Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1538: Chapter 1481: Hustling, Hustling~

When Chen Xi and Hua Xiong took away all the cavalry, Guo Jia and Guan Yu also received Zhou Yu’s letter of truce.

Guo Jia and Guan Yu understood that under the current circumstances, continuing internal struggles was indeed becoming untenable. Therefore, as soon as Zhou Yu’s truce letter arrived, both of them were mentally prepared to head north.

In Xuzhou, Chen Deng arrived at Li Yan’s tent with only a few trusted aides.

”Chen Yuanlong, how dare you enter my camp so carelessly, aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you here and take Xuzhou?” Li Yan immediately said sternly as he saw Chen Deng coming in gracefully.

”If your vision is as narrow as this, Li Zhengfang, then it would be just as well for me, Chen Deng, to die here,” Chen Deng said coldly, then sat down on the side without any regard.

Li Yan glanced at Chen Deng, seeing that his attempt to intimidate him failed, he laughed heartily, ”I underestimated Yuanlong, have you come to discuss a truce?”

”The Northern Huns have invaded, and I have the important duty of governing a region, so I cannot go north, but I will not drag the Han Dynasty down.” Chen Deng declared with fervor, though such words were meant to provoke Li Yan.

”If you allow me to pass, I, Li Yan, may offer my life for the country, though I possess little else,” Li Yan replied coldly.

”Haha, Li Zhengfang, just for saying this, I’ll let you pass, but are you sure you don’t want to wait for new orders from your superior?” Chen Deng chuckled, knowing Li Yan indeed had some capability, but his personality had certain issues.

Li Yan looked coldly at Chen Deng, finally abandoning this seemingly brilliant idea, after all, Zhou Yu was no simple character.

”Let’s call a truce, next time it won’t be so easy for you to leave,” Li Yan said coldly, ”Guards, see the guest out!”

”Heh, next time, you still won’t pass Xiapi City,” Chen Deng retorted unyieldingly.

As news of the Northern Huns’ southward invasion spread, all the wars within the Han Territory ceased with the negotiations between the two sides, marking the first nationwide cessation of hostilities across the Central Plains since Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang.

”Sun Ce seems to have stopped fighting too, we can enjoy some peace for a while, I was always worried Sun Ce would attack Jiaozhou,” Shiyi breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving distant intelligence from Jizhou.

”This is quite reassuring,” said Shixie, seated at the head, feeling much relieved after hearing the news, ”Sun Bofu is known to be ambitious, if not for his covetousness towards Jiaozhou, we should have befriended him.”

”Governor Shi, we are located in the southeast and cannot march north, but regarding the expulsion of the Huns, we cannot remain ignorant either. Sun Bofu is quite capable, but he values righteousness, perhaps we should make allies with him,” Yuan Hui suggested respectfully.

Shixie nodded, agreeing with Yuan Hui, and instructed his brother, ”Prepare 200,000 bushels of premium rice, 100,000 pounds of meat, 100 carts of fine wine, and 20 chests of jewels, and send someone to present them to Sun Bofu.”

”Why not accompany it with a letter to Sun Bofu, saying ’I cannot send troops from Jiaozhou, but I am willing to offer military supplies, however, for every Hun you kill, reward me with a merit’,” Yuan Hui suggested with a smile to Shixie.

Shixie was initially puzzled but then suddenly understood, and laughed heartily. If it were just sending goods, it would appear as fear of the other party, but with such a statement, it would instead showcase their contribution to the Central Plains.

Immediately, Shixie stood up, paced around for a while, and then decisively said, ”Although I, Shixie, am old and frail, and Jiaozhou is thousands of miles from the Huns, the Han and Huns cannot coexist. How can I, Shixie, only think of my own good, and be belittled by the Outer Barbarians?”

”Issue my orders, deliver the same amount to Grand Commandant Liu, Minister of Works Cao, with great fanfare, and inform them, although I, Shixie, cannot go in person, my heart is definitely with them! If it’s not enough, I still have more!” Shixie laughed heartily as he spoke.

”Governor’s wise decision,” Yuan Hui said with admiration.

[Mission accomplished, though I, Yuan Hui, can’t go myself, getting someone to fork out money and grain is not a problem, after all, in Jiaozhou, aside from transportation issues, there’s certainly no lack of food.] Yuan Hui thought without pressure.

Before coming to Jiaozhou, Yuan Hui’s impression of the place was a remote backwater with barren hills and turbulent waters, but upon arrival, he realized that although some areas were harsh, it was indeed a good place for farming.

Just scattering seeds casually could lead to harvests when the time was right, and it’s possible to plant twice a year without issue. Moreover, with the sea close by, there’s no shortage of salt, plenty of fish, and plenty of jewels to gather. A local tyrant like Shixie was indeed wealthy and well-fed, but this place lacks people.

Though it’s not certain how much wealth Shixie has amassed now, looking at the five to six years Yuan Hui has been in Jiaozhou, Shixie’s stored grain is enough for the people of Jiaozhou to live several years without farming, yet these resources can’t be transported out of this place.

This is what frustrates Shixie the most, and to compound the problem, even within Jiaozhou, transportation is extremely challenging. This morning a road was cleared through the woods, by afternoon, vines had already grown all over it.

Thus, Shixie’s grain reserves are stored in various places, and as for why he could offer so much this time, it wasn’t because he was about to engage with Sun Ce, so all the grain was brought over, but they haven’t finished moving it yet. By the way, Nanhai County’s warehouses have already overflowed because of the recently transported grain and dried fish...

This attests to Shixie’s affluence, and this is also the foundation on which Yuan Hui could persuade Shixie. If not for the surplus of grain, Shixie wouldn’t have so readily agreed to send it.

However, while Shixie claims to send military supplies, after having spoken his mind, he realized he couldn’t easily send these things out. If it were that easy to transport goods from Jiaozhou, he would have developed the area long ago.

”If Governor Shi does not find it offensive, let me handle this matter. Moreover, with the Governor valuing the realm of the Han Dynasty so highly, he will be admired,” Yuan Hui said, intending to manage the transport back himself, as there’s no point talking otherwise.

”Then I’ll entrust this matter entirely to Gong Yao,” Shixie said very satisfied to Yuan Hui, who didn’t say anything unnecessary. He intended to handle this beautifully. Although he was indeed conning Shixie, seeing as Shixie was willing to part with so much money and grain, Yuan Hui promised he’d secure a good position and reputation.

Though Yuan Hui’s Yuan Family wasn’t as prominent as Yuan Shu’s, it still had ancestors who held positions among the Three Dukes or Nine Ministers, and despite its current decline, he still had friends all over the world.

Subsequently, after Shixie entrusted the entire matter to Yuan Hui, it didn’t take long before many sea ships arrived in Nanhai County from the north. After loading enough food and dried meat to last an army of 100,000 for half a year onto the ships, they began heading north.

On this topic, it’s worth mentioning that the merchant guilds aren’t lacking in sea ships, though they can’t support long-distance voyages, they can still purchase transportation ships capable of coast hugging for several hundred meters from the Lul Family. Oh, the ones Chen Xi provided to Zhou Yu for free were upgraded versions of these merchant ships.