Mythical Version of Three Kingdom

When Madam Zhang saw Ju Shou and the heads of various influential families sitting inside the prefectural office, she had a bad feeling, but her confidence as a member of the Jizhou nobility prevented her from thinking too deeply about it.

After receiving Yuan Shao’s letter, it didn’t take long for a conflict to erupt between the Mi and Zhen families. This gave Ju Shou pause, prompting him to investigate. Or rather, Mi Zhu had intentionally sent signals to the Jizhou authorities. Upon receiving them, Ju Shou quickly realized that Liu Xuande (Liu Bei) had his sights set on the Zhen family.

What does the Zhen family have to offer? Ju Shou pondered and concluded that their value lay in their northern connections, trade, and wealth. However, compared to the entirety of Jizhou, these were not particularly significant. Especially after the Yuans from the Huan and Cheng branches had established themselves in Jizhou, both Yuan Benchu (Yuan Shao) and his advisors, including Ju Gongyu (Ju Shou) and Tian Yuanhao (Tian Feng), understood one thing: the local aristocracy of Jizhou needed to be weakened. There could be only one voice in Jizhou, and that was the Yuan family!

However, as the saying goes, ”a strong dragon does not suppress a local snake.” The Yuan family might be powerful, but local families like the Gengs, Cuis, Zhangs, and Zhens had centuries of history. They might not rival the Yuan family in influence across central China, but in Jizhou, these four families together could challenge the Yuan family.

This was why, despite his power, Yuan Shao needed to ally with local forces upon arriving in Jizhou—the local ”snakes” were too strong.

The signals sent by the Mi family were actually good news for the Jizhou authorities. Even so, Ju Shou specifically wrote to Chen Xi, warning him not to push too far. Chen Xi’s response reassured Ju Shou significantly. Chen Xi stated that Qingzhou was exhausted and burdened by the Yellow Turbans. He proposed a fair judgment and compensation with a million shi of grain.

After reading the letter, Ju Shou had it delivered to the front lines. He already knew how to handle the situation. A million shi of grain wasn’t a big issue; Jizhou was prosperous and had harvested abundantly the previous year. The government granaries held over twenty million shi, but giving away a million for free was out of the question.

While negotiating with Chen Xi, Ju Shou advised Mi Zhu to hold off on suing the Zhen family, as he wasn’t ready yet. He also secretly contacted the heads of various influential families in Jizhou, clarifying the situation and even presenting the latest battle reports.

Jizhou’s families varied in size and lacked professional intelligence handlers. Their intelligence systems were often chaotic. While they knew of Taishan’s response to the Yellow Turbans, they lacked detailed information. The best intelligence system, belonging to the Cui family, only knew that Chen Xi had defeated the Yellow Turbans. This news shocked the Cui family head but seemed irrelevant to them—or so they thought.

When Ju Shou presented the latest battle reports to the heads of Jizhou’s families, their faces darkened. They realized that while Gongsun Zan posed an external threat, Chen Zicuan (Chen Xi) was a domestic one. With the power to defeat over a million Yellow Turbans in a month, this figure now threatened their doorstep.Instantly, the family heads turned their focus to Ju Shou. The Cui family head noticed the absence of the Zhen family, suspecting they were being marginalized or that the upcoming discussion concerned them. Other astute family heads also sensed something was off and remained silent, waiting for Ju Shou to speak.

Soon, the room fell silent, all eyes on Ju Shou.

“This matter indeed concerns the Zhen family,” Ju Shou said with a smile. He wanted them to understand his intentions when the time came to explain.

“This is a letter from Chen Zicuan. Please consider it carefully. I will step out for a moment. The fate of Jizhou is in your hands,” Ju Shou said, handing over Chen Xi’s letter and leaving the room without giving them time to react.

Less than half an hour later, Ju Shou was invited back. The outcome was as he expected—the Zhen family was out. Even the Zhang family, closely aligned with the Zhens, said nothing. Faced with their own interests versus the Zhen family’s fate, all families chose self-preservation. As the Geng family head put it, dragging all of Jizhou’s people into war for the Zhen family’s sake was not wise, leading to the Zhen family’s exclusion.

With the backing of all Jizhou families, Ju Shou calmly calculated the Zhen family’s assets, finding that their total worth fell short of compensation. He felt reassured; the exclusion of one of the four major families significantly weakened their overall power, giving the Yuan family a chance to intervene.

After tallying the Zhen family’s assets, Ju Shou sent a letter to Yuan Shao via fast courier. He had a better plan. If Chen Zicuan wanted to play, Ju Shou was willing to use Chen’s move to subdue Hebei’s four families in one go. Noble families were opportunistic. If Chen Zicuan could use them, why couldn’t Ju Gongyu? There was no better way to win favor than by supporting someone in their time of need. A Yuan-Zhen alliance could potentially unify Jizhou!

With this in mind, Ju Shou began meticulous preparations, using the pretext of defending against Chen Xi to mobilize funds. This was an excellent opportunity to consolidate Yuan family control over Jizhou.

Seizing this chance, Jizhou, with its large population and grain production, could muster enough power through unified military and political orders to crush Gongsun Zan. Combining the forces of You, Bing, and Ji provinces, the entire realm could be within reach!

These thoughts excited Ju Shou, making him feel a thrilling tremor at the prospect of influencing the grand fate of the realm. “Misfortune turns to blessing,” Ju Shou felt clearly.

Madam Zhang gave a graceful salute, the atmosphere tense. But seeing Ju Shou at the head, she felt more at ease. With Jizhou’s official support, she was reassured. Without this backing, the Mi family alone couldn’t defeat the Zhen family—it would be laughable!

“Seat Lady Zhen and Mi Zizhong,” Ju Shou said calmly. Seats were quickly brought for both.

Mi Zhu frowned slightly, understanding Ju Shou’s gesture of seating Lady Zhen but puzzled at being seated himself—he was just a merchant. Was Ju Shou aiming for mediation? Mi Zhu couldn’t help but wonder.

Regardless of Ju Shou’s intentions, the initiative remained with Mi Zhu. Everything was proceeding as Chen Xi had predicted. Having reached this point, there was no turning back. The Zhen family’s downfall was imminent.

After the box of deeds and IOUs was brought forward, Mi Zhu spoke calmly, “These documents are all genuine. The Zhen family’s reputation should ensure there is no denial.”

The clerk quickly verified the documents and reported to Ju Shou, “Lord Governor, these are indeed the Zhen family’s signed deeds and IOUs.”

To avoid any mistakes, Ju Shou had ensured that every official present was his trusted aide, instructing them to handle the matter based solely on evidence, disregarding the other party’s status.