chapter 214

(I need to read this over, no time right now)

The first diplomatic move.

{Jizhou . Yecheng}
(the Ji region/province, the Ye city)

[?]: Someone asked me, you are more powerful than Dong Zhuo used to be,
[?]: so which warlord would you consider as an obstacle?

[?]: I told him, the Yuan clan has been loyal for generations.

chapter 214 Three Rise . Three Fall

[Yuan Shao]: Because of our ancestors’ teaching, we’re not into (this game of) conquest.

{governor of Jizhou, Yuan Shao}
[YS]: Yuan Shu has tarnished the reputation of my clan; would I be able to face my elders if I help him now?

[Xun Yu]: Impartial, refuse to help evil, and taking the whole situation into account. Your action is exemplary to the people.

[XY]: Therefore I am here to deliver His Majesty‘s praise.

[XY]: Historian Huang Da has inscribed your loyal endeavors into the historical records. And His Majesty has sent someone to announce to the world of your unmatched loyalty.
{note: In year 197, Emperor Liu Xie promoted Yuan Shao to be The General-In-Chief, as well as the governor of Jizhou, Qingzhou and Bingzhou.

[YS]: I will lay down my life to repay His Majesty’s trust.
(the original sentence may have been an “actual historical quote”, but I can’t look it up now…)

[XY]: Sir Huang, please note this down as well.
[Huang Da]: Yessir.

[official]: This… this is wonderful, my Lord. We’ve been waiting for this day.

[YS]: Yes, and you all know how much I care about a good name.
(or “care about face”)

[?]: Sir Xun, please join us for a drink.
(舍下 is actually referring to the speaker’s room/home, but do we need to concern with such detail?)
[XY]: Thank you.

The first anti-diplomatic move.

[YS]: Nice. If I revolt now the world will renounce me.
[YS]: And clansmen with similar mindsets will shun me as well. Xun Yu has made a smart move.

[general]: My Lord, second master (Yuan Shu) is requesting help. It would upset some people within our clan if we do nothing.
[general]: Besides, if second master rejoins us, his eastern region territories will be ours too, making us even stronger.

[YS]: Tell him to abandon his ambition if he wants to rejoin the clan.

[YS]: If he wants my help, there is only one condition…

[YS]: Give the Imperial Seal to Yuan Fang.

[general]: You let second master suffer for this, my Lord?

[YS]: That’s not all. I’m actually waiting for the day when the Yuan clan truly unites.
(the wording here is ambiguous… it could be the unification of the clan or the world)

[YS]: I will say it again, the Yuan clan must never oppose, let alone usurp Imperial Han.

[YS]: The only one to do it will be the conqueror in the north.

And my blood
is flowing through his veins.

The second diplomatic move.

{Youzhou . Yijing}

[general]: My Lord, are we really going on the counter offensive?

[Gongsun Zan]: That is His Majesty’s secret order. We move if Yuan Shao targets Xudu.

[GSZ]: Cao Cao is still recovering from battle. Xun Yu came to deliver the order, hoping to relieve the immediate threat. That’s part of the reason.
(relieving the threat to the Emperor
#2 Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao

[GSZ]: Second, Yuan Shu’s ambition must’ve split the Yuan clan; now Xun Yu heads south to Yecheng to make peace with Yuan Shao, lessening his threat to Cao Cao.

{General of the Front, Gongsun Zan}
[GSZ]: And in order to make us keep Yuan Shao in check, Xun Yu has asked His Majesty to legitimize our status. Opposing us means opposing His Majesty.
(not sure)

[general]: Reputation is everything to Yuan Shao. He wouldn’t ruin it recklessly.
[general]: Looks like the siege has been dissolved.

[GSZ]: Yes. Our constant draft has caused a drop in production. Beiping’s economy has suffered too much.

[GSZ]: I just hope Yuan Shao would withdraw soon, then we can let the people go on with their lives.

[GSZ]: Listen up, if they withdraw, we withdraw.

The second anti-diplomatic move.

[?]: You mean Xun Yu is now in Yecheng?

[?]: Yes. He wants to pacify the Yuan clan,
[?]: to hold us back from Cao Cao by giving generous gifts.

[Yuan Fang]: The Imperial Edict will arrive, appointing Yuan Shao to be the governor of Youzhou (Gongsun Zan’s location).
{Yuan Fang}
{Wen Chou}

[Wen Chou]: As you predicted, Young Master, Gongsun Zan will withdraw when we do, and then we…

[YF]: We attack them by surprise, catching Gongsun Zan off guard.

[YF]: Since we have His Majesty’s approval, Gongsun Zan’s allies will target him instead.
[YF]: The Beiping army will collapse under siege, making Youzhou ours.

[WC]: We’ll be focusing our energy on Gongsun Zan, hopefully distracting Cao Cao.
(not sure)

[?]: It’s important to let the fight between Cao Cao, Lü Bu and Yuan Shu drag on.
[?]: And we can help the two in secret so that it continues indefinitely.

[WC]: Our worries will be gone once we settle the north.

[WC]: Then with our Lord as our shield, we can expand northward in full force.

[YF]: At that point…

Surrounded by a gigantic buffering zone,

my Northern Kingdom has taken shape.

Are you happy now, Yuan Shao?

The third diplomatic move.

[XY]: Honoring Yuan Shao is only the first step.

[XY]: Now we must make him relieve the threat against us.

[XY]: Xun You will bring His Majesty’s Edict tomorrow.

[HD]: So we’re giving Youzhou to Yuan Shao?

[XY]: Yuan Shao would do his best considering it’s an opportunity to get rid of his old enemy Gongsun Zan.

[?]: Yuan Shao’s forces will then move northward, saving us of worries.
[?]: And we can even head east to finish Lü Bu and Yuan Shu, extending our influence.

[HD]: So we must praise Yuan Shao in the historical records to pressure him.
[XY]: Announce to the world. Do it now.

[XY]: By the way, I like your chapter on Lü Bu.

[HD]: Haha, who doesn’t like heroic tales?
(“heroes and beauties”)

[?]: Hehehe.

[HD]: Who’s there?

{sfx: cha~}

{sfx: pa~ pa~ pa~}

[Zhang Liao]: I like it too.

[ZL]: When that record goes public, my Lord will become a hero with ever-increasing respectability.

[ZL]: Too bad that’s part of your trick to save your Lord.

[ZL]: But Yuan Shao will challenge Imperial Han and let his reputation bite the dust. That shall be indisputable truth.

[XY]: You instigators must be Lü Bu’s men.

[ZL]: Yes. By Advisor Chen Gong‘s orders,

[ZL]: we make a mess first, then wish Yuan and Cao would go to war soon!

[ZL]: Don’t get your hopes up. The Emperor’s Edict is now in my hands.

[XY]: What else did Chen Gong say?

[ZL]: Advisor Chen Gong asked me to tell you something in person.

[XY]: I’m all ears.

{sfx: pa}

[ZL]: There is a perfect job for you in hell.

The third anti-diplomatic move.

The Classic of Rites says, keeping a bow strung some of the time and unstrung some of time is the way of Wen and Wu.

[Cao Cao]: Almost made it, but got killed instead.

[CC]: Pity.

[CC]: It’s a pity how our close ties in the past would be broken by a mutiny.

[Sima Yi]: In all honesty, I knew the consequences of opposing you.

[SMY]: But we were forced to let this tragedy take place.

[CC]: You made a wise decision to put aside your hatred and supply me with rations.

[SMY]: I was too young to discover the ambition of my uncles, and I am deeply ashamed for that.
[SMY]: Besides, they have committed many other serious crimes back when they were in charge. Please allow me to atone for their sins.

[CC]: I don’t like to employ questionable people, but Xun and Guo have asked me not to waste your talents.

[CC]: They reminded me about the close ties between your clan and Xuzhou‘s Chen clan.

[CC]: More than just a business relation, it seems.

[CC]: For this trip to Xuzhou, I intend to use this relation to help me remove an eyesore.

[SMY]: Lü Bu?

[CC]: Taking Liu Chong’s life was no problem for you;

[CC]: this wouldn’t be difficult either, right?

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