Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

As he spoke, Zhuge Liang's eyes visibly brightened.

To advance by retreating, to lure the enemy by feigning release—nothing more than that!

"Wonderful!"

Zhuge Liang couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

It seemed that changing orders frequently would damage the government's prestige, but in the eyes of the Yuzhou people, the Yuzhou government had no prestige to speak of in the first place. What was there to fear?

On the contrary, this slight step back not only greatly gained the trust of the Yuzhou people but also relinquished the position in the conflict between the Yuzhou government and the people.

It forced the more anxious Yuzhou aristocratic families and powerful clans to rush to the front, making the conflict in the land survey a conflict between the people and the aristocratic families.

Li Ji chuckled softly after hearing this, and said.

"Now that Liang'er understands the reasoning, what doubts do you still have? Just go and do it. I will also have Yi'er mobilize the Embroidered Uniform Guard to secretly promote public opinion favorable to the government."

"Yes, teacher."

Immediately, Zhuge Liang withdrew with a somewhat spirited air.

This consultation with Li Ji not only provided a solution to the current predicament but also greatly benefited Zhuge Liang.

Governing and the battlefield seemed to have no essential difference.

Soon, as the new announcement quickly spread throughout Yuzhou, the people everywhere rejoiced, and through this announcement, which was closely related to the interests of many people, they gradually learned about the connection between the Yuzhou government and Liu Bei.

In short, in the eyes of the people, the current Yuzhou government was different, upholding the benevolent ideals of Uncle Liu Huang.

This greatly increased the goodwill and trust of many Yuzhou people towards the government.

In contrast, the aristocratic families and powerful clans, who had already arranged manpower to cooperate with the government in the land survey, were dumbfounded at this moment.

Almost on the same day the announcement was issued, nearly ten aristocratic families wanted to see Li Ji.

Li Ji, who had always left a gentle and approachable image to outsiders, kindly received these family representatives and explained the difficulties the government was currently facing.

Could the land survey be carried out?

In principle, it could be done, and he personally wanted to do it.

However, the resistance from the local areas was too great, the government lacked prestige and manpower, and Liu Bei had always upheld the concept of benevolence…

In short, Li Ji explained a lot earnestly and kindly, but to sum it up, it was three words: impossible to do.

Of course, Li Ji was not without a solution, directly stating that unless the resistance from the local people lessened and the people expressed their approval of the land survey, it could be promoted.

Manipulating local public opinion was naturally familiar to the aristocratic families and powerful clans.

After these families took Li Ji's meaning back for discussion, the aristocratic families and powerful clans, with no other choice, chose to start using their connections and relationships in the local areas to try to make the people in various places express their support for the land survey.

Don't think that the aristocratic families and powerful clans, who had experienced such a setback, were greatly weakened, losing their money, grain, and land, and even severing their collusion with the government.

However, each aristocratic family and powerful clan had been deeply rooted in the local area for decades or even hundreds of years, and they also had a large amount of influence in the villages.

Under various means, the changes in local public opinion were unexpectedly fast.

Although Li Ji was well aware that this was false public opinion, more of which was fabricated under the intervention of aristocratic families and powerful clans, it was enough to illustrate the power of this group.

Li Ji, harboring apprehension about this, did not reveal it but followed the previous political commitment and began to promote the official start of the land survey.

For a time, a large number of family sons braved the severe cold, running between the fields of Yuzhou, measuring every inch of land.

After temporarily suppressing the resistance from the people by borrowing the hands of the aristocratic families and powerful clans, this matter had become a matter jointly promoted by the government, the aristocratic families, and the people.

When everyone was of one mind, even the severe cold could not stop the promotion of the land survey.

On the contrary, the speed of progress was enough to amaze people.

As the hinterland where the essence of the Central Plains lies, and also as the state with the highest population density in the Han Dynasty, the cultivated land area of Yuzhou also冠绝大汉.

Especially in this land survey, a large amount of cultivated land that had been reclaimed in the past but had been hidden was also found.

Even if the land survey had only completed more than half, the initially aggregated cultivated land area had already reached more than 70 million mu.

This astonishing number was more than twice as high as the cultivated land area developed in Yangzhou today.

And the land survey was not over yet. If the land survey was completely over, the cultivated land area of Yuzhou would probably exceed 100 million mu.

This number was more than a quarter more than what the Yuzhou government had recorded in the past.

Where did this extra cultivated land area come from? The answer was self-evident.

Even though Li Ji had some expectations, he couldn't help but be amazed by the ability of the aristocratic families and powerful clans to hide land and population.

They were truly a group of hoarders hindering the progress of the empire!

At the same time, as the land survey continued, many people gradually came to their senses, and the conflict between them and the aristocratic families and powerful clans also grew day by day.

Even to show fairness, Li Ji let the family sons of each commandery go to other places for investigation, but the collusion between the aristocratic families and powerful clans was naturally inevitable.

Li Ji remained calm on the surface, letting Zhuge Liang continue to promote the completion of the land survey. At the same time, Sima Yi, who had been preparing for a long time in secret, began to brew a fatal blow like a poisonous snake spitting its venom.

Liu Ying, a descendant of the Han imperial family who settled in Qiao County, went to Ruyang to petition in the snow under the secret promotion of Sima Yi.

Along the way, aristocratic families and powerful clans sent people to stop him, but under the secret protection of Sima Yi, Liu Ying went to Ruyang through constant hardships.

It was also on the occasion of the last light snow in winter that Li Ji, having initially completed the land survey, took his carriage with A Dou, Li Xiang, and Li Xi to leave the mansion to enjoy the snow.

The dramatic development, which was repeatedly sung by storytellers in later generations, occurred when the Marquis of the State's carriage was about to reach the East Gate, and people on the street frequently watched the carriage out of curiosity.

Liu Ying, who had just arrived in Ruyang, didn't even have time to judge who the carriage, heavily guarded by armored soldiers, in front of him was. He knelt in the wind and snow from afar, kneeling in the direction the carriage was moving, holding a blood letter in both hands, and shouted loudly.

"Liu Ying, the sixteenth grandson of Prince Jing of Zhongshan of the Han imperial family, from Pei State, has a grievance!!!"

These words left the entire East Gate of Ruyang in silence.

In particular, the identity Liu Ying revealed was that of a member of the Han imperial family, and like Liu Bei, a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan, even a generation higher than Liu Bei.

With black and white hair on his head, and a face full of wind and frost from running for his life all the way, Liu Ying looked like a beggar.

However, Liu Ying still tried his best to straighten his spine a little, and once again used his last bit of strength to shout loudly.

"I am Liu Ying, the sixteenth grandson of Prince Jing of Zhongshan, from Pei State, I have a grievance, please help me."

(End of this chapter)