As Shen Pei left, he felt a deep sense of helplessness. The moment he stepped out of Changli, a wave of exhaustion washed over him.

"Sometimes wars are nothing more than the result of personal grievances that could have been resolved with a simple conversation. But because of the pride of those involved, who stand too high and hold too much power, and because of the countless lives at stake, something that could have been settled peacefully instead leads to one party's downfall," Shen Pei thought as he walked away, recalling a phrase Ju Shou had once mentioned—a line he had read in the Taishan Library. Shen Pei had nearly forgotten it, but now it resurfaced vividly.

"Gongsun Bogui..." Shen Pei glanced back at Changli, observing the ancient city walls marked with countless scars and stained with dark red blood, both of the Hu and Han people.

This had once been one of the most heavily raided areas by the Hu people, and in fact, it had once belonged to them. But later, during the Han dynasty's rise to power, the Hu people were defeated, and the Han took control. For over a hundred years, this place had seen endless warfare until Gongsun Bogui finally defeated the Wuhuan, securing this land.

"Perhaps you had your own personal motives, but what you did indeed protected the Han people behind you," Shen Pei muttered as he stood in the twilight, feeling the biting east wind. Compared to the spring warmth of the Central Plains, it was still cold and harsh here.

Shen Pei bowed slightly toward Changli, then slowly straightened up. "Gongsun Bogui, I believe your words now. Perhaps the events of that year were indeed my lord's fault, but no one is without mistakes. My lord may have been wrong, but the pursuit of dominion over the realm is ultimately for the betterment of all. If killing one can save thousands, then it must be done."

The events in Youzhou had little impact on the Central Plains. Of course, if Shen Pei had managed to persuade Gongsun Zan, it would have been a major coup, as Yuan Shao would likely have launched a surprise attack, putting Liu Bei in a highly disadvantageous position.

With Lu Bu having left Yanzhou, the territory was divided between Liu Bei and Yuan Shao, though the division hardly satisfied Yuan Shao. Although there were orders to avoid large-scale conflict, such vague commands were unlikely to restrain Yuan Shao's beloved generals like Yan Liang and Wen Chou.

To avoid falling prey to another scheme by Chen Xi and others, Yuan Shao sent not only two mighty generals to Yanzhou but also Tian Feng and Xu You, along with a significant number of mid- and lower-ranking military officers and civil servants.

By now, both sides had some understanding of each other. It was clear that Guo Jia specialized in unconventional strategies, while Chen Xi preferred a steady, methodical approach, always playing it safe and leveraging overwhelming force.

Given this, Yuan Shao sent Tian Feng and Xu You to counter Chen Xi and Guo Jia. Tian Feng was all about steady victories, while Xu You was adept at surprise moves. The two complemented each other perfectly, though they often clashed due to their differing personalities. Fortunately, Yuan Shao's authority kept them in check.

"Our opponents are Tian Yuanhao and Xu Ziyuan, huh," Chen Xi remarked with a wry smile. "This one's on you, Guo Jia. I'll focus on defense, but if it comes down to facing Tian Yuanhao, leave him to me. You can handle Xu Ziyuan."

"How can someone have a spiritual gift like that?" Guo Jia said, his face twisted in disbelief.

If not for the reliable source of the information, Guo Jia would never have believed such a spiritual gift could exist.

Tian Feng wasn't interested in intellectual duels. His approach was to drag everyone's intelligence down to a basic level and then rely on his extensive experience to outmaneuver them. Who could possibly compete with someone who had honed their skills in such conditions for years?

This was even more frustrating than Sima Yi's ability to suppress spiritual gifts. At least when facing Sima Yi, Guo Jia's abilities wouldn't diminish too much. But against Tian Feng, it would be utterly infuriating.

"That's why I'm relieved that he didn't activate his spiritual gift last time. But I can guarantee that this time, he'll remember to use it. His spiritual gift is essentially precognitive," Chen Xi said with a smile. He wasn't too concerned about Tian Feng's spiritual gift, despite its potency, because of its significant limitations.

The reason Chen Xi's group knew about Tian Feng's spiritual gift was thanks to Cui Jun's infiltration of Yuan Shao's inner circle. It should be noted that anyone capable of partnering with figures like Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Xu Shu was no ordinary individual. For instance, after returning to Jizhou, Cui Jun decisively split the Cui clan into two branches, giving birth to the Boling Cui family.

He then astonished the entire aristocracy by siding with the Yuan family, effectively sabotaging many of the powerful Jizhou clans. The Jizhou aristocratic alliance, having already been ravaged by the Zhen family's tactics and Yuan Shao's crackdowns, crumbled completely after Cui Jun's betrayal.

The Jizhou aristocracy had anticipated the possibility of betrayal within their ranks, but they never expected the turncoat to be none other than the leader of their alliance, the Cui family. The strongest alliances always fall apart from within, and even the mightiest forces cannot withstand internal sabotage.

After Cui Jun's critical blow to the aristocratic alliance, Yuan Shao quickly moved to suppress, divide, and co-opt them, plunging Jizhou into chaos. Some aristocrats even allied with Wei Yan to retaliate against the Bohai region. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

In the end, the Jizhou aristocrats' resistance was futile, and Yuan Shao used the opportunity to consolidate his control over the region, except for the vast network of Zhen family shops spread across Jizhou. However, in Yuan Shao's eyes, the Zhen family's deep roots in Jizhou made it impossible for them to escape his grasp.

As the architect and executor of the plan to subdue the Jizhou aristocracy, Cui Jun became an indispensable figure under Yuan Shao, comparable to the Five Great Strategists. No one questioned the crucial role he played.

Because of this, Chen Xi learned about Tian Feng's spiritual gift, a secret rarely revealed by Tian Feng himself. Knowing this, Chen Xi decided to take on Tian Feng personally. If Guo Jia were to face Tian Feng without prior knowledge, he'd likely be overwhelmed; even with preparation, it would be a tough battle.

Tian Feng's spiritual gift, according to intelligence from Jizhou, was relatively simple. It allowed him to sense the outcome of enemy plots within a certain range, though not the full details, just the result of the enemy's schemes.

Though it only provided the outcome, it made conventional strategies nearly useless against Tian Feng. At his level, knowing the outcome often allowed him to reverse-engineer the process and develop a counter-strategy...

Of course, if the scheme was exceptionally high-level, Tian Feng might sense it but still be unable to decipher or counter it. After all, some strategies are so intricate that even knowing the endgame wouldn't help unless one had the intelligence to work backward—a feat not everyone could accomplish, except for someone with extraordinary intelligence like Chen Gong.

However, Cui Jun also pointed out a significant limitation of Tian Feng's spiritual gift: it only worked against enemies. Based on Cui Jun's analysis, this "enemy" was likely defined by Tian Feng's lord. In other words, Tian Feng's spiritual gift had to be tied to a master.

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