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In truth, Cai Yong wasn't entirely incapable of figuring things out. It was just that, firstly, his mind was in turmoil, making it difficult for him to calm down and think carefully. Secondly, he had previously entertained a vague and unsettling hypothesis—one that would completely overturn his prior understanding of the Yuan family. Every time this thought arose, he instinctively shied away from it…
That hypothesis was too terrifying. It would upend his perception of the scholar-official class and might even shake the moral principles he had upheld his entire life…
Cai Yong himself was aware of this, which was why he shared everything he knew with Fei Qian. He hoped that Fei Qian, who stood outside the court's political struggles, might see things more clearly as an outsider. He even secretly wished Fei Qian could find evidence to refute his own dreadful suspicions.
After listening to Cai Yong's account, Fei Qian's mind was also racing with calculations.
Attempting to decipher the actions of the Yuan family's patriarch—a man who was practically a crafty old fox—was an incredibly difficult task.
Fortunately, at this stage, Fei Qian could still rely on his vague memories of history to make some reverse deductions…
To be honest, the current course of history had already begun to deviate from Fei Qian's impressions. For instance, the legendary "Three Heroes Battle Lü Bu"—he had no idea whether Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei had even arrived at Suanzao yet, let alone the distance between Hulao Pass and Suanzao…
Of course, Fei Qian wasn't a professional historian, so he couldn't be sure which parts of his memory came from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which were from official historical records, or even which were just wild anecdotes he'd stumbled upon in some online forum…
As a result, he couldn't confirm the accuracy of the people and events in his memory and could only use them as rough references.
From what angle should he analyze the Yuan family's actions?
"Motive? Benefit?"
Fei Qian suddenly recalled these two terms, frequently mentioned in modern crime dramas and detective shows.
Perhaps rephrased: Who stood to gain from this?
And how would they benefit from such actions?
The entire capital relocation plan was clearly advantageous to Dong Zhuo's faction and detrimental to the scholar-official families of Guandong.
However, among the Guandong elites, there were differences. The Yang family of Hongnong suffered the greatest losses, followed by the Yuan family, and then the Xun family, which had only recently risen to prominence with Xun Shuang's ascension to one of the Three Excellencies…
As for the Minister over the Masses, Huang Wan, his stance was likely motivated by repaying a debt of gratitude to the Yang family…
Thus, in the current situation, the Yang family truly had no other choice.
The Yangs of Hongnong stood to gain nothing from the relocation, making them the most resolute opponents. They were even willing to resign from high office and incite their subordinate officials to collectively resign in fierce opposition to the relocation policy.
As for the Xun family, represented by Xun Shuang—
Though Yingchuan's army had been defeated and slaughtered by Dong Zhuo, and Yingchuan's governor, Li Min, had been boiled alive, the scholar-official families living in Yingchuan hadn't suffered any truly unbearable losses. After all, dead soldiers could always be replaced—it was just a matter of spending a bit more money. Governor Li Min wasn't even from Yingchuan, so his death was inconsequential. And even if he had been, what of it? He was just one man—how could he compare to the collective interests of Yingchuan's elites?
Thus, the Yingchuan faction's primary concerns were twofold: first, to uphold their reputation as upright scholar-officials, and second, to cling tightly to the power they had only recently obtained…
Xun Shuang's actions were thus easy to understand—he shut himself away, neither opposing nor supporting the relocation, offering no opinions and taking no action, simply waiting for the dust to settle.
The Yuan family's maneuvers, however, were far more complex and thought-provoking.
The relocation was clearly detrimental to the Yuans, but since their ancestral base was in Runan, they hadn't suffered as severe a blow as the Yangs of Hongnong. Thus, Yuan Wei had remained silent during the grand court assembly but later sent agents to obstruct and probe. Now, he was also collaborating with the Yangs to pressure lower-ranking officials into resigning…
Yet his efforts weren't as thorough as the Yangs'…
In other words, Yuan Wei's stance wasn't as resolute as the Yangs', nor was it as silent as the Xuns'. His actions were riddled with contradictions.
After much deliberation, Fei Qian realized there might only be one explanation for the Yuan family's current behavior…
That is, the relocation was both harmful and beneficial to the Yuans.
The harmful aspects were obvious, but where did the benefits lie?
Frowning, Fei Qian suddenly recalled an event from history—Yuan Shu's later attempt to declare himself emperor. It wasn't a full-fledged proclamation, but rather an act of overreach to test the reactions of other noble families. The outcome, of course, was disastrous…
If Yuan Shu harbored such ambitions, could they have developed entirely independently of Yuan Wei's influence?
Assuming Yuan Wei also had such ambitions, when did they first emerge?
Certainly not during the scheming against General-in-Chief He Jin and the eunuchs. At that time, though blood was shed, Yuan Wei's actions had still revolved around court politics, following the standard adversarial behavior between political rivals…
But after Dong Zhuo entered the capital, Yuan Wei positioned Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu to the north and south respectively, then struck a deal with Dong Zhuo and Li Ru regarding official appointments. By the time the Guandong coalition assembled at Suanzao, it was clear that Yuan Wei's conflict with Dong Zhuo had escalated from small-scale court disputes to large-scale armed struggle involving numerous factions…
Thus, it was reasonable to hypothesize that Yuan Wei's ambitions had emerged at this very moment.
After all, the thrill of summoning an army with a single signal arrow was intoxicating. If an ordinary person experienced such power, they'd likely grow unbearably arrogant—Fei Qian thought with some malice—Could this exhilarating feeling have awakened a second youth in Yuan Wei?
If so, Yuan Wei's current half-hearted resistance made perfect sense. On one hand, he had to maintain appearances, ensuring he didn't abandon the righteous banner he had raised. On the other, he was secretly leveraging the relocation to maximize his own gains…
But where did the Yuan family's greatest interests lie?
Fei Qian suddenly conceived a scenario: If Liu Xie were taken to Chang'an by Dong Zhuo, and Yuan Wei, through various maneuvers, successfully remained in Luoyang, he could then select a successor from among the Liu clan's descendants…
It would almost be a reenactment of Liu Xiu's rise, leading forces from Nanyang and Hebei to oppose the Chimei rebels in Guanzhong!
Or perhaps even a step further…
At this thought, Fei Qian shuddered, his expression darkening as he turned to Cai Yong. For a moment, he had no idea how to explain such an audacious hypothesis to his mentor.
Cai Yong had been observing Fei Qian closely. Seeing his reaction, Cai Yong's heart sank—Fei Qian had inadvertently confirmed his own worst fears…
Closing his eyes, Cai Yong remained silent for a long time before finally releasing a heavy sigh…
The Yuan family's ambitions had been steadily growing… Dong Zhuo had pioneered the model of military-backed governance, and the Yuans were among the first to learn from it.