Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Speaking of this, Li Ji took a deep breath, looked at the people present who seemed to gradually understand, and continued to speak.

“Nanyang Commandery has the largest population in the Han Dynasty, as high as over two million. Counting the unregistered and illegal residents, it may even reach as many as three million. How could Yuan Shu easily give up this place that he has managed for many years?”

“Furthermore, previously, Jingzhou Governor Liu Biao, out of consideration for the prestige of the Yuan family, could only turn a deaf ear to Yuan Shu's occupation of Nanyang in Jingzhou. He couldn't control it, nor did he have sufficient excuses to take it back.”

“Nanyang Commandery is also adjacent to Runan Commandery. Once Yuan Shu calms down, how could he not be greedy for occupying these two populous commanderies at the same time?”

After a pause, Li Ji used his folding fan to draw a line in the north-south area adjacent to Nanyang Commandery and Runan Commandery, and said.

“But now, Yuan Shu is very likely to be attacked simultaneously by Liu Biao of Jingzhou and the direct line of Yuan Shao's vassals……”

“Besides that, most of the commanderies bordering Sili in Yanzhou are occupied by small vassals who are weak and at odds with each other. This is specifically prepared for Lu Bu to go east out of Hulao Pass!”

These sentences, combined with the official positions and rewards of the various vassals, and the clear markings on the map, made Li Ji's words simple and clear, and even more convincing.

Zhao Yun, who was also frowning, said.

“In that case, apart from Yanzhou and Yuzhou, only Qingzhou and Xuzhou in the Central Plains can barely maintain some peace?”

“Peace? I'm afraid there is no peace.”

Li Ji shook his head and said.

“The remnants of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou have persisted for many years and have not been pacified for a long time. It is said that there are already a million of them……”

“Xuzhou has probably been managed by Tao Qian for many years, and this time the conferment has not changed Tao Qian's position as the Governor of Xuzhou, but only bestowed a title and a military position on Tao Qian. However, Tao Qian is old, and his body may not be able to support him for many days.”

“Once Tao Qian falls, it may be the time of great chaos in Xuzhou.”

“And……”

After a pause, Li Ji pointed to the area west of Sili again and said.

“Ma Teng leads the Governor of Liangzhou, but the remnants of Dong Zhuo's forces are entrenched in the Three Auxiliary Regions. Regardless of whether Ma Teng wants to advance eastward, or Liu Yan of Yizhou wants to leave Sichuan, they must first take the Three Auxiliary Regions.”

“Chen Gongtai knows that the Xiliang cavalry under Dong Zhuo's remnants are difficult to deal with, and wants to use Ma Teng and Liu Yan to continue dealing with Dong Zhuo's remnants.”

As Li Ji's words fell, the audience was almost silent, looking at the map of the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty hanging there, as if they had already seen the raging flames of war that would soon ignite everywhere.

Perhaps, after Dong Zhuo entered Beijing and completely buried the last handful of soil on the decaying Han Dynasty, the troubled times were already inevitable.

However, Chen Gong's scheme undoubtedly poured a large basin of kerosene directly onto the fire of the troubled times that was about to ignite.

What Chen Gong wanted was nothing more than to take this opportunity to completely disintegrate the alliance of the Eastern vassals, so that the vassals would completely tear their faces due to real interests, and then allow Lu Bu, who was originally weak but controlled the emperor and possessed a certain righteousness, to "fish in troubled waters".

Liu Bei couldn't help but reveal a wry smile and said.

“In that case, only Yangzhou in the vast Han Dynasty can barely maintain some peace, and Chen Gong has not mixed in any vassals to fight against me?”

Guo Jia on the side said.

“My lord, in fact, it's not that Chen Gong didn't target us. On the contrary… in fact, the methods Chen Gong used to target us have already been stated by the master just now.”

“Hmm?”

Liu Bei was slightly stunned, quickly recalled what Li Ji had just said, but was a little unclear where it was related to Wu Commandery.

Seeing this, Guo Jia glanced at Li Ji, and Li Ji responded to Guo Jia with an encouraging look, and even made some room for Guo Jia, saying.

“Since Fengxiao has already made a judgment, then speak.”

“Yes, sir.”

Guo Jia responded, and then said.

“My lord, Yangzhou is sparsely populated, and the other commanderies and states cannot be compared with Wu Commandery, which has been governed by the master for many years. The military strength is not at the same level.”

“Therefore, no matter how Chen Gongtai directly mixes sand into Yangzhou, it is impossible to be the lord's opponent, so on the surface, he simply did nothing.”

“However, in fact, Chen Gongtai's greatest arrangement to contain the lord is not to move Tao Qian's position as the Governor of Xuzhou.”

“Tao Qian is old and frail, and has no ambition to make progress. Occupying Xuzhou alone is still just a dog guarding his house, and it is difficult to become a contender for the Central Plains.”

“However, Tao Qian and the lord have been friends for many years, and in this alliance, he has repeatedly cheered for the lord. Moreover, the lord is based on benevolence and virtue. How can he go to war with Tao Qian without a justifiable reason?”

“But if Wu Commandery wants to advance north to the Central Plains, the most suitable route is Xuzhou!”

“Therefore, in Chen Gongtai's eyes, Tao Qian's existence is the biggest obstacle to the lord. If the lord forcibly takes Xuzhou, then the name of benevolence and virtue will be completely lost.”

Guan Yu lowered his eyes slightly at this moment and said directly.

“Isn't there also Yuzhou and Jingzhou? Now that my elder brother is the Governor of Yangzhou, and after fully leading the land of Yangzhou, he is still adjacent to Jingzhou and Yuzhou. Why must he go through Xuzhou?”

Guo Jia knew Guan Yu's arrogant personality well, so he was not annoyed and said.

“This is exactly what Chen Gongtai wants!”

“If you take Jingzhou, wouldn't you want the lord to fight with Liu Biao, who is also a member of the Han clan? This will also damage the lord's reputation, and the lord will also find it difficult to have a justifiable reason.”

“And attacking Yuzhou, Yuan Shu will be attacked on three sides. This may also be one of Chen Gongtai's means of retaliating against Yuan Shu, causing Yuan Shu to completely move towards his end.”

“However, Yuan Shu is still a member of the Yuan family, and the fight with Yuan Shao is to compete for the Yuan family's orthodoxy.”

“If Yuan Shu is forced to a dead end, he may choose to submit to Yuan Shao, and now the lord will become the biggest enemy in the eyes of the Yuan family, and may use all the power of the Yuan family to resist the lord's northward advance.”

Guan Yu frowned slightly when he heard this, wanting to find the mistakes in the little bookboy's words, but to no avail.

This made Guan Yu subconsciously look at Li Ji……

Or rather, apart from Guan Yu, many of the people present who had heard Guo Jia's analysis were now turning their attention to Li Ji.

Even Guo Jia was the same, to confirm whether there were any mistakes in his judgment.

In response, Li Ji simply clapped his hands and praised, saying.

“In time, Fengxiao may far surpass me.”

Guo Jia was overjoyed, this was the first time in so many years that Li Ji had praised him so much, and he quickly cupped his hands towards Li Ji and said.

“Guo Jia can be where he is today, all thanks to the cultivation and guidance of the master. How dare I say that I have surpassed the master?”

Li Ji waved his hand and said. “Fengxiao doesn't need to be humble, your judgment is accurate and correct, and I have nothing to add. You are enough to stand alone.”

At this moment, Guo Jia felt unspeakable emotion in his heart, understanding that Li Ji was deliberately praising him and establishing prestige for himself in front of the lord and a group of generals.

You must know that many literati despise each other, and it is common to fight endlessly for status like Xu You and Guo Tu.

It is extremely rare to see behavior like Li Ji's, who does not hesitate to actively elevate Guo Jia, and does not worry that his own position will be affected.

‘The master has the style of Xiao He……’

Guo Jia became more and more convinced and admired Li Ji in his heart, and the other generals also developed some respect for Guo Jia.

Previously, Guo Jia was only Li Ji's little bookboy on the surface in Wu Commandery, and he was like a little transparent person when entering and leaving the government office.

Now that he has received Li Ji's public praise and recognition, it is enough for Guo Jia to directly have a certain foothold in the Liu Bei Group.

However, in addition to recognizing Guo Jia's ability, what many people in the audience were more worried about was the increasingly severe troubled times.

Looking at the solemn expressions of the people present, Li Ji pondered slightly, but smiled and said calmly.

“Perhaps, this is the reason why Chen Gongtai was late in negotiating with the vassals, and the scheme he slowly thought out over several days.”

“Turning the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty into a chessboard, letting the vassals turn against each other and kill each other, and striving for an opportunity for Lu Bu to go east out of Hulao Pass and sweep the world……”

As Li Ji spoke, the corner of his eye suddenly noticed several different edicts placed on Liu Bei's desk. His face suddenly changed, and he directly grabbed those edicts and looked at them, blurting out.

“That's not right!”

“What's not right?” Liu Bei, who hadn't been able to react, asked.

Li Ji continued to carefully compare the contents of several edicts back and forth, and the always calm face showed a bit of change, saying.

“The seal used on the edict is not right.”

As soon as this statement came out, many people were at a loss.

Li Ji's eyes drooped slightly, and he quickly connected the recent doubts, already knowing what the problem was, and said in a deep voice.

“The seal used on the edict is definitely not the Imperial Jade Seal!”

“If I'm not mistaken, the Imperial Jade Seal has been stolen and is not in the hands of the emperor.”