Chapter 331

To avoid unrest in his inner household.

Several months passed in the blink of an eye.

During these months, with the implementation of the new policies, Jingzhou became more prosperous at a speed visible to the naked eye.

At the same time, the first generation of high-quality seeds cultivated by Su Xuan was completed, and a large number of seeds were prepared and distributed to the common people for planting.

The final harvest increased by 30% compared to the past.

It may not seem like much, but it is actually quite astonishing.

For a time, it shocked the entire Jingzhou and even the entire world.

The people of Jingzhou praised Su Xuan, regarding him as a saint in the world.

Other warlords were extremely jealous of these high-quality seeds.

They all used various methods, sending a large number of spies into Jingzhou, attempting to obtain a large quantity of the high-quality seeds.

Even their methods were not limited to spies.

Merchants, noble clans, wandering knights... and so on, all kinds of methods were used.

They did indeed manage to obtain quite a bit of the grain grown from the high-quality seeds.

Then, they all used the grain grown from these high-quality seeds as seeds and began to plant them in their own territories.

"Hehe!"

Su Xuan only gave a mocking smile when he saw this.

Guo Jia, standing to the side, looked worried and said, "Lord, you are still in the mood to laugh? These high-quality seeds have been obtained by many warlords. You have made wedding clothes for them! This is aiding the enemy!"

"Haha!"

Su Xuan laughed out loud upon hearing this, "Guo Fengxiao! Guo Fengxiao! Do you really not understand, or are you pretending not to? Am I, your Lord, such a foolish person?"

"Do you really think I wouldn't leave a backup plan?"

"Oh?"

Guo Jia was shocked upon hearing this, "Could it be that there is a problem with these high-quality seeds?"

"I wouldn't say that!"

Su Xuan shook his head upon hearing this, "There is no problem with the high-quality seeds themselves! They do indeed increase production, which you have all seen;"

"But the grain grown from these high-quality seeds, if used as seeds, is no different from ordinary grain seeds."

"After all, the true high-quality seeds are special varieties nurtured and cultivated with spiritual energy in the Star-Turning Spirit Array;"

"These high-quality seeds can only sustain one planting;"

"The grain harvested subsequently, when used as seeds, has already regressed into ordinary grain seeds and has no effect on increasing production."

"This is the reason why I am at ease letting the high-quality seeds out!"

"Otherwise, I would truly be making wedding clothes for other warlords. I am not that stupid."

He had considered this from the very beginning.

"So that's how it is!"

Guo Jia and the others suddenly realized.

"Tsk tsk! Lord, you are truly amazing!"

Guo Jia smacked his lips with a smile, "However, Lord, you are not ruthless enough! If the grain grown from these high-quality seeds would significantly decrease in yield or even fail to harvest when used for planting, that would be even more perfect!"

"Not only could it make the warlords' efforts go to waste, but it could also backfire and trap them."

"You brat!"

Su Xuan looked at Guo Jia speechlessly upon hearing this, "Is your persona distorted? This kind of strategy is usually something only Jia Xu would suggest! It's too sinister and vicious!"

"Ahahaha!"

Guo Jia gave a sheepish smile upon hearing this, then said with a serious face, "But Lord, you must admit that what I said is the method that maximizes benefits, right?"

"Besides, in a chaotic world of hegemony, one should naturally use every means possible."

Su Xuan shook his head, "If I didn't have an absolute advantage, I naturally wouldn't mind doing this;"

"But since I already have an absolute advantage, there's no need to do such wicked things!"

"After all, doing so would truly harm the vast number of common people;"

"If I really did that, and the grain yield significantly decreased or even failed to harvest, it would definitely lead to a large number of people starving to death;"

"This is definitely not what I want to see."

Xi Zhicai, standing to the side, could not help but nod in agreement, "I think you are right, Lord! As a warlord and the future master of the world, one cannot be too sinister and vicious!"

"And one must not lose the hearts of the people;"

"If you really followed what Guo Fengxiao said, Lord, it would inevitably lead to the hatred of the people in the territories of other warlords."

He believed that if that were the case, those warlords would definitely not hesitate to shift the blame onto Su Xuan and ruin his reputation.

"That is true! I was reckless!"

Guo Jia's expression also tightened, and he apologized to Su Xuan with a bow, "Please punish me, Lord!"

"There is nothing to punish! It was just talk! No need for that!"

Su Xuan waved his hand with a smile.

That day, Jia San hurried to report, "Lord! Urgent news from Yangzhou, Sun Sun Jian is dead!"

"Hmm?"

Su Xuan was slightly stunned upon hearing this, then said with some surprise, "He died after all? How exactly did he die?"

In history, Sun Sun Jian died at the hands of Huang Zu.

But this time, Jingzhou is Su Xuan's, and Huang Zu is also Su Xuan's subordinate, so naturally, he could not have killed Sun Sun Jian.

Jia San immediately handed over the intelligence and reported, "He died from an ambush and hidden arrows by Yan Baihu;"

"Of course, this is only the superficial explanation. The Yangzhou Secret Guards investigated and found that this was the result of support from the Wu Jun and even the entire Yangzhou noble clans behind the scenes;"

"In addition, Lord Yuan Shu also intervened in secret;"

"These noble clans even provided many death warriors and armor-piercing weapons, which is why Sun Sun Jian was killed by hidden arrows."

Otherwise, with Sun Sun Jian's cultivation at the early stage of Gang Strength, mere hidden arrows might not have been able to kill him.

But armor-piercing arrows are different.

This is a type of arrow made of special meteorite iron, possessing powerful armor-piercing and Gang-piercing effects.

The Gang energy of ordinary Gang Strength experts cannot block these armor-piercing arrows.

This thing is very dangerous, but the stock is also extremely rare.

After all, the material itself is very scarce.

However, some long-standing noble families still have some stock.

"So that's how it is!"

Su Xuan had already finished reading the intelligence in his hand and immediately said to Jia San, "These armor-piercing weapons are very powerful, and I am also very interested in the material of this thing. You should have the Secret Guards try to collect some!"

"Of course, these things are basically controlled by noble clans with a long history. Tell them to be careful, it's best to use beasts to obtain them, don't do it yourself, it's too easy to be exposed."

"Yes!"

Jia San immediately took the order.

Su Xuan nodded with satisfaction and then asked, "Since Sun Sun Jian is dead, what is Sun Ce's situation now? What choice will he make?"

Jia San shook his head, "It's not clear yet. Sun Sun Jian died too suddenly, and Sun Ce has not made a choice yet;"

"It will probably be known after Sun Sun Jian is buried, right?"

"However, according to the Secret Guards' intelligence, Sun Ce has great hostility toward you, Lord, and still harbors resentment for having been captured by us before. The probability of him joining you, Lord, is probably not high."

The Secret Guards' monitoring is comprehensive.

— Author's Notes —

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