Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

It's just that the book boy who has many tricks behind his back seems to be growing up faster than Li Ji expected.

Faced with the compliments of everyone, Xia Houlan did not respond directly to the compliments, but even the bribes seemed to be declined lightly.

For a young man who has not yet truly won the title, Xia Houlan's character is quite good, and at least he did not disappoint Li Ji.

If Xia Houlan really accepted the gold cake, then Li Ji could only consider putting Xia Houlan into an unimportant sinecure.

"Everyone, please respect yourselves."

Suddenly, Xia Houlan's voice rang out, saying.

"If you are interested in studying, you can watch how others play chess in the 'Four Crosses of Red Water'. Sooner or later, you will be able to meet the standards for admission to Rende College. Otherwise, if you are not interested in studying, what is the point of entering Rende College? significance?"

"Even those who are not good at the art of war can still choose the 'Politics' option for the assessment. As long as they are determined to do practical things and work tirelessly, it will not be difficult to pass the assessment."

As soon as these words with a childish tone and a calm tone came out, the voice that had been praising Xia Houlan from time to time was stunned, and even the atmosphere seemed to have fallen into embarrassment.

Afterwards, the atmosphere on Xia Houlan's side was obviously no longer as lively as before. After Xia Houlan stated that he would not accept bribes, the conversation naturally turned more to current affairs.

In addition to the discussions related to "Four Crosses of Red Water", there are more discussions about the vigorous "relief for work" and the refugee issues within Wu County.

It's just like chess, different people can play different games.

The "Four Crosses of Red Water" sand table improved by Li Ji is countless times more complicated than chess, and also involves issues such as terrain, marching speed, morale and so on.

Blind imitation simply won't work.

Guo Tu's game in "Four Crosses of Red Water" is widely circulated and is often studied by a large number of scholars. However, no one has been able to replicate Guo Tu's victory in insisting on more than 20 instructions and defeating more than 10,000 opponents. .

This is precisely the charm of sand table deduction, especially "Four Crosses of Red Water", which seems to be a problem that can never be solved no matter how it is solved, which makes a large number of scholars who are interested in the art of war unable to stop.

As the sky got darker, the gathering at Xiahoulan's side seemed to have come to an end. The scholars talked about everything, which gave Li Ji a deep understanding of the scholars' views and attitudes towards current affairs.

Generally speaking, the imperial court must be criticized, and the frequent occurrence of natural disasters must be related to the control of government affairs by the ten permanent servants in the imperial court. God will give early warning in this way.

As for Wu County's admission of a large number of refugees, even if most outsiders do not understand the deeper meaning of "relief through work", they generally quite recognize Liu Bei's benevolence.

In particular, a group of refugees fled from north to south, crossing countless states and counties along the way, but only Wu County took the initiative to accept them, which is even more precious.

Li Ji felt quite satisfied with this, at least he didn't hear any voices cursing him behind his back.

Otherwise... strict investigation!
Li Ji is not a stingy person, but Li Ji considers himself to be a noble person. If there are any curses in the market rumors, there is a high probability that there is some driving force behind it, and it must be strictly investigated!

Seeing that the tea party was over and Xia Houlan was about to leave again surrounded by a group of scholars, Li Ji got up and walked out of the teahouse and chased Xia Houlan and said.

"Brother, I am new to this market and I am not familiar with many things. I wonder if I can ask this brother to be my guide?"

Xia Houlan just stared at Li Ji walking out of the teahouse behind him, and then walked up to him and said these words. Suddenly, his childish and calm look almost broke!
But before Xia Houlan could react and speak, all the scholars who originally surrounded Xia Houlan frowned.

Among them, the scholar standing next to Xia Houlan looked even more worried, as if he felt that the scholar who appeared out of nowhere had let him down.

Immediately, the scholar took a look at Li Ji's outfit. He was wearing a simple scholar's robe in green, which looked clean. What he was holding in his hand...

The scholar's expression was slightly stern, and his eyes narrowed unconsciously when he looked at the folding fan in Li Ji's hand.

Paper was extremely expensive during this period, so the fact that this person used paper to paste a fan was enough to show that he was by no means a member of a poor family. Moreover, after careful observation, the scholar found that Li Ji's demeanor was different from ordinary people, which was heartbreaking. .

This made the look of worry on the scholar's face dissipate a lot. He looked at Li Ji with a little more friendship and spoke proactively.

"I'm Zhenyan, Zhongshan. Maybe this brother didn't know the identity of the person next to me when he first arrived here. He is Xia Houlan, Mr. Zikun's personal book boy, and he is also the person responsible for presiding over the 'Four Crosses of Red Water'."

"So Brother Mingzheng may not be suitable to be your guide, but if this brother needs a guide, I can ask him myself."

These clear and well-founded words made Li Ji look at Zhen Yan twice, and he recognized that he was the person who had expressed his progressive ideas to Xia Houlan before.

However, unlike Li Ji, who originally thought he was a playboy, Zhen Yan is obviously quite good at treating people and treating people. At least these words not only implicitly show his respect for Xia Houlan, but also convey his goodwill towards Li Ji. and a heart for friendship.

Li Ji thought for a moment and said. "Zhongshan Zhenyan? Could it be that he is a descendant of the wealthy Zhen family in Jizhou?"

"The family has only a small amount of money, which makes me laugh."

Zhen Yan said humbly, then cupped his hands. "I wonder what you call me, brother?"

This question made Li Ji a little embarrassed.

Li Ji did not want to reveal his identity to avoid causing any commotion. But what matters in this era is that a person should not change his or her name or surname. Pretending to be someone else will not only make people look down upon, but it is also an extremely disrespectful approach.

What's more, the Zhen family in Hebei is one of the richest in the entire Han Dynasty, even worse than the Mi family.

Although the status and reputation of the Zhen family among the Han aristocratic families was not considered to be the first level, in Li Ji's eyes, the value of the Zhen family was much greater than that of most aristocratic families, so naturally he did not want to behave in a presumptuous and rude manner.

Xia Houlan finally reacted and subconsciously wanted to salute Li Ji but stopped abruptly, understanding that Li Ji intended to hide his identity.

Immediately, Xia Houlan turned around and saluted Zhen Yan and other scholars.

"Thank you brothers for inviting me. I have something urgent to do now, so please allow me to leave first and meet again another day."

Immediately, before Zhen Yan and others could react, Xia Houlan quickly took Li Ji away, which made Zhen Yan and others a little confused.

After Xia Houlan left with Li Ji, his face was almost full of bitterness. Where was the calm demeanor that had just been chatting and laughing in front of Zhen Yan and others, and he spoke weakly.

"Sir, I...I can explain."

"Then explain it."

Li Ji looked at the surrounding environment with interest and replied with a smile.

Xia Houlan swallowed his saliva and spoke in a low voice.

"Zhen Yan spent a lot of money to donate many things to Rende Academy just to invite me to the tea party. I considered that this might reduce the financial pressure of maintaining Rende Academy, so I agreed."

"But...but I have never done anything to be sorry for the lord and sir. So...will sir believe it?"

Li Ji smiled casually and said.

"Why don't you believe it? Just now, Zhen Yan didn't say that you were my personal book boy. How can this status be exchanged for a thousand pieces of gold? Naturally, Ming Zheng would not be so stupid as to covet a little gold and silver."

Xia Houlan relaxed after hearing this, and couldn't help but feel touched by Li Ji's trust.

For Xiahoulan, he was originally just a peasant boy from a remote mountain village in Changshan Country. To achieve such a status in just one year, Xiahoulan knew why.

When walking near Rende Academy, no matter who he is, he will be treated with courtesy, and Xia Houlan understands that it is for Li Ji's sake.

Li Ji then spoke.

"But what makes me happy is that Ming Zhengke's expression remains unchanged amidst the adulation and he is not arrogant. He is somewhat calm."

As soon as these words came out, Xia Houlan's face immediately turned red, knowing that Li Ji had probably completely heard the words of those scholars praising him just now.

This made Xiahou Lan feel his head buzzing, and a sense of social death emerged spontaneously.

After a long while, Xia Houlan answered with embarrassment. "The gap between Lan and Mr. is as big as heaven, how dare you feel a little complacent?"

As the first person to come into contact with the "Four Crossings of Red Water" sand and as the person who presided over the "Four Crossings of Red Water" during this period, the more Xia Houlan learned about it, the more he realized that the gap between himself and Li Ji was unreachable.

Over this period of time, Xia Houlan has seen countless solutions from different scholars.

Although Xia Houlan felt that he had benefited a lot and had his horizons broadened, few had even achieved the results of Guo Tu, let alone the level of Li Ji who had completely cracked the "four red water crossings".

The gap...is too big.

When he first got to know Li Jizhi, Xia Houlan felt that Li Jizhi was unparalleled in talent. However, as Xia Houlan continued to study in depth, he suddenly felt like a mayfly emerging from the water and seeing the boundless night sky for the first time.

Under such circumstances, how could Xia Houlan feel a little proud and complacent no matter how much praise he heard?
"very good."

Li Ji praised Xia Houlan and then said. "Then you will continue to host the 'Four Crosses of Red Water' for two years. When you win the title, you will be able to take charge of it on your own."

"Yes, sir."

Xia Houlan responded, and then couldn't help but whisper. "Sir, can I continue to study with you?"

"Have a heart."

Li Ji smiled, but did not agree.

For Li Ji, it is easy to find a bookboy, but Liu Bei still lacks generals, so it is undoubtedly a waste to keep Xiahoulan as a bookboy. (End of chapter)