Chapter 602 Feng Yu’s confidence and Zhao Shuo’s advice!

Chapter 602 Feng Yu’s confidence and Zhao Shuo’s advice!

In Xiayuan City, the county governor's mansion was brightly lit, with singing and dancing. Feng Yu sat in the center, with the table in front of him filled with fine wine and delicacies. He enjoyed the singing and dancing performances on the stage while drinking and having fun leisurely, completely unaware of the impending storm.

"General, the atmosphere between Gao Yao and Wu Rui is extremely tense right now, like an arrow on a string, ready to go off at any moment! They may go to war at any time. General, shouldn't we be prepared to deal with it in advance?" In the interval between singing and dancing, the lieutenant general below finally couldn't help but speak and expressed his concerns to Feng Yu.

Feng Yu just smiled when he heard this, seemingly not caring about the tense situation. He continued to pick up the wine glass, took a sip, and then slowly said: "Oh? Really? Has the scout been sent?"

Hearing Feng Yu's question, the generals below immediately answered in unison: "We have dispatched no less than a hundred scouts. They will closely monitor the movements of both sides and report back any news as soon as possible. General, you can rest assured."

After hearing this, Feng Yu nodded with satisfaction, indicating that he was quite satisfied with the arrangement. Since the corresponding arrangements had been made, he no longer worried too much and continued to immerse himself in the enjoyment of singing, dancing and fine wine.

"General, I think we can't take it lightly!" The lieutenant general continued with a worried look on his face, "Although the war between Gao Yao and Wu Rui has not yet broken out, no one can guarantee that they will not change their minds. What if Gao Yao suddenly changes his strategy and launches an attack on our army, then won't we be in a passive position? Therefore, I suggest that we send more scouts to Kuaiji to closely monitor Gao Yao's movements, so that we can grasp the situation in time and avoid accidents."

Feng Yu frowned slightly after hearing what the lieutenant general said. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Zhao Shuo, your worry is not unreasonable, but I don't think this possibility is great. What do you think is the benefit of Gao Yao attacking us? If he attacks our army, it will inevitably arouse the vigilance of the other four families, and may even cause them to join forces to attack Gao Yao. In this way, Gao Yao will not only have to face our resistance, but also the siege of the other four families. This is definitely not worth it for him."

Feng Yu paused, and then analyzed: "Moreover, judging from the current situation, Gao Yao has maintained a good relationship with us. Not only did he not restrict our food, cloth, salt, iron and other materials, but he also traded with us. If he really intended to attack our army, why would he go to such great lengths? Wouldn't it be easier to just cut off trade with us?"

Although Feng Yu's ability was not outstanding, he was definitely not stupid. You know, at his peak, he survived the fierce competition among more than 70 princes, which was enough to prove that he still had some vision, but it was relatively shallow.

The reason why Feng Yu valued the benefits of trade with Gao Yao was actually very simple. If he had not traded with Gao Yao, it would be unknown whether he could have secured his current position. Feng Yu was indeed an average person in terms of intelligence, but he had the most basic learning ability. Since Gao Yao did so well, he could just follow suit and copy Gao Yao's approach.

Therefore, Feng Yu decisively relaxed the restrictions on trade and opened up a large amount of farmland to the people. This not only allowed his people to quickly accumulate a certain amount of wealth, but also promoted economic development. As time went on, when the people gradually became richer, he slowly increased taxes, and in this way, his own pockets naturally bulged.

Finally, Feng Yu would use the money to buy food, salt, iron and other supplies from Gaoyao to equip his troops. A virtuous cycle was formed: trade brought wealth, wealth increased taxes, taxes were used to buy supplies, and supplies further enhanced the strength of the troops.

In Feng Yu's eyes, if Gao Yao really intended to attack him, how could he give him the opportunity to continuously improve his strength and accumulate experience? Wouldn't this just cause trouble for himself? Feng Yu thought, with Gao Yao's shrewdness, he would definitely not do such a stupid thing.

Moreover, Feng Yu felt that the relationship between him and Gao Yao was a bit like the relationship between Wang Ben and his son in Hanzhong and Gao Yao. Everyone knew that maintaining this good relationship was actually to make Feng Yu a natural barrier for others to attack the Southern Border Army. In this way, Gao Yao would naturally look at him differently and give him some special treatment.

"Yes!" After hearing what Feng Yu said, Zhao Shuo stopped talking.

Zhao Shuo was not famous in the original history, mainly because he was killed by Xiang Yu in his early years. However, Zhao Shuo was actually very knowledgeable, but although he surrendered to Xiang Yu at that time, he was quite critical of some of Xiang Yu's practices.

Zhao Shuo's dissatisfaction was not due to other things, but because he did not agree with many of Xiang Yu's methods of advancing troops. In Zhao Shuo's view, these methods were either too risky or not wise enough. In short, there were many problems. Xiang Yu's temper was rather impatient, and he could not tolerate doubts from others, so he was naturally quite dissatisfied with Zhao Shuo.

This made Xiang Yu dissatisfied with Zhao Shuo and he suppressed him everywhere. However, Zhao Shuo did not betray Xiang Yu because of this. On the contrary, when he attacked the Qin army, he relied on his wisdom and insight to foresee the possible escape route of the Qin army in advance. So he decisively led his troops to intercept them without authorization.

As expected, Zhao Shuo's prediction was correct. He successfully intercepted the Qin army and won an important victory. However, this action angered Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu believed that Zhao Shuo's action was a violation of military orders and acted on his own, and originally planned to punish him directly by military law.

When Zhao Shuo's life was hanging by a thread, Fan Zeng came forward to plead for him. Fan Zeng knew Zhao Shuo's talent and loyalty very well. He advised Xiang Yu that although Zhao Shuo disobeyed military orders, he had won the victory after all, and his merits and demerits offset each other, so he should not be sentenced to death. Xiang Yu finally listened to Fan Zeng's advice and spared Zhao Shuo's death penalty, but still beat him with fifty military sticks.

These fifty blows may not be fatal to ordinary people, but in that era, the power of the stick should not be underestimated. Zhao Shuo was dissatisfied with Xiang Yu's behavior. He felt that Xiang Yu's treatment of him was not only unfair, but also deliberately let the enemy go to show his strength. This was simply wrong.

Coupled with the serious injuries on his body, Zhao Shuo became more and more depressed. In the end, he ended his young life in depression, which can be said to be a very aggrieved death.