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

Chapter 91 Zhuge Liang said: The wealth and provisions of powerful families should be divided 30/70 (3rd update)
Zhuge Liang's strategy was simple and direct.

Even if they forcibly requisition grain, how much money and grain can they forcibly seize from the people?
If you want money and provisions, you need to find the powerful and wealthy families in Pingyuan Kingdom.

The most wealthy and powerful family in Pingyuan Kingdom today is Hua Yan, the official in charge of public affairs who abuses his power for personal gain!

Forcibly requisitioning money and grain from Hua Yan would not only satisfy the needs of the army marching north to Zhuojun, but would also not damage Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence. It would be a win-win situation!
Liu Bei agreed wholeheartedly and then recounted how he had killed Hua Yan's nephew on his way back.

Zhuge Liang's smile widened: "Truly, Heaven is helping the General! Hua Yan's nephew was killed by the General, and he will surely resent the General. The General can lure him into making the first move, then capture him alive and take his money and provisions for his own use. Even if Yuan Tan comes, the General can still have the upper hand! Such a scourge to the people deserves to die! The General must not be soft-hearted."

Thinking of the people who had been forced to flee to the mountains, Liu Bei's brows furrowed with anger: "I killed Hua Yan's nephew without hesitation, so why would I show any mercy to Hua Yan?"

Although Liu Bei valued integrity, he did not uphold integrity with everyone.

When friends come, we welcome them with fine wine; when wolves come, we prepare weapons. Hua Yan is not Liu Bei's friend, and he is not qualified to ask Liu Bei to be trustworthy.

After finalizing the plan, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang returned to the banquet and enjoyed themselves with everyone.

Just as Zhuge Liang had predicted.

When Hua Yan learned that his nephew had been killed by Liu Bei, he was still killed even after shouting, "Hua Gongcao of Pingyuan is my second uncle! Spare my life for my second uncle's sake!" He was so angry that he trembled.

Liu Bei's words, "What are you? Even if Hua Yan came, and I wanted to kill you, he wouldn't dare say a word of 'no'!" infuriated Hua Yan even more.

"Liu Bei, you have insulted me far too much!"

One of the reasons Yuan Tan was close to Hua Yan was that Hua Yan came from the prominent Hua clan of Pingyuan, and Hua Yan's lineage was highly regarded within the Hua clan.

Hua Yan was arrogant before joining Yuan Tan, and he became even more so after joining Yuan Tan. Using public office for private gain and suppressing dissidents were just Hua Yan's daily routine.

Although Yuan Tan instructed Hua Yan not to compete with Liu Bei, Hua Yan would not turn a blind eye to the fact that his nephew had been killed.

Hua Yan knew he couldn't openly confront Liu Bei, so he secretly sent people to Gaotang to gather information and try to sow discord between Yuan Tan and Liu Bei.

Through this inquiry, Hua Yan learned that Yuan Shao had appointed Liu Bei as the governor of Zhuojun, and that Liu Bei was preparing to lead the people to Zhuojun to take up his post.

Hua Yan was overjoyed!

"It was Liu Bei who betrayed Lord Yuan first, so you can't blame me!"

Immediately.

Hua Yan then wrote a letter to Yuan Tan in Linzi, further embellishing the story and slandering Liu Bei.

The reason is simple and direct: Yuan Tan should have been the one to recommend Yuan Shao to appoint Liu Bei as the governor of Zhuojun, but before Yuan Tan could even begin the recommendation, Liu Bei was appointed governor of Zhuojun and even received a battalion of cavalry. This must mean that Liu Bei was ungrateful and switched allegiance to Yuan Shang.

The facts seem to be the same, but the way they are expressed is different, which will cause Yuan Tan to misunderstand. This is Hua Yan's tactic of sowing discord.

Using this method in the past, Hua Yan successfully made talented people like Wang Xiu leave Yuan Tan with the impression of being mediocre officials who were merely filling in the ranks.

Now, Hua Yan is confident that by repeating his old tricks, he can make Yuan Tan suspicious of Liu Bei!
As long as Yuan Tan becomes suspicious of Liu Bei, Hua Yan can interfere and avenge his deceased nephew.

As expected. Yuan Tan was both shocked and furious after receiving Hua Yan's message.

What surprised Liu Bei was that Yuan Shang was willing to invest a whole battalion of cavalry, and what angered him was that Liu Bei had actually switched sides to join Yuan Shang!

Kong Shun, who was in Linzi with Yuan Tan, had always been on good terms with Hua Yan.

Seeing that Hua Yan had exaggerated and slandered Liu Bei in his letter, Kong Shun not only failed to advise Yuan Tan to calm down, but also made alarming statements to analyze the pros and cons for Yuan Tan, and even suggested that Yuan Tan lead his troops into Pingyuan to punish Liu Bei!

In a moment of impulsiveness, Yuan Tan listened to Kong Shun's suggestion and led three thousand soldiers straight to the plains.

Upon seeing Hua Yan, Yuan Tan asked directly, "Hua Gongcao, is General Zuo still in Gaotang?"

When Hua Yan saw that Yuan Tan addressed Liu Bei as "General of the Left" instead of "Liu Bei," he immediately realized that Yuan Tan still trusted Liu Bei.

Ever since.

Hua Yan not only didn't answer, but instead knelt on the ground, weeping and bowing his head: "My lord, you must do justice for me! Liu Bei killed my nephew for a few lowly commoners! My nephew was always loyal to you, but he was still killed by Liu Bei after revealing his identity! Liu Bei didn't just kill my nephew, he killed your prestige and reputation!"

Covering his face with his long sleeves, Hua Yan sobbed and embellished the story, which shocked and angered Yuan Tan, causing him to lose all his remaining composure: "This is outrageous! I have never mistreated Liu Bei, how could Liu Bei do this to me!"

Hua Yan, seeing that Yuan Tan addressed Liu Bei by his full name, then revealed Liu Bei's whereabouts: "Three days ago, Liu Bei had Chen Zhen, the magistrate of Gaotang, gather tens of thousands of people in the territory and head towards Zhuojun. Judging from Liu Bei's journey, he should still be staying at Longcou, twenty miles to the north."

Yuan Tan was furious upon hearing this and wanted to leave the city to find Liu Bei.

Hua Yan quickly stopped him, his words dripping with divisive rhetoric: "Liu Bei left without saying goodbye, surely fearing your wrath, sir. Now, Liu Bei has been appointed by the Grand General to guard Zhuojun as governor. Even if you were to meet Liu Bei, what could you possibly do?"

Yuan Tan, still furious, asked, "What do you suggest?"

Hua Yan lowered his head, trying his best not to let Yuan Tan see his eyes, and said, "Liu Bei can go to Zhuojun, but the tens of thousands of people of Gaotang cannot go to Zhuojun! Your Excellency cannot directly question Liu Bei, but must fulfill the duties of a Qingzhou governor to protect the borders and ensure the safety of the people."

As he said this, Hua Yan emphasized the words "Gaotang," intending to remind Yuan Tan: The tens of thousands of people that Liu Bei took away were from Gaotang. How could the people of Gaotang follow Liu Bei to Zhuojun? As the governor of Qingzhou, you must protect the people of Gaotang!
have to say.

When it comes to spreading rumors and gossip, Hua Yan is above average.

While framing and slandering Liu Bei, they also found a whole host of reasons to justify Yuan Tan's decision-making in terms of fairness and righteousness.

Yuan Tan pondered for a moment and suddenly realized that Hua Yan's words made perfect sense: "If we can keep the tens of thousands of people in Gaotang, it will relieve some of my hatred. I will follow Hua Gongcao's plan and go to intercept those tens of thousands of people and prevent them from leaving the country."

Hua Yan then advised, “My lord, please wait! Liu Bei once recommended you as a talented scholar. If you personally intercept those tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, it will damage your reputation. If Liu Bei then tries to take advantage of this favor, you will be caught in a dilemma. Therefore, you should not go in person. You can temporarily entrust the military power to me, and I will certainly live up to your trust.”

As Hua Yan spoke, he winked at Kong Shun.

Kong Shun understood and advised, "As long as you don't personally intervene, there is room for maneuver no matter how Hua Gongcao and Liu Bei clash. After all, Liu Bei is the governor of Zhuojun appointed by the Grand General. If you personally intervene, Yuan Shang may seize the opportunity to slander you."

The two actors, singing in unison, perfectly portrayed the combination of a "petty person" and a "loyal minister."

But Yuan Tan heard it as: We are all here to serve the emperor!
　Sorry it's late.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)