Chapter 387 Sword Testing Stone
In the northern suburbs of Yecheng, Yuan Shang led nearly a thousand guards and young men of Hebei's civil and military rank to perform martial arts and hunt.

Troops have been dispatched to block all the mountain passes, and we are waiting for the snow to fall before taking action.

A few days after his chief clerk Li Fu returned from Huainan, after repeatedly confirming that the King of Huainan would move the capital to Jiangdong, Li Fu refused to obey the Huainan court on behalf of Hebei.

Even if we don't ask Liu Fu to return to the old capital, the new capital should at least be established in Xudu, and at worst it should be Shouchun, Peixian, or Pengcheng.

Retreating with big strides like Liu Fu did...it was obvious that he didn't care about the lives of the people of Hebei at all.

Seeing that there was no sincerity in the alliance, Li Fu decisively withdrew.

Li Fu was exhausted from the journey, and upon returning to Hebei, he devoted himself to reading the official documents he had accumulated.

Not only was he looking through old files, Yuan Shang also took time to study the accumulated files.

In particular, there are various official documents and secret letter archives from the period when Yuan Shao conquered Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan was so rampant back then, but he was still suppressed and beaten.

There were two turning points in Gongsun Zan's decline: one was killing Liu Yu, and the other was getting close to villains.

The killing of Liu Yu led to the rise of resistance forces in Youzhou, which tied down Gongsun Zan's war potential in various places; after the defeat on the front battlefield, the officials assigned to various places were attacked, killed and expelled, which undermined the foundation of Gongsun Zan's rule.

As for getting close to villains, there is no need to delve into this mistake; after all, when Yuan Shao was about to encircle and kill Gongsun Zan, he also changed his generals on the battlefield.

In short, the key to Gongsun Zan's defeat was the killing of Liu Yu.

At the same time, in order to defeat Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao used a very extreme offensive, winning over everyone he could win over and trying to persuade everyone he could to rebel.

At the end of the battle, although Gongsun Zan still had outlying strongholds and forces, he had begun to become suspicious and frustrated. His fighting spirit was low, and he indulged in women and quietly waited for his demise.

Yuan Shang studied attentively and began to think about who Liu Yu was; if one person was not enough, several people together should be able to match Liu Yu's influence.

There is also Xianyu Fu. Can Liu Bei become the Xianyu Fu who counterattacks Gongsun Zan?

In short, one thing is now very clear: the people of Youzhou support Liu Bei, and currently do not have the conditions to confront Liu Bei head-on, especially in Youzhou itself.

Behind Liu Bei was Guanzhong, and killing the Huns and Xianbei was as easy as cutting grass. The people of Youzhou had suffered from border troubles for a long time, so they naturally knew how strong Guanzhong was.

Not only the people of Youzhou knew this, but the people of Wuhuan knew this as well, so they could not simply expect people like Tadun and Louban to take the initiative to confront Liu Bei.

Perhaps these people have already begun sending envoys to Liu Bei, seeking ways to make peace.

The various Hu tribes can only use their strength, but must never rely on them.

The Hu people are unreliable.

Gratitude cannot be constrained, and the trust in a covenant cannot be constrained even more.

When Yuan Shang was racking his brains for a way out of the impasse, his cousin Yuan Chunqing came to see him, bringing a messenger from Youzhou.

After reading the letter, Yuan Shang passed it to Yuan Chunqing and Li Fu to read. After the two returned the letter, Yuan Shang said, "Liu Xuande is a great hero of the time. His return to Youzhou is like a dragon entering the sea. Not to mention me, Guanzhong will also be difficult to check and restrain."

Yuan Chunqing said, "I heard that Lord Xuande has no son yet, and his two daughters are both in Guanzhong, so it seems that there is an intention for marriage."

Yuan Shang nodded and could not help but frowning slightly. Black Bear also played the game of marriage very well. Ma Teng and Ma Chao had become generals in Guanzhong. The troops under their control now exceeded the scale before their surrender and dependence.

When Ma Chao's other brothers have gained experience and become successful, and all the Ma brothers have become generals, it is very likely that another Ma queen will emerge.

Thinking about it, Yuan Shang asked, "Uncle, has my younger sister sent me any letters recently?"

"I sent back a letter half a month ago."

Yuan Chunqing said calmly, "Since entering Guanzhong, the Grand Marshal has been very kind to me, but he has never slept with me."

In order to raise the status of married girls from the clan, she was temporarily adopted by him.

The one who got married was just an orphan girl from the Yuan family who was of a relatively suitable age and had some looks.

Yuan Shang was not surprised to hear this, but intelligence showed that the most favored one was a woman with a Hebei accent.

This news made him feel very uncomfortable, so in order to make himself feel better, he could only ignore this information instinctively. Thinking, Yuan Shang looked up at the outline of the mountains in the distance: "Now that my brother is in Jiaozhou, it is also a way out."

Yuan Chunqing remained silent after hearing this, and his father fled to Huainan to avoid the chaos.

When Li Fu went south, he sent people to find him, gave him provisions and arranged for him to be escorted, and had already sent him to Jiaozhou.

After arriving safely in Jiaozhou, Yuan Tan will naturally send people to Hebei.

Yuan Shang suddenly felt that what he had just said was not very auspicious, so he turned to ask Li Fu: "If my brother gives in a little and allows Liu Bei to take all six counties of Youzhou, will it alienate this man?"

Li Fu thought about it seriously, and after a while he said, "Lord Xuande is a man of integrity, and the six counties of Youzhou will hardly shake his resolve. Moreover, Lord Xuande has no son, and now his two daughters have found their own families. It will be extremely difficult to persuade and instigate Lord Xuande to raise troops and leave Guanzhong. In my opinion, we should unite with Gongsun Du of Liaodong, and join forces with Wuhuan and Xianbei to besiege. With such joint efforts, if no reinforcements from Guanzhong arrive, we can defeat their army."

Yuan Chunqing lowered his head and said nothing, while Yuan Shang looked embarrassed.

The war in Xichui will not be delayed for long. Once the enemy turns around to attack the Eastern Xianbei, as long as they succeed, no one will be able to shake Liu Bei's power in Youzhou.

Even though Yuan Xi is now welcoming Liu Bei into Zhuo County, Liu Bei will not take the initiative to attack Yuan Xi in the short term.

Therefore, this winter, Yuan Xi still has the influence to mobilize the headquarters.

No matter how good Liu Bei was at seducing people, it would take time for him to gradually drain Yuan Xi away.

If we want to eliminate Liu Bei by force, this winter is the only chance.

But if Liu Bei is dealt with, a full-scale invasion from Guanzhong will be imminent.

Guanzhong also has an obvious shortcoming, which is that there are not enough generals who can stand on their own.

Through marriage, Ma Teng and Ma Chao, father and son, can temporarily serve as a barrier to the west; and Liu Bei seems to be able to serve as a barrier pillar in the northeast direction.

Defeating Liu Bei in advance would certainly cut off one of Guanzhong's arms... but the consequence is obvious. It would lead to the Black Bear's personal expedition. The more intense the resistance, the higher the frequency of the Black Bear's personal expedition.

If we just defeat or expel Liu Bei... it will be the same. Black Bear will still lead the army in person, and a veteran like Liu Bei can become a detachment, so it will be just as difficult to defeat him then.

Therefore, it was necessary to get rid of Liu Bei and continue to persuade him to surrender and establish himself in order to paralyze him.

During this period, make all kinds of preparations to launch a surprise attack on Liu Bei!
Li Fu's opinion is not just Li Fu's personal opinion. Li Fu's position is similar to that of Shen Pei.

This may also be the mainstream opinion of Shen Pei and Hebei people.

If we can't even defeat and annihilate Liu Bei cleanly and efficiently, how can we encourage and inspire the families in Hebei to risk everything and compete with Guanzhong for the mandate of destiny?

As for the so-called Huainan New Dynasty, it had been looked down upon by Yuan Shang and the people of Hebei since the other side established the so-called Jianye as its capital.

It is really hard to face the other party. I originally thought that I could launch a coalition against Guanzhong, but it turned out to be a thief who only defended himself.

It was probably because the Huainan court established its capital in Jianye that Liu Biao took action to massacre the big families in Jingxiang.

The break between Liu Biao and his son and the big families in Jingxiang meant that their influence was greatly reduced and they no longer posed a threat to Guanzhong.

Without the support of Guanzhong, they, father and son, would most likely be wiped out by Jingnan and Jiangxia.

In short, Yuan Shang looked down on the new dynasty in Huainan; Cao Cao retreated to the Heluo area, and the vast four states of the Central Plains were placed in front of Hebei... If Hebei reacted quickly this winter, it could surpass Guanzhong in momentum.

When major forces confront each other, what they compete for outside the battlefield is momentum. The stronger the momentum, the stronger the cohesion and internal enthusiasm.

But if the action against Liu Bei fails this time... the consequences of failure don't matter. If we can't even defeat Liu Bei, what's the point of confronting Guanzhong?
Yuan Shang vaguely realized that if he couldn't defeat Liu Bei, he would have to become Gongsun Zan.

At this moment he was not angry, he just felt that Liu Bei came at the right time.

Zhuo County is located in the southernmost part of Youzhou, and this is the opportunity.

This opportunity is actually really great.

After his thoughts settled, Yuan Shang said to Li Fu calmly, "Lord Xuande will be back soon, you can visit him with generous gifts. There are still some close relatives in his clan, you can lobby for the succession. When Lord Xuande has his own son, perhaps things will change."

Li Fu observed Yuan Shang's expression and immediately understood. He bowed and said, "Yes, I understand."

(End of this chapter)