Yuan Shao led the Jizhou army returning from Luoyang toward the front without stopping to rest.
As soon as he returned to Hebei, Yuan Shao felt that heaven and earth were vast enough for him to roam at will.
Hebei was a land of gifted people and blessed soil, where advisers gathered like rain.
Upon reaching the army, Yuan Shao looked at the advisers and generals before him. The weight upon his heart vanished, and his spirit surged.
Ju Shou knelt to Yuan Shao's left. He was Yuan Shao's deputy, above the rank of an adviser. Yuan Shao knew that Ju Shou excelled most at governance, making him the equivalent of a chancellor.
Yuan Shao drew a deep breath and declared, "Gentlemen, thank you for your efforts these past days. By leading the army to Luoyang, I left Jizhou exposed and gave that despicable Gongsun Zan an opening. This was my mistake!
"Without you gentlemen defending Jizhou, how could I, Yuan Shao, be sitting here today?"
At these words, Ju Shou, Shen Pei, Tian Feng, Xin Ping, Guo Tu, Feng Ji, and Xu You-the civil officials and advisers-as well as Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Gao Lan all bowed low in obeisance, tears streaming down their faces. "My lord!"
Even the ever-proud Qu Yi was deeply astonished by Yuan Shao. Unlike the others, he was not truly Yuan Shao's retainer, but his ally and vassal.
Yuan Shao had everyone rise and swept his gaze around them. Ju Shou represented the gentry. Yuan Shao's chief adviser was Xun Chen, but he was absent now.
The finest military strategist under his command was Shen Pei, Shen Zhengnan. Although a civil official, Shen Zhengnan could also command troops. Tian Feng, Tian Yuan Hao, devised ingenious stratagems without end, and Yuan Shao