“Can a strategist not ascend the throne?”
Chapter 210: Outrageous Debt
The scholars of the Han Dynasty didn’t have strict standards for talent, but according to the customs of the time, it was generally expected that one be well-rounded.
Take Cai Yong for example; his skills in calligraphy and literature are commendable, and his prowess in astronomy and mathematics is not to be underestimated.
Xu You followed this trend as well.
Although he mingled with famous scholars and was deeply involved in the Han power struggles, he was far from clueless about calculations.
Seeing this rule that doubled every day, he pushed back a few numbers and realized something terrifying.
This amount doesn’t add up.
At first glance, it seemed like just a few grains of food, but Xu You’s sharp mind was quick to catch on.
If he looked a bit further back, he already couldn’t provide the exact number. By the time it reached a month, it had turned into a stone, and if he pushed back another year, that number was nowhere near the fifty thousand stones of grain he had mentioned!
It was way off!
This could very well be a debt that would clear out the entire government storehouse of Ji Province and Qingzhou, and still not be repaid!
Xu You strained to keep his expression calm in front of Qiao Yan to avoid showing weakness, but when he spoke again, his voice wavered slightly, “May I ask, Qiao Hou, what’s wrong with this rule…”
“What’s wrong with this rule?” Qiao Yan replied composedly. “During the campaign against Dong Zhuo, wasn’t everyone short on grain?”
This was an undeniable fact.
The local warlords who had just taken office were mostly green, and the continuous disasters had left food supplies sparse, making those with a bit of stock merely pretenders.
Thus, the value represented by Qiao Yan’s fifty thousand stones was far beyond today’s fifty thousand stones.
When Yuan Shao asked to borrow grain from her, he aimed to catch her off guard, knowing she might refuse and provide him with the excuse to delay military action.
Even if she had handed it over, she would have weakened her influence based on the financial status of the various states.
But if Qiao Yan produced it, that would mean she was in the right.
Under her calm gaze, Xu You could only respond with a “yes.”
Qiao Yan then asked, “In the rules I set for Yuan Benchu, did it say that if he pays it back within a year, I might not even collect interest?”
This was indeed a very generous debt-repayment clause.
Even between relatives, such favorable terms were rare.
To be honest, with the Yuan clan’s long-standing prestige, they could afford such grain, especially after moving to Ye City.
Once Yuan Shao established himself in Ye City for a year, he’d likely be even more capable.
But how could Xu You, having known Yuan Shao for so long, not guess what he was thinking?
What he thought about was very likely—
By the end of the year, Qiao Yan would be in Liangzhou; if the grain went there, it would aid her march and complicate his situation instead.
As everyone was a significant figure and governed two provinces’ military politics, repaying would mean showing vulnerability.
Holding onto this fifty thousand stones might create even more value in his hands.
These three reasons culminated in one conclusion: no repayment.
Dragging it out like this only extended the time with no interest from what was originally due, and now it had grown into a number that even Xu You believed was disastrous.
If it weren’t for Qiao Yan standing right in front of him, Xu You would have seriously sighed.
My lord, if you can’t handle the calculations, you shouldn’t agree to such unusual debts.
He really should have informed his subordinates early to help with the calculations!
For others, this might seem like one of those debts you could take or leave due to Yuan Shao’s power and background.
But for Qiao Yan, it was anything but.
She had the standing and the capability to collect the debt.
What made Xu You feel extremely awkward was that he was still carrying this “double repayment” gesture as goodwill!
If it were just a thousand stones in interest, then his fifty thousand stones doubling would indeed seem like a gesture of goodwill.
He could use this to pivot the conversation, mention their cooperation against Dong Zhuo back in the day, and perhaps propose a new collaboration, albeit a slightly more peculiar one.
But facing this astronomical debt magnified by the rules, what more could Xu You say than “yes” to the rules Qiao Yan had set?
At this moment, fifty thousand stones, after the autumn harvest, became just a drop in the bucket of the grain stored in Ji and Qingzhou.
So, what he had previously hinted at seemed like he thought this amount would wipe out Yuan Shao’s overdue year-long massive debt.
To say it was a gesture of goodwill was clearly a power move!
Making the situation even more awkward was the fact that Xu You came empty-handed, just with the goodwill statement on repayment.
This meant that if the terms weren’t met, outsiders wouldn’t interpret it as Yuan Shao wanting to send grain to Bingzhou, but rather as a lack of sincerity to repay!
Even knowing the competitive edge behind these rules, what good would it do?
If Yuan Shao had returned the grain last year, he wouldn’t have incurred any losses and could have maintained an allied relationship.
At that time, Qiao Yan, merely sixteen, might have thought up something harmless when the coalition demanded grain, which was completely understandable.
Moreover, Yuan Shao was a key minister supporting the Son of Heaven and held the position of governor of Qingzhou; even if his military skills weren’t up to par with Qiao Yan, he still had to maintain a wise and competent image outwardly.
If Qiao Yan had dug a pit, and Yuan Shao just jumped in without considering it, wouldn’t that imply he wasn’t a smart person?
It didn’t really matter if others figured this out; Yuan Shao definitely couldn’t miss it.
Xu You wasn’t surprised when Qiao Yan’s expression darkened in that instant, “Xu Ziyuan, I see your Yuan Qingzhou has no intentions of cooperating sincerely. Why send you all this way?”
Before Xu You could even utter the line about both sides welcoming the Son of Heaven to Ye City, Qiao Yan had already raised a hand, “Take him out! If there’s no sincerity in repayment, why waste a trip here? Were you here to scout military intelligence or to watch our jokes? Why not just say it outright? What’s with all the roundabout nonsense?”
Xu You truly felt wronged!
After Ju Shou made this judgment, the wisest choice for the Ji Province was to cooperate and seize this prime opportunity; it was definitely not to come see jokes.
But he mistakenly spoke out of turn, and Qiao Yan had no intention of letting him rectify it.
After Dong Zhuo’s death and Li Jue’s escape, Chang’an was pretty much under Qiao Yan’s control; with her command, Xu You was directly treated like a nuisance and dragged out.
The attendants even escorted him all the way to Tong Pass, sending him out of the territories controlled by Qiao Yan.
Xu You’s face went from pale to green, then to red.
In such a situation, there was no other route but to head back to Ji Province.
He had already picked up on a signal from Qiao Yan’s attitude; even if he found a way back to Chang’an, he’d never clarify this rule and would only end up humiliated.
She could never ally with Yuan Shao to support that so-called emperor of Ye City, whom she saw as neither capable nor legitimate, to bring about Yuan Shao’s desired court order.
This was the essence behind the difficulty of this journey.
Only the clever Yuan Shao had the troublesome leverage of debt in her hands, which made her dismissal action seem rather smooth.
Then, she could either continue trying to recover Liu Xie or, as Ju Shou had stated, consider crowning another Son of Heaven!
This implied a lot, leaving Xu You with a mix of feelings about his failed mission and hastily heading back to Ye City to inform Yuan Shao.
“It’s more chaotic than I thought!”
Standing in Yuan Shao’s meeting hall in Ye City, surrounded by strategists eagerly awaiting his reply, he couldn’t help but momentarily zone out as his gaze shifted back to Yuan Shao’s face.
As Yuan Shao asked how Qiao Yan suggested they proceed, Xu You instinctively chimed in, “My lord, if debts are to be paid a year later, delaying just one day adds a grain of wheat, two grains for the next, and so on, doubling every day. If we’re now a year overdue, how many grains of wheat does that add up to?”
Hearing Xu You repeat those words, Yuan Shao furrowed his brows, “Why are you asking about that? Fifty thousand stones won’t even cover the interest! Do you want me to personally count them?”
Not that she’s qualified!
But whether Qiao Yan needed him to count was debatable; as soon as he spoke, there was a brief hush in the room.
The few who were knowledgeable about such affairs knew that Xu You wouldn’t just blurt out something like that for no reason. They immediately started calculating in their heads, while those who struggled began tracing numbers with their fingers in tea on the table.
“Hold on, my lord!” Ju Shou exclaimed, “Isn’t this the repayment deal you made with Qiao Bingzhou years ago?”
This is a heavenly debt!
Seeing Yuan Shao remaining silent, Ju Shou suspected that it was indeed the case.
His expression mirrored Xu You’s realization.
Yuan Shao could no longer be oblivious; with two subordinates reacting this way, it was time to get serious.
He immediately summoned the grain official and had someone bring the counting rods.
When the grain official reported the weight of the wheat in Ye City, precise calculations began.
After some time, the calculator reported, “My lord, after one month and four days of interest since the plan started, the interest has already exceeded fifty thousand stones.”
Yuan Shao felt a wave of darkness wash over him.
In two more days, the amount would surely go beyond a hundred thousand stones!
What kind of foolish debt structure is this?
Yuan Shao gazed at the scattered counting rods on the floor and the various looks from his subordinates.
Though none would dare voice it directly, he felt their stares carried a message—
What were the terms of this agreement that he had agreed to, and how could he have miscalculated the figures, allowing Xu You to go to Chang’an with the double repayment talk?
Having already lost face once, he absolutely couldn’t lose it again.
He suppressed the urge to kick the table and held back a shout of “Qiao Yan’s ruining me!” instead squeezing out a question, “What did she say?”
This exorbitant debt was beyond his means; if Qiao Yan came to collect, he would rather safeguard his face than have the phrase “Qiao Yan’s aggressive demands” plastered across the land!
Anyone can say that the indebted must repay, but it might just come to war!
He was already having Guo Tu and Xin Ping oversee the manufacturing of crossbows and was set to send Tian Feng out to Bingzhou for training tomorrow.
Now, the only pressing matter left was how to handle the repercussions of not securing Qiao Yan’s allegiance.
His strategists reached a unanimous suggestion—
Wait.
Wait for Qiao Yan to decide if she wanted to find allies or abandon Liu Xie and appoint another.
Each scenario required a different response.
And then news arrived from Youzhou.
Qiao Yan had sent Huang Wan as an envoy to Youzhou to summon Liu Yu back to Chang’an; the position of the Son of Heaven.
She actually chose Liu Yu!
This was a selection neither Yuan Shao nor his strategists had anticipated.
Given her current power and achievements, if Qiao Yan wanted to maintain her influence, she should surely be seeking a younger Han royal descendant.
In over four hundred years of the Han’s succession, there were plenty of Han relatives to choose from—she could likely find many just searching through Chang’an.
But instead of doing that, Qiao Yan opted for the capable and reputable Liu Yu.
Liu Yu was in his prime, had heirs to ensure succession; considering that, selecting him as the next Son of Heaven wasn’t the optimal choice for anyone looking to become a power broker.
“But this choice leaves no room for doubt about her intentions for an alternative candidate,” Xin Ping exchanged glances with his brother Xin Pi, who voiced that concern.
This was bad news for Yuan Shao.
Every “reckless” move Qiao Yan made was strategically calculated to elevate her moral standing.
Fifty thousand stones in grain were one example; appointing Liu Yu as the Son of Heaven was another!
And that was not all the bad news he’d be facing—there were more ripples from that debt.
As Xu You headed toward Chang’an, with war reports reaching Yanzhou and Yuzhou, they couldn’t be overlooked.
It was only natural for people to learn that Xu You hadn’t achieved any friendly discussions and had instead been thrown out of the Three Auxiliaries.
If we dig deeper, the previously undisclosed debt terms discussed by Yuan Shao ended up leaking from Chang’an.
Cao Cao in Yanzhou could only sigh that Ye Shu was as shrewd as ever, but in Yuzhou…
Yuan Shu had already been laughing for quite some time over this news.
Even though he had suspected that Qiao Yan would likely be the reason Yuan Shao would be embarrassed, today’s developments surpassed his expectations completely.
“Every day adds the previous day’s amount, what in the world made Yuan Benchu feel that kind of debt could be postponed?” Yuan Shu’s frustration disappeared in an instant, despite having heard of families discreetly crossing rivers to escape yesterday.
“I told you, Yuan Shao isn’t one of our Runan Yuan Clan! How could we have such a fool among us! And to openly state a ten thousand stone payback? Talk about humiliation!”
“I’m just glad I’ve distanced myself from him, after all, I still have some face left!”
Yuan Shu spoke without a hint of embarrassment, to the extent that Yuan Huan, unseen, rolled his eyes in disdain.
In his mind, he thought, even if this problem was handed to Yuan Shao, if he didn’t provide any explanations or hints, he wouldn’t be able to calculate it either.
What was the need to mock his elder brother like this?
They are just two peers, after all.
But Yuan Shu’s comments didn’t constitute a decision-making failure; they were merely thoughtless taunts about an opponent, so they were hardly within the scope of his advice.
Since their relationship with Yuan Shao would unlikely be repaired in the short term, as long as they relied on Yuan Shu’s strength, there wasn’t a chance to seize Ye City soon, so letting him vent his frustrations was quite reasonable and served as a positive psychological adjustment.
Seeing Yuan Shu stop ridiculing Yuan Shao, Yuan Huan stepped forward and calmly said, “I think now isn’t the time to continue mocking Yuan Qingzhou, but rather for the lord to show his stance to Qiao Bingzhou.”
Yuan Shu reigned in his smile, asking, “Are you suggesting we acknowledge her support of Liu Boan as the Son of Heaven?”
Yuan Shu winced at Liu Yu’s misfortunes.
He had thought that Liu Yu trying to dissuade Qiao Yan from marching would rather lead to an attack by Gongsun Zan on Youzhou—what a joke that seemed.
Yet clearly, it was precisely because of Liu Yu’s trip to Liangzhou that a connection was forged between him and Qiao Yan.
Who wouldn’t say it’s all because of Yuan Shao’s foolishness, shooting himself in the foot!
Yuan Shu’s mind was racing now, possessing an intuitive advantage that surpassed the rest.
Why did Liu Yu go to Liangzhou?
It could only be due to Yuan Shao stirring the pot behind the scenes!
