Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 134 Guo Fengxiao, you are doomed to die today!
"My lord, you should make a decision quickly and not hesitate any longer."

Seeing this rare scene of unity among his ministers, Yuan Shao indeed no longer hesitated.

“What you gentlemen say is very true, how could we not follow it?”
I have decided to launch a counterattack; what advice do you gentlemen have for me?

Ju Shou slowly analyzed it for him:

"Now we should use our strength to attack the weak, starting with the easy and then moving on to the difficult."

Tian Kai of Qingzhou has the weakest military force, so we should defeat him first. Next, we should target the Xiongnu, and then Gongsun Zan.

Only after all three parties have settled their differences, and all forces have been combined, will there be a chance to destroy Black Mountain.

Guo Tu further stated:
"The Xiongnu are opportunistic and fickle. If you offer them great benefits, you can make them turn against you."

I can go and speak to him on behalf of our lord. Even if I cannot persuade him to withdraw his troops, I will at least make him hesitate and not interfere with our lord's annihilation of Tian Kai.”

Xu You also said:
"The person Gongsun Zan deeply hated was General Ju Yi."

The lord can order General Ju Yi to lead troops to engage in skirmishes with Gongsun Zan, maneuvering and shifting positions in the north to constantly draw away Gongsun Zan's main force, using the various counties of Youzhou to buy time.

This will surely prevent him from hindering our lord in the short term.

Tian Feng also had a strategy to offer:

"What the Black Mountain wants is nothing more than money and food. After they have plundered a lot, we only need to strike them hard to force them back to the Black Mountain."

At that time, the lord can feign defeat and lure them with supplies and provisions. The rebels in Black Mountain will surely be deceived. Then, order the ambush army to attack together and you will surely be able to defeat Black Mountain.

If they suffer a major defeat and have already plundered enough money and provisions, Zhang Yan, in his fear, will surely flee back to Black Mountain to observe the situation and will no longer interfere with his lord's overall plans.

"That's absolutely right!"

All the officials offered their suggestions and discussed the affairs of the four prefectures.

Yuan Shao then followed the advice of his ministers and first ordered Guo Tu to take a large sum of money to Bingzhou to persuade the Xiongnu.
He then ordered Ju Yi and Xu You to go to Youzhou to delay Gongsun Zan;
He then ordered Tian Feng and Wen Chou to begin forcing Heishan to retreat;

Ju Shou, along with Zhang He and Gao Lan, held the rear to maintain the situation in the four prefectures. He personally led his ministers and Yan Liang to attack Qingzhou and annihilate Tian Kai.

With all matters settled, Yuan Shao suddenly remembered something.

“I have recently heard that all of Yuan Gonglu’s previous strategies and plans were devised by his strategist Fengxiao. Some even say that Fengxiao is currently in my camp.”

"How come I have never seen this person before? Does any of you know him?"

The assembled officials fell silent, their gazes involuntarily turning to Guo Tu.

Guo Tu stepped forward to reply, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"My lord, you may not know this, but the person Fengxiao is referring to is probably my close friend and relative, Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao."

I have long known of his exceptional talent and unfathomable abilities, so I wrote to invite him to come and work together for the great cause of our lord.

However, he was a carefree and rude person who often drank heavily and was so engrossed in his pleasures that he did not know the difference between day and night.

In the past, when we discussed matters, I would go and call him, but every time I saw him drunk and unconscious, there was nothing I could do.

Later, I worried that he might offend Lord Yuan while drunk, thus bringing trouble upon himself, so I simply kept him as a drunkard and dared not mention anything else.

"Master Guo! You're foolish!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao immediately adopted a humble and respectful demeanor, saying, "Since you have such great talent, you should have recommended me long ago."

What's wrong with being impolite while drinking? Do you really think I, Yuan Benchu, am such a petty and narrow-minded person?
Guo Gong did not see Chunyu Qiong, who was often dead drunk. When he was drunk, he would not only be rude, but also act unreasonably in front of me. I valued his talent and therefore gave him important responsibilities.

Why let a small matter cause you to lose sight of the bigger picture, caring so much about a mere drink?

After Yuan Shao finished speaking, he immediately ordered: "Go and invite this man here immediately. Even if he is dead drunk, carry him here."

"My lord, please wait."

Once it doesn't involve matters of life and death for the great cause, the familiar feeling of Yuan Shao, where one strategist says something and another strategist refutes it, returns.

A voice said, "Wait a moment," and a man slowly stepped out; it was Xun Chen.

He sneered as he sized up Guo Tu, his words carrying a deeper meaning.

"My lord, you may not know this, but I'm afraid that the reason why Lord Guo has kept Guo Jia hidden for so many years and dared not bring him to see you is not just because he's drunk."

Yuan Shao was taken aback by these words. "What advice does Lord Xun have for me?"

"Don't dare."

Xun Chen bowed respectfully, his voice not loud, yet it sent Guo Tu into a panic.

I have heard Guo Fengxiao say: "Yuan Shao merely wanted to emulate the Duke of Zhou in his treatment of scholars, but he did not know how to employ people effectively."

He is ambivalent and lacks focus, fond of scheming but indecisive; it is difficult for him to overcome the great difficulties of the world and establish a hegemonic dynasty!

Perhaps the reason why Lord Guo has not invited Guo Fengxiao to discuss matters and offer advice all these years is not because he is too drunk to do so, but because he is unwilling to do so?

How could you have heard such a thing?

Guo Tu's expression changed several times, his eyes darkening as he stared at Xun Chen. "You sent someone to secretly monitor me?"

"If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place."

Xun Chen calmly flicked his sleeve and chuckled.

"The matter of surveillance is pure fabrication. Mr. Guo, please do not slander people's innocence without reason."

"He is ambivalent and lacks focus, fond of planning but indecisive. It is difficult for him to overcome the great difficulties of the world and establish a hegemonic enterprise."

So that's how Guo Fengxiao sees me?

At this moment, Yuan Shao's face was frighteningly dark, and his eyes were fixed on Guo Tu and Xun Chen below the hall.

Firstly, he felt that Guo Jia didn't take him seriously, and that Guo Tu had kept such a person hidden from him without telling him. Secondly, he was even more angry that the infighting among his own ministers had reached the point where they were planting people to spy on each other.

What he didn't know was that since Guo Jia could tell Guo Tu about Yuan Shao's comments, he naturally wouldn't hide them from his friend Xun Yu. This was also the reason why Xun Yu had previously wanted to ask him to help Cao Cao.

At this moment, Cao Cao ordered Xun You to handle the matter of eliminating Guo Jia. Of course, Xun You would not simply send a message, otherwise who knows if Yuan Shao would kill Guo Jia?
At this time, it would be natural to use Xun Chen, who is also from the Xun family. Although the two are now serving different masters, Guo Jia is currently labeled with Yuan Shu's name, so who would dare to use him?

Cao Cao dared not step on this landmine, so did Xun Chen really want Yuan Shao to do so?
Moreover, Yuan Shao's current situation isn't a lack of strategists, but rather an overabundance of them. Everyone is vying for the spoils, and they're almost at the point of fighting each other.

Who would want Guo Jia to step forward at this time and create a competitor for themselves?

This is also why Guo Jia, despite serving under Yuan Shao for many years, never managed to rise to prominence.

As for the claim of exceptional talent and unfathomable abilities, that's a joke. Everyone present claims to be a hero of the age, a talent fit to assist a king.
There is no absolute first in literature. Even if one acknowledges that Guo Jia has some ability, without having witnessed it firsthand, one would not truly believe that he is much better than oneself.

Therefore, Xun You's plan was in perfect agreement with Xun Chen, and also coincided with the plans of most of the strategists in Yuan Shao's camp.

Regardless of whether Guo Fengxiao was Yuan Shu's mastermind or not, as long as he's dead, everything will be over, and all the conspiracies and plans will vanish into thin air.

This is a decisive blow! Guo Fengxiao, you are doomed to die today!

At this moment, seated on the main throne in the hall, Yuan Shao, his eyes unfathomable and his face growing increasingly gloomy, asked:
"So, this Mr. Fengxiao's heart isn't with me? Then those rumors about him working for Yuan Gonglu must be true?"

The ministers remained silent, responding without uttering a word.

(End of this chapter)