Shen Pei was momentarily stunned as he silently observed Gongsun Zan. He could feel the sincerity in Gongsun Zan's words, and because of this sincerity, Shen Pei realized that, despite Gongsun Zan's stubbornness, narrow-mindedness, and arrogance, there was a certain admirable quality in him.

"Perhaps Gongsun Zan indeed made countless mistakes, but as a frontier general, he has no reason to be ashamed before the people. His only mistake was choosing the wrong opponent; in terms of righteousness, he has never faltered!" Shen Pei thought to himself.

Looking at Gongsun Zan at this moment, Shen Pei couldn't help but feel a sense of respect, no longer treating him with the previous disdain.

Internally, Shen Pei and Gongsun Zan were enemies, but externally, Gongsun Zan was a hero. And when dealing with heroes, especially those on one's own side, differences in political views should not negate their achievements or insult their character.

"This is a proclamation written for you by Chen Gongzhang," Shen Pei said as he took out the document that had so infuriated Yuan Shao and handed it to Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan frowned as he took the paper from Shen Pei and quickly scanned it. After reading it, he laughed heartily, "Hahaha, as expected of Chen Gongzhang, known for his eloquence. This speaks to my heart—what a fine denunciation."

"I'm not here to show you this proclamation," Shen Pei said, shaking his head. "This document had a significant impact on my lord. I wouldn't have brought it to you unless it was necessary. Do you know under what circumstances Chen Gongzhang wrote this proclamation?"

"What else could it be?" Gongsun Zan sneered. "These scholars only know how to play with words, without thinking of the country. Surely, Yuan Benchu must have offended him, and I'm just the weapon he's using to attack Yuan Benchu." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Gongsun Zan wasn't foolish. He had no connection with Chen Lin, so it was clear that Chen Lin wasn't speaking for him out of some admiration for his sense of righteousness.

"That's not the case. It was because of a major event in the Central Plains that I saw an opportunity, which is why I came here," Shen Pei said with a smile. He had decided to approach Gongsun Zan after learning about Lu Bu's northern expedition.

"A major event in the Central Plains?" Gongsun Zan was taken aback and then sighed, "Here in Liaodong, I am so cut off that I can't even keep up with the affairs of the Central Plains."

Shen Pei watched Gongsun Zan's expression and sighed inwardly. Then, without any personal bias, he recounted the entire situation.

Gongsun Zan listened quietly as Shen Pei narrated the events. When he heard that Lu Bu had returned to Bingzhou and vowed to recover the Hetao region, he let out a deep sigh.

"General, you now understand why I came. My lord, Yuan Benchu, can tolerate Lu Bu's return to Bingzhou. As long as you swear to the world to defend the northern frontier, I believe my lord can accept it," Shen Pei said, bowing respectfully to Gongsun Zan.

"Lu Fengxian returned to Bingzhou, and Yuan Benchu showed such magnanimity. Then again, he is Yuan Benchu. Although he didn't perform well at Hulao Pass, he was still the one who faced Dong Zhuo directly," Gongsun Zan muttered to himself.

"General, my lord bears no deep grudge against you. On the contrary, he admires those frontier generals who protect the Central Plains during times of turmoil in the heartland. Your conflict with my lord is akin to a dispute among brothers over family inheritance. The real enemy is the foreign tribes," Shen Pei continued, seeing that Gongsun Zan was considering his words and decided to strike while the iron was hot.

"What was the original reason for my conflict with Yuan Benchu?" Gongsun Zan began to reexamine his battle with Yuan Shao from a different perspective, trying to recall the root cause of their dispute.

"I don't trust Yuan Benchu!" Gongsun Zan's eyes suddenly flashed with cold light as he spoke. "The reason for our battle was simply because he deceived me. There was no other reason—just because he lied to me!"

Shen Pei was left speechless. Gongsun Zan, who had seemed so close to agreeing, had suddenly rejected his proposal, and the reason was a deep mistrust of Yuan Shao.

"Perhaps you hadn't yet joined Yuan Shao's ranks at the time, so you might not know this. But believe it or not, he once asked for my help to drive out Han Fu, promising to split Jizhou with me afterward. I saw that he had the demeanor of a leader, so I helped him," Gongsun Zan explained as he noticed the confusion in Shen Pei's eyes.

"At that time, I had no ulterior motives in helping Yuan Shao. As for dividing Jizhou, I never seriously considered it. I was in northern Youzhou, and between us was Liu Bo'an. As long as Liu Bo'an was alive, I couldn't even take all of Youzhou, let alone Jizhou. So why would I want a piece of Jizhou as my territory?" Gongsun Zan continued, looking as if he had been greatly wronged and finally had someone to confide in.

Shen Pei felt a chill run down his spine. He finally understood that Gongsun Zan's envoy, Gongsun Yue, had not gone to Jizhou to demand territory. Instead, he had gone to congratulate Yuan Shao and sought an alliance, hoping to use the promised half of Jizhou to secure the grain needed for Gongsun Zan's future campaigns against the Wuhuan and Xianbei.

Gongsun Yue was Gongsun Zan's own brother. If he had truly intended to demand Jizhou, how could he not have known the danger? And why would he not have brought the White Horse Volunteers, the fastest cavalry in the land? Even if they couldn't win a fight, they could at least escape unharmed.

Now it all makes sense. Many things that seemed irrational back then are clear now. At that time, Gongsun Zan was already the only hardline commander against foreign tribes in the north. He genuinely needed support, and Jizhou was indeed a remote territory for him. He simply didn't want to be constrained by Liu Bo'an, Shen Pei thought to himself.

Gongsun Zan wasn't like the Central Plains aristocrats, full of schemes and plots. At that time, he was simply a lone general in need of support. After Gongsun Yue's death, Gongsun Zan's war against my lord was driven purely by rage. He hadn't even secured his logistics, which explains why, despite reaching Wei Commandery, he showed no signs of consolidating his gains in the northern regions.

Shen Pei finally understood that Gongsun Zan had never prepared to manage Jizhou. He had only wanted to vent his anger. However, the battle-hardened troops of Youzhou were so formidable that even without proper logistics, they nearly defeated Yuan Shao. Only after that did Gongsun Zan entertain the idea of taking all of Jizhou.

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