Chapter 356 You want to be the king of a fallen country! You want to slap me in the face? Behead this traitor who has no respect for the king!

Yecheng, the royal palace.

Yuan Shao, panting heavily and leaning on a crutch, ascended the throne with difficulty, supported by his trusted general Yan Liang.

After walking just a few steps, he was already so tired that he was panting like a cow, and sweat was pouring down his forehead.

Tian Feng and other ministers who were standing at the steps were all filled with a shadow of sadness when they saw Yuan Shao's appearance.

Anyone could see that Yuan Shao's physical condition after waking up had deteriorated drastically compared to before he fell into a coma.

If things continue to develop in this way, even if Yuan Shao regains the throne and takes control of power, he will probably not survive for more than a few months.

Liu Bei's army of 170,000 is on the verge of Yecheng. This life-and-death war for the country will take at least a year and a half.

If Yuan Shao died of illness during the battle, who would take charge of the situation?

Would he support Yuan Shang, who had been demoted to the position of crown prince, and restore him to the throne to lead them in their fight against the State of Chu?

But if Yuan Shang ascends the throne again, how will those who supported Yuan Shao to regain power deal with it?

Will Yuan Shang let them off and not settle scores with them later?
The ministers' minds were in turmoil, and they were all worried about their future. They all began to secretly look for a way out for themselves.

"Where is Queen Liu? Have you found her whereabouts?"

"Where is Shen Pei? Why doesn't he come to court?"

Yuan Shao, who had recovered from his shock, tapped the ground with his cane and shouted sternly.

No one dared to say a word, and all eyes were on Tian Feng.

Among so many ministers, only Tian Feng, an old and respected minister, dared to speak the truth in front of Yuan Shao without fear of Yuan Shao's anger.

Tian Feng sighed deeply and had to step out silently.

"Reporting to the king, we have found out that the queen sneaked into the palace and hid in the court of justice."

"Afterwards, Shen Pei led the Shen clan out of Yecheng through the west gate, and now his whereabouts are unknown.

"I guess the queen must have left the city with Shen Pei."

"In my opinion, most of them went south to Wucheng to seek refuge with the Third Young Master."

Tian Feng told the truth.

Yuan Shao's eyes widened with anger, and he pounded the ground with his cane, cursing:

"What a vicious woman! I said I would kill her the other day, and she dared to escape from the city and seek refuge with her son!"

"And Shen Pei, he was so bold that he even left the city without permission to seek refuge with that rebellious son!"

"What do they want to do? Are they planning to team up with that rebellious son to rebel against me?"

Yuan Shao's angry roar echoed in the hall.

The ministers were trembling with fear and dared not say a word.

"Please take care of your health, my king, and don't get angry."

Tian Feng persuaded with concern, and then said:

"In my opinion, the Queen and Shen Pei both forged the imperial edict and were afraid that they would be held accountable and punished by the King, so they took the risk of leaving the city to seek refuge with the Third Prince."

"I think they just want to save their lives and may not dare to rebel openly."

"As for the Third Young Master, he shouldn't dare to raise an army to rebel, bear the infamy of being a traitor to his father, and be despised by the world!"

Yuan Shao finally suppressed the rage in his heart, took a few breaths, and regained his composure a little.

After a moment of hesitation, Yuan Shao snorted coldly:
"I don't think they have the guts to rebel against me!"

"Send another messenger to Wucheng and urge that boy to bring the 90,000 troops, along with that vicious woman Liu, and that traitor Shen Pei, back to Yecheng for me!"

"If he is sensible and obedient, and abides by filial piety, I will still acknowledge him as my son and continue to make him the Crown Prince!"

"If he is stubborn and still covets the throne, being disloyal and unfilial, don't blame me for not thinking of the father-son relationship!"

Yuan Shao was extremely conceited and obviously regarded people like Yuan Shang and Shen Pei as toys in his hands, who could be manipulated at will.

Tian Feng frowned slightly, but a hint of worry flashed in his eyes.

After a slight hesitation, Tian Feng couldn't help but remind:

"Your Majesty, I think your attitude towards the Third Young Master should be based on appeasement and conciliation, and try not to blame him, so as not to make the Third Young Master afraid."

"If they do something risky out of worry, the consequences will be disastrous."

"The Third Young Master still has 90,000 soldiers and horses in his hands. These are the last elite troops of our Great Wei. We still need these elite troops to resist Liu Bei's invasion and defend Yecheng."

Tian Feng's frank advice was too direct, which triggered Yuan Shao's reversal.

Yuan Shao not only did not listen to the advice, but instead became furious and said angrily:

"Those 90,000 soldiers are my soldiers. They are my 90,000 soldiers, not that rebellious son's!"

"That rebellious son has done so many wrong things and made such a mess of himself, and you still want me to be nice to him?"

"I didn't send anyone to give him a cup of poisoned wine. I already took the relationship between father and son into consideration!"

"I just don't believe he has the guts to defy my orders and rebel against me."

Yuan Shao waved his hand domineeringly and ignored Tian Feng's reminder.

If it were any other minister, he would have stopped at this point and would never have risked angering Yuan Shao by continuing to insist on giving advice.

Tian Feng had no scruples, he stood up and said sternly:
"The Third Young Master has tasted what it's like to be a king, how can he be willing to return the throne?"

"Besides, he has a group of supporters including Shen Pei and Wen Chou around him. They are all afraid of being punished by the king later. Even if the Third Young Master wants to return the troops and leave it to the king to deal with, these people will fan the flames and encourage the Third Young Master to refuse to hand over the troops."

"If the king is determined not to appease the Third Young Master, and really forces the Third Young Master to take risks and destroy the last main force of our Great Wei, then he will push our Great Wei towards the road of national destruction!"

"My king, if you don't listen to my advice, I'm afraid you will become the king who loses your country!"

As soon as the words "the king of a fallen country" were uttered, the expressions of ministers including Yan Liang present all changed in shock.

No one expected that Tian Feng could be so stubborn that he even dared to use the term "king who lost his country" to describe Yuan Shao.

Isn't this a deliberate attempt to provoke Yuan Shao?

Yuan Shao was instantly shocked. He staggered to his feet, pointed at Tian Feng with his crutch and said angrily:

"Tian Yuanhao, you are so bold that you dare to compare me to the king of a fallen country?"

"Someone, come and -"

Yuan Shao was furious and was about to capture Tian Feng in anger.

At the critical moment, the guards rushed into the hall and shouted:
"My king, we are back! Our army... our army is back!"

The angry words that were about to come out of Yuan Shao's mouth were instantly blocked by the report from his personal guard.

Our army is back?
Isn’t this Yuan Shang returning to Yecheng with an army of 90,000?

His most beloved son, after all, did not have the courage to betray his father, and came back obediently to apologize!

The anger on Yuan Shao's face turned into joy in an instant, and then he burst into laughter.

"Tian Yuanhao, now you know that you are worrying too much!"

"I know my son best. I have long said that he does not have the guts to rebel against me!"

"What else do you have to say now!"

Yuan Shao stopped laughing and pointed at Tian Feng and started to mock him.

Tian Feng became embarrassed and stood still. Faced with Yuan Shao's ridicule, he was at a loss for what to do.

"Although Xianfu has made mistakes, he is still loyal and filial to me. I really did not spoil him wrongly."

Yuan Shao praised with satisfaction, then waved his hand:

"Help me go to the south gate. I will personally welcome Xianfu and my 90,000 soldiers back!"

Yuan Shao was in a good mood at the moment. With the help of Yan Liang, he left the palace, got on the imperial carriage and headed for the South Gate.

Climb up the city wall and look south.

Tens of thousands of Wei army soldiers have arrived in Yecheng and are setting up camp outside the city.

Yuan Shao looked down at his army, but as he looked, clouds gradually gathered on his face and his eyes became serious again.

The returning soldiers were dejected, it would have been fine if they had returned in defeat.

The key point is that he roughly counted and estimated that the number of soldiers returning was no more than 50,000, which was only about half of the 90,000-strong army.

Where did the other half go?
A big question arose in Yuan Shao's mind, and a bad premonition quietly grew in his heart.

The city gates were opened and civil officials and military generals entered the city one after another.

Soon, a group of civil and military officials led by Ju Shou climbed onto the city wall.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty!"

Seeing Yuan Shao waking up again, Ju Su was filled with emotion. After hesitating for a moment, he bowed deeply.

The rest of the civil and military officials followed suit and bowed down.

Yuan Shao, however, was not pleased. He glanced quickly among the crowd but could not see Yuan Shang.

Except for Yuan Shang, Wen Chou, Shen Pei, and many ministers, no one else was seen.

"Where's Xianfu? Where's Wenchou?"

"And what about Shen Pei? Why don't they come to see me?"

Yuan Shao tried his best to control his turbulent emotions and asked in a low voice.

Ju Su sighed helplessly, cupped his hands and said silently:
"The Third Young Master claimed that he was going to Nanpi to recruit soldiers and horses to protect the rear of our Yecheng, and he took nearly 40,000 soldiers and horses with him."

"Wen Chou, Shen Pei and many other military and civil officials are following the Third Young Master."

"I tried my best to persuade the Third Young Master not to do so, but he refused to listen. I had no choice but to take the remaining 50,000 soldiers and horses back to Yecheng to report to the King."

Yuan Shao's head buzzed and he staggered backward, barely able to hold the cane in his hand.

The worries in his heart and the cruel facts that he was most reluctant to face were still placed in front of him by Ju Su.

What about recruiting soldiers and horses, what about protecting the rear of Yecheng...

They are all high-sounding excuses.

Yuan Shang was a kid who just didn't want to hand over power obediently. He just didn't want to go back to Yecheng to be his crown prince, and he didn't dare to come to him to apologize.

That's why he took away half of the army at the cost of splitting the Wei State and the Wei Army, leaving him with less than 50,000 troops to defend Ye City and resist Liu Bei's 170,000 troops!

From now on, the entire Wei State will be divided, and he and his son will fight each other.

"This rebellious son, this little bastard, I dote on him so much, but he actually, he actually -"

Yuan Shao's face turned red, he gritted his teeth, and he was so angry that he couldn't even curse.

Tian Feng sighed and said helplessly:

"I have long advised the king to be gentle with the Third Prince and not to make him fearful and afraid to return to Yecheng."

"Now he was punished by the king because of his fear and took away half of the troops, which put our Wei into a state of division!"

"Under such circumstances, how can we defend Yecheng and resist Liu Bei?"

Tian Feng was also a man of integrity. Even at this time, he still spoke frankly without caring about Yuan Shao's mood.

To Yuan Shao, these so-called loyal advice sounded like a slap in the face and an open mockery of him.

Yuan Shao's anger was instantly ignited.

"You are so bold, Tian Feng, that you dare to ridicule me in public!"

"How can I keep you, a traitor who has no respect for the emperor?"

"Someone, drag Tian Feng away and kill him!"

(End of this chapter)