"Even His Majesty is probably powerless now."
Yang Xiu could not help remembering his own father, who had killed himself by ramming his head into a wall. Feeling a measure of sympathy for Fu De as a fellow sufferer, he offered some consolation.
"Brother Fu, you needn't dwell on it too much. It was all for the Great Han! So long as His Majesty is safe, the sacrifices of my father and Lord Fu will have been worthwhile."
"What's done is done. Eat first."
As he spoke, Yang Xiu placed several chopstickfuls of food into Fu De's bowl.
Fu De nodded through his tears, lowered his head, and continued eating.
The Imperial Palace, the Xuan Room.
The court session had ended, but they had yet to reach a conclusion on how to deal with Yuan Shao.
Or rather, some matters could not readily be discussed at court, lest they unsettle people's hearts.
Thus, after court, Liu Xie summoned Guo Jia and Jia Xu to the Xuan Room to discuss in greater depth exactly how to deal with Yuan Shao.
Guo Jia said gravely, "Your Majesty, I believe it would be unwise to have Duke Wen bring troops from Yang Province to reinforce us."
"Even setting aside how every city he has taken would be lost once Duke Wen left Yang Province, getting his army here would itself be a problem."
"To reach Ye City from Xu Province, he must pass through either Qing Province or Yan Province. Yan Province is Cao Cao's territory, while Qing Province is heavily garrisoned by Yuan Tan. Neither route is passable."
The only reason Zhang Liao had been able to lead his troops through Qing Province last time was that Taishi Ci had raised an army in Beihai, drawing away Yuan Tan's forces.
Trying