newbobooks Chapter 294 Cao Cao's birthday gift to Yuan Shao, the Wuhuan civil war breaks out!
Chapter 294 Cao Cao's birthday gift to Yuan Shao, the Wuhuan civil war breaks out!
Xuchang
Sikong Mansion
Upon learning that Qu Yi had been executed, Cao Cao showed regret.
But as regrettable as it may be, if Yuan Shao were in his position, he would probably have done even more ruthless things!
At this moment, Cao Cao felt extremely fortunate.
The biggest difference between Cao Cao's camp and Yuan Shao's camp is that Cao Cao can directly mobilize almost all of his troops.
Yuan Shao, on the other hand, could only mobilize less than 40% of his forces...
The remaining 60% was entirely in the hands of Ju Shou and his cronies.
The difference between the two is very significant.
Once Ju Shou and Yuan Shao disagree, Yuan Shao will find it difficult to make any progress.
Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, Cao Cao sent Dian Wei to bring him a pen and paper.
Subsequently, Cao Cao wrote a congratulatory message in haste.
"If I remember correctly, it will be the 48th birthday of the Prime Minister in ten days."
"Never mind, even though we are enemies, we should not forget to offer our blessings."
Cao Cao had a habit of sending a gift to Yuan Shao every year on his birthday (in the Han Dynasty, birthdays were based on the lunar calendar).
This year is no exception.
and.
Yuan Shao's birthday is particularly easy to remember.
Many years ago on this day, it was the first time Cao Cao and Yuan Shao went to secretly watch a widow.
However, Cao Cao adhered to the principle of the latecomer surpassing the former.
His talent in this area has clearly surpassed that of Yuan Shao.
……
Ten days later
General's Mansion
Yuan Shao opened the congratulatory gift sent by Cao Cao, a look of reminiscence flashing across his face.
In fact, the happiest days of Yuan Shao's life were the period of his childhood before he was adopted by his uncle Yuan Cheng.
At that time, Yuan Shao was an illegitimate son of the Yuan family, but his status was still higher than that of Cao Cao, Chunyu Qiong, and others.
But when the brothers get together, there aren't many formalities or rules.
Throughout Luoyang, the infamous reputation of this group of mischievous and unruly young dandies spread far and wide.
Once upon a time, the former playboy became one of the most powerful warlords in the land.
One of them might even become emperor in the future!
Life is unpredictable; everything seems like it was just yesterday.
"Hmph, Mengde, don't think that just because you send people to Yuan to deliver congratulatory gifts every year, Yuan will remember your kindness."
"Once I take Xuchang, I'll definitely have you come and be my groom!"
Yuan Shao chuckled to himself.
It's unclear whether he genuinely wanted Cao Cao to be his groom, or if he simply missed his old friend.
suddenly.
The steward stumbled in from outside and reported to Yuan Shao:
"Master, General Yan Liang is outside requesting an audience!"
"Yan Liang?"
"Hasn't he already sent me a congratulatory gift?"
As soon as he said it, Yuan Shao stopped in his tracks.
That means Yan Liang's visit now is definitely not about the congratulatory gift, but rather about some other urgent matter!
Soon, Yan Liang was brought in by the butler.
He said with a heavy expression:
"My lord, an urgent report has arrived from the Wuhuan royal court!"
"King Qiuliju of Wuhuan died a few days ago."
"His son, Tadun, intended to inherit the throne of the Wuhuan, but was attacked by Nengchendi, the younger brother of Qiuliju!"
"Now, Tadun has retreated to the area north of Yuyang and has requested reinforcements from our army!"
Before he could finish speaking, Yuan Shao slammed his hand on the door beside him, making his palm turn red.
Qiuliju was the original king of the Wuhuan.
When this man first ascended to the throne, he made a vow before the sacred White Wolf Mountain of the Wuhuan people, promising to lead the Wuhuan to become bigger and stronger.
As a result, many years passed, and the Wuhuan remained the same. Qiuliju suffered repeated defeats and fell ill from depression.
Several months ago, news came that his health was deteriorating and he was terminally ill.
Is it because of the dish "Qiu Li Ju Cai"?
The food is only one aspect.
Another reason is that the Wuhuan were located next to Gongsun Zan's Youzhou!
Gongsun Zan stood there like an iron wall, and Qiu Liju couldn't pry him up at all.
Just when Gongsun Zan's power had finally weakened and was on the verge of collapse, Qiu Liju fell ill.
In order to secure the four provinces of Hebei, Yuan Shao decided to contact Tadun, the son of Qiuliju, a leading candidate for the next Wuhuan king, in advance!
Of course, Yuan Shao did not intend to betray the interests of the Han people, but rather planned to make the Wuhuan people his servants and gradually assimilate them.
Tadun also desperately needed Yuan Shao's support.
Although he was nominally the son of Qiuliju.
In reality, he was able to become Qiuliju's son only because Qiuliju had no son.
He was adopted by Qiu Liju as Qiu Liju's cousin, and he wasn't even considered a biological nephew.
Nephew, this is quite a distance from Qiu Liju in terms of blood relation.
Within the Wuhuan, there were bound to be many who opposed him.
For example, Qiu Liju's younger brother, Nengchen Dizhi (although the name is strange, it is indeed his name).
My impression of Taton has never been very good.
Even the capable minister Di Zhi was ambitious.
He pondered, if his cousin Tadun could inherit the position of King of Wuhuan, then wouldn't he, as the King of Wuhuan's own brother, be even closer by blood?
However, Tadun had the support of Yuan Shao, while Nengchen Dizhi lacked external support. On the eve of Qiuliju's death, Nengchen Dizhi was also completely suppressed by Tadun.
Now that Qiuliju has passed away, Nengchen Dizhi has suddenly risen to prominence and is suppressing Tadun.
With Yuan Shao's wisdom and keen insight, he could naturally tell that something was definitely going on here!
The person who caused the trouble is also quite obvious.
Who else could it be but Ju Shou?
Why didn't Yuan Shao suspect Cao Cao?
Because the Wuhuan royal court was located north of Youzhou, and was not adjacent to Cao Cao's territory at all.
If Cao Cao supported Neng Chen Dizhi in his rebellion, the support he could provide would be very small and insufficient to help Neng Chen Dizhi overthrow Tadun.
The only person capable of providing a large amount of supplies in a short period of time, and who could systematically support the counter-offensive plan against Neng Chen, is Ju Shou!
"Very good, Ju Gongyu, I like your birthday gift to me very much."
Yuan Shao was so angry that he couldn't eat. He immediately went to the council hall and summoned the core civil and military officials of Ye City for a meeting.
Seeing that almost everyone had arrived except for Ju Shou, a flash of resentment crossed Yuan Shao's eyes.
He spoke to Shen Pei, who was sitting at the head of the table, and asked:
“From the south, Wuhuan Tadun has requested aid from this general, hoping that I can send troops to support him in defeating Nengchen Dizhi!”
Do you think this great general should send troops?
Facing Yuan Shao's invisible pressure, Shen Pei remained fearless and said:
"My lord, please forgive my bluntness."
"The fighting among the Wuhuan is their internal affair; what does it have to do with you, my lord?"
"If my lord really wants to get involved, he might as well take a look at our army's supply accounts."
"When we eliminated Gongsun Zan before the New Year, our army consumed a great deal of grain and fodder."
"If we were to launch a campaign against the Wuhuan royal court, our current food supplies would be far from enough for the army to make the round trip."
"Unless our lord can conjure up enough provisions to feed an army of 100,000 for half a year."
"Otherwise, our army would be unable to intervene in the Wuhuan affair under any circumstances."
Before he could finish speaking, Yuan Shao angrily rebuked:
"presumptuous!"
"How dare you deceive Zheng Nan!"
"Where are the accounts? This great general will personally examine them!"
Shen Pei raised his head and said:
"The accounts are all in my residence. If my lord wishes to retrieve them, he may send someone to do so at any time."
Shen Pei wasn't flustered at all.
Falsifying accounts? That's easy!
Furthermore, the powerful families of Ji Province and Yuan Shao's own army used two different accounting methods.
Even if Yuan Shao investigated thoroughly, he still wouldn't be able to find a problem.
The powerful families of Jizhou are just that arrogant!
A round of applause rang out from outside the council chamber.
"Who has angered our lord so much?"
"Today is our lord's birthday. Have you all presented him with your gifts?"
“I, Ju, have also come with congratulatory gifts to express my gratitude to my lord.”
……
PS: Wuhuan King Tadun had an extremely good relationship with the Yuan family, so good that he used his own head to secure Zhang Liao's victories. From then on, Zhang Liao became even more confident, until he met his destined xxx.