At the beginning, I gave up my military power with a cup of wine, and I ascended the throne

Chapter 263: Jizhou’s Situation
The cool breeze blows away the heat of the day, the cicadas chirp in the background, and a white moon is reflected in the Guanyu Lake not far away.

The long robe fluttered, the shadows of the trees swayed, and wrapped in the moonlight, he walked towards Xie Peiyao's guest house.

Under the hazy moonlight.

The woman was practicing sword skills in the courtyard. She was extremely sharp and murderous, and seemed to be practicing very hard.

He didn't even notice Xiao Han approaching.

After practicing a set of sword techniques, Xie Peiyao wiped the sweat from his forehead, sheathed his sword, and said coldly: "You are the dignified Xiliang Marquis, but you are not sleeping in the middle of the night and come to peek at a woman practicing sword. If it gets out, it will not be good."

“It can’t be spread.”

He shook his head, walked out from the moonlight, put his hands behind his back, and walked towards the lobby on his own.

"This is the Xiliang Marquis's residence. No one will know what this Marquis doesn't want others to know."

"The Marquis is really overbearing."

Xie Peiyao sneered.

"Does the Second Miss know Master Xun?"

Xiao Han sat down in the lobby in a familiar manner, while Xie Peiyao's two servants lowered their heads and sat far away.

Obviously, he was extremely afraid of this Marquis of Xiliang.

Especially the servant girl whose two teeth were knocked out by Miaoyu, her limbs became weak.

"What are you doing in a daze?"

He said calmly, "Go serve tea to this Lord."

"promise."

The two servants hurriedly responded and left.

Many years ago, when he was still in the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, Xiao Han's ferocity made the servants and guards in each courtyard of the mansion terrified.

Xie Peiyao was known for her savageness, willfulness, arrogance and domineering behavior, and even her servants were extremely tough.

But he never dared to act presumptuously in front of Xiao Han.

"My Lord is so majestic."

Xie Peiyao's face was cold, and he slammed his sword on the table: "When do you plan to send troops?"

"Not urgent."

He shook his head: "When the time comes, we will send troops."

"I just want to tell you that Master Xun's carriage is coming from Shangdang."

"The Construction Department has already selected a location and will start construction soon. We will build a school in Qi County, appoint Master Xun as the chief priest, and recruit talents from all over the world to serve us."

"Humph."

Xie Peiyao snorted coldly.

"My Lord, please have some tea."

The servant girl came back and Xiao Han took the tea from her hand, blew away the white hot steam, and took a sip.

"see a visitor out."

Xie Peiyao's face was as cold as black ice. The two servants opened their mouths but did not dare to speak when they heard her.

"No need to chase the guests away, Miss."

Xiao Han put down the teacup, stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked out of the lobby.

"Get ready. You will go with me to fight in mid-September."

After leaving these words, he walked away.

According to Guo Tu's estimation, by mid-August at the latest, Jizhou's one million dan of grain and fodder should have been almost consumed.

Xiliang will send troops by mid-August at the latest, but he wants some time to prove his judgment.

What will be the Northern Wei’s reaction when Jizhou’s food and grass are cut off?

If the Northern Wei took the opportunity to attack Jizhou, then my judgment would most likely be wrong, but I could not rule out the possibility that both sides were setting a trap for me.

But if Jizhou's food supply was cut off and the Northern Wei slowed down its offensive, there must be something fishy going on.

It all depends on how skilled the expert behind the Jizhou Northern Wei is.

Xie Peiyao watched the man walk out of the courtyard, but her heart sank to the bottom. Xiao Han didn't say much tonight.

But it was like two heavy hammers, hitting his heart hard.

The Master entered Xiliang.

The troops were dispatched in mid-September.

Especially the news of sending troops in mid-September, which made Xie Peiyao puzzled. She had a very smart mind and extraordinary attainments in military strategy.

"Given Jizhou's current situation, a million dan of grain and grass, in addition to supporting 400,000 troops, also has to be allocated to provide relief to the people." She couldn't help but say, "It can only last until mid-August at best. Xiao Han couldn't have failed to calculate this, but he chose to send out troops in mid-September."

"If Jizhou runs short of food and grass this month, there is a high possibility that it will be conquered by the Northern Wei. With his planning, it is impossible for this possibility to occur."

"After a moment, Xie Peiyao seemed to have figured something out. Her eyes widened, and within them, there was a shock of power."

But beneath this shock, there was a hint of fear.

"impossible."

Xie Peiyao shook her head and suppressed her thoughts. She didn't want to believe that possibility.

She didn't even dare to face that possibility. At this moment, outside of Xilianghou's mansion, she had no way of passing on information to the outside world, nor could she contact the spies in Jizhou.

"Miss, what's wrong?"

Two personal servants were concerned.

"nothing."

She shook her head, stood up and walked towards the inner hall.

"Sir, if you say that, I'm afraid the second young lady won't be able to sleep."

In the side hall, Miaoyu came to greet them.

"If there is nothing wrong with your heart, why can't you sleep?"

Xiao Han curled his lips, "I want to see if she can sit still."

"I've been keeping a close eye on her these days."

People like Xie Peiyao cannot be tortured to get anything out of them. Tonight, Xiao Han wants to confuse the second young lady first, and then she will reveal her true colors.

"Don't worry, sir."

Miaoyu nodded.

In August, the autumn harvest started in the five counties of Youzhou one after another. Anyang started first, then Changshan, Dai County, Tianyuan and Shanggu followed closely behind. All five counties had a bumper harvest.

All the county governments and government offices were busy, followed by Xiliang County, Xia Pi, and finally Shangdang.

At the end of August, the autumn harvest in various places was completed one after another.

"Sir, Jizhou and Northern Wei haven't fought for half a month."

Shuiyun Mountain.

Inside the Xilianghou Mansion.

Miaoyu came in with a letter in her hand, "This is the news from our spies in Jizhou. The food and fodder we ordered have run out."

"Almost at the same time, Helian Bobo withdrew his troops."

"Haha."

Xiao Han's eyebrows danced with joy: "See, these two old guys are up to no good and want to trick me into joining the game."

"Well, let's see who is in the game and who is the chess player."

He had been staring at this news for many days.

"My Lord, the second young lady's servant tried to sneak out of the mansion, but was caught by the patrolling brothers."

Huang San walked in, escorting the servant.

"My Lord, spare my life."

"I didn't mean to run away. I just felt a little bored staying in the mansion, so I wanted to walk around."

The toothless slave fell to her knees and begged bitterly.

"How dare this slut lie."

Huang San had a gloomy face and slapped him to the ground, then brought up a servant who was tied up.

"Zhao Wu, tell me, how did she seduce you?"

Faced with Huang San's questioning, the servant named Zhao Wu had no choice but to tell the truth.

It turned out that Xie Peiyao's maid had seduced him, and after much pleading, Zhao Wu agreed. He wanted to take her out when the guards were on patrol.

But he was discovered by Huang San who was following him secretly.

"My Lord, the Second Miss is here."

Qingyao came to report.

"not see."

Xiao Han waved his hand and said, "Take these two away and interrogate them strictly."

(End of this chapter)