"Let me 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 slammed 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 mess.
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 come 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 me 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 moment.
In the end, this so-called conspiracy meeting dissolved into nothing. After the dozen or so representatives left, Yang Xiu chuckled and walked outside. He resolved never to attend such a meeting 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 emerged 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 time the merchants' association was disrupted, I noticed something strange. Although part of the reason was our non-intervention, the spread of the unrest was too fast. This time, 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 members of the aristocracy.
"Wenru, Cao Mengde 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 troublesome. We need to focus all our efforts on Yuan Benchu for now. As for Cao Mengde, I think we should leave him alone for the time 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. Some 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 Mengde," 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 someone who couldn't become 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. Sometimes, all a ruler needed was an excuse, and once given that excuse, it was enough.
Li Jue and his men were indeed guilty of many crimes, but that didn't mean they couldn't be pardoned. Whether Emperor Xian had been coerced or acted willingly, his decree had absolved them of their crimes. All Li You needed to do was give Emperor Xian a way out, allowing Li Jue and his men to be fully pardoned.
Li You frowned as he thought about it. He knew that Ma Teng and Li Jue weren't on the same 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 meat 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 same time, 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 become vulnerable.