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

Chapter 85 Liu Bei's Strategic Retreat Leads to Advancement; Youzhou Is About to Welcome a New King (3rd Update)
Xu You was not only Yuan Shao's strategist, but also Yuan Shao's old friend and close acquaintance.

Xu You's advice to Ju Shou, who prided himself on his loyalty and wisdom like Fan Zeng and also deeply disliked Liu Bei, to go to Zhuojun as a military supervisor to hinder Liu Bei, demonstrates that Xu You was well aware of Yuan Shao's character.

Ju Shou was a renowned scholar from Hebei, known for his wisdom and resourcefulness. He devoted himself wholeheartedly to helping Yuan Shao establish himself in Hebei and defeat Gongsun Zan, and Yuan Shao genuinely admired Ju Shou.

Ju Shou was unwilling to flatter or fawn, and although he knew that honest advice was hard to hear, he refused to be flexible. As a result, he often spoke frankly when advising Yuan Shao, which caused Yuan Shao to lose face. Yuan Shao deeply resented Ju Shou.

Who is Yuan Shao?
A man of four generations who held high office, a powerful figure in the Yuan family, the former leader of the anti-Dong Zhuo alliance, and today's great general.

For Yuan Shao, authority was paramount, followed by right and wrong. However, Ju Shou was particularly fond of challenging Yuan Shao's authority through direct remonstrance. If Yuan Shao did not listen, Ju Shou would "throw a tantrum" and feign illness to avoid meeting him.

Xu You's proposal could help Yuan Shao appease Liu Bei, prevent Liu Bei from gaining power in Youzhou, and avoid escalating the conflict between Yuan Shao and Ju Shou—a triple win.

"Ziyuan, what a brilliant plan!"

Yuan Shao was generous in his praise of Xu You, his strategist and close friend.

The military order to secretly recall Yan Liang and Wen Chou to Ye City was quickly sent back. Seeing that Yuan Shao had indeed not been able to bring himself to kill Yan Liang and Wen Chou, Chunyu Qiong stamped his foot in frustration: "The two traitors have gone to Young Master Shang's place, and they will definitely take revenge on us in the future!"

After Yuan Tan was adopted by Yuan Shao's elder brother as his heir, Yuan Shang became the most qualified person to succeed Yuan Shao's legacy. Allowing generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou to follow Yuan Shang was a demotion in name only, a promotion in reality!
Chunyu Qiong was worried that the two men would take the opportunity to retaliate after becoming close advisors to Yuan Shang, which made him anxious.

However, Guo Tu was confident and dismissively scoffed: "The General is in his prime, and the foundation may not necessarily be inherited by Young Master Shang. Why should General Chunyu worry unnecessarily and create trouble for himself?"

Yuan Shao was not yet fifty years old; he was at the prime of his life, full of vigor and ambition.

Young people from distinguished families like these have physical qualities far superior to ordinary people. As long as they don't encounter sudden fatal injuries or illnesses, it's normal for them to live to be around seventy years old.

Don't be fooled by Yuan Shang's current favor with Yuan Shao; in ten or twenty years, he may still be favored.

For those in positions of power who crave authority, once external enemies are eliminated, their sons become the greatest enemy. Yuan Tan will fall out of favor, and so will Yuan Shang.

Born into a prominent family, Guo Tu understands power and human nature better than most people.

But in another tent.

Liu Bei grinned excitedly: "The Grand General has appointed me as the Governor of Zhuojun. I can finally leave."

Although Cao Cao defeated Yan Liang and Wen Chou, he did not continue to garrison Nanban. Instead, he took advantage of the opportunity while Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Liu Bei were fighting each other to withdraw all his troops and supplies back to Guandu.

Liu Bei could basically predict what would happen next: when Yuan Shao saw that Cao Cao had withdrawn his defenses to Guandu, he would definitely send his army to Guandu to confront Cao Cao.

During the stalemate phase, it was basically a matter of building strongholds, fighting a protracted war of attrition, and if Liu Bei continued to stay under Yuan Shao's command, it would be no different from wasting his time.

To achieve great ambitions, one cannot waste time. Taking advantage of the standoff between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao at Guandu, Liu Bei's most important task was to extricate himself from the situation and go elsewhere to strengthen his own position.

Liu Bei was very lucky.

Cao Cao's divisive tactics, Yan Liang and Wen Chou's assassination attempt, Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong's overtures, Yuan Xi's ineffective supervision of the counties of Youzhou, Yuan Shao's compromise, and many other factors combined to enable Liu Bei to successfully take over Zhuojun as governor.

Although it was only to assist Yuan Xi in overseeing the various prefectures of Youzhou, everything is difficult at the beginning. Once you get past the beginning, the road ahead will be much easier.

"Congratulations, General, your wish has been fulfilled." Xu Shu offered his heartfelt congratulations. Xu Shu hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. Originally, Liu Bei only wanted a battalion of Yuan Shao's cavalry, but now he had actually offered to make Zhuojun the governor!
Xu Shu then advised, "The longer the night lasts, the more things may change. To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, General, you should set off as soon as possible and return to Gaotang to reunite with the strategist and the others, so as not to cause them any worry."

Liu Bei pondered for a moment and gently shook his head: "Don't be hasty. The reason why I presented two separate memorials with Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong was to make Yuan Shao mistakenly believe that returning to Zhuojun was not my original intention, and that I lied about returning home to save face for Yuan Shao."

"If I set off too early, it might arouse Yuan Shao's suspicion; even if I go as fast as I can, I must wait until Yuan Shao arrives at his camp on the south bank of Yanjin before I can leave in person to resign."

Xu Shu didn't want Liu Bei to remain in danger, so he hoped Liu Bei would set off as soon as possible; Liu Bei, on the other hand, relied on his experience in judging people and determined that setting off too early would arouse Yuan Shao's suspicion.

Because their starting points were different, their conclusions differed.

During the discussion.

Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong arrived together.

"Congratulations, General Zuo, on achieving your wish." Guo Tu bowed and congratulated him: "We two wish that General Zuo will continue the teachings of the sages and become a renowned scholar of the Northern State, whose name will be recorded in history and admired for thousands of years."

Liu Bei warmly returned the greeting: "I was able to achieve my goal entirely thanks to the help of Mr. Guo and General Chunyu Qiong. I will never forget your kindness. If you ever have the time to visit Zhuojun in the future, I will certainly welcome you with open arms!"

Although they did not work together for long, both Liu Bei and Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong felt that the other was a person worth befriending.

In times of chaos, the worst thing you can do is make too many enemies. Having more friends means having more options, and who would complain about having too many friends?
If one acts too ruthlessly, no one will dare to provoke them when they are powerful, but when they lose power, everyone will surely turn against them.

After the formalities were observed.

Guo Tu further warned, "The Grand General has secretly dispatched Yan Liang and Wen Chou to Ye City to temporarily serve as guards for Young Master Shang. The two traitors are wary of us being by the Grand General's side, so they will certainly not dare to cause trouble. However, Yuan Xi, the governor of Youzhou, has always followed Young Master Shang's lead. In order to help Young Master Shang win over the two traitors Yan Liang and Wen Chou, he may make things difficult for General Zuo. General Zuo must be on guard."

Liu Bei's tone hardened, and he bowed in thanks, saying, "I have remembered Mr. Guo's reminder. If Yuan Xi wants to speak up for Yan Liang and Wen Chou, he should see if he has the ability. Today is a joyous day, so let's not talk about anything that might spoil the mood. I will now have someone prepare fine wine for the two of you to drink to your hearts' content."

Chunyu Qiong laughed loudly: "Since there is fine wine, we should drink to our hearts' content. I certainly won't be polite!"

Liu Bei and Guo Tu also laughed heartily.

a few days later.

Yuan Shao crossed the river to the south bank of Yanjin.

Upon meeting Liu Bei, Yuan Shao again tried to persuade him to stay, but Liu Bei was determined to leave and politely declined Yuan Shao's offer.

Yuan Shao did not force him. He only announced to the outside world that he had sent Liu Bei to guard Zhuojun and assist Yuan Xi in supervising the counties of Youzhou. He also held a grand banquet to send Liu Bei off and "generously" allowed Liu Bei to take away the cavalry battalion commanded by Xin Zhe, as a sign of his "favor" to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei also publicly stated that he would never give Cao Cao the opportunity to lure and recruit the counties of Youzhou.

As for whether he could make all the counties of Youzhou submit to Yuan Shao, Liu Bei didn't say, and Yuan Shao didn't ask either.

　I'm currently ill, so I'll guarantee at least 6000 words. I'll update more once I'm better.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)