Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Cao Cao undoubtedly recognized Xun Yu's talents, and even clearly saw some of Li Ji's shadow in Xun Yu.

I believe that when Li Ji suggested to Liu Bei to establish a foothold in Wujun, he was thinking something similar to what Xun Yu said.

After communicating with Xun Yu for many days, Cao Cao also believed that as long as the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou could be defeated, Xun Yu would definitely be able to restore a certain level of prosperity to Qingzhou, where people's livelihood had been devastated, in a very short period of time.

"It's a pity that we have different goals and paths..."

Cao Cao said to himself that he understood that Xun Yu might be able to be used by him in the short term.

But unless Cao Cao can change Xun Yu's mind, a huge conflict will inevitably break out between the master and minister with completely different ambitions sooner or later.

Immediately, Cao Cao showed a helpless smile on his face and said self-deprecatingly, "There is no place to stand right now, so why should we consider such long-term things?"

But even though Cao Cao comforted himself like this, the person that came to his mind was Li Ji...

Especially after learning recently that Li Ji had devised a plan thousands of miles away to destroy the more than 100,000-strong army of the anti-Wu coalition, and captured countless noble families and soldiers.

Cao Cao then realized that there would be no more obstacles for Liu Bei to control Yangzhou. How could this not make Cao Cao feel complicated about Liu Bei, who was once just a mat weaver and shoe seller?
"Liu Da'er, the outcome is still uncertain. One day I will definitely defeat you and take Li Zikun, Guan Yu, and Zhao Zilong into my possession!"

Cao Cao muttered something, and suddenly felt refreshed. He concentrated his attention on the large amount of documents on the desk.

This time, Cao Cao knew very well that this might be his only and best chance.

Therefore, Cao Cao not only planned to go all out and send out all his forces, but also kept in touch with friends and clansmen from all sides, recruiting talented people, brave warriors, money and food, and soldiers.

Now, the number of troops under Cao Cao's command has rapidly expanded to more than 10,000, but this has almost exhausted all the personal connections and family background that Cao Cao could mobilize.

Of course, this does not mean that this is the entire background of the Cao and Xiahou families.

Cao Song, the head of the Cao family, did not have only one son, Cao Cao. The Xiahou clan was just very close to Cao Cao.

But if Cao Cao was defeated, his only way out would be to return home and become an incompetent son of a noble family, with no chance of truly taking power.

Moreover, there were many people within the Cao and Xiahou families who were not optimistic about Cao Cao. They believed that it was wishful thinking for Cao Cao to quell the millions of Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou who had been causing trouble for many years with just 10,000 soldiers and horses, and swallow up the entire Qingzhou.

Many people even think that Cao Cao's move was to weaken the family's power and eliminate the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou in a thankless task, which would simply benefit the people of Qingzhou.

Cao Cao did not argue with this, and his friends and clansmen who supported him arrived one after another, either with their troops or with money and food.

Cao Cao picked an auspicious day that was closest to him, led his troops eastward, and headed straight for Qingzhou.

Perhaps, in the eyes of others, even if Cao Cao's attack on Qingzhou was unsuccessful, he still had a way out.

But Cao Cao had already made a resolute decision in his heart...

If I can’t win, I’d rather die!
If the court doesn’t give it to me, then I will go and get it myself!!!

……

When Cao Cao led his troops to Qingzhou, it was a very long march.

Liu Bei finally led his army back to Yangzhou and entered Lujiang.

When Liu Bei led his army to Lujiang, Sun Ce, who had sent someone to inform him of the news in advance, naturally came to greet him in person.

In addition to the navy led by Sun Ce, a large number of noble families also came to welcome him. Some of them even traveled day and night from Jiujiang, Danyang, and Yuzhang, which were adjacent to Lujiang.

Seeing the noble families getting off their horses early and standing by to greet him, Liu Bei couldn't help but recall the time when he first entered Wu County.

At that time, bandits were rampant in Wu County, and the Wu County aristocratic families were unable to resist. The casualties were particularly heavy. When the Wu County aristocratic families had to beg Liu Bei to fight the bandits and ensure their safety, he could only greet them at the city gate.

Now that the power of life and death was in his hands, the attitudes of these Yangzhou families were extremely humble, and some even traveled a distance of one or two hundred miles to come here.

This made Liu Bei unable to help but look at Li Ji beside him and reveal a helpless smile.

And before Liu Bei could get close, those noble families took the initiative to come towards Liu Bei from afar. Their warm and humble attitude made Liu Bei feel uncomfortable.

To be honest, the more Liu Bei came into contact with the deeply rooted aristocratic families in Yangzhou, the more he discovered the arrogance and self-righteousness in these families' bones.

In the eyes of the Yangzhou aristocratic families, county magistrates and provincial governors came and went, one after another. Unless they integrated into the local community and became part of the aristocratic family, they were ultimately just passers-by.

Even if a large number of Yangzhou noble families were angered, the combined connections of the Yangzhou noble families would be enough to easily get rid of a small county magistrate or governor.

Therefore, in the bones of the Yangzhou families, it seems that they are the real masters of Yangzhou.

No matter how solid Liu Bei's control over Wujun was in the past, he still had this feeling when he came into contact with the aristocratic families.

But now the enthusiasm and humility revealed by the aristocratic families made Liu Bei, who was accustomed to how to deal with the aristocratic families of Yangzhou, feel a little at a loss for a moment. He even hoped that they could return to their original attitude.

However, Liu Bei always treated people with kindness and justice. Even though he disliked the Jiangdong noble families, he would not let them talk about him. Facing the noble families who came hundreds of miles away to greet him, and their almost blatant flattery, Liu Bei still responded kindly on the surface.

However, Zhou Yu, who was following behind Sun Ce, found this scene ridiculous.

Some things need to be done in advance, but how they are done can make a huge difference.

Immediately, Zhou Yu turned his gaze and looked in the direction of Li Ji, and was shocked to find that Li Ji's eyes were also on him, which made Zhou Yu subconsciously look away slightly.

"That's Mei Zhou Lang? He lives up to his name."

Although Li Ji had seen the portrait of Zhou Yu drawn by the Embroidered Uniform Service before, when he actually saw it, he found that Zhou Yu was indeed worthy of the title of "Beautiful Zhou Yu".

However, Li Ji's gaze only stayed on Zhou Yu for a few breaths, and then fell on Huang Gai, Zu Mao, Cheng Pu, and Han Dang who were following behind Sun Ce, which made Li Ji's eyes flash with understanding.

Huang Gai and others found Sun Ce, which meant that Sun Ce had already known about Sun Jian's affairs.

Moreover, Sun Ce no longer looked as proud and heroic as before. His eye sockets seemed sunken and bloodshot, and he looked as if he was barely mustering the energy to come and greet the guests.

After Li Ji observed the area, he finally walked to Liu Bei's side.

The appearance of Li Ji made Liu Bei feel like he had seen a savior, and he quickly signaled to Li Ji with his eyes. Otherwise, facing these noble families who seemed a bit sticky and humble, Liu Bei really felt that it was difficult to handle them.

More importantly, Liu Bei knew that he had captured a large number of Yangzhou families, but he had not had time to discuss with Li Ji how to deal with these families.

Therefore, in order to avoid conflicts and impacts with Li Ji's strategy, Liu Bei, who attached great importance to his promises, did not dare to make any promises easily.

Since Liu Bei needed to maintain a benevolent attitude to the outside world, Li Ji naturally had no choice but to play the villain. He changed his usual calm and indifferent tone and spoke coldly.

"You are blocking my lord's way. Are you trying to complete the unfinished mission?"

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a gust of cold winter wind that instantly blew into the hearts of these Yangzhou nobles who had come from thousands of miles away to beg for mercy, making them swallow back all the flattering words.

What is the “unfinished task”?
What is naturally implied is the so-called "anti-Wu alliance."

As soon as Li Ji said this, the guards who were originally guarding on the left and right all showed a murderous intention, especially Xu Chu, who took a step forward and raised his sword subconsciously.

This scene almost made all the people from the Yangzhou families take a step back in fear.

However, before these Yangzhou families could start explaining again.

Li Ji tapped the folding fan gently against his palm and said.

"My lord is a benevolent lord, but you should not go too far. Otherwise, even if my lord does not mind, the 100,000 soldiers of Wu County may not be willing to agree."

As Li Ji finished speaking, Guo Jia waved the flag and issued an order to a messenger.

Suddenly, thousands of soldiers took a step almost in unison, making a neat and loud sound.

Such a well-organized and powerful military force almost instantly took away the little confidence that the Yangzhou families had left.

Against the backdrop of such momentum, even though Li Ji's voice was light, it sounded as heavy as Mount Tai in the ears of these Yangzhou families.

"And you must know what you did, but you just put on a welcoming attitude, said a few flattering words and want to let it go. Don't you think it's too ridiculous?"

At this moment, many of the noble families were sweating on their foreheads and even their entire bodies.

Even Zhou Yu, who was following behind Sun Ce, felt the heavy pressure, not to mention the other Yangzhou families who were feeling guilty and fearful.

After several breaths had passed, a rather intelligent person from aristocratic family asked in a low voice.

"Also... could you please give me some advice, Lord Guoshi?"

As the battle against Dong Zhuo ended nearly two months ago, even though the information channels of the Jiangdong families were slow, they naturally learned about the major events that had taken place in Sili.

Similarly, they also knew that Liu Bei was promoted to General of Annan and Governor of Yangzhou, and Li Ji was even named "National Marquis".

And this incident was the main reason why a group of Yangzhou noble families came here in panic to welcome him.

If it is said that Liu Bei was only the prefect of Wujun before, he was nominally not qualified to directly deal with the affairs of the aristocratic families outside Wujun.

Therefore, even if Liu Bei was right, once Liu Bei really started a killing spree, his reputation might not be benefited. This was also the only thing that the Yangzhou family relied on and had confidence in.

However, Liu Bei happened to be promoted to "Yangzhou Mu"...

That can be regarded as fixing the last loophole that cannot handle them properly. How can this not make them humble? (End of this chapter)