Chapter 533

The Hebei aristocratic families were the trump card Yuan Shao relied on most behind him.

For this reason, Yuan Shao even handed half of the military power to Ju Shou,

intending to use such a method to stimulate the Hebei aristocratic families to bet everything they could on the gambling table.

But now,

Yuan Tan wanted to take action against Yuan Shang, Ju Shou, and the others.

This was not simply dealing with Ju Shou and the other Hebei aristocratic families, but dealing with his own father, Yuan Shao, along with them!

However,

as an enemy, Gu Yi was exactly what he wanted to see.

If Yuan Shao were defeated, our Young Master Yuan Tan would at least have to earn an "MVP of the match."

……

Jizhou,

Ye City.

Guo Tu and Xin Ping sat in a wine shop, drinking with faces full of sorrow.

They were not actually heavy drinkers originally.

But the series of events that had happened recently was simply too frustrating, frustrating to the point that they could only drown their sorrows in alcohol.

Seeing Guo Tu pouring bowl after bowl of wine into his stomach, Xin Ping hurriedly tried to stop him:

"Gongze, stop drinking; this is already the ninth bowl. If you drink any more, I fear you will be unconscious."

Although the wine of the late Han era certainly could not be compared with that of later generations,

it was by no means the zero-proof millet wine that some people claimed.

Furthermore, Guo Tu did not drink often on weekdays.

At this moment, having downed nine bowls in a row, his face had already become incomparably flushed.

In comparison, although Xin Ping had also drunk quite a bit, his state was clearly better than Guo Tu's.

"Zhongzhi, I am depressed in my heart!"

"You tell me, those two brats Feng Ji and Shen Pei, by what right can they hold high positions?"

"And I, not only did my position not get promoted, but it actually dropped by one level?"

Regarding what Guo Tu said, Xin Ping also fell into silence.

After Yuan Shao and Cao Cao supported Liu He to ascend the throne, Ju Shou was directly enfeoffed as Minister of the Secretariat.

This was equivalent to the position held by Li Ru on Old Dong's side.

And Xun Yu's position was below Ju Shou's.

There was no help for it; Cao Cao had previously lost Yuzhou and Yanzhou in succession, and his strength was greatly damaged.

At this moment, his fist was not as hard as Yuan Shao's.

His own second-in-command, Xun Yu, naturally had to be below Yuan Shao's second-in-command, Ju Shou.

However, a very awkward situation followed.

Whether in Cao Cao's camp or Yuan Shao's camp, almost everyone had been promoted.

There were those promoted by one level, those by two levels, and even those who skipped levels.

But when it came to Guo Tu, it became a "reverse promotion."

Yes, his position was one level lower than before.

The reason for this was naturally that Ju Shou, Shen Pei, Feng Ji, and other Hebei aristocratic families did not like him.

In fact, Guo Tu was not the only one from the Henan aristocratic families.

Strictly speaking, Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Chen Qun, and other strategists in Cao Cao's camp were almost all from the Henan aristocratic families.

But the problem was, Xun Yu belonged to Cao Cao, so why should he care about Yuan Shao's affairs?

And besides this,

Xin Ping and Xun Chen in the Yuan camp were also considered Henan aristocratic families.

But Xun Chen was low-key by nature.

Plus, he was Xun Yu's own older brother.

Even if Ju Shou did not look at the monk's face, he had to look at the Buddha's face; naturally, he would not make things difficult for Xun Chen.

Xin Ping was neither promoted nor demoted.

Only Guo Tu was clearly being cleared out of the core circle by Ju Shou, Shen Pei, Feng Ji, and other Hebei aristocratic families.

And if Guo Tu were cleared out, wouldn't it be Xin Ping's turn next?

At that time, the Henan aristocratic faction in Yuan Shao's camp would exist in name only.

"Sigh!!!"

"If the eldest young master were still here, would he let Ju Shou and the others bully us like this?"

Guo Tu cried out in pain.

He truly missed Yuan Tan a bit.

Ever since Yuan Tan was captured, the Henan aristocratic faction in the Yuan camp could be said to be going downhill.

Not long ago, the third young master, Yuan Shang, supported by Ju Shou and other Hebei aristocratic families, was even enfeoffed as Governor of Jizhou.

Although this was an enfeoffment by the pseudo-emperor Liu He and did not possess any formal procedures,

but the reason Liu He enfeoffed Yuan Shang as Governor of Jizhou was because he had obtained Yuan Shao's approval, right?

Yuan Shao was still alive at this moment, and the Henan aristocratic families already had no room for survival.

If Yuan Shang inherited Yuan Shao's position in a few years, how would the Henan aristocratic families conduct themselves?

Influenced by Guo Tu's negative emo emotions, Xin Ping's mood also became incomparably low.

However,

just as the two were about to leave the wine shop, two retainers dressed in black suddenly walked in from outside.

"Are you Mr. Gongze and Mr. Zhongzhi?"

"Young Master Yuan has words to bring to you two."

The two black-clad retainers said in a deep voice.

Hearing this, Guo Tu and Xin Ping looked at each other, both seeing deep confusion in the other's eyes.

Winners are kings, losers are bandits.

Yuan Shang had already become the heir; could there be anything good in finding them?

Seeming to see through the wariness in their hearts,

the two black-clad retainers whispered into Guo Tu and Xin Ping's ears:

"Two gentlemen, this Young Master Yuan is not that Young Master Yuan; we are referring to Young Master Xiansi."

"Plop!"

Guo Tu's eyes widened.

Looking at the two black-clad retainers again, he suddenly understood something.

……

Half an hour later,

Ye City,

in a hidden residence.

Guo Tu and Xin Ping brought the two black-clad retainers here.

Subsequently, Guo Tu asked impatiently:

"You two, what is Young Master Xiansi's current situation?"

"Can you tell us?"

No matter what, Guo Tu and Xin Ping were also famous figures in the original history.

Although their strategic ability could not compare with Ju Shou, Xun Yu, and others,

as core strategists of the Yuan camp, the judgment they should have was naturally there.

Although they did not understand what the true purpose of these two black-clad retainers was,

since they could come here, it proved that these two definitely had a scheme.

Furthermore, being able to learn about Yuan Tan's recent situation from the mouths of two black-clad retainers was also an excellent thing for Guo Tu and Xin Ping.

"Two gentlemen, please stay calm." ===== CHAPTER 534 =====