Sun Quan's face was livid, he stood up and said calmly: "Whether it's an argument or a rumor, you can say anything, but we must discuss the outcome today, otherwise we won't go home..."

"Wei." The fierce atmosphere was suppressed, and the officials responded in unison with their hands raised.

Seeing Sun Quan leaving the table, Sun Shao quickly asked: "Lord, where are you going?"

Sun Quan said softly: "It's unbearably hot in the palace. I'm going out to cool off. I hope you will have a good plan when I come back later. Changxu (Sun Shao), I'll leave it to you to preside over this place."

"Uh...only..." Sun Shao bowed his hands in salute.

After saying this, Sun Quan left the palace, returned to the palace, changed into plain clothes, and went to the market in Jianye. Several tiger soldiers took him through the streets and alleys, and finally stopped in front of a wealthy trading house.

"Inside the guests..." The boy in front of the door saw that the visitor had a good appearance and stepped aside before he finished his welcome speech.

The shopkeeper Yu Xiu (Hu Ke) was fiddling with his abacus in front of the stage. When he looked up, he saw that Sun Quan had arrived in person. He quickly patted his robe and went to greet him.

"The shopkeeper...they..." the boy stammered. He was overwhelmed by the momentum of those tiger soldiers and couldn't even speak clearly.

"Wait at the door, I will personally receive this distinguished guest..." Yu Xiu finished instructing the boy, and bowed to Sun Quan with a smile, "Please come in, distinguished guest, I still have some good stuff hidden away..."

Sun Quan nodded slightly when he saw this, followed Yu Xiu to the back of the hall, passed through two corridors and came to the familiar secret room. The guard in charge of the tiger guarded the door as usual.

After closing the door, Yu Xiu called out to the Lord and bowed to him.

Sun Quan hurriedly helped Yu Xiu up: "Since you are sincere, there is no need to be polite."

Yu Xiu led Sun Quan to sit down and asked carefully: "It is rumored that Cao Pi's troops are approaching the border. My lord should go to court to discuss with the ministers. Why did you come to the trading house at this time..."

"The ministers were arguing endlessly, which made me really upset, so I went out for a walk and accidentally ended up here."

In a position like Sun Quan's, he would not do anything meaningless. Although he said he was just walking around casually, in fact his goal was very clear. He was here to find Yu Xiu.

Yu Xiu nodded slightly and explained in a low voice: "Since the last war with Jingzhou, the general's cargo ship has never left Yangzhou again, so there is no news about Jingzhou and Jiaozhou recently..."

"I know this very well. The current situation is equivalent to severing diplomatic relations. It's normal for you not to have new information. The Zhang family did a lot of work when they redeemed prisoners of war last time. I know Zicheng did a lot." Sun Quan.

Nod slightly.

Yu Xiu smiled and said: "Actually, it's nothing. It's just good that I can share my worries with the Lord."

"It's a pity that the Zhang family contributed a lot of money, but in the end they didn't get any part. I remember that Zicheng was at Shi Xie's place. Didn't he serve as a soldier? Find a way to get the Zhang family to push you out, so that I can give it to you more easily.

Reward Buqu." Sun Quan suggested.

Yu Xiu clasped his fists and replied: "Huishu has three brothers, so I, the son-in-law, can't get his turn. In addition, the relationship between the general and the lord cannot be hidden from other wealthy families..."

Hu Ke acted cautiously and tactfully, and was liked by his peers and elders in the Zhang family. If he really wanted to win the army, he would have the ability to ask the Zhang family to help him come to power. However, Hu Ke was worried about being sent to Jingzhou to fight. Besides not wanting to commit suicide, Hu Ke was worried about being sent to Jingzhou to fight.

In addition to killing each other, it was also contrary to his intention of lurking in Jiangdong.

Lantian asked Hu Ke to lurk in Jiangdong, not to let him assassinate a certain official or general, nor to let him become a high official. The main purpose was to disintegrate the interest groups in Jiangdong, try to gain a voice among the Jiangdong nobles, and seize Yangzhou and stabilize it in the future.

People’s hearts are prepared.

Sun and Liu were at war in Jingzhou. During the negotiations, Hu Ke used his intelligence methods to deliberately create rumors in the rear, making the Huaisi faction more antagonistic to the Jiangdong gentry. He also incited Shanyue rebellions in various places to restrain Sun Quan.

The reason why everything went smoothly was because of Hu Ke's status as a businessman and because Sun Quan was protecting him. Hu Ke could reasonably spread rumors while collecting intelligence for Sun Quan.

If Hu Ke becomes a gentry general leading troops, people from the Huaisi faction will immediately pay attention to him. At that time, no matter how good the cover-up is, problems can easily occur. Jiangdong is notorious for its internal fighting, so Hu Ke thinks that being a businessman is a good idea.

, at least the Huaisi sect and the Jiangdong gentry look down on such a cheap industry.

Only by not being noticed can you stay hidden.

"Well, that makes sense, but you can also make money for the orphan. Didn't you use the trading company's money to redeem someone last time?" Sun Quan asked.

Yu Xiu shook his head and said: "Don't worry, my lord, none of your money has been touched. Just let me know when you need it..."

"You Zecheng will help me. I have few opportunities to use money. You can buy everything I want." Sun Quan nodded happily, and then let out a long sigh.

"My lord seems unhappy?" Yu Xiu asked.

"Cao Pi's troops are pressing down on the border, can An Neng relax his frown? After the last defeat in Jingzhou, the strength of Jiangdong's navy has been greatly reduced. I think Chaisang's garrison will go to Ruxu, but they are always worried that Gan Ning will take the opportunity to invade. When the time comes, they will lose sight of one thing and Jiangdong is in danger.

That’s right..." Sun Quan shook his head and frowned.

Yu Xiu thought for a while and said firmly: "In fact, my lord, you can rest assured that the Jingzhou soldiers will not take advantage of the situation to invade. You can just transfer the Chaisang navy to Huainan with peace of mind."

"How can you see it?" Sun Quan asked.

"If the two trading houses on the other side are fighting each other for profit, I will never end up trying to sideline one side." Yu Xiu answered from the perspective of business.

"Why?" Sun Quan became interested.

Yu Xiu said with a smile: "The two companies are fighting each other for profit, or cutting prices, or dumping, just to annex the other party and monopolize the leader. I just need to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, prepare well to hoard goods, and wait until they both lose, then I can

Be invincible."

Sun Quan tapped the table gently, "Guan Yu and Lantian started a war with both families at the same time. Even if they won in the end, their own losses were not small. They should really rest and recuperate..."

Yu Xiu added: "According to the news from Chai Sang, Gan Ning expanded the city and built fortifications in E County, which completely shows that they are unable to move eastward."

"I have moved all the people in E County. Gan Ning is building a city and fortifications there at this time. Does it mean that he is also guarding against our counterattack?" Sun Quan said to himself.

"My lord is wise." Yu Xiu cupped his fists and complimented.

Sun Quan stroked his purple beard and was puzzled, "It seems that the property Lantian defrauded from Jiangdong will probably be used in the empty city in E County, let alone recruiting troops. How could Liu Bei be so stupid?"

"My lord, do you know why I use a small cargo ship?" Yu Xiu asked.

"Why?"

"Because it is difficult for large cargo ships to turn around when encountering narrow rivers. If they extend the battle line to the east of the Yangtze River, their supply line will be too long. If they are not careful, big problems will occur..."

"That makes sense... Then I will transfer him from Chaisang immediately. I just have to prepare money and food every time. I really don't want to look at Gu Yuantan's face..." Sun Quan frowned again.

Yu Xiu smiled slightly and said: "My lord, send troops as soon as possible. I will discuss the money and food issues with the Zhang family, and I should be able to partially solve it."

Sun Quan patted Yu Xiu on the shoulder and sighed: "Hey, it would be great if all the ministers in the court could be like Zicheng and share my worries..."

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Chapter completed!