From Ancient Times, Emperors Rose from the Grassroots

Wang Xuan lightly tapped his fingers on the table and said unhurriedly, "If this were a time of peace, the young emperor might still have had a chance to turn things around. But now? He's been taken to the west of the Passes. By the time he grows up, the Central Plains Region will have already chosen its hegemon. Where would there be any place left for the young emperor?"

Xi Zhicai nodded in agreement.

"Take the Central Plains Region, for example: Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou. Tao Gongzu of Xuzhou is already old, and his two sons are useless. There's no hope for them. As for Liu Dai of Yanzhou, he's narrow-minded, ambitious but incompetent, and can't even swallow Qiao Mao. Someone like that is occupying the position of Inspector of Yanzhou. He definitely won't live out his term."

Xi Zhicai agreed with these two points as well.

"Yuzhou is Yuan Shu's territory. The Yuan family has held the rank of Three Dukes for Four Generations, with students and former officials spread throughout the realm. Their power is formidable. Among all the feudal lords, theirs is the family with the greatest hope of accomplishing great things."

"Oh? Then why didn't you choose the Yuan family, and instead choose Liu Bei, who has no foundation whatsoever?" Xi Zhicai asked curiously.

"Yuan Wei is dead, and Yuan Ji is dead. Now they're stuck in a situation where two sons are competing for supremacy. Still, the Yuan family truly is an old-established clan. They've even created a situation with one branch outside and one branch inside. Tsk, tsk, I have to admit, it's a good plan. As long as the territories on both sides can be connected, it becomes an internal family matter. They have an eighty- or ninety-percent chance of succeeding."