaned against the window and closed the door to rest. He waited until Master Bu Lian finished reading the contents of the secret letter before he opened his eyes and said, "Although the layout was complicated and took several detours in the middle, it is a good result after all."

The ideas that Jian Yong had in the court would never have been so clear and inflammatory if he had only relied on the intelligence and brain he possessed, so they were naturally instilled by humans.

However, this method was so brilliant that Jian Yong thought it was something he came up with on his own, but he didn't know that it involved several channels and the hard work of countless people.

Yuan Xi had long begun planning how to use the righteous cause to guide public opinion in the court of the Han Dynasty.

He asked Zhuge Liang and others to come up with arguments that would most touch the old ministers like Liu Bei, refine them, and then use several channels, mainly Mrs. Mi, and through conversations with Mi Zhu to hint and guide them. Then Mi Zhu, in his meeting with Jian Yong, unconsciously used these ideas to influence Jian Yong.

Mi Zhu had already distanced himself from political affairs, so Jian Yong was naturally not too wary of him. In addition, he himself also agreed with this point of view, so he unknowingly formed what he thought was his own independent ideas, and with some information leaked intentionally or unintentionally, he finally spoke them out in the court.

Guan Yu's statement, coupled with the support of the civil officials, made Ji Han resolutely break with Cao Wei. The situation in the world was settled and returned to the general direction of destroying Cao Wei first.

Yuan Xi sighed in his heart, a gentleman deceives others with his own tricks, and only Ji Han’s group of gentlemen would be fooled by a villain like me, right?

(End of this chapter)