Chapter 34: Yuan Shao's Ambition

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Yuan Shao sat upright behind his desk, carefully studying the map of the Han Empire in his hands.

As one of the capital’s most powerful young aristocrats, obtaining a military map of this kind had presented him with no real difficulty.

For a long while, Yuan Shao’s eyes roamed over the upper portion of the map as he weighed his options.

Had he been free to choose, he would undoubtedly have favored Runan, with Nanyang as his second choice. Runan was the birthplace of the Yuan clan, whose roots there ran deep. From the governor down to the lowliest official, nearly every member of the local administration belonged to the Yuan faction. The clan had also made a name for itself throughout Runan through its widespread charitable works.

Indeed, Runan had always been the family patriarch’s private preserve, and no one else was permitted to lay claim to it. Even Yuan Shu, whom Yuan Kui regarded highly, could not enjoy its benefits before formally inheriting the position of family head.

After Runan came Nanyang. If Runan was the Yuan clan’s first base of power, then Nanyang was the second, developed through the family’s own efforts. It was a vital hub for travel between north and south, prosperous in commerce, densely populated, and extraordinarily affluent. Yuan Shao had long coveted it.

Unfortunately, he knew that Nanyang had already been assigned to Yuan Shu. Every year, when the annual tribute arrived, the wealth sent from Nanyang went mainly to Yuan Kui, though a portion was also given to Yuan Shu to cover his expenses.

Thus, Yuan Shao could only stare helplessly at those two choice pieces of territory and seek another direction.

Where would be the best place to go?

His gaze wandered across the map of the Han realm. Suddenly, he remembered something he and Cao Cao had said in their youth while discussing the empire and imagining the future:

“Hold the Yellow River to the south, block Yan and Dai to the north, gather the strength of the Rong and Di peoples, and then advance southward to contend for the empire. Perhaps success might thereby be achieved.”

In other words, they would first secure the Yellow River in the south and the Yan Mountains and Dai Commandery in the north, subdue and absorb the Rong and Di tribes, and then turn south to vie for supremacy over the realm.

The region meant by “holding the Yellow River to the south and blocking Yan and Dai to the north” was Ji Province.

To be candid, this grand strategy was not Yuan Shao’s original idea. At the beginning of the Eastern Han, Emperor Guangwu, Liu Xiu, had done precisely that. The founder of the Eastern Han had unified the realm by relying on the land of Hebei and the power of its local magnates. Thus, when Yuan Shao and Cao Cao had spoken those words, they had in fact been influenced by Liu Xiu’s example.

Yet viewed from the present, that casual remark from their youth possessed considerable practical value.

The current governor of Ji Province was Han Fu, a former subordinate of the Yuan clan who had attained his office through the family’s recommendation. If Yuan Shao went to Ji Province, then at the very least, out of consideration for the eldest son of the Yuan family, Han Fu ought to offer him some degree of protection.

Moreover, Ji Province was currently confronted by a problem that still awaited resolution.

The remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

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Although the Yellow Turban Rebellion had been suppressed swiftly, some of the rebels had transformed themselves into bandits and vanished into the mountains. The imperial government faced two difficulties. First, its military forces were limited, making a large-scale search and purge of the mountains impossible. Second, shortages of provisions prevented it from sustaining prolonged campaigns.

As a result, these newly minted mountain bandits had temporarily escaped the government’s pursuit and established themselves as local kings in various mountainous regions.

The largest remaining concentration of Yellow Turbans was currently in Qing Province. But Qing Province had already been devastated by war, and its production had scarcely recovered. Those remnants who had entrenched themselves in the mountains could survive only by hunting and foraging. They would inevitably descend upon the lowlands to plunder, and the relatively stable and prosperous neighboring province of Ji was the obvious target.

Thus, once Yuan Shao arrived in Ji Province, he need only raise the banner of the Yuan family’s eldest son and proclaim that he had come to protect Ji’s scholars and bring an end to the bandit menace. He would surely win the support of everyone in the province, from officials and great families to ordinary commoners.

Seen from the present, if he were to leave Luoyang, there was no better choice than Ji Province.

But Yuan Shao did not wish to slink away from Luoyang like a stray dog driven from its home. The question was, what could he do instead?

Just then, a servant entered hurriedly with a calling card in hand and reported that Dong Zhuo had summoned him urgently. The messenger was waiting outside.

Yuan Shao frowned. He had had little contact with Dong Zhuo. Why would Dong Zhuo be looking for him?

Still, although he had his doubts, Dong Zhuo’s official rank was higher than his own, so he had no choice but to set out.

When he arrived at Dong Zhuo’s residence, Yuan Shao paid his respects. After they exchanged a few harmless pleasantries, Dong Zhuo said:

“The emperor is young, ignorant, and unfit to rule the empire. The Prince of Chenliu is far more suitable, and I intend to place him upon the throne. A ruler’s age is not the essential matter; wisdom may come early, or madness may come late. Look at the late Emperor Ling. At first, he seemed capable enough, but what did he become in the end? To enthrone another ruler like that would be an outrage.”

The reason Dong Zhuo had summoned Yuan Shao was chiefly that he wanted him to serve as a messenger—to carry word of his determination to depose the emperor to Yuan Kui and sound out the Yuan family’s position.

At the imperial court, Dong Zhuo commanded the greatest military power. Among the prestigious scholar-official families, the Yuan clan stood foremost. So long as Yuan Kui gave his assent, the deposition of the emperor would be settled. No matter how strongly others opposed it, their resistance would be meaningless.

Dong Zhuo felt it beneath him to visit Yuan Kui’s residence in person. Yet he was not powerful enough to summon Yuan Kui at will and dismiss him just as easily. He therefore sought out the eldest son of the Yuan family, Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao did not answer at once. Clearly, Dong Zhuo’s tone was not that of a man seeking his opinion. He wanted Yuan Shao to carry the message home.

Under ordinary circumstances, Yuan Shao should have replied that the matter was of grave importance and that he would return home to consider it. Both sides would then have understood the unspoken meaning, and the purpose of Dong Zhuo’s summons would have been fulfilled.

But Yuan Shao had no intention of doing that, because he knew that Yuan Kui—

Yuan Shao rose to his feet and said, “The Han dynasty has ruled the empire for more than four centuries. Its grace has been profound, and the people have long revered it. Though the present emperor is young, no evil of his has yet been proclaimed throughout the realm. If you depose the rightful heir and install a lesser branch, I fear the multitude will not accept your proposal.”

He had not merely declined to carry Dong Zhuo’s words home. He had taken an openly defiant stand against him.

Dong Zhuo stared at him in astonishment, then cursed furiously.

“You insolent whelp! Do you think the affairs of the empire are not mine to decide? I have ordered it—who would dare disobey? Do you imagine my sword is not sharp enough?”

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Yuan Shao refused to yield. He retorted, “Is Dong the only man of strength in all the empire?”

Then he clasped his hands, bowed, and walked out.

Dong Zhuo was enraged. He cursed the Yuan family’s son for his childish insolence. When Li Ru emerged from the rear hall, Dong Zhuo turned on him angrily.

“That whelp has humiliated me. He must be punished severely!”

“My lord, calm yourself,” Li Ru said evenly. “There is something strange about the Yuan family’s son.”

“It is strange?” Dong Zhuo demanded. “What is strange about it?”

As far as he was concerned, the boy was simply a fool who could not even understand that he had been summoned merely to carry a message.

Before long, soldiers from the city gate arrived to report that Yuan Shao, Commandant of the Central Army, had hung his ceremonial staff above the eastern gate and left the city.

Li Ru’s thoughts shifted. He suddenly asked the soldiers, “You saw the staff. Did you see his official seal as well?”

“No, we did not,” they replied.

Li Ru gave a knowing laugh.

“So that is how it is.”

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the soldiers.