I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 367 He's crippled

It turns out that Yuan Ji, unwilling to relinquish his right of succession, chose to join forces with Yuan Shao and a group of partisans to plot a rebellion and seize power.

Initially, they planned to emulate Yuan Feng and Yuan Shu's actions and storm the palace to control Yuan Feng, but they abandoned the plan due to a lack of troops and instead set up their operation at the residence of the Minister of Works, Yuan.

They knew that Yuan Feng would return home to rest on the first or fifteenth of each month and hold a banquet to invite important officials from the court. They believed that this was when Yuan Feng's guards were at their weakest, so they planned to launch an attack and kidnap him at that time.

They attempted to seize Yuan Feng's military power, control the entire Luoyang, and then become the helmsmen of the Han Empire.

However, they overlooked some of the details and difficult issues, naively believing that they could succeed as long as they captured Yuan Feng.

Incidentally, all the high-ranking officials attending the banquet would become their prisoners, which would further help them control the situation.

However, they were completely unaware that their actions would soon be leaked and discovered by Yuan Feng.

Out of filial piety, Yuan Feng couldn't bear to harm his sons, so he arranged for Yuan Wei to transfer the Changshui Battalion away as a warning to Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao not to act recklessly. However, this did not deter the two rebellious sons; instead, it emboldened them to commit evil.

"I originally thought that as long as I took away the military power from the rebellious son, I could make them stop their rash actions and not do such extreme things. But I never expected that they would still decide to continue such a rebellious thing."

I considered taking them down beforehand, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I still had a sliver of hope that they would pull back from the brink, so I kept warning them not to do anything reckless. In the end, I couldn't stop their greed!
"Gentlemen, I'm so sorry to have startled you. This was all due to my soft heart; it's all my fault. I apologize to you all. Airing family scandals in public was not my intention, but I never imagined that my unfilial son would be so audacious as to lay a hand on his own father. It truly breaks my heart!"

After listening to Yuan Feng's explanation, the still-shaken crowd gradually calmed down and understood what had happened.

Although there were some points worth noting, they didn't delve into them in this context, given Yuan Feng's explanation; after all, the scene and events were already shocking enough.

In order to avoid losing his right to succession, Yuan Ji's eldest son actually launched a counterattack against his father, attempting to seize the throne by kidnapping him and to seek control of the entire country. It's unclear whether Yuan Ji was simply too audacious or lacked common sense.

Did he really think that by kidnapping Yuan Feng, he could rule the whole country?

Yuan Feng was able to maintain his position not only because of his personal abilities and the efforts of his protégés and former officials, but also because of Yuan Shu's strong military capabilities.

As Yuan Feng said, a person with prestige can mobilize troops even without a military tally, while a person without prestige cannot mobilize a single soldier even with a military tally.

Yuan Ji clearly did not understand this principle.

However, regardless of the circumstances, after doing such a thing, he has lost his status as a son. He can no longer be considered a qualified son, and from now on, he can no longer walk between heaven and earth as the eldest legitimate heir.

He is useless.

Yuan Feng immediately announced the removal of Yuan Ji's right to inherit according to the rites and laws. As an unfilial son, a rebellious son, and a traitor, Yuan Ji would be completely plunged into the abyss, never to rise again.

Similar to him was Yuan Shao. As the successor of Yuan Cheng's lineage, he did not earnestly implement the Yuan family rules, but instead participated in this rebellious act.

He was also rendered useless, stripped of his status as the heir of Yuan Cheng's lineage.

Yuan Feng plans to select a suitable successor from the Yuan clan to fill the bloodline of Yuan Cheng.

In this way, Yuan Shu, as the second in line of succession according to the rites and laws, naturally moved forward to become the rightful first in line of succession according to the rites and laws.

With proper etiquette and strength in place, Yuan Shu's position as successor was finally secure and could no longer be changed.

Soon, Yuan Feng made the matter public.

Yuan Feng publicly announced to the world the treasonous acts of his two sons, Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao, and declared that they would be punished and that the party members who conspired with them would be held accountable.

These party members were unlucky and unfortunate. They couldn't even catch the last drop of shit, and they couldn't get on Yuan Shu's good side. They had to settle for second best, but they never expected that this "second best" would be so bad, so utterly bad.

As a result, the thirty-seven party officials, represented by Chen Xiang and Wang Lei, who were indeed involved in this matter, were all arrested by Duan Wei, the Commandant of the Capital Region, at Yuan Feng's behest.

When the officials and clerks of Zhongdu broke into the homes of these party members, they were terrified. A considerable number of them had armed troops at home because they were preparing to participate in the incident, and they engaged in a battle with the officials and clerks of Zhongdu.

Of course, their combat strength and equipment were far inferior to Duan Wei's meticulously trained troops, and they were quickly killed and captured by the officials and clerks of Zhongdu.

Wang Lei was killed on the spot by officials and clerks of Zhongdu for fierce resistance, and his entire family was eventually exterminated. Chen Xiang, in utter despair, committed suicide to avoid being interrogated and humiliated by Yuan Feng later. This was clearly unacceptable to him.

However, Yuan Feng didn't care anymore. These guys were finished, and they were finished for the crime of treason. So they were all given very severe punishments. He was to be executed, his family members were to be sold into slavery, and his clansmen and friends were also to be implicated.

Taking this opportunity, Yuan Feng launched a major purge in the court, clearing out the faction's influence and venting his long-standing dissatisfaction and resentment towards them. He dealt a heavy blow to the faction.

They were a political force that had been saved by the Yuan family and was barely clinging to life, yet they were ungrateful and attempted to split the Yuan family. After doing such a thing, it was only natural that Yuan Feng launched a major purge against them.

Eastern Han society was still one where revenge could be openly discussed; revenge was politically correct.

The number of officials executed for this matter rose to 43, while 236 people were implicated and demoted or dismissed from their posts. The sons of the partisans who had been promoted by Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao through various means were basically all taken down.

After experiencing two periods of persecution and a purge led by Yuan Shikai, the party group finally disintegrated and declined. This group, which had been forged amidst attacks and persecution, finally met its end due to its own limitations and greed.

As for the positions and benefits left behind after the group's downfall, Yuan Feng divided them in two. He gave one part to his old protégés and former subordinates, and the other part to Cheng Li, who was to distribute it among the Yixin Society as a reward.

Yuan Feng's attitude became even clearer, and all the officials in the court knew this inevitable outcome. A turmoil with a profound impact on the future was thus resolved in a very short time, without causing any further waves.

The abolition of the eldest son's title and the establishment of the younger son's title did indeed happen, but no one can blame Yuan Feng, because the abolition of the eldest son's title and the establishment of the younger son's title was based on the son's rebellion and filial impiety towards his father. This rebellion and filial impiety was enough to destroy the eldest son's advantage in accordance with the rites and laws.

No father can accept a son who rebels against him as his heir, even if he is the eldest son.

Thus, Yuan Shu's future became a foregone conclusion.

Yuan Shu was completely unaware of all of this.

Without his knowledge, his father and his men had joined forces to accomplish an important task for him.

In a sense, this could also be seen as "after entering the pass, great Confucian scholars will naturally come to debate the classics for me".

Yuan Shu originally planned to return to Luoyang to check on the situation and attend Liu Kui's funeral, but he never expected that his father and his subordinates would bring him such a big surprise, which directly relieved his worries about the fire in his backyard.

He was truly astonished when he received Yuan Feng's letter.

Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao actually self-destructed, destroying their own path to survival and eliminating any chance of a comeback. They became utterly wicked, and even if they didn't die, they would be severely punished, with no future for them.

Good heavens, they actually managed to do that?
In Yuan Feng's letter, Yuan Shu still had some unanswered questions, but in Cheng Li's letter later, all of Yuan Shu's questions were answered.

The reason this matter had escalated to this point was partly due to the stupidity of Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao, and partly due to the deliberate actions of Yuan Feng.

Yuan Feng wanted to completely eliminate the uncertainty surrounding Yuan Shu's status as heir, so he deliberately indulged Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao, allowing them to ruin themselves through their actions.

After reading the letter, Yuan Shu felt that, from his perspective, Yuan Feng was truly a great father.

However, from Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao's perspective, they would probably complain to God about why such a cold-blooded and ruthless person had to become their father.

To put it another way, if Yuan Shu were in Yuan Ji's shoes, he would probably have reached an even more despairing conclusion.

However, to Yuan Shu's surprise, Yuan Feng's series of decisions were quite inconsistent with his usual style of doing things. Yuan Shu could not imagine that Yuan Feng could be so cold and ruthless towards Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao.

Even if it's for the sake of maintaining the stability of their status as heirs, it doesn't have to come to this, does it?
This is tantamount to turning Yuan Ji and Yuan Shao into sinners despised by everyone, with no chance of ever recovering. It was a bit too ruthless.

Yuan Shu read Cheng Li's letter several times, still finding it hard to believe.

Looking left and right, he suddenly noticed something, and after reading the letter several times, a bold conjecture gradually formed in his mind.

However, Yuan Shu is not sure about this conjecture yet. He can ask Yuan Feng for confirmation when he sees him in the future.

(End of this chapter)