Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 88: Conferring Official Positions

What are you saying?

What are you saying?

Jia Xu was not happy to hear this. What do you mean I have more experience?

"As for ransacking aristocratic families, this is my, Jia Wenhe's, first time like a bride in a sedan chair. Even if I had such thoughts before, I just didn't have the opportunity."

Jia Xu defended himself.

Li Ji pondered for a moment and said accommodatingly.

"Since that's the case, then I, Ji, won't force Wenhe's first time. I'll just have someone else go. It's just that if those aristocratic families have left any evidence that is unfavorable to Wenhe…"

Seeing Li Ji about to leave, Jia Xu quickly grabbed him and said, "Wait, Zikun, don't be anxious, don't be anxious, I'll go."

"Then I'll leave it to Wenhe."

Li Ji said with a gentle smile, then raised his foot and walked towards Liu Bei, who was surrounded by members of the aristocratic families crying and complaining.

Seeing Li Ji approaching, Liu Bei seemed to have found reinforcements and quickly said.

"Zikun, Zikun, listen to this. How rampant are the bandits in Wu Commandery! In less than a month, more than twenty prominent aristocratic families have been harmed by bandits."

Hearing this, Li Ji seemed a bit surprised, but his tone was still calm as he said, "Is that so? Lord, don't worry, let Ji see what the situation is."

Zikun?

The strategist who assisted Liu Xuande in fighting thousands of miles, defeating the Yellow Turbans, and burning Zhang Jiao, praised by Lord Lu as "There may not be a single person in this world who can match him"? Li Sanqian?

With this person here, there is no need to worry.

Immediately, the aristocratic families present seemed to be infected by Li Ji's calmness, and their emotions also calmed down a lot.

"Li Zikun of Longxi greets everyone. May I ask about the situation of the bandit disaster in Wu Commandery?"

As Li Ji politely greeted the many aristocratic families, the aristocratic families present also quickly returned the greeting and began to speak one after another.

"Mr. Zikun, you don't know, first the Yellow Turban bandits fled from the north to Wu Commandery, and then in order to protect the safety of the local people, a large number of aristocratic families in Wu Commandery gathered servants and young men to eliminate the Yellow Turbans."

"Unexpectedly, the bandits in Wu Commandery also took the opportunity to cause chaos, frantically looting the large households of the aristocratic families. So far, according to our statistics, more than twenty aristocratic families have been harmed by bandits."

"The people of Wu Commandery are miserable!"

"Please, Lord Xuande and Mr. Zikun, be sure to restore peace to the people of Wu Commandery!"

… …

As these aristocratic families spoke, their faces almost instinctively revealed a look of fear and anxiety.

Li Ji took it all in, but couldn't help but sneer in his heart.

'Most of them are old things who have lived in Wu Commandery all their lives, humble and fearful to outsiders, and their majesty is inviolable to insiders…'

'Now they are probably all scared out of their wits, fearing that the next ones to be harmed by the Yellow Turbans and bandits will be them.'

Originally, Li Ji estimated that Jia Xu killing two or thirty percent of the people in Wu Commandery would be enough to kill the chicken to warn the monkey, so that the aristocratic families in Wu Commandery would have to rely on Liu Bei.

Now, 70% of the aristocratic families in Wu Commandery have died, which undoubtedly makes the remaining aristocratic families in Wu Commandery feel that there is a sharp blade across their necks at all times.

"How dare the bandits!"

Li Ji shouted in a deep voice, then cupped his hands towards Liu Bei.

"Lord, Wu Commandery is far away from the Central Plains and is also difficult to be controlled by the imperial court. I didn't expect the harm of bandits to be so serious."

Hearing this, Liu Bei also nodded with a very serious expression.

Li Ji said with a bit of emotion and excitement.

"When the wind rises, the clouds fly. Where can I get brave men to guard all directions!"

"Bandits must be eliminated at any time. There is no way to not eliminate them. May I ask, the people of Wu Commandery usually till the fields and sing songs, but suddenly they are robbed and harmed by bandits. How can we tolerate it?"

"Moreover, so many aristocratic families who are the pillars of Wu Commandery have been harmed so much. If we delay any longer, wouldn't they all be gone?"

As soon as this was said, it can be said that it touched the hearts of the aristocratic families present, and they all nodded in agreement.

Li Zikun is indeed a contemporary wise man known as "Li Sanqian", and he completely expressed the aspirations of the aristocratic families.

On weekdays, I am an aristocratic son, reading books, holding beautiful concubines, and multiplying and growing well, but suddenly I am robbed by bandits. How can I tolerate this?

"Mr. Zikun is right, bandits must be eliminated!"

"Please, Lord Xuande, quickly suppress the bandits, and we will definitely help with all our strength."

"I thank Lord Xuande and Mr. Zikun here. I am so grateful that words cannot express it."

… …

Li Ji slightly raised his hands to suppress the agitated voices of the aristocratic families present.

Then, Li Ji glanced around, revealing a bit of sternness and killing intent, and said.

"However, I suspect that there are people among the aristocratic families who are colluding with the Yellow Turban bandits. Otherwise, how could those bandits find the aristocratic families with weak defenses in their homes so accurately?"

In an instant, the aristocratic families present subconsciously distanced themselves from each other, and pairs of eyes filled with suspicion looked around vigilantly.

Most of the aristocratic families who were previously frightened and anxious had not considered this.

But at this moment, Li Ji opened his mouth and revealed it, and immediately made the aristocratic families present unconsciously suspicious.

Li Ji easily stuffed a non-existent "wolf" into a group of sheep in this way, making them suspect each other and making it difficult to unite. Then he asked.

"Are all the aristocratic families in Wu Commandery here?"

"After Mr. Jia Wenhe, who arrived in Wuxian beforehand, notified them, those aristocratic families who have not yet been harmed by the bandits should have rushed to greet Lord Xuande. Those who didn't come were probably completely harmed by the bandits…"

After a pause, the old man who answered said with a somewhat gloomy face, "Or they have a guilty conscience and dare not come here."

Li Ji nodded, pondered for a moment, and said.

"Everyone, I wonder if you can register your names, state your family names, where you are from, how many servants and young men are still in your family, and tell us as clearly as possible the information about the surrounding bandits."

"In this way, not only can I investigate the possibly suspicious aristocratic families based on the roster, but I can also know the information in your homes and send soldiers to patrol and defend around the aristocratic families that may be attacked as soon as possible, so as to avoid untimely rescue after the attack."

In this regard, the aristocratic families present almost hesitated slightly, and then happily agreed and quickly carried out registration under the officials arranged by Liu Bei.

Jia Xu walked to Li Ji's side and said in a low voice.

"Zikun, what's the use of this? These aristocratic families are expected not to truthfully report the specific number of female servants and young men in their homes, and will generally report less."

"Isn't this just right?" Li Ji responded.

"Hmm?"

"This is the number they said themselves." Li Ji said meaningfully.

"Heh, this is indeed sending the handle into Zikun's hands." Jia Xu responded.

As the ceremony that was originally supposed to welcome the new governor of Wu Commandery ended with the aristocratic families of Wu Commandery crying miserably, Liu Bei comforted the aristocratic families present one by one and promised that he would definitely take action as soon as possible. Only then did these aristocratic families go down to rest.

After that, under the leadership of Jia Xu, who had arrived in Wuxian in advance, Liu Bei led his civil and military officials into the government office of Wuxian.

Although Jia Xu had arranged for people to clean and repair the government office early on, it was still difficult to conceal the dilapidated appearance, and there were only a few officials and clerks in the government office.

It is said that the few officials and clerks are maintaining the normal operation of the government office, I am afraid that even sweeping the floor on weekdays is not clean.

"The position of governor of Wu Commandery has been vacant for more than six years, and almost all large and small affairs in Wu Commandery are controlled by local county officials and aristocratic families."

Jia Xu introduced the current situation of Wu Commandery to Liu Bei and others along the way, and led everyone into the main hall of the government office to take their seats.

In the main hall, Liu Bei sat at the head, and below were the civil and military officials.

On the right side, Li Ji was the most respected among the civil officials, followed by Jian Yong, Jia Xu, and Mi Fang; on the left side, Guan Yu was the most respected among the military generals, followed by Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Xiahou Bo.

Although there were only eight civil and military officials below, Liu Bei, who was sitting at the head of the government office for the first time, felt a surge of emotion.

Liu Bei slightly opened his hands, as if to embrace, and said.

"From now on, I will rely on your help to seek peace for the Han Dynasty and strive for a peaceful and prosperous life for the people."

"Yes, Lord."

Everyone responded in unison, and their hearts were also filled with excitement.

Immediately, Liu Bei stood up and cupped his hands towards Li Ji.

"There are as many large and small affairs in Wu Commandery as there are hairs on an ox. I want to appoint Zikun as the vice-governor of the commandery to assist me in overseeing all large and small political affairs within the commandery. Please don't decline, Zikun."

Moreover, Liu Bei personally presented the official seal representing the vice-governor of Wu Commandery, which was stored in the government office, to Li Ji.

Li Ji's expression moved slightly, his lips pursed lightly, and he bowed. "I, Ji, will definitely do my best to help the Lord achieve his great ambitions."

Liu Bei also responded excitedly and reminded him with some concern.

"From now on, I will trouble Zikun with everything. Moreover, Zikun can appoint his own subordinate officials to use. Do not be too tired."

"Don't worry, Lord." Li Ji responded.

Immediately, Liu Bei picked up the Commandant's official seal, which was responsible for overseeing the military affairs within the commandery, and appointed Guan Yu as the Commandant of Wu Commandery.

After that, Liu Bei was also generous in conferring rewards to the other civil and military officials in the main hall at this moment.

Zhang Fei was appointed as the Supervisor;

Zhao Yun was appointed as the Chief of the Doorway Bandit Suppression (in charge of the military guards);

Xiahou Bo was appointed as the Chief of the Doorway Bandit Suppression (in charge of the personal guards);

Jian Yong was appointed as the Chief Clerk;

Jia Xu was appointed as the Chief Secretary;

Mi Fang was appointed as the Five Officials Clerk.

It can be said that Liu Bei almost generously conferred all the good positions that a commandery governor could offer at once.

From Li Ji, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, the veterans, to Mi Fang, the newly joined representative, he was not stingy at all.

Among them, the position of 'Overseer of Subordinates and Suppressor of Bandits' that Zhao Yun received was not an official rank, merely a clerical one. However, this was the first position Liu Bei had been granted when he started his career, making it significant and demonstrating his great regard for Zhao Yun, which moved Zhao Yun deeply.

Only Li Ji looked at Zhang Fei, who was overjoyed at being appointed 'Imperial Inspector', with a somewhat strange expression.

So, will the 'beating the Imperial Inspector' incident still happen?

In the future, when Zhang Fei, as the Imperial Inspector, goes to inspect the counties, will some short-sighted person want to beat the Imperial Inspector as well?