"Let
say this—you're all completely unreliable! Here's how we'll do it: I'll ask questions one by one, and you'll answer them one by one. That way, everything will be clear!" Yang Xiu suddenly stood up and slamd his palm on the table, his cold gaze sweeping over everyone. The room instantly fell silent, and the central position that Wen Ying had held was abruptly stripped away.
"First question: What is the ultimate goal of this group?" Yang Xiu scanned the crowd as he asked.
The group hesitated, then started talking all at once—restoring their family's status in Qingzhou, undermining Liu Bei, getting rid of Chen Xi, maximizing their own benefits—it was a chaotic ss.
Yang Xiu sneered to himself. He was certain that there were too many of Jia Xu's spies in this group; otherwise, it wouldn't be this disorganized. As the Chief of the Lesser Treasury, Yang Xiu had to deal with people like Li You, so he had a good estimate of Li You's and Jia Xu's abilities.
"Second question: How do we achieve this ultimate goal?" Yang Xiu continued, not caring whether the group had reached a consensus. After all, most of the people here were as good as dead, so he didn't need to hold back.
Another round of chaotic buzzing ensued. They couldn't co up with a unified plan. Any capable and insightful people who were still in Taishan had already aligned with Liu Bei. Those who were unhappy had long since left, so it was easy to imagine the quality of those who remained!
Wen Ying's face turned alternately pale and flushed. After a long pause, he stood up and slapped the table. "Everyone, in this matter, I have been negligent. Please give
a few days, and I will provide a satisfactory answer."
However, no one paid any attention to Wen Ying's words, and the room remained in disarray. Yang Xiu sat in his chair, sneering as he glanced around at everyone, his gaze lingering on three individuals in particular for a mont.
In the end, this so-called conspiracy eting dissolved into nothing. After the dozen or so representatives left, Yang Xiu chuckled and walked outside. He resolved never to attend such a eting again. He expected Jia Xu, the master of intelligence, would soon have a word with him.
"Master Yang, my lord invites you," a thin young man blocked Yang Xiu's path after he had taken only a few steps.
"Where?" Yang Xiu asked calmly.
As expected, he was taken to Jia Xu. "Mingtong, you saw what happened today. What are your thoughts?" Jia Xu asked.
"A disorganized rabble," Yang Xiu replied coolly, then paused to think. "However, these people are likely just pawns thrown away by the enemy. From what I saw today, all they can do is talk; they won't be able to take any real action."
Jia Xu glanced at Yang Xiu. "Go back and continue your duties as the County Magistrate of Bo and Chief of the Lesser Treasury. This matter no longer concerns you. You're more suited for internal affairs."
Yang Xiu stood, bowed to Jia Xu, and then left. He had no interest in this matter from the start and had been dragged into it against his will.
"Wenru, what do you think?" Jia Xu asked, looking toward the screen behind him.
"Is there even a need to investigate further?" Li You erged from behind the screen. "This is likely one of Yuan Benchu's backup plans. But I'm his biggest wildcard."
"Yuan Benchu is going to be furious with you," Jia Xu said with a wry smile, thinking of the situation. It was a tragedy waiting to happen.
"If he dies of rage, that would be ideal!" Li You sneered. "The last ti the rchants' association was disrupted, I noticed sothing strange. Although part of the reason was our non-intervention, the spread of the unrest was too fast. This ti, I'll wipe out this group in one fell swoop and see how Yuan Benchu continues to gather information on us!"
In truth, Li You didn't harbor any particular animosity toward the aristocratic families and nobility. He only developed a murderous intent toward those who obstructed his path. Unfortunately, those who stood in his way were usually mbers of the aristocracy.
"Wenru, Cao ngde has entered Guanzhong. We're out of reach for now. Do you have any ideas?" Jia Xu rarely took the initiative to address the other warlords who were disrupting the realm.
"It is indeed troubleso. We need to focus all our efforts on Yuan Benchu for now. As for Cao ngde, I think we should leave him alone for the ti being. As for Zhiran and the others, I already have a plan to handle them," Li You said calmly.
Jia Xu's most valid point was that they couldn't reach Guanzhong, which was why Liu Ye had been sent there in person. So things couldn't be determined solely by intelligence.
"I'll leave dealing with those folks to you. I trust you'll also make sure to plant our people behind the potentially growing power of Cao ngde," Jia Xu nodded, fully confident in Li You's ability to handle the matter.
"Zhiran and the others have already paved the way. I just need to guide them out, and Cao Cao won't have any reason to oppose the people of Guanzhong and Yongliang," Li You said calmly. He was genuinely impressed by Li Jue's performance in Guanzhong.
Of course, Li You also knew that a strategist capable of such intricate planning wouldn't willingly serve under soone who couldn't beco a true ruler. But regardless of any hidden agendas, with such a move, Li You was confident he could rehabilitate Li Jue and his cohorts. Sotis, all a ruler needed was an excuse, and once given that excuse, it was enough.
Li Jue and his n were indeed guilty of many cris, but that didn't an they couldn't be pardoned. Whether Emperor Xian had been coerced or acted willingly, his decree had absolved them of their cris. All Li You needed to do was give Emperor Xian a way out, allowing Li Jue and his n to be fully pardoned.
Li You frowned as he thought about it. He knew that Ma Teng and Li Jue weren't on the sa page, but the Qiang and Hu people only respected strength!
"Wenhe, keep an eye on Guanzhong and Yongliang when you can. I'm off to play the wildcard against Yuan Benchu," Li You said calmly, then left without lingering.
Jia Xu nodded, indicating that he would keep an eye on Guanzhong and Yongliang, though only in passing.
In truth, Jia Xu's interest in Guanzhong and Yongliang was far less than his interest in Yuzhou. Compared to the distant Guanzhong, Yuzhou was a fat piece of at that, after being nurtured by many, was now ripe for the taking.
By now, Jia Xu had almost finished preparing Yuzhou. The most dangerous figure, Zhou Yu, had been placed under house arrest in Shouchun due to the "authentic" rumors Jia Xu had spread. Sun Ce was also affected, unable to leave Shouchun. At the sa ti, the civil and military officials whom Sun Ce had promoted were all being suppressed.
It wasn't that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu couldn't resist; Sun Ce simply didn't want to provoke a conflict with Yuan Shu. As a result, Zhou Yu had no choice but to remain under house arrest in Shouchun. With Zhou Yu out of the picture, Yuzhou and Jingzhou had beco vulnerable.
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