Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 10: The thief Cao, the sect’s superintendent

dilemma……

This is how Liu Yan, the governor of Zhuo County, feels at this moment. What makes Liu Yan even more resentful is that Liu Bei puts benevolence and justice first in every word. Doesn't this invisibly highlight that Liu Yan, the governor, is a person who does not care about the people? Someone in danger?

How amazing is the power of the Yellow Turban? !

How many prefectures and counties were lost, and countless officials fled. From the senior officials of the imperial court to the officials of various frontiers, everyone was in danger.

Under such a dangerous situation, Liu Yan believed that he could do his best to defend the city of Zhuoxian, which was a meritorious service.

Due to the angle, Li Ji couldn't see clearly the expression of Liu Yan standing on the tower, but he could vaguely guess what he was thinking.

As a prefect, Liu Yan was afraid of the Yellow Turbans and did not dare to go out of the city to resist. However, the rebel army formed by a mere white body and led two thousand people dared to die. This was equivalent to a slap in Liu Yan's face.

Immediately, Li Ji spoke loudly.

"Brother Xuande, you are neither an official nor a military officer, so what qualifications do you have to issue a military order? What's more, the prefect only cares about our lives, why are you so excited?"

As soon as he said this, Liu Yan's expression softened slightly, and his eyes moved to look at the white-clothed scholar standing next to Liu Bei.

"Who are you?" Liu Yan asked.

"Li Ji of Zhuo County, courtesy name Zikun, pays homage to the Grand Administrator."

Li Ji bowed and responded.

And with the step Li Ji handed over, Liu Yan, who was in a dilemma, naturally would not refuse to accept it. He looked at Li Ji's scholar attire and followed the opening.

"You are not a bad scholar. You know my intentions."

"Please forgive Brother Xuande for his recklessness, Lord Taishou. This is all because Brother Xuande is so worried that the people outside the city will be harmed by the Yellow Turban Thief, and he has already lost his sense of proportion." Li Ji said.

"How can I blame Xuande? It's just that I regard Xuande as my nephew in the family, so I can't help but feel a little anxious."

With the tacit cooperation between Li Ji and Liu Yan, the initially tense atmosphere at the city gate quickly calmed down.

And the problem that originally rose to Liu Yan's wasted care of the lives of the people outside the city and prevented Liu Bei from going out to kill thieves was quickly reduced to Liu Yan's concern for his nephew's family affairs, allowing Liu Yan to save face.

As he gained face, Liu Yan regarded the two thousand rebels who obeyed Liu Bei as useless, and was ready to find an excuse to let Liu Bei lead the two thousand rebels out of the city on their own.

Whether Liu Bei was greedy for life and afraid of death and planned to lead the two thousand men to stand on his own, or he really wanted to lead the two thousand men to die. At this moment, Liu Yan, who was already worried about the yellow scarf thieves, didn't bother to care.

However, before Liu Yan could speak first to send Liu Bei out of the city, Li Ji spoke first.

"I also know that the prefect pities his nephew and does not want Brother Xuande to venture out of the city. However, as a member of the Han clan, Brother Xuande naturally does not want to take a step back out of fear of death when the people are in danger."

"Now, the Grand Administrator is responsible for the lives of countless people in Zhuo County, and I dare not touch it lightly. Why not agree to Brother Xuande's idea?"

"Brother Xuande will go out of the city to protect the people on behalf of the prefect. If Brother Xuande does something, it can also alleviate the pain of the prefect having to sleep at night because he is worried about the people outside the city?"

This series of well-founded and righteous speeches made Liu Yan couldn't help but look at Li Ji deeply.

Why have I never heard of such an eloquent person in the past?
  At first, when Li Ji deliberately built steps for Liu Yan to save face, Liu Yan didn't pay much attention to Li Ji, but after these words, Liu Yan's eyes when he looked at Li Ji couldn't help but change slightly.

The people, soldiers and even Liu Bei and Guan Yu present only saw Li Ji's upright and awe-inspiring side, but Liu Yan, who had been immersed in officialdom for many years, heard the overtones and the exchange of interests hidden under the upright and awe-inspiring words.

Li Ji first pointed out that Liu Bei, as a clan member of the Han Dynasty, was not afraid of death for the people outside the city.

As a member of the Han clan, if Liu Yan did nothing, even if he finally defended Zhuoxian, he would still be easily criticized, and he would probably be criticized by political opponents for this in the future.

As for the last two sentences, when Liu Yan went out of the city to protect the people, the word "dai" in them is very spiritual and full of metaphors.

Under what circumstances can Liu Bei nominally go out of the city on behalf of Liu Yan and still be recognized by others?

In addition, what Li Ji said when he opened his mouth at the beginning was that Liu Bei was neither an official nor a military official, so what Li Ji implicitly expressed is very clear - if you want an official, you still want someone who can represent Liu Yan to a certain extent. official.

In addition, Li Ji also gave conditions for giving back to Liu Yan. If Liu Bei made a difference when he went out to fight against the Yellow Turban thieves, then part of the credit would naturally go to Liu Yan.

I have to say that Liu Yan was a little moved.

After all, all Liu Yan had to pay was an official position. Even if Liu Bei did not do anything, Liu Yan would not suffer a loss. But if Liu Bei did something, then Liu Yan would naturally make a profit.

Even if Liu Bei led two thousand rebels and died outside Zhuoxian City, what would Liu Yan have lost?
  Liu Yan could even report this to the court as a political achievement, claiming that Liu Yan even sacrificed his nephew in the battle to resist the Yellow Turban thieves.

When he thought of this, Liu Yan went straight down from the tower, walked in front of Liu Bei and Li Ji, and spoke with a somewhat unbearable expression.

"Xuande, are you really determined to go out of the city and kill the Yellow Turban bandits?"

"Bei, you are so determined!" Liu Bei said in a deep voice.

"Aren't you afraid of death?"

"Don't be afraid of death!"

"it is good!"

Liu Yan touched his palms and smiled, praising.

"You deserve to be a clan member of the Han Dynasty, and you deserve to be my son and nephew. Since Xuande has this determination, I will fulfill Xuande's ambition even if I feel extremely reluctant to give up."

After a pause, Liu Yan said loudly in front of everyone.

"It's just that Xuande is now a white man, and there are many things wrong with leading his army out of the city. How about Xuande taking over the post of thief-cao from now on?"

Immediately, Liu Bei was a little stunned.

The subordinate supervisor Cao Cao is not a real official, but a kind of official, but he has considerable real power and status in a county.

Normally, there are three chief officials in a county: the county governor, the county magistrate, and the captain.

The county guard is the highest official of the entire county, while the county magistrate and the captain are in charge of civil and military affairs to assist the county guard.

Cao Cao, the governor of the sect, is one of the five officials under the direct control of the county governor. Normally, he is the county governor's confidant. He is also an important arm of the county governor in controlling the entire county.

Among them, Cao Zhubingwei, the supervisor of thieves under the sect, has certain real power to lead the army. He is not only responsible for the guards of the county guard, but also has the responsibility of clearing out thieves in the county.

In a sense, Liu Bei, who was originally a white man, almost reached the sky in one step.

What's more important is that with the identity of Governor Cao, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion is over, no matter what happens, he will not be appointed as a mere county captain.

After Liu Bei reacted, he quickly bowed and responded.

"Thank you uncle, and prepare yourself to live up to his high expectations."

"Very good, very good." Immediately, Liu Yan took a look at Liu Bei's simple leather that only protected his chest. The two thousand rebels behind him were only cloth. He hesitated for a moment, and then said.

"Since Xuande has become the governor, the two thousand rebels will be under Xuande's command. In addition, there are still a number of weapons and armor in the treasury and they will also be handed over to Xuande."

Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard this.

Only Zou Jing, who followed Liu Yan downstairs, looked a little ugly and said. "Sir, those weapons and armors are still of great use..."

However, before Zou Jing could finish speaking, Liu Yan glanced at him and forcibly told Zou Jing not to dare to say any more.

As for Liu Yan, the governor of Zhuo County, since he had planned to secretly reach an exchange of interests with Li Ji, Liu Yan would naturally not be stingy with this little effort.

More importantly, Liu Yan, who values ​​​​face very much, really despises these rebels who are dressed in civilian clothes, and does not want others to criticize his soldiers for not even having some armor.

Of course Liu Yan said it generously, but those armors were just leather armors, which were the equipment of ordinary county soldiers.

Immediately, under Liu Yan's order, Zou Jing could only reluctantly lead Guan Yu and a group of rebels to the treasury to collect weapons and armor.

Liu Yan, on the other hand, held Liu Bei's hand, held on to some of the parents' quarrels, and spoke some personal words, teaching Liu Bei to be extremely cautious when using troops after leaving the city.

Li Ji, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but feel that the blood of the old Liu family might be the same in this aspect.

Not long ago, Liu Yan might have wanted to throw Liu Bei into prison, but at this moment, he was winning people's hearts like a worried elder who was reluctant to leave his nephew to go to war.

If it were not Li Ji who secretly completed the exchange of interests with Liu Yan, even the bystanders who witnessed the whole process would only think that the cause of the entire conflict was that Liu Yan was too concerned and nervous about Liu Bei.

Soon, a cheerful Guan Yu returned with two thousand rebel weapons and armor. In addition to a set of spears and bows, the most important thing was the two thousand pairs of leather armor.

In addition, Guan Yu also specially received three pairs of fish scale armor.

Guan Yu originally had a face as heavy as a jujube, with phoenix eyes and silken eyebrows. He was wearing ordinary cloth and leather armor, and there was nothing noticeable about him.

At this moment, Guan Yu was wearing fish scale armor and holding the Qinglong Yanyue Sword, but he showed a majestic appearance.

Guan Yu walked directly in front of Liu Bei, handed over the fish scale armor in his hand, and said. "Brother, let me help you change your armor."

However, Liu Bei looked at the only two pairs of fish scale armor left in Guan Yu's hands, frowned, and said.

"Second brother, please change your armor for Zikun and leave another pair of fish scale armor for Yide. As a brother, you won't need it."

Guan Yu was startled and immediately understood what Liu Bei meant. He thought that Guan Yu was only taking care of the three brothers and ignored Li Ji's safety, so he quickly explained.

"Brother, it's not because I forgot about Mr. Zikun, but there are only three pairs of fish scale armor left in the treasury."

When Liu Bei heard this, his expression softened slightly, but he still spoke. "Then give Brother Wei's fish scale armor to Zikun."

Li Ji was moved and quickly dissuaded him.

"Brother Xuande, Ji is just a scholar, so there is no need to rush forward. Compared to Ji, brother Xuande needs fish scale armor for protection. Please change it quickly."

Liu Yan, who was watching the whole process from the side, smiled at the right time.

"Xuande, the battlefield is dangerous. How about leaving Mr. Zikun in the city? I will take good care of Mr. Zikun and raise him on behalf of Xuande."

Suddenly, Liu Bei's expression, which had always been a bit unsettled but still expressionless, had a faint tendency to turn green.

Liu Yan didn't want to help Liu Bei solve the problem of Li Ji's safety. He clearly wanted to poach him!
  Liu Bei almost subconsciously wanted to refuse, but he stopped abruptly when he reached his mouth. After a slight hesitation, he turned to look at Li Ji, gritted his teeth and said.

"Zikun, the future of Bei's trip is uncertain, and his life and death are unknown. Moreover, Zikun is only a poor scholar with a penny, so why not stay in the city temporarily? If Bei doesn't die, I will come to pick him up."

Li Ji looked at Liu Bei's eyes, which were a little red, and he looked obviously reluctant but extremely helpless.

When Liu Yan accidentally said these words, Li Ji expected that Liu Bei would have two reactions.

Either sternly refuse and treat Li Ji as if he were forbidden; or choose Li Ji's choice and leave the choice in Li Ji's hands.

However, what Li Ji did not expect was that Liu Bei would take the initiative to persuade Li Ji to stay in the city.

For a moment, a smile appeared on Li Ji's face unconsciously.

As the saying goes, people's hearts are revealed over time. Although Li Ji and Liu Bei had not been together for a long time, Liu Bei's reaction showed his kindness, and it also highlighted that Li Ji's safety was extremely important in Liu Bei's heart.

However, Li Ji stopped his smile the next moment and said in a deep voice.

"Brother Xuande, don't look down on me. A man is born between heaven and earth. He should carry a three-foot sword and achieve unparalleled achievements. Although Ji is a weak scholar, how can he be willing to be inferior to others?"

This showed great ambition, and everyone present could not help but be shocked.

Immediately, Li Ji cupped his hands towards Liu Yanyi and said.

"Ji, thank you for your concern, Lord Taishou, but Ji and Brother Xuande share the same goals and have already agreed to defeat thieves and save the people. How can we back down because of greed for life?"

At this moment, Liu Yan looked at Li Ji with almost undisguised admiration.

Just before talking to Liu Bei, Liu Yan intentionally or unintentionally asked about Li Ji's background. In addition, during the short contact, Liu Yan quite recognized Li Ji's quick wit and eloquence, and he couldn't help but have the idea. He wanted to take Li Ji under his command.

'It's a pity that such talents died with Liu Bei. If they don't come under my command, they might be a help...'

With this idea in mind, Liu Yan took advantage of the fish scale armor incident to invite Li Ji.

Even why there were only three sets of fish scale armor in the treasury, this was secretly arranged by Liu Yan in order to use the "two peaches to kill three men" strategy to trigger a conflict between brothers Li Ji and Liu Bei.

However, what Liu Yan didn't expect was that Liu Bei was so benevolent, and what he didn't expect was that Li Ji also had such ambitions.

After a slight hesitation, Liu Yan invited solemnly.

"Mr. Zikun has great ambitions, but there is still a shortage of staff in my house. Can you kindly ask Mr. Zikun to take over?"

Li Ji's heart moved slightly, and he hesitated for a moment...

Troubled times are coming, and the future of following Liu Bei is uncertain. If you want a stable life, following Liu Yan to Yizhou in the future is undoubtedly a very good choice.

However, Li Ji suppressed this thought in the next moment.

If Liu Yan had invited Liu Bei like this before he met Liu Bei, Li Ji might have been really moved.

After all, he first assisted Liu Yan in taking control of Yizhou and established his prestige and reputation.

When Liu Yan's son Liu Zhang succeeds to the throne of Yizhou Mu, with Liu Zhang's character similar to that of Liu Chan, as long as Li Ji gains enough trust from Liu Zhang, it is possible for Liu Zhang to engulf the world with the Kingdom of Abundance.

(End of this chapter)