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Three days after Han Shang returned to Ye City of Wing Prefecture, at the Prefecture Overseer's Mansion.
Han Shang stood in the Heart-listening Pavilion with his hands behind his back, looking at the pond full of lotus flowers in front of him.‘Heart Listening Pavilion, there were also Guo Jia, Ju Shou, Zhao Yun, and Zhang He.
" Fengxiao, you're too slow. It's been so many days and you still haven't finished writing," Han Shang teased, revealing his white teeth.
Guo Jia's face was filled with embarrassment. His pale handsome face became even paler as he said in a low voice, I'll be done in three days."
Han Shang laughed loudly when he saw him.
He shook his red cloak, turned his slender body, and said to Qiushou,""Xun Chen has been in prison for a year. How should we deal with him?”In his heart, he was a little worried about the few talents of the Xun family who would use a stick behind his back in the future.
It was not that he was afraid of the Xun Family's strategists, but offending these strategists was equivalent to offending the dukes they served. At present, Han Shang was not strong enough to make enemies with many dukes.
Qiushou lowered his head and pondered for a moment." If Xun Chen is released, the news of our plan will spread. At that time, we still don't know what kind of trouble we will have."”
When Han Shang heard that Qiushou wanted to kill Xun Chen, he laughed and said,"" When has Shang ever been afraid of trouble? I only respect the Xun Family for the country and the people, their noble character and integrity."
Guo Jia's expression changed.
Han Shang saw that he was amused and knew that Guo Jia had a close personal relationship with the Xun family. He turned to Guo Jia and asked,"Fengxiao, what do you think?"
Guo Jia looked at Han Shang gratefully and said in a low voice,""There is no such thing as an impenetrable wall in the world. The news will spread sooner or later. It doesn't matter whether Xun Chen lets go or not. Why not do the Xun family a favor?”
Han Shang nodded and said,"Release Xun Chen and give him his salary for the past few years."
Everyone laughed in a friendly manner.
" I have something important to discuss with you today." Han Shang's tone was calm, but his eyes seemed to be shining.
Everyone's laughter came to an abrupt stop. They knew that there was something important to say, so they listened attentively.
His red cloak fluttered in the wind as he said in a clear voice,""I want to take over the four prefectures of Qing, You, Bing, and Qing.”
Instantly, the pavilion fell silent.
The other four looked at each other, not daring to make a sound.
After a while, Han Shang broke the silence and said,""If you have something to say, just say it."
" That's almost the entire north," Qiushou said." The vassals we have to face directly are Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan, and Kong Rong of the North Sea. It takes ten years to succeed."
" Ten years is too long." Han Shang frowned." I want to achieve this goal within three years."”
Everyone was speechless. They had long seen Han Shang's impatience.
Guo Jia thought for a moment and said,"My lord, it's better to take it step by step. The world is unpredictable."”
Han Shang nodded. He had a rough understanding of the future trend of history, which was why he said such arrogant words. If he did not know the future, no one would be confident in sweeping the three states within three years.
"Hasn't Yuan Shao always been short of food? What's the situation?"”。
Before he left for Chang 'an, he had already started to play tricks on the economy, trying to drag down Hanoi's trade.
Ju Shou continued," There are locusts in Hanoi this year. Yuan Shao is currently worried about food. After the autumn harvest, the situation may improve a little. However, the number of refugees from Hanoi flowing into our Jizhou is huge. I estimate that the situation is serious.”
"What about the army?" Han Shang asked with concern.
Zhang He interrupted," Last time Gongsun Zan attacked Yuan Shao, both sides suffered heavy losses. However, after a year, the strength of both armies has almost recovered. The scouts reported that Yuan Shao had 150,000 elite soldiers, but that was only a conservative estimate.”
"En, send more spies out. All the vassals want them." Han Shang frowned. He hadn't expected Yuan Shao to still have so many soldiers. Without the fertile land of Jizhou, how could he feed 150,000 soldiers?
"Zilong, I want to see how the army is doing tomorrow.”Han Shang wanted to see how strong his men were.
"Alright, the soldiers in the army have long been waiting for your arrival, my lord."”
After everyone left, Han Shang left Guo Jia alone.
"Fengxiao, you were once under Yuan Shao's tent, so you know better. Yuan Shao's army has always been short of food. In the past, when it was time to harvest, he would always borrow food from my late father, so how could he still be able to feed 150,000 soldiers?”Han Shang's mind was filled with questions.
Guo Jia laughed." There are things that my lord doesn't understand. Although I'm not sure, there's a 100% chance that he's buying grain from my Jizhou."”
Buying food! Han Shang was stunned.
" My Jizhou is rich in grain, and the commoners have surplus. Every festival, they would sell the surplus grain to exchange for clothes or other items. Yuan Shao must have sent people to buy grain at a low price."
He paused for a moment before continuing," These are just small amounts. Jia suspects that someone is selling a large amount of food to Yuan Shao at a low price.”
Han Shang was shocked that this was highly possible and asked,""Who do you think it is, a noble family or an official?”。
Guo Jia thought for a moment and said," Most of them are from large families in Jizhou. It's unlikely that they are officials. The food of the officials is under the control of Ju Shou. Even if he sells the food to his own pocket, he will never sell it to Yuan Shao."”
Han Shang's expression was gloomy, and his gaze was cold.
The next day, the weather was clear.
On the edge of the drill ground on the outskirts of Ye City, the river was cut open by protruding stones, and weeds were entangled with it. A gentle breeze blew past, clearing one's mind.
The 20,000 soldiers on the drill ground were training in an orderly manner. Their movements were uniform, and their strength was fierce. Coupled with the sky-shattering shouts, it made people feel the iron blood unique to soldiers.
After the morning exercise, a few veterans squatted together.
" Have you heard? The lord will come for an inspection later. If you perform well and get the lord's appreciation, you will ascend the Dragon Gate and become a commander," a young man said loudly.
" Da Niu, you're still dreaming," another soldier teased.
" Yes, it's also Captain Wu. It's your turn then," a veteran beside him interrupted.
The group of soldiers were chatting happily when a discordant voice sounded," Wu Gang wants to be a commander with his skills?" Not far away, a muscular young man walked over with more than ten soldiers.
The soldiers who were chatting earlier all pulled a long face. The troublemaker was here.
The soldiers in the army were all brave and ruthless. Other than training, they had nothing to do. They often competed in fighting techniques. To put it bluntly, they were fighting and causing trouble. However, Zhao Yun, Zhang He, and the other generals secretly acquiesced to this behavior. Soldiers who were not brave were not good soldiers.
Da Niu stood up and shouted angrily,"Shi Sheng, you want to fight again? Didn't you lose badly last time?”
Shi Sheng was scolded in public. His rough face turned red, and the veins on his neck popped out. He was furious."Big dumb cow, what else do you have other than some brute force? You were so smug when I let you take advantage of me last time.”
The two of them glared at each other, and the situation was about to erupt.
" Why are you guys fighting again?" A deep male voice was heard. The person was eight feet tall, with a strong back and a strong waist. He had a wide face and big ears, and his beard was full of stubble. He was very masculine. He carried a big knife on his back and slowly walked over.
"Boss!" The soldiers on Da Niu's side shouted.
Shi Sheng's arrogance was instantly suppressed. He called out in a low voice," Captain Wu."
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This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]