Chapter 166 Yuan Shu Wants to Become Emperor While Cao Cao was preparing to attack Sili in the west to develop secretly, Liu Bei and Liu Biao were not idle either. Taking advantage of the fact that Yuan Shu was focused on taking over the Huaiyang area and had no time to look west, Liu Biao was cunning and made a direct move. Because Yingchuan in the north had been divided up by Cao Cao and Liu Bei, the Nanyang County controlled by Yuan Shu could only be connected through Runan County. Liu Biao did not confront Yuan Shu head-on, but directly sent troops north to secretly occupy the important passes and cities connecting the two counties, cutting off the connection between the two counties. He then concentrated his forces in the hinterland of Nanyang to act as a threat. With Yuan Shu's character, he wanted to start a fight with Liu Biao directly, but when he was about to withdraw his troops and march west. The spies reported that Liu Bei was making unusual moves and seemed to be preparing his troops to attack Runan. Tao Qian also seemed to be thinking of taking back the territory south of Xuzhou. The army sent by Yuan Shu immediately stopped in Runan and asked Yuan Shu what to do next. Today, Yuan Shu has been besieged by three groups of princes! And the Skeleton King seemed to have just woken up from a dream at this moment. Was his popularity so bad? On one side, there were bandits and heroes who kept coming to surrender, and on the other side, there were various princes who surrounded him, making Yuan Shu somewhat doubtful of himself. But soon, Yuan Shu figured it out. This may be the trouble of being too good! You always attract jealousy.
Sitting peacefully on the couch, playing with the imperial seal in his hand, Yuan Shu kept repeating the words engraved on it: "Mandated by Heaven, may you live long and prosper!" I am so outstanding, why not try to become an emperor? The foundation of the Yuan family could have secured his position as a local lord. As long as he didn't commit suicide or make big mistakes, he could have been a housekeeper like Liu Biao. But the blood of the Yuan family didn't allow him to just sit there and wait for death. I was born to be a brilliant being! No local lord is worthy of me. proclaim oneself emperor! I must find a way to become emperor! I have already thought of the name of the country, it’s called: Cheng! The Liu family has been sitting on this throne long enough. A gangster village headman and a gigolo are both qualified to rule this world. I am a descendant of Yu Shun, how can I be inferior to these peasants! As for the other princes, what kind of people are they? How can they compare with me, the son of a third-generation duke? In terms of military strength and money, what can these four families do together? It's not like I can't defeat them. The one who replaced the Han Dynasty was Dangtu Gao! That means I, Yuan Gonglu. At this time, Yuan Shu had enjoyed everything and felt that everything was boring. There were only three major goals left in his life that had not been achieved. Beat Yuan Shao! Seize the world! Become an emperor and establish a country! This should have been the order, but Yuan Shu couldn't wait. Although he was conceited, he was also aware of the difficulty of the first two goals. Not to mention conquering the world, if you want to defeat Yuan Shao, the prerequisite is to conquer the Central Plains. But these princes in the Central Plains were more cunning than each other, and their conspiracies and tactics of taking advantage of others gave Yuan Shu a headache. He had thousands of the most elite Tiger Guards in his hands, and any princes had to avoid them. But this group of people always launched sneak attacks, making it difficult for him to take care of both the beginning and the end, and he had no idea where to start. First, he attacked Jianghuai, but was intercepted by Liu Biao in Nanyang; now he was preparing to fight back to Nanyang, but Liu Bei was preparing to attack Runan and Tao Qian was preparing to attack the southern part of Xuzhou. I'm not that traitor Lu Bu, is there any need for you to target me like this? Although he continued to expand his territory, there were always people who took advantage of the opportunity to steal from places he was unable to take care of. Who could tolerate this? Not to mention the back and forth, if things go wrong, the territory that you have worked so hard to conquer may be lost. It is simply a long way off to unify the Central Plains.
"My lord, now the surrounding princes have all formed an alliance to fight against us. I am afraid that Nanyang cannot be saved." Yang Hong advised. "Then what do you think we should do now?" Yuan Shu asked absentmindedly. "My lord, why don't you make peace with Liu Biao and temporarily withdraw the troops from Nanyang, give up Nanyang, and focus on attacking Yangzhou. In this way, Yangzhou and Jianghuai can be connected, and there is no need to worry about being besieged or ambushed. My lord can attack the Central Plains without any scruples." Although Yang Hong's wisdom and strategy are not as good as those top strategists, he is still at a second-rate level. Yuan Shu's diplomacy is now very difficult because he is too strong. Moreover, Yuan Shao is still being suppressed by Tian Ze, and no one can check and balance Yuan Shu on the surface. If diplomacy cannot solve the problem, then we can only learn from Tian Ze and build a stable rear area. By occupying the Huaiyang area and Yangzhou, there are fewer directions to defend, and we can completely let go. "Okay." Yuan Shu nodded, and suddenly asked, "What do you think? If I give up Nanyang and form an alliance with Liu Biao, can I also be crowned emperor?" Liu Biao wanted Jingzhou, Sun Ce wanted Yangzhou, Cao Cao wanted Central Plains, Tao Qian wanted to retire, Liu Bei wanted to support the Han Dynasty, and Yuan Shu wanted to become emperor. "Absolutely not!" Yan Xiang hurriedly stopped him. "My lord, the Han Dynasty still exists. Although we are surrounded by enemies, there are gaps between the various princes, so they check and balance each other and dare not attack us with all their strength." "But once we become emperors, it will give the various princes a sense of righteousness. Then they will have no worries and can attack us with all their might. Then the situation will be dangerous." Anyone with a brain would understand what it would mean to rashly declare himself emperor at this time. Hearing Yan Xiang's words, Yuan Shu showed an impatient expression: "Alright, alright, got it. I will be crowned emperor after Sun Ce conquers Jiangdong, alright?" After saying this, without waiting for Yan Xiang to dissuade him, he just touched the jade seal and walked away angrily. "Alas!" When Yan Xiang and Yang Hong saw Yuan Shu's expression, they knew that he did not listen to them, so they could only sigh inwardly. "My lord is determined to become emperor, and I'm afraid we will be in great trouble soon." Yan Xiang sighed. However, Yang Hong looked towards the direction of Jiangdong, thinking secretly that he should perhaps prepare a way out. No matter what Yuan Shu thought, Liu Biao was so happy after successfully regaining Nanyang that he readily agreed to Yuan Shu's request for an alliance. I just want to guard Jingzhou peacefully. It doesn't matter what anyone here wants to do, as long as they don't have any intentions of taking Jingzhou. However, just as Yuan Shu's army was withdrawing from Nanyang, a group of pirates seemed to have received the news early and emerged from all directions. Taking advantage of the time difference when Liu Biao had not yet arrived, they quickly and forcibly abducted hundreds of thousands of civilians. When Liu Biao learned the news, he was so angry that his teeth were about to break. "Gan Xingba!" This name has become Liu Biao's nightmare. Just when Liu Biao was filled with rage and even planned to join forces with his new ally Yuan Shu to destroy Gan Ning, news came from the four counties in southern Jing that local nobles were causing rebellion. Liu Biao was suddenly shocked. There are a total of eight counties in Jingzhou. Nanyang County is newly established, and Jiangxia County is actually controlled by Huang Zu. He only obeys orders and not announcements. If problems arise in the four southern counties again, how can he continue to do his job as the governor of Jingzhou? The original plan to eliminate Gan Ning was immediately scrapped, and Liu Biao anxiously prepared his troops and prepared to march south to quell the rebellion. (End of this chapter)