A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Shen Pei quickly took the data he had collected and went to find Yuan Shao.

Xu You and the others rushed over after receiving the news. Although we don't know what Shen Pei discovered, it must be something serious that made Shen Pei's expression change so drastically.

When Xu You and the others arrived, Yuan Shao's face was already ashen; he hadn't expected that there would be a traitor among his men.

Someone betrayed him and colluded with Cao Cao. What does that mean? Does it mean he thinks Cao Cao is inferior to him?!

This is undoubtedly his Achilles' heel!

Yuan Shao coldly glanced at Xu You and the others who had entered. Only those present were qualified to obtain the military secrets of the Jin army.

The person who leaked the information must be among them.

Xu You and the others felt that Yuan Shao was like a volcano about to erupt, ready to burn them to ashes at any moment.

"My lord, what has happened?"

Guo Tu stepped forward and asked.

Yuan Shao gestured for Shen Pei to explain to everyone.

"I have studied all the battlefield losses in recent days, as well as the battles on these battlefields, and found that the Qi army anticipated all our marching routes and was always able to anticipate the enemy's moves."

What does this tell us?

"This means that some of you present have defected to the King of Qi and passed on our army's military secrets to him!"

Xu You, Guo Tu, and the others felt a chill run down their spines, but their expressions remained unchanged.

They're all seasoned foxes, so naturally they wouldn't let such a small thing reveal any flaws on their faces.

They handed over the information they had gathered to Xu You, and then the Jin army suffered a defeat. How could they not know what Xu You had done?

But this is a blow to the Third Young Master's faction, which is advantageous to them, so they naturally turn a blind eye and support it.

Moreover, they were all confident that they had done it so skillfully that they would never be discovered.

"Impossible, Shen Pei, do you know what you're saying?"

"Are you aware of the political implications of your statement?"

Xu You was the first to stand up in opposition. His faction had always been at odds with Shen Pei, so even though he stood up, no one would associate it with anything else.

"Then how do you explain that every single one of our plans was seen through? And how the Qi army was able to ambush us so perfectly every time?"

Shen Pei countered with a question.

"Then I'll have to ask you."

"You are the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in this war!"

"You're the only one who has a clear understanding of the Jin army's entire strategy!"

"Besides you, who else could have mastered all these plans and advances?"

"Or are you trying to say it's the Prince of Jin?!"

Xu You retorted that he had already come up with an excuse.

Many of those documents were obtained at great cost, even by using deeply hidden agents.

Logically speaking, even if his faction mobilized its full strength, it shouldn't have received this information.

This raises another question: theoretically, only two people should know all this information.

Shen Pei and Yuan Shao.

If someone is a traitor, then that traitor must be one of the two.

The Prince of Jin couldn't possibly be the traitor; the traitor was myself?

Shen Pei was dumbfounded; in his anger, he hadn't even considered this.

Or perhaps it was something they subconsciously ignored.

He knew very well that some of the plans involved were unknown to anyone but him.

Out of trust, Yuan Shao did not inquire about everything. In other words, there was only one person who could obtain all the military plans, and that was Shen Pei.

Only if Shen Pei defected to the enemy could Cao Cao's army have achieved such a victory.

But how is that possible?!

Although he knew he hadn't defected to the enemy, Shen Pei was drenched in cold sweat because he felt a scrutinizing gaze constantly scanning him.

This attention came from Yuan Shao.

"My lord, I am utterly loyal to you and have no other intentions whatsoever!"

"Furthermore, I have already reached the highest position under my lord's command. Even if I were to defect to the King of Qi, what rewards would the King of Qi bestow upon me?"

"Could the rewards I have received possibly compare to those bestowed upon the King of Qi's confidants?"

Shen Pei's words made Yuan Shao's scrutinizing gaze dim. Shen Pei was right; people can betray anything, but they will never betray their own interests.

It doesn't make sense logically.

"Two possibilities."

Just as Shen Pei was relieved, Xu You's soft voice came over.

Shen Pei and Yuan Shao looked over, and Xu You held up two fingers.

"Firstly, Shen Pei was Cao Cao's man from the very beginning. Given Shen Pei's character, even if he now holds a higher position, he would not betray his former master."

"Secondly, Cao Aman promised Shen Pei the title of king and was even willing to support Shen Pei in going out to establish his own kingdom. Only such benefits could make Shen Pei betray him."

Xu You not only wanted to take the opportunity to kill Shen Pei, but also to seize control of the three armies and obtain Yuan Shao's promise to make him a king.

Yuan Shao's gaze sharpened again as he stared at Shen Pei for a long time before finally looking away.

"Those who make great contributions in this battle will be made kings, granted land and fiefdoms, and their reigns will last for ten thousand generations."

Yuan Shao said calmly.

No one could tell what Yuan Shao was thinking or whether he had been persuaded by Xu You.

"Everyone, step back."

"promise."

The crowd split into two groups and retreated, each glaring fiercely at the other.

Xu You hadn't expected that he wouldn't be able to take this opportunity to get rid of Shen Pei.

However, as the person who knew Yuan Shao best, he already knew that Yuan Shao intended to kill Shen Pei.

Unless Shen Pei defeats Cao Cao and proves his innocence.

But he won't give Shen Pei that chance.

The one who led the army to defeat Cao Cao could only be Xu You!

For a while afterward, Xu You behaved himself and did not commit any more crimes.

He's not stupid; right now, the entire military camp is definitely being watched closely by Yuan Shao and Shen Pei's faction.

If he dares to stand out, he'll definitely get caught red-handed.

Shen Pei also found that their battle casualty rate had decreased significantly during this period.

But it was still higher than the Qi army.

It's almost 1.5:1.

In other words, their army's combat effectiveness was generally lower than that of the Qi army.

It's down by a full 50%.

This data terrified Shen Pei. Without the factor of being at a disadvantage in terms of strategy, he finally saw the problem completely.

The Qi army is stronger than the Jin army in all aspects of combat power!

This result was somewhat unbelievable to him. He knew the elite status of the Jin army. He knew that the establishment of this army was with the participation of the Wei family, and Yuan Shao had spared no expense in training it.

How could there be such a big difference?

impossible!

When the data was placed on Yuan Shao's desk, Yuan Shao looked at Shen Pei with an expression that seemed to say, "Are you dreaming?"

He knew perfectly well what Qi Jun was really like.

His Jin army was roughly the same size as his own, and they had fought side by side so many times that this fact could not possibly escape his notice.

Are you presenting this data now to fabricate the opponent's strength in order to cover up your own incompetence?

"My lord only needs to send someone to investigate, and he will find out!"

Sensing the firmness in Shen Pei's words, Yuan Shao summoned his nephew Gao Gan and instructed him to verify the information.