In Chang'an, inside the Grand General's residence, Li Jue and Guo Si sat facing each other in silence, the atmosphere gloomy.
The two of them had already fought two battles with Ma Teng and Han Sui over provisions. It was only with Zhang Ji's help that the supply crisis was resolved. In fact, they had long known that Zhang Ji had an ambiguous relationship with Liu Bei, but they had never expected him to surrender to Liu Bei so early.
This time, Liu Bei's prestige had soared after wiping out Yuan Shao in one fell swoop, but the two of them found themselves in an awkward position.
In the original history, Li Jue and Guo Si had fallen out over provisions. They had then unleashed their troops to plunder the people of the Three Fu region, leaving the populace destitute, scattered, and dead in large numbers.
As the saying went, even rabbits ate the grass around their own burrows. Bandits and outlaws knew to preserve the stability of nearby villages. Unfortunately, all of the two men's power came from the troops in their hands, so when provisions ran short, they had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.
Fortunately, Liu Bei had helped them this time, preventing such a situation from occurring. Of course, Wang Xuan's main reason for initially agreeing to provide provisions was that he feared the two men would truly ruin the entire population. Population was what Wang Xuan valued most. Although it could slowly reproduce over time, that required far too long.
Precisely because Liu Bei held their lifeline of food in his hands, Li Jue and Guo Si were so troubled by Liu Bei's destruction of Yuan Shao.
Before this, Liu Bei had still been weak, and Li Jue and Guo Si could