The Shi Clan's voice was not loud, but it revealed the lack of unity within the Shi Clan.
Shi Xie showed no anger. He nodded in agreement. "Lan Tian may appear to be taking two commanderies from us, but Hepu is merely being shifted from the left hand to the right. Since Third Brother has no objection, I too favor yielding the two commanderies. Otherwise, provoking them would do us no good."
"Elder Brother, what if Lan Tian keeps pushing for more?" Shi Yi's face was full of worry.
Shi Xie frowned as he replied, "For now, we can only place our hopes on an external war. If Cao and Sun can join forces again against Liu Bei, Lan Tian will have no chance to attend to us. Best of all, the three sides would batter one another until their vitality was badly damaged. That outcome would benefit us most."
Shi Yi gave a bitter smile. "It is hard to say what Cao and Liu might do, but what ability does Sun Quan have? Placing your hopes on him is like asking the blind for directions. Besides, Eastern Wu is currently stirring up trouble in Huainan—when will they ever respond to us? If Lan Tian moves first, the Shi Clan will have no chance left."
"I do not believe Sun and Cao can truly come to blows. What we can do now is buy time for Sun Quan. Zhi'er, return to Guangzhou and report to General Lan. Tell him that your Second Uncle and Third Uncle are willing to resign from office in obedience to his order, but they have governed their commanderies here for many years, and there is much to sort out in the handover. Ask him to grant us more time." Shi Xie began calculating how to