Chapter 839

"General of the Front, this old man... this old man does not know how these three wicked obstacles offended the General of the Front. Regarding the white paper and snow salt, Jiang'er did not explain it before, so this old man implores the General of the Front to be forgiving."

An elder of the Zhen clan cupped his hands to Duan Yu and said: "This old man will make these three wicked obstacles return all the money they obtained before to the General of the Front, including the profits obtained from the white paper and snow salt, which will also be returned to the General of the Front."

"Additionally, the Zhen clan will provide one hundred million coins as an apology to the General of the Front."

"I wonder..."

"What does the General of the Front think?"

Zhen Jian, Zhen Ren, and Zhen You, the three brothers, knelt before Duan Yu, not daring to raise their heads, let alone look at Duan Yu.

Earlier outside the city, the psychological shadow and oppressive force Duan Yu brought to Zhen Jian made his legs still feel weak.

Listening to the Zhen clan elder's words, Duan Yu picked up the teacup carved from warm jade placed before him, not in a hurry.

Then he turned his gaze to Zhen Jiang beside him.

After sipping the tea, Duan Yu said slowly: "If I hadn't arrived in time."

"Then Jiang'er, who was driven out, would have encountered the Huang Jin rebels outside the city. How should that account be settled?"

"Earlier, I heard Zhen Jian repeatedly say he wanted to expel Jiang'er's branch from the Zhen clan. If I hadn't arrived in time, would they have already been expelled?"

"And..."

Duan Yu cast his gaze on Zhen Jian and said coldly, narrowing his eyes: "Didn't he want my production methods for white paper and snow salt?"

Zhen Jian trembled all over, hurriedly prostrated himself before Duan Yu and said: "General of the Front, it is not that this lowly one wanted the production methods for white paper and snow salt."

"It was the Jizhou Inspector, Li Zhao."

"It was him."

"This lowly one was only worried that the Huang Jin rebels would break through the city, so I wanted to request Li Zhao to send troops to assist and protect the Zhen clan to move to Gaoyi."

"But Li Zhao said he would only send troops if he got the production methods for white paper and snow salt. This lowly one had no other choice."

Jizhou Inspector Li Zhao?

Duan Yu's eyebrows arched.

"General of the Front, every word this lowly one says is true, it is all real," Zhen Jian said, scared out of his wits. "If the General of the Front does not believe me, you can wait in Wuji County for two days. I lied and said I had already obtained the production methods for white paper and snow salt, and Li Zhao's troops will arrive in these two days."

Duan Yu tapped the tabletop with one hand.

The corners of his mouth rose slightly.

It really is true that just as one gets sleepy, someone brings a pillow.

The reason he had Zhang Jiao station troops in Xiaquyang and gather the surrounding Taiping Dao believers was to prepare for the Huang Jin army to take the road from Changshan Commandery to Bingzhou.

Which was the road for transporting white paper and snow salt from Bingzhou.

This route had been arranged by Jia Dong for over a year.

If one wanted to migrate the Huang Jin army to Liangzhou, this was the only road they could take.

Crossing the Yellow River and entering the Sili Colonel's jurisdiction was certainly impossible.

Taking a detour through Youzhou and then entering the grasslands was even more unrealistic.

With so many people, the grain consumed alone was not something he could afford right now.

They might even starve to death halfway.

Entering Bingzhou from Changshan Commandery, first entering Yanmen Commandery.

In Yanmen Commandery, he had already arranged for the Mayi Zhen clan, that is, Zhang Liao's clan, to prepare for grain relief.

And from Yanmen to Taiyuan Commandery, there was the Taiyuan Administrator, Liu Wei.

During this year, Duan Yu would give Liu Wei a share of the white paper and snow salt produced in Jinyang.

Although this number was not much for Duan Yu, it was not a small amount of money for Liu Wei.

Taking from others makes one's hands short, and eating from others makes one's mouth soft.

Liu Wei's ability to live comfortably in Taiyuan Commandery relied entirely on Duan Yu.

And as long as they left Bingzhou, they could reach Liangzhou unimpeded.

The plan here was linked ring by ring, and Duan Yu had also prepared for a year for this.

Even this visit to the Zhen clan was a step in the plan.

To migrate a million people, grain was definitely essential.

The imperial court had no grain.

And these million Huang Jin soldiers could not be self-sufficient.

Therefore, one could only find people with money and grain.

And the Zhen clan was the wealthiest and had the most grain in all of Jizhou.

Taking the Zhen clan meant having a guarantee of grain.

It just so happened that Zhen Jian delivered himself to his door at this time.

With a route, support along the way, and grain for the departure, everything was set.

Now, only the most critical step remained.

Changshan Commandery.

Changshan Commandery was the only way to Bingzhou.

But there was an obstacle on this road.

That was the Jizhou Inspector, Li Zhao, who was in Gaoyi County, Changshan Commandery.

Only by resolving Li Zhao could the million Huang Jin soldiers successfully cross Changshan Commandery and head to Bingzhou.

Duan Yu tapped the table before him gently with one hand.

All the Zhen clan members in the hall were waiting for Duan Yu's reply.

Yet Duan Yu said nothing, as immovable as a great mountain.

"Regarding Li Zhao, I will handle it myself," Duan Yu said, looking at Zhen Jian who was kneeling before him. "But you embezzling my snow salt and white paper cannot just be let go."

"Money, I am not lacking."

"Jiang'er was placed under house arrest by you in the manor for over a month."

"She is my woman. Did you never think of the consequences of treating my wife this way?"

Zhen Jian was almost crying.

"General of the Front... if this lowly one had known... even if you gave me a thousand guts, ten thousand guts, I wouldn't have dared..."

The Zhen clan elder to the side also hurriedly helped explain: "Yes, General of the Front, Jiang'er never mentioned it before."

Duan Yu swept a cold gaze: "You forced her several times, and Jiang'er had already said that this white paper and snow salt were not her property. You didn't even believe your own kin."

"Is this a reason and an excuse?"

"Was it not caused by your greed?"

"Such an obvious thing, do I need to say it directly?" Duan Yu slapped the table before him angrily: "Such excuses might work on a three-year-old child!"

The Zhen clan fell silent, not daring to make a sound.

Duan Yu turned his gaze to Zhen Jiang beside him and said softly: "Jiang'er, you suffered the most grievances here. You say it: do you want to forgive them?"

"If you don't forgive them, just the fact that they confiscated my goods is enough to have them all imprisoned."

The three branches of Zhen Jian, Zhen Ren, and Zhen You looked as if they had lost their loved ones, their faces looking terrible to the extreme.

"Jiang'er, it was all Eldest Uncle's fault before. Eldest Uncle apologizes to you. We are all family. You say it, you say it, Eldest Uncle is willing to do whatever."

"Yes, Jiang'er, your Eldest Uncle is right. We are all family. Third Uncle apologizes to you, apologizes to you."

"Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law, please persuade Jiang'er. We really know we were wrong."

Zhen Jian, Zhen Ren, and Zhen You all hurriedly apologized, looking to Lady Zhang for help.

Lady Zhang was conflicted again.

Zhen Jiang bit her red lips.

Perhaps there was some sadness before, but after seeing Duan Yu, all the suppression in Zhen Jiang's heart had been swept away.

She wouldn't be in this family in the future anyway.

As for what happened before, Zhen Jiang didn't care.

Duan Yu looked at Zhen Jiang, waiting for her answer.

"Brother Duan... let it go," Zhen Jiang bit her red lips and shook her head: "I don't want to care about so much."

"But there is one point: in the future, all commercial routes and shops of the Zhen clan in Jizhou, and even Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Xuzhou, must be used by Brother Duan for free, and there will be no more profit from the items sold."

"This is my condition, and also..."

Zhen Jiang looked at her mother, Lady Zhang, and nodded slowly: "In the future, you must not make things difficult for my mother, my brothers, and my sisters."

Duan Yu, looking at Zhen Jiang, revealed a smile. ===== CHAPTER 841 =====