Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Mizhu's spirit was shaken by Li Ji's words, but it was only a momentary jolt, and his energy quickly waned again.

In just five days, he had to prepare enough money and supplies to last thirty thousand sailors for half a year.

Mizhu worked almost day and night, and his originally kind and refined face now bore two large, dark bags under his eyes.

High EQ: What Mizhu gained wasn't eye bags, but two pockets managed for Liu Bei, one called a money bag and the other a grain bag.

Low EQ: He looked more than ten years older, as if he had been tormented for five days and five nights.

At that moment, Mizhu felt that if he relaxed his mind even slightly, he would fall into a deep sleep for a whole day and night.

Barely managing to muster some energy, Mizhu reminded Liu Bei and Li Ji, "Zikun may have profound plans, but our granaries are now almost empty. We can't afford any more disruptions, so please, Zikun, take it easy for now."

Money was easier to manage.

With the constant support from Yingzhou, and under Li Ji's management, Wujun had something of the style of the later Eagle Country issuing greenbacks.

This not only fully guaranteed Wujun's internal finances, but also allowed them to frantically purchase various supplies from all over the Han Dynasty using large amounts of gold and silver and well-developed seagoing ships.

However, grain was different from money. Directly purchasing large quantities of grain would not only easily arouse suspicion from various lords, aristocratic families, and merchants, but would also easily lead to soaring grain prices, ultimately harming the common people.

Therefore, only a small portion of Wujun's grain was secretly purchased from other aristocratic families, and the vast majority was still grown by the farmers bit by bit.

Over the past six or seven years, Wujun's granaries had indeed accumulated a large amount of grain, but on the one hand, it supported Liu Bei's army in traveling thousands of miles to fight against Dong Zhuo, and on the other hand, the emergence of the Anti-Wu Alliance...

Defeating the Anti-Wu Alliance didn't cost much money or grain, but now Wujun had to continuously feed nearly a hundred thousand prisoners.

Even if the prisoners only needed to be kept from starving to death, the total grain expenditure in all aspects was so large that Mizhu felt a sense of panic, fearing that it would collapse at any moment.

Especially this time, with the large amount of grain being diverted to support the fleet's long voyage, Mizhu was truly somewhat flustered.

With such a large undertaking, Mizhu, who was well aware of his own limitations, knew very well that he didn't have the ability to clean it up.

"Look, you're getting anxious again."

Li Ji smiled helplessly, naturally aware of the state of the money and grain, which were the foundation of a power.

It was true that the granaries were now almost empty, and a large amount of grain was needed every day to maintain operations in all aspects, but the autumn harvest was not far away.

More importantly, Li Ji had a major channel to replenish grain in the short term.

"Zizhong, please rest assured. Even without the autumn harvest, I guarantee that the granaries will quickly be filled."

Hearing what Li Ji said, Liu Bei, who had been somewhat worried by Mizhu's warning, instantly regained his composure and instead comforted Mizhu, "Since Zikun says so, Zizhong should go and rest well. You have worked hard day and night these past few days."

With Li Ji and Liu Bei singing in harmony, what could Mizhu say? What should he say?

Fine!

The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is...

Wait, who is the emperor? And who is the eunuch??

Mizhu unconsciously closed his legs a little, then bowed and walked somewhat staggeringly towards the Mizhu family's carriage, preparing to leave first.

After Mizhu got into the carriage and instructed the coachman to return to the mansion, he fell soundly asleep in the carriage within a few breaths.

After watching Mizhu leave, Liu Bei, with one hand on the sword at his waist, turned around and once again gazed at the sea outside the port with Li Ji.

This was the first time Liu Bei had seen the morning sun slowly rising from the sea, and it truly had a unique meaning, giving people a sense of boundlessness.

Liu Bei, who inexplicably felt a sense of enjoyment, asked while watching the morning sun slowly rise with Li Ji, "Zikun, I wonder how long it will take for Wenxiang to return from this trip?"

"Four months at the shortest, half a year at the longest, but in any case, Wenxiang will definitely send back the grain seeds before the spring plowing next year," Li Ji replied leisurely.

Jiaozhou might not be able to deal with the Kingdom of Linyi, but that didn't mean that the fleet led by Xu Sheng couldn't conquer the Kingdom of Linyi.

It was just that Liu Bei saw more of the morning sun, while Li Ji saw more of the scene of Yangzhou next year.

Grain was undoubtedly the biggest shortcoming currently restricting the development of Yangzhou.

As long as the grain seeds, now named "Linyi Rice" by Li Ji, were sent back to Yangzhou, then Li Ji's initial plan to develop Yangzhou into a large rear granary would be completely completed.

The foundation of hegemony would also be built.

And unlike the original trajectory, where Shu Han completely declined after Liu Bei sent a wave of troops in the Battle of Yiling.

After brewing for another year or two, Yangzhou, which had been continuously developed for nearly ten years with Wujun as the center, could explode with a war potential that was incomparable to the land of Sichuan and Shu.

To quantify it, Liu Zhibing would have to send two waves of the "Battle of Yiling" before Li Ji would feel that the Yangzhou he had worked so hard to build would probably decline in the short term.

However, at this moment, Li Ji, with surging ambitions, couldn't help but murmur, "Soon, soon, Lord..."

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, Liu Bei turned his head to look at Li Ji beside him, only to feel that at this moment, Li Ji was bathed in the morning light, and his handsome face seemed to emit a certain light, making people admire and trust him.

"The promise that Ji once made to obtain the world for the Lord will definitely be fulfilled, and he will definitely create a glorious and strong Han Dynasty that will be admired by all!"

At this moment, Li Ji no longer concealed the ambition contained in his chest.

The rising sun on the distant sea, in Li Ji's eyes, was like the Han Dynasty that was about to be rebuilt.

A great man should govern the country and pacify the world, and create a prosperous age of peace and happiness for all people!

Liu Bei was slightly stunned, then laughed loudly and said, "Of course, Bei has always believed that Zikun is definitely not a person who breaks his promises! The one who obtains the world, and the one who makes the Han Dynasty shine again like the sun, as Zikun said, must be Liu Xuande!"

Perhaps Liu Bei was unconsciously influencing Li Ji, or perhaps Li Ji was also unconsciously influencing Liu Bei. Unknowingly, Liu Bei and Li Ji's ambitions gradually converged.

Perhaps, Liu Bei once occasionally felt like he was walking on thin ice, fearing that he would not reach the other shore.

However, as the thin ice under his feet melted, Liu Bei discovered that under the ice was the foundation of the earth, steadily supporting him, allowing him to walk steadily forward with each step.

It was precisely because of this that the relationship between Liu Bei and Li Ji, which others could not understand, was enveloped by the four words "of one heart and one mind", as if they were personified.

Since they were of one heart and one mind, how could the lord and his subject doubt each other?

Zhang Zhao guessed one thing correctly: even if Liu Bei was critically ill at this moment and on the verge of death, he would definitely entrust his unfinished business and ambitions to Li Ji.

Listening to Liu Bei's unwavering answer, a smile couldn't help but appear on Li Ji's face. Then, feeling the sea breeze that was gradually increasing, he said, "Lord, the wind is getting stronger. Let's go back too."

"Isn't Bei accompanying Zikun? After all, Zikun is weak. Bei diligently practices martial arts without stopping, so it's no problem to block some of the strong wind for Zikun..."

"Let Zhongkang block it. It would be really bad if the Lord were to catch a cold."

Xu Chu, who was guarding not far away, twitched his ears, tilted his head, and asked Xiahou Bo beside him uncertainly, "Ah? Did the Lord and the Marquis just call me over to block the wind?"

Xiahou Bo slightly rolled his eyes and waved his hand, "It's none of our business. Don't go over there and disturb the Lord and the Marquis from discussing important matters."

(End of this chapter)