The Three Kingdoms: Starting as a county magistrate in Pingyuan, he rose to power and conquered the

Chapter 123 Increase the Intensity

Finding his methods effective and successfully gaining Cao Cao's support, Yuan Shao's ambitions swelled rapidly.

Without any hesitation, he immediately chose to increase his buying and selling efforts.

There's no need to hide anything anymore; just mobilize most of your subordinates.

Large numbers of horses and weapons were sent into Jizhou.

And a steady stream of food flowed into his hands.

Looking at the ever-increasing grain supply, Yuan Shao was very glad that he had made the right choice.

After witnessing how much Li Zhao had accomplished using grain, he became even more convinced that having grain was equivalent to having everything.

As for the items that were sent out, they can all be remade.

With food in hand... what's the rush?

As agreed beforehand, he delivered his share of grain to Cao Cao.

Besides.

To show his sincerity, he also gave Cao Cao a lot of extra gifts, so that Cao Cao could see the real benefits.

This approach quickly piqued the interest of many people, who could reap so many benefits simply by conducting business peacefully without having to fight a war.

Of course we need to grow bigger and stronger, and keep it up!

then.

As Cao Cao sent out more and more gifts, more and more powerful families and court officials became involved.

This formed a powerful force that had begun to slip out of Cao Cao's control...

……

at the same time.

Jizhou, Yecheng.

Xu Shu and Chen Gong appeared in the main hall of the governor's mansion. After receiving Li Zhao's edict, the two set off immediately and arrived here as quickly as possible.

All affairs, large and small, in Qingzhou naturally fell into Liu Bei's hands.

"Greetings, my lord..." The two stood respectfully before Li Zhao, bowing with their hands clasped in greeting.

Lu Bu, who had come specifically for this purpose, only wore a smile on his face.

After all that had happened, seeing Chen Gong again gave him a strange sense of familiarity.

"We're not strangers, no need to be so polite..." Li Zhao personally stepped forward to help the two up.

"You must be tired from your journey, sit down and rest for a bit!"

soon.

Fresh tea and snacks were then served.

Taking this opportunity, Lü Bu sat down next to Chen Gong and personally served him tea.

"Fengxian, this is unacceptable!" Chen Gong was somewhat flattered.

"gentlemen……"

"Bu, the more you experience, the more you'll understand the master's good intentions back then!"

"You are entirely deserving of this honor. Without you, sir, there would be no Lü Bu today!" Lü Bu said very sincerely, presenting the cup of tea to Chen Gong.

Chen Gong was at a loss for what to do. He looked at Li Zhao and Xu Shu beside him, both of whom had gentle smiles on their faces.

After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh, picked up the cup of tea, and took a sip.

"To see Fengxian change so much, I could die without regret!"

"Sir, you flatter me..."

After exchanging pleasantries, Lü Bu sat down next to him.

Xu Shu went straight to the point, looking at Li Zhao and saying, "My lord, I've heard that Yuan Shao has been quite active lately!"

"Use horses, linen, and all kinds of military equipment to exchange for our food!"

"Please hear me out, my lord. Although Ji Province has a lot of reserves, enough for the army to use for several years, your consumption is also very high."

"At this rate, it will probably be completely depleted in less than six months!"

"For the sake of long-term considerations, I urge my lord to abandon..."

In their understanding, Li Zhao's ability to make such a large investment came entirely from the reserves in Ji Province.

Even with a large inventory, it can't withstand his wasteful spending!

They need to support the people, ensure the operation of the army, and now they're spending so much money to do large-scale business with Yuan Shao.

If this continues, the stockpile will inevitably be depleted. He has acquired a large amount of weapons and equipment, but what use are the horses?

Food is the most important thing!

This kind of thinking is perfectly normal when you don't know Li Zhao's true intentions.

In other words, his thinking is correct!

Chen Gong hesitated for a moment, then spoke up, "Yes, my lord..."

"I know you may have plans and detailed arrangements for them!"

"But whatever it is, it's time to close the net!"

Lu Bu, sitting next to him, remained silent.

I stayed here specifically to wait for this moment!

If there's a mission, he'll receive it immediately.

"I understand your intentions..." Li Zhao gestured for them not to rush.

"I'm aware of this matter; the current scale is still a bit too small."

"I specifically called you all here to amplify this effect!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Shu and Chen Gong exchanged a glance, both having a bad feeling.

Several hours later, the two were violently driven out of the hall.

Not only that.

They also have to stand outside and curse, saying things like "honest advice is hard to hear," "you won't listen to advice, you'll regret it sooner or later."

To make it look more realistic, Chen Gong even had Lü Bu personally chase them out.

really.

Soon, news spread everywhere that Li Zhao had ignored advice and that his advisors had been expelled...

……

at the same time.

Yuan Shao's days haven't been easy lately either.

To be precise, he was in a very contradictory state.

First, he made a lot of money doing business with Li Zhao, as grain was continuously sent to Bingzhou.

The first thing I did every morning upon waking was to find out how much new food had been delivered.

Logically speaking, he should be very happy!

But now there's a problem: we don't have enough resources.

To maintain this state, a large number of horses, weapons, equipment, and other supplies such as rags must be provided.

Li Zhao's prices are very fair; you definitely won't lose out by exchanging these items.

But the inventory can't keep up!

The guy seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of food.

This volume of transactions lasted for more than a month.

So far, there is absolutely no sign of it decreasing!

"How strange indeed..." Yuan Shao paced back and forth in the hall, holding a list in his hand.

Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Xu You, and others gathered here, their expressions particularly complex.

Since Yuan Shao's temperament changed drastically, their lives have improved a lot.

All the suggestions were adopted and had a significant effect.

But even they didn't know how to handle the current situation.

"I have a general idea of ​​the various reserves in Ji Province. After a transaction of this scale, he should have very little left!"

"The key issue is that there are still so many troops to support, and the number of people going there is increasing every day. How do we calculate these expenses?" Yuan Shao frowned.

He calculated it over and over, but nothing seemed right!

Xu You tentatively asked, "Is it possible that Li Zhao is just gritting his teeth and forcing himself to endure it?"

"What we're seeing now is just a facade. What he really wants is for us to end things on our own initiative. Otherwise, once he brings it up, it will expose the fact that he has nothing to offer."

……