Chapter 379

Even though Yan Liang, Chunyu Qiong, and the others were shouting heartbrokenly.

They still couldn't reverse the fact that Yuan Tan was captured by Huang Zhong.

Looking at Huang Zhong who was heading toward Runan City.

Tian Feng said in a deep voice:

"General Yan, General Chunyu, the matter of the Eldest Young Master being captured alive is a foregone conclusion."

"Now, I ask the two generals to cheer up and lead the remaining troops to break out of the encirclement."

"If not, these seventy thousand troops will probably all be lost here today."

Before Tian Feng finished speaking, Guo Tu stood up angrily and roared:

"Tian Yuanhao! What do you mean by this?"

"Could it be that you want to disregard the life and death of the Eldest Young Master?"

Guo Tu was naturally very angry.

With the growth of Yuan Shao's eldest son Yuan Tan and third son Yuan Shang.

The struggle for the position of heir in the Yuan camp had already begun in the open and in secret.

Yuan Tan's mother was originally Yuan Shao's legal wife, born into a famous family in Yizhou.

But what was very awkward was.

Yuan Tan's mother passed away due to illness shortly after giving birth to Yuan Tan.

Later, Yuan Shao married the Liu family of Jizhou as his second wife, that is, Lady Liu.

Lady Liu gave birth to the third son, Yuan Shang, for Yuan Shao.

Actually, if the script were correct.

As Yuan Shao's eldest son, Yuan Tan would undoubtedly become Yuan Shao's heir.

After all.

Yuan Tan was both the legitimate son and Yuan Shao's eldest son, and his biological mother's status and position were not low.

If Yuan Shao's foundation wasn't inherited by him, who would it be inherited by?

(PS: Some novels set Yuan Tan's mother as having a low birth, but according to existing historical research, Yuan Tan's mother was born into a famous family in Yizhou and was Yuan Shao's first legal wife.)

But the problem Yuan Tan faced was that his mother passed away too early and didn't leave him enough political assets.

Moreover, the Liu family of Jizhou, where his stepmother Lady Liu was from, was very influential on that one-third of an acre of land in Hebei.

Yuan Shao used Jizhou as his starting place, so he naturally needed the full support of the Hebei gentry.

Whether he really favored his youngest son Yuan Shang.

Or because he wanted to put on a show for the Hebei gentry.

Yuan Shao could not identify his eldest son Yuan Tan as his heir early on.

After all.

What the third son Yuan Shang represented behind him was the power of the Hebei gentry under Yuan Shao.

And what the eldest son Yuan Tan represented behind him was the power of the Henan gentry under Yuan Shao.

If the identity of the heir was settled early and handed over to Yuan Tan, then what would the Hebei gentry play with?

In the original history, Cao Cao was slow to establish Cao Pi or Cao Zhi as his heir for this very reason.

After Cao Cao captured Yecheng in the ninth year of Jian'an, the remaining group of Hebei gentry turned to choose to serve Cao Cao.

But the Henan gentry were the veteran shareholders under Cao Cao.

The Hebei gentry under Cao Cao naturally could not compare to the Henan gentry in terms of high position and great power.

In order to overtake on a bend.

And also under Cao Cao's deliberate hints.

The group of Hebei gentry who newly joined the Cao camp collectively chose to bet on Cao Zhi.

Why didn't they choose Cao Pi but chose Cao Zhi?

Because Cao Pi already had supporters.

The people supporting Cao Pi were exactly the opponents of the Hebei gentry—the Henan gentry!

Ever since Cao Cao's eldest son Cao Ang died in the Battle of Wancheng.

This Cao Number Two, Cao Pi, transformed into Cao Cao's eldest son.

The Henan gentry group had a deep-rooted obsession with the concept of "establishing the eldest, not the youngest."

Therefore.

They naturally supported Cao Pi, who had changed from "Cao Number Two" to "Cao Number One," instead of supporting "Cao Number Four," Cao Zhi.

Of course.

Among the Henan gentry.

The people who clearly entered the field and expressed their willingness to support Cao Pi.

Were the second-generation figures of the Henan gentry group led by Chen Qun, Sima Yi, and others.

Otherwise.

If the true big shots in the Henan gentry group, such as Seeing Xun Yu and Seeing Xun You, had entered the field directly.

I'm afraid Cao Zhi and the Hebei gentry group would have had nothing to play with.

Therefore, in order not to disturb the balance.

And for the sake of relative fairness.

Seeing Xun Yu, Seeing Xun You, Xia Hou Dun, Cao Ren, and others would not have any clear tendency to take sides before the result of the heir struggle came out.

And now.