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Chapter 1026: Insufficient
Chapter 1026: Insufficient
September 25, 2017
Among everyone, Baron Yuan was undoubtedly the most politically aware.
As the instigator of the Three Heroes Surrounding One Tyrant, he was well aware that Lu HaiKong held the greatest grudge against him. Not only Lu HaiKong, but even Emperor's Tyrant Dong Zhuo would be hard to please. So, he had prepared himself to pay a hefty price to avoid disaster.
However, Lu HaiKong's letter, which essentially said, "You deal with it," drove Baron Yuan mad.
What did "You deal with it" mean?
In other words, "I'm giving you a chance, so perform well and satisfy me. If you don't, I'll make you suffer!"
It was clear that Lu HaiKong had already positioned himself as the victorious party, which infuriated Baron Yuan.
But what could he do? Did he dare to challenge Lu HaiKong? Baron Yuan didn't have the courage for that at this moment.
Yet, when faced with the task of dealing with it himself, he was at a loss for a while.
This wasn't a simple matter of offering some compensation and calling it a day. He needed to consider the extent of his actions. He couldn't offer too much, giving Lu HaiKong the misconception that he was an easy target and leading to his exploitation. Nor could he offer too little, causing Lu HaiKong to think he lacked sincerity and seek trouble.
This dilemma troubled Baron Yuan for a while, and in the end, he had no choice but to seek advice from Ju Shou.
Ever since the battle report of Lu HaiKong defeating Emperor's Tyrant Dong Zhuo reached Ju Shou, his entire focus had shifted.
His initial task of assisting Baron Yuan in developing Jizhou had suddenly transformed into researching Lu HaiKong.
After all, they had thought that Lu HaiKong couldn't stir up much trouble, and they didn't need to pay him any mind. But Lu HaiKong had proven them wrong.
In this situation, it wasn't just about the embarrassment of being defeated; more importantly, they now had to face Lu HaiKong, a formidable opponent.
When dealing with this formidable opponent, regardless of the level of interaction, the first step was always to gain a deeper and more detailed understanding of Lu HaiKong, as this could never be wrong.
This was what Ju Shou had been doing for some time.
He gathered all the information and intelligence they could find about Lu HaiKong and spent several days and nights studying it, almost without rest. When Baron Yuan found him, he saw a weary man.
Baron Yuan arrived just as Ju Shou was finishing his work, and he was in a state of mental relaxation, appearing slightly tired.
However, upon understanding Baron Yuan's purpose, Ju Shou immediately became alert.
At this moment, the decision regarding this matter was of utmost importance to them. Facing this issue, Ju Shou couldn't afford to be unfocused.
Even though he was alert, the six characters, "You deal with it," still left Ju Shou feeling helpless.
Staring at those six characters, Ju Shou rubbed his sore eyes and, after a while, suggested one thing: "Delay!"
"My lord, instead of rushing into it, it's best to buy some time. We should contact Emperor's Tyrant Dong Zhuo and Zhang Yan, and then the three of us can negotiate with Lu HaiKong together. This would be the most advantageous position for us."
"The reason Lu HaiKong is in such a hurry, sending messages to us and dispatching envoys to Emperor's Tyrant Dong Zhuo, is that he's afraid of us forming an alliance and negotiating with him together. That would undoubtedly increase our bargaining power."
"He's using three completely different approaches with us to divide us and defeat us one by one. The more we face this situation, the more we need to unite. Even though we lost this time, it doesn't mean Lu HaiKong has nothing to fear from our alliance."
In the end, Ju Shou proposed this solution, which, though not ideal, made sense.
As long as the three of them appeared together at Lu HaiKong's negotiation table, their negotiation environment would undoubtedly improve.
This was true not only for them but also for Emperor's Tyrant Dong Zhuo and Zhang Yan.
Despite their defeat, a crushing one, and despite Baron Yuan's underhanded tactics in capturing Yuan Shao during the war, which might have displeased Emperor's Tyrant Dong Zhuo and Zhang Yan, in this situation, facing Lu HaiKong's pressure, they were more likely to unite closely.
In truth, Baron Yuan wasn't the only one with this idea; Emperor's Tyrant Dong Zhuo and Zhang Yan should have had the same thought, as this would only benefit them without any drawbacks.
However, none of them spoke up, all waiting for Baron Yuan to take the initiative.
After all, it was Baron Yuan who initially negotiated the alliance's attack on Lu HaiKong, so it was only natural for him to conclude this matter.
At this moment, their alliance was solely formed to counter the powerful Lu HaiKong. By now, none of them had any intention of continuing the fight against Lu HaiKong.
After all, at this point, two of the three parties had been severely weakened by Lu HaiKong, and no one had the will or courage to continue fighting against his formidable forces.
Baron Yuan hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose to delay.
He and Ju Shou were well aware of the risks involved in their approach, as it might anger Lu HaiKong, affecting his interests.
But for now, this was their only option. They couldn't just let Lu HaiKong have his way, who knows how far he would go.
If all else failed, they could treat this action as a test of Lu HaiKong.
After making his decision, Baron Yuan sprang into action. He wrote a letter to Lu HaiKong to appease and delay him, while also actively preparing to contact Emperor's Tyrant Dong Zhuo.
...
Bingzhou, Bei Feng, Northern Defense Tower.
In the 169th year of the book, the unedited version!
Lu HaiKong read the letter sent by Baron Yuan, devoid of any substance, and a cold smile crept onto his lips.
"I let him handle it, and this is what he did."
As he spoke, Lu HaiKong casually tossed Baron Yuan's letter aside and turned to Xie Zhichai beside him, asking, "What about Zhang Yan? Is there no news from her?"
"Other than lifting the economic blockade on Bingzhou, there's been no movement. It seems like she's waiting for Baron Yuan's actions, or rather, our actions," Xie Zhichai replied while working.
Hearing this, Lu HaiKong's cold smile deepened, "Then let's not keep them waiting. Let's have Meng Chao's army take action!"
From the start, Lu HaiKong never naively believed that he could extort a fortune with just a messenger and a letter after agreeing with Emperor's Tyrant Dong Zhuo.
Whether it was Emperor's Tyrant Dong Zhuo, Baron Yuan, or Zhang Yan, none of them were pushovers.
To get what he wanted from them, Lu HaiKong needed to employ certain methods. He had to make them understand the dire consequences of not paying up.
From the beginning, Lu HaiKong had targeted Baron Yuan.
Regardless of Baron Yuan's response to Lu HaiKong's letter, the outcome would be the same.
If Baron Yuan obediently delivered the massive war reparations to Lu HaiKong, he would still be targeted. If he didn't, Lu HaiKong would still go after him. A battle was inevitable.
In negotiations, one must defeat the opponent to gain the upper hand.
At Lu HaiKong's command, Meng Chao's Second Army immediately mobilized towards Changshan Prefecture, advancing towards the defensive line established by Baron Yuan.
Baron Yuan, from the moment he wrote the letter to Lu HaiKong, had been closely monitoring his movements. When he saw Lu HaiKong mobilize his troops without hesitation, Baron Yuan and Ju Shou exchanged a glance, both wearing bitter smiles.
At this point, they no longer wanted to resist or struggle. They knew Lu HaiKong had them cornered, and this time, they had no choice but to pay a hefty price to avoid disaster.
Fortunately, Baron Yuan stopped resisting. After Meng Chao's army set out, Baron Yuan's second letter, delivered by special means, arrived in Bei Feng within a day.
This time, the letter wasn't devoid of content; it addressed the war reparations.
However, the very next day after the letter arrived in Bei Feng, a response came from Lu HaiKong, as concise as the previous one, containing only two words: "Not enough!"
Lu HaiKong's reply wasn't just these two words; it was accompanied by a war!
As Lu HaiKong's "Not enough" reached its destination, Meng Chao's forces launched a fierce attack on Baron Yuan's defensive line...
(End of Chapter)
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