Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

If he were in Li Ji's shoes, Zhang Zhao would ask himself honestly that he definitely did not have the breadth of mind and magnanimity to be willing to swear an oath and gain the trust of his political enemy who had already become a prey.

"The reason why I am inferior to the nobles is not just my ability."

Zhang Zhao took two steps back, bowed to Li Ji with a sincere heart, and said, "I am willing to help you with my humble efforts, and help you achieve great things together."

Seeing this, Li Ji couldn't help but smile. After helping Zhang Zhao up, he stretched out his hand towards Xu Chu.

Xu Chu blinked, but was unable to react for a moment, and asked.

"My Lord, this is..."

Li Ji, who was still facing Zhang Zhao, felt a little embarrassed for a moment, and coughed lightly to remind him. "The cloth I gave you to carry before I left."

"Oh, it's here. It's not lost. Don't worry, sir."

Xu Chu spoke in a muffled voice, and he reached out and patted his chest like beating a drum, making a dull sound.

Xu Chu, obviously, is not yet fully adapted to his identity!

This made Li Ji feel as if he had suddenly lost all face in front of Zhang Zhao.

Zhang Zhao, who didn't know Xu Chu's identity, lowered his waist again tactfully to save Li Ji's face, pretending that he knew nothing.

This made Li Ji want to jump up and hit Xu Chu's stupid head hard with his folding fan to help him wake up.

"I mean give me the cloth." Li Ji reluctantly described his meaning more accurately.

"Yes."

Xu Chu, who realized it later, reached into his arms again, took out the cloth that he had kept close to his body and gave it to Li Ji.

Li Ji took it and confirmed that it was correct before handing it to Zhang Zhao.

After Zhang Zhao took it, his first reaction was that it looked unusually familiar. Then, as if a flash of lightning had passed by, he immediately realized what it was.

Zhang Zhao opened the cloth with trembling hands, and on it was the defense map related to Yangxian. This was also the defense map of Yangxian that Zhang Zhao had secretly sent out before.

Without waiting for Zhang Zhao to speak, Li Ji slowly spread out his folding fan and said.

"Fortunately, Zi Bu was not so obsessed as to be completely deceived. The Yangxian defense map he sent was half true and half false. It could not be regarded as betraying his master and aiding the enemy. Otherwise, Zi Bu would probably have been beheaded. Even if the lord wanted to protect you, it would be difficult to stop the gossips."

Zhang Zhao said with great shame, "I am guilty."

It was true that Zhang Zhao wanted Liu Bei to return to the army, it was true that he wanted to undermine the prestige of the northerners, and it was also true that he wanted to seize power from Li Ji, but he did not really want to betray his master and surrender.

The reason why Zhang Zhao did this, apart from his own selfish desires, was that he felt it was foolish for Liu Bei to waste huge amounts of money and food on an expedition thousands of miles away.

Once all the elite troops led by Liu Bei were killed, it would be a fatal blow to Wujun.

"Zi Bu is indeed confused."

Li Ji also made an undisguised comment, which made Zhang Zhao blush.

In Li Ji's view, Zhang Zhao's behavior was not a betrayal, but it was an internal struggle that completely disregarded the overall situation.

Killing him is fine, but it would be somewhat of a waste.

If Zhang Zhao could get rid of his narrow vision and stop focusing his energy on internal struggles for power, he might be considered a wise man who could govern the country.

Of course, what is more important is that Li Ji never regarded Zhang Zhao as a threat. He also knew that as Liu Bei's territory grew larger and larger, various factions would sooner or later be formed under the influence of various factors. This is a fact that is objectively impossible to eliminate.

What is Zhang Zhao?
If it were just a small Zhang Zhao, Li Ji would regard him as a thorn in his flesh. How could he help Liu Bei govern the world?
Appoint people based on their merits and make the best use of resources.

This is Li Ji’s current philosophy.

Immediately, Li Ji continued, "But Zi Bu, you don't have to feel that it will be difficult for you to gain a foothold under the lord's command in the future, nor that you will be embarrassed to see your colleagues again. The defense map you wanted to send out was intercepted and replaced midway."

"what?"

Zhang Zhao's reaction was one of shock and surprise, but he quickly calmed down and gave a wry smile.

Zhang Zhao had already guessed some of his and the Yangzhou family's little tricks, all of which were under Li Ji's nose. Now it was just further confirmed.

"Thank you, Lord Guoshi, for preserving some of my reputation." Zhang Zhao said gratefully.

"It doesn't matter."

Li Ji waved his hand and said, "Zi Gang has a hot temper, so I won't go to visit him. Zi Bu, please find time to talk to Zi Gang in the next two days."

"If Zi Gang is also interested in going to Jiaozhou, then with Zi Bu and Zi Gang working together, Jiaozhou will surely be able to be ruled by the king soon."

"Of course, if Zigang is no longer interested in government affairs, then I can guarantee that he can stay in Wujun and live a rich life in peace in his old age."

Zhang Zhao bowed and said, "On behalf of Zigang, I would like to express my gratitude to the Duke of Guoshi first."

Li Ji clapped his hands with the folding fan in his hand and said.

"It's a small matter. But in the next few days, Zibu is not in a hurry to go to the governor's office to continue his duty. I will have someone send some land and household registration documents of Jiaozhou in recent years to Zibu. Zibu should take a good look at them first."

"Also, perhaps Zibu's cooperation may be needed for the affairs of the Yangzhou family."

Zhang Zhao hesitated for a moment, then agreed to all of them. This also meant that Zhang Zhao chose to cut ties with the Yangzhou family this time and stand on Liu Bei's side to help suppress the Yangzhou family.

This made Li Ji quite satisfied with Zhang Zhao's reaction.

After Li Ji left Zhang Zhao's mansion, all the soldiers who had surrounded Zhang Zhao's mansion were also transferred away.

After calming himself down and reviewing his conversation with Li Ji, Zhang Zhao immediately went to visit Zhang Hong who was not far away.

The appearance of Zhang Zhao surprised Zhang Hong, who had lost a lot of weight. He even thought that Li Ji was going to send both of them on the road together.

Even after Zhang Zhao slowly explained his purpose, Zhang Hong still did not speak for a long time.

After a long while, Zhang Hong finally spoke with emotion.

"He pointed to the Yangtze River and swore to win my brother's trust. Isn't his mind comparable to that of the Yangtze River? You and I are far apart. If the Marquis of Guoshi really wants to use our strength to govern Jiaozhou, how can I refuse?"

Zhang Zhao also sighed, and the calm and heroic look of Li Ji when he swore an oath emerged in his mind. He couldn't help but be impressed and said.

"Yes. If you can work with the nobles and marquises for twenty years, you will gain the world."

Zhang Hong thought for a moment and said self-deprecatingly.

"The Marquis of Guoshi is dedicated to the public and has a broad mind; the Lord is also a benevolent ruler who regards the Marquis of Guoshi as a brother. Let alone twenty years, it is not impossible for the Lord and his subjects to be of the same mind and character for a hundred years."

"Ugh……"

After hearing this, Zhang Zhao couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Liu Bei's benevolence and charm naturally impressed Zhang Zhao, otherwise Zhang Zhao would not have worshipped Liu Bei as his master.

However, what Zhang Zhao spent half his life exploring was the "art of checks and balances". He believed that everything needed checks and balances in order to achieve long-term stability.

It is for this reason that Zhang Zhao has always regarded himself as the person who checks and balances Li Ji under Liu Bei, and believes that checking and balancing Li Ji will be of great benefit to maintaining stability among the civil officials under Liu Bei.

However, it was only at this moment that Zhang Zhao came to his senses.

It's not that his "checks and balances" are problematic, but that something is wrong with Liu Bei and Li Ji, the master and his minister. (End of this chapter)