The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

After Xu You expressed his opinion, Shen Pei, Guo Tu and others shared the same idea: to exchange Qingzhou for the extremely important Youzhou, and there would be plenty of opportunities to avenge this grudge in the future.

"Alright, since you all agree, who should we send to negotiate with Qin Xuan?"

After resolving the unification issue, a new problem arose for Yuan Shao. Although he was the lord, this humiliating negotiation of bowing to Qin Xuan required a skilled and eloquent person to avoid being led by the nose at the negotiating table.

Upon hearing Yuan Shao's words, the civil officials and strategists lowered their heads like ostriches, fearing that the task would fall to them.

This is no easy task; you might end up taking the blame later.

Seeing that these strategists who were just chatting away were now all dejected, Yuan Shao was furious. Since no one was willing to take on this heavy responsibility, he would have to personally appoint someone.

His deep gaze swept over the strategists, and everyone was so frightened that they dared not breathe. Xu You silently prayed in his heart, "Don't look for me, don't look for me."

What you fear most is what happens. Just as Xu You was praying for divine protection, Yuan Shao spoke up:

"Xu You, you are my most trusted strategist. You will go to Qingzhou to negotiate with Qin Xuan. We can give up other places, but Pingyuan County must be in our hands."

"This is our bottom line. If they don't agree, war will be our only option!"

As a crucial strategic buffer zone in Ji Province, Pingyuan County in Qingzhou was not something Yuan Shao would readily relinquish to Qin Xuan. Without this buffer zone, the region would be vulnerable to strategic attacks from Xu Province and Yan Province, leaving Yuan Shao with little time to react.

In addition, a large part of Qingzhou's agriculture, commerce, and handicrafts were located in the plains, which was an important source of revenue for Yuan Shao.

"promise!"

Although Xu You was dissatisfied, he still accepted the task. If he dared to shirk his responsibilities, the consequences would be dire.

Seeing that Xu You had accepted the order, Yuan Shao nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly slapped his forehead as if remembering something, and turned his gaze to the ranks of military officers:

"Furthermore, Wen Chou will lead 10,000 troops to reinforce Pingyuan; depart immediately!"

"Yes, sir!" Wen Chou, one of the military officers, immediately stepped forward and replied, "Rest assured, my lord, I will certainly not fail in my mission!"

That afternoon, Wen Chou and Xu You led 10,000 troops to Pingyuan.

········

At the same time, Jia Xu, acting on Qin Xuan's orders, arrived in Zhang Xiu's territory in Nanyang with dozens of guards in disguise.

With the intelligence support of the Black Ice Guard's spies, Jia Xu learned that Zhang Xiu had already held two meetings with Guo Jia, and Guo Jia was currently waiting in the city for Zhang Xiu's definitive answer.

Furthermore, he also sent people to monitor Zhang Xiu's every move, and Guo Jia would know if any unidentified person met with him.

Therefore, just to be on the safe side, Jia Xu decided to visit Zhang Xiu late at night, since people's vigilance becomes very poor at night, and the efficiency of surveillance is greatly reduced.

As night fell, Zhang Xiu, who had been busy all day, embraced his beloved concubine and drifted off to sleep early.

"Bang~~bang~~bang!" In the dead of night, a series of urgent knocks on the door shattered Zhang Xiu's sweet dream, pulling him back to reality.

"Who is it?" Zhang Xiu shouted sleepily toward the door. His concubine, who had also been woken up, curled up in his arms, at a loss.

The steward outside the door heard that Zhang Xiu had woken up, and his heart skipped a beat. He whispered:

"General, a distinguished guest of unknown identity has come to visit. He seemed rather mysterious, so I dared not delay him and thus disturbed your sweet dreams!"

Zhang Xiu, now wide awake, frowned slightly and thought to himself, "Who could possibly be visiting at this hour? It's really strange."

Although Zhang Xiu had some doubts, his damned curiosity compelled him to get dressed as quickly as possible, comfort his concubine, and leave the room.

"Didn't the other party identify themselves?"

Upon arriving outside the bedroom, Zhang Xiu asked, puzzled.

"No, that person said you'll find out when you get there!" The butler shook his head. The other person hadn't revealed their identity, and he was too embarrassed to ask, in case they were some important figure he couldn't possibly meet.

"Come on, take me to see it!" Upon hearing the steward's words, Zhang Xiu became even more curious.

The butler then led Zhang Xiu to the living room to meet the mysterious distinguished guest.

Inside the living room, the dim candlelight flickered on and off, and a thin middle-aged man looked at Zhang Xiu with a smile.

"Mr. Wenhe, it's you! You're still alive?"

Looking at Jia Xu's face, Zhang Xiu was quite surprised and asked with his hands clasped in greeting.

After Jia Xu devised a plan to capture Chang'an, Zhang Xiu never saw him again, but now they met late at night.

"Hehe, of course I'm still alive! Besides, Duan Wei and I have both surrendered to Qin Xuan in Xuzhou!"

Jia Xu replied with a smile, showing no concern whatsoever for Zhang Xiu's offensive greeting.

"What? You've actually sided with Qin Xuan of Xuzhou? What brings you here in the dead of night?"

Zhang Xiu was very surprised that Jia Xu had defected to Qin Xuan and inquired about the purpose of his visit.

"Youwei, I heard that Cao Cao has sent someone to persuade us, is that right?"

Jia Xu did not answer Zhang Xiu's question, but instead asked a question in return, thus taking the initiative.

"Yes, Mr. Wenhe, your information network is truly impressive. Cao Cao has already sent someone to discuss this with me, but I'm still hesitant to make a decision!"

Zhang Xiu walked to the table, knelt down, and said, without hiding anything.

Jia Xu smiled faintly after hearing this, realizing that everything was still in time, and then got straight to the point:

"Youwei, you know why I'm here: to submit to Qin Xuan. After all, Duan Wei is living a very comfortable life now, and you don't want to be worse off than him, do you?"

"But if you want to pledge allegiance to Cao Cao, that's not a pleasant prospect!"

"Why?" Zhang Xiu was puzzled by Jia Xu's words. Why was it not a good thing to join Cao Cao?

Jia Xu then explained:

"Have you forgotten that you come from the Xiliang Army? Cao Cao suffered a lot at the hands of our Xiliang Army. Moreover, Cao Cao is cunning and suspicious."

"If you defect to them, will you be given an important position?"

"And once you lose your sharp fangs, any promises will vanish!"

"The generals commanding troops around Cao Cao are all his relatives; you won't get much advancement there!"

"Think it over carefully!"

After saying this, Jia Xu closed his eyes with an air of mystery, letting Zhang Xiu ponder the meaning behind it.

Listening to Jia Xu's analysis, Zhang Xiu felt a pang of anxiety and began to ponder the implications.

Jia Xu and Duan Wei have already pledged allegiance to Qin Xuan and are doing quite well so far. If I were to also pledge allegiance to him, I might be able to develop even better with my excellent martial arts skills. Moreover, I haven't heard of any negative impact from Qin Xuan, and the lives of the people of Xuzhou are gradually returning to normal.

Cao Cao was once a major enemy of the Xiliang army. If he had surrendered to Cao Cao, his life might not be as good as it is now. More importantly, Jia Xu and Duan Wei had already formed a force to be reckoned with under Qin Xuan.

By joining Qin Xuan, one could also have allies from the Xiliang army faction as a backing.

Having understood all this, Zhang Xiu solemnly replied to the feigning-sleep Jia Xu, "Mr. Wenhe, I will follow your advice and submit to Qin Xuan of Xuzhou!"

Humans are social creatures; it's better to stick together and keep warm than to fight alone.

"Okay, Youwei, you'll be happy with your decision. Now that we're family, come closer, I have something to tell you!"

Upon hearing Zhang Xiu's agreement, Jia Xu slowly opened his eyes and beckoned the other man closer to explain the most important reason for his visit.

Zhang Xiu quickly went to Jia Xu's side and listened attentively to Jia Xu's instructions.