Chapter 457: Xu You: Mediocre Lord! Mediocre Lord! (2nd update!)

Seeing Xu You’s stance of wanting to put him to death and not let it go, Guo Tu also became angry. Without waiting for Lord Yuan Shao to speak, Guo Tu immediately bowed to Lord Yuan Shao: "My lord! I admit the blame for failing to suppress Zhang Fei, but I think compared to Xu You’s crimes, mine is nothing!"

"Hmm?"

Lord Yuan Shao looked at Xu You in a daze, making Guo Tu’s heart skip a beat, thinking: "Oh no! This dog Guo Tu isn't going to reveal my embezzlement of military grain, is he?"

If so, that would be truly terrible.

However, the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen. The next moment, Guo Tu continued: "My lord, you don't know yet! Xu You, back when you were attacking Gongsun Zan in Youzhou, had already ordered his son and steward to embezzle and resell military grain in the rear!"

"Over the past few years, the amount of grain resold is no less than 300,000 shi, and the money obtained is no less than tens of thousands of gold!"

"What?"

Lord Yuan Shao, hearing this, was shocked and angry, looking at Xu You and shouting: "Xu You! Is what Guo Tu said true?"

"This..."

Xu You, hearing this, didn't know what to say for a moment!

He wanted to deny it!

But he didn't do so.

Because he knew very well that since Guo Tu dared to reveal this at this time, it meant he had absolute evidence, and denying it would be useless.

It might even have the opposite effect.

Therefore, Xu You could only silently apologize: "My lord! This subordinate is guilty; I should not have been greedy for a moment. Please, my lord, for the sake of my many years of planning for you, spare me this once!"

Saying this, Xu You knelt down with a thud.

"You..."

Lord Yuan Shao, seeing Xu You like this, felt both angry and amused.

He knew very well what a proud person Xu You was!

He was angry at Xu You’s insatiable greed, even embezzling military grain.

But Xu You’s greed wasn't a one-day thing; how could Lord Yuan Shao not know?

It’s just that in the past, he had turned a blind eye.

But today’s matter was too serious and truly made Lord Yuan Shao angry.

And since the matter had already been exposed by Guo Tu, if he didn't punish Xu You, wouldn't others follow suit in the future?

If that were the case, everything would be in complete chaos.

Moreover, this time in the campaign against Cao Cao, his own grain and grass were not abundant, and he had forcibly requisitioned a lot of military grain from many scholar-clans.

Many scholar-clans already had opinions about him.

It was at such a critical juncture that Xu You still greedily embezzled a large amount of military grain without regard for the situation, lacking any sense of the big picture, which truly made Lord Yuan Shao angry.

Therefore, he waved his hand and said coldly: "Say no more! Guards, take Xu You to the army prison for now, and we will deal with him after the war!"

"Understood!"

The two guards at the door accepted the order, one on each side, grabbing Xu You’s arms and dragging him out.

"My lord, spare me! Spare me!"

Xu You struggled, wanting to argue for something, but Lord Yuan Shao wouldn't listen to a word he said and had the guards drag him away by force.

At this moment, Guo Tu turned his head and gave Xu You a cold, mocking smile.

As if to say: You are dead! I will definitely not give you a chance to turn things around.

This made Xu You feel cold in his heart.

On the contrary, Ju Shou, seeing this, couldn't help but speak up for Xu You: "My lord! This is a time when we need people; shouldn't we spare Xu You for now, record his crimes, and let him make amends for his sins?"

After all, compared to Guo Tu, who was purely a troublemaker, Ju Shou felt that Xu You at least had a good brain and could often give better, more feasible suggestions.

And since Lord Yuan Shao could temporarily ignore Guo Tu’s failure to suppress Zhang Fei, why couldn't he give Xu You a chance?

Guo Tu, seeing this, became anxious, glared at Ju Shou, and advised Lord Yuan Shao: "My lord! Absolutely not! Xu You likely already harbors resentment toward you!"

"Furthermore, I heard he is a classmate and good friend of Cao Cao. What if he, out of resentment, chooses to collude with Cao Cao and leak our military intelligence, wouldn't that ruin your great cause, my lord?"

"Therefore, you must not release Xu You at this time; if you want to spare him, wait until you have defeated Cao Cao;"

"By then, sparing Xu You can also demonstrate your benevolence, my lord, can it not?"

Of course, Guo Tu was just saying that.

He knew Lord Yuan Shao very well; even if it came to that, Xu You wouldn't have a good outcome.

Not to mention, he was still there.

During this period, Guo Tu would definitely not miss the opportunity to torture Xu You.

He would definitely find a way to kill Xu You before then.

Lord Yuan Shao, hearing Guo Tu’s words, felt that Guo Tu was righteous and nodded: "Good! Then let it be as you say, Guo Gongze! Temporarily detain Xu You and wait until the war is over."

Clearly, Lord Yuan Shao had taken Guo Tu’s words to heart.

He knew very well that Xu You was indeed a classmate and good friend of Cao Cao, and he was truly afraid that Xu You would choose to collude with Cao Cao at this time.

"Drag him away! Lock him up first!"

Lord Yuan Shao waved his hand at the two guards who had already dragged Xu You to the door, and they continued to drag Xu You away.

And Xu You’s heart sank to the bottom, thinking: "It’s over! It’s completely over. Even if Lord Yuan Shao doesn't kill me after defeating Cao Cao, with Guo Tu around, I’m afraid I won't live until then!"

"However, fortunately, I had foresight and was well-prepared, leaving myself a way out!"

"Since you are unjust to me, Lord Yuan Shao, don't blame me! Hmph!"