Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 10: The Commandant of Subordinates - Bandit Catcher

A dilemma…

This was the feeling of Liu Yan, the Prefect of Zhuo County, at this moment. What made Liu Yan even more resentful was that Liu Bei's words and sentences were all about benevolence and righteousness. Doesn't this implicitly highlight that Liu Yan, as the Prefect, is a person who disregards the safety of the common people?

How astonishing was the Yellow Turban rebellion?!

Many prefectures and counties had fallen, and countless officials and soldiers had fled. From high-ranking officials in the imperial court to local officials, everyone was in danger.

Under such a treacherous situation, Liu Yan believed that he had already made a contribution by trying his best to defend the city of Zhuo County.

Due to the angle, Li Ji couldn't see Liu Yan's expression on the city tower very clearly, but he could vaguely guess what he was thinking.

Liu Yan, as the Prefect, was afraid of the Yellow Turbans and dared not go out of the city to resist. A mere commoner formed a righteous army of two thousand people and dared to go to their deaths. This was implicitly slapping Liu Yan in the face.

Immediately, Li Ji said loudly.

“Brother Xuande, you are neither an official nor a military officer. What qualifications do you have to make a military pledge? Moreover, the Prefect is only concerned about our lives. Why be so agitated?”

As soon as these words came out, Liu Yan's expression softened slightly. He looked at the white-robed scholar standing next to Liu Bei.

“Who are you?” Liu Yan asked.

“Li Ji from Zhuo County, courtesy name Zikun, pays respects to the Prefect.”

Li Ji bowed and replied.

Now that Li Ji had offered a way out, Liu Yan, who was in a dilemma, naturally wouldn't refuse. He sized up Li Ji's scholar attire and said.

“You are a good scholar, understanding my good intentions.”

“Please forgive Brother Xuande's recklessness, Prefect. This is all because Brother Xuande is thinking of the people outside the city who will suffer from the Yellow Turban bandits. He is anxious and has already lost his composure,” Li Ji said.

“How could I blame Xuande? I only treat Xuande as a nephew in my family, so I can't help but be a little anxious.”

With the tacit cooperation between Li Ji and Liu Yan, the tense atmosphere at the city gate quickly eased.

And the issue that had originally risen to the level of Liu Yan disregarding the lives of the people outside the city and preventing Liu Bei from going out to kill the bandits was quickly reduced to Liu Yan caring about his nephew, allowing Liu Yan to save face.

Now that he had saved face, Liu Yan regarded the two thousand righteous soldiers who listened to Liu Bei as a burden. He prepared to find an excuse to let Liu Bei lead the two thousand righteous soldiers out of the city.

Whether Liu Bei was greedy for life and afraid of death, planning to lead these two thousand men to establish his own mountain stronghold, or really wanted to lead two thousand men to their deaths, Liu Yan, who was already overwhelmed by the Yellow Turban bandits, was too lazy to care.

However, before Liu Yan could take the initiative to send Liu Bei out of the city, Li Ji spoke first.

“I also know that the Prefect cherishes his own nephew and is unwilling to let Brother Xuande take risks out of the city, but Brother Xuande, as a member of the Han imperial family, is naturally unwilling to retreat because of fear of death at a time when the people are in distress.”

“Now, the Prefect bears the heavy responsibility of the lives of countless people in Zhuo County. It is not appropriate to act rashly. Why not agree to Brother Xuande's idea?”

“Let Brother Xuande go out of the city to protect the people on behalf of the Prefect. If Brother Xuande achieves something, it can also alleviate the Prefect's suffering from being unable to sleep at night due to worrying about the people outside the city?”

This series of reasonable and well-founded remarks that stood on the side of righteousness made Liu Yan couldn't help but take a deep look at Li Ji.

Why had he never heard of such an eloquent person before?

At first, when Li Ji deliberately created a step for Liu Yan to save face, Liu Yan didn't pay much attention to Li Ji. But after this remark, Liu Yan's eyes couldn't help but change slightly when he looked at Li Ji.

The people, soldiers, and even Liu Bei and Guan Yu present only saw Li Ji's awe-inspiring righteousness, but Liu Yan, who had been immersed in officialdom for many years, heard the hidden meaning and the exchange of interests hidden beneath the awe-inspiring words.

Li Ji first pointed out that Liu Bei, as a member of the Han imperial family, was not afraid of death for the sake of the people outside the city.

As a member of the Han imperial family, if Liu Yan did nothing, even if he managed to defend Zhuo County in the end, it would still be easy for people to criticize him, and he would often be attacked by political enemies in the future.

As for the latter two sentences, what about going out of the city to protect the people on behalf of Liu Yan? The word "on behalf of" was very clever and full of metaphorical meaning.

Under what circumstances would Liu Bei be able to go out of the city on behalf of Liu Yan in name and still be recognized?

In addition, Li Ji said at the beginning that Liu Bei was neither an official nor a military officer. Then the meaning that Li Ji implicitly expressed was very clear—he wanted an official position, and it had to be an official position that could represent Liu Yan to a certain extent.

In addition, Li Ji also gave the conditions to reciprocate Liu Yan. If Liu Bei achieved something in resisting the Yellow Turban bandits, then naturally a part of the credit would be shared with Liu Yan.

It must be said that Liu Yan was a little tempted.

After all, what Liu Yan needed to pay was only an official position. Even if Liu Bei didn't achieve anything, Liu Yan wouldn't suffer a loss. But if Liu Bei achieved something, then Liu Yan would naturally make a profit.

Even if Liu Bei led two thousand righteous soldiers to die in battle outside Zhuo County, what would Liu Yan lose?

Liu Yan could even report this to the imperial court as a political achievement, claiming that Liu Yan had sacrificed even his nephew to resist the Yellow Turban bandits.

Thinking of this, Liu Yan went straight down from the city tower and walked to Liu Bei and Li Ji, saying with a somewhat unbearable expression.

“Xuande, are you really determined to go out of the city to kill the Yellow Turban bandits?”

“I, Bei, am determined!” Liu Bei said in a deep voice.

“Are you not afraid of death?”

“I am not afraid of death!”

“Good!”

Liu Yan clapped his hands and laughed, praising.

“Worthy of being a member of the Han imperial family, and worthy of being my nephew. Since Xuande is so determined, even if I am reluctant, I should fulfill Xuande's ambition.”

After a pause, Liu Yan said loudly in public.

“It's just that Xuande is still a commoner now, and it is inappropriate to lead troops out of the city. How about starting today, Xuande will serve as the Commandant of Subordinates - Bandit Catcher?”

Immediately, Liu Bei was slightly stunned.

The Commandant of Subordinates - Bandit Catcher was not a true official, but a type of clerk, but he had considerable real power and status in a county.

Normally, a county had three main officials: the County Governor, the County Chancellor, and the Commandant.

The County Governor was the highest-ranking official in the entire county, while the County Chancellor and the Commandant were responsible for managing civil and military affairs to assist the County Governor.

The Commandant of Subordinates - Bandit Catcher belonged to one of the five clerks directly under the County Governor. Normally, he was the County Governor's confidant and an important arm for the County Governor to control the entire county.

Among them, the Commandant of Subordinates - Bandit Catcher was in charge of soldiers and guards, and had certain military power. He was responsible for guarding the County Governor's left and right sides, patrolling and serving, and was also responsible for clearing bandits in the county.

In a sense, Liu Bei, who was originally a commoner, could almost be said to have risen to the sky in one step.

More importantly, with the status of the Commandant of Bandit Catchers, no matter what happened after the end of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he would not be appointed as a mere County Constable.

After Liu Bei reacted, he quickly bowed and replied.

“Thank you, Uncle. I will not fail Uncle's expectations.”

“Very good, very good.”

Then, Liu Yan glanced at the simple leather armor that only protected Liu Bei's chest, and the two thousand righteous soldiers behind him were only wearing cloth clothes. He hesitated slightly and then said.

“Now that Xuande is already the Commandant of Bandit Catchers, these two thousand righteous soldiers will be under Xuande's command. In addition, there is still a batch of weapons and armor in the treasury, which will also be handed over to Xuande.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei was overjoyed.

Only Zou Jing, who followed Liu Yan downstairs, looked a little embarrassed and said. “Lord, that batch of weapons and armor is still very useful…”

However, before Zou Jing could finish speaking, Liu Yan glanced at him and forced Zou Jing to stop talking.

For Liu Yan, the Prefect of Zhuo County, since he had already planned to secretly reach an exchange of interests with Li Ji, he would naturally not be stingy with this little bit of payment.

More importantly, Liu Yan, who valued face quite a bit, also despised these righteous soldiers in cloth clothes and didn't want others to criticize his soldiers for not even having a little armor.

Of course, Liu Yan spoke generously, but those armors were only leather armors, which were the equipment of ordinary county soldiers.

Then, under Liu Yan's order, Zou Jing could only reluctantly lead a team of righteous soldiers led by Guan Yu to the treasury to receive weapons and armor.

Liu Yan took Liu Bei's hand, talked about some family matters, and taught Liu Bei to be cautious in using troops after leaving the city.

Li Ji, who witnessed this scene, couldn't help but sigh that the bloodline of the old Liu family might be inherited in this respect.

Not long ago, Liu Yan was probably eager to put Liu Bei in jail, but at this moment, he was like a worried elder who was reluctant to let his nephew go on an expedition, trying to win people's hearts.

If it wasn't Li Ji who personally completed the exchange of interests with Liu Yan in secret, even bystanders who witnessed the whole process would only think that the cause of the whole conflict was Liu Yan's excessive concern for Liu Bei.

Soon, Guan Yu, with a happy face, led the two thousand righteous soldiers' weapons and armor back. In addition to a full set of spears and bows and arrows, the most important thing was the full two thousand sets of leather armor.

In addition, Guan Yu also specially led three sets of scale armor.

Guan Yu's face was already as heavy as dates, with phoenix eyes and silkworm eyebrows. Before, he was wearing ordinary cloth clothes and leather armor, so he couldn't see anything.

At this moment, Guan Yu was wearing scale armor and holding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, showing a majestic appearance.

Guan Yu walked straight to Liu Bei, handed over the remaining scale armor in his hand, and said. “Brother, let me help you change your armor.”

However, Liu Bei frowned when he looked at the only two sets of scale armor left in Guan Yu's hand and said.

“Second Brother, you should change armor for Zikun first, and leave a set of scale armor for Yide. I don't need it.”

Guan Yu was stunned and immediately understood Liu Bei's meaning. He thought that Guan Yu was only taking care of the three brothers and ignored Li Ji's safety, so he quickly explained.

“Brother, it's not that I forgot about Mr. Zikun, but there are only three sets of scale armor left in the treasury.”

Liu Bei's expression softened slightly upon hearing this, but he still said, "Then give my scale armor to Zikun."

Li Ji, moved by this, quickly dissuaded him, saying.

"Brother Xuande, I am but a scholar and need not charge ahead in battle. Compared to me, you need the scale armor to protect yourself even more. Please put it on quickly."

Liu Yan, who had been watching the whole scene, smiled and said at the opportune moment.

"Xuande, the battlefield is dangerous. How about leaving Mister Zikun in the city? I will take good care of him and raise him for you."

Instantly, Liu Bei's expression, which had always remained unchanged even when Mount Tai collapsed before him, showed a hint of green.

Liu Yan wasn't trying to help Liu Bei solve the problem of Li Ji's safety; he was clearly trying to poach him!

Liu Bei almost instinctively wanted to refuse, but the words caught in his throat. After a moment of hesitation, he turned to look at Li Ji, gritted his teeth, and said.

"Zikun, my journey ahead is uncertain, and my life is unknown. Moreover, you are but a weak scholar. It would be better for you to stay in the city for now. If I do not die, I will surely come to fetch you."

Li Ji looked at Liu Bei's eyes, which were somewhat red, and his expression, which was full of reluctance and helplessness.

Originally, when Liu Yan unexpectedly said those words, Li Ji expected Liu Bei's reaction to be roughly one of two things.

Either he would sternly refuse, treating Li Ji as a forbidden object, or he would respect Li Ji's choice and leave the decision in his hands.

However, what Li Ji didn't expect was that Liu Bei would actually take the initiative to persuade Li Ji to stay in the city.

For a moment, a smile unconsciously appeared on Li Ji's face.

As the saying goes, time reveals a person's heart. Although Li Ji hadn't known Liu Bei for long, Liu Bei's reaction showed his benevolence and highlighted how important Li Ji's safety was to him.

However, the next moment, Li Ji suppressed his smile and said in a deep voice.

"Brother Xuande, do not underestimate me. A true man is born between heaven and earth and should achieve unparalleled feats with a three-foot sword. Although I am a weak scholar, how could I be willing to lag behind others?"

This ambition shocked everyone present.

Immediately, Li Ji cupped his fist towards Liu Yan and said.

"I thank you for your concern, Lord Prefect, but I share the same aspirations as Brother Xuande and have already agreed to defeat the bandits and save the people. How could I retreat for the sake of survival?"

At this moment, Liu Yan's gaze towards Li Ji was filled with undisguised admiration.

Before talking with Liu Bei, Liu Yan had intentionally and unintentionally inquired about Li Ji's background and origins in detail. In addition, during their brief interaction, Liu Yan recognized Li Ji's quick wit and eloquence, which led him to consider taking Li Ji under his wing.

'It is a pity for such talent to die with Liu Bei. It would not be a bad thing to have him under my command as an assistant…'

With this in mind, Liu Yan took advantage of the scale armor incident to invite Li Ji.

In fact, the reason why there were only three sets of scale armor in the armory was secretly arranged by Liu Yan, in order to use the strategy of "two peaches kill three warriors" to create conflict between Li Ji and Liu Bei's brothers.

However, what Liu Yan didn't expect was that Liu Bei was so benevolent, and even more so that Li Ji had such aspirations.

After a slight hesitation, Liu Yan solemnly invited him.

"Since Mister Zikun has such great ambitions, my mansion is still lacking a staff member. May I earnestly request Mister Zikun to take on this role?"

Li Ji's heart stirred, and he hesitated for a moment…

With the chaotic times approaching, compared to following Liu Bei with an uncertain future, following Liu Yan to Yizhou for a stable life was undoubtedly a very good choice.

However, the next moment, Li Ji suppressed this thought.

If Liu Yan had made such an invitation before he met Liu Bei, Li Ji might have really been tempted.

After all, assisting Liu Yan in taking over Yizhou and establishing prestige and reputation first.

When Liu Yan's son, Liu Zhang, succeeds as the governor of Yizhou, with Liu Zhang's personality similar to Liu Shan, as long as Li Ji gains enough trust from Liu Zhang, it may not be impossible to bring along the baggage Liu Zhang and devour the world with the land of abundance.