Chapter 336: The situation is hopeless, fake the imperial edict, sell your meat and run away! Drink from the Yellow River, the Central Plains will change!
"No one knows the Prime Minister better than the King!"

Pang Tong sighed, but also said with curiosity:
"But I don't know what ingenious strategy the Prime Minister used to destroy 20,000 Wei troops so easily?"

Liu Bei's curiosity was also aroused, and he immediately jumped off his horse and snatched the battle report from the messenger.

Pang Tong also jumped on his horse and surrounded the officials, eager to watch.

The entire process of Xiao Fang flooding the Wei army and defeating Yuan Shang was clearly described in the victory report.

"Flood the Wei army?"

"Jinglue actually built a sand dam upstream of the Jialu River, and then broke the dam and drowned 20,000 Wei troops?"

"Is this okay?"

Liu Bei was amazed and looked back at Pang Tong in surprise.

Pang Tong's eyes suddenly understood, and he said:

"Han Xin used this strategy when he defeated Long Ju. The Prime Minister is following suit."

"Brilliant! This plan is truly brilliant!"

"No wonder the Prime Minister is so sure of victory. It turns out he has already thought of this ingenious strategy to defeat the enemy!"

"The country's ability to use the weather and terrain to its fullest is truly incredible and beyond the reach of the rest of us!"

Pang Tong, who was very self-confident, was also very emotional at this time and could hardly hide his admiration for Xiao Fang.

Zhang Fei exploded and shouted excitedly:

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has already destroyed Yuan Shang's 20,000 troops. What are we waiting for? Let's attack the city!"

Liu Bei's heroic spirit was aroused. He jumped on his horse and pointed his whip at the enemy city:
"Yuan Shang's entire army was annihilated. The defenders of Suiyang must have been greatly shaken and their morale collapsed!"

"Follow my order, the entire army will attack Suiyang fiercely and defeat the Wei army in one fell swoop!"

The morale of the soldiers of the three armies was greatly boosted.

More than 90,000 Chu soldiers, with their high morale, rushed towards Suiyang City like a tide.

...

Suiyang, the inner room of the palace.

In the dim room, Yuan Shao lay on the sickbed with a haggard and lifeless look.

Yuan Shang, Ju Shou, Wen Chou and others looked at the unconscious Yuan Shao with sad faces.

Outside the hall, the roar of the Hanwei cannon and the deafening shouts of the Chu army soldiers were endless, making their scalps tingle.

The doctor's diagnosis was that Yuan Shao was so angry that he only had one breath left.

As for when he will wake up, it all depends on God's will.

"My father is unconscious now, and the Chu army is attacking the city fiercely. The morale of our army has fallen to the bottom."

"The situation has come to this point. What should we do? You all have to make up your mind."

Yuan Shang looked at Ju Shou and Wen Chou helplessly, his tone and expression clearly showed that he was confused.

He is still young after all.

Moreover, most of my life has been smooth sailing. How could I have ever faced such a difficult situation?
Ju Su sighed and bowed helplessly:

"Third Young Master, the situation has become clearer now that the battle has reached this point."

"Our army in Suiyang won't be able to hold out for long. Zhang He is also struggling to hold on at Hulao Pass. The situation of the Second Young Master in Qingzhou is not optimistic either."

"As for Xuchang, I believe that Xiao Fang will lead his troops north to attack Chenliu in a few days!"

"Our army is already stretched to its limits, and we can't spare a single soldier to defend Chenliu. If Chenliu is lost, the consequences will be clear to you, Third Young Master, without my telling you."

"So the reality is that all our fronts are about to collapse. Henan is already in ruins and we can no longer defend it."

"The only solution now is to give up the land south of the Yellow River and withdraw all the troops to Hebei. We will lose the land but save the people."

Yuan Shang was shocked and remained silent.

"Yes, Third Young Master, Henan can no longer be defended. The best strategy is for us to withdraw to Hebei and preserve our troops."

As a native of Hebei, Wen Chou naturally advocated withdrawing to Hebei under this situation.

After weighing the pros and cons for a while, Yuan Shang looked embarrassed and sighed:
"I would like to withdraw to Hebei, but I am afraid that my father will not listen to my advice out of consideration for his reputation."

Wen Chou glanced at Yuan Shao lying on the sickbed and said in a low voice:
"With the king in this state, no one can predict when he will wake up. At this time, the Third Young Master should step forward and take charge of the situation on behalf of the king."

"I think, why don't you, the Third Prince, convey the king's order to order all the armies to abandon Henan and withdraw all the troops back to Hebei?"

Yuan Shang was shocked.

Wen Chou was trying to instigate him to falsely convey the imperial edict.

In other words, he wanted to persuade him to take over the power of regent while Yuan Shao was unconscious!
A hint of excitement flashed quietly in Yuan Shang's eyes.

But then he frowned again, looking worried:

"In this time of crisis, I should step forward and share my father's worries."

"But I'm worried that my elder brother will have doubts, and people from Ruying like Guo Tu and Chun Yuqiong will not agree."

Wen Chou smiled coldly and snorted disdainfully:
"Your Majesty, under our protection, the central army is all from Hebei, and they are all under our control."

"The foreign troops are mostly from Hebei, and they are led by Yan Liang and Zhang He."

"We have the military power in our hands. Even if the eldest son questions us, what can we do?"

"If the eldest son really dares to defy the questioning, the third son should just take this opportunity to do something drastic—"

Wen Chou stopped talking, but a cold murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

Yuan Shang's body was startled. How could he not understand the implication of Wen Chou's words?

If Yuan Tan dares to question or disobey, just kill him!

Eliminate this contender once and for all, physically, and wipe him out of this world! It must be said that Wen Chou's proposal really moved Yuan Shang.

Killing Yuan Tan would put his worries to rest, and no one would be able to compete with him for the throne anymore.

Wouldn't it be safe to assume the position of the Crown Prince of Wei?

"General Wen, let me ask you, if you kill the eldest son, Chunyu Qiong, Guo Tu and other Ruying ministers, will they let it go?"

Ju Su, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly asked back.

Wen Chou was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand carelessly:

"If they dare to cause trouble, then we will kill them too. This will eliminate the Ruying people once and for all and put an end to any future troubles!"

Ju Shou shook his head and sighed, seeming helpless about Wen Chou's rudeness and stupidity.

"There are more people from Ruying than Chunyu Qiong and Guo Tu. If you kill them, what will happen to the others?"

"Are they all going to be killed?"

"Besides, even if the majority of our army is made up of people from Hebei, at least 30% of the soldiers in Suiyang City are from Henan, and there are also quite a few civil and military officials from the Ruying clan."

"If you kill the eldest son, Chunyu Qiong and Guo Tu, and make these Ruying soldiers feel insecure, forcing them to rebel, and Liu Bei outside the city takes advantage of the situation to attack, wouldn't my tens of thousands of main forces in Suiyang be in danger of being wiped out?"

"Besides, the Second Young Master and the First Young Master are brothers from the same mother. The Qingzhou Army under their command were originally the First Young Master's old subordinates. If they raise the banner of revenge for the First Young Master and start a rebellion, what should we do?"

"By that time, we will be in internal strife and civil unrest will break out. I'm afraid it won't just be a matter of losing Henan. Liu Bei will take advantage of the opportunity and march north to attack Hebei!"

"We are in danger of extinction!"

Yuan Shang shuddered, and the murderous intent that had just ignited in his heart was extinguished in an instant.

Wen Chou's arrogance also wilted.

"Besides, if the Third Young Master kills the First Young Master, how will you explain to the King when he wakes up one day?"

Ju Su asked finally.

Yuan Shang's figure shuddered and he fell completely silent.

After a long time.

Yuan Shang took a deep breath and said seriously:
"You are right. Big brother and I are brothers of flesh and blood. How can I do something that would break my bones and kill each other?"

"For the sake of the overall situation, and to prevent our Great Wei from falling into civil strife, I cannot kill my eldest brother."

After speaking righteously and sternly, Yuan Shang changed the subject but said helplessly:
"But then again, if we don't do this, what should we do if Big Brother and Guo Tu question our father's order and refuse to give up Henan?"

This time it was Ju Su's turn to remain silent.

He paced in the hall, his mind racing, trying to figure out how to have the best of both worlds.

After thinking for a long time, he suddenly stopped and his eyes showed confidence.

"The eldest son and Guo Tu are not stubborn or stupid people. They naturally don't want to give up Henan, but they should also be able to see clearly that the loss of Henan is a foregone conclusion and there is no way to hold on to it."

"If the Third Young Master wants them to obey orders, abandon Henan and withdraw to Hebei, then he needs to give them sufficient compensation."

"I think that the Third Young Master should transfer some of his military power to the First Young Master, and let the First Young Master command half of our troops and stay in Liyang. At the same time, let him continue to serve as the Governor of Qingzhou, but transfer the Second Young Master to be the Governor of Bingzhou."

"The eldest son has obtained the military power, regained Qingzhou, and also obtained our important city of Liyang. His situation is much better than it is now."

"I think such conditions should be able to attract the eldest master."

"After weighing the pros and cons, he and Guo Tu and other Ruying people should consider the overall situation and agree to retreat back to Hebei."

Ju Su gave his own plan to break the impasse.

Yuan Shang frowned slightly and remained silent in thought.

Wen Chou's face changed and he said anxiously:

"Liyang is the gateway to Hebei. How can such an important town be handed over to the eldest son?"

"What's more, we have to give him military power and return Qingzhou to him?"

"If the Third Young Master succeeds to the throne in the future, and he refuses to accept reality, wouldn't he have the strength to fight against the Third Young Master with his own troops?"

Yuan Shang's heart trembled, and he suddenly looked up at Ju Su.

Ju Su let out a breath and sighed:
"As you said, I cannot guarantee whether the situation you described will occur in the future."

"I only know that if you don't make such concessions now, the foundation created by the king will be taken by Liu Bei."

"By that time, whether the eldest son ascends the throne or the third son inherits the throne, what will it mean?"

Wen Chou was speechless.

Yuan Shang's body was shocked, and the remaining worries in his heart were shattered by Ju Su's last words.

After weighing the pros and cons again and again, Yuan Shang waved his hand reluctantly:

"Forget it. Let's do as you say and put the survival of Wei first."

"As for my stupid and greedy elder brother, I'll give him some sweet treats first so that he will behave himself."

"After I have safely retreated back to Hebei and stabilized the situation, it won't be too late to slowly deal with him!"

Ju Su secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

...

It was late autumn.

Yuan Shang issued an edict in the name of Yuan Shao, and the Wei troops in various places abandoned Henan and retreated to the south bank of the Yellow River, retreating to Hebei in a panic via the Yanjin, Baima, and Puyang ferry crossings.

From east to west, the Chu troops took advantage of the situation and pursued northward, recovering the counties south of the Yellow River.

The Chu army's horses drank from the Yellow River.

The Central Plains changed hands.

(End of this chapter)