Chapter 734
The great Yuan Shao died and everyone mourned. Cao Cao personally carried Yuan Shao’s body and placed it in a coffin. Yuan Shao was then buried according to his status and etiquette.
Yuan Shao was posthumously named King of Bohai. Yuan Shao’s wife soon followed Yuan Shao in death. Cao Cao buried the two of them in a location Yuan Shao had already prepared for himself in advance. In the past, Yuan Shao had planned on moving the capital to Bohai. Though he had not managed to move the capital, he was still buried in Bohai.
Cao Cao then walked up onto a stage and talked about Yuan Shao’s life. When talking about the past, Cao Cao was sometimes excited and sometimes mournful. The people of Hebei also mourned for Yuan Shao as though they lost a family member.
“Milord. Please accept our condolences.” Xu Huang, Yue Jin and the others could not understand why Cao Cao was so sad. Only Cheng Yu understood that while Cao Cao was somewhat sincere in grieving for the lost of a childhood friend, he was also doing it to win the hearts of the people.
Yuan Shao was a benevolent ruler of Hebei. He was the one who saved Hebei from the Yellow Turbans and then made sure the people of Hebei had clothes to wear and food to eat. Because of this, the people loved Yuan Shao. Cao Cao who was the reason for Yuan Shao’s death was hated instead.
Cao Cao’s actions here won him a lot of support. He showed how broad minded he is by burying his enemies generously. Not only did he win the support of the mon people but also the support of the nobles and scholars.
With Fanyang captured and Yuan Shao dead, the whole of Hebei is conquered by Cao Cao. The other warlords began to worry as Cao Cao was now free to covet their territory. They became afraid of offending Cao Cao as they did not want to be next.
The most worried one was not Liu Mang but Gongsun Du who was pacing back and forth in his residence. Gongsun Du dared to do business with Liu Mang because the Yuan brothers were still around. He had hoped for the Yuan brothers to hold out until his death.
Gongsun Du never expected the Yuan brothers to be so useless that he himself felt like personally killing them. It only took two years for the whole of Hebei to be handed over to others.
“Father! Let us ask Yangzhou for help!” Gongsun Kang, the future heir of Liaodong, suggested.
“Have the King of Shu send troops to Liaodong!” Gongsun Du’s eyes lit up. This was a good idea. Since Cao Cao’s main enemy was not Gongsun Du, it will be enough as long as Yangzhou can stop Cao Cao from entering Liaodong.
But after thinking for a while, Gongsun Du shook his head. Even if Yangzhou sends reinforcements, Gongsun Du would have to give them a city for them to stay in. What if Yangzhou refuses to leave?
“Then Father, we surrender to Prime Minister Cao instead!” Gongsun Kang suggested. Since they could not rely on Liu Mang, they could only rely on Cao Cao. They were afraid of being Cao Cao’s enemies. In that case, everything would be fine if they surrendered.
“No!” Gongsun Du shook his head. He would have already decided to surrender to Cao Cao if he could. It was a feasible plan in the past when Cao Cao offered him the title King of Liaodong. But Gongsun Du had chosen to bee the middleman and trade with the Yuan brothers. Half of the reason Cao Cao could not advance was because of Gongsun Du. It would not be a surprise if many from Cao Cao’s army would be happy to kill him.
“Father. That is only if we surrender directly. It would be different if we show some sincerity.”
“Sincerity?” Gongsun Du was confused. “Are you saying we should give gifts?” Gongsun Du shook his head with a wry smile. Cao Cao would not be short of money.
“Father. Why was Prime Minister Cao stopped at Fanyang?”
“First of all, the walls of the city was high. Second, Yuan Xi is a talent and third, must be Yangzhou’s weapons and armor!” Gongsun Du had to admit that Yangzhou’s equipment was very good. He now looked at his old heavy armor in disdain. If it weren’t for the fact that Yangzhou’s equipment was so expensive, he would outfitted all of his subordinates with it.
“Prime Minister Cao is sure to want those equipment. How about we give Yangzhou’s equipment to the Prime Minister?” Gongsun Kang suggested with a smile.
“Give Yangzhou’s equipment to Cao Cao?” Gongsun Du thought about it. This was not impossible but it felt painful. The equipment in his hands were all bought with his money. Liu Mang did not care if Gongsun Du kept these equipment or sell it to the Yuan brothers.
“Would it be enough?” Gongsun Du was worried. He only had three thousand sets of armor and five thousand swords. Would Cao Cao fancy these equipment? Cao Cao has over three hundred thousand men under his mand. After pacifying Hebei, he is sure to expand the army even more. A few thousand sets of weapons and armor is merely a drop in the ocean.
“Father. We may not have more but there is one place that do!” Gongsun Kang said with a smile.
“What do you mean?” Gongsun Du stared at his son with his eyes wide.
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