The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

Yuan Shu came from the Runan Yuan clan, a family that had produced four generations of high-ranking officials during the Eastern Han Dynasty. He was the second son of Yuan Feng, the Minister of Works. He was stubborn, short-sighted, and lived a very extravagant life.

Since establishing his own independent regime and obtaining the Imperial Seal from Sun Jian, he has become even more arrogant and indulged in debauchery with his concubines. His trusted minister Yan Xiang has always earnestly advised him against this, hoping that he would not become addicted to wine and women.

On this day, Yuan Shu was drinking and making merry with his beloved concubine in the luxurious back garden, thoroughly enjoying himself.

He was reclining on a soft couch, a languid, lecherous smile on his face, toying with a priceless jade cup filled with amber-colored wine.

He gazed at his concubine's captivating dance with dreamy eyes, feeling incredibly happy.

"My lord, is my dance acceptable?"

The alluring concubine in the red dress twirled gracefully and pounced on Yuan Shu's side, asking in a sweet voice.

As women with no social standing, they could only use their looks and talents to please men in order to gain wealth and status.

Feeling the unusual sensation on his body, Yuan Shu smiled slightly and nodded, saying, "Not bad, this general likes it very much!"

"Then~~~!" Before the concubine could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a series of hurried footsteps.

Looking back, I saw a sprightly old man with white hair walking over, his face serious.

The concubine immediately tried to get up and leave Yuan Shu's side, but Yuan Shu held her tightly, making it impossible for her to move.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Yuan Shu's smile vanished instantly, replaced by an expression of impatience.

"Yan Xiang, what are you doing here again? Don't push your luck."

The visitor was Yan Xiang, who had come again to advise Yuan Shu.

Yan Xiang bowed slightly, his face filled with deep worry: "My lord, the situation in the world has changed drastically. You are indulging in sensual pleasures all day long, I'm afraid...!"

"Enough!" Yuan Shu snapped impatiently. "The same old excuse again! Don't you have anything else to say?"

"Now that Cao Cao is attacking Xuzhou and Liu Biao is avoiding battle, we have no chance to make a move. What else can we do but take advantage of this time to enjoy ourselves?"

"I'm sick and tired of hearing you say those things."

After saying this, Yuan Shu waved his hand impatiently, signaling the other party to leave quickly so that he could continue playing music and dancing with the beauty.

The upright Yan Xiang refused to give up so easily. He couldn't bear to see Yuan Shu fall into such a state of depravity, so he raised his head and earnestly advised him:

"My lord, you should wake up! Cao Cao has already returned to Yan Province, and Xu Province has not yet been annexed. We have already missed the best opportunity!"

"Furthermore, you spend all your time frolicking with your concubines and neglect state affairs. If this continues, the people's hearts will be lost, and who will still serve you?"

Yan Xiang was an ambitious and capable minister who could not stand by and watch Yuan Shu indulge in wine and women all day long and neglect his duties.

Yuan Shu's face instantly darkened. He slammed the jade cup on the table and said coldly, "Yan Xiang, are you questioning my ability to govern?"

As a spoiled young master, Yuan Shu absolutely refused to allow anyone to question him; this is a classic example of being stubborn and unyielding.

Yan Xiang did not back down and looked directly into Yuan Shu's eyes: "My lord, I dare not question your abilities, but I hope that you can put the world first and not indulge in the pleasures of the moment."

Just as Yuan Shu was about to fly into a rage, a subordinate rushed into the garden and loudly announced, "My lord, Chen Deng from Xuzhou requests an audience!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu was instantly stunned, and the anger on his face subsided considerably. He turned to look at Yan Xiang, frowning, and asked, "Chen Deng of Xuzhou? What's he doing here?"

Yuan Shu also knew about Chen Deng, after all, he had fought against Tao Qian many times before and was quite familiar with the prominent figures in Xuzhou.

Yan Xiang was also bewildered. He frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "It's probably related to Cao Cao's retreat!"

Yuan Shu thought for a moment and said, "Yan Xiang and I will go see this Chen Deng and see what he wants."

"promise!"

Yan Xiang nodded and then went with Yuan Shu to the hall to meet Chen Deng.

···········

In the hall, Chen Deng and the others were getting impatient.

He was dressed in a blue robe, with a thin face and a scholarly air about him, giving him a refined and elegant appearance.

Not long after, when he saw Yuan Shu and his companion enter, he stood up and bowed slightly, saying, "Chen Deng greets Marquis Yangqu."

In the year Lü Bu assassinated Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and Guo Si seized control of Emperor Xian of Han. They attempted to consolidate their power by winning over local forces, and thus granted Yuan Shu the official titles of "General of the Left, Acting as Imperial Envoy, and Marquis of Yangdi".

Seeing this, Yuan Shu nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Chen Yuanlong of Xuzhou, what brings you to my Nanyang?"

Chen Deng smiled slightly and said, "I have come here on the orders of my lord, Qin Xuan, to cooperate with Marquis Yangqu!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu and Yan Xiang were immediately dumbfounded. Who was this Qin Xuan? They had never heard of him before.

Because Qin Xuan adopted strict control measures after taking control of Xuzhou, the spies of the feudal lords had no chance to report back everything that happened in Xuzhou. In addition, due to the long distance, danger and other factors, even if the news could be sent out, by the time the other party found out, there would be no secret left.

"Who is Qin Xuan? We've never heard of him before."

Completely bewildered, Yuan Shu turned his gaze to Yan Xiang beside him, his most capable minister who controlled various sources of information.

Faced with Yuan Shu's questioning gaze, Yan Xiang shook his head, indicating that he didn't know anything about Qin Xuan either, and had no idea where the other party had come from.

Seeing the bewildered looks on their faces, Chen Deng couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. Even such a high-ranking figure had moments when intelligence was lacking. But he still explained:

"Qin Xuan is the newly appointed Grand General of Xuzhou. Due to Tao Qian's poor health, all affairs have been entrusted to him. Furthermore, my lord Qin Xuan has repelled Cao Cao's invading army, sparing Xuzhou from the threat of Cao Cao's iron hooves!"

"What? Cao Cao has retreated?" Yuan Shu exclaimed in surprise, clearly astonished by the news. He had been so engrossed in his concubines that he hadn't paid any attention to Yan Xiang's intelligence.

"My lord, Cao Cao returned to Yanzhou several days ago!" Yan Xiang mentally complained about Yuan Shu, but still confirmed the news for him.

After processing the news, a surprised Yuan Shu asked again, "Then what brings you here?"

Seeing that there were still maids in the main hall, Chen Deng did not speak, but looked at them, his meaning was all too clear.

Yuan Shu was slightly taken aback, but then he understood what Yan Xiang meant. He waved for his men to leave, leaving only Yan Xiang behind.

"My lord, Qin Xuan, hopes that you, Marquis, will send troops to attack Liu Bei, and preferably kill him!"

Chen Deng immediately explained his purpose.

"Oh, if we kill Liu Bei, why should I listen to him?"

At this point, Yuan Shu put on airs. In his view, Qin Xuan and Liu Bei were incomparable. Liu Bei was at least a person of some standing, and they had once fought side by side to rid the country of a scourge. Yet Qin Xuan, who appeared out of nowhere, dared to ask him to deal with Liu Bei.

Who does he think he is? Doesn't Yuan Shu have any dignity?

"My lord, you're not agreeing?" Chen Deng wasn't surprised by Yuan Shu's actions, because he already knew this was no easy task.

"That's right, who does Qin Xuan think he is? I come from the Yuan family, which has produced four generations of high-ranking officials. Just because he tells me to do this, does that mean I have to listen to him?" Yuan Shu sat in the main seat, acting extremely arrogantly.

Meanwhile, the strategist Yan Xiang witnessed all of this and felt extremely distressed. His lord was in a bad mood again. Just as he was about to offer some advice, he saw Chen Deng lean in and whisper a few words to Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu, who had initially been dismissive, now had a drastic change in expression. His body began to tremble uncontrollably, and he kept wiping his forehead while muttering to himself:

"How...how did he...know about this?"