Han officials

Chapter 216 Three Schemes Counter One Poison [12]

Yuan Shao observed Feng Ji's behavior and took the initiative to ask him questions.

Seeing this, Feng Ji simply said frankly, "This humble servant does have a plan, but if we implement it, it may harm your reputation and you will inevitably be criticized in the future. Therefore, I do not know whether I should speak of it or not."

Unexpectedly, Yuan Shao was pleased rather than angry upon hearing this, and immediately said impatiently, "Speak freely, I will forgive you!"

As for the damage to his reputation, Yuan Shao didn't care at all. After all, his reputation had already been tainted since Han Fu's suicide, so a few more stains wouldn't matter.

Seeing that Yuan Shao himself didn't care, Feng Ji also put aside his concerns.

He first asked his attendants to bring out a map of the Han Dynasty, and then pointed to the vast area beyond the northern border, saying: "Since the chieftain Tanshihuai united the Xianbei and established a royal court, these barbarians have raided Han lands to the south, resisted the Dingling to the north, retreated to Fuyu to the east, and attacked Wusun to the west. They have occupied all the former territory of the Xiongnu, spanning more than 14,000 li from east to west and more than 7,000 li from north to south, encompassing mountains, rivers, lakes, and salt lakes. They are truly a formidable enemy of the Han Dynasty, and their ferocity is even greater than that of the Xiongnu in the past. For decades, the nine border prefectures have all suffered from their ravages."

"Therefore, Emperor Xiao Huan once sent an envoy with an official seal to confer the title of king upon Tan Shihuai, intending to make peace through marriage. However, Tan Shihuai refused to accept it, and the raids and plundering became even more severe. Although Tan Shihuai is now dead and the Xianbei are scattered, the strength of the Xianbei army still makes it a powerful country beyond the Great Wall, incomparable to the likes of the Xiongnu and Wusun."

At this point, Feng Ji's eyes turned cold as he said, "I have heard that when Wei Gongwei was in Liaodong, he attacked the barbarians as if they were his enemies, and he often erected a Jingguan (a mound of skulls) to intimidate the barbarians. This shows that the enmity between us is very deep. If Your Excellency is willing to reward us handsomely and entice the various Xianbei tribes to come south and attack Youzhou, and then our army takes the opportunity to attack them, then the Wei army will be attacked from both sides and will inevitably be unable to advance or retreat."

Feng Ji said smugly, "In this way, let alone taking back the counties and kingdoms of Zhongshan, Bohai, and Hejian, it will not be difficult to seize Youzhou as well!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall fell silent, their expressions varied.

Shen Pei looked dissatisfied, Xu You frowned slightly, and Guo Tu seemed to be deep in thought.

As for Yuan Shao, who sat high in the hall, although he remained expressionless, neither sad nor happy, he couldn't help but feel a stirring in his heart.

Indeed, given the current strength of the Wei army, most people wouldn't dare to offend them, nor would they be qualified to be their enemies.

Instead of going to great lengths to give Wei Zhe some minor ailments, it's better to just go for the ruthless one!

At the same time, Guo Tu shook his head after thinking for a moment and said, "Yuan Tu's plan is ingenious, but the methods are too crude. It may be acceptable to listen to, but it would be as difficult as climbing to heaven if it were actually implemented."

Upon hearing this, Feng Ji was naturally unconvinced and immediately gave him a cold, sidelong look, saying, "Please enlighten me!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Tu immediately retorted without any politeness: "Since the death of Tan Shihuai, the various Xianbei tribes have been in internal strife for a long time. In recent years, they have been busy vying for power among the Xianbei, so border raids have become rare. They are less harmful than the Wuhuan. How could mere wealth entice them? You should know that Wei Gongwei has made his name and reputation spread far and wide beyond the Great Wall by defeating the Hu people. Even if these Hu people dare to go south, I'm afraid they won't be too serious. At the slightest sign of trouble, they will probably flee far beyond the Great Wall."

Guo Tu sneered, "Since the barbarian invasion from the south is merely a show of force, how can they possibly launch a pincer attack on our army?"

Upon hearing Guo Tu's words, Yuan Shao, who had initially been somewhat tempted, began to hesitate again.

Indeed, while the Xianbei were a major threat to the border regions during Tan Shihuai's lifetime, the greatest threat to Youzhou became the Wuhuan after his death. It's worth noting that the Wuhuan instigated Zhang Chun's rebellion. From this perspective, the Wuhuan of the five commanderies even accomplished something Tan Shihuai himself couldn't.

Furthermore, both the Xianbei and Wuhuan people were opportunistic and treacherous.

Yuan Shao was not stingy with money, but he was afraid that these barbarians would be untrustworthy and take the money but not do anything.

If that's the case, when Yuan's army launches a major offensive, they might end up being tricked by these barbarians instead.

However, Feng Ji was no pushover. He quickly devised a way to remedy Guo Tu's criticism.

Feng Ji smiled confidently and said, "Sir, your words are mistaken. Don't you know how to guide the situation?" After saying this, Feng Ji bowed to Yuan Shao and said, "The Hu people are greedy for profit, so we can use profit to drive them. If we reward them with a large-scale plunder of the counties of Youzhou, the Hu people beyond the Great Wall will surely be moved. In addition, we can reward them with titles and grant them the seal of Chanyu. In this way, how could the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes not serve you, my lord?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Tu did not continue to argue. After a moment's thought, he nodded in agreement with Feng Ji's scheme.

However, Guo Tu had nothing to say, but Xu You suddenly shook his head and said, "This plan is good, but it is not perfect!"

Before Feng Ji could speak, Xu You took the initiative to explain: "Wei Gongwei's troops are strong. Whether it is the Xianbei or the Wuhuan, they will not be able to match them unless they fight to the death. Therefore, wealth and status alone are probably not enough to make the Hu people beyond the Great Wall fight to the death. We need to set up other bait!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Ji was at a loss for words.

After all, it was already quite an achievement to be able to get the Xianbei and Wuhuan to take action; to expect the Hu people to fight to the death was a bit of a stretch.

Let alone the Hu people, there's no guarantee that the armies of Ji Province will fight with all their might in the prefecture, let alone the Hu people.

Fortunately, Xu You was not deliberately targeting Feng Ji, and he naturally had a solution to the problem he raised.

Xu You walked to the map with a cold look in his eyes and pointed to the land of Liaoxi, saying, "All the prefectures east of Lulong Pass can be granted permission, so that the Xianbei tribes in the east can compete with the Wuhuan of the three prefectures for profit. In this way, Liaozhou will surely be in chaos."

After saying that, he walked to the right and pointed to Bingzhou, saying, "All the prefectures west of Yanmen Pass can also be ceded to the Xianbei Budugen tribe. This barbarian tribe has tens of thousands of followers and is quite powerful. As for Youzhou..."

At this point, Xu You pointed directly to Dai County and Shanggu County and said, "The Xianbei in the central region have been eyeing this place for a long time. If we offer these two counties as a reward, Kebineng will fight to the death and not retreat. In that case, Youzhou will surely be in great chaos."

It must be admitted that Xu You's open strategy was indeed brilliant.

But as soon as he said this, the main hall of the governor's mansion fell into a deathly silence.

Even Yuan Shao, who was at the head of the table, couldn't help but show a look of surprise.

You should know that with Xu You's casual stroke, the territory he ceded was more than a thousand miles.
He gave away the Hetao region, Liaodong region, Haidong region, and even the former Youyan region with a single sentence.

Let alone the nomadic tribes beyond the Great Wall, anyone would be willing to risk their lives for such a vast territory.

No matter how arrogant Yuan Shao was, he wouldn't dare make such a decision at this moment.

In contrast, the attitude of the examiner was much more obvious.

Shen Pei said with a gloomy expression, "Xu Ziyuan, do you want to ruin our lord's reputation for eternity?"

Although Xu You was not relinquishing the land of Ji Province, and Shen Pei was indeed very attached to his hometown, he still could not tolerate it.

After all, these territories were opened up by generations of Chinese ancestors through painstaking efforts, starting from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

It's one thing if their descendants can't expand the territory, but how can they cede it to the barbarians?

Shen Pei was indeed from Jizhou, but he was also a son of Yan and Zhao, and he would never do something so disloyal to his ancestors!

(End of this chapter)