Chapter 405: The Poisonous Scholar Jia Xu and the Righteous Scholar Lu Bu (Four Thousand)

The hall was now extremely lively. If an uninformed bystander accidentally entered, he might have mistakenly thought he had come to the vegetable market. Noisy sounds came from all directions, as if dozens or even hundreds of bees were buzzing in his ears.

Instead of stopping them, Yuan Shao looked at everyone with interest and listened carefully to their arguments, hoping to find the hidden dangers in Jizhou and Qingzhou. The two groups led by Shen Pei and the Xin brothers exchanged words with each other, and neither of them was willing to back down. Among the others, some acted as peacemakers, some fanned the flames, and some acted as fence-sitters.

Until a personal guard rushed into the hall with a panicked look, unsteady steps, and stumbling.

Yuan Shao's heart trembled, his brows knitted even deeper uncontrollably, and he thought to himself that something was wrong.

You know, his guards are all calm and composed people, why are they so panicked at this moment? Like a frightened rabbit
Everyone seemed to sense the change in the atmosphere in the hall, and also noticed the panic of the guards and the frowning Yuan Shao. They looked at each other, and without Yuan Shao shouting to stop, they gradually stopped fighting and shook hands to make peace for the time being.

"What's the matter?" Yuan Shao suddenly felt uneasy and uncomfortable all over, as if there were thousands of small insects crawling all over his body. He simply stood up and walked impatiently to the guards.

The voice of the "Envoy" guard trembled unconsciously, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Such an unusual performance naturally attracted everyone's attention.

Under the gazes of thousands of people, the guard gnashed his teeth and said, "Sir! This is not going well! Huang Zhong has led tens of thousands of troops to cut off our food supply route to Bingzhou! Gongsun Zan and Liu Biao have even assembled a hundred thousand elite troops to invade our territory!"

"what!"

Yuan Shao's eyes widened, his pupils trembled, and his breathing became rapid. He gasped for breath and staggered back several steps, as if all his strength was drained away in an instant, and he fell heavily on the main seat.

The thing I worried about day and night finally happened.
Everyone present was in an uproar, all looking stunned.

What did they hear? Huang Zhong, Gongsun Zan, Liu Biao
Even if some people had anticipated this, no one would have expected that these two groups would attack at the same time.

Huang Zhong cut off the grain route to Bingzhou.
broken!

Yan Liang is in danger!

Xun Chen, who had been acting as a peacemaker, spoke first, "Everyone, Jizhou is in danger right now. Not to mention Huang Hansheng, even Gongsun Bogui is no small matter. He is famous in Wuhuan and has the strong support of Liu Jingsheng. This is like a beast out of a cage. Don't underestimate him! We should put everything aside for now and get through this difficult time together!"

"." Even Guo Tu, who fanned the flames, nodded in agreement, "You Ruo is right."

Even the Xin brothers remained silent in agreement.

Only Xu You snorted coldly: "Huang Hansheng and Gongsun Bogui have hundreds of thousands of Qingzhou soldiers at their disposal. What do we have to fear? I can make Huang Hansheng and Gongsun Bogui disappear into thin air with just a wave of my hand!"

Ju Su and the others: "."

Ju Shou looked at Xu You helplessly. It was easy to say, but how could it be so simple to implement? Feeding hundreds of thousands of people, supplying logistics and food, and fighting on two or even three fronts at the same time, could it really be sustained?
Yuan Shao quickly recovered from his panic. He took the silk handed to him by the servant, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and slowly stood up from the chair. He looked at the people present, and gradually felt more confident.

"With all these talented people here, why worry?"

However, he was not as confident as he thought, and subconsciously asked, "Gentlemen, the current situation is not optimistic. Huang Hansheng, Liu Jingsheng, and Gongsun Bogui are powerful, and General Yan is in danger. What should we do?"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Xu You proudly puffed out his chest and said, "I have a lot of good ideas and can come up with extraordinary strategies easily. Benchu, I am willing to serve as your military advisor and help you defeat Gongsun Bogui! You should know that without me, you wouldn't be able to get hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Qingzhou!"

Everyone agreed on Xu You's abilities, but even the Xin brothers couldn't stand his arrogance and rudeness. It was not the first or second time that he called Yuan Shao by his given name. Did this man really differentiate between masters and servants?
Yuan Shao also frowned and pulled down the corners of his mouth. Xu You calling him by his given name in private already made him unhappy. If it weren't for Xu You's contributions, he would definitely not have acquiesced to Xu You calling him like that. Calling him like that in private would be fine, but he never expected that he would dare to be so frivolous in front of so many wise men? !

He suddenly felt a little regretful and spoke well of Xu You in Shen Pei's ear.

Xu Ziyuan, how rude! Rude lunatic!
Yuan Shao's eyelids twitched wildly, and he was about to blurt out the words of rebuke! However, when the words really came to his lips, he stopped abruptly. Now the war was imminent, and if unnecessary conflicts were caused, it might affect the war.

So Yuan Shao had to swallow back what he wanted to say. He secretly remembered Xu You's words today and his previous words in his heart, and forced a smile towards Xu You against his will, "Ziyuan, you are right."

After saying this, Yuan Shao left Xu You and looked at Xun Chen, "You Ruo, I want to appoint you as my military advisor. Who do you think can serve as a good general to fight against Gongsun Bogui?"

Xu You snorted coldly. Yuan Shao was so perfunctory and he didn't want to make trouble for himself.

Xun Chen frowned, and after thinking for a while, he squeezed out a name, "Qu Yi."

"Qu Yi?" Yuan Shao was startled, and the image of a Liangzhou man immediately appeared in his mind. Qu Yi? Isn't he from Liangzhou? Why should Qu Yi be sent to deal with Gongsun Bogui?
He expressed his doubts, "You Ruo? Are you sure it's not Wen Chou? Nor Gao Lan? Qu Yi is from Liangzhou, shouldn't he go to deal with Huang Hansheng?"

"No." Xun Chen shook his head. "Sir, Huang Hansheng is not an ordinary man. He has been in the army for many years and served as an official in Liangzhou to govern the Qiang and Hu. I think he is quite familiar with the Qiang and Hu tactics. Even the generals of Dong Ze are no match for Huang Hansheng, let alone Qu Yi. Gongsun Bogui always used cavalry to charge against the Wuhuan. He is good at cavalry. Qu Yi is also very familiar with cavalry tactics. Appointing Qu Yi as a general will probably have a miraculous effect."

"What do you think?" Yuan Shao looked at everyone else.

Everyone looked at each other and whispered.

Ju Shou nodded, and the Xin brothers also expressed their agreement without disagreeing with Ju Shou. Guo Tu even said, "Okay."

Finally, Yuan Shao's eyes fell on Shen Pei. Shen Pei thought about it seriously, clasped his fists and said, "Sir, I think Qu Yi is not good enough to convince the people. Only someone with sufficient prestige can be qualified as the commander!"

"A person with enough prestige." Yuan Shao seemed to be thinking about something. Due to the previous great victory in Qingzhou, the Jizhou nobles were not afraid of Gongsun Zan's army and surrendered, but at this moment they were all waiting and watching.

The so-called "people with sufficient prestige".
I’m afraid he must be someone who can make the Jizhou gentry feel at ease!

Thinking of this, Yuan Shao immediately made up his mind. He raised his eyes to meet the hundreds of gazes and said in a resounding voice: "I want to lead the army to fight Gongsun Bogui in person!"

"Envoy!" Zhang Jingming and others advised, "No, absolutely not, how can you put yourself in danger!"

As they talked, they did not forget to cast their eyes towards Xun Chen, as if to say, "Youruo, Youruo, please persuade Envoy Yuan!" Unexpectedly, Xun Chen not only did not agree with them, but instead stepped forward and said, "Your Excellency is wise!"

Even the Xin brothers and Ju Shou spoke out in support of Yuan Shao's decision.

Zhang Jingming and others said unwillingly: "Sir, if you go to fight Gongsun Bogui, what will happen to Yecheng and Jizhou?"

"With you and other talented people here, how can I have any worries?!" Yuan Shao looked at Ju Su with burning eyes.

Zhang Jingming and others showed worry on their brows. It should be known that the Xin brothers have disliked Ju Shou for a long time. If Ju Shou was put in charge of the important matters in the rear, would it intensify the conflict between them?

Unexpectedly, a group of scholars led by Xin Ping and Xin Pi clasped their fists and said in unison: "We have no objection!"

"This!" This scene made Zhang Jingming and others look surprised. What was going on? Didn't Xin Ping and Xin Pi always want to bring Ju Shou down?
What puzzled Zhang Jingming and others was not even a problem in Shen Pei's eyes. Why didn't Xin Ping and Xin Pi worry that Ju Su would harm them? It's very simple. Often the one who knows a person best is that person's "enemy".

Although Zhang Jingming and others couldn't understand it for a moment, seeing that no one had any objection, they had no choice but to clasp their fists towards Yuan Shao and sit down.

"Then what should Huang Zhong do?" Yuan Shao asked.

Xun Chen said: "Huang Hansheng only cut off the food supply. In my opinion, Liu Xuande wanted to seize Bingzhou. Now that he has not yet attacked us, I think Gongsun Bogui is a greater threat. We should deploy troops to confront Huang Hansheng, but we must not launch an offensive against Huang Hansheng. Huang Hansheng is a rare general. If we win, it will be enough to boost the morale of the army and resolve the crisis in Bingzhou. If we lose, it will be bad. By then, the morale of the army will be weakened, and without Gongsun Bogui, the soldiers of Jizhou will be in disarray. Therefore, we can only defend and not attack, at least not before dealing with Gongsun Bogui."

"What about General Yan's food and grass? Without food and grass, even if Liu Hou were to come back to life, he would be helpless!" Yuan Shao's face was full of worry.

Xun Chen sighed, "Perhaps we can only take the Jingxing Road in Taihang Mountain."

"Your Excellency, General Yan has always been brave. If the situation in Bingzhou is really that bad, why would General Yan stick to Bingzhou? If he wants to evacuate, General Yan can just return to Jizhou from Jingxing. I think General Yan must be safe and sound. Your Excellency, don't worry or blame yourself." Xin Ping said to comfort him.

Xin Pi echoed, "Yes, yes, even if Huang Hansheng leads the troops himself, General Yan will not frown, and we will surely defeat the invaders. Please do not worry."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao's expression eased a lot.

Seeing this, Xin Ping and Xin Pi looked at each other. Through the exchange of glances, they understood each other's meaning. They said in unison: "Sir, we think that since Gongsun Bogui is attacking in the name of punishing traitors, we can also fight back in other names!"

"Oh?" Yuan Shao, who was somewhat disappointed, became interested. He asked, "How can we borrow other names? The emperor is far away in Chang'an."

Xin Ping and Xin Pi reminded him, "Sir, do you remember what the thief Dong said?"

"Dong the thief." Yuan Shao was startled, and immediately understood what Xin Ping and Xin Pi meant. He was so excited that he could hardly control himself. "You two mean to say that Jia Wenhe is behind all this? Are we here to clear the emperor's entourage and punish the usurpers?!"

"Not bad." The two nodded slightly.

Yuan Shao was overjoyed, but Ju Su soon poured cold water on him, "Sir, the situation is critical. Gongsun Bogui is not an ordinary person, and Huang Hansheng may not act according to our expectations. We should prepare a foolproof plan and unite all the forces we can."

Yuan Shao's smile gradually faded, and he nodded, "You are right. Who should we ally with? The governor of Yanzhou? The governor of Yuzhou?"

"No." Ju Shou shook his head and said in a deep voice: "The most suitable person must be someone whose interests do not overlap too much with ours, and we must have something that makes him excited. It would be best if this person or his subordinates have a grudge against Huang Hansheng."

Yuan Shao's face turned a little ugly. He seemed to guess who Ju Su was talking about. He asked tentatively: "You are not talking about Yuan Gonglu, are you?"

Ju Su nodded slowly.

Yuan Shao lowered his head, his thoughts racing. He understood what Ju Su meant. According to his understanding of Yuan Shu, if he knew that Li Jue and Guo Si had the jade seal, he would probably go and fight for it at all costs. After all, the one who would replace the Han Dynasty must be in high position, and Yuan Shu was talking about it all the time.

But...that is the imperial seal!
He felt conflicted. Yan Liang was holding on to Bingzhou so tightly. Wasn't it just for the imperial seal?
He would always feel uncomfortable if Yuan Shu interfered.

Ju Su seemed to see Yuan Shao's reluctance, and he reminded him: "Sir, the jade seal is just a trap left by Li Wenyou! If anyone really thinks that he can become emperor with this jade seal, the heroes of the world will surely rise up and kill him!"

"!"

Yuan Shao immediately woke up from the dream of the jade seal, and his eyes regained clarity in an instant. Yes, the significance of the jade seal was simply Li Ru's trump card to allow Dong Zhuo to survive for a while longer. Throwing out this jade seal could divert the attention of heroes all over the world. Unfortunately, Dong Zhuo never had the chance to use it until his death.

Fortunately, there was the Bingzhou hero Lu Fengxian who slept on firewood and tasted gall!
Yuan Shao was deeply moved and said that if he won a great victory this time, he would definitely go and see this heroic man from Bingzhou with his own eyes.

After he finished his sigh, he raised his head and looked at Ju Su again. He said gratefully: "Listening to your words is better than reading ten years of books! Gong Yu, let's do as you say, but I don't know who to send to persuade Yuan Gonglu?"

"Gao Gan." Ju Su thought for a moment and said a name.

Yuan Shao was very familiar with "Gao Gan". This person was one of the people who persuaded Han Fu to hand over Jizhou. He came from a prominent family in Chenliu and had an extraordinary background. More importantly, this person was his nephew.

In terms of eloquence and status, this person is the best choice.

"Good!" Yuan Shao agreed, but he still subconsciously looked towards the west, and couldn't help feeling a little worried about Yan Liang.

General Yan, I hope you are okay.

However, what Yuan Shao didn't know was that Yan Liang's face was already full of worry and he kept sighing.

(End of this chapter)