I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 202 The Same Style as Emperor Wu of Han

Lü Bu agreed to let Guo Tu attack Liu Bei, on the condition that Yuan Tan first pay him for the troops' supplies.

Although Guo Tu agreed, he wanted to postpone it for a while: "Now we should attack Liu Bei before he can react. If we delay, I'm afraid something might happen."

Lu Bu slammed his hand heavily on the table: "Enough nonsense!"

"Back then, I was tricked by Wang Yun into losing control of the Xiliang army because he told me that he would reward me after the deed was done, which allowed Li Jue and Guo Si to take advantage of the situation!"

"I will not send out a single soldier unless the money and provisions are provided!"

Not only Yuan Shao and Guo Tu were seeking wisdom from their predecessors, but Lü Bu also learned from his mistakes.

"Let me see the money and grain with my own eyes! Otherwise, there's no point in talking!"

Guo Tu could only write to Yuan Shao, asking him to temporarily allocate some money and grain to support Lü Bu in his campaign against Liu Bei.

The letter first reached Shen Pei, who was appointed as the Chief Administrator and in charge of the affairs of the shogunate.

Shen Pei, finding Guo Tu's words reasonable, decided to allocate funds and provisions to support Lü Bu.

Originally, all Yuan Shao needed to do was nod slightly.

After all, Hebei was a wealthy region, and the money and grain that Lü Bu demanded were just a drop in the ocean for Yuan Shao.

Plucking a single leg hair could enable Lü Bu to attack Liu Bei, thereby threatening Cao Cao and Liu Miao, which was undoubtedly beneficial to Yuan Shao.

But Xu You stepped forward.

"Lu Bu was driven away by Yuan Shao, so he must harbor resentment towards Yuan Shao. How can we give him money and provisions now, thus aiding our enemy?"

Shen Pei was always upright and did not get along with Xu You, who was fond of accepting bribes.

Upon hearing Xu You's outrageous remarks, he immediately mocked, "Times have changed. With your understanding, Ziyuan, can't you see how much of a hindrance Lü Bu's attack on Liu Bei and capture of Xiaopei will pose to Cao Cao?"

"Could it be that you were bribed by Liu Bei, which is why you spoke up for him?"

"Stop spouting nonsense!"

Xu You was a senior official, but also had a fiery temper.

"Liu Xuande recommended the eldest son as a talented scholar before, and I became close to him. Is that wrong?"

"Although Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan were classmates, his battles against Cao Cao and his conquest of Yuan Shu clearly showed that he was loyal to Yuan Shu!"

"As for Lü Bu, since he failed to kill him before, he will definitely hold a grudge against Yuan Shao! He will surely become Yuan Shao's enemy in the future!"

"Now, instead of befriending Liu Bei, who is close to Yuan Gong, you are befriending Lü Bu, who harbors resentment towards Yuan Gong, and sending Lü Bu to attack Liu Bei. What kind of logic is this? If word gets out, how can Yuan Gong's officials be convinced?"

Shen Pei was immediately speechless.

Although Xu You had flaws in his personal morality, it did not mean that he lacked talent.

Now, every word he uttered touched on Yuan Shao's reputation, which he valued most. Shen Pei immediately realized that this matter was likely to be difficult!

as predicted.

Yuan Shao ultimately did not approve the document to give money and grain to Lü Bu, causing the matter to fall through.

"Xu You!"

Afterwards, Shen Pei angrily confronted Xu You and slammed the official document from Yuan Shao rejecting his request in front of him.

"I don't know what your purpose is! But if you continue like this and disrupt our lord's great cause, I will do everything in my power to kill you!"

Xu You sneered, "Lord Yuan only put you in charge of the headquarters to handle government affairs! You've overstepped your bounds and are meddling in everything!"

"Since you have no talent, then focus on doing your own thing! Such an important matter is beyond your comprehension with your shallow vision!"

"you……"

Shen Pei clenched his fists: "Xu You! Just you wait! One day I will expose your true colors to Lord Yuan!"

"What a joke! I, Xu You, have always acted with Lord Yuan's best interests at heart, and I have a clear conscience!"

Xu You watched Shen Pei leave with disdain before heading to his own backyard.

Hidden among them was a guest, nervously sipping his tea—

Lu Jun.

Upon seeing Xu You, Lu Jun immediately looked at Xu You with anticipation.

"It's done."

“When Lü Bu asked Yuan Gong for money and supplies to attack Liu Bei, I explained the pros and cons to Yuan Gong, and Yuan Gong rejected the idea.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Jun's face immediately lit up with joy: "Thank you, Ziyuan! Thank you, Ziyuan!"

Xu You coughed lightly: "You heard it just now, Shen Pei rushed into my residence to find me."

"He's like a rock in a latrine, smelly and hard. If someone like that were around me, I'd probably just end up smelling like a piece of filth!"

Having followed Lu Kang for a long time, and with geniuses like Lu Yi and Lu Ji by his side, Lu Jun was not stupid either, and quickly understood Xu You's meaning.

“This stench is truly unbearable! Fortunately, I happen to have some Sichuan-style chicken tongue spices and spices from Jiaozhi (Vietnam). If you don’t mind, please use these to remove the smell for now.”

Xu You clicked his tongue: "How can that be? With the current chaos of war, the goods transported from Shu and Jiaozhi must be extremely expensive, right?"

"Look at what you're saying!"

Lu Jun, a gentleman, inevitably acquired the mercenary traits of a merchant after a few days of working as a merchant.

"You offended Shenpei because of us, so even if these things aren't cheap, it's only right that we take care of them, isn't it?"

Xu You narrowed his eyes slightly: "I heard that tea and silk from Jiangdong are selling well in Hebei?"

"It's just a small benefit."

"Small profit? Really? I heard you bought a lot of oxen and warhorses at a high price last time and transported them back to Jiangdong. If it were just a small profit, you probably couldn't have bought that many, right?"

Lu Jun quickly smiled apologetically and said, "It's really just a small profit. A single trade trip only yields a few hundred thousand coins in profit."

"Several hundred thousand coins? That's quite a sum." Xu You stared at Lu Jun inquisitively: "Do you know that Lord Yuan actually forbids the sale of warhorses to the south?"

"The horse dealer who sold you the horse last time has been executed... What a pity, you probably won't be able to do that business again."

Lu Jun was shocked: "Such a thing actually happened?"

Immediately, Lu Jun bowed to Xu You, saying, "I'm afraid we'll need Ziyuan's help with this matter."

Lu Jun gritted his teeth: "If it works out, I will definitely give you 30% of the profits every year!"

Xu You sighed: "That's not what I meant."

"And as you saw, Shen Pei is very fierce, and I really have no way to deal with this matter."

Lu Jun's face had turned somewhat pale: "Then... forty percent?"

"Alas...you don't understand. There's a severe shortage of warhorses in Hebei right now. Plus, Cao Cao has seized Guanzhong, so Lord Yuan is under a lot of pressure!"

Lu Jun gritted his teeth, his heart bleeding: "Half!"

"From now on, on every business trip, Ziyuan will be half of the merchant!"

“Jiangdong is really poor, and there is not enough manpower to cultivate the land, which is why we have to buy horses and oxen from Hebei.”

"I hope you will help me, Ziyuan, for the sake of the countless people in Jiangdong who can't even get enough to eat!"

Xu You glanced at Lu Jun out of the corner of his eye.

Xu You didn't believe a single word of what he meant by not having enough to eat and needing oxen and horses to plow the fields.

And even if Jiangdong is truly like that, what does it have to do with him?
However, considering the half of the profits, Xu You relented.

"So that's how it is... Alas, I, Xu You, have never been able to bear seeing the people suffer! Since that's the case, I have no choice but to take the risk."

"I have some connections with Liu Bao, the Left Wise King of the Southern Xiongnu, and I can actually get some Xiongnu warhorses, but the price... I'm afraid it will be a bit expensive!"

Dry!
Lu Jun knew Xu You was greedy, but he never expected Xu You to be this greedy. Not content with sharing the profits with him, he even tried to cut back on them!

However, considering Xu You's current importance to Jiangdong, Lu Jun readily agreed. He also took out a jade pendant from his pocket and gave it to Xu You—

"This is a Tianhuang frozen stone, the finest of all Tianhuang stones. As the saying goes, 'A fine jade is worn by a gentleman,' and this jade is most suitable for Ziyuan."

Although Xu You was very learned, he did not recognize the object at first glance.

Xu You naturally knew about Tianhuang stone, but he had never seen a Tianhuang frozen stone that was completely transparent, like solidified honey, and incredibly lustrous!

"Jade can actually grow like this?"

"Of course! This is a Tianhuang frozen stone that can only be dug up in Jiangdong. It is extremely rare... I heard that Emperor Xiaowu of the past also had such a Tianhuang frozen stone, which he treasured all the time!"

Xu You took the Tianhuang jade and finally smiled: "Emperor Xiaowu regarded it as a treasure? That's an exaggeration. It's probably just a story made up by some jade dealer."

"But this jade... it's truly exceptional! Absolutely top-notch!"

Lu Jun nodded in agreement, but in his heart he was already mocking Xu You for never having seen good stuff.

What other jade could truly be called a peerless gem, besides the He Shi Bi, which was made into the Imperial Seal of the State?

Unlike Xu You, Lu Jun had actually seen the He Shi Bi jade in Liu Miao's possession! So, although this Tianhuang frozen stone was beautiful, it couldn't withstand the slightest ripple in Lu Jun's heart.

With a flick of his wrist, Xu You's jade pendant vanished, but his face was filled with a smile.

"Your kindness is truly profound, so I have no reason to refuse!"

Xu You's only concern was—

"Does Liu Miao truly favor Yuan Shao?"

"of course!"

Lu Jun nodded quickly, not daring to be ambiguous about such a matter.

“Zhongshan has always held the Yuan family in high esteem!”

"Putting everything else aside, his wife is Yuan Ji's daughter! In fact, he's Yuan Gong's nephew-in-law!"

"It's a pity that some villains are stirring up trouble and creating conflict between Yuan Gong and Zhongshan. It's truly hateful!"

"Please rest assured, Ziyuan! As long as the time is right, Zhongshan will surely submit to Lord Yuan and offer up all of Jiangdong!"

"Therefore, we now ask Ziyuan to mediate and prevent Lord Yuan from having any misunderstandings about Zhongshan..."

Xu You readily agreed: "Of course!"

As long as Liu Miao does not rebel against Yuan Shao, Xu You can confidently and boldly contact Liu Miao and speak well of him to Yuan Shao.

otherwise……

Where else could I find such an easy way to make money?
Xu You's fingertips caressed the warm, smooth Tianhuang stone, which was also a free message provided to Lu Jun—

"Guo Tu's plan was not just to instigate Lü Bu to attack Liu Bei."

He also asked Lü Bu for passage, wanting to go directly south from Xuzhou to Guangling.

“This matter is being handled by Yuan Tan himself, leading his troops. I’m afraid I can’t help him.”

Lu Jun was initially horrified, but then felt a surge of joy, as if he had survived a disaster!

Being able to figure out the enemy's next move also makes it easier for Jiangdong to make a calm and strategic plan!

The value of this single piece of information far surpasses that of the Tianhuang frozen stone!

"Thank you, Ziyuan!"

"Next time you come, I will definitely bring you a generous gift to express my gratitude!"

"Why bother? Hahahahahaha~~~~"

(End of this chapter)