Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

As soon as these words came out, everyone turned their heads to look at the source of the voice.

It was Zhang Song, standing behind Liu Zhang, who spoke with a drunken slur, his chin slightly raised, as if he regarded all the lords present as nothing.

Li Ji couldn't help but rub his forehead, realizing that Zhang Song was mostly drunk.

This was a meeting of lords, and Li Ji had no intention of establishing his own power. He was still participating as a county official under Liu Bei. How could he be suitable to sit alone?

Immediately, Li Ji cupped his hands to the lords and reminded Zhang Song, "Ziqiao, you are drunk."

"Hmph, I am not drunk! I simply must speak my mind!"

After a pause, Zhang Song launched a map-wide attack, saying,

"This is an alliance of heroes gathered to punish Dong Zhuo, for the sake of the Han Dynasty's stability. Some fame-seekers can sit among us, yet Master Zikun, with his unparalleled talent, can only stand. What is the meaning of this?"

These words undoubtedly caused some of the lords to show shame, anger, and avoidance in their eyes.

Was everyone truly acting out of public-spiritedness for the Han Dynasty, willing to expend their wealth and grain to punish Dong Zhuo?

Most were merely seeking fame.

Seeing the atmosphere in the tent gradually turning sour, Liu Zhang frowned slightly, looking at Zhang Song behind him, his eyes showing displeasure at Zhang Song's rash words.

If Zhang Song's clan did not hold a high position in Shu Prefecture, and if Zhang Song himself did not have a reputation for talent,

and if Liu Zhang had not been secretly trying to win over the families of Shu at Li Ji's suggestion to build his reputation, how would he have deliberately kept Zhang Song by his side to show favor?

Zhang Song's rash actions would undoubtedly make Liu Zhang the target of public criticism, who might think that Zhang Song was acting on Liu Zhang's orders.

Just as Liu Zhang was about to reprimand Zhang Song, Zhang Song leaned close to Liu Zhang's ear and said urgently in a low voice,

"Please forgive me, my lord. You have mentioned many times that you intend to win over Master Zikun. I only realized now that this is a great opportunity, so I spoke before I could report it."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhang's anger immediately turned to joy, and he felt it made perfect sense.

Moreover, Liu Zhang's image of Zhang Song was greatly changed. He did not expect this ugly man, whom he often despised in his heart, to have such a broad mind, not to be jealous of his emphasis on Li Ji, and to remember this matter in his heart, and even know to take the initiative to seek opportunities to win him over.

Liu Zhang liked this kind of active and proactive…

'Good, good…'

Liu Zhang praised inwardly, nodded to Zhang Song to acknowledge his apology, and then looked in Li Ji's direction with a slight gesture.

Compared to Liu Zhang, who possessed a natural body that could be bewitched, many of the lords present also realized that this was not only an opportunity to form a good relationship with Li Ji, but also an opportunity to sow discord between Liu Bei and Li Ji.

Just when Zhang Song thought that after persuading Liu Zhang, he would need to engage in a war of words with the lords, fully demonstrating that his abilities were not limited to photographic memory, but also included a good tongue, so as to gain Li Ji's recognition and appreciation, and change his allegiance to become colleagues,

Before those ashamed and indignant lords that Zhang Song had anticipated could open their mouths, Yuan Shao took the lead in expressing his opinion.

"What this gentleman says is not without some truth. Master Zikun has rendered great service to the country by defeating the Wuhuan, and he was once ordered to cross the sea to Yingzhou. Now, he has come here to join us in punishing Dong Zhuo out of loyalty and righteousness. In terms of reason, morality, and conduct, he deserves to sit alone."

Upon hearing this, many of the lords present were stunned.

Yuan Shu, who was originally sitting opposite Yuan Shao and had been secretly ridiculed by Zhang Song, had always adhered to the mentality of opposing whatever Yuan Shao supported, and he retorted without hesitation.

"Heh! Who is Li Ji? He comes from a humble background and is now only a small county official. How can he be qualified to sit with you? If this matter is spread, wouldn't it be laughed at by Dong Zhuo that there is no one among the heroes, so that a mere county official sits alone?"

Zhang Song wanted to retort, but Cao Cao's actions were one step faster than him. He stood up and said,

"Gonglu, your words are wrong. Master Zikun was granted the title of Marquis of Zhaoting by the late Emperor two years ago, and he was also appointed as the governor of Liaodong. Although he is still only a county official, he is concerned about the turmoil in the Central Plains caused by Dong Zhuo, so he could not bear to be alone and indifferent to the chaos in the court, so he came here."

Gongsun Zan may not have understood the intricacies of the situation, but he also expressed his position without hesitation. "That's right, I also support Master Zikun sitting alone."

Seeing this, the other lords, large and small, would naturally not be ignorant and object again, as Yuan Shao, Liu Zhang, Cao Cao, Gongsun Zan, and other influential lords had all expressed their positions.

Even if Yuan Shu was still resentful in his heart, feeling that it was a disgrace to sit with a mere scholar, he could not stop the general trend.

Seeing the situation develop to this point, Li Ji, who was supposed to be the protagonist, had no chance to speak and could only accept it willingly.

However, when the soldiers brought a new table, Li Ji decided to place it to the right and behind Liu Bei, not sitting in the same row as Liu Bei.

Perhaps, Li Ji knew that this small act of sowing discord would not have any effect on Liu Bei.

It was just that Li Ji would never overstep the bounds of a subordinate. Some things would only have the difference between zero times and countless times.

Li Ji's move greatly increased the goodwill of many of the lords present towards Li Ji. Not only did Li Ji deliberately move his seat back half a step, but more importantly, the loyalty and righteousness shown by Li Ji was admired by almost everyone.

Whether it was the tyrannical and cruel Dong Zhuo, or the suspicious and treacherous Cao Cao, even if they themselves regarded loyalty and righteousness as toilet paper, it did not mean that they did not appreciate loyal and righteous people.

Or rather, what Cao Cao, Dong Zhuo, and others were most worried about was betrayal, so what they valued most would be loyalty and righteousness, and ability was secondary.

Therefore, after Li Ji consciously and insisted on making this move, even Yuan Shu, who originally had a rather difficult expression, looked at Li Ji with a bit more appreciation.

As this small episode ended, Gongsun Zan, who came as Liu Yu's representative, stood up and publicly read "A Declaration to Punish the National Traitor."

Even though everyone present had already read this declaration, almost everyone showed an expression of indignation at this moment, and the voices condemning the national traitor Dong Zhuo were endless, as if they could not wait to duel with Dong Zhuo on the spot.

There were even a few small lords who, seeing that they could not out-curse their colleagues in denouncing Dong Zhuo, changed their tone and immediately began to weep bitterly, mourning Emperor Ling and crying their hearts out for Liu Bian, who had been forcibly deposed, as if they were about to faint from crying.

This scene made the corners of Li Ji's mouth twitch.

Li Ji had ample evidence to prove that the same group of people who had cursed Emperor Ling Liu Hong as昏庸 back then were now transformed into loyal ministers and filial sons. The scene was probably more exaggerated than a parent's funeral.

Li Ji could be sure that among these thirty-six lords and nearly a hundred confidant aides, no more than five could be said to be genuinely crying for the Han Dynasty.

But at this tragic scene, a large group was scolding hoarsely, and people with red and swollen eyes could be seen everywhere. There were even a few who seemed to have fainted from crying.

It can only be said: Suanzao is a big stage, come if you have a show.

Li Ji really did not master the ability to cry on demand, so he could only cover his face with his sleeves and dab a little wine on his cheeks with his fingers, so as not to appear too abrupt by being indifferent.

Then, through the corner of his eye, Li Ji found that his lord's sleeves were wet with tears.

This surprised Li Ji a little. He wondered if Liu Bei had poured wine directly into his sleeves, but he saw that Liu Bei's wine glass was still full, and it seemed that he was completely squeezing out tears by his own strength.

This show lasted for a quarter of an hour.

It was not until Cao Cao stood up and proposed that one person should be elected as the leader to lead the heroes to jointly punish Dong Zhuo in the west and restore a bright and clear world to the Han Dynasty as soon as possible.

The lords who had been crying or scolding in disarray almost instantly became serious.

'The main event is coming!'

Li Ji thought to himself, put down his sleeves, which were a little tired, and looked around at the reactions of the lords, large and small.

Especially the lords of Guandong, their eyes almost fell on Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu respectively.

Obviously, during the gathering of the lords in Suanzao, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu had each tried to win over other lords in order to seize the position of leader.

Immediately, Wang Kuang, the governor of Henei, stood up and proposed. "Yuan Benchu is from a family of four generations and three princes, with many former officials and descendants of famous ministers of the Han Dynasty. He can be the leader."

Even though Yuan Shao deliberately maintained his dignity, he could not help but smile at the corner of his mouth at this moment, and he was very satisfied with Wang Kuang's performance.

However, before Yuan Shao could decline, Zhang Miao, the governor of Chenliu, stood up and said.

"Yuan Gonglu is also a descendant of the famous Yuan clan, and he once personally led his confidants to kill the Ten Attendants, which shows that he is a noble man who is wholeheartedly serving the country and eliminating thieves. He can be the leader."

"I dare not, I dare not."

Yuan Shu declined verbally, but his eyes were constantly glancing in Yuan Shao's direction, full of smugness.

In response, Yuan Shao's expression remained unchanged, but he was confident of victory.

If it came to winning people's hearts, how could Yuan Shu, who prided himself on his status and position, be Yuan Shao's opponent?

Moreover, Yuan Shao arrived in Suanzao earlier than Yuan Shu, which also gave Yuan Shao a lot of advantages in winning over the other lords.

Immediately, Kong Zhou, the governor of Yuzhou, Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, Qiao Mao, the governor of Dongjun, Yuan Yi, the governor of Shanyang, and other lords, large and small, spoke up one after another.

However, among the lords, large and small, who spoke up, there were obviously more who supported Yuan Shao than Yuan Shu.

This made Yuan Shu's face, who felt something was wrong, almost visibly gloomy, and he cursed Yuan Shao, the concubine's son who had disregarded his status and engaged in winning people's hearts.

As the current trend developed, Yuan Shu, as the true嫡系 (díxì, direct descendant) of the Yuan family, instead felt that he had no chance of winning the position of alliance leader.

Just as Yuan Shu was preparing to throw caution to the wind and directly erupt, personally stepping forward to fight for a chance.

In the tent, among the distinct voices supporting the two Yuans for the position of alliance leader, a sudden and abrupt voice emerged.

"I believe that Liu Xuande, a member of the Han imperial family, can also be the leader of the alliance."

(End of this chapter)