Chapter 004 동탁의 천하 01

第四回：廢漢帝陳留為皇，謀董賊孟德獻刀

Deposition Of The Emperor: The Prince Of Chenliu Gets The Throne;

Schemes Against Dong Zhuo: Cao Cao Presents A Sword.

1.且說董卓欲殺袁紹，李儒止之曰：「事未可定，不可妄殺。」袁紹手提寶劍，辭別百官而出，懸節東門，奔翼州去了。卓謂太傳袁隗曰：「汝姪無禮，吾看汝面，姑恕之。廢立之事若何？」隗曰：「太尉所見是也。」卓曰：「敢有阻大議者，以軍法從事。」群臣震恐，皆云：「一聽尊命。」宴罷，卓問侍中周毖、校尉伍瓊曰：「袁紹此去若何？」周毖曰：「袁紹忿忿而去，若購之急，勢必為變，且袁氏樹恩四世，門生故吏，遍於天下；倘收豪傑以聚徙眾，英雄因之而起，山東非公有也。不如赦之，拜為一郡守，則紹喜於免罪，必無患矣。」伍瓊曰：「袁紹好謀無斷，不足為慮；誠不若加之一郡守，以收民心。」

Dong Zhuo was on the point of slaying Yuan Shao, but Li Ru checked him, saying, "You must not kill rashly while the business hangs in the balance."

Yuan Shao, his sword still unsheathed, left the assembly. He hung up the seals of his office at the east gate and went to Jizhou Region.

Dong Zhuo said to Imperial Guardian Yuan Wei, "Your nephew behaved improperly, but I pardon him for your sake. What think you of my scheme?"

"What you think is right," was the reply.

"If anyone opposes the great scheme, he will be dealt with by military law!" said Dong Zhuo.

The ministers, thoroughly dreaded, promised obedience, and the feast came to an end.

Dong Zhuo asked Counselor Zhou Bi and Commander Wu Qiong what they thought of the flight of Yuan Shao.

Zhou Bi said, "He left in a state of great anger. In such a state of excitement much harm may ensue to the present state of affairs, especially as the Yuan family have been noted for their high offices for four generations, and their proteges and dependents are everywhere. If they assemble bold people and call up their clients, all the valiant warriors will be in arms, and the whole Shandong Mountains will be lost. You had better pardon Yuan Shao and give him a post. He will be glad at being forgiven and will do no harm."

Wu Qiong said, "Yuan Shao is fond of scheming, but he fails in decision and so is not to be feared. But it would be well to give him rank and thus win popular favor."