I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 355 Begins the Yuan Clan's Path to Usurp the Han Dynasty
After that, Yuan Feng and Cheng Li discussed in detail what needed to be done and how to deal with some unexpected situations.

Once the discussions were nearly complete and Yuan Feng felt confident, he instructed Cheng Li to return and contact Yuan Shu's subordinates to ensure they shared a unified understanding and narrative.

Cheng Li nodded and quickly found Jia Xu, sharing the matter with him.

Jia Xu and Cheng Li had worked together for many years and had a good understanding and relationship. He was quite surprised to learn of this.

"I didn't expect you to be able to persuade Lord Yuan! I thought this matter had to be handled by you, young master."

“My lord is very busy with many affairs of state. As his subjects, we should share his burdens.”

Cheng Li slowly said, "But no matter what, this matter is still somewhat difficult. Putting aside everything else, there is a problem with Yuan Taipu. Over the years, Yuan Taipu has been getting very close to the party members, and their intentions have become increasingly clear. They simply want to support Yuan Taipu to ascend the throne."

On Yuan Taipu's side, besides the partisans, he also had Yuan Shao as his ally. Yuan Shao's wife was the daughter of Li Ying, and she held considerable influence among the partisans. These two brothers, joining forces against the young master, did indeed wield some power, and must be guarded against.

Jia Xu nodded.

"Previously, Yuan Sikong was careless and allowed Yuan Benchu ​​to lead troops to quell the rebellion, thus gaining some military power. Now it seems that they are both civil and military. In my opinion, the first thing we should do is to take away Yuan Benchu's military power and not let him continue to control a force."

Cheng Li strongly agreed with Jia Xu's opinion.

In the middle of the fourth year of the Zhengshi era, some bandits and mountain bandits caused trouble in Yingchuan and Runan counties, and the imperial court decided to suppress them.

At that time, the best candidate was naturally Grand Commandant Duan Jiong, who also requested to lead troops into battle, and Yuan Feng agreed.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Shao, who had just finished his term as governor and returned to Luoyang to serve as an advisor, also requested to lead troops into battle.

Yuan Feng, considering Yuan Shao's successful experience in leading troops to quell rebellions during his tenure as governor, and also out of a sense of guilt and a desire to make amends to Yuan Shao, allowed Yuan Shao to accompany Duan Jiong as a colonel to suppress the rebellion.

After the rebellion was successfully quelled, Yuan Shao also made some military achievements. When he returned, Yuan Feng appointed Yuan Shao as the Commandant of Changshui, giving him control of one of the five battalions of the Northern Army.

At the time, Yuan Feng had no idea that Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao had actually gotten together and were quite close. It wasn't until Yuan Wei told him about it that he realized he had made a small mistake.

However, Yuan Shao had made meritorious contributions and had not made any mistakes, so it was obviously inappropriate to remove him from his position without cause. Therefore, Yuan Feng did not take any action. However, in order to warn Yuan Shao not to act recklessly, he summoned Yuan Shao and warned him, both openly and subtly, not to get too close to Yuan Ji.

Later, Yuan Shao did indeed reduce his contact with Yuan Ji on the surface, but he secretly told Yuan Ji about this, which made Yuan Ji feel even more dissatisfied and resentful towards Yuan Feng.

No one knew about this matter, not even Jia Xu and Cheng Li, but that didn't stop them from considering Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao as being in cahoots and being wary of them together.

According to the plan, Yuan Feng was to first advise or persuade Yuan Ji to voluntarily relinquish his position as heir, so that Yuan Feng could smoothly designate Yuan Shu as the heir, and Yuan Ji could then gain a reputation for abdicating and yielding the throne.

Then Yuan Feng would promote the concept of "deep brotherly affection and respect between brothers" to make outsiders feel that the Yuan family was harmonious and happy, thereby ensuring that Yuan Shu would treat Yuan Ji well and that the relationship between the sons would not break down.

Although Cheng Li felt that the chances of success were slim, Yuan Feng was, after all, a father, and he still had feelings for Yuan Ji. He did not want Yuan Ji and Yuan Shu to become enemies or even fight each other because of this matter.

He did not want the Yuan family to descend into internal strife and even bloodshed, so he hoped to resolve the matter peacefully.

After Yuan Fengping resolved the matter and stabilized the internal relations of the Yuan clan, he gathered all the forces within the Yuan clan to unite against external forces, implemented the suggestions made in Cheng Li's memorial, and began to weaken the ruling foundation of the Liu family of the Han dynasty, thus paving the way for Yuan Shu.

This marked the official start of Yuan Shikai's path to usurping the Han throne.

In this way, it can be said that they, as his subjects, have accomplished something for Yuan Shu.

“The young master has treated us with great kindness, but we have rarely been able to do anything for him. If this important matter is accomplished, it will be a way to repay the young master’s great kindness. Therefore, I must accomplish this matter no matter what. I will not hesitate to let outsiders obstruct me, but if anyone within the organization dares to obstruct me, I will not let them off!”

A cold glint flashed in Cheng Li's eyes.

Jia Xu also agreed with Cheng Li's determination.

These people have received too much preferential treatment and promotion from Yuan Shu. Without Yuan Shu, they would never have made it this far, and they don't know how much more suffering they would have had to endure.

Now Yuan Shu himself is suffering in the north, fighting to the death against the threats of the Xianbei, while his subordinates are enjoying a life of luxury in Luoyang. If they can't even do this much for Yuan Shu, they might as well commit suicide together!
Leaving aside external difficulties, at most we can take strong measures to eliminate those who overcharge, but if internal corruption and scoundrels also appear, that would be a matter of extreme severity.

Not to mention what Cheng Li might do, Jia Xu wouldn't hold back either. He grew up in the Shura Field of Liangzhou, so he's not only smart, but his skills are definitely not weak either.

However, upon thinking about this, Jia Xu suddenly noticed something.

"Zhongde, have you told the young master about this? You wouldn't be doing this behind his back, would you?"

Cheng Li shook his head.

"Of course I won't hide it from you, young master. I just told you that I would definitely make this happen for you and asked you not to worry. As for what you will think, or even whether you will come back to Luoyang, I don't know."

After hearing this, Jia Xu said nothing more.

As long as Yuan Shu knew about this, he had nothing to worry about. Yuan Shu did indeed know about this.

After Cheng Li told him that Liu Kui was dead, he received another letter from Cheng Li. In the letter, Cheng Li clearly told Yuan Shu everything he was going to do.

They also said that this was something they, as subordinates, wanted to do voluntarily for Yuan Shu.

They were deeply grateful for Yuan Shu's years of cultivation and had no way to repay him. They could only repay Yuan Shu's kindness in this way, and hoped that Yuan Shu would not blame them for acting on their own initiative.

Yuan Shu was initially surprised, but considering that Cheng Li had taken the initiative to do this, he wasn't surprised anymore.

Whether this matter can be accomplished, and whether it can be accomplished in my absence, is indeed hard to say.

Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao are both in Luoyang now. In the past few years, he has been doing a lot of business in the north. Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao have not been idle in Luoyang either. Cheng Li sends him news every month, telling him everything that Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao have been doing in Luoyang. So the two of them have been under Yuan Shu's surveillance all along.

The brothers joined forces, befriended party members and celebrities, and used their status to arrange positions for the children of party members, thus engaging in a certain degree of competition with Yuan Shu's Yixinhui group within the larger framework of the Yuan family group.

Yuan Shu secured a large number of grassroots positions for the Yixin Hui Group, enabling many Yixin members to take on these positions and develop their abilities. However, occupying too many positions can also cause resentment and is not good for long-term development.

Therefore, under Yuan Shu's instructions, the Yixinhui Group made some concessions, giving up some positions to Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao. However, this was not an admission of defeat, but rather a consideration for long-term development.

However, this also fueled the arrogance of Yuan Ji, Yuan Shao, and the partisan group. Subsequently, they further extended their reach to military power, allowing Yuan Shao to accompany Duan Jiong south to quell the rebellion as an officer. As a result, Yuan Shao actually gained some military merits and was able to serve as the Commandant of Changshui.

To be honest, Yuan Shao did have some military talent. Although Duan Jiong intentionally restricted him, using the pretext of doing it for his own good to prevent him from fighting on the battlefield, he still found an opportunity to make contributions, taking advantage of Duan Jiong's loopholes and making Duan Jiong very embarrassed.

The two brothers now wield some political influence and have a force within the military that obeys their orders; they have clearly made a name for themselves.

If Yuan Shu himself were to fight them, even if the two brothers were tied together and multiplied by ten, they might not be his match. However, Yuan Shu is not in Luoyang now, and the Yixin Group's biggest weapon cannot be used. Can Cheng Li and Jia Xu, two officials with a salary of one thousand shi, really accomplish this task?
Yuan Shu felt it was hard to say.

But he wasn't too worried, because after all, they were Cheng Li and Jia Xu, two famous ruthless men who were not lacking in strategy or decisiveness. If provoked, they were fully capable of taking ruthless measures, even killing him.

Therefore, Yuan Shu replied to Cheng Li, asking Cheng Li to ensure the safety of Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao and not to cause their deaths. He then appointed Cheng Li as the second vice president of the Yixin Society, officially handing over all the authority of the Yixin Society in Luoyang to Cheng Li, in order to help Cheng Li succeed in his work.

His subordinates were full of initiative and wanted to do things for him, their boss. Even though he wasn't there, he couldn't just sit idly by; he had to give them some authority.

Previously, he and Lu Zhi were both in Bingzhou. The Yixin Society's headquarters in Luoyang was divided into four teams, each in charge of its own affairs, without unified leadership. Now, Yuan Shu felt it was time to concentrate their efforts on major tasks and to bring together the strength of the Yixin Society to see if his years of investment had been worthwhile.

As for whether he will return to Luoyang...

Yuan Shu felt that this was debatable.

The death of Liu Kui is not important, nor is the ascension of Liu Li to the throne. What matters is whether the ensuing political turmoil can end in his complete victory.

If Cheng Li can really accomplish this and defeat Yuan Shao, Yuan Ji, and those partisans, then Yuan Shu feels that there is indeed no need for him to go back.

Grateful subordinates want to repay kindness, and young subordinates want to make achievements. As a leader, he should give these people some opportunities.

However, if Cheng Li couldn't do it, and he couldn't successfully counter their combined counterattack, then Yuan Shu felt it was necessary for him to go back.

We can't just stand by and watch our subordinates fail, can we?
As for the situation in Bingzhou...

And the sandalwood tree that might head south at any time...

Yuan Shu felt it was best to strengthen defenses and reconnaissance, hoping that Tan Shihuai wouldn't head south so quickly. But if he really did head south, there was really nothing he could do but adapt to the situation.

Meanwhile, in Luoyang, Yuan Feng, deeply moved by Cheng Li's words, finally made up his mind to truly fulfill his duties as "King Wen of Zhou" and do something for his eldest son, Yuan Shuzhen.

His son has given him so much to be proud of, and this time, he hopes to be a father that his son can be proud of.

Although he had to face his other son, which was somewhat awkward, he had to admit that what this son had been doing lately had really made him dissatisfied.

He repeatedly warned Yuan Ji not to get too close to that group of party members, to just pretend to be friendly with them, but not to actually become one with them. However, it seems that Yuan Ji did not listen to him completely and was still very close to that group of party members.

In Luoyang City, Yuan Shu wasn't the only one with his own intelligence team; Yuan Feng did too. After he paid special attention to Yuan Ji's close relationship with the party members, Yuan Ji had almost no secrets to tell his father.

Furthermore, Yuan Ji indeed lacked any sense of secrecy or intelligence, relying on his allies and subordinates rather than himself for many things.

So when Yuan Feng summoned him to the Ministry of Personnel's office, he didn't know why Yuan Feng had called him there.

Then, he was reprimanded by Yuan Feng with a stern face.

(End of this chapter)