Chapter 609

But seeing Yuan Shao in this state at this moment, they still felt somewhat disheartened.

Immediately after, the two of them silently made a certain decision in their hearts.

They were seen cupping their fists in unison and saying:

"My lord, we both understand the current situation."

"No matter from which angle one considers it, my lord must prioritize using Ju Shou and the others; this is beyond reproach."

"But... we old subordinates hope that my lord can find some tasks for us to do."

"Otherwise, once my lord defeats Gu Yi, will it be Ju Shou who calls the shots in the Yuan camp, or will it be my lord?"

"Thump!"

As the words fell.

Yuan Shao suddenly slammed his hand onto the table.

But shortly after, he returned to a state of calm.

Seeing this reaction, Guo Tu and Xin Pi felt a surge of joy in their hearts.

As the most powerful warlord in the world after the death of Dong Zhuo in original history, how could Yuan Shao not know of the ambitions harbored by Ju Shou and the Jizhou aristocracy?

Only a true idiot would think Yuan Shao is trash and that he could win just by listening to Ju Shou and Tian Feng!

If one were to truly choose to listen to everything those two said.

Perhaps even before the next generation of heirs, while Yuan Shao was still on the throne, the position of lord would have to be abdicated to the "Celestial Dragon" Ju Shou!

Yuan Shao stood in the position of a monarch.

What he should be considering is how to balance internal factions while actively expanding outward, making the cake bigger and stronger.

And not just listening to one person's advice to become a mindless robot lord.

At this moment, what Guo Tu and Xin Pi said had spoken directly to Yuan Shao's heart.

As a qualified monarch, one cannot have only a single faction under one's command.

For example, Cao Cao had his clan brothers like the Xia Hou family, as well as the Yingchuan aristocracy led by Xun Yu.

For example, Liu Bei had the support of the Jingzhou people led by Zhuge Liang, and also had the assistance of the Dongzhou people led by Fa Zheng, Li Yan, and others.

Therefore, when Liu Bei entrusted his son, he had to appoint two regents: Zhuge Liang and Li Yan.

It was not that Liu Bei did not trust Zhuge Liang.

It was that if only the Jingzhou faction served as regents, there would definitely be great chaos within the Shu Han!

Under such circumstances.

Even without a person like Li Yan.

Liu Bei would still have to find another person of high virtue and prestige from the Dongzhou faction to serve as a regent alongside Zhuge Liang to assist Liu Chan.

The final example is that of Sun Shiwan.

Under his command, he had both outsiders from Huai and Si like Lu Su, Zhuge Jin, Lu Meng, He Qi, Quan Cong, and Bu Zhi, whom he had personally promoted.

At the same time, he also had local Jiangdong figures like Lu Xun, Zhu Ran, Gu Yong, Zhu Ju, Zhang Wen, and Zhou Fang.

However, Sun Shiwan was more ruthless than other monarchs.

The "Change of the Two Palaces" he initiated was a damn indiscriminate attack, killing people from every faction!

When he got desperate, he even used a single imperial edict to force his own son, Prince of Lu Sun Ba, to commit suicide.

One must know, Sun Ba was the son Sun Shiwan doted on most, aside from his eldest son Sun Deng who had already passed away!

Moreover, Sun Ba's forming of cliques was clearly done under the instigation of you, Sun Shiwan.

As a result, in order to balance the strength of both sides, you just went and finished off your own son Sun Ba!

The saying "a tiger does not eat its cubs" does not apply to Sun Shiwan at all.

To consolidate his rule, this guy is capable of doing anything.

Not to mention famous historical anecdotes like backstabbing, sneak attacks, fake surrenders, blocking gates with dirt, writing letters to curse people, and the encounter with Zhang Babai at Xiaoyao Ford.

(Once I start talking about Sun Shiwan, I get excited and go off-topic; now returning to the main text.)

Yuan Shao naturally agreed quite a bit with what Xin Pi and Guo Tu had said.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have subconsciously slammed the table.

The Henan aristocracy of the Yuan camp had now been driven to a desperate situation by the Jizhou aristocracy.

This was the result of Yuan Shao's tacit approval and indulgence.

Because he now had to borrow the strength of the Jizhou aristocracy to confront Gu Yi.

But what about after that?

Given the ruthlessness of the Jizhou aristocracy.

They would likely soon annihilate this group of Henan aristocrats in the Yuan camp one by one, causing them to lose any chance of standing up again.

Looking at Guo Tu and Xin Pi before him.

Yuan Shao suddenly had a plan in mind.

Seeing this, Guo Tu stepped forward to volunteer:

"My lord, we old ministers cannot do other major tasks to help you for the time being."

"But guarding the rear, looking after the base camp and the grain, is more than enough for us."

"I ask that my lord assign us a position."

"In this way, although we cannot compare to that scoundrel Ju Shou."

"At least we won't have to worry about being secretly persecuted by him!"

Guo Tu's words were a naked insinuation to Yuan Shao about all the bad things regarding Ju Shou.

But whether Ju Shou was actually good or not was not the important question.

At least from Yuan Shao's perspective, Ju Shou was a man who could be used, but not fully trusted.

The two of them were in a relationship of mutual utilization and confrontation.

And from the perspective of Guo Tu, Xin Pi, and the others.

Ju Shou was completely and utterly an enemy.

Where you stand determines what you see.

Most people in this world are not divided into good and bad; they only have different perspectives and stances on issues.

What Guo Tu and Xin Pi said had just given Yuan Shao a new line of thinking.

But what Yuan Shao did not know was.

For Guo Tu, Xin Pi, and the others.

The best path was not to continue hanging around with Yuan Shao.

But to throw themselves into the embrace of Gu Yi, who stood behind the "filial son" Yuan Tan!