Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Outside the main hall, Guan Yu stood proudly at the doorway, seemingly with his phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, closing them to rest, but in reality, his ears were carefully listening to the movements inside the main hall.

As time went on, a trace of worry unconsciously appeared between Guan Yu's brows, fearing that Mr. Zikun might encounter misfortune, but he had not heard the slightest sound of impropriety from behind the door.

Therefore, Guan Yu could only suppress his anxiety, ready to rush into the main hall at any moment.

"Creak!"

Suddenly, the main door of the hall was pulled open from the inside, and Guan Yu's half-closed eyes also opened.

It wasn't until he saw Li Ji and Liu Yan walking out hand in hand, and both Li Ji and Liu Yan had smiles on their faces, that Guan Yu finally let down his half-raised heart.

"Mr. Zikun, time is of the essence. I will go down and prepare the memorial and present it to the Emperor as soon as possible," Liu Yan said, taking the initiative to cup his fist towards Li Ji.

"Then I will have to trouble the Prefect to be busy with official duties," Li Ji replied.

"Please, Mr. Zikun and Yunchang, move to the backyard. Later, I will personally host a banquet to entertain you two."

Immediately, Liu Yan politely summoned a minor official, instructing the minor official to entertain Li Ji and Guan Yu well, and then left in a bit of a hurry.

Li Ji and Guan Yu, under the guidance of the minor official with a smile on his face, went to the backyard of the Prefect's mansion.

Once in the backyard, Li Ji casually found an excuse to send the minor official away, and then Guan Yu couldn't wait to speak.

"Mr. Zikun, is there any trickery from that Liu Yan?"

Li Ji leisurely admired the scenery of Liu Yan's backyard, reached out and broke off a peach blossom, smelled it at the tip of his nose, and said.

"Yunchang, there is no need to worry, everything has been settled."

Hearing this, a hint of joy flashed across Guan Yu's face, and he asked, "Could it be that Liu Yan has already agreed not to pursue those Yellow Turban rebels?"

Li Ji smiled without saying a word, not directly answering Guan Yu's question, and besides, this was the backyard of the Prefect's mansion, so precautions were needed to prevent eavesdropping.

In fact, during the conversation with Liu Yan, Li Ji never revealed that Liu Bei's bottom line was the lives of those 50,000 Yellow Turban rebels.

Before returning to Zhuo County, Liu Bei had earnestly revealed his bottom line to Li Ji: as long as Liu Yan was willing to spare the 50,000 Yellow Turban rebels, whether it was military merit or the captured money and food, all of it could be handed over.

Li Ji knew very well that in negotiations, whoever revealed their bottom line first would be at an absolute disadvantage.

Therefore, Li Ji didn't even mention the disposal of the 50,000 Yellow Turban rebels, but focused on the superficial military merit and benefits, until he formed a political alliance with Liu Yan on behalf of Liu Bei.

Only then did Li Ji casually mention that when Liu Yan presented the memorial of military merit, it would be appropriate to write that he had annihilated more than 10,000 Yellow Turban bandits and rescued more than 50,000 plundered people, to show the Prefect's benevolence.

To this, Liu Yan naturally had no objections, and even rejoiced, believing that Liu Bei was voluntarily sacrificing most of his military merit in exchange for Liu Yan's reputation for benevolence, thereby further gaining the trust of the Emperor and the imperial court.

As for why it was written as more than 10,000, naturally, it was because casually collecting some corpses would be enough to make up more than 10,000 heads, and merely a few thousand would seem somewhat insufficient.

And Li Ji also knew very well that Liu Yan was ostensibly going down to prepare the memorial, but he would definitely secretly send his subordinates to Da'xing Mountain to confirm the situation, so as not to be deceived.

However, this was only right and proper.

Therefore, Li Ji leisurely admired the scenery of the backyard with Guan Yu, while pondering another issue that he was somewhat unsure of.

Was Liu Yan inviting him to be the Prefect's Assistant in order to keep him in Zhuo County as a hostage? Or was he truly trying to recruit him?

However, after Li Ji politely declined, Liu Yan didn't seem to be too forceful, which made Li Ji feel that Liu Yan really valued him this time.

It's just that, perhaps if Li Ji joined Liu Yan at this moment, from the perspective of simply enjoying hedonism, it would undoubtedly be an excellent choice.

Liu Bei's changed start could be described as unique and wonderful, but Liu Yan was undoubtedly much stronger than in the original trajectory.

In Li Ji's memory, Liu Yan only proposed the "Governor Policy" in the third year after the end of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and then volunteered to be the Governor of the most remote Jiao Province.

It wasn't until, by chance, the former Governor of Yi Province, Xi Jian, was reported to the imperial court for excessive accumulation of wealth and rampant greed, that the imperial court changed Liu Yan to the Governor of Yi Province, and sent him to Yi Province to rectify the officialdom.

And now, if Li Ji's plan goes smoothly, Liu Yan may become the Governor of a province as early as next year, which is much earlier than in the original trajectory.

However, Li Ji still gave up on this idea.

There was no other reason, Liu Bei's current appreciation and love for Li Ji was one of the reasons.

If it weren't for borrowing Liu Bei's identity, Li Ji, a mere illegal immigrant, wouldn't even have the qualifications to speak to Liu Yan, let alone have the opportunity to gain Liu Yan's favor.

Of course, the more important reason was that Li Ji was living in a chaotic world, and he had never lacked the fantasy of personally creating a third generation of the Han Dynasty, or even opening up a Han Dynasty that would last for all ages!

The corruption of the Eastern Han Dynasty may have been inevitable, but Li Ji could never tolerate the appearance of the Five Barbarians Uprising, where all Han people were two-legged sheep!

'Xuande, if you can give me enough trust, whether it is to revitalize the Han Dynasty, or to reproduce the prosperity of the river being clear and the sea being calm, I will do my best to achieve it for you…'

'In return, I only want to see the sun and moon shining on Han land, and personally open up with you a perpetual dynasty that will always allow the Han people to stand tall!'

Unknowingly, Li Ji stood under a pavilion, looking at the distant horizon, and his heart also gradually surged as he finally took the first step in rising in the chaotic world.

Li Ji was confident that he might not be the number one strategist in the world, but with the sufficient trust and right to speak from his lord Liu Bei, he could definitely draw a blueprint that far surpassed the times and was feasible, centered on Liu Bei, who was the orthodox of the Han Dynasty.

This was also the trust and right to speak, as well as the most important orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty, that the other warlords in the entire era, besides Liu Bei, could not possibly give to Li Ji in terms of personality and values.

Guan Yu, standing beside Li Ji, watched Li Ji's expression, and inexplicably felt a kind of spirit from it that seemed to contain the opportunity of the universe and swallow the ambition of heaven and earth.

Guan Yu squinted his eyes, thinking secretly. 'This feeling is inexplicably similar to the elder brother who once spoke wildly when drunk.'

Just at this time.

"Mr. Zikun, Yunchang, you've been waiting for a long time…"

Liu Yan, who had changed his clothes, walked over and invited, "The banquet is ready, please follow me to the table."

"Please."

When Li Ji turned around, the expression on his face had already returned to his usual calm and refined look, and he accepted the invitation to enter the seat.

The high standards of the banquet prepared by Liu Yan this time were quite an eye-opener for Li Ji.

Not only was the food arranged exquisite and delicious, but also a series of musical performances and dances were arranged, making Li Ji, who was truly experiencing what it meant to be a Han upper-class person for the first time, sometimes look a little engrossed.

Liu Yan also specially arranged for his children and many officials in Zhuo County to accompany him, creating an atmosphere that could be described as a joyful gathering for both the host and guests.

Among them, Li Ji did not forget to take a few more glances at the youngest son, Liu Zhang, who was shrinking in the corner, looking fair, chubby, and cute.

In addition, what surprised Li Ji somewhat was that the Prefect's Assistant, who was rumored to be seriously ill, was alive and kicking, and even performed a sword dance in public, which drew cheers from the audience.

However, in this lively banquet, Li Ji could vaguely feel that Liu Yan was deliberately prolonging the banquet time, and the arranged musical performances and dances were continuous.

Until, Zou Jing came in a hurry from outside, leaned into Liu Yan's ear and said something, which made Liu Yan's calm face reveal a bit of joy.

Taking advantage of drinking, Li Ji glanced at Liu Yan out of the corner of his eye, and immediately understood that Zou Jing, who had not appeared at the banquet, should have personally gone to Da'xing Mountain on horseback to confirm the situation.

Now, Liu Yan had obviously waited for the answer he wanted, which also meant that the cooperation between the two sides could officially begin.

As Li Ji expected, after Zou Jing finished his report, Liu Yan finally ended this banquet that should have ended long ago.

Afterwards, Liu Yan wanted to keep Li Ji in the Prefect's mansion to stay overnight, so that he could ask for advice at any time.

Li Ji naturally politely declined again, so as to avoid any awkward situations, and then led fifty riders with Guan Yu to Zhang Fei's mansion in Zhuo County to settle down.

It wasn't until after returning to the mansion that Li Ji had the opportunity to explain to Guan Yu in detail.

"Yunchang, tomorrow you will lead the cavalry back to Da'xing Mountain to join Brother Xuande, tell Brother Xuande everything that happened today, and tell Brother Xuande that I have formed a political alliance with Liu Yan on his behalf."

"From now on, Liu Yan will do his best to support Brother Xuande. I have agreed with Liu Yan that he will prepare 5,000 sets of weapons and armor as soon as possible, 1,000 war horses, supplies and food for 3 months for 10,000 soldiers, and various flags and materials, etc."

"Therefore, Brother Xuande can recruit suitable soldiers from among those Yellow Turban rebels as soon as possible, replenish his troops and reorganize his army as soon as possible, and then he can go south to enter Ji Province."

At this moment, even Guan Yu couldn't help but be stunned.

From Guan Yu's perspective, Li Ji seemed to have only closed the door and talked with Liu Yan for more than a cup of tea, and the rest of the time seemed to be touring the garden and feasting, as if he hadn't really negotiated.

When exactly did Mr. Zikun actually agree on so many matters with Liu Yan?

Moreover, the large amount of materials prepared by Liu Yan was undoubtedly a large sum, almost with the feeling of emptying the entire Zhuo County treasury?

If Li Ji knew what Guan Yu was thinking, he would definitely give a thumbs up and praise him: You guessed right!

After confirming that Liu Bei had indeed defeated 60,000 Yellow Turban troops with 2,000 soldiers, and completely determined to cooperate with Liu Bei, Liu Yan went to empty all the treasuries in Zhuo County.

Anyway, as Liu Yan saw it, if everything went smoothly, he would be a governor next year. Why would he care if the granary of Zhuo County had mice?

Using public money for personal affairs!

How could Liu Yan be merciful to such a good thing?

Even though Guan Yu was surprised, under Li Ji's rapidly accumulating prestige, Guan Yu did not raise any doubts, but silently remembered everything in his heart.

"Yes, Mr. Zikun."

Guan Yu cupped his fist and said, then asked with concern. "Is Mr. Zikun not preparing to return to Daxing Mountain with Guan?"

"Ji, I can't leave yet, otherwise Liu Yan might become suspicious."

Li Ji shook his head and replied.

Guan Yu pondered for a moment and said. "In that case, Guan will leave the Yan Yun Eighteen Riders under my third brother's command in the mansion to temporarily serve as Mr. Zikun's personal guards."

Li Ji did not refuse this.

After all, although Li Ji knew very well that Liu Yan would definitely not attack him, he couldn't guarantee that some fanatical Yellow Turban spies hiding in Zhuo County would sneak into the mansion.

With the protection of the Yan Yun Eighteen Riders, who were personally selected by Zhang Fei and were all strong in martial arts, safety was naturally guaranteed.

Afterward, Li Ji continued to explain some details about Liu Yan sending officials to take over those Yellow Turban members and arrange for them to return to their hometowns, asking Liu Bei to assist as much as possible, so as not to delay the spring plowing time after those Yellow Turban members returned to their hometowns.

This was a major matter concerning whether these lower-level people would go hungry next year, so Li Ji did not forget to repeatedly explain it.

"Mr. Zikun, rest assured, we three brothers are also from the bottom, how can we not understand such a major matter."

Guan Yu replied in a deep voice.

"That's good."

Li Ji nodded and cupped his fist. "Then Yunchang should go down and rest. You have been fighting and killing for half a day, and also accompanied Ji back to Zhuo County. It is really hard work for Yunchang."

"It's a small matter. Guan only used a little bit of courage. Mr. Zikun has worked hard. Please rest well, Mr. Zikun."

Guan Yu saluted, bowed and stepped back three steps, and was about to turn around and leave when.

"Yunchang, wait a moment."

Li Ji suddenly called out to Guan Yu.

Guan Yu turned around and asked without the slightest impatience. "Does Mr. Zikun have any other instructions?"

"Ji suddenly remembered a major matter."

Li Ji said in a deep voice.

"Please speak."

"After Yunchang returns to Daxing Mountain tomorrow, you can have Brother Xuande take in all the women who have no home to go to and send them back to Zhuo County."

Li Ji said.

Guan Yu frowned slightly and asked. "How many does Mr. Zikun need?"

"The more the better."

Li Ji said, causing Guan Yu's brow to furrow obviously, thinking to himself.

'Mr. Zikun has such a hobby, it is not good, I am afraid he will not live long.'

However, Guan Yu knew that he probably couldn't persuade Mr. Zikun, so he planned to return to Daxing Mountain early tomorrow morning and tell his eldest brother about this matter, hoping that his eldest brother could persuade Mr. Zikun a little.

"Okay."

Guan Yu slowly responded.

However, Li Ji, who was lost in thought, did not notice the slight change in Guan Yu's tone.

Just as Guan Yu was hesitating whether to ask to leave, Li Ji spoke again.

"In addition to the women, those young men or children who are too young to join the army for the time being can also be taken in and sent to me, the more the better."

!!!

Guan Yu.

At this moment, Guan Yu couldn't help but widen his habitually half-closed eyes, and his originally jujube-red face became even redder.

"No!"

Guan Yu could no longer help but speak out, and advised with a serious expression. "This will definitely damage the body and shorten life. Please think twice, Mr. Zikun."