Three Kingdoms: Let Yuan Shen be great again

Yang Hong was summoned to the Grand Commander's Mansion late that night.

When his servant woke him from his sleep, Yang Hong was startled, thinking that Cao Cao's army had invaded or that Sun Ce had attacked again.

After more than half a year of getting to know each other, Yuan Yao and Yang Hong have developed a good understanding and usually don't bother each other late at night with trivial matters.

Yang Hong rubbed his forehead. After all, he was getting old and was still a little disoriented after being startled awake from his sleep. He quickly asked someone to bring a basin of cold water to wipe his face.

Then the guard who came to deliver the message said that he did not know why the Grand Commander wanted to see Chief Secretary Yang, but he knew that the Grand Commander had ordered him to break into the house that night and summon Yang Hong.

Yang Hong thought for a moment and concluded that it shouldn't be an invasion by foreign enemies, otherwise, with his network of connections, he wouldn't have been completely without any information.

In that case, there's no need to panic.

Yang Hong slowly tidied his appearance and, urged repeatedly by his guards, set off for the Grand Commander's Mansion.

As soon as Yang Hong entered the Grand Commander's Mansion, his heart skipped a beat.

He saw another person, Zhang Xun.

Others may not know, but Yang Hong is confident that he has a good grasp of Yuan Yao's thoughts. Zhang Xun's poor performance in the Huainan defense battle has made Yuan Yao extremely disappointed in him, and he had long decided to sideline him.

Now that Zhang Xun and Yang Hong have appeared together, and given the sensitive time of night, Yang Hong immediately had a bad feeling.

Ignoring the previous discord between the civil and military officials, Yang Hong hurriedly asked Zhang Xun, "General, did the Grand Commander summon you here at this time?"

Zhang Xun was equally confused, not understanding Yuan Yao's meaning: "Yes, the order is strange. It says something about coming to the Grand Commander's Mansion for a meeting, and that armor is not required."

Yang Hong's heart sank.

It’s over.

No, it's not over yet.

Yang Hong suddenly realized that if Yuan Yao, as one of the three giants of the Zhong family, wanted to seize power, he would indeed have the motive to eliminate both him and Zhang Xun at the same time.

But that was before. Since the great victory in the defense of Huainan and the enhancement of his personal prestige through a series of propaganda campaigns, Yang Hong has posed almost no threat to Yuan Yao's rule. On the contrary, Zhang Xun's identity is sensitive, involving control of the gun barrel, and he may indeed be purged.

With this thought in mind, Yang Hong held his breath and cautiously stepped into the main hall of the Grand Commander's Mansion, moving as if he were entering some kind of dragon's den or tiger's lair.

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As soon as the two entered, a serious-looking soldier led them through a winding path to a small conference room.

Upon entering the room, Yang Hong saw Yuan Yao sitting behind his desk, his face slightly distorted in the candlelight.

There was no one on either side of the other person, but several figures were standing behind him.

After a quick glance, the one in the lead seemed to be Cao Xing, and the others were Yuan Yao's trusted henchmen.

Yuan Yao said in a warm manner, "Lord Yang, General Zhang, please sit down, there's no need to be so formal."

"...I think I'll just stand here." Even Zhang Xun vaguely sensed that something seemed off about the atmosphere.

In any case, there's definitely something wrong with the current situation; something big is probably about to happen.

Yuan Yao didn't dwell on the seating arrangement; he went straight to the point and asked, "Regarding our army's affairs, does General Zhang have anything specific to say?"

"What do you mean?"

"That means that the day after tomorrow morning, General Zhang, you will become the Grand Commandant of the Zhong family. Considering your hard work and great achievements, it is not advisable for you to overwork yourself. You will no longer need to attend court and can enjoy your retirement at home."

Zhang Xun was shocked and instinctively wanted to jump up to object, but when he saw Cao Xing opposite him draw his knife halfway, he immediately sat down again.

"There's no need to be unhappy," Yuan Yao said calmly. "I gave them a chance during the Battle of Huainan. Being able to retire peacefully is already an extra blessing."

After giving Zhang Xun a beating, Yuan Yao gave him two sweet treats: "General, rest assured and enjoy your retirement. Aren't your two sons also in the army? I have already given special permission to promote them to lieutenant generals. If they become successful in the future, I will not hesitate to promote them as they deserve."

Zhang Xun reached out his hand, seemingly wanting to say something, but considering the other party's current overwhelming authority, he could only lower his head in vain and accept his fate.

Then it's Yang Hong's turn next.

Yang Hong straightened his back, afraid of hearing the news that he too would be forced to retire.

"Master Yang, you're overthinking it," Yuan Yao said with a smile. "I've learned a lot of useful knowledge from you in governing the country. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call you my teacher. I'll have to rely on you again in the future."

Yang Hong remained tense, showing no sign of relief.

Yuan Yao took out several bamboo slips, which were filled with names.

This is precisely the list of essential cleaning supplies.

"Please take a look at this list, Mr. Yang. Is there anyone on this list who cannot be touched? I have already screened it once, but there are some people I may not know very well. Please help me eliminate them again so that no innocent people are wrongly implicated."

Yang Hong carefully took it and glanced at it briefly: "Your Highness, there are quite a few names on it, and it's getting dark so I can't see them very clearly. Could you give me a little more time to study it properly?"

Yuan Yao remained unmoved: "Please, Lord Yang, find a way to overcome the difficulties. You have two hours. Please try your best to cross out the names that are beneficial to the Zhong family. The remaining 'insects' will be eliminated starting tomorrow morning."

"……yes."

Yuan Yao left the small house, leaving Yang Hong to work late into the night. He also had Zhang Xun taken away and temporarily placed under house arrest.

The remaining task was to confirm with Cao Xing again the specific details of the arrest involving the cleaning operation.

And to make some arrangements for the future.

"After this operation is over, select a group of reliable people from the Imperial Guards to form an extraordinary committee to thoroughly eliminate anti-Yuan and anti-work slackness groups throughout Huainan. The rectification movement is not a one-off event, nor is it just for internal use; it should be extended to the entire Huainan region in the future."

"Yes."

Yuan Yao nodded. With the Zhong family's version of the Cheka, or intelligence agency, his control over Huainan would be even stronger.

That said, although Yuan Yao planned to establish a secret police regime, he did not intend to let Cao Xing be in charge of this matter for a long time. Firstly, Cao Xing's talents were more evident on the battlefield, and secondly, secret police had a terrible reputation and could easily become notorious.

Yuan Yao has a more suitable candidate.

That was the infamous Zhang Kai.

After the Battle of Huainan, Yuan Yao made a firm decision to take advantage of the victory and the absence of external military threats to carry out a profound reform of the army.

Zhang Kai's troops, who were half bandits and half soldiers, would naturally have to be removed from the military ranks.

However, Zhang Kai could still be used. This was not only because he had always chosen the right side and had been firmly following Yuan Yao in his pursuit of wealth and power since the coup, but more importantly, Yuan Yao had accidentally discovered that Zhang Kai had a subtle antisocial personality with a hatred of the rich.

If Zhang Kai were made the leader of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, he could legitimately torment the local powerful and wealthy families in Huainan, and he would probably be able to enjoy working every single hour of the day.

"Young Master, Yang Hong's list is ready."

Yuan Yao reached out and took it, examining it carefully, and found that Yang Hong was as sensible as ever.

There were a few names on the list that Yuan Yao had deliberately included. These were all capable officials, but Yang Hong crossed them all out without exception.

Then there's no problem.

Yuan Yao nodded to Cao Xing: "Let's do it."

On the 30th day of the third month of the fifth year of Jian'an, two thousand fully armed imperial guards began their operation in the early morning. According to the pre-planned scheme, they were divided into groups of ten, with five groups in each group, each led by a captain, to carry out the arrest plan in their respective areas of responsibility.

Yuan Yao codenamed this operation "Operation Pest Control," but later, it gained a more colloquial name among the public:

Night of the Longsword!