I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 877 Yuan Shao's Promotion
In April, Luoyang Nangong, the Government Affairs Hall.

"Meet Mr. Tang!"

As soon as Su Yao came in, he saw important officials such as Lu Zhi, Xun Yu, Zhu Jun, Wang Yun and Jia Xu standing solemnly beside him and bowing to him.

Su Yao was conferred the title of Duke today, which not only meant that he obtained the actual fiefdoms of Taiyuan, Shangdang, Yanmen, Changshan and other places, but also because he was granted a position above all the dukes, Su Yao officially surpassed the princes and dukes in the court in terms of ritual rank.

Now, even the famous Taifu Lu Zhi, who is respected by the world, has to be polite when meeting Su Yao.

However, Su Yao himself didn't care much about these empty formalities. He waved his hand to signal everyone to skip the formalities, strode over, and got straight to the point:

"No need to be so polite, the military situation in the south is urgent, let's get down to business."

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu immediately submitted a military report: "Reporting to Lord Tang, Lu Kang's son Lu Jun came to the capital the day before yesterday to warn. He said that Yuan Shu led 100,000 troops to besiege Lujiang, and the situation is critical. Yuan Shao has led his army eastward, claiming to fight against the rebellion on behalf of the court."

"One hundred thousand troops?" Su Yao raised his eyebrows. "Didn't Yuan Gonglu just suffer a defeat and be driven away by us? Why are there so many people here?"

Xun Yu stepped forward and explained, "After Yuan Shu occupied Huainan, he recruited refugees and recruited the private soldiers of local tyrants. He claimed to have 100,000 soldiers, but the actual number of combat troops was about 40,000."

"As for Yuan Benchu, he mobilized more than 10,000 soldiers from Nanyang and Runan under the banner of the imperial court, and conscripted 30,000 civilians, claiming to have an army of 50,000."

Su Yao snorted: "These two brothers are good at bluffing. But since Yuan Shao took the initiative to volunteer, it saves us some trouble."

Yuan Shu of Huainan openly rebelled, so he is naturally Su Yao's top priority target at the moment.

But marching an army to war is no joke.

Not to mention that the north has just been settled, many affairs need to be dealt with urgently, and the people's hearts have not yet completely won over, just look at the state of the imperial guards under his command. It would not be a wise choice to rashly transfer troops to the south on a large scale again without sufficient rest.

Yes, Su Yao’s army is in bad condition.

This does not mean that the soldiers' morale is low, but quite the opposite. His army has just returned triumphantly from Jizhou, and their morale is high, but the direction is a bit subtle.

At this moment, most of their interest was directed towards the wine shops and brothels around the capital.
After all, the greatest tragedy in life is that people die without spending all their money.

The soldiers had just experienced a great battle and received their reward money. Now was the time for them to calm down and few of them wanted to return to the battlefield of life and death again.

Even the most desperate man wanted to have some fun at this moment. He had to spend most of his reward money before going to the battlefield to risk his life next time.

Therefore, Luoyang city is now experiencing a frenzy of consumption.

Before this wave of enthusiasm subsides, it is not advisable to force the army to march south. The emotions and needs of the soldiers must be taken seriously, otherwise you will have to face a lot of war-weariness DEBUFFs before the war begins.

Wang Yun said worriedly, "Lord Tang, Yuan Shao is an ambitious man. I'm afraid he has other intentions in sending troops this time. If we let him take over Lujiang, he may become too powerful to be eliminated."

"Doctor Wang, you are worrying too much." Jia Xu smiled slightly. "Although Yuan Shao has some ideas, he dare not openly defy the court at the moment. We might as well take advantage of the situation and formally issue an imperial decree to appoint him as the governor of the rebellion and control the Jianghuai army. In this way, if he wins, it will be a meritorious service to the court; if he loses, it will be his poor command."

"What Wenhe said is correct, but the court cannot just let it go," Xun Yu said. "Lujiang is under the jurisdiction of the court after all, and Lu Kang is a loyal minister who performs his duties faithfully. We should provide support as long as we have the strength to do so."

"Indeed." Lu Zhi nodded and said, "Yuan Benchu ​​has limited military strength after all. I think he himself is not sure of victory, otherwise he would not have sent his daughter here in exchange for reinforcements from the court."

Su Yao paused for a moment after hearing this: "Speaking of Yuan Shao's daughter, where is she now?"

Jia Xu bowed and said, "Replying to Lord Tang, Yuan's daughter has arrived in Luoyang and is staying at the post house temporarily. The wedding procession is huge and the dowry stretches for miles, attracting the people of Luoyang to come and watch. It can be said that this is the most eye-catching event in recent days except for the triumphant return of the general."

"Oh, it's quite impressive. Yuan Benchu ​​is willing to spend this much money."

Su Yao sneered, then changed the subject:
"What do you think, does Yuan Shao really want to form an alliance, or does he have other intentions?"

Xun Yu pondered and said, "Yuan Shao's move is to show his loyalty and to buy time. His daughter is sent to the capital as a hostage, so the court cannot immediately use military force against him. In my opinion, we might as well go with the flow and marry his daughter first, and then see what happens."

"Wen Ruo's words are wrong." Wang Yun frowned and objected, "Yuan Shao has evil ambitions. His daughter entering the palace may become his accomplice and leak military secrets. Lord Tang should focus on state affairs and not fall into the beauty trap." As soon as Wang Yun finished speaking, Lu Zhi, Zhu Jun and others also tried to persuade him.

In their view, as the saying goes, "A man who eats someone's food will be soft-hearted, and a man who takes someone's money will be short-handed." Once Yuan Shao accepted this daughter, even if Su Yao was not seduced by her beauty, his words and deeds would inevitably be influenced by her, which would increase Yuan Shao's power in the court and the country. It would be better to make a decisive decision and refuse the marriage, not giving him the opportunity to infiltrate.

Su Yao did not comment on this, and instead asked, "What is the origin of the Yuan family girl, and what is her character like?"

Su Yao asked this question because he knew very well that marriages in this era were often full of calculations, and the so-called daughter was sometimes more of a title.

For example, when the Han Dynasty married the Huns, none of the princesses they sent were real princesses, and the Diao Chan that Wang Yun presented to Dong Zhuo was just a singing girl.

In history, Su Yao didn't know whether Yuan Shao had a daughter or not. Naturally, he had to question this eldest daughter of the Yuan family who suddenly appeared.

But it was obvious that the Jinyiwei had been prepared.

Wang Ling, who had been sitting at the end of the table, stepped forward and reported:
"Yuan's daughter is named Xiaoyu, she is fifteen years old, and is the daughter of Yuan Shao's wife Liu. She has been very smart since she was young, and is proficient in all arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. She is very much loved in the Yuan family. When she came to the capital this time, Yuan Shao not only gave her a generous dowry, but also specially sent twelve maids to accompany her as guards, which shows that he values ​​her very much."

"Oh?" Su Yao raised his eyebrows, "Yuan Benchu ​​is willing to do so."

He thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "Is there anything special about Yuan Xiaoyu? For example, what makes her different from ordinary ladies?"

Wang Ling was slightly stunned, paused and said: "According to the report from the spies, although this girl was raised in seclusion, she has a distinct personality. When she heard that she was going to marry Lord Tang as a concubine, she made a big fuss in the mansion. Later, I don't know how Yuan Shao and his wife persuaded her, but she reluctantly agreed to go on the journey."

"Interesting." Su Yao raised his lips slightly, "It seems that this young lady of the Yuan family is not as willing as Yuan Shao said before."

Xun Yu saw this and quickly advised: "Lord Tang, the marriage is related to the court's etiquette. If the daughter of the Yuan family harbors resentment, she may cause trouble after entering the mansion. It is better to..."

"That's fine." Su Yao interrupted with a wave of his hand. "Since Yuan Benchu ​​is sending me off with such sincerity, how can I let her down? Pass the order down and hold a banquet in the mansion in three days. I want to meet this Miss Yuan in person."

Seeing that Su Yao had made up his mind, everyone was reluctant to try to persuade him.

Lu Zhi shook his head and had to turn his attention to other things:

"We can put the matter of the Yuan family's daughter aside for now, but time waits for no one in the south's military situation."

"Whether Lord Tang wants to accept Yuan or not, the court needs to decide as soon as possible whether to send troops to reinforce Lujiang."

"Of course we have to send the soldiers."

Su Yao walked to the sand table, stared at the terrain of Jianghuai, and ordered:

"Pass the order down. Yunchang will be the commander of this battle. He will bring Zhang He, Qu Yi, and Gao Shun to lead 10,000 garrison troops to Ruyang for support. At the same time, Taishi Ci will be ordered to lead the Qingzhou and Liaodong naval forces and be on standby at any time."

"Yes!" Jia Xu bowed and accepted the order, and immediately began to draft an edict.

Lu Zhi was worried and said, "Lord Tang, isn't it enough to just send troops to the garrison? What if..."

"Don't worry, Lord Lu." Su Yao was confident. "Yuan Shu may seem powerful, but he is actually a mob. Although our garrison troops are not as elite as the imperial guards, they are also strictly trained and well-equipped. Moreover, they are led by strong generals such as Guan Yu, so they will not be at a disadvantage."

"Besides, we are not the only ones involved in this battle. Since Yuan Shao wants to be the vanguard, let him go and challenge Yuan Shu first. If he can't defeat Yuan Shu even with this kind of support, he is not worthy of being the leader in this chaotic world. As for Lujiang."

He pressed his finger heavily on the sand table of Wancheng: "If Lu Kang can hold on and wait for help, it will be his credit; if he can't, I don't mind meeting these two brothers in person."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Yao's tone became cold and serious: "Doesn't Yuan Benchu ​​want to play the role of a loyal minister to me? Then send an imperial edict to him, appointing Yuan Shao as the Grand Commander-in-Chief of the Anti-Rebellion Army, commanding the Jianghuai Army, rescuing Lujiang, and attacking Yuan Shu. Tell him that if this battle can capture and kill Yuan Shu, I will ask the court for credit for him; if he dares to disobey in public and miss the opportunity to fight..."

Su Yao snorted coldly, his eyes flashing coldly: "I don't mind going south in person to deal with the Yuan brothers together!"

(End of this chapter)