Chapter 323

Why did Honey Water Brother's declaration of emperor not lead to a chorus of support, but instead resulted in a collective attack?

For one, in the second year of Jian'an (197 AD), the year he historically declared himself emperor.

Although his territory looked very large, there was a great deal of "water" in it.

As everyone knows.

Before Sun Ce attacked Jiangdong, the banner he flew was actually that he was expanding territory for Honey Water Brother.

Therefore.

In Honey Water Brother's view, the vast territory Sun Ce conquered all counted as his territory!

That is to say.

In Honey Water Brother's perception.

His territory included not only Yizhou, Nanyang, and Huainan, but even the six commanderies of Jiangdong had to be counted among them!

Sun Ce's pacification of Jiangdong gave Honey Water Brother great confidence.

Look! Even my little brother can lead troops to pacify Jiangdong on his own!

If I were to go out myself, wouldn't the whole world be settled?!

Thus, Honey Water Brother was filled with "mysterious confidence" in himself.

Furthermore.

Honey Water Brother, as the legitimate son of the Yuan family.

His task from beginning to end was to overthrow the Liu Han imperial family.

To establish a brand-new dynasty belonging to the aristocrats.

Therefore, he firmly believed that as long as he raised his arms and shouted, the aristocrats of the world would definitely respond to him!

As it turned out.

In the north at that time, the hard power of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao was actually already stronger than Honey Water Brother's.

Especially after holding the Son of Heaven to command the warlords, Cao Cao received more full-hearted support from the aristocratic groups.

And between him and Yuan Shao, a trend of rivalry had gradually emerged.

That is to say, in the eyes of the northern aristocrats.

The final master of the world would likely emerge between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

Consequently.

The northern aristocrats either supported Yuan Shao or supported Cao Cao.

Only a very small number of hot-headed people bet their fortunes on Honey Water Brother.

And what about the southern aristocrats?

They had an irreconcilable hatred with Honey Water Brother!

After Honey Water Brother occupied Huainan, because he did not know how to manage his territory, he often allowed his troops to plunder. (There are many historical records that can corroborate this.)

Allowing troops to plunder is actually a technical job.

Robbing ordinary commoners, although effective, has limited results.

If you want to rob, you have to rob the rich!

Who are the rich?

The wealthy gentry and the great aristocratic clans!

That is to say, Honey Water Brother had the generals under his command, who were converted from mountain bandits and outlaws, lead troops to rob the aristocratic clans.

This...

Doesn't it sound very magical?

But our Honey Water Brother really did just that!

And he never tired of it.

Honey Water Brother, as a member of the Yuan family, the head of the world's aristocrats.

Yet he indulged his subordinates in robbing other aristocrats.

This was equivalent to betraying his own class.

How could the southern aristocrats give Honey Water Brother a good look?

Thus.

After our Honey Water Brother declared himself emperor.

Both the northern aristocrats and the southern aristocrats lost their sense of identification with him.

They believed that Honey Water Brother had betrayed the aristocratic class and belonged to the public enemy of the aristocratic class!

This was the real reason why Honey Water Brother was attacked by the whole world!

And not some "betrayal of the Han family, declaring himself emperor privately."

In fact, everyone was a sensible person.

What kind of state the Han family was in, who didn't have a scale in their heart?

Honey Water Brother betrayed the original aristocratic class.

At the same time, he could not get the recognition of the commoner class.

His demise was naturally only a matter of time.

As the saying goes.

A traitor will never have a good end.

Although Honey Water Brother was not a traitor.

But his actions truly illustrated what it meant to "play a good hand of cards into a mess."

Originally, he was a rising star in whom the aristocratic class had high hopes.

But after several years of development.

Starting with Yizhou, he should have grown in a "snowballing" manner.

Yet he was gradually crushed by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

The aristocratic groups that supported him were also gradually snatched away by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

Consequently, Honey Water Brother eventually headed toward destruction.

But in other words.

What if he hadn't courted death by declaring himself emperor?

Perhaps he would have eventually been finished off by Cao Cao or Yuan Shao.

But he would never have headed toward decline so quickly.

And the things that tempted Honey Water Brother to declare himself emperor.

Besides the matter of "Sun Ce pacifying Jiangdong."

The Imperial Seal was also an indispensable temptation.

……

Before his eyes, the high-quality imitation Imperial Seal held in Fa Zheng's hand instantly made Honey Water Brother's breathing stall.

In order to make it realistic.

Gu Yi specifically had this high-quality imitation Imperial Seal made with the same shaped notch on the edge as the genuine Imperial Seal.

Legend has it that when Wang Mang usurped the Han.

This Imperial Seal was thrown to the ground in anger by Wang Mang's own sister, the last Empress Dowager of the Western Han, Wang Zhengjun, and thus lacked a corner.

The truth of this anecdote is long unknown, as it is not recorded in official history.

But it cannot be denied that the Imperial Seal really did lack a corner.

Yuan Shu, as the legitimate son of the Yuan family, how could he not have heard of the Imperial Seal?

Knowing the goods, all his attention was instantly attracted by the seal, unable to look away for a long time.

However.

Our Honey Water Brother still had a tiny bit of brains; although it might not be much, there was still some rationality left.

He looked at Fa Zheng with suspicion and said:

"Fa Xiaozhi, this seal is fake, right?"

"Otherwise, why wouldn't Dong Zhongying use it to declare himself emperor?"

"Instead, he let you bring it to me?"

Fa Zheng had long anticipated Yuan Shu's reaction.