With the sound of "squelching", the sound of rustling footsteps came into Yuan Shao's ears. He did not turn around but knew who the person was.

The one who pushed the door open by himself was Yuan Shao's eldest son Yuan Tan.

It is said that the emperor loves his eldest son, and the people love his youngest son. This regulation began to be established by the Zhou emperor to establish the eldest son inheritance system. This inheritance system took root on the land of Yanhuang and flourished rapidly. It has been passed down for thousands of years and has been passed down to this day.

For the children of officials, the status of the eldest son undoubtedly has a unique advantage, and many resources enjoy priority. From the moment they are born, it means that he will have a noble identity and status. However, for ordinary people, if a poor child becomes a family early, the eldest son will not only not get much benefits, but will have to shoulder the burden of the family early; in contrast, the youngest son does not have such great pressure and can get more care and care from his parents.

Yuan Tan was Yuan Shao's eldest son and was born in the Yuan family of the fourth generation and three dukes. Therefore, he had a unique position in the Yuan family and was unique. Although Yuan Shao did not like him at one time, he still had an age advantage that his younger brother did not have, which was recognized and supported by many civil and military officials under his father Yuan Shao, and his wings gradually grew.

Since Yuan Shao occupied Jizhou and became independent, Yuan Tan rose and regarded himself as a prince. Since then, a group of people have taken the initiative to move closer to him. As his father Yuan Shao's power grew day by day, he was also becoming more and more prosperous. With a little use of means, he won over a large number of civil officials and military generals.

When Yuan Shao captured Qingzhou, Yuan Tan naturally became the best candidate to lead Qingzhou. Although Yuan Shao was not optimistic about him, he had no choice but to speak out by his civil servants and military generals, so Yuan Tan became the governor of Qingzhou and stood alone. If nothing unexpected happened, by the hundred years later, Yuan Tan naturally inherited the forces left by Yuan Shao and inherited the princes.

However, with the sudden death of Emperor Liu Xie of Han, and the establishment of the alliance against Yuan, everything that was originally natural turned into a bubble. Before Yuan Tan's Qingzhou throne was warmed up, and before he could be happy, he was attacked by Cao Cao of Yanzhou. Subsequently, cities were lost, counties fell one after another, and Yuan Tan rushed to organize troops to fight back. But the result was contrary to his wishes and was not satisfactory. At the end of last year, Qingzhou was completely taken away by Cao Cao of Yanzhou. Yuan Tan took the remnants of defeated generals back to Yecheng in a panic. Then he honestly kept his mind for a winter. He was afraid that Yuan Shao would blame him for this, and even felt discouraged and completely gave up on him.

However, all the expected reproach and reprimand of Yuan Tan was vain. After the defeat of Qingzhou, Yuan Shao did not blame him, nor even a harsh word or reprimand. Instead, he showed extreme calmness, as if Qingzhou had nothing to do with it. If he lost it, he would lose it, and it was no big deal. For this reason, Yuan Tan was once nervous, fearing that it was the calmness of the rainstorm. Once Yuan Shao really blamed it, it would be a storm. Even if he didn't die, he would have to peel off his skin and would definitely not be able to do it.

But the whole winter passed, and Yuan Shao still did not scold him at all, and even occasionally cared about him and asked about his well-being, which made Yuan Tan frightened and panicked all day long. This was because since he remembered, his father Yuan Shao did not like him, but loved his third brother Yuan Shang very much and cared for him. Therefore, he always believed that his father was partial and favored one over the other, so he was careful early on and deliberately attracted the civil and military officials under his father's tent, trying to take him for himself, and one day he could help him ascend to his father's throne and inherit his father's title and power.

As winter went and spring came, Yuan Tan, who had been frightened for a whole winter, gradually adapted to the care of his father Yuan Shao and completely let go of the defeat in Qingzhou. Then, under the reminder of Guo Tu, the chief of the Prime Minister's Office, he often followed Yuan Shao, calling it "following his father to learn to govern the country." In fact, he pretended to try to please Yuan Shao and win Yuan Shao's favor.

By early summer, Yuan Tan had become accustomed to following his father Yuan Shao, and lived next to Yuan Shao's palace, listening to his teachings in the morning and evening, and coming to greet him from time to time. The same is true tonight. However, wherever Yuan Tan appeared, there must be someone behind him, Guo Tu, the chief minister of the Prime Minister's Office. Nowadays, Guo Tu and Yuan Tan have a very good relationship, almost talking about everything, as good as one person; while Yuan Tan obeyed his advice and asked for advice in everything, almost without exception.

"When the lights in my father's bedroom were still on, I came in by myself. Didn't disturb my father's rest?" Yuan Tan walked to Yuan Shao in a row and said respectfully with caution.

Guo Tu followed Yuan Tan, stood by the window frame, and looked in the direction Yuan Shao looked at, but saw that it was pitch black and there was nothing. Then he stood quietly aside, looking at his nose, his heart, and his mouth was tight, as if it did not exist.

Hearing that Yuan Tan's tone of speech was a little uneasy, Yuan Shao's calm face showed a little disappointment, but it flashed away and quickly returned to normal. After a little silence, he whispered: "My son's filial piety is commendable, and I feel deeply relieved for my father. From now on, you can come in at any time, without asking for instructions, just come in." After saying that, Yuan Shao turned his head and looked at Yuan Tan with a kind face, and reached out to close his collar, as if he was worried that he would be frozen, and his love for his son was beyond words.

At this moment, the father and son stood together face to face. Looking at Yuan Tan who was already in his thirties, Yuan Shao was a little confused, with a complex look: surprise, ashamed, self-blame and regret all appeared in his eyes. Speaking of which, except when Yuan Tan was just born, Yuan Shao had almost never seen the appearance of his eldest son Yuan Tan so closely. Until now, he suddenly realized that Yuan Tan looked exactly the same as he was when he was young. Looking at Yuan Tan in front of him, it was as if he had seen himself when he was young. And he had never noticed these things before, or he had almost never seen Yuan Tan directly.

All of this is because Yuan Tan was born when he made peace with his personal maid when he was young. Although he was taken as a concubine after his maid became pregnant, Yuan Tan was not a legitimate wife. Therefore, Yuan Shao had always been in a grudge against his eldest son Yuan Tan and could not overcome this threshold. This is because Yuan Shao himself was born by his concubine, although he was named the eldest son of the Yuan family. He was always unjust and had a secret fight with Yuan Shu, who was born in the family for a lifetime, but when he was old, he still had disagreements with each other. No one was convinced. For this reason, Yuan Shao hated him deeply. Whenever he thought of his experience, he couldn't help but feel upset and angry. Then he couldn't help but think of his eldest son Yuan Tan, who invisibly transferred the injustice and resentment in his heart to Yuan Tan, and he was very displeased with Yuan Tan.

It was precisely because of the resentment in his heart that Yuan Shao deliberately ignored the existence of his eldest son Yuan Tan, ignored him, ignored him, and even became innocent. But at this moment, Yuan Shao suddenly realized that Yuan Tan's appearance was so similar to him, almost the same as his background and experience; the only difference was that Yuan Tan was in his prime, but he was already old and approaching his sixties.

Seeing Yuan Shao's expression dazed, Yuan Tan whispered: "Father, father, is it because your father has something to do? If the father does not think that the child is stupid, the child is willing to share his worries for his father."

"Huh?" Yuan Shao came back to his senses when he heard the voice, pondered in surprise, and then he felt relieved when he saw Guo Tu standing behind Yuan Tan. If it were before, Yuan Shao ignored it at all, and it would be even more impossible to know what he wanted to do with Yuan Tan. But at this moment, his mood was completely different from before. He was completely different from before. He was completely different from that before. Moreover, he had been wasting a lot of time before and had no idea of ​​cultivating a successor at all, but now he had to consider it and he had to seize the time to let Yuan Tan grow up as soon as possible, so as not to have no successors.

"Okay." Thinking of this, Yuan Shao nodded gently and said in a gentle tone: "I made a detailed report. Just last winter, the Li bandits of Xiliang came to Youzhou in person and easily entered Yijing City. Then they conquered Gongsun Zan without bloodshed, and then quietly occupied Youzhou, obtaining more than 100,000 troops from Youzhou. This matter is roughly the same as the time when Xiansi (Yuan Tan) Qingzhou defeated, and it was almost at the same time. However, our army found out that Youzhou changed its ownership a month ago and Li Li appeared in Youzhou. Before that, the territory of Youzhou was calm and there was no sound at all.

For more than four months, we were all kept in the dark, without any knowledge. Li Zhe took advantage of this period to reorganize the Youzhou army and dispatched a large number of civil and military officials to enter Youzhou, firmly controlling the counties and counties of Youzhou. After carefully exploring the situation in Youzhou, everything was too late, and Youzhou had completely fallen into the hands of Li Zhe." After a pause, Yuan Shao's face was full of annoyance and fear, sighing regret and regret.

Seeing Yuan Shao's emotions so excited, Yuan Tan's brows were beating and blinking constantly, his eyes were a little flustered, and he couldn't help but lower his head and remained silent. Obviously, he had known about the change of Master Yuan Shao for a long time, even earlier than his father Yuan Shao knew about it, but he did not report it to Yuan Shao at the first time, but concealed it without authorization. Therefore, he looked flustered and was very scared at this moment, worried that once his father knew about it, he would definitely take his anger on him. And he

The reason for concealing it but not reporting it was Guo Tu's instructed. Guo Tu said: The lord has been in a low mood recently and is in a bad mood. Once he knows that the change of ownership of Youzhou will be furious, and he will be angry at him. Therefore, for the sake of being safe, it is better to hide it temporarily, not to report good news but not bad news, so as not to be affected, and the gain is not worth the loss. In this way, Yuan Tan deliberately concealed the matter for more than two months, otherwise Yuan Shao would have known that Youzhou had been occupied by Li Li three months ago.

Fortunately, Yuan Shao was excited at this time and did not notice Yuan Tan's abnormal expression, otherwise the matter would have been exposed. In addition to his anger, Yuan Shao took a deep breath and tried his best to calm his mind. Then he said in a low tone: "After Youzhou was occupied by Li Zhe, the situation in Jizhou will become more and more dangerous. In the north are the more than 200,000 troops of Li Zhe, the east are the more than 100,000 soldiers and horses of the evil thief Cao Aman, and in the south are tens of thousands of cavalry led by Zhou Yu, the general under Li Zhe, and the strong enemy is in danger!"

When he looked up and saw his father's worried look, Yuan Tan felt inexplicably sad and heartbroken. Until then, he suddenly found that his father's temples had turned white as snow, and many wrinkles were added to his forehead, and he was quietly aging. This discovery shocked Yuan Tan. He vaguely remembered that when the Han Emperor and the officials entered Yecheng, his father Yuan Shao was radiant and energetic. He was in his fifties and looked like he was in his prime. Two years later, his father seemed to have been aged several decades, but he was less than sixty years old this year!

In an instant, Yuan Tan's mind flashed, and everything that had been puzzled before suddenly became clear and understood. The reason why his father Yuan Shao changed his previous indifference was because he knew that his health was getting worse day by day, and he could never wait any longer. At this time, Yuan Shang had not yet reached the peak, and Yuan Xi died in the Sili War. In this way, only Yuan Tan could inherit the great cause of Jizhou. There was no other choice.

"So it's like this!" Yuan Tan thought inwardly, and the depression in his heart disappeared. He seemed to have been much more relaxed and his mental outlook was revived. Then he deliberately suppressed his inner excitement and said softly: "As far as the child knows, the leader of Wuhuan Tadun is now leading more than 100,000 barbarian cavalry to fight against Li thieves in front of Lulongsai Pass. If the barbarian army wins, the siege in the north of our Jizhou can be resolved. If the great troubles are removed, you can protect yourself for the time being."

Yuan Shao nodded after hearing the voice, with a gratifying smile on his face, and praised: "What my son said is very true. If the barbarian army wins, the Li thief will suffer a heavy blow and will not be able to attack my Jizhou for the time being. However, the Li thief is strong, and it may not be easy for the barbarian army to gain advantage in his hands. In addition, my son must remember one sentence: If the person of my race is not his, his heart will be different. We can take the barbarians for our own use, but we cannot trust them, and we cannot rely on them. Instead, we should beware of them at all times and curb their growth. Once the time is ripe, we can send troops to wipe them out and make them fall under the kingship of the Han Dynasty." After speaking, Yuan Shao's slightly hunched body seemed to have become much taller in an instant, righteous and full of righteousness.

Yuan Tan and Guo Tu were surprised, especially Guo Tu. He never expected that Yuan Shao, who had always advocated the implementation of a gentle and appeasement strategy for the barbarian tribe, would have such a straight and tough side. In an instant, he felt that Yuan Shao had reached the height of his look up to him, completely breaking the indecisive image in his mind. However, after he calmed down, he knew that Yuan Shao's words would never be realized.

In the past year, Yuan Shao has indeed changed. From the moment he learned that Emperor Liu Xie of Han died suddenly, Yuan Shao was greatly stimulated and fainted on the spot. After waking up, he changed his previous plan and became wise and decisive. It was also from then on that time that in just half a year, Yuan Shao's temples turned white, his head was covered with many white hair and wrinkles. After half a year, he seemed to have grown up several decades. The great changes after learning from Yuan Shao's pains were greatly encouraged, and only Guo Tu felt sad, because he knew that everything was too late. Only when he was in a low position in the mountains, he knew what the use of cherishing time was?

Just as Yuan Shao, Yuan Tan and his son were in a deep mood, a wind blew outside the window. The "whistle" wind made the squeaking window squeak. The starry sky, which was just now full of stars, was quietly covered by dark clouds. Judging from this situation, the first rain in early summer is coming.

—————To be continued———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

ps: [Hu Ben sincerely thanks: book friend dall002, wq007_007, [3016] Wei, Lantian book friend’s monthly ticket support, thank you very much, thank you!]

On the last day of the end of the month, Xiaoqi shouted again: "Please give me a monthly ticket! Before changing clothes on Monday, look at it, don't delay it, look at me, please give me a monthly ticket!"

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Chapter completed!