Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi, Yuan Shang, and senior officials held a very grand funeral for Yuan Shao, but Yuan Shao's body had to lie in the mourning hall for a while before being buried.
After Cao Cao retreated, the four of them led their troops to Yecheng.
But when they saw Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao's body was lying on the bed intact, and no wounds were found on the body. Only Yuan Shang was in the general's mansion at that time, so Yuan Tan couldn't help but wonder how Yuan Shao died.
In order to find out the cause of Yuan Shao's death, Yuan Tan found many doctors and widowers to come for examination. As a result, they all said that Yuan Shao was not attacked by any external force, but died naturally because his body had already run out of oil. This made Yuan Tan unable to help but
I even more suspected that Yuan Shang had done something secretly.
The two brothers were already in a state of tit-for-tat. When Cao Cao was around, they were able to put aside their selfish motives and act in unison. After Cao Cao left, the conflicts between them couldn't stop growing wildly.
In a somewhat luxurious house, Xin Ping and Shen Pei sat facing each other.
Xin Ping picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, then slowly said: "Brother Zhengnan, do you think Cao Cao chose to retreat instead of taking advantage of the victory to pursue and annex Jizhou?"
Shen Pei frowned and lowered his head, watching the rising and falling tea leaves in the teacup. After a while, he said, "If what I expected is correct, Cao Cao has spotted the conflict between the eldest son and the third son."
ah!"
Xin Ping stroked the short beard under his chin, thought again and again and nodded in agreement: "As soon as the lord dies, the issue of the succession of the eldest son will arise. The lord's bodyguard has recognized the third son. The current situation may not be good for the eldest son and us.
Wonderful!'
Shen Pei chuckled and said: "When the lord was alive, he never stated the clear choice for the crown prince, nor did he leave any handwriting. The third young master was deeply loved by the lord, so he always followed the lord. There were only a few personal guards. Who knows if they had already
Were you bribed by the Third Young Master?'
Xin Ping felt that Shen Pei's words made sense. After drinking all the tea in his hand, he said to Shen Pei: "Let's go and explain the current situation to the eldest son. Now is the last chance. We have missed it."
There will be no room for improvement!"
The two of them understood each other and stood up and walked towards the general's mansion.
When Shen Ping and Xin Ping arrived at the General's Mansion, Guo Tu and Feng Ji also happened to arrive at the gate.
The four of them bowed hypocritically and walked into the mansion together without saying a word.
In the General's Mansion,
The three Yuan Tan brothers, high officials, and many other clansmen were kneeling on both sides wearing sackcloth and mourning.
All parts of the hall were hung with white cloth, and accompanied by the low sobbing of women, children, and children, the general's residence was shrouded in a deep sadness.
"I would like to report to the Third Young Master, Guo Tu and Feng Ji, to ask for an audience!"
"I would like to inform you, the eldest son, to review the match. Sir Xin Ping is asking for an audience!"
When Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan heard this, they couldn't help but glance at each other. There seemed to be sparks flying between the eyes of the two brothers. "Let them in!" Yuan Tan didn't seem to care that this was Yuan Shao's mourning hall. He seemed to want to be there.
In front of Yuan Shao, the inheritance matter was explained clearly.
Over the years, as the eldest son, Yuan Tan has been stolen from the limelight by his youngest son, Yuan Yuan Shang.
If he hadn't had the support of Shen Pei and others, he might have died in some corner of Gadari without any explanation.
Whether it was out of hatred for Yuan Shao's favoritism or hatred against Yuan Shang for robbing what should have been his own, the accumulation of all this made Yuan Tan become more and more violent.
"Brother, this is my father's mourning hall. If we have anything to say, we'd better go out and talk." Yuan Shang stood up, stared into Yuan Tan's eyes, and said in a neither humble nor overbearing tone.
"No! It's best to explain this matter clearly in front of my father and everyone today!"
"Brother! Do you want to make trouble so that your father will not be able to live in peace after his death?" Yuan Xi finally spoke.
To be honest, as the second oldest child, Yuan Xi is the most miserable.
Even if Yuan Shao doesn't like him, no noble group is willing to support him.
When Yuan Shao just annexed Youzhou, he immediately threw Yuan Xi away.
At that time, Yuan Xi had no one to ask for and no money, so it was extremely difficult to govern and appease Youzhou.
Fortunately, the Zhen family, a wealthy businessman in Youzhou, married their daughter Zhen Mi to Yuan Xi in order to protect themselves.
Both of them are mutually beneficial and each gets what they need. With the protection of the Yuan family, the Zhen family no longer dares to take advantage of them; and with the money and connections brought by the Zhen family, Yuan Xi gradually
He established a firm foothold in Youzhou.
But Yuan Xi finally took control of Youzhou, and Yuan Shao couldn't wait to send Youzhou's troops south to attack Cao. Guandu was defeated once, and Cangting was defeated again. The 60,000 troops brought by Youzhou were almost completely lost.
The house leaked and it rained all night. Seeing that Youzhou's defense was empty, Wuhuan from the three counties took the opportunity to break through and go south. The entire eastern part of Youzhou was in ruins. If it weren't for Qian Zhao leading the remaining defenders to hold the defense line, Yuan Xicai had to fight hard.
The straightened out Youzhou may turn into a pot of porridge again.
But before Yuan Xi could clean up the mess in Youzhou, Cao Cao sent troops to attack again, so Yuan Xi had to clean up half of Youzhou and lead his troops southward again.
If we talk about the word "bitter", who is as bitter as the second child Yuan Xi?
When the two brothers Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang heard Yuan Xi speak, they immediately restrained themselves a little. If not for any other reason, it was because of the current army in Ye City, the second oldest Yuan Xi was the most powerful.
The Jizhou army led by Yuan Shao and Yuan Shang was completely wiped out by Cao Cao, with less than 20,000 people left; Yuan Tan's Qingzhou army was beaten by Lu Bu and fled back to Qinghe County with only 40,000 defeated troops.
At this moment, the largest number of troops arriving in Yecheng were Yuan Tan's 50,000 troops and Gao Gan's 60,000 troops, plus the Wuhuan people's 30,000 cavalry, Yuan Tan's 30,000 soldiers with low morale, and some more
The private soldiers and civilians of the soldiers can number as many as 200,000.
The Wuhuan people were controlled by Yuan Xi. Yuan Xi's army plus Wuhuan's 30,000 troops totaled 80,000.
Therefore, his words cannot but be taken seriously by Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang at this moment.
Seeing Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang looking at him, Yuan Xi spoke again: "Brother, all my father's guards have unanimously stated that the third brother is the heir..." It's not that Yuan Tan has never thought about Yuan Shao's position, but he does not have the support of the family.
, you can’t go far just by relying on the Zhen family.
"Nonsense!!" Yuan Tan immediately became anxious upon hearing this, "I am the eldest son, and I should inherit my father's inheritance!"
"But you have been adopted..." Gao Gan's words were like a dagger stabbing into Yuan Tan's waist. Yuan Tan was unable to argue for a moment.
Yuan Xi and Gao Gan both turned to Yuan Shang. Yuan Tan opened his mouth and wanted to say something else. Xin Ping and Shen Pei stepped forward and persuaded Yuan Tan, saying: "My lord, the situation is not good for us.
Let’s go back and discuss it later.”
Although he felt unwilling to do so, Yuan Tan finally chose to compromise temporarily and said: "Listen to the two gentlemen..." "Humph!" Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi and Gao Gan glanced at Yuan Shang coldly, and Yuan Tan turned his head.
He left the hall without much greeting. Yuan Shang also stared at Yuan Tan's back coldly, thinking: "What my father gave me, no one can take it away!"