Wubei Zhi (Vol. 11)

"...After the matter is settled, let the world judge the right and wrong of your actions; would that not be a noble course of action?"

He also wrote to the General of the Household original: "尚書" (shangshu); here referring to Yuan Shang, saying: "The Lord of Qingzhou Yuan Tan is naturally impulsive and confused about right and wrong. You should first eliminate Cao Cao to fulfill the vendetta of your late father. After the situation is stabilized, then you may deliberate on the merits of your respective claims; would that not be better? If you remain lost and do not turn back, it will be as if Han Lu and Dong Guo original: "韓廬東郭"; referring to a fable where the swiftest hound, Han Lu, chased the cleverest hare, Dong Guo, until both dropped dead of exhaustion, allowing a passing farmer to easily take them both exhaust themselves in front of each other, leaving the harvest for the old farmer."

Both Tan and Shang refused to follow this advice. When Xin Pi arrived at Xiping, many of Cao Cao’s subordinates thought:
. Liu . Biao . is . currently . powerful .; it . is . appropriate . to . first . pacify . him .
Xun You . said .: "The . world . currently . faces . many . troubles ., yet . Liu . Biao . sits . and . protects . the . region . between . the . Yangtze . and . Han . rivers .; that . he . has . no . ambition . for . the . four . directions . is . easy . to . see .. The . Yuan . clan . occupies . the . lands . of . four . provinces . and . leads . hundreds . of . thousands . of . armored . troops .. Yuan Shao . won . the . hearts . of . the . masses . through . generosity . and . kindness .. Had . his . two . sons . remained . harmonious . and . unified . to . guard . his . established . legacy ., then . the . difficulties . of . the . world . would . not . yet . have . ceased .. Now ., the . brothers . harbor . malice ...."