Chapter 15 The Last Days of Yuan Shu

Yuan Shu was the first separatist leader to emerge after the failure of the crusade against Dong Zhuo. Since Nanyang raised his troops, he has been invincible by virtue of the reputation of the four generations and the three lords and the bravery of his subordinate Sun Jian. He also found the Jade Seal of Chuanguo in the ruins of Luoyang .When his power reached its peak, he formed allies with Gongsun Zan of Youzhou, Tao Qian of Xuzhou, and Yu Fuluo of the Huns, and Yuan Shao was almost defeated.It wasn't until Sun Jian died in Xiangyang that he went north and was defeated by Cao Cao, and he encountered the first setback in his life.Afterwards, he gave up Yuzhou and moved to Huainan, and occupied Jiujiang County in the blink of an eye, regained his momentum in Shouchun, and frightened the southeast.However, it was there that his ambition began to swell, and he was no longer willing to be a courtier of the big man.

As early as the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there was a prophecy among the people that "the one who replaces the Han Dynasty should be Tu Gao", and Ma Qian of Taishi Company specially wrote him in "Stories of Hanwu".In his hands is the Jade Seal of Chuanguo, which is the symbol of the emperor, and Dangtu County is under the jurisdiction of Jiujiang County, and Yuan's surname comes from a descendant of Shun who symbolizes Tude... How many coincidences have happened to him!Yuan Shu thought that he had the destiny, and he ignored the advice of his wise men, so he couldn't wait to establish himself as the "emperor of the Zhong family", and changed the prefect of Jiujiang to Huainan Yin. He became a local emperor on his not-so-wide territory.

But God did not favor Yuan Shu, not only failed to unify the world, but also became the target of public criticism.The emperor of the Han Dynasty issued an edict against rebellion, and soldiers from all walks of life rushed to and fro: Lu Bu defeated him and took away important supplies north of the Huaihe River; Cao Cao surrounded and annihilated his main force in Qiyang, beheaded Even Sun Ce, who he regarded as his adopted son, betrayed him, created his own world in Jiangdong, and poached a large number of officials under his command... However, Yuan Shu has no doubts about his "destiny", he still feels good about himself, and lives a luxurious life as usual.He was born in a noble family, and he was surrounded by rich clothes, jade, servants and children since he was a child, and it got worse after he became the emperor.Building an imperial palace increases taxes, and the harem is filled with hundreds of beauties, all of whom are silk and satin, delicacies from mountains and seas every day, and even polished rice and white meat are tired of eating.Huainan was originally a wealthy place with several million households, but after he became emperor for less than three years, he ruined it beyond recognition.The wars continued to be combined with excessive taxation, locust drought, and plague epidemics. Countless people died in battle, forced to death, starved to death, and died of illness. Shouchun City is hell on earth!

The land was scraped and squeezed dry, and the army was short of food and officials, and Yuan Shu was in a predicament.He wanted to win people's hearts, but his subordinates either took refuge in the court of Xudu or were won over by Sun Ce. What's more, they would rather go up the mountain to become a bandit than protect him, and Cao Cao and Sun Ce, the two urging ghosts, may kill him again at any time one strike!In desperation, Yuan Shu burned down the imperial palace and brought his family to the north, brazenly seeking refuge with his elder brother who was once incompatible and was called a domestic slave by him, hoping to exchange the imperial jade seal for the rest of his life.

But the sky didn't go his way, as soon as he stepped into the border of Xuzhou, he heard that Yuan Xu had been captured, and his arch-enemy Cao Cao dispatched his younger adversary Liu Bei to intercept him.Yuan Shuliao knew that there would be a fierce battle when enemies met, seeing that his soldiers were weak and his soldiers had no fighting spirit, and a pile of family property was in the way, he was really powerless to overcome this hurdle, so he had to send an order to return to Shouchun in a hurry. The soldiers fled all the way, and finally returned to Shouchun. The subordinates who stayed behind had already distributed the last bit of grain, and said: "If you know what you are going to die, you are the ears. I would rather give up one's life to save the people. Burning charcoal." Seeing that there was no way to gain a foothold here, Yuan Shu had no choice but to go to Shanshan ① to attach himself to his subordinates, Chen Lan, Lei Bo and others.But they refused to take him in, and sent someone down the mountain to send a message: "The generals said that our hill can't accommodate the emperor, and I beg your majesty to leave a way for the brothers to survive, and stop letting everyone follow you to be scolded!" After buying some coarse grains, he sent him away like a plague god.

Yuan Shu spent three days near Mount Yan, seeing that Chen Lan and Lei Bo really had no intention of caring, he had to leave in despair, but he didn't even know where he could go this time.After walking aimlessly for two days, when we arrived at Jiangting, eighty miles away from Shouchun, the soldiers complained that they were hungry, so they had to stop for a rest. It was the hottest month of June, and the scorching sun scorched the earth like a raging fire.Yuan Shu sat in the "Royal Tent" with his chest open, feeling oppressed and uncomfortable in his chest and abdomen, and his throat was as dry as a needle prick, but the soldiers who fetched water hadn't returned yet, so he could only look down at his emaciated body and endure it— ——It’s a bit ridiculous to say, except for the past few days, I haven’t suffered much in this life. Even when I was rich and well-fed, I never got fat. Kong Rong once ridiculed him as "a dead bone in the grave", but even with such a poor appearance After an addiction to the emperor.Thinking of this, he grabbed the Chuan Guo Yuxi before the case and hugged it tightly in his arms, letting the coolness on the jade relieve his suffering.

Yuan Shu's son Yuan Yao (yao), family brother Yuan Yin (yin), son-in-law Huang Yi (yi), and long history Yang Hong surrounded him. The four of them were silent and looked defeated, shaking their heads and sighing Sighing, there was nothing they could do now. At this time, Zhang Xun, the only remaining general in the camp, came, he knelt three times and kowtowed nine times outside the tent slowly, got up and said: "Qi Zuo Your Majesty, Yan Shan..." "Don't call me Your Majesty." Yuan Shu said hoarsely, "What kind of emperor am I..." Zhang Xun swallowed his saliva, and continued: "The grain that the generals of Yanshan gave us is almost gone, and there are only thirty dendrobium of wheat crumbs left, so we must quickly find a way to raise food."

Yuan Shu seemed to turn a deaf ear, looked at Yuxi with wandering eyes, and muttered in his mouth: "Water...I want to drink water..." Seeing this, Chang Shi Yang Hong frowned, winked at Zhang Xun and said, "My lord already knows, go and suppress the rebels." "No." Zhang Xun turned around and left. After a short pause, Huang Yi suddenly said: "I can't even find people. Where can I find food? It won't work like this. If you don't starve to death, you will have to be killed by the rebel soldiers. You have to find a way out quickly. In my opinion, it is better to take Xu Let him go, and use his face to go to Xudu to surrender, and then present the jade seal of the state, maybe Cao Cao can save us alive.” Xu Qiu was a famous official in the previous court, who helped Zhu Jun (jun) destroy Nanyang Yellow Turban, Later, the official worshiped as the prefect of Runan.When Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he was held hostage to Shouchun and forced him to assist him in protecting himself. Xu Yu would rather die than obey, and he is still imprisoned in the camp to this day.

Huang Yi glanced at Yuan Yaowen's words: "Brother-in-law is so short-sighted, we are big men and rebels, and we have nothing to pray for if we are guilty of crimes! Even if you, a man with a different surname, barely survived, our father and I will definitely be cut alive by Cao Bandit It’s impossible.” Yuan Yin said thoughtfully: “Even if you don’t vote for Cao Cao, you should let Xu Yu go. It’s useless to keep him at this moment. I don’t think it’s a solution to waste here. It’s better to go to Anhui The city goes to Liu Xun." Liu Xun was the prefect of Lujiang appointed by Yuan Shu, but he no longer listened to Yuan Shu's orders.

"Impossible!" Yuan Yao quickly objected, "Then Liu Xun was an official in Peiguo in his early years, and he has an old relationship with the Cao family. Sooner or later, he will surrender to Cao. Wouldn't it be seeking skin from a tiger to vote for him?" Yuan Yin shook his head and said: "After all, Liu Zitai is an old subordinate of His Majesty, so he should not harm us." Yuan Yao sneered: "Hmph! Chen Lan, Lei Bo, Mei Gan, which one is not my father's old subordinates? When the disaster is imminent, they will fly separately. Is there someone who can help? I think we should go and vote for Sun Lang!" Individuals are not united.Yuan Yin, Huang Yi, and Yuan Shu were not very close, and they had no military power. They hoped that they could ask Cao Cao to pardon them through favors, so that they could live in peace for the rest of their lives.But Yuan Yao, as a thief, belongs to the list of unforgiveness, and he seems to have an old friend with Sun Ce in his age, and he still holds Yang Hong and Zhang Xun, the remnant soldiers, and hopes that his whole family will join Sun Ce.

Yuan Yin saw that he was stubborn, wiped the sweat from his face, and said with a smile: "Nephew, don't be stubborn. Now that Cao Cao has cut off the way to the north, we have the right to settle down at Liu Zitai. When your uncle sends troops south, It's not too late for us to vote for your uncle." Yuan Yao stared: "Do you think I'm a three-year-old boy? Once my father and son arrive in Wancheng, I'm afraid they will be tied up and taken to Xudu soon!" "Yes!" Yang Hong followed, "The young master is right, we still have some soldiers, we go to Sun Ce and continue to fight against Cao Cao." Huang Yi said, "Stop making noise about our family. Then Sun Ce is an unfamiliar white-eyed wolf. Besides, can he beat Cao Cao? Is there any king in the world, let alone the son of the Sun family? It’s just that Yuan Shao might end up with it one day, and it will be a matter of time before the court pardons him.” Yuan Yin and Huang Yi wanted to vote for Liu Xun, and Yuan Yao and Yang Hong wanted to vote for Sun Ce.Yuan Shu hugged Yuxi and sat there. Seeing that no one took him seriously, he said in a low voice, "Get out... get out..." "Listen! My father tells you to get out." "Nonsense, he told you, an unfilial son, to get out." "Why did my big tent ask me to leave?" "Yo! You really think you are the prince." Seeing that the four of them were still arguing endlessly, Yuan Shu became angry for no reason, and yelled with a cracked voice: "Get out! Get out!" Yuan Yao, Yuan Yin and the others were startled, bowing to each other and leaving, but they continued to quarrel with each other as soon as they stepped out of the big tent.Yuan Shu yelled twice, feeling more oppressed and uncomfortable in his chest. His whole body was wrapped in heat, but he couldn't sweat a single drop. He turned over and lay down on the couch, holding the Jade Seal of Heirloom in his arms.I thought that lying like this for a while would make me feel better, but the more I lay down, the more uncomfortable I became, my head was dizzy and my head was hazy, and I could only hear scolding outside, as if they were scolding me!He was so thirsty that he couldn't help moaning: "Water...I want water..." A guard at the entrance of the tent faintly heard his voice, walked into the tent tremblingly, and asked softly, "What did your Majesty say?" "Water...water..." "I can't hear you clearly, what did you say?" "Water...I want water..." The soldier said timidly: "The soldier who fetched the water hasn't come back yet, I'm afraid..." I'm afraid he also took the opportunity to become a deserter and will never come back again! Yuan Shu still murmured: "Honey water..." When he was the emperor, he ate extravagantly, and even if he drank water, he had to drink honey. The soldier shook his head miserably and said: "There is no honey water, now there is only blood water!" Yuan Shu couldn't help twitching when he heard this remark, and countless past events flashed before his eyes... My father Yuan Feng was honored as the third elder by the late emperor, and even the bowls for eating in the family were gold!Yuan's disciples and old officials are all over the world, who dares to neglect me!When He Jin was killed, I was the first to break into the Forbidden Palace to kill the eunuch!When the world was in chaos, I was the first to rule the Central Plains!I have been emperor!I have Yuxi!The generation of the Han Dynasty should be Tu Gao, and I am ordered by the sky!Why can't you even drink honey water?why... that's why... He couldn't help looking up to the sky and yelling: "How could I, Yuan Shu, have fallen into this state today!" After he yelled, his body twitched and rolled over on the side of the couch, only to feel a tightness in his abdomen, a pain in his chest, a saltiness in his throat, and a blackness in his eyes. ——A big mouthful of blood spurted out from his mouth!After one mouthful, the second mouthful, and the third mouthful... all of a sudden, he vomited a bucket of blood. The guards immediately made a fuss and hurried over to help them.But he felt that Yuan Shu's body was heavy and didn't respond. When he turned over to look, he saw that his eyes were turned upside down and his cheeks were sunken—he was already dead!Yuan Shu loosened his hands, and the blood-stained gold-inlaid jade seal rolled twice on his body and fell into the dust... In June of the fourth year of Jian'an (199 A.D.), Yuan Shu, who claimed to be the emperor of the Zhong family, fell into poverty, and died of vomiting blood while holding the Chuanguo Yuxi in Jiangting.