Three Kingdoms Mythology World.

Chapter 2736 Yuan Shu's Tactics

"So it's General Lin Mu who has graced us with his presence." Yuan Shu tossed Sun Jian's letter requesting provisions into the brazier beside him and said indifferently to Lin Mu.

Lin Mu glanced at the brazier; the contents of the letter were clearly visible, but as the flames rose, it had already turned to ashes.

Seeing Lin Mu gazing at the brazier, Yuan Shu's lips curled into a smile. He wanted Lin Mu to see the letter and his attitude.

In this campaign against Dong Zhuo, the Yuan family absolutely must maintain control of the entire situation!

"General Yuan, Liu Bei and I were supporting Sun Jian, but we were ambushed by Xu Rong and others, and our supplies were destroyed. We need to replenish our food supplies as soon as possible," Lin Mu said softly, his expression unchanged.

Seeing Lin Mu's calm and collected demeanor, Yuan Shu suddenly became furious. His face darkened as he demanded, "How many soldiers and horses did you lose in this sneak attack by the Liangzhou bandits? And how were your supplies destroyed?"

"It certainly won't be as many as the ones General Yuan escorted before, and the number of troops lost won't be as high either!" Lin Mu looked at Yuan Shu and said meaningfully.

Lin Mu was referring to the incident where he took it upon himself to escort grain, only to have it stolen.

"How dare you be so arrogant!" a burly general next to Yuan Shu shouted, seemingly not taking this second-rank general Lin Mu seriously at all.

Lin Mu turned his head slightly, his gaze sweeping coldly over the military officer. His voice was deep yet carried an undeniable authority as he said, "When did it become your place to interrupt when I was speaking with General Yuan?"

Lin Mu directly addressed himself as "this Marquis," which already overwhelmed the former in terms of imposing manner.

The general glared at Lin Mu and felt a strange sense of fear rise in his heart, but he could not back down in front of Yuan Shu. He stiffened his neck and said, "You are arrogant because of your little merit. How dare you be so presumptuous in front of General Yuan!"

“Oh, that won’t do. General Lin Mu is also a meritorious official of the Han Dynasty…” Yuan Shu waved his hand, signaling the general to step back, but when he heard Lin Mu being rebuked by the general, the smile on his face did not disappear at all.

However, his eyes were fixed on Lin Mu, and his expression changed as he said in a deep voice, "General Lin Mu, now that the great cause of defeating Dong Zhuo is at hand, you can't even protect the grain and fodder, and you still come to ask me for grain. If this gets out, won't the whole world laugh at the incompetence of my Yuan clan's allied forces?"

Yuan Shu made no mention of his previous 'defeat'.

Lin Mu calmly glanced at Yuan Shu and said quietly, "General Yuan, this sneak attack was truly an accident. We are already aware of Xu Rong and his men's scheme. If we can replenish our supplies in time, Liu Bei and I will surely be able to avenge our defeat and make new contributions to the allied forces. Moreover, General Sun Jian is currently fighting valiantly on the front lines. If supplies run out, it may affect the battle situation and be detrimental to our great cause of defeating Dong Zhuo."

"Are you going to give it to me or not?" Lin Mu's attitude hardened at the end.

Yuan Shu leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the armrest, his expression indifferent, completely ignoring Lin Mu's change in attitude.

After a moment's hesitation, Yuan Shu slowly said, "I can give you the provisions, but I want to see your sincerity. General Lin, tell me, how do you intend to make amends for this mistake?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Mu also ignored Yuan Shu's words and said calmly, "General Yuan, we have sworn an oath of blood, with Yuan Shao as our leader. Leader Yuan Shao appointed you as the grain officer, yet you have been making things difficult for the various warlords. What is your intention?"

"Are you afraid that the various warlords will steal the limelight from your Yuan family? Or do you think that the nine million soldiers the Yuan family has mobilized are all incompetent and dare not compete with the warlords?" Lin Mu directly used a provocation tactic.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu's expression changed drastically. The campaign against Dong Zhuo by the warlords had already attracted the attention of the entire world, and if any negative rumors were to emerge, it would severely damage the prestige of the Yuan family.

"How dare you, Lin Mu, be so arrogant! Take this!" The burly general beside Yuan Shu drew his weapon, ready to attack Lin Mu. "Stop!" For some reason, Yuan Shu suddenly felt a sense of crisis, which made his heart tremble, and he immediately shouted to stop.

"Alright, the supplies will arrive shortly." Yuan Shu suppressed his fear and waved his hand impatiently.

Seeing this, Lin Mu smiled faintly and turned to leave. But as he turned to leave, he sighed inwardly, "What a pity, I didn't make a move."

Lin Mu was secretly hoping Yuan Shu would cause trouble...

Seeing Lin Mu leave with a relaxed expression, the burly general asked in confusion, "My lord, why not try to ambush and kill Lin Mu? Seize the destiny of the Heavenly Lords within him!"

“Just now, I sensed a deadly crisis coming from Lin Mu!” Yuan Shu composed himself, his face darkening as he spoke in a deep voice.

"What? He's just a mere Heavenly Rank Martial General, how could he threaten our lord? We have several Divine Generals and three million elite troops. We could drown Lin Mu with just a spit from each of us!" the burly Martial General exclaimed in astonishment.

"Alright, Ji Ling, some things aren't so simple." Just then, a strategist who had been silent spoke up.

"Lin Mu's ability to surpass Dong Zhuo and our lord to reach the top of the list is no simple feat. In the past, everyone underestimated Lin Mu, which allowed him to rise to prominence. We must take this man seriously!" The strategist looked at Yuan Shu and said firmly.

"Yang Hong, you're too weak. Lin Mu is nothing special, with only a few troops around him. Our lord, on the other hand, has three million elite soldiers. How could he not handle Lin Mu?" The burly general, Ji Ling, said in frustration.

"Okay, stop arguing."

"Yang Hong, you were the one who said we wouldn't provide supplies, so how are we going to deal with this now?" Yuan Shu waved his hand, signaling the two to stop arguing, and then asked for a solution.

"My lord, I said I wouldn't give Sun Jian any supplies, but I didn't say I wouldn't give Lin Mu any supplies..." Yang Hong said softly, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

"My lord, Lin Mu and Sun Jian came together to ask for grain. Now that we have given it to Lin Mu, what should we do if Sun Jian comes to ask for it again?" Ji Ling asked with a frown.

Yang Hong smiled slightly and said unhurriedly, "Although Sun Jian and Lin Mu came together, their situations are different. Lin Mu has the support of many forces behind him, and he himself is quite powerful and has a certain prestige among the warlords. Offending him might cause unnecessary trouble. Sun Jian, on the other hand, is just a brave man with a shallow foundation in this allied army. Giving Lin Mu provisions will not only show our lord's magnanimity, but also make Lin Mu owe us a favor. As for Sun Jian, we can delay him for a few days, and then, on the grounds of a shortage of provisions, give him less, so that he will know our strength."

"Actually, after meeting Lin Mu just now, I thought of a plan. When transporting the grain, we won't say it's for Lin Mu. If something happens to Sun Jian, we'll say the grain is for Sun Jian, and he won't be able to cause trouble afterward," Yang Hong said quietly.

A sly glint flashed in Yang Hong's eyes as he continued, "They could even say later that the provisions were originally intended for Sun Jian, but were intercepted by General Wei, Lin Mu, on the way!"

"Leave the conflict to them, let them fight like dogs!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu's eyes lit up. This guy truly lives up to his reputation as a strategist; his mind works incredibly fast.

Yuan Shu smiled with satisfaction and said in a deep voice, "Good, do as Yang Hong says. Ji Ling, go and arrange the manpower, prepare the provisions, and do some tampering in secret... Yang Hong, continue to keep an eye on Lin Mu and Sun Jian's situation. Report to me immediately if there is any disturbance."

Ji Ling and Yang Hong accepted the order in unison and went to make their own arrangements.

(End of this chapter)