dognovel Chapter 348 Yuan Shao is terminally ill and cannot allow the Celestial Dragons to reappear!
Chapter 348 Yuan Shao is terminally ill and cannot allow the Celestial Dragons to reappear!
Poor Sima Fanglaodeng had no idea that a "filial son" was about to appear in his family.
In the original history, Sima Yi's sister, Sima Ling, married Wang Ling.
The Sima Yi family and the Wang Ling family thus formed a political alliance.
Later, Wang Ling became the leader of the powerful families of Bingzhou in Cao Wei.
His seniority always surpassed Sima Yi's.
Sima Yi's elder sister, Sima Ling, also died during Cao Rui's reign.
When people leave, the tea is cool.
The relationship between Wang Ling and Sima Yi gradually shifted from allies to rivals.
Moreover, the two shared the same attitude in the matter of bringing down Cao Shuang.
This is also why Cao Shuang was so uneasy after the Gaopingling Incident.
A naive person might think that Cao Shuang only lost to Sima Yi.
But in reality, Cao Shuang was facing a united counterattack from most of the powerful families in Cao's camp!
Honestly, apart from some poor families and members of the increasingly declining Cao, Xiahou, and Ding clans, not many people were on his side.
This is a deeply entrenched problem for the Cao Wei regime.
The problem lies at its root.
Cao Shuang, whose abilities were relatively average compared to his father's generation, unleashed all the long-hidden hidden dangers in his generation.
Even if Cao Shuang really went to Xuchang, Wang Ling, the military bigwig stationed in Shouchun, was still there.
He would definitely lead his troops north immediately, under the pretext of "purging the flanks," to kill Cao Shuang!
If Cao Shuang doesn't go to Xuchang, Sima Yi will rally powerful families across the land to surround and intercept him.
After Cao Shuang's death, Wang Ling's uprising seemed more like a result of his dissatisfaction with Sima Yi's unfair distribution of spoils.
Unfortunately, Sima Yi was still a cut above the rest.
Wang Ling was defeated, and Sima Yi further consolidated the power of the aristocratic families.
Of course, that's a story from the original history.
Now, the "filial son" Sima Yi is just a humble brother-in-law who sold his sister for personal gain in order to escape political persecution!
……
Cao Cao returned to Xuchang
Everything is back on track.
A month later, news suddenly came back from the intelligence garrison in the direction of Ye City.
Since his defeat at the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao's health had been deteriorating due to being shot by an arrow.
In addition, Yuan Shang, a filial son, would cause trouble in front of Yuan Shao every now and then, making Yuan Shao even more anxious and irritable.
According to intelligence reports, Yuan Shao is now terminally ill.
She had reached the point where she needed servants to help her walk.
Upon receiving this news, Cao Cao's expression remained unreadable, showing neither joy nor displeasure.
But only Dian Wei knew.
That afternoon, Cao Cao locked himself in his study, and faint sounds of regret and weeping could be heard.
Second day
Cao Cao recovered completely and wrote a personal letter, which he sent to Ye City by messenger.
……
Ye City
Compared to the time of the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao looked much older.
On his head, quite a few gray hairs had even appeared.
The once powerful and valiant Yuan Benchu seems to have vanished.
Beside Yuan Shao, Lady Liu, while preparing his medicine, complained:
"Master, you don't know, but we've been getting news from Qingzhou these past few days."
"Tan'er is said to be violent and ruthless; he'll kill anyone at the slightest provocation!"
"Sigh, he doesn't act like a member of the Yuan family at all. It's all my wife's fault for not teaching him properly."
While whispering in Yuan Shao's ear, Lady Liu glanced at him tentatively.
Yuan Shao nodded numbly.
He was used to it and knew Madam Liu's purpose.
But he didn't want to argue about these things.
after all.
Lady Liu, the stepmother, has repeatedly slandered her eldest son, Yuan Tan, for the sake of her own son, Yuan Shang, and this has been going on for many years.
But as they talked, Madam Liu suddenly said something suggestive:
"Master, I heard that Tan'er is still in contact with Cao Mengde."
"Oh dear, sir, I misspoke. Please don't be angry."
Yuan Shao flew into a rage and knocked over the medicine in Lady Liu's hand.
But even this simple action left Yuan Shao breathless with exhaustion.
Madam Liu bent down to pick up the broken porcelain bowl, a hint of resentment flashing in her eyes.
"Old man, after you die, my Shang'er will take over and make sure that bastard you had with that woman dies!"
Yuan Shao drove Lady Liu away.
At this moment, he felt extremely lonely.
In a daze, he recalled the beautiful woman in pink who smiled at him under the peach tree years ago. She was his first love and his first wife.
Oh right, there's also Cao Cao and Chunyu Qiong standing behind Yuan Shao, grinning foolishly.
These two lads, hey...
Before he knew it, Yuan Shao had fallen asleep.
When he woke up again, it was raining heavily and the wind was blowing fiercely outside the window.
A sense of loneliness welled up in Yuan Shao's heart once again.
Suddenly, a guard reported that Shen Pei had arrived.
Yuan Shao's brows furrowed quickly.
After Ju Shou's death, Shen Pei's arrogance subsided considerably, and he even took the initiative to curry favor with Yuan Shao.
But Yuan Shao knew perfectly well that this was just a facade.
Secretly, Shen Pei had frequent contact with Yuan Shang.
But that’s nothing.
Compared to the former Celestial Dragon who "oversaw everything inside and outside the palace, commanded the three armies, and even threatened the lord."
Shen Pei's current power is limited to political affairs at most.
Even this power was divided into four parts by Yuan Shao after the Battle of Guandu.
The other three copies were given to Ju Hu, Wang Ling, and Cui Yan.
"My lord, I have an important matter I wish to discuss with you."
Shen Pei respectfully bowed to Yuan Shao.
At this moment, his face was full of "righteousness," as if he were not the "unbreakable and steadfast advisor" who helped Ju Shou almost turn the tide at Guandu.
"Zheng Nan, I have entrusted all matters of state affairs to you, Ju Hu, Wang Ling, and Cui Yan."
"If it's a problem like this, you can reach an agreement with them."
Yuan Shao coughed weakly, pondering what Shen Pei really meant.
Unexpectedly, Shen Pei pulled out an account book from his pocket as if by magic.
“My lord, Wang Ling is from Bingzhou, and he is ultimately unfamiliar with the affairs of Jizhou.”
"I believe that we should choose another capable person."
"How about replacing Wang Ling with Feng Ji?"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao retorted:
Why go to such lengths in the due south direction?
"Although Wang Ling is from Bingzhou, he is quite capable."
"On the other hand, Feng Ji spent more time in Jizhou than Wang Ling, but he wasn't from Jizhou; he was from Nanyang!"
Shen Pei laughed:
"But Feng Ji is loyal to you, my lord, while Wang Ling is an opportunist."
"He had been in contact with Cao Cao before the Battle of Guandu."
After saying this, Shen Pei handed over the account book.
The ledger contained two letters between Wang Ling and Cao Cao's camp.
Yuan Shao fell silent.
In this round, Shen Pei caught him off guard.
But he couldn't kill Shen Pei.
Firstly, after Ju Shou's death, the powerful families of Ji Province had already fallen into division.
With Shen Pei dead, Cui Yan or Ju Hu will surely absorb the remaining forces and consolidate the powerful families of Ji Province.
Yuan Shao didn't want to see another "Heavenly Dragon" appear under his command!
Secondly, Shen Pei had served as the magistrate of Ye City for many years and had always been wary of Yuan Shao.
If we kill Shen Pei, and he then detonates some hidden "mines" for Yuan Shao before he dies, it would be a huge loss.
Therefore, Yuan Shao used the method of "separation of powers" to divide the power of the powerful families in Ji Province into four parts.
But Wang Ling, being from Bingzhou, was first and foremost ostracized by the powerful families of Jizhou.
After much deliberation, Yuan Shao sighed and agreed to replace Wang Ling with Feng Ji.
I don't know.
Shen Pei's lips curled into a smile that resembled Ju Shou's from years ago.
"My dear General Yuan, you've underestimated the enemy just because Ju Shou is dead!"
Shen Pei thought to himself.
……