Chen Xi did not dwell too deeply on Jia Xu's question. Perhaps Jia Xu had entered a state of excitement, or perhaps he had gotten himself into trouble again and wanted to throw the blame out before anyone found out. Who knows?
After all, these matters were not important. The crucial point was that Chen Xi had confirmed Li Youu's assessment, and Liu Ye had arrived at the same conclusion—Yuan Shao planned to drag things out. In fact, it could be said Yuan Shao intended to ride out this crisis. There's a high likelihood he'd adopt the strategy of the Zhao State from the past—prolonging food supplies. But compared to Zhao, Yuan Shao's advantages are even more pronounced; his stockpiles of food can sustain the delay.
To be honest, this was the situation Liu Bei was most unwilling to face, which was precisely why the notion of mediation existed!
