xymnovel Chapter 124 No, this is a trap.
Chapter 124 No, this is a trap.
Upon hearing Xu You's words, Ju Shou nodded thoughtfully, "That makes sense..."
"But he's putting on such a brave face; he must have other motives, because he'll be exposed soon enough!"
"The problem now is that we probably can't sustain this any longer!"
This is actually quite easy to calculate!
To some extent, it can be considered a form of mutual depletion!
Whoever can't hold on the first will be at a disadvantage in the ensuing confrontation.
Now neither side is hiding anything anymore; it's a matter of who can hold out the longest.
Yuan Shao remained silent; he had not yet made a final decision.
Should we persevere, or give up?
He glanced at Tian Feng, who remained silent, and asked softly, "What are your thoughts?"
Everyone's eyes followed his gaze, and they realized that he seemed a little strange today.
In the past, I always rushed to the front, afraid that I wouldn't be able to make suggestions smoothly.
[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]
Why are you backing down today?
"My lord, I believe this matter should end here!" Tian Feng said very seriously.
"This Li Zhao has never been one to be trifled with. The reason he's willing to go to such great lengths to do business with us, especially with such precious grain, is definitely not as simple as it seems!"
"Although I don't yet know his purpose, things can't go on like this!"
"We have enough food right now, so stopping won't cause us any loss."
"If our lord is willing, even Cao Cao's share doesn't need to be given away!"
After going through so many things, Tian Feng has become much more shrewd.
He knew what Yuan Shao wanted: nothing more than profit.
The benefits we have now are already plentiful, so there's no loss in giving them up.
Ju Shou and others, unusually, did not object, all agreeing that this was the best approach.
"No..." After a moment of silence, Yuan Shao waved his hand and said, "We can't stop now!"
"Since he's still bringing out grain, let's accept it without hesitation. Who would complain about having too much grain?"
"As long as we have food, why worry about a lack of people? The things we give away will have a chance to come back!"
"If Li Zhao doesn't give up voluntarily, we have to keep this business going!"
Tian Feng frowned and retorted, "But we... have nothing left to offer!"
"If you don't have one, try another one. The terms are negotiable!"
"But……"
Yuan Shao waved his hand dismissively, not giving them another chance to speak.
In such important decisions, he will still keep the initiative in his own hands!
As for Li Zhao, let him continue if he wants to play along, and see who ultimately can't hold out...
……
"Brother Yuanhao, please wait!"
Just as Tian Feng left the lobby, before he had gone far, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
Turning around, he saw Ju Shou approaching rapidly.
"What advice do you have for me, sir?" Tian Feng raised his eyebrows, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.
The two weren't very close; their relationship had previously been purely professional.
Ju Shou cupped his hands in greeting and said, "If I'm not mistaken, Brother Yuanhao, you're planning to go to the front lines yourself, right?"
"May we come together?"
He initially wanted to refuse, but then he thought that given the current situation, if there were any real problems, having more people around to speak to would carry more weight when he advised Yuan Shao.
then.
Tian Feng gestured for them to proceed, "Then please!"
Without exchanging many words, the two left and headed straight out of the city.
The best way to find out what's happening outside and what the current situation is is to go and see for yourself.
When they left the city, the two rode in the same carriage.
Ju Shou wanted to speak several times, but ultimately held back.
Only after they had walked quite a distance did he finally break the silence, "Brother Yuanhao, don't you think... this Li Zhao is strange?"
Tian Feng looked outside, his voice calm, "What are you referring to?"
"Look! After this man occupied Qingzhou, all the things he did, including various measures, were very successful. The core reason is that he had grain in his hands."
"Later, the recruitment of refugees and the deliberate effort to unite people's hearts were also accomplished through food!"
"I saw the millet he sent myself; it was all top-quality!"
Ju Shou recounted the intelligence they had gathered, detailing just how much Li Zhao had accomplished.
This includes the various methods used against them and Cao Cao at the time.
Tian Feng kept looking outside. "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"I feel there's something strange about the grain this man possesses. Take those recent deals he's made with us, for example—is it really... just grain stored up in Ji Province?"
"We both know that with his methods, from ordinary people to the army, including the endless stream of refugees, the grain stored in Jizhou simply won't last long."
Ju Shou blurted out all his thoughts at once.
He originally intended to say these words to Yuan Shao's face, to remind him to quickly end his current absurd behavior.
But they couldn't give a reasonable explanation. Did they really have to tell everyone that Li Zhao might have an inexhaustible supply of grain?
It's laughable!
Only then did Tian Feng turn his gaze away from the outside.
He sighed deeply and said, "I originally thought that only I would have such an absurd idea!"
"Brother Yuanhao, you think so too, don't you?"
"But it doesn't make sense!" Tian Feng turned to look at him, his eyes filled with confusion.
"Even with numerous indications supporting our theory, no one will believe it without concrete evidence!"
There were some things he didn't say, namely... even with solid evidence, would anyone really believe it?
soon.
The two remained silent, each hoping their guess was wrong.
But something feels... very wrong!
Two days later, the two appeared at the very edge of Jinyang County.
This is one of the key routes from Jinyang into Jizhou, and it is personally guarded by Yuan Shang, who has returned from Cao Cao.
Although they were all captured by Cao Cao and released, their mentality underwent some changes.
Yuan Shang took the initiative to suggest this method to share the burden of his father.
There was a temporary military camp nearby. In fact, Tian Feng and his companion had already been spotted by the sentries as soon as they appeared.
When they appeared outside the temporary military camp, Yuan Shang was already waiting.
"Greetings, young master..." The two bowed simultaneously.
Regardless of the circumstances, Yuan Shang was still Yuan Shao's favorite youngest son, and the proper rules still applied.
"Gentlemen, there's no need for such formalities!" Yuan Shang greeted them politely and ushered them inside.
"Let's go inside and talk!"
After they were all seated, Yuan Shang finally spoke, asking, "Father, did you send these two gentlemen here for any particular reason?"
"No..." Ju Shou shook his head. "Young master, you don't need to think too much. We came here on our own initiative."
……