Chapter 870: Creating Facts

Dong Zhao was quite self-aware and kept his actions clean. With numerous connections in different places, Yuan Shao’s camp remained unaware of his dealings with Chen Xi. Otherwise, he would never have been allowed to participate in such life-and-death discussions.

Xu You and Ju Shou knew that Dong Zhao had some unclear ties with Cao Cao, but since both sides were allies, they didn’t investigate too thoroughly. Furthermore, Dong Zhao had not yet crossed any lines.

As for why Ju Shou and Xu You had specifically warned Dong Zhao this time, it was merely a precaution to prevent any unexpected issues. Dong Zhao, on the other hand, believed that they might have caught wind of some of his actions. While this made him somewhat uneasy, he was also relieved that his actions hadn't seriously endangered Yuan Shao yet.

Under this misunderstanding, Dong Zhao sent a secret letter to Chen Xi after Ju Shou initiated his grand strategy. The letter contained confidential information about Yuan Shao’s dwindling supplies, clearing any doubts Ju Shou and Xu You might have had about him. However, Dong Zhao would later deeply regret this letter, as using a spy poorly can be fatal.

In this context, Ju Shou and Tian Feng secretly transported supplies from Julu through Wei Commandery, expending a great deal of time and effort to bring them to Dongwu Yang. They then instructed Yuan Shao’s soldiers to pile dirt and build fortifications, creating the illusion of preparing for permanent defense. In reality, they were concealing the additional supplies.

After several trips back and forth, the soldiers successfully buried enough supplies to feed 150,000 troops for ten days beneath Yuan Shao’s eastern camp. With this done, Tian Feng ceased further stockpiling.

All the soldiers involved in this operation were sent to the rear under the guise of troop rotations. Apart from a select few, no one else knew about the large amount of supplies hidden under the camp.

With this, Yuan Shao’s forces had the resources to turn the enemy’s plans against them. Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and Shen Pei then focused their efforts on refining this grand strategy.

Meanwhile, Li You, stationed in the rear, received a secret letter from Ju Shou. It contained no details about Yuan Shao, only two requests: to confirm whether Fazheng was in Taishan and to find a way to delay Xun Yue’s grain deliveries.

After reading the letter, Li You calmly burned it. In essence, the letter indicated that Ju Shou’s camp had received intelligence about Liu Bei’s forces attacking Ye City.

Li You quickly wrote a detailed report on Fazheng and Zhang Fei’s assault on Ye City. However, it was of little use. By the time the letter arrived, Ye City’s supply lines would likely already have been cut.

In fact, by the time Li You’s letter reached its destination, Yuan Shao’s forces would have already received the same information. As for the details of Fazheng and Zhang Fei’s troop deployments, the report was 90% false, with the remaining 10% set up as a deadly trap.

As for delaying Xun Yue’s grain deliveries, Li You found it a trivial matter. While publicly, Xun Yue was said to be managing affairs in Taishan, the real authority was Li You.

Li You decisively planned to set fire to the largest granary built on the surface. Most of the grain had already been relocated, and special incense was burned to create the scent of roasted grain. That night, the entire city of Fenggao was filled with the aroma, making it impossible for Xun Yue to hide the "fact" that the grain had been burned.

Thanks to a special courier system, Liu Bei was informed of the situation the same day, while Yuan Shao’s spies learned of it three days later. By that time, Ju Shou had already received Li You’s secret report.

Previously suspicious of Li You, both Xu You and Ju Shou were now fully convinced. They no longer doubted Li You and felt fortunate to have such a high-ranking spy on their side.

Previous Chapter | | Next Chapter