The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 66 Yuan Shao initially held a defensive position but later became respectful, personally leading his troops to welcome Liu Bei.
In terms of military command ability, Yan Liang was not actually among the top tier in Yuan Shao's camp.

Yan Liang, who had followed Yuan Shao for at least ten years, was still seen by Ju Shou as merely a brave warrior, incapable of being a general who could stand alone.

It can be seen.

Yan Liang was trusted and entrusted with important responsibilities by Yuan Shao not because of his talent, but because of his unwavering loyalty to Yuan Shao.

Among the men of Hebei, there were many who were better at commanding troops than Yan Liang, but none were more loyal than Yan Liang!

For example, Qu Yi defeated 30,000 with only 800 men at the Battle of Jieqiao, completely dominating Gongsun Zan. Under normal circumstances, he should have become Yuan Shao's top general.

However, Qu Yi, relying on his great achievements, became arrogant and unruly. He had a history of betraying Han Fu, and after defeating Gongsun Zan, he did not take Yuan Shao seriously.

Such subordinates, no matter how capable, will become a thorn in the side of their lord.

If Qu Yi doesn't die, Yuan Shao will.

Yuan Shao didn't want the best general to command troops, but rather the most loyal general.

From the perspective of a ruler, Yuan Shao's valuing and trusting Yan Liang was not entirely wrong.

Just as Cao Cao knew that Xiahou Dun was not good at commanding troops, he still created various opportunities for Xiahou Dun to make meritorious contributions.

The same applies to Liu Bei.

In the past, when Zhang Fei was guarding Xuzhou, he was unable to control Cao Bao internally or resist Lü Bu externally, which led to the loss of Xuzhou.

Did Liu Bei not know that Zhang Fei was not capable enough at the time?
No, Liu Bei knew.

However, at that time, Liu Bei could only trust Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as generals. Guan Yu followed Liu Bei on expeditions, so only Zhang Fei could defend the city.

In Hebei, internal strife is frequent.

Ju Shou also oversaw both internal and external affairs, and his power and prestige intimidated the three armies, making Yuan Shao quite wary of him.

Yuan Shao insisted on having Yan Liang lead the charge at Baima because he wanted to cultivate Yan Liang and hoped that Yan Liang could win a brilliant victory at Baima to silence the criticism, especially Ju Shou.

Ju Shou said that Yan Liang was impetuous and narrow-minded.

Then let's use our achievements to slap Ju Shou in the face!
Never thought.

Yan Liang not only failed to achieve any victories to humiliate Ju Shou, but also suffered heavy losses and dampened the morale of his vanguard!

For Yuan Shao: Yan Liang's defeat is a minor matter; victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, and a true hero can start over.

What Yuan Shao couldn't accept was that Ju Shou had strongly advised against using Yan Liang beforehand, and now Yan Liang had indeed been defeated, causing Yuan Shao to lose face.

Cao Cao's disdain for Yuan Shao stemmed from this very reason.

If Cao Cao were to encounter such a situation, he would certainly invite Ju Shou to his tent immediately, apologize to Ju Shou, and say, "I regret not heeding Ju Gong's advice, which led to this defeat."

But there's no way Yuan Shao would apologize to Ju Shou!
How could the powerful Yuan family, whose members held high office for four generations, be inferior to Ju Shou?
Yan Liang kowtowed to the ground, filled with shame.

If my lord is humiliated, I shall die.

Yan Liang made a snap decision, drew his dagger, and prepared to commit suicide to atone for his sins.

"enough!"

Yuan Shao gave a stern shout, stopping Yan Liang's actions.

If death could solve the problem, Yuan Shao would have had Yan Liang dragged out and beheaded long ago.

"Upon returning to camp, copy down military strategies and do not leave your tent for ten days."

Yuan Shao gave him a punishment that was neither painful nor effective.

Yuan Shao would never truly punish a general who swore to serve him to the death.

Yan Liang was both moved and ashamed, and left in tears.

Not long after.

Xin Ping brought Liu Bei's letter inside. After inquiring about etiquette, his first words were a slander against Ju Shou: "When passing by Ju Shou's camp, Ju Shou laughed loudly because Yan Liang had been defeated."

Although he had guessed that Ju Shou would laugh at him for not heeding his good advice, Yuan Shao's anger was still unbearable when he actually heard Ju Shou laughing loudly because of Yan Liang's defeat, as told by Xin Ping: "How dare Ju Shou do such a thing!"

Xin Ping, fearing that Yuan Shao would confront Ju Shou, immediately changed his tone: "Supervisor Ju has always been arrogant and regarded the soldiers as ants. General, you must not be angered by Ju Shou. There is a letter from the Left General here."

A clever transition.

This would both slander Ju Shou and prevent Yuan Shao from confronting Ju Shou face to face.

In terms of framing colleagues and eliminating dissidents, Xin's commentary is still above average.

"Liu Bei's letter?"

After glancing at the contents of Liu Bei's letter, Yuan Shao was furious, remembering that Ju Shou had said Liu Bei's entry into Hebei was a trick by Cao Cao, and then remembering that Ju Shou laughed because of Yan Liang's defeat.

"It was all because of Ju Shou's unfounded suspicion that the young master almost missed out on a great sage. Liu Bei participated in the imperial edict to punish the rebels; how could it have been a trick by Cao Cao?"

"I shall personally go to greet him!"

By initially adopting Ju Shou's advice and neglecting Liu Bei, Yuan Shao genuinely began to doubt Liu Bei.

Now, Yuan Shao is personally welcoming Liu Bei, but this is actually due to the impact of Yan Liang's defeat, as he is ashamed to see Ju Shou.

This would be a perfect excuse to avoid meeting Ju Shou while welcoming Liu Bei; it would also allow them to capitalize on Liu Bei's arrival and revive the morale lost due to Yan Liang's defeat at Baima.

The deeper intention was that Yuan Shao wanted to bring Liu Bei into the fold to counterbalance the various officials in Hebei.

When Yuan Shao plotted to eliminate the eunuchs, he used this tactic before: he summoned many fierce generals and heroes from all directions and ordered them to lead their troops to the capital to coerce the Empress Dowager.

As a result, things went wrong. Yuan Shao did not expect Dong Zhuo, a protégé of the Yuan family, to have the audacity to turn against the Yuan family.

Although there was the cautionary tale of Dong Zhuo, times had changed. Yuan Shao, relying on his family background, reputation, and ten years of management of Hebei, was not worried that Liu Bei would turn against the Yuan family like Dong Zhuo had.

By the time Ju Shou heard that Yuan Shao had personally led his troops to welcome Liu Bei, Yuan Shao had already been out of the camp for half a day.

Enraged, Ju Shou stamped his foot: "Yan Liang has just been defeated, and instead of reflecting on his actions, the General personally leads his troops to welcome Liu Bei. How foolish he is!"

Ju Shou had always harbored hostility towards Liu Bei.

Especially after learning that Liu Bei had acquired Zheng Xuan's collection of over six thousand volumes of books, their hostility towards Liu Bei intensified.

With Zheng Xuan's collection of over six thousand volumes of books, given time, Liu Bei could easily gain a reputation among the scholars of Hebei.

As a descendant of the Han dynasty, a Left General, and a former warlord who controlled a region, how could he be someone who would remain subservient to others for long?
Wasn't Yuan Shao good to Cao Cao?

When Cao Cao was in dire straits, he was given troops, generals, territory, and provisions. Now, however, Cao Cao is on par with Yuan Shao!
In Ju Shou's eyes, people like Cao Cao and Liu Bei were wolves that could not be tamed and would eventually become a great threat!

However, Ju Shou also understood that Yuan Shao had led his troops to meet Liu Bei without even giving a heads-up, clearly indicating that he did not want to be interfered with.

"Ugh--"

Ju Shou couldn't help but sigh deeply.

Yuan Shao could not heed Ju Shou's advice, and what could Ju Shou do even though he saw through Liu Bei's intentions?

What Ju Shou didn't know was that Xin Ping's spy had overheard his earlier remark, "How foolish!"

And on the other side.

Liu Bei also received a reply from Yuan Shao and Hua Yan.

The letter stated: "The General has traveled two hundred li east of Liyang and wishes to personally welcome the Left General. The Left General should hurry west."

"Yuan Shao actually led his troops to welcome me?"

At first, he turned a blind eye, but now he has raised an army to welcome him in person. Yuan Shao's actions have surprised and puzzled Liu Bei.

Zhuge Liang saw through the situation and smiled, fanning himself, "In my opinion, Yuan Shao's attack on Baima failed, and his morale has been dampened. Therefore, he personally welcomed General Zuo to boost morale."

　Asking for monthly ticket
　　
　
(End of this chapter)