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Although many people, upon meeting Yuan Shu, could not help but mutter inwardly—calling him a brat or cursing his mother—it was undeniable that sometimes, even though everyone started from the same starting line, some ran the race on their own two legs, while someone like Yuan Shu arrived riding a fine horse.
"Don't lose at the starting line" was, from the very beginning, a joke.
Just like the ugly duckling. The reason it could ultimately transform into a swan was not that it was kind-hearted or always ready to help others, thus earning the right to become a swan, but rather that it had been a white swan from the very start.
Of course, Yuan Shu's bearing and presence were genuinely first-rate. That effortless, casual display of arrogance and self-assurance in his dealings with others was something that could only be embodied to such a vivid, dripping degree by the legitimate son of the realm's preeminent clan, the Yuan family.
Compared to his time in Luoyang, Yuan Shu now was like a treasured sword before and after its edge had been honed. Its sharpness was fully revealed, gleaming with a dazzling, intimidating radiance that captured the eyes of countless onlookers.
"Zichong, from today onward, after three days have passed, any who have not yet arrived shall no longer be granted an audience," Yuan Shu instructed Yang Hong, holding a bowl of sobering soup steady in his hand. Though still carrying a faint, tipsy air, his mind remained perfectly sharp. "Those who fail to perceive the great trends of the realm, yet still indulge in the foolish hope of standing aloof from the world—their words and deeds are as naive as children. Such incompetent men are not fit to establish themselves in this age, and meeting them is of no benefit."
Yang Hong lowered his head and acknowledged the command.
Yuan Shu drained the sobering soup in one gulp. Then, with three parts pride, three parts self-satisfaction, three parts overweening arrogance, and a single part of eager anticipation, he asked, "That man... how fares he now?"
"That man" referred to Yuan Shao.
Yuan Shu held Yuan Shao in deep contempt for having, on his own authority, established a separate command structure and even arrogated to himself the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry, and for then pushing Wang Kuang, the Grand Administrator of Henei, to the point where Wang Kuang did not hesitate to fabricate charges and frame wealthy households just to scrape together military funds.
In Yuan Shu's view, such actions were nothing less than a disgrace to the Yuan family name.
A Grand Administrator in the Han Dynasty essentially governed his territory as if it were a sealed fief. For any official with even a modicum of ability, conscripting corvée laborers and imposing temporary supplementary taxes was child's play.
Setting up checkpoints to collect market and commercial taxes, sealing off mountains to levy fuel-gathering fees, damming rivers and forbidding access to wetlands to extract fishing taxes—all of it could be done with a single word. The yield depended entirely on how much the land could produce, and how much the people could be squeezed. Of course, the method employed by Wang Kuang—"encouraging" common people to report on one another, then preying on the wealthy households—was also a way, though most people still maintained some regard for decency, seeking a balance between greed and public outrage.
A man like Yuan Shu, who bore the identity of the Yuan clan's legitimate heir and had established his base in Nanyang, utterly disdained to do anything that, in his mind, reeked of copper coin and was utterly beneath his dignity.
The Yuan clan should have the gravitas befitting the Yuan clan. How could they stoop to chasing profit?
Only that man would stoop so low as to besmirch the Yuan family's reputation in such a way...
When had I, Yuan Shu, ever needed to humble myself and compromise my principles?
When had I, Yuan Shu, ever needed to resort to tyrannical exactions and levies?
When had I, Yuan Shu, ever needed to stoop to conciliation and submit to wrongs?
In the very beginning, many local magnates had still been watching and waiting. But now, as the situation gradually shifted, more and more people began picking sides. As the legitimate son of the Yuan clan, Yuan Shu possessed an innate advantage. The welcoming and farewell gifts presented by prominent local families grew increasingly lavish, and the amounts of coin and grain allocated to support Yuan Shu's army steadily increased. To say nothing of the donations offered in the name of supporting a righteous cause, which came under every possible pretext.
Under these circumstances, many local strongmen, driven by the thought of placing at least a small wager so as not to fall too far behind others, would even travel a thousand leagues to deliver coin, grain, and silk into Yuan Shu's hands. By now, donations worth a million coins no longer stirred even the slightest ripple in Yuan Shu. Even donations in the tens of millions merely warranted a brief audience and a banquet.
For Yang Hong, serving as Chief Clerk to General of the Rear Yuan Shu, although his official title remained the same as before, a fundamental transformation had taken place. With assets suddenly swelling by over a billion now passing through his hands, even the tone of his voice had changed, growing ever more laden with bureaucratic weight.
Yang Hong cupped his hands in salute and spoke in a slow, measured tone: "Just yesterday, a letter arrived reporting that General of Chariots and Cavalry Yuan has humbly accepted the seal of governorship from Han of Ji Province..."
Yuan Shu froze for a moment, then burst into loud laughter. Shaking his head, he sighed repeatedly and exclaimed, "How could it have come to this! How could it have come to this! That brat lacks the magnanimity to tolerate others, and so he resorts to such a shortsighted act..."
Han Fu was, after all, counted among the former students and retainers of the Yuan clan. Although he had been appointed Provincial Governor during Dong Zhuo's tenure, in Yuan Shu's eyes, there was absolutely no need to do such a thing.
"With no transgression in word or deed, no error in military or civil administration, to act so rashly and expose one's greed so nakedly—this invites the ridicule of all under Heaven!" Yuan Shu remarked with deep emotion.
Yuan Shu's assessment was piercingly accurate. After this incident, the number of people voluntarily flocking to Yuan Shao's banner had indeed decreased considerably. Yet even so, Ji Province, as a major province with an extremely high population density, possessed a solid foundation to begin with. There were inherently many officials and scholars serving in its commanderies and counties, so Yuan Shao did not feel that there was any real problem with his operations.
But then, it is always easier to see others' faults clearly than one's own. Yuan Shu also utterly failed to recognize that his own lofty and condescending attitude was the very reason many scholars had turned and walked away, dismissing them simply as blind and lacking judgment...
"Send that man a few congratulatory gifts, and say..." Yuan Shu stroked his beard, "May your grand ambitions unfold fully." He would still put his own magnanimity on display for others to see. If that brat was not an utter fool, he would understand the meaning behind it.
Yang Hong nodded in agreement.
Yuan Shu suddenly waved a hand, sending all the servants and attendants far away. Only then did he lower his voice and ask, "How goes Qingzhou?"
Yang Hong leaned forward and replied in a hushed tone, "An agreement has been made with Guan Hai. Once the army provisions arrive, he will raise his troops and advance into Yan Province."
"Good," Yuan Shu said. Then he asked, "And what of the Black Mountain Bandits?"
"Feiyan has sent word. Once our forces arrive, he will certainly coordinate and attack from his side," Yang Hong reported.
"And south of the Jing region..." Yuan Shu's eyes glimmered darkly.
Yang Hong nodded. "There is much goodwill, but nothing is yet decided."
Yuan Shu gave a disdainful snort, one eyebrow arching slightly. "Those who cannot decide today will surely regret it tomorrow. Such shortsighted fools—there is no need to pay them further attention. The urgent task at hand now is to slaughter the four oxen..."
Yang Hong cupped his hands. "Your Excellency devises strategies from behind the curtains that decide victory a thousand leagues away. I, Hong, am filled with the deepest respect and admiration. I am willing to serve at the van or in the rear, and would not turn back even in the face of death!"
Yuan Shu nodded, smiling. He waved his hand and offered a few words of encouragement.
Seeing that Yuan Shu appeared somewhat weary, Yang Hong tactfully took his leave.
Yuan Shu did not urge him to stay. He simply nodded. After Yang Hong had departed, he summoned his attendants and, with a slight, stumbling gait, headed for the inner chambers. As he walked, he sang:
"The sun has set in the west,
The sheep and cattle come down from the hill.
But my noble lord is away on campaign,
How can I not think of him, how can I be still!
Haha, haha..."
××××××××××××××
At this moment, among all the regional lords under Heaven, there were four who bore the surname Liu, each holding sway over one of the four cardinal directions.
Liu Yu occupied Youzhou, keeping watch over the North.
Liu Biao had been appointed to Jingzhou, entrenched in the South.
Liu Yan governed Yi Province as its Imperial Protector, holding power in the West.
Liu Dai wielded the seal of authority over Yan Province, standing guard in the East.
The remaining members of the Liu imperial clan had, for the most part, already faded into irrelevance. The Prince of Jibei, for instance, ruled over what was, in effect, no more than a large county under Yan Province's administration, and could not fundamentally compare with these four great Liu scions...
And for anyone who sought to replace the Liu clan and become the master of all under Heaven, these four great regional lords, each clutching real power and commanding the troops of an entire province, were obstacles that could never, under any circumstances, be bypassed...
××××××××××××××
In the second year of the Chuping era, the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were defeated at Bohai. They then swarmed into Yan Province, causing widespread devastation and plunder.
At that time, Yuan Shao dispatched the former Grand Administrator of Lelang, Zhang Qi, and others to present a proposal urging Liu Yu to assume the honored imperial title. Liu Yu firmly refused. Zhang Qi and the others then petitioned Liu Yu to take up the post of Director of the Imperial Secretariat, but again he would not heed them. Yuan Shao and his faction thus ceased their efforts.
Subsequently, Yuan Shao sent a letter to Gongsun Zan, proposing a pact.