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

Chapter 315 Father, I'm doing this all for your own good!
"My family has produced three dukes for four generations!"

With a loud shout from behind, Xiahou Yuan, who was urging his warhorse to rush to Xiahou Dun's aid, felt as if he had been struck hard on the back of the head and immediately fainted, losing consciousness.

At this very moment, amidst the raging fire on the battlefield, the eight thousand Cao soldiers who had come to provide support with Xiahou Yuan were even more incredulous at what they were seeing.

The young general launched a sneak attack from behind and knocked the general unconscious with a single blow.
What should we do?

Before they could even react to what was happening, the enemy generals who had been locked in fierce combat with Xiahou Dun stopped fighting and instead ordered their troops to surround them.

The two armies that were originally "fighting" each other suddenly stopped fighting and made peace, as if they had agreed to do so, and instead surrounded the reinforcements in the center.

Eight thousand Cao soldiers: "."

Having followed Xiahou Ba's guidance, they had already ventured too far in. Seeing the 60,000 Yuan troops surrounding them, they were momentarily at a loss.

Just then, Xiahou Ba, carrying the unconscious Xiahou Yuan, rode up on horseback and addressed the crowd:
"Now that our commander has surrendered, why don't you surrender now? When will you?"

Cao Cao's army: "."

No, are you sure General Xiahou has surrendered? He looks like he's been captured.

Seeing that the generals were still hesitating, Xiahou Ba said proudly.

"What you all don't know!"

Although Ba is not talented, he has been favored by the King of Han and adopted as his son. He is second only to the King of Han and above all others in the Han Kingdom!

My uncle is now the Heavenly Star Lord, General Who Guards the North, and Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness.

After my father is demoted, he should be rewarded with a high-ranking official position and a generous title.

"You have followed my father for many years, and now you are facing certain death. Why not surrender now and willingly serve the traitor Cao?"

After he finished speaking, Xiahou Ba raised his hand to signal, and soldiers brought out several large boxes of gold and silver that had been prepared in advance and placed them in front of everyone.

Xiahou Ba said to him:

"If you surrender now, you may come forward to receive your reward."

My family has produced four generations of high-ranking officials, and our students and former subordinates are all over the country. Half of the wealth in the land comes from our family!
My father, the King of Han, has countless mountains of gold and silver, and an inexhaustible supply of wine, meat, rice, and grain.

"Those who serve under me, as long as they are willing to kill the enemy and achieve merit, will receive their full monthly salary, and their rewards will be twice that of Cao Cao's army!"

The generals exclaimed in surprise, "General, are you joking?"

"Is it really true that there are no arrears in salaries, and that the full amount is paid every month?"

"Will killing enemies and making meritorious contributions really result in double the reward?"

Under the expectant gazes of the crowd, Xiahou Ba straightened the unconscious Xiahou Yuan in his arms and pointed at him.

"If you don't trust me, don't you trust my father?"

Even he voluntarily submitted to the King of Han, which shows that the future of the Han Kingdom is bright and promising.

You have all heard that Huainan is the richest place in the world.

I ask you, across the nine provinces of the world, besides my adoptive father, the King of Han, who can offer you such generous conditions?
As for double rewards, let me tell you the truth: in our Han army today, those who kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions receive three or five times more than you.

The double reward is only because you are newly surrendered and unfamiliar with the new system of our Han state. We are still testing your loyalty.

After the observation period, if he achieves some merit, he may be treated the same as ordinary Han soldiers; it remains to be seen!

Xiahou Ba wasn't lying to them. In terms of the scale of rewards, Yuan Shu's rewards to those who had rendered meritorious service far exceeded those of other warlords.

The reason he dared to set such a high reward is because he has now implemented a new system where most rewards can be settled with merit points.

As is widely known, the Hall of Merit contains a large number of items that he specially designed, which look impressive but do not actually cost the country a single penny to exchange. These items are specifically used to recycle these over-issued merit points.

After all, merit points don't disappear; they just stay with you in another form.

Isn't the joy you derive from the titles, privileges, reputation, and even things like the "Adopted Son One-Day Trial Card" that you exchange through him an important part of the fivefold reward?

Of course, these Cao soldiers, who are currently unaware of the new system of the Han state, do not yet understand the important position of merit points in the Han state.

But the several large boxes of gold and silver jewelry that Xiahou Ba had placed in front of them, which they could take as they pleased, were enough to tempt them.

Moreover, they were surrounded by an army of 60,000 men, and they knew that resistance would mean certain death. Where would they find the courage to fight again?
With almost no casualties, the eight thousand Cao soldiers, after a brief hesitation, immediately bowed to Xiahou Yuan, who was unconscious in Xiahou Ba's arms, and said loudly.

"We are willing to follow General Xiahou Yuan in surrendering to the Han Dynasty, and will remain loyal to him until death!"

Seeing that Xiahou Ba had already subdued Xiahou Yuan and a group of Cao troops, Yang Hong and Lu Xun naturally came over to arrange for the generals to receive the surrendered soldiers. They also made arrangements for how to dismantle and reorganize the troops, how to observe them secretly, and so on.

Yang Hong said to Ba:
"This time, the Overlord risked his life to enter the enemy camp, personally welcoming back General Xiahou Yuan, and leading his troops to surrender."

"When a great achievement is accomplished, I will write a letter to the King of Han regarding all matters here, so that your merit may be inscribed on the Lingyan Pavilion."

Xiahou Ba thanked him profusely, but at the same time felt sorry for him.

"It's a pity that Guan Yu is so stubborn. I tried to persuade him several times, but he still refused to come out of the city to help.

Otherwise, if we could capture Huanyuan Pass now, this tremendous achievement would be ours for the taking.

Yang Hong waved his hand and laughed, "Ingenious schemes and plans are inherently subject to success or failure. Although we failed to capture Guan Yu and break through Huanyuan Pass, we were able to welcome back General Xiahou Yuan, which is already an unexpected joy."

"Your family is now living a good and harmonious life in the Han Kingdom, which is better than anything else. Why should you be greedy?"

Xiahou Ba nodded, "What you say is very true, sir."

Don't worry, sir. My uncle and I will persuade my father to abandon his old, outdated ideas and embrace the new trends of thought in Shouchun.

As a son, he should prioritize filial piety. How could he possibly harm him?
Let him abandon darkness and embrace light, stop wasting his prime years in the hopeless Cao camp, and come to the advanced and rapidly developing Han Kingdom to build his career. Isn't this for his own good?

He's only nearly fifty, his life is just beginning, like the rising sun, full of vigor and vitality. How can he waste his youth in Cao Cao's camp?

Moreover, in the Han Kingdom, Ba is the adopted son of the King of Han, who can always help and take care of him, giving him a stable position to earn merit and allowing him to live a respectable life as a nobleman.

"Isn't it better than him being alone out there, hanging out with shady characters like Cao Cao, who held the emperor hostage?"

Upon hearing this, everyone praised Xiahou Ba, saying, "He is filial!"

Yang Hong was very satisfied with Xiahou Ba's ambitious thinking and said he would include Xiahou Ba's remarks in the military report and present them to the King of Han for his review.

Xiahou Ba was overjoyed and then asked about the Huanyuan Pass.

Yang Hong raised his eyes and looked at the majestic pass in the distance, then smiled coldly.

"Although we failed to capture Guan Yu this time, we did test his indifference to Lü Bu's life and death, and his desire to watch from the sidelines."

"Now we can take action against Lü Bu."

As he spoke, he instructed Xiahou Ba, "That's true, but just in case, Young Master Ba will need to make several more trips to Huanyuan Pass."

Xiahou Ba naturally agreed repeatedly.

After subduing the eight thousand Cao troops brought by Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Ba selected several hundred men from them, pretending to be routed soldiers, and rushed to the walls of Huanyuan Pass, shouting:
Is General Guan here?

The situation is dire! Although Lü Bu was rescued by my father, his forces are meager. How can they possibly withstand Yuan Shao's 60,000-strong army?

My father is now trapped in Yuan Shao's camp, his fate unknown. I implore General Guan to send troops to his rescue.

The only response he received was Guan Yu's cold command: "Release the arrows!!!"

"General Guan?"

Why did General Guan stand by and watch us die without offering any help, to the point of this?

"Fire arrows! Fire arrows! Fire arrows!!!"

As arrows rained down, Xiahou Ba led his army away, shouting insults.

Watching his departing figure, Guan Yu narrowed his phoenix eyes. He didn't know whether it was Xiahou Ba who deliberately tricked Xiahou Yuan, causing him to also fall into Yuan's camp.

Or perhaps what Xiahou Ba said was true, and Xiahou Yuan's eight thousand men were just a drop in the ocean, failing not only to save Lü Bu but also causing his own deaths.

He had no way of knowing, nor did he need to. With Xiahou Yuan already gone, if he were to try to save one person after another like throwing his life away, then he would have wasted half his life studying history.

Since the losses involved Cao Cao's generals and troops, let Cao Cao worry about these matters, whether true or false.

Anyway, he had tried to persuade and stop Xiahou Yuan several times, but Xiahou Yuan wouldn't listen, so it was none of his business.

Therefore, he ordered someone to write down all the events in the area in a military report and send it to Cao Cao for a decision. Guan Yu then continued reading his Spring and Autumn Annals and guarding his Huanyuan Pass.

In the following days, people continued to come from the south at night, some claiming to be Wei Xu, others Hao Meng, and so on. All of Lü Bu's generals came one after another.

In the darkness of night, it was difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood. All that could be heard was that Lü Bu and Xiahou Yuan had withdrawn from Yuan's camp and were now setting up their formation behind Yuan's camp, still fighting to the death with Yuan's army.

Now they have Yuan's army trapped in the middle, unable to advance or retreat. They only need Guan Yu to send troops to their rescue, and they will surely be able to defeat Yuan's army.

Guan Yu paid no attention to these repeated statements from Xiahou Ba, and his response was still a hail of arrows falling from the city walls.

Guan Yu was speechless. He couldn't understand whether Yuan Shao's strategist was stupid. He had tried to deceive him by pretending, but now he was openly trying to deceive him.

Meanwhile, in the Han army, Xiahou Yuan awoke from his coma.

He slowly opened his eyes, and what came into view was Xiahou Dun's lifeless face, and his unlucky child's rather excited shout.

"Father, you've finally woken up."

Xiahou Yuan: "???"

who am I? where am I?
In the end, Xiahou Dun sighed and recounted the events of that night to him.

Xiahou Yuan's expression immediately changed. Despite his weakened state, he raised his hand and angrily pointed at Xiahou Ba.

"Rebellious son!

How dare I be unfilial!

"Father, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Xiahou Ba stared at him with an innocent look in his eyes and an expression of disbelief.

"I'm doing this all for your own good!"
Just think about it, the King of Han has been a high-ranking official for four generations, and his power has shaken the whole country. Now he is leading an army of 830,000 to the north to attack Cao Cao. How can Cao Cao possibly stand against him?

When Luoyang falls and Cao Cao is defeated and killed, Father, do you still intend to die for him and be buried with him?

"evil creature!
How could you possibly match your father's loyalty and righteousness?

Xiahou Ba remained fearless and dignified, saying, "This is precisely where my great filial piety lies!"

As a son, how can I sit idly by and watch my father die? Is this filial piety?

There are three kinds of unfilial conduct. The first is: "Blindly obeying one's father's wishes and leading one's parents into unrighteousness." This means that blindly following one's father's wrong ideas will lead one into an immoral situation.

If I were to stand by and watch you stubbornly persist on the wrong path, and truly allow you to aid and abet the wicked and die for the traitor Cao Cao, instead of submitting to the righteous King of Han who upholds the right path, aligns with the will of Heaven, and conforms to the will of the people, then I would be committing the greatest act of filial impiety!

"This"

Xiahou Yuan: "."

Xiahou Yuan was momentarily speechless at Xiahou Ba's twisted logic and fallacies. Before he could refute or clarify, Xiahou Ba, who had already prepared his speech in his mind, continued to talk on and on, trying to persuade him.

"There are three kinds of unfilial conduct, the second of which is: 'When the family is poor and the parents are old, one should not seek official position.' This means that the family is poor and the clan is gradually declining, while the father is in his prime and should be working hard."

As children, they did not strive to help their fathers obtain higher official positions and accumulate more wealth to develop the family and revitalize the family's reputation.

Instead, he watched helplessly as his father became complacent and unwilling to adapt. Despite having immense wealth and great opportunities at his disposal, he remained conservative, wasting his years in a dead-end position and indulging in pleasure, which ultimately led to the family's inability to continue and its gradual decline.

Now that Ba is a son of the King of Han and has been adopted by him, he has the ability to arrange a better future for his father, strive for the future, and revitalize the family.

"If I do not bring you here, Father, to share in our wealth and glory, and together establish the Xiahou family's reputation as the foremost family in the Han state, but instead watch you follow the treacherous Cao Cao, whose future is bleak, plunging the family into ruin, is that not truly unfilial?"

Xiahou Yuan: "???"

"No! Just now, Ah Yi blindly followed his advice, which led his relatives to act unjustly. He said that you should pursue advancement and support your parents because you are poor and your parents are old.

Not wanting to face his rebuttal, Xiahou Ba immediately nodded in agreement, "That's right! That's why I'm very motivated now!"

As a father, shouldn't you be proud of my great achievements and the high position and generous salary that will bring honor to our family?

How can you say he is unfilial?

Xiahou Yuan: "."

Seeing that he was speechless after being refuted, Xiahou Ba pressed his advantage and said.

"There are three unfilial acts, the third of which is: [not marrying and having no children, thus cutting off the ancestral line]!"
Father, you have now joined the rebels, aiding the traitors who have held the emperor hostage, and are opposing the loyal and righteous King of Han who is dedicated to restoring the Han dynasty. You will surely be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, and will be crushed to pieces.

Because of your one wrong decision, the entire Xiahou family will be condemned to death, their nine generations wiped out, and their ancestral sacrifices cut off—and that is still uncertain!

If it weren't for Ba Bai taking the King of Han as his adoptive father and saving you from the brink of death, your father would now be an unfilial man, with no face to meet our ancestors in the afterlife!
"My child, I'm doing this all for your own good."

Xiahou Yuan: "##"

He had just woken up from his coma and was immediately confronted with Xiahou Ba's well-prepared set of fallacies and heresies, leaving him dizzy and with a throbbing headache.

He looked at his elder brother Xiahou Dun in confusion, "Brother, what... what's going on? I'm a perfectly normal kid, I've been following you in Yuan's camp for years, how did I end up like this?"

Xiahou Dun: "."

"Miao Cai has been asleep all day, and must be hungry."

Xiahou Dun let out a long sigh.

"That's it for now, let's eat first."

At the same time, Lü Bu, riding Red Hare, crossed the water as if it were flat ground, leading 10,000 cavalrymen at breakneck speed.

(End of this chapter)