Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Obviously, it was not just Liu Bei who was under great pressure due to the great disaster in the Central Plains and the influx of refugees.

Under Liu Bei's order, Mi Zhu, who is now the chief steward of money and food in Wu County, is under great pressure.

Watching the cartloads of money and grain being transported out of the treasury's granary, watching large numbers of money and grain transfer documents being issued from my own hands...

Mi Zhu felt as if her heart was being cut with a dull knife, bit by bit, harder and deeper.

More importantly, Mi Zhu had already made a financial and food plan for the past year based on Li Ji's development plan for Wu County.

No, but overnight, all those financial and food plans were scrapped, and Mi Zhu couldn't help but start to worry about how to fill the bottomless pits in Wu County.

This made Mi Zhu, who was quite responsible, subconsciously take stock of the Mi family's property and found that even if the entire Mi family was thrown in, the hole might not be blocked.

Li Ji patted Mi Zhu's shoulder and said warmly.

"Don't worry, Zhong. As a minister, I should support my lord's benevolent actions."

"It's a small thing and a big thing is lost, and you're looking at one thing and the other!"

Mi Zhu sighed, then grabbed Li Ji's shoulders and spoke with a bit of pleading in his voice.

"Zikun, it's still too late now. As long as you open your mouth, my lord will definitely consider taking back his life because of my lord's respect and trust in you."

"Do you know that I have found some scholars to understand the great disaster this time? The area affected was so large that it included Qingzhou, Hebei, and Yanzhou, and a plague broke out."

"In this way, if Wu County is open to generously aiding the refugees, more refugees will flock to Wu County, and even the entire Wu County will be overwhelmed."

"If it is the Wu County that you Li Zikun imagined that has been developed for three years, there is still a chance that it can be achieved, but this is not a disaster that the current Wu County can solve with the power of one county, nor is it the number of refugees that the current Wu County can afford. quantity!"

"Stop it, Li Zikun. Once the hole is opened, you won't know that there will be refugees and disaster victims outside Wu County."

Mi Zhu spoke sincerely, and the worry and sorrow in her words made those who heard it cry.

Moreover, the meeting between Mi Zhu and Li Ji was not an accidental encounter at all, but Mi Zhu specially stayed here to guard Li Ji in order to use Li Ji to dissuade Liu Bei from taking back his life.

"For Zizhong to come to this conclusion, he must have thought a lot about the consumption of money and food. Thank you for your hard work..."

Li Ji looked at Mi Zhu with some emotion, not at all annoyed by what Mi Zhu said.

Although Mi Zhu's voice was contrary to the joint decision-making of Liu Bei and Li Ji, it was a good thing to hear such public-spirited voices, and Li Ji naturally wouldn't mind.

And Li Ji also admitted that Mi Zhu's worries were not unreasonable. Wu County's money and food expenses were related to Wu County's water conservancy development, and water conservancy development was related to issues such as reclamation of cultivated land, irrigation of fertile fields, and prevention of natural disasters.

It can be said that only if water conservancy development is completed, Wu County, a place with a developed water system that has five lakes, will have the potential of "if Taihu Lake is ripe, the world will have enough".

Therefore, after Mi Zhu became the steward of Wu County's money and food, and also came into contact with Li Ji's grand plan to almost complete a major transformation of the entire Wu County's water network.

While being deeply shocked by Li Ji's political talent, he also understood that once this plan was successful, it would be a great thing that would "benefit the present generation and last for a long time to come."

Everything in Wu County must be carried out without interfering with water conservancy development.

"Zizhong, please relax, and even if my status in your lord's heart is considered important, it is impossible for your lord to give up on your benevolence and change your orders overnight."

Li Ji gently comforted Mi Zhu's emotions.

Nowadays, in the matter of mobilizing Wu County from top to bottom, no matter how small or small it is, such a great steward of money and food cannot be missing.

Once Mi Zhu falls, or quits his job, Li Ji, among the candidates who can replace Mi Zhu, will not be available, nor will Gu Yong.

Mi Zhu seemed to be really anxious and asked a question loudly.

"Zikun, do you think this is a change? How much manpower and material resources you have spent on transforming Wu County's water conservancy, and how much hope you have carried, are you willing to watch all your previous efforts go to waste?"

Li Ji's expression was slightly startled, then he smiled and replied.

"Zizhong, I am Li Ji and Li Zikun. I am praised by the lord as a talent who can be the cornerstone of the country. I have a plan in mind."

After hearing this, Mi Zhu quickly bowed and saluted Li Ji after taking a few breaths.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zikun, Zhu was anxious just now, so I was rude."

"No, Zizhong's worries are indeed well-founded. My lord has given all the money and food of Wu County to Zizhong's hands, which shows that he knows people well."

Li Ji said something, and then continued.

"My lord, I have expected you to have been waiting for me for a long time. Please excuse me from Zizhong. I will invite Zizhong to a banquet someday to elaborate."

Immediately, Li Ji cupped his hands and turned around to leave.

However, before Li Ji disappeared around the corner, Mi Zhu couldn't help but speak again.

"Zikun, everything should be stable and must not affect water conservancy development."

Li Ji looked back at Mi Zhu, then nodded calmly and confidently before leaving.

Immediately, Li Ji turned back to look at the angle in front of him from an angle that Mi Zhu couldn't see. Liu Bei was standing here.

Regarding this, Li Ji couldn't help but sigh: Mi Zhu is really not a simple person!

Perhaps Liu Bei listened to the conversation between Li Ji and Mi Zhu here from the beginning, or perhaps he arrived halfway. However, Mi Zhu's purpose was obvious. Mi Zhu knew that it was not feasible to persuade Liu Bei directly, and was worried that he would not be able to persuade Li Ji either.

Therefore, Mi Zhu deliberately stopped Li Ji here, and expected that when Liu Bei learned that Li Ji had returned to the government office, he would definitely come out to greet him.

In this case, Mi Zhu stopped what Li Ji said not only to give advice to Li Ji, but also to give advice to Liu Bei in this way.

'Sure enough, no gentleman has a simple mind...'

Li Ji secretly complained about Mi Zhu, a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, then walked around the corner and saluted Liu Bei just now.

However, Liu Bei grabbed Li Ji's shoulders, shook his head slightly to indicate that Li Ji didn't need to be polite, and then pulled Li Ji directly to the side hall where he was usually the director.

Later, Liu Bei ordered Xiahou Bo to personally guard the main entrance of the side hall and not allow anyone to disturb him and Li Ji.

After entering the side hall, Liu Bei pulled Li Ji to sit down and then spoke.

"Zikun, what do you think of the words of Shicai Zhongzhi?"

When Li Ji heard this, he felt a little emotional in his heart, and fully felt the feeling of being unable to control himself.

As the water conservancy plan to develop Wu County gradually spreads, even if Li Ji wants to stop the matter, there are still a group of supporters who will push Li Ji to continue completing the plan.

Mi Zhu's reaction was not only out of public concern, but also because the Mi family was now completely tied to Liu Bei and Wu Jun.

Therefore, after Mi Zhu realized the far-reaching beneficial impact that the continued water conservancy development would have on Wu County, he almost wholeheartedly supported the plan.

It can be said that anyone who opposes the development of water conservancy can almost be regarded as Mi Zhu's political opponent in a sense.

'Politics, sometimes it's so unpretentious and interesting...'

This thought flashed through Li Ji's mind and he answered instead.

"What Zizhong said must be what a considerable number of people in Wu County think now. It's just that due to the prestige of the lord and Ji, no one can directly oppose the lord's decision."

"Does Zikun support Yu Bei?"

Liu Bei looked at Li Ji with sharp eyes, even showing a trace of anxiety and nervousness in his eyes.

"If Zikun really objects, Bei is not determined to have his own way..."

Before Liu Bei could finish speaking, Li Ji smiled and said.

"Ji and my lord, we are of one heart and one mind!"

When Liu Bei heard this, he couldn't help but feel happy and said. "When Zikun said this, Nabei felt relieved."

However, Liu Bei's expression once again showed some worry and he spoke. "It's just that what Zizhong said is not unreasonable..."

As Liu Bei spoke, he pushed a tray containing five or six scrolls of bamboo slips in front of Li Ji and said.

"Time is running out, this is all the information that Jinyi Division has investigated so far."

Seeing this, Li Ji didn't care about being rude, and quickly picked up the bamboo slips and started reading them at a glance.

So far, there has been no response from the court.

Moreover, the intelligence network of Jinyi Division has not yet reached the Central Plains. Except for Wu County, only a small part has begun to try to expand to Xuzhou.

Most of this information was collected by Jin Yisi from various refugees.

After a while, Li Ji put down the bamboo slip in his hand with a slightly solemn expression and spoke.

"The situation is much more serious than Zizhong knew. Severe drought and epidemic have come together."

However, Li Ji was mentally prepared for this. He couldn't be said to be surprised, but he also felt quite pressured.

Judging from later research, the Han Dynasty was now at the beginning of the "Little Ice Age" that would last for more than a hundred years.

The "Little Ice Age" represents the tendency for extreme weather conditions to occur and various natural disasters to occur more frequently.

Therefore, part of Li Ji's emphasis on water conservancy in Wu County was to cope with possible extreme climates such as droughts and floods.

However, Li Ji did not expect that in just the second year, a severe drought would occur in the Central Plains again, and it would also be a severe drought that affected Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Yanzhou.

It's spring, and people facing drought are unable to sow seeds normally, let alone the next harvest.

In this case, the people had no choice but to escape in order to survive!
It can be expected that after a severe drought, there will be a great famine!
Moreover, famine may have begun to take shape, and a major epidemic will also result from this chain.

The "Yellow Turban Rebellion" had just broken out the year before last, and corpses were everywhere. Even if the Han army deliberately buried the corpses, they certainly couldn't handle them carefully.

During a famine, some hungry people may choose to eat anything in order to survive, which then leads to a plague.

"Zikun, what worries me the most is the status of the plague? Is it under control?"

Liu Bei also said worriedly. (End of chapter)