Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

With Liu Bei having already occupied Yang Province, Yuan Shu naturally couldn't follow his original trajectory and establish his administrative center in Shouchun City, which belonged to the Jiujiang Commandery of Yang Province.

Therefore, Yuan Shu, settling for second best, simply made his hometown of Ruyang County his administrative center, governing the four commanderies and kingdoms under his control: Nanyang Commandery, Ruyang Commandery, Pei State, and Chen State.

Upon learning of the outbreak of war between Yi and Jing Provinces, Yuan Shu, who had long been preparing his troops, was ready to launch a full-scale attack, directly seize Xiangyang, and reclaim the Imperial Seal.

However, news arrived from the Jiujiang Commandery that Guan Yu was adopting an attitude of imminent invasion, citing the previous attack on merchants. This undoubtedly enraged Yuan Shu, causing him to sweep everything off the table in a fit of anger, scaring the several beautiful women who were attending to him into trembling.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Immediately, Yuan Shu roared at the officials below, both civil and military.

"A weaver and sandal seller, what does he intend? Does he really want to start a war with me for the sake of a couple of lowly merchants?!"

Faced with Yuan Shu's fury, the officials below all wore expressions of fear, not daring to speak, lest they say something that would incur Yuan Shu's wrath.

Especially since Yuan Shu had already prepared to appoint Ji Ling as general and lead an army of 150,000 to march south and directly take Xiangyang.

This sudden change of events undoubtedly forced Yuan Shu to divide his forces.

However, with fewer troops to attack Jing Province, the difficulty of capturing Xiangyang would undoubtedly increase greatly, which is why Yuan Shu was so furious.

"Speak! Are you all mute?"

Yuan Shu glared, and before his subordinates could speak, he pointed directly at the chief clerk, Yan Xiang, and said, "Chief Clerk Yan, what do you say… what does that Liu Da'er intend?"

Perhaps it was Cao Cao who inadvertently mentioned this nickname in front of Yuan Shu, which Yuan Shu greatly approved of, so in private, Yuan Shu almost always used "weaver and sandal seller" or "Liu Da'er" to contemptuously refer to Liu Bei.

Yan Xiang felt the rage in Yuan Shu's tone and subconsciously wiped the sweat from his forehead. After quickly thinking, he replied.

"My lord, in my opinion, I fear that Liu Da'er is afraid of your might, fearing that after you sweep through northern Jing and occupy all of Jing Province, Yang Province will be your next target. Therefore, he intends to use this as an excuse to restrain you from marching south."

Yuan Shu curled his lips and said.

"Did I need you to say that? With the Yuan family's reputation spanning four generations and three dukes, and my Yuan Shu's kingly demeanor, it's only natural that Liu Da'er would see me as a great enemy. What I want is a solution!"

"This… this…"

Yan Xiang really wasn't a person of quick wit. He thought of several methods in his head, but they were all full of loopholes and he didn't dare to speak.

"Get out of here, you useless thing! I see that Liu Da'er repeatedly asks that Li Ji, who comes from a humble background, for advice, and he always has a solution within four or five breaths. You and the others claim to be from noble families, but you are all inferior to that Li Ji."

Yuan Shu couldn't help but burst into a torrent of abuse, but there was no intention of punishment in his words, which made Yan Xiang secretly breathe a sigh of relief and retreat to the side with a look of shame.

Even though Yuan Shu's words were often harsh, Yan Xiang was grateful for the great courtesy he usually received.

Unable to share the burden of his lord, Yan Xiang was also filled with remorse.

Immediately, Yuan Shu looked at the chief secretary, Yang Hong, and said, "Chief Secretary Yang, do you have a solution?"

Yang Hong's expression was more calm and composed than Yan Xiang's, and he had more of the air of a famous scholar. When Yuan Shu called his name, he slowly stepped forward, saluted, and then spoke.

"My lord, as the saying goes, 'A small impatience will ruin great plans.' That Liu Da'er fears your might and only dares to use the matter of the lowly merchants as an excuse. Why not simply comply with Liu Da'er's wishes?"

After a pause, Yang Hong waved his sleeves and said, "In this way, what else can Liu Da'er, who claims to be determined to restore the Han Dynasty, say? He will not dare to invade Yu Province even more."

Yuan Shu frowned upon hearing this.

During the alliance against Dong Zhuo, allowing Liu Da'er to be ranked alongside him as a deputy leader had already made Yuan Shu very dissatisfied.

Now, if he had to respond and resolve even Liu Da'er's accusations regarding the lowly merchants, wouldn't that make me, Yuan Gonglu, appear to be lower than Liu Da'er?

"Impossible, what qualifications does that Liu Da'er have to make me, Yuan Gonglu, lower my head?" Yuan Shu said in a deep voice.

This made Yang Hong a little taken aback.

This was just a matter of responding to the situation and preventing Liu Bei from using it as an excuse to hinder Yuan Shu's attack on Jing Province. How could it make Yuan Shu appear to be lower than Liu Bei?

However, Yang Hong's thoughts turned, and he quickly said.

"It's not about letting you, my lord, bow your head to Liu Da'er, but rather about you, my lord, acting in accordance with the laws of the imperial court to arrest the murderer and hand him over to the court for punishment."

"Moreover, you, my lord, are showing great compassion by giving some compensation, considering that those lowly merchant families have lost their labor force. In this way, the world will know that your benevolence, my lord, is even greater than that of Liu Da'er."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu's face turned from anger to joy in a few breaths, and he felt that what Yang Hong said was quite reasonable, but his mouth was still a little stiff as he said.

"Indeed, we need to act in accordance with the laws of the imperial court, but if this matter spreads, it may still cause some people with ulterior motives to misunderstand."

Yang Hong quickly interjected.

"My lord, it's still that one saying: 'A small impatience will ruin great plans.' You, my lord, are from the famous Yuan family, so why should you haggle over every detail with Liu Da'er and degrade your status?"

"Furthermore, what you, my lord, are concerned about is the great cause. Even if those country bumpkins occasionally gossip, how would they know your ambition, my lord? You, my lord, might as well endure some trivial words."

As soon as Yang Hong's voice fell, Lei Bo quickly stepped out from the crowd and cupped his hands, saying.

"A subject should die for his lord's humiliation. If anyone dares to slander you, my lord, behind your back, Lei will surely take his life with my broadsword and deter those ignorant villains."

"Good, good, good!"

Yuan Shu's face was filled with joy, and he said, "With your assistance, how can the great cause not be accomplished?"

Immediately, the officials understood and saluted in unison.

"We are willing to follow you, my lord, to build a great cause together."

Immediately, Yuan Shu ordered a deputy general to lead a thousand men to find the rebellious soldiers who had attacked and killed the Yangzhou merchants, and then asked Yang Hong to go to Yangzhou to discuss compensation matters.

However, for the sake of stability, Yuan Shu also appointed Qiao Rui as general and led 20,000 troops to station in Ruyin, blocking the Ying River and preventing Guan Yu from leading troops north.

In addition to this, considering Liu Bei's threat, Yuan Shu, while preparing to send troops to Jing Province, continued to order the conscription of young men in his territory, either to join the army or to transport grain as laborers, expanding the number of troops.

Two days later.

With everything prepared, Yuan Shu, unable to wait for the latest news from Yangzhou, continued to conscript young men to prepare for any eventuality, while personally heading towards Nanyang Commandery, accompanied by more than 100,000 troops.

To the outside world, Yuan Shu claimed to have 250,000 troops, and under the pretext that Liu Biao had killed his good friend Sun Jian for no reason, he raised troops to avenge Sun Jian, and began a mighty southward invasion of Jing Province.

Li Ji, who learned of this news at the first moment, only felt that it was truly a dark joke.

Yuan Shu wants to avenge Sun Jian…

It was really that Yuan Shu couldn't find any excuse to attack Jing Province, and even dug up Sun Jian, who had once drawn his sword against him, as an excuse.

When the news of Yuan Shu's dispatch of troops reached Liu Biao's ears, Liu Biao, who was stationed in Yiling, had been fighting back and forth with the Yi Province soldiers for nearly a month. (End of this chapter)