Three Kingdoms: I switched to Liu Bei, why are you crying, Cao Cao?

Chapter 17: Cao loses Qilin, and all the heroes seek it
Following Cheng Yu's order, this time Cao's army did not stay behind and went straight into Runan.

Spies were sent out everywhere to track Qin Zhen's whereabouts.

Naturally, this news could not be hidden from Yuan Shu's eyes and ears.

After receiving the news, Sun Xiang, the governor of Runan under Yuan Shu, sent a letter by express horse towards Shouchun.

At this time, it was in Shouchun City in Huainan.

Yuan Shu was sitting high in the main seat, with his ministers standing on both sides.

Yuan Shu stroked his beard and smiled:

"In the past, Emperor Gaozu was only a village headman of Sishui, yet he ruled the world."

"The calendar has reached its 400th anniversary, and the country is in turmoil."

"My family has three dukes for four generations, and the people have supported me. I want to follow the will of heaven and the people and take the throne. What do you think?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his ministers began to discuss.

This was actually not the first time Yuan Shu wanted to become emperor.

As early as two years ago, when Yuan Shu just got the imperial seal, he expressed his intention to become emperor, but was dissuaded by his subordinates.

Two years have passed, and Yuan Shu still has ambitions.

Seeing that Yuan Shu wanted to proclaim himself emperor again, the chief clerk Yan Xiang stepped out and said:
"My lord, you must not act like this!"

"In the past, Hou Ji of Zhou accumulated virtue and merit, and when he came to King Wen, he controlled two-thirds of the world, but he still served the Yin Dynasty. Although your family is noble, it is not as prosperous as the Zhou Dynasty;"

"Although the Han Dynasty was weak, it was not as tyrannical as King Zhou of Shang!"

"This is absolutely not feasible!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd split into three factions. One faction, headed by Yuan Yin, including Yang Hong and others, strongly advocated that Yuan Shu become emperor; the other faction, headed by Yan Xiang, including Yuan Huan, Zhang Fan and others, strongly advocated rebuttal.

There is another faction including Ji Ling and others who do not help either side.

The ministers were arguing fiercely.

Upon seeing this, Yuan Shu became furious and said:

"My surname Yuan comes from Chen, the descendant of the great Shun, with earth inheriting fire, which is in line with their destiny."

"Now there is a prophecy that says: The one who will replace the Han Dynasty will be Dangtu Gao. My name is Gonglu, which is exactly what the prophecy says!"

"There is also the Imperial Seal. If I do not serve as the King, I will be going against the will of Heaven."

"My mind is made up, anyone who speaks out will be killed!"

When the ministers heard this, they immediately fell silent.

Yuan Shu was quite pleased with himself when he saw this. Just as he was about to speak, a soldier rushed into the hall and shouted:
"My lord, urgent news from Runan!"

Seeing that the pawn had disrupted the plan, Yuan Shu was very dissatisfied and said:
"What's the urgent news? Why are you in such a panic?"

The soldier also knew that he had upset Yuan Shu, so he quickly took out Sun Xiang's handwriting and said:
"It's the Xuchang Incident. Cao's army is invading. We have to report it!"

"Xuchang Incident? Bring me the military report!"

When Yuan Shu heard that it was about Xuchang, he ordered his guards to go forward and get the military report.

He took the military newspaper and read ten lines at a glance. After a while, he stroked his beard and laughed:
"The true God knows that I will ascend to the throne, and has come to help me!"

When the ministers heard this, they were all surprised.

What happened in Xuchang that made Yuan Shu so happy?
Yuan Shu's adviser Yuan Huan hurriedly stepped out and said:
"May I ask, sir, what happened in Xuchang?"

"You guys watch it for yourselves!"

Yuan Shu had someone take the military report to everyone, and smiled consolingly:

"Cao Mengde is incapable of employing people, and he actually offended Qin Zixuan!"

"Qin Zixuan has left his home and headed south, and has already reached our army's Runan area!"

"I am not afraid of Cao Mengde, but I am afraid of Qin Zhen. Now that Qin Zhen has been expelled, it is God's will that he will return to me!"

Yuan Shu and Qin Zhen were old acquaintances. They had met during the campaign against Dong Zhuo.

At that time, Yuan Shu didn't pay much attention to the young man who stood next to Cao Cao all day.

But with the rise of Cao Cao, Qin Zhen's abilities gradually became apparent.

The most direct interaction with him was the Battle of Kuangting.

In that battle, he joined forces with Yanzhou Governor Jin Shang to attack Yanzhou, and was assisted by the Black Mountain bandits and the Huns.

However, they were defeated by Qin Zhen and his remaining troops and were left fleeing in disarray.

From then on, Qin Zhen cast a shadow over Yuan Shu.

Compared with Cao Cao, Yuan Shu was more afraid of Qin Zhen.

While I was afraid, I also envied Lao Cao for having such a talented assistant.

Now seeing Qin Zhen leaving Cao Cao, he was extremely happy.

Everyone was surprised by the military report. Yuan Huan said with a smile:
"It is true that God is helping our army. Qin Zhen is a man of unicorn talent, rare in the world."

"Leaving Cao now is like cutting off one of Cao Cao's arms!"

"You have come to Runan again, you must want to join our army. With this man's help, your lord's great cause can be accomplished!" Yan Xiang also stepped out and bowed:
"My lord, Qin Zhen wants to join our army, but Cao Cao will definitely not agree."

"If we send cavalry to pursue him now, I'm afraid Qin Zhen will have trouble escaping. It would be better to send a troop to contact him and prevent Cao Cao from chasing him back!"

"That's exactly what I meant!"

Yuan Shu stroked his beard and smiled, then immediately issued an order:
"Ji Ling, quickly lead 30,000 troops to help!"

"Tell Sun Xiang to send out troops immediately and bring Qin Zhen back!"

"I want to personally welcome this great talent!"

"You should also prepare to be emperor. When Qin Zixuan comes, I will make him my prime minister, and you will all receive rewards!"

Hearing Yuan Shu's words, everyone felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.

So the matter of him becoming emperor has been tacitly agreed?

Yuan Shu was really determined to become emperor.

However, there was one thing that surprised them. Yuan Shu actually planned to make Qin Zhen the prime minister!
This is not as simple as just valuing it!

This is thirst!
This shows how important Qin Zhen is in Yuan Shu's heart.

But no one could say anything, because he was so famous!
At the same time, Jizhou, Yecheng.

In General Yuan Shao's mansion, Yuan Shao also summoned a group of advisers to discuss matters.

Unlike Yuan Shu who dreamed of becoming emperor.

Yuan Shao summoned all his ministers with only one purpose, to prepare to deal the final blow to Gongsun Zan!
The two had been fighting in Hebei for several years, with both sides winning and losing.

Seeing that Gongsun Zan was losing ground and was now trapped in Yijing, Yuan Shao prepared to destroy Gongsun Zan in a direct battle and take over the four states in Hebei.

But when everyone was discussing, they saw Yuan Xi walking into the house with a look of joy on his face and said loudly:

"Father, good news, good news!"

Seeing Yuan Xi like this, Yuan Shao frowned and said:

"Why are you so rude? Didn't you see that your father was discussing matters with the other gentlemen?"

After being scolded, Yuan Xi hurriedly bowed to everyone, then looked at Yuan Shao with joy and said:
"Father, it's not that I'm being rude, it's just that this matter is of great importance!"

Without waiting for Yuan Shao to ask, he took out a secret report:
"Our military spies report that because Cao Cao is afraid of Qin Zhen's talent, Qin Zhen has resigned!"

"Now that Cao Cao has lost his strategist, isn't this great news for our army?"

"Oh? Qin Zhen left Cao?"

Yuan Shao's eyes lit up when he heard this.

"Is this true or false?"

"It must be true!"

Yuan Xi said with a smile:

"Recently, Cheng Yu and others under Cao Cao's command have ordered a search for Qin Zhen, which shows that Qin Zhen has escaped Cao Cao's control!"

Hearing this, Yuan Shao was immediately delighted and said:
"Why can't Cao Mengde tolerate others? Even Qin Zixuan left him?"

He looked very happy, and the ministers were also talking about it.

During the discussion, Tian Feng stepped out and said:

"My lord, Qin Zhen is a rare talent in the world. Now that he has left Cao Cao, he must find a wise master!"

"My lord, please spread the news and ask them to surrender!"

"If Qin Zhen is willing to come, our army will have one more helper and Cao Cao will lose an arm!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao stroked his beard and said with satisfaction:

"That's exactly what I meant. Although our army is full of talented people, Qin Zhen is a rare talent!"

He hurriedly said to Yuan Xi:

"Xianyi, go and give the order immediately. Any spy in our army who can find Qin Zhen will be rewarded 100 gold coins immediately!"

"If you can recruit Qin Zhen, I will reward you with a thousand gold coins and a thousand acres of good farmland!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xi immediately bowed and said:

"Yes, I'll go and pass on the message right away!"

Under the actions of the two Yuans, the news of Qin Zhen's leaving Cao Cao spread quickly to all parts of the world at a viral speed.

At one time, a large number of princes also received this news.

The reactions were mixed, but there was more or less gloating.

People like Liu Biao and Lu Bu even spread the news that as long as Qin Zhen surrendered, he would be given a high position and generous salary.

Even Sun Ce of Jiangdong tried to send spies to investigate Qin Zhen's whereabouts.

But after searching for a long time, these princes suddenly discovered that Qin Zhen seemed to have evaporated from the face of the earth, with no trace left.

No one knows where Qin Zhen went.

(End of this chapter)