Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Of course, Li Ji was not the adventurous type. His willingness to personally go overseas meant he had complete confidence.

It was true that the sea had huge waves and unpredictable weather.

However, with Li Ji's current mastery of celestial phenomena, coupled with the fact that celestial phenomena were also part of the strategy that needed to be considered, he could directly use the "Strategy Simulator" to deduce.

Therefore, if this were an era with professional navigators, Li Ji estimated that he would be among the best in the world.

Thus, it could be said that only Li Ji personally leading this army of thirty thousand could maximize the safety of the army.

Considering all aspects, it wasn't that Li Ji necessarily wanted to go, but that he had to go.

At the moment, Li Ji could only cup his fist in the other hand and bow.

“Thank you, Lord, for your kindness. Even if I were to be smashed to pieces, it would be difficult to repay you. However, this trip concerns success or failure. Although the journey is difficult, my will cannot be moved by mountains or seas. Only in this way can I help you quickly pacify the chaotic world.”

“My time with you, Lord, may still be long, but the time the world has given us is not long. Therefore, I implore you to grant my request.”

Having said that, Li Ji bowed again, waiting for Liu Bei's reaction.

Perhaps the situation in Wu Commandery seemed excellent at the moment, but with the advantage of foresight, Li Ji knew it was not enough, far from enough.

Once Dong Zhuo entered the capital as in the original trajectory, officially kicking off the chaotic world.

Then Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and others would quickly gather more than one hundred thousand soldiers, not to mention that Liu Yan, Liu Biao, Tao Qian, and other governors were also a step ahead of Liu Bei, directly in charge of the military and political power of a state, and could also pull out more than one hundred thousand soldiers at any time.

At present, what Liu Bei actually controlled was only Wu Commandery and Kuaiji Commandery, with no more than fifty thousand soldiers. Only after vigorously reclaiming fertile land did he now have a slightly abundant supply of food.

However, in terms of population, money, equipment, and so on, he was still far behind the other warlords in the chaotic world.

Liu Bei's current situation was undoubtedly more than enough to dominate Jiangdong after entering the chaotic world, but not enough to contend for the Central Plains.

And regardless of whether it was Liu Bei or Li Ji, even if they occupied Jiangdong, their goal was not to be a separatist force. Otherwise, what would be the difference between them and the Jiangdong heroes in the original trajectory?

Therefore, Li Ji was anxious in his heart, knowing that even if Wu Commandery continued to absorb refugees and maintain rapid development, its strength on the surface was still insufficient.

Until a moment later, Liu Bei placed his hands on Li Ji's shoulders and said.

“Zikun, thirty thousand soldiers are not enough, forty thousand! Take forty thousand soldiers to Yingzhou, and also take Zilong with you and keep him by your side. Only in this way can I be at ease.”

Li Ji opened his eyes wide and looked at Liu Bei in a daze.

Li Ji was naturally very clear about the current state of Wu Commandery's military strength.

Forty thousand soldiers, apart from leaving behind some necessary soldiers, I'm afraid they would have to completely empty Wu Commandery's forces, and even draw a portion from Kuaiji Commandery to reach this number.

“No!”

Li Ji was moved by Liu Bei's trust, but he quickly refused.

“The Lord must keep enough mobile forces by his side, and since I have already taken Yide, then the Lord must also keep a usable general by his side.”

Liu Bei waved his hand, his attitude and tone were particularly firm, and said.

“The land of Wu and Kuai has been pacified by Zikun, and the remaining four commanderies of Lujiang, Danyang, Jiujiang, and Yuzhang are generally on good terms with me. In addition, Tao Shijun of Xuzhou is nearby, and the order of the Han Dynasty still exists. Even if there are one or two petty thieves who invade the border, what is there to worry about?”

“Furthermore, I am also considered a person who knows soldiers. Dealing with mere petty thieves is still not a problem.”

Originally, Li Ji had been persuaded by Liu Bei for the most part, but Liu Bei's confidence that he was also a "knowledgeable soldier" made Li Ji a little flustered.

If Li Ji led his troops on a distant expedition, and then petty thieves appeared at home, and Liu Zhibing went to deliver a wave, wouldn't that be the end?

“No, the Lord must keep a usable general by his side to protect the Lord's safety.” Li Ji said in a serious tone.

“Having Jichang is enough.” Liu Bei replied.

Xiahou Bo had never commanded an army in his life. Being a ranger or the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was fine, but if Xiahou Bo was really put on the battlefield, it would be better to believe that Liu Bei could successfully escape on his own than to believe that he could protect Liu Bei and break through the encirclement.

“Jichang is not suitable…”

However, before Li Ji could finish speaking, Liu Bei cupped his hands and interrupted. “Zikun, have you forgotten that Master Lu is also in Wu Commandery? With Master Lu here, why worry about villains daring to invade the border.”

This sentence convinced Li Ji, and he replied helplessly.

“Then I will follow the Lord's wishes.”

Upon hearing this, a smile finally appeared on Liu Bei's face, but he couldn't help but sigh and said.

“Zikun, if this trip to Yingzhou is worthwhile, then do your best. If it is not worthwhile, then you don't have to force yourself. Even without the gold and silver of Yingzhou, as long as I have Zikun by my side, I am confident that I can pacify the chaotic world.”

“Yes, Lord.”

… …

Even with seagoing ships, going to Yingzhou was by no means an easy task.

Before the army moves, food and fodder go first!

Even though Li Ji's plan was to set off after the beginning of spring next year, he still needed to start mobilizing soldiers and preparing for the expedition in advance.

Especially food and fodder, which had to be transported to Youzhou early to store, otherwise it would obviously be too late to transport food and fodder when spring came next year.

In addition, considering that a large number of soldiers experienced seasickness when Guan Yu led his troops to Yizhou.

Considering that Yingzhou was much farther than Yizhou, and that it was necessary to ensure the combat power of the soldiers as much as possible, he began to organize the soldiers to adapt to sailing early on.

In addition, Li Ji also needed to set the development framework for Wu Commandery for the next two years in advance, and arrange all the officials to assist Liu Bei, so as to avoid any incidents of fire in the backyard.

At this moment, Li Ji inexplicably experienced some of Zhuge Liang's mentality in the original trajectory when he made seven expeditions to Qishan. He not only needed to prepare for the war ahead, but also needed to carefully arrange the rear to avoid any mistakes.

Especially the problem of grain seeds, which had not been completely resolved for a long time, undoubtedly made Li Ji a little worried.

At this time, the land of Wu and Kuai was planted with no shortage of rice, but more were other grains besides rice.

This was because the yield of rice at this time was not only difficult to create a clear gap with other grains, but also the environment and conditions for planting rice were relatively harsh, so many agricultural officials would plant different grains in different fields according to local conditions.

In terms of specific farming, not to mention Li Ji, even Liu Bei and others were far less experienced than those agricultural officials and old farmers who were buried in farming.

Therefore, in addition to grain seeds, the only thing that Li Ji could assist in providing grain yield to a certain extent was the curved plow and the promotion of fertilizer.

However, Li Ji was very clear that the optimal solution for crop yield south of the Yangtze River was rice!

And the issue of rice seeds, Li Ji had never slowed down the pace of searching.

But Li Ji vaguely remembered that a kind of rice called "Champa rice" completely changed the planting ecology south of the Yangtze River after it became popular in the feudal era, allowing grain production to leap forward.

However, Li Ji searched through relevant records and maps, but could not find any records about the name "Champa" in this era.

This situation either meant that the name "Champa" had not yet appeared, or that "Champa" was too far away from the Eastern Han Dynasty, so there were no relevant records.

(PS: There was a Champa Kingdom in this era, but due to different languages, the recorded name in the Han Chinese books was Linyi Kingdom.

Until the Tang Dynasty, it was called "Champa Kingdom", and the full name was "Champa Pura", "Pura" in Sanskrit means "city", so it was slowly recorded as Champa later.

And the location was in the original Jiaozhi Inspectorate Rinan Commandery of the Western Han Dynasty, that is, since ancient times…)

However, Li Ji generally remembered that the location of Champa should be in the area south of Jiaozhou, so he had already transferred a group of Embroidered Uniform Guards to take seagoing ships all the way south to find grain seeds.

Only when "Champa rice" was found or other higher-yielding and more suitable rice seeds were cultivated, and then popularized in the land of Wu and Kuai, could the Liu Bei Group truly have no worries about food.

Such as this kind, various kinds…

When Li Ji busily arranged everything properly and carefully explained it to Liu Bei, it was already the spring plowing season.

As the expedition period approached, the fact that Li Ji was about to lead troops on an overseas expedition was gradually becoming known to everyone.

For this reason, Liu Bei specially allowed Li Ji to rest for three days on the day of the temporary expedition, intending to allow Li Ji to spend time with Li Xiang, who was still in his babbling stage.

However, Li Ji, who returned home on vacation, almost unhesitatingly left Li Xiang to the care of the wet nurse, while he himself spent time with Cai Zhaoji.

For Li Ji, his son would only affect his performance.

Fatherly love, does not exist.

And Cai Zhaoji, who learned that Li Ji was about to go on a distant expedition overseas, was restless in her heart these days, but she did not say anything to stop her husband's great ambition, but instead tried her best to maintain gentleness and wholeheartedly serve and welcome Li Ji.

The various kinds of which, are not convenient to say in detail.

It was just that Li Ji, who was accustomed to walking to the government office after the holiday, took a carriage to the government office to meet Liu Bei this time, and then went to Wujun Port together.

Liu Bei, who very consciously got into Li Ji's carriage, subconsciously said.

“Zikun, are you reluctant to part with Xiang'er? But Zikun doesn't need to worry about the family, I will definitely treat Xiang'er as my own, and I will definitely not let Xiang'er suffer any grievances.”

It was just that, when Liu Bei sat firmly in the carriage and looked up at Li Ji, he suddenly found that Li Ji's face was slightly pale, and he couldn't help but frown and asked with concern.

“Zikun, didn't you enjoy family happiness at home during these few days of vacation, but instead spent your mind deducing the expedition?”

Suddenly, Liu Bei's eyebrows couldn't help but reveal a strong worry. The state of Li Ji at the moment was the same as when he had exhausted his mind to deduce strategies many times when he pacified the Yellow Turbans, which made Liu Bei feel distressed and asked softly.

“Zikun, why not postpone the departure date a little? It's not too late to wait for Zikun to recover before setting off.”

Li Ji waved his hand and said.

“The troops are all prepared. How could we delay? Please be at ease, my lord. I am fine. Furthermore, staying at home has not been mentally taxing. On the contrary, I have had a good rest.”

Liu Bei clearly did not believe Li Ji's words. Who ever heard of someone's complexion worsening with rest?

It was obvious that Zi Kun was, as always, secretly exhausting his mind, but he was unwilling to say it, for fear of worrying him.

This made Liu Bei feel all the more heartache, and he was also increasingly moved.

In the end, Li Ji personally ventured overseas at great risk and expended so much effort, all to prepare the capital for him to welcome the troubled times and revive the great Han.

‘For my sake, Zi Kun has truly suffered…'

Liu Bei, who had been suppressing his reluctance as Li Ji was about to embark on his expedition, could not help but secretly wipe away tears at this moment. (End of chapter)