Chapter 288: Kill Yuan Tan to punish Yuan Shao for causing chaos in the world! The son gave in, and the father was broken!
The moment he knelt down, Yuan Tan's defense was broken.

As the eldest son of the Yuan family, apart from kneeling to heaven, earth, parents and ancestors, no one else in the world had ever knelt to him.

But now, he knelt.

Kneeled at Liu Bei's feet!
Still, he was forced to his knees by a vulgar warrior.

Humiliation, anger, shame...

In an instant, Yuan Tan's mind was filled with words related to shame.

"How dare you insult me ​​like this, you bastard~~"

Yuan Tan, whose defense was broken, let out a scream and struggled to stand up.

Xu Chu's tiger paw pressed on his shoulders lightly, as if pressing down on a chicken. No matter how hard he tried, his knees could not leave the ground at all.

Liu Bei watched coldly as Yuan Tan's mentality exploded, but did not stop Xu Chu's coercion.

He knew that Xiao Fang intended to strike a blow to Yuan Tan, to break the arrogance of the eldest son of the Yuan family, and then to break Yuan Shao's arrogance.

"Liu Bei!"

"You know I am the son of Yuan Benchu. How dare you, your subordinates, be so rude to me?"

"You humiliate me like this, and you humiliate my Yuan family and my father!"

"Even if you used the intrigues of this country bumpkin to defraud Xuzhou, what would that do?"

"My father has captured Xuchang and defeated Cao Cao. All the states along the two rivers belong to my Yuan family. All of you combined are not worthy of being my Yuan family's enemy!"

"You humiliate me today. One day my father will raise a million troops to attack us. Don't even think about asking me to ask for peace on your behalf!"

Veins bulged on Yuan Tan's face, and he roared and shouted ferociously and arrogantly, constantly emphasizing how powerful the Yuan family was, trying to scare Liu Bei.

Of course, he was not blindly arrogant, and there was a hint of meaning in his shouting.

What he meant was to hint to Liu Bei that if you treat me with courtesy, when my father Yuan Shao's army comes to attack in the future, I can be a peacemaker and mediate on your behalf.

Yuan Tan was obviously not stupid. He wanted to negotiate terms with Liu Bei in a tactful way.

But as the eldest son of the Yuan family, for the sake of face and dignity, I naturally cannot negotiate the conditions in a humble manner. If I want to negotiate, I have to take a superior position and force you, Liu Bei, to come and talk to me.

Naturally, the generals on both sides failed to hear the hidden meaning of Yuan Tan's shouting.

Seeing that Yuan Tan, despite being a defeated general and a prisoner, still dared to be so arrogant and openly threatened Liu Bei, everyone was extremely indignant and clenched their fists.

Xu Chu's other hand had already grasped the hilt of the knife, waiting for Liu Bei's order to cut off Yuan Tan's head on the spot.

Everyone was angry, but Liu Bei looked calm, and there was not a trace of anger on his face.

He was not surprised at Yuan Tan's reaction.

Thinking back to the time when the princes of the world met together, Yuan Shao's arrogant attitude, his indifference and disdain for me is still fresh in my memory.

He understands the psychology of people like them very well.

Thinking about his father and son, three officials in four generations of the Yuan family, from the moment he was born, he was treated like a star wherever he went.

Not to mention the peddlers and hawkers, even the wealthy and famous people from all over the country had to show courtesy to the children of the Yuan family when they met them.

Even if he was the emperor, he had to be polite to the Yuan family.

In the eyes of Mr. Yuan, a poor man like me is no different from an ant.

But now, your so-called chosen one has become a prisoner, kneeling at the feet of an ant like me!

From heaven to earth, who can bear such a gap?

Not to mention Yuan Tan, if it was Yuan Shao here, he would probably have died of shame and anger on the spot.

Liu Bei ignored Yuan Tan and glanced at Xiao Fang to see how he was going to attack him next.

After Xiao Fang gave a slight hint with his eyes, anger appeared on his face and he took a step forward and stood in front of Yuan Tan.

"So what if your father Yuan Shao took Xuchang and stole the two rivers?"

"Back then, my lord had only 3,000 remnant soldiers, but he defeated Liu Biao, killed Sun Ce, killed Yuan Shu and annihilated Lu Bu. He unified half of Jiangnan with a small corner of Nanyang, and now he has recovered Xuzhou!"

"In my master's eyes, Yuan Shao is nothing but a pile of dry bones in a tomb, a token of his own to be sold."

"If my lord can capture you alive today, he can capture your father Yuan Shao alive tomorrow, recover the two rivers, and rebuild the Han Dynasty!"

Xiao Fang's arrogant and domineering words boomed in Yuan Tan's ears like thunder, shaking his body and making him tremble with astonishment.

That arrogance and conceit were instantly suppressed.

Xiao Fang then turned around and bowed to Liu Bei:

"Yuan Shao's intention to usurp the Han Dynasty is known to everyone in the world!"

"If he had not instigated He Jin to lead the brutal traitor Dong Zhuo into Luoyang, how could the Dong Zhuo Rebellion have occurred? How could the Han Dynasty have been turned upside down?"

"How can the people of the world be displaced and their families destroyed because of war?"

"The Han Dynasty is falling apart, the world is in chaos, Yuan Shao is the culprit, the Yuan family should be exterminated to atone for their sins!"

"My Lord, I ask you to execute Yuan Tan to punish Yuan Shao for his crime!"

Yuan Tan, who was kneeling on the ground, panicked for a moment.

Not only did his original arrogance disappear, but the expression that replaced it was one of deep fear.

His eyes turned to Liu Bei anxiously.

Liu Bei's face was as hard as iron, murderous intent appeared in his eyes, and his whip was slightly raised, as if he was about to give the order to kill.

Yuan Tan shuddered and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

He finally understood that Liu Bei was no longer the same person he used to be and was not afraid of the strength of his Yuan family at all.

His self-righteous threat not only failed to scare Liu Bei, but also angered Liu Bei and aroused his murderous intent.

Shooting oneself in the foot...

Seeing Liu Bei whipping his horse whip and about to issue an order to kill, Yuan Tan shouted in desperation: "General, calm down!"

Liu Bei's horsewhip hung in the air without falling.

"General, Tan was just reckless and offended you with his words. Please forgive me."

"General, you are a man of great courage and strategy, and you are a master at using troops. Tan was defeated by you, and I am convinced of your defeat."

"In fact, I have always admired the general. I have proposed to my father before that after father and the general join hands to destroy Cao, they can divide the country into north and south and jointly support the Han Dynasty."

"My Yuan family has no intention of going to war with the general. The previous conflict between our two families was caused by Xu You's instigation. I was just confused for a moment." "I know that the general has an extraordinary mind and generosity. I hope the general will forgive me for my offense. I will definitely persuade my father to form a Qin-Jin friendship with the general, and divide the world between our two families and form an eternal alliance."

Yuan Tan was scared.

This young master Yuan cowered at the moment before Liu Bei issued the order to kill him.

Not only was he timid, but he also spoke in a sincere tone and with a look of regret and self-blame on his face, and he said something that was almost like "begging for mercy."

Looking at Yuan Tan's sudden change of attitude, a hint of surprise flashed across Old Liu's face.

He seemed unable to believe that the son of the world's number one overlord could be such a coward.

In order to survive, he could disregard his dignity and Yuan Shao's face.

This shamelessness is no less than that of Lu Bu and his ilk...

Xiao Fang smiled coldly, not at all surprised by Yuan Tan's surrender.

He looks fierce but is timid, which is a trait inherited from the Yuan family.

In history, after Yuan Shao died of illness, Yuan Tan, in order to compete with Yuan Shang for the throne, even went so far as to ask for surrender to Cao Cao, the mortal enemy of the Yuan family, and invited a wolf into the house to deal with his own brother.

So, it's not surprising that in order to save his life, he surrenders to Lao Liu and begs for mercy.

"Military Advisor, do you think I should kill this thief or not?"

Old Liu didn't know how to continue acting, so he suppressed his surprise and glanced at Xiao Fang.

Since the purpose of warning was achieved, there was naturally no need to kill Yuan Tan. After all, his life had to be kept to compete with Yuan Shang for the throne and cause trouble for Yuan Shao.

Xiao Fang then put away the murderous intent on his face, waved his feather fan and said:
"My Lord is a man of integrity. Since this thief has admitted his guilt, I think it would be better to leave his head for the time being and wait and see what happens next."

"Whether to kill or not, please make the decision, my lord."

Liu Bei pondered in silence, pretending to be thinking.

Yuan Tan's nerves were stretched to the limit, fearing that Liu Bei would change his mind and take his head.

"Forget it, let's do as the military advisor says and let him live to see what happens next."

"Come here, take him back to Xia Pi and keep him under custody."

Liu Bei waved his hand and showed mercy.

Yuan Tan felt relieved and knelt on the ground as if he had collapsed.

Chen Dao waved his hand, and the soldiers on his left and right came forward and dragged Yuan Tan away.

Yuan Tan didn't dare to say another word, fearing that Liu Bei would revoke his order, so he was dragged out of the city like mud.

"Yuan Benchu ​​is the strongest person in the world, but I didn't expect his son to be so afraid of death. He is truly a son of a tiger..."

Liu Bei stood in front of the battlements, looked down at Yuan Tan being dragged away, and shook his head with regret.

Xiao Fang smiled and pointed his feather fan at the land of Xuzhou:
"Yuan Tan has been captured. The counties and states of Donghai and Langya can be conquered by issuing an edict. Xuzhou is now the lord's."

"What the lord has to do next is to calm the people as quickly as possible, appoint officials, and reorganize the surrendered soldiers."

"Let's just conserve our energy and wait for Yuan Shao to make his move."

Liu Bei nodded heavily, agreeing deeply. He looked towards the mountains and rivers of Xuzhou in front of him, and a smile of pride and satisfaction appeared on his face.

...

Xuchang, in the former imperial palace.

In the Golden Palace, there was singing and dancing, and the air was filled with the smell of wine.

Yuan Shao was sitting high on the throne, drinking and chatting with his ministers, enjoying dance and music, and celebrating the achievement of capturing Xuchang.

The original imperial palace has now been converted into his military headquarters.

The position where he sat was originally the position of the emperor, but now the dragon throne has been changed into a Hu bed.

Since entering Xuchang, this was the nth time he had held a banquet to celebrate with his advisers and generals.

At this time, Yuan Shao seemed to have been immersed in a state of mind where he felt that the world had been settled and it was time for him to enjoy a leisurely life, and he was unable to extricate himself.

"Everyone!"

"You have followed me, Yuan Shao, in my campaigns to the east and west. Whether you have made contributions or suffered hardships, I, Yuan Shao, will remember them all."

"Come, come, let me give you this glass of wine to celebrate your dedication and sacrifice."

"I, Yuan Shao, share this world with you all!"

Yuan Shao stood up, faced his advisers and generals, and raised his glass high.

He was using this glass of wine to tell everyone that I, Yuan Shao, would remember all your contributions, so you can rest assured that I would ensure that you will have wealth, honor, and nobility.

After hearing Yuan Shao's promise, everyone felt relieved, and they stood up and raised their glasses, inevitably expressing their loyalty.

Yuan Shao laughed heartily and drank the wine in one gulp.

Everyone laughed and raised their glasses.

Just as the wine entered his throat, a relative rushed into the hall and knelt down in front of it.

"My lord, urgent news from Xuzhou!"

"Liu Bei has captured Xiapi. Xu You, Jiang Qi, Lu Xiang and others were all killed by him. Our Xuzhou Army was completely annihilated!"

"The eldest son failed to escape from Xuzhou and was captured alive by Liu Bei in Pengcheng!"

There was a sudden deathly silence in the hall.

Almost at the same time, everyone's smiling faces turned into endless horror.

Yuan Shao's wine glass was suspended in the air, his body was as stiff as ice, and his face seemed petrified, frozen in a moment of astonishment.

"what--"

A howl of pain was heard.

Yuan Shao's eyes went dark, he staggered and fell to the ground, collapsing on the bed.

"My Lord~~"

Everyone was horrified and rushed towards Yuan Shao.

(End of this chapter)