Yuan Tan's heart was moved because of an extremely absurd fact.
Although Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi seemed to be state governors, they had not been selected by the Han system.
The inspection and examination system was created by Liu Bang. If you want to become an official, you have to go through the Sui Ke and the Special Ke. The Sui Ke has four subjects: Xiaolian, Mao (Xiu) Cai, Chalian, and Guanglu. Among them, Xiaolian is the most important.
Later in the Eastern Han Dynasty, after changes by Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu and changes in the times, Maocai's status surpassed that of Xiaolian, and the number of people selected became even rarer.
They are both annual examinations, Xiaolian is a county examination, and Maocai is a state examination, so they are rarer.
"One person for each of the three official promotions," "one for each of the supervisory censors, ministers, and governors," and one for each of the three senior officials. Calculated in this way, there are only about ten or twenty talents in the world in a year.
Many nobles had to go through the promotion of filial piety and integrity and promotion of talent to become officials. Otherwise, if they were appointed according to the Han system, their reputation would be unfair.
Therefore, the governorship of the state conferred by Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi sounds good in name, but it is missing a key link in the middle. If we really investigate it seriously, it can be withdrawn.
Whether this matter was due to Yuan Shao relying on his own power to overpower the Han court, or whether he had ulterior motives to suppress the two of them, or whether it was due to concerns about internal affairs and avoiding relatives, no one knows, but everyone involved knows it.
So when Yuan Tan heard that Liu Bei could recommend him, he immediately became interested and understood that this was a good opportunity!
Originally, Yuan and Liu had joined forces, and Yuan Tan accepted Liu Bei's recommendation and recognized Liu Bei as the leader. This would not be regarded as betraying the Yuan family. Especially for this kind of opportunity that he had fought for, Yuan Shao could not say anything.
When Yuan Tan thought of this, he couldn't help but look at Brother Guo Tuxinping.
The three counselors whispered to each other and nodded to Yuan Tan. Yuan Tan immediately said: "Okay! I will promise you, sir, to send troops to Haixi!"
He immediately said: "The terrain on Mount Tai is difficult, I'm afraid..."
After hearing this, Chen Deng said: "Master Xian Yi sent a letter, saying that as long as the envoy sends troops to any port in Qingzhou and asks the Zhen family caravan to transport troops, they will naturally comply."
After Yuan Tan heard this, his eyes narrowed and he said decisively: "Okay!"
"Sir, please return to Haixi first and resume your duties. I will send more reinforcements as soon as possible!"
When Chen Deng saw that the matter was done, he also looked happy and said goodbye.
After Yuan Tan waited for Chen Deng to leave, he said to Guo Tu and the others: "What do you think of my second brother?"
He suddenly reacted and said with a wry smile: "Now that he has established his own business, I shouldn't call him second brother."
Guo Tu spoke up: "Master Xian Yi is not a simple person, so you should be careful."
"This person uses tricks. If he doesn't move, he will be alone. If he moves, he will be thunderous. There is no room for the other party to react."
"Let's not talk about the sneak attack on Guangling this time. We first attack Yuyang in the north, then go south along the coastal road to sneak attack on Guangling. This is already the style of a famous general."
"Just looking at Mr. Xian Yi's marriage, it's a stroke of genius."
"He planned all the actions of Mr. Xianfu in advance. Once Mr. Xianfu's plan failed, he used lightning speed to get married in one day. He acted so fast that he did not leave any space for Mr. Xianfu. Second chance.”
“This is a profound understanding of the art of war, and it’s really the essence of it!”
Xin Pi also agreed: "Fortunately, Mr. Xianfu is on good terms with the envoy now, but if he and the envoy quarrel in the future, it will be a huge trouble."
"But fortunately, Master Xianyi and Master Xianfu turned against each other regarding the Zhen family's marriage. Especially when they openly killed Zhen Fang, whom Master Xianfu had recommended, the two sides were completely at odds."
When Yuan Tan heard this, he looked at Guo Tu unnaturally. Guo Tu coughed and quickly lowered his head.
In the study, Yuan Shao held an emergency report in his hand and said to Yuan Shang: "What do you think Xian Yi did this time?"
Yuan Shang felt as if he had eaten a fly, but he still said respectfully: "Yuan Xi's surprise attack on Guangling this time is quite clever in military tactics. If he works wholeheartedly for my Yuan family, the day when my Yuan family will dominate the world is not far away."
Yuan Shao glanced at Yuan Shang and said, "As the lord, you should be tolerant of others."
"They are just some inconsequential counselors and generals. If they force the children of our clan to become enemies, it will be very bad for my Yuan family's reputation and foundation."
Yuan Shang said hurriedly: "I know, I will follow my father's teachings."
Yuan Shao nodded: "What do you think of Cao Mengde?"
Yuan Shang felt something in his heart. He lowered his head and tried to keep his tone as calm as possible: "Meng Degong is my father's best friend since childhood. I don't dare to speak nonsense."
Yuan Shao sighed, "I sometimes wonder if what Xian Yi said is right."
"Because some of the things Meng De has done over the years have made me very suspicious."
"I regret a little now. If I had let Zang Hong take over Yanzhou, would he have been better than Cao Mengde?"
Yuan Shang heard this and asked doubtfully: "Why did father say this?"
"Why Zang Hong?"
Yuan Shao spoke slowly: "After Liu Yu was captured by Gongsun Zan, the best chance for me, the Yuan family, was to use this name to unite all parties and expedition north to Youzhou to completely eliminate Gongsun Zan."
"However, this opportunity was fleeting. At that time, I sent someone to secretly order Cao Cao to lead troops north to Yecheng and send troops with me."
"But at this time, Mengde went to attack Xuzhou in advance and was unable to free his hands to send troops."
"Later on, the matter was delayed like this. Liu Yu died too quickly. As a result, the Yuan family lost an upright reputation. It is a pity."
"At that time, Tao Qian relied on Yuan Shu, and Meng De did this. It was not wrong, but it was just too coincidental."
"Since then, I have been vaguely aware that Cao Mengde has great ambitions and will not be inferior to others for a long time."
"But this is just my guess. Cao Cao has been my Yuan family's thug over the years. He has worked conscientiously and has not done anything excessive."
"After your explanation about the previous crossing of the Yellow River, I also understood that this might be a misunderstanding. Meng De should have come to help attack the Black Mountain Army. Xian Yi and I were overly concerned at that time."
Yuan Shang laughed hurriedly and said, "No wonder my father. It is Yuan Xi who often slanders Duke Cao. I heard that he even stole Cao Cao's daughter to be his concubine. It's really ridiculous."
Yuan Shao waved his hand and said: "Stop talking about it. Everyone knows what happened. What's more, he asked his wife to serve as a stepmother and let his widow be his adoptive mother. This is a very beautiful thing. It protects my Yuan family's face. You should learn from it." study."
Yuan Shang cursed secretly in his heart, but still said respectfully on his face: "I will follow my father's teachings."
Yuan Shao sighed: "But Meng De has to be on guard. He has been well aware of my Yuan family's movements several times. I suspect that Meng De has an spy among my Yuan family."
"But after much thought, I can't guess who it is, but this person must have a high status."
"I wanted to find someone to dig him out, but I couldn't find the right person."
"Originally Xian Yi was the least likely, but he has already joined another branch, so it's hard to talk to him about these things."
"Now, Xianfu, you are the person I trust the most. Please help me investigate secretly and make sure to find this person."
Yuan Shang had cold sweat seeping out of his vest, and he hurriedly said, "I will obey my father's orders."
Yuan Shao nodded with satisfaction, and suddenly remembered something, "Have you already learned that Shan Yutan sent envoys here to marry my Yuan family?"
"Who do you think is the most suitable among my Yuan family's daughters?"
Yuan Shang didn't have a good relationship with Yuan Xing at first, so he said without hesitation: "My sister is old, so of course she is the most suitable."
After hearing this, Yuan Shao looked hesitant: "Yuan Xing is my biological daughter, how can I let her marry a foreigner and suffer in the north?"
Thinking of the close relationship between Yuan Xing and Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang felt a little angry and said, "Father, my sister is already old."
"Moreover, the two scholars who proposed marriage suffered disaster. Obviously my sister is an unlucky person. It would be a good thing for me, Yuan, to marry her off as soon as possible."
After hearing this, Yuan Shao said hesitantly: "Xian Yi once proposed marriage for her. At that time, I promised Xian Yi to give him one year."
Yuan Shang thought it was Yuan Xi again. Thinking of the close relationship between Yuan Xing and Yuan Xi, but not buying his fault, he added: "Father, Tadun has hundreds of thousands of troops, which will be of great help to my Yuan family in their struggle for world hegemony. "
Yuan Shao heard this and said, "I'll think about it again."
Yuan Shang came out of Yuan Shao's house and found that he was soaked.
Fortunately, it was not revealed that he was secretly colluding with Cao Cao!
Most of the Five Stones he needed were found with the help of the Cao family, so he can't do without the Cao family now, but Yuan Shao has already become dissatisfied with Cao Cao, and he is reluctant to break off the relationship with him.
Now that Yuan Shang is fighting with Zhengtian people, should he break with Cao Cao and confess to Yuan Shao, or should he continue to hide it?
He returned to the house, opened the drawer, looked at the bottle inside, grabbed it, and was about to throw it to the ground.
However, after hesitating for a long time, Yuan Shang put the bottle back. He pulled out the cork and poured the powder inside.
After a while, he fell into a state of ecstasy again.
Mrs. Hong saw all this from the crack in the door of the back room. She stretched out her sleeves and looked at the purple scars on her forearm, her face turned gloomy.
During this period of time, Yuan Shang's temper became worse and worse, especially after he sobered up after eating Five Stone Powder, he became extremely irritable and crazy, punching and kicking her at every turn.
Hong didn't know how long she could last. She also secretly ran to Liu and told her about Yuan Shang.
What she received was a few extremely hard slaps, which knocked her unconscious.
Amid the roaring tinnitus, Mrs. Liu had a frosty look on her face and warned Mrs. Hong that if she dared to reveal a single word about Yuan Shang and affect Yuan Shang's succession to the Yuan family, she and her family would be killed.
Hong sat back on the ground silently, wondering when would this day end?
He is already married to Yuan Shang, and it is impossible to escape. Maybe he will wait until Yuan Shang dies, or he dies, or they both die together?
In Juancheng, the seat of Yanzhou, Cao Cao was discussing matters with several advisers. Behind him stood a young man of about twenty-five or six years old.
Cao Cao unfolded a bamboo slip and looked at the information on it while shaking his head and sighing.
He passed the bamboo slips around to the counselors, but turned around and said to the young man behind him: "I didn't expect that Yuan Benchu gave birth to a good son."
"Zixiu, if you were half as good as Yuan Xi, you would be able to stand alone."
(End of chapter)
