Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

In reality, Liu Qi had absolutely no desire to meet with Sun Qian. He knew that Sun Qian would just repeat the same arguments, even to the point of being scolded by Sun Qian to his face.

However, for the sake of the overall situation and to avoid provoking Liu Bei, and even more so to prevent giving Liu Bei an excuse to station a large army in Chaisang and attack Jing Province,

Liu Qi not only had to entertain Sun Qian with fine wine and tea but also dispatched a large number of heavily armed soldiers to protect Sun Qian at all times, lest other forces assassinate this envoy of Liu Bei who swaggered around Xiangyang City every day, and then frame Jing Province for it.

After a lengthy period of mental preparation and recalling all the happy moments of his life, Liu Qi finally emerged, ready to be showered with Sun Qian's spittle and then send him off from the provincial governor's mansion with fine tea and wine.

However, when Sun Qian solemnly declared his purpose, Liu Qi, his head full of confusion, even tilted his head, wondering if he had misheard.

He was there to persuade the Yi and Jing families to cease hostilities and make peace, stating that it was not appropriate for them to fight amongst themselves?

He also stated that Liu Bei was willing to lead by example, and without Liu Biao's permission, he would never allow a single soldier to set foot in the territory of his kinsman's Jing Province?

'Hasn't the sun risen yet? Am I still half-asleep?'

Liu Qi couldn't help but look up at the bright sunlight outside the room, momentarily wondering if he had fallen asleep at some point during his busy days and nights of overseeing Xiangyang, and was still dreaming.

For the current Jing Province, delaying the conflict was undoubtedly the most advantageous course of action.

Liu Qi might have been of mediocre talent, but he knew that the current Jing Province was being eyed covetously by Liu Yan, Liu Bei, and Yuan Shu, who were all eager to carve it up and devour it.

All the preparations Liu Biao was making were merely aimed at defending Xiangyang at all costs while plotting to seize Yi Province at the opportune moment.

And all of this was predicated on the assumption that Liu Bei would not launch a large-scale attack, otherwise, if Liu Bei and Yuan Shu joined forces to divide Jing Province, Jing Province would be unable to resist at all.

Now, how was Sun Qian's statement any different from directly expressing support for Liu Biao?

Realizing this, Liu Qi turned his head left and right to glance at Kuai Liang and Wen聘, whom Liu Biao had left behind to assist him in defending the city. Seeing that they also looked astonished, he quickly stood up and said,

"Is what you say true, sir?"

Even though Sun Qian was equally puzzled in his heart, he could only express a firm attitude and replied,

"How could such an important matter be false? What my lord does is nothing more than to revitalize the Han Dynasty. He is unwilling to see those who are both members of the Han imperial family and pillars of the Han Dynasty fighting amongst themselves, causing grief to loved ones and rejoicing to enemies."

Instantly, a smile bloomed on Liu Qi's face like a chrysanthemum as he personally walked up to Sun Qian and said,

"Good, good, good. I knew that Imperial Uncle has always been benevolent and kind, taking benevolence and virtue as his foundation. It's just that Liu Yizhou has groundlessly wronged my father and has even sent a large army to invade our borders, forcing my father to raise troops to resist in order to prevent the people under his rule from suffering disaster."

After a pause, Liu Qi said with a smile,

"It's not that my Jing Province is unwilling to shake hands and make peace with Liu Yizhou and return to good terms, but Liu Yizhou is simply being too欺人太甚."

"Therefore, please convey to Imperial Uncle that as long as Imperial Uncle can persuade Liu Yizhou to withdraw his troops, I, Liu Qi, am willing to do my utmost to persuade my father to put aside past grievances and restore harmony with Liu Yizhou, jointly supporting the Han Dynasty."

With these roundabout words, Liu Qi easily kicked the ball back into Sun Qian's court.

In any case, for Jing Province, the more time they could buy, the better, at least ensuring that Liu Bei would not actively attack Jing Province.

Sun Qian, who was equally unsure in his heart, remained outwardly calm and composed, replying,

"Please rest assured,公子琦, my lord has also sent people to persuade Liu Yizhou. I also ask公子琦 to present a letter to Liu Jingzhou as soon as possible, so as not to resort to large-scale warfare."

"Of course, of course."

Liu Qi, with a bright smile, readily agreed and then treated Sun Qian with unprecedented enthusiasm.

Only after Liu Qi personally sent Sun Qian out of the provincial governor's mansion and additionally dispatched hundreds of personal guards to Sun Qian, ensuring that Sun Qian was well protected, not even allowing a single hair to be casually lost,

Afterwards, Liu Qi pondered over the matter again and did not forget to actively seek the opinions of Wen聘 and Kuai Liang.

However, the valiant and skilled Wen聘 was full of doubts, and even the rather resourceful Kuai Liang was somewhat unable to understand what Liu Bei was up to.

No matter how one looked at it, Liu Bei's actions were of no benefit to Yang Province.

After much deliberation, the only possibility Kuai Liang could think of was:

"Perhaps, Imperial Uncle Liu is truly as rumored, taking benevolence and virtue as his foundation and prioritizing the Han Dynasty, which is why he wholeheartedly wants to resolve the conflict between the lord and Liu Yizhou, so that they can work together to support the Han Dynasty."

At that moment, Liu Qi was somewhat silent.

Recalling his several encounters with Liu Bei, Liu Bei was indeed worthy of being called a gentle and kind elder, and he had shown him much concern, even revealing more care than Liu Biao.

Perhaps in the eyes of many people, Liu Bei was a hypocrite who sought fame and reputation.

But a gentleman is judged by his actions, not his intentions. As Yang Province's close neighbor, Liu Qi knew that Imperial Uncle's actions throughout his life had never tarnished the words "benevolence and virtue."

"Alas, perhaps we are judging a gentleman's heart with the mind of a petty person…"

Liu Qi said with some shame, and then quickly sent a letter to Liu Biao about today's events.

At this moment, Liu Qi estimated the time and felt that perhaps the Yi Province army had already officially entered Jing Province territory.

This caused a hint of worry to appear in Liu Qi's eyes.

As for becoming a king or hegemon, or even the position of heir apparent promised by Liu Biao, Liu Qi did not really care. What Liu Qi was more concerned about was the safety of his father, who was personally leading the army.

Besides that, Liu Qi also felt guilty towards Liu Zhang, who was imprisoned in Xiangyang City, and Imperial Uncle Liu, who was far away in Wu County.

"It's difficult to have both filial piety and righteousness…"

Liu Qi sighed leisurely.

… …

Around the same time Sun Qian received the secret letter, Guan Yu and Jia Xu, who were currently stationed in Shouchun City, also received letters.

Of course, unlike the secret letter that was carefully delivered to Xiangyang, what Guan Yu and Jia Xu received were official documents directly stamped with Li Ji's seal.

However, the content of the document was actually requesting Guan Yu to change his low-key style that had lasted for several months and instead intentionally provoke friction with the Yu Province direction.

If Guan Yu had not repeatedly verified the authenticity of the seal on the document, he might have thought that some secret agent had infiltrated the interior and was passing on this false order to him.

Guan Yu squinted his eyes and pondered for a long time, but he could not figure it out.

The content of this document was completely contrary to the previous strategy.

"Mr. Wenhe, I wonder what your opinion is on Mr. Zikun's order?" Guan Yu asked Jia Xu, who was sitting at the lower seat.

Jia Xu also had a look of depression on his face.

In order to provoke and intensify the friction between Liu Biao and Yuan Shu, Jia Xu had personally gone to Shouchun City to arrange and command for several months, and finally achieved considerable success.

Li Ji's order was tantamount to proving that everything Jia Xu had done was completely useless in the changing strategy.

(End of chapter)