Chapter 321

If he could attain the rank of one of the Three Excellencies or Nine Ministers, that would be even better.

Only in chaos would he have his opportunity.

Otherwise, if things remained peaceful, it would be even harder for him to accomplish anything.

Pulling chestnuts from the fire—it was nothing more than that.

Time flew by under these circumstances.

Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and their men spent over a day successfully locating and catching up with Zhang Rang's party on the banks of the Yellow River.

In the end, Zhang Rang was driven into a corner and had no choice but to commit suicide by jumping into the river.

At the moment he jumped, Zhang Rang couldn't help but glance toward the south, sighing in his heart: "Perhaps I should have found a way to contact Su Xuan back then and had him bring troops into Luoyang to protect the King!"

"Perhaps that way I could have saved my life, but alas, it is all too late now!"

With this thought, Zhang Rang brought his sinful life to a regretful end.

Afterward, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao led the Young Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and their party toward Luoyang.

As it turned out, halfway there, they first encountered Dong Zhuo, and then they ran into Lu Bu.

It was only by relying on Lu Bu and Ding Yuan that they were temporarily able to rout Dong Zhuo.

In the end, Dong Zhuo and Ding Yuan each occupied half of Luoyang.

Furthermore, the troops of the Sili Commandant and the Eight Schools of the Western Garden were swallowed up by Dong Zhuo during this process.

For a time, Dong Zhuo and Ding Yuan began to face off and skirmish, with Luoyang as the center.

Yuan Fu,

"Damn it! Benchu, why did it turn out like this? Why did Dong Zhuo betray us?"

"And how exactly did you lose the troops of the Eight Schools of the Western Garden and the Sili Commandant?"

Yuan Kui looked at Yuan Shao with a gloomy face and questioned him.

Yuan Shu, standing to the side, wore a look of schadenfreude.

Yuan Ji, however, had a dark expression on his face.

This result was not what he had imagined!

At this moment, shouldn't he already be starting to enjoy the fruits of victory?

Hearing this, Yuan Shao's face also looked very ugly as he said: "Uncle, how could I have known?"

"I should be the one asking you! Didn't you say Dong Zhuo was one of our Yuan Clan's men and absolutely reliable?"

"That is why I suggested to He Jin that he be summoned;"

"You agreed to this point as well! And what was the result?"

"This man is nothing but a wolf with wild ambitions, the kind that is completely impossible to tame;"

"How did you judge that this man would have no problems back then?"

"You..."

Yuan Kui was actually rendered speechless by Yuan Shao's retort.

There was no helping it; he had indeed said exactly that.

One could only say that his judgment had been flawed.

He had never expected Dong Zhuo to be such an ambitious person.

It could only be said that Dong Zhuo had disguised himself too well in front of him, deceiving even his late brother, Yuan Feng.

"As for the troops of the Sili Commandant and the Eight Schools of the Western Garden!"

Speaking of this, Yuan Shao also said angrily: "At the time, Cao Cao and I only took a few hundred troops to pursue Zhang Rang;"

"The rest were all scattered to search for His Majesty and Zhang Rang according to your orders, Uncle!"

"How was I to know that Dong Zhuo would strike at that moment, and in the process, swallow up those scattered troops one by one?"

This point had indeed exceeded Yuan Shao's expectations.

Originally, he had intended to take those troops with him to Bohai!

As a result, through a moment of carelessness, he had made a wedding dress for Dong Zhuo.

This made Yuan Shao hate Dong Zhuo, that dog thief, to the extreme.

Yuan Kui was again rendered speechless, and for a moment, he felt very displeased with Yuan Shao, this rebellious son.

Not only was he incapable of accomplishing anything, but he also liked to talk back.

Was this still the obedient child Yuan Benchu of the past?

At this time, Yuan Ji felt that continuing like this was not a solution, so he immediately tried to defuse the situation for his father: "Father, Benchu, now is not the time to discuss these things. Should we not think about what we should do next?"

"The current situation in Luoyang is out of control;"

"Dong Zhuo controls a vast number of troops; I fear it will be difficult for us to regain the initiative in Luoyang!"

"Unless Ding Yuan can defeat Dong Zhuo;"

"But I fear Ding Yuan's ambitions are likely just as great!"

"If he truly wins, I worry that he will be just like Dong Zhuo, revealing his true nature and ignoring us;"

"Therefore, it would be best for us to make plans early."

Hearing this, Yuan Kui immediately suppressed the anger on his face, looked at Yuan Ji, and nodded with satisfaction: "Ji'er, your considerations are indeed more comprehensive!"

"Indeed, now is not the time for arguing;"

"Let us fully support Ding Yuan in dealing with Dong Zhuo from now on!"

"Although Ding Yuan's ambitions may not be small, compared to that brute Dong Zhuo, he is relatively more law-abiding;"

"At the very least, it will be better than if Dong Zhuo wins."

"Furthermore,"

Speaking of this, Yuan Kui looked at Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu: "We have already lost military power and the initiative here in Luoyang;"

"To avoid being too passive in the future, I hope that you, Benchu, and Gonglu, will leave Luoyang and take up posts in the provinces;"

"Then, recruit troops, buy horses, and accumulate strength to await the changing times."

Since the Luoyang plan had failed, they had no choice but to change the plan and choose to surround Luoyang from the provinces.

Without military power in his hands, Yuan Kui felt no sense of security at any moment.

"This..."

Hearing this, Yuan Shao pretended to show a hint of dissatisfaction, then nodded helplessly: "I agree!"

"As for me, I shall go to Bohai in Jizhou!"

"I served there before, so I am relatively familiar with it, and I already have a foundation there, making it easier to develop."

It wasn't that he hadn't thought about going to Runan or Nanyang.

But he knew that his good elder brother Yuan Ji, his good younger brother Yuan Shu, and even his good uncle Yuan Kui would likely not agree.

Therefore, he simply chose to go to Bohai.

In any case, he had been managing that place for several years, and it had long since become his base of operations.

Besides, once Yuan Kui and Yuan Ji were dead, he could completely win over a large group of Yuan clan members and disciples from Runan and all over the Great Han.

It was much better than staying in Runan.

That place had been developed for too long and was already filled with the scent of decay, with constraints everywhere; Yuan Shao did not like it at all.

He would rather start from scratch and develop on his own than go to Runan.

"Oh?"

The three of them, Yuan Kui, were slightly taken aback upon hearing Yuan Shao's words, looking at him with some surprise.

Clearly, they hadn't expected Yuan Shao to make such a choice.

All three felt a sense of secret joy.

This meant that Yuan Shao had voluntarily stepped back.

This was a good thing for them.

Yuan Kui immediately spoke up: "Good! Benchu, you are very sensible! Rest assured, since you are willing to make sacrifices for the family, I will not let you suffer a loss. I will draw a group of personnel and supplies from the clan to send to Bohai to assist you!"

"Many thanks, Uncle!"

Hearing this, Yuan Shao was instantly delighted and hurriedly bowed in thanks.

This was great! He hadn't expected an unexpected gain.

At the same time, Yuan Shao said to Yuan Kui in his heart: "Uncle, just for this, once you are killed, I will give you a grand funeral at the very least."

As for whether Yuan Kui and the others would die?

Impossible! As long as his subsequent plans were implemented, Yuan Kui and the others would not be able to escape their fate if they remained in Luoyang.