Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Liu Bei naturally cared for and paid attention to his two sworn brothers.

It was precisely for this reason that Liu Bei deeply agreed with what Li Ji had summarized, saying:

"What Zikun says is very true. Yunchang treats his soldiers well but is arrogant towards the scholar-officials, and Yide indeed loves and respects gentlemen but does not care for the common people. These are the character flaws of Yunchang and Yide."

Previously, from the time Li Ji integrated into the small group of Liu, Guan, and Zhang, Zhang Fei had the worst attitude but also changed the fastest, almost unhesitatingly expressing his conviction after Li Ji demonstrated his abilities.

In contrast, Guan Yu was dismissive for a long time, and it was not until the great victory in the Battle of Daxing Mountain that he sincerely admired Li Ji and became increasingly respectful.

"Let's not talk about Yunchang's problem for now, but the matter of Yide not caring for his subordinates needs to be given more attention, otherwise he will inevitably be betrayed one day," Li Ji said in a deep voice.

"So, Zikun used punishment as an excuse to have Yide go down and work as a laborer to dig the river?" Liu Bei asked.

"That's right."

Li Ji nodded and said.

"Yide actually has benevolence in his heart and cares for the common people, but he rarely shows consideration for his subordinates, often beating and scolding them. The reason for this can perhaps be attributed to Yide subconsciously using the standards of the people around him to measure his subordinates."

"May I ask, Lord, Yunchang, and Yide all come from humble backgrounds. Even the eighteen Yan Yun riders who followed Zhang Fei in charging into battle and fighting thousands of miles were originally just ordinary village warriors."

"In this way, Yide may subconsciously believe that those subordinates who do not meet these standards are all lazy and should be beaten, scolded, and punished."

Listening to Li Ji's analysis, Liu Bei suddenly felt enlightened, understanding why Zhang Fei, who was inherently righteous and valued benevolence, would often be tyrannical towards his subordinates. It turned out the problem lay here.

Ultimately, it was because Zhang Fei had seen too many capable people. Not to mention that Guan Yu and Zhao Yun were both of common origin, which led Zhang Fei to subconsciously use the standards of the people around him to measure the abilities of his subordinates.

But, what kind of people were Guan Yu and Zhao Yun?

Even Li Ji, after comparing himself with Jia Xu, roughly understood that even without the "Strategy Simulator," his own abilities could perhaps barely be considered in the ranks of top-level civil officials.

However, these people were not cabbages; how could they just pop up casually?

But in Zhang Fei's eyes, this led to him looking at his subordinates and being dissatisfied with everything, feeling that it was not that they were incapable, but purely lazy.

"Zikun's analysis is extremely correct. I and Yunchang can be considered true grassroots, but Yide was originally a wealthy clan in Zhuo County. Seeing the abilities of me and Yunchang, he uses this as a standard to measure his subordinates, which makes Yide seem harsh and tyrannical," Liu Bei said with some agreement.

Li Ji nodded and said. "That's right, so I intentionally want Yide to go to the lowest level and truly experience the difficulties of the common people, so that Yide will naturally understand the reason."

"I see…"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei was completely relieved, and a smile appeared on his face.

In fact, the reason why Liu Bei asked this question was not purely because he was worried that Zhang Fei could not endure this hardship, but because he was somewhat concerned that Li Ji would harbor resentment because Zhang Fei violated the alcohol ban, and from then on, he would not treat Zhang Fei well.

For Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and Li Ji could be completely regarded as the flesh of his palm and the back of his hand.

Therefore, Liu Bei asked this question in order to understand Li Ji's view of Zhang Fei, and then try to persuade Li Ji and say some good words for Zhang Fei to maintain internal harmony and friendship.

"I didn't expect that Zikun's arrangement was all for Yide's sake. I hope Yide can understand Zikun's good intentions," Liu Bei said with admiration.

Of course, even if Zhang Fei couldn't figure out the key to it for a while, it didn't matter. Liu Bei planned to find an opportunity to personally get through this key for Zhang Fei, so that Zhang Fei would understand Li Ji's expectations and importance of him behind his back.

And Liu Bei, who was completely relieved, suddenly realized that Li Ji had rushed back from the shipyard, and his dusty appearance naturally meant that he had not had time to eat.

Afterwards, Liu Bei and Li Ji ate together in the side hall.

Although the mainstream of eating in this era was serving separately, that is, one person had a small table and ate their own food, but privately, under Li Ji's influence, Liu Bei and Li Ji ate at one table.

While eating, Li Ji also took the opportunity to report to Liu Bei about Liu Zhang, Gan Ning, and the development of the fishing industry.

Listening to Li Ji's clear and logical explanations of various arrangements and analytical intentions, Liu Bei secretly sighed, 'Fortunately, I have Zikun, who is better than a thousand troops,' and nodded repeatedly to express his approval.

Only the matter of Gan Ning disguising himself as a pirate made Liu Bei frown slightly, saying, "Zikun, should this matter be considered a little more? Raising bandits to gain self-importance is not what a loyal minister should do."

Li Ji had already guessed that Liu Bei would have objections to this matter, but this kind of thing could not be concealed from Liu Bei, and Li Ji also knew how to persuade Liu Bei, saying:

"Lord, it is not that I have disloyal intentions, but I want to open a sea route from Wu Commandery to You Province. If I hang the flag of Wu Commandery and draw a nautical chart along the coast, it will definitely attract layers of prying eyes and even trigger many unnecessary associations."

"But if Gan Ning hangs the flag of a pirate, then he will just wander around, and people will only respect him from a distance, and will not delve into why Gan Ning is present on the coasts of various states."

"Therefore, if we want to quickly draw a coastal map and find a viable transportation route, then this move is quite necessary."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei thought for a moment and accepted this explanation.

After all, Liu Bei was not a pedantic person. After a simple thought, he understood that it was indeed much more convenient to draw a nautical chart and open up a route as a pirate, which could avoid a lot of unnecessary prying eyes and accidents.

"By the way, Zikun…"

Liu Bei nodded in agreement, and suddenly remembered something, and said.

"I contacted Gongsun Zan, a close friend who is still in You Province. Now that Bo Gui has been promoted to Cavalry Commandant of You Province, he has replied that he can collect oxen on my behalf, but it will take time."

Li Ji was overjoyed upon hearing this. He had rarely heard Liu Bei mention Gongsun Zan before, and Li Ji was not convenient to ask about it proactively, not knowing the private relationship between the two parties.

Now it seems that the private relationship between Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan is indeed very good!

With Gongsun Zan's strong assistance, then the matter of collecting oxen should not become a big problem.

As long as a sea route to You Province is opened and corresponding seagoing ships are built, then the shortage of oxen in Wu Commandery can be quickly alleviated, and as long as this route is stabilized, then Wu Commandery can continuously purchase warhorses from You Province.

Yang Province lacks horses!

As long as Liu Bei forms an elite cavalry team and is in suitable terrain, it will be enough to run rampant in Yang Province.

And in this way, Gongsun Zan will also be able to obtain a continuous supply of money and food from Wu Commandery through trade in the future.

With Gongsun Zan's hatred and killing intent towards foreigners recorded in history, with the support of sufficient money and food, I am afraid that the foreigners on the border of You Province will have to suffer.

"With the support of Cavalry Commandant Gongsun, the shortage of oxen in Wu Commandery can be solved," Li Ji breathed a sigh of relief and said.

And Liu Bei said with a smile.

"Speaking of which, in Bo Gui's reply, he was still worried that Wu was a poor place, and that I would have difficulty controlling the situation and lack money and food."

"So Bo Gui is preparing to send a thousand oxen, and Bo Gui also said that this is the limit of his current ability, and the rest of the oxen will need to be exchanged for money and food before he can find a way to collect them."

This made Li Ji a little dumbfounded, and he also had a bold and generous image of Gongsun Zan in his heart.

A thousand oxen!

Even if the price of oxen in You Province is relatively low, that is, a little more expensive than horses, it is also a considerable amount of wealth. Gongsun Zan actually said that he would send them.

However, Li Ji knew that this kind of advantage could not be taken. If he wanted to maintain the trade channel between Wu Commandery and You Province, it was very important to maintain a good relationship with Gongsun Zan.

And favors and personal relationships… will always be exhausted one day.

Therefore, Li Ji pondered slightly about the finances of Wu Commandery and said.

"Please reply to Cavalry Commandant Gongsun, Wu Commandery can purchase oxen at a price 20% higher than the price of oxen in You Province, the more the better."

"Okay!"

Of course, Liu Bei was also very supportive of this.

If possible, Liu Bei naturally did not want to blindly let Gongsun Zan take care of him, but Liu Bei did not dare to easily interfere in the finances of Wu Commandery, for fear of disrupting Li Ji's arrangements.

Therefore, Liu Bei brought up this matter with the intention of asking how the subsequent oxen trade would be arranged.

And after Li Ji gave the offer to purchase at a price 20% higher than the price of oxen in You Province, Liu Bei couldn't help but feel happy.

In this way, it was not that Liu Bei was asking his old friend for alms, but that he thought of the benefits and distributed some of them to his old friend, which could be completely called Liu Bei's generosity in not forgetting to share the benefits with Gongsun Zan after he made a fortune.

This kind of face-saving brilliance seemed to brighten Liu Bei's eyes a little.

"Zikun, you don't seem to have met Bo Gui before, right?" Liu Bei asked.

"No."

Li Ji had indeed not had the opportunity to meet Gongsun Zan, the famous White Horse General in the original trajectory.

Perhaps, Gongsun Zan also had such and such problems, and even his actions could not be called a qualified lord at all, but as a border general, Gongsun Zan had never lost his integrity from beginning to end, and had never hesitated in resisting and counterattacking foreigners.

Even Zhao Yun in the original trajectory was impressed by Gongsun Zan's boldness in trampling the border with his horses, causing countless foreigners to be terrified by the name of the White Horse Righteous Followers, and did not hesitate to travel from Changshan State in Ji Province to the border of You Province to serve under Gongsun Zan.

In the original timeline, Gongsun Zan treated Liu Bei with the attitude of an elder brother constantly looking after his younger brother, readily lending him troops, money, and supplies without ever asking for repayment.

He even lent a formidable general like Zhao Yun to Liu Bei without hesitation, demonstrating his generosity and magnanimity.

Liu Bei then said with a hint of anticipation.

"Another day, I will personally introduce Zikun to Brother Bogui, so that Brother Bogui may know that I now also possess treasures far surpassing his beloved white horse."

(End of Chapter)