Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 464: A Matter of Future Generations
After three quarters of an hour had passed, most of the representatives of the noble families who had originally chosen to kneel down in a proper manner out of respect for their status began to sit on the ground, feeling the love of Mother Earth with their buttocks.

When the five quarters of an hour was almost over, even the most stubbornly conservative and well-mannered people in the aristocratic family could only use their lower body to control their upper body to make choices.

On the contrary, Zhu Zheng was obviously sweating profusely, but he still maintained his flattering expression and took the initiative to chat from time to time.

In terms of perseverance alone, it is undoubtedly ironic that Zhu Zheng, who is always licking the boot, is far superior to those so-called stubborn families.

At this point, Li Ji, who had just eaten and drunk his fill, finally brought the conversation back to the main topic.

"I invited you all here not to ask you to comment on the taste of Wujun's latest pastry research, but to tell you something important."

After being tortured repeatedly by Li Ji both mentally and physically, most of the representatives of the aristocratic families were already a little confused, but at this moment they were shocked and looked towards Li Ji.

Li Ji picked up the folding fan on the table, pushed it with his fingers, opened it, and fanned himself leisurely, then spoke.

"My Lord is kind and benevolent, and he has always believed that the aristocratic families are the white jade pillars that support the sky and the purple gold beams that span the sea of ​​our Han Dynasty. If the Han Dynasty loses the aristocratic families, it would be like cutting off both its arms and losing both its knees."

However, although Li Ji's words showed respect and admiration for the aristocratic families.

But at this moment, the Yangzhou nobles, who were already in awe of Li Ji, were not complacent at all. Instead, they were very nervous, fearing that there would be a subsequent twist like "but".

However, Li Ji would naturally not let them guess it. With a warmer look on his face, he said.

"So, what my Lord means is that everyone makes mistakes. As long as you are determined to turn from darkness to light and no longer be deceived by traitors like Dong Zhuo, there is no need to pursue it too much, so as not to harm the harmony of heaven."

Instantly, the eyes of the noble families present were almost shining with excitement.

Only Gu Yong remained calm, knowing that given Li Ji's style of doing things, this would definitely not be the end of it.

This is just like giving a few slaps in the face and then giving them a verbal sour plum, just to keep the aristocratic families tantalizing.

Li Ji also had a tolerant and kind look on his face at this moment. He allowed the noble families, whose nerves were originally tense to the extreme, to show their excitement and joy without restraint. Some of them even started whispering.

The kind-hearted Li Ji also did not pursue these impolite behaviors. He waited patiently for a moment, and the noble families quieted down again.

Li Ji just continued to speak.

"Of course, those who have made contributions will be rewarded, and those who have made mistakes will be punished. Therefore, even if my lord is willing to forgive you, you should respect yourselves. You were deceived by the traitors and offered food and money to Wu. You should make up for the losses of the people in this war and show your gratitude."

Is this request... too much?

Not too much at all!
Even if we look at the conclusion, that is, the Yangzhou family did not gain anything by forming an alliance to fight against Wu, but instead had to pay a large amount of money and food as compensation to appease Liu Bei's anger.

But even for those arrogant and stubborn families, the compensation figures that almost all of them psychologically expect are beyond this range.

At this moment, even the representative of the noble family who had just burst into tears upon learning that his allied relatives were about to be exterminated, could not help but smile.

What a good death!

If those aristocratic families had not used "death" to appease the anger of Liu Bei and Li Ji, they might not have let the other families off so easily.

"Thank you, Lord Guoshi. I would like to express my gratitude here."

"Uncle Liu is truly a benevolent ruler."

"The Zhao family of Jiujiang will definitely follow the lead of Uncle Liu and will not dare to disobey in the slightest..."

All of a sudden, the representatives of the noble families who were originally frightened gradually became bolder and took the initiative to express their loyalty to Li Ji one after another.

Li Ji, who had eaten and drunk his fill, didn't mind putting on such a show. He responded to the statements of the representatives of the aristocratic families in a calm and friendly manner.

After the loyalty expressions of these family representatives gradually subsided, Li Ji pointed at the family representatives of the licking faction and the surrender faction, and then spoke.

"Please wait for a moment for the noble families on the list mentioned by Yuan Tan and Gang Lie. There are still some things I need to discuss with you..."

After a pause, Li Ji pointed the folding fan in his hand in the direction of the courtyard gate and said.

"As for the rest of the noble families, if they have nothing important to do, they can leave first. They just need to transport the promised money and grain to Wujun within a month."

However, despite what Li Ji said, those stubborn family representatives seemed to have taken root and could not move at all.

The representatives of the diehard families almost instantly judged from Li Ji's behavior that he was going to leave them alone and have dinner with the surrenderists and the sycophants.

As for what to eat...

The stubborn families thought of the groups that Jia Xu had already dealt with as mentioned by Li Ji, and the answer was self-evident. And this conclusion cannot be said to be reasonable. It can only be said that the stubborn families almost do not need to communicate with each other. More than 90% of the family representatives made this judgment.

From the political perspective judged by the Yangzhou family, this is perfectly reasonable.

Liu Bei chose to exterminate 30% of the Yangzhou families as a warning to others, and then asked them to pay a large amount of money and grain as compensation to restore the authority of the governor of Yangzhou.

After dealing with 30% of the Yangzhou families, Li Ji was undoubtedly planning to use the freed-up interests to win over the surrenderists and sycophants to Liu Bei.

But in this way, not to mention the fact that one side gains while the other loses, the power of the surrenderists and the lickers will in turn suppress the diehards.

More importantly, the diehards also want to sit at the table and eat!

This naked benefit is something that the Yangzhou family cannot resist at all.

At this moment, many representatives of the stubborn families who had been arrogant and reserved secretly wanted to slap themselves a few times.

Guo Shihou had already told me this was the arrangement, so hadn't I chosen to slide down on my knees and surrender to the great and self-evident Uncle Liu?

backbone?

arrogant?

These things are only needed to embellish oneself when protecting interests, but if they can be exchanged for tangible benefits, almost no noble family will choose such useless things as backbone and arrogance.

Perhaps, there are a large number of people with noble character and who would rather die than surrender among the aristocratic families.

But aristocratic families and their children cannot be compared. The children of aristocratic families are individuals, while aristocratic families are more like interest groups. The will of the aristocratic family represents the interests and ideas of the vast majority.

Why could Zhou Yu, who was not yet an adult, easily seize power of the Zhou family with the support of Sun Ce? It was because when the allied forces against Wu were defeated, Zhou Yu represented the overall choice of the Lujiang Zhou family.

After all, as noble as the Kong family of Qingzhou are, how could they not have submitted a letter of surrender for generations?
There are sons of noble families who would rather die than surrender, but there are no noble families who would rather die than surrender.

Therefore, after realizing that Li Ji was going to drag the surrenderists and the lickers to the table for dinner, there was no need for any prior communication, and all the representatives of the stubborn families had no intention of leaving.

If you really leave, you will really be kicked off the table.

"My Lord, my Jiujiang Zhao family is now a member of the Liu Huangshu regime. Moreover, my Jiujiang Zhao family has been enjoying the Han Dynasty's salary for generations and is willing to die for the Han Dynasty. If Yangzhou encounters any difficulties, the Jiujiang Zhao family should do their part to help."

"That's right, that's right. Previously, we were just threatened and bewitched by the county governors sent by the traitor Dong, so we had no choice but to stay and obey them temporarily until they could help us. Now that Uncle Liu has saved us from the water and fire, we are grateful and it is time to repay Uncle Liu."

"Could it be that the transportation of money and grain in Yangzhou has encountered some obstacles? I still have a little grain at home, so even if there is a little more, it won't be a problem..."

For a moment, Li Ji was bombarded with flattering words.

The Yangzhou noble families, who had just acted reserved and arrogant, now had a bit of Zhu Zheng's demeanor.

However, before Li Ji could express his opinion, the surrender faction and the licking faction, who were already excited, became angry first!

What the diehards can think of, the surrenderists and the sycophants will naturally not fail to think of.

There are only so many delicacies on the table now, which are enough for the surrenderists and the sycophants to eat their fill. But if the diehards really join in, then everyone will undoubtedly only be able to eat the leftovers.

Immediately, the surrenderists and the lickers-and-suckers faction almost all stood up, constantly making sarcastic remarks and trying to work together to drive out the stubborn faction.

Just looking at the representatives of the aristocratic families who were in a mess, Li Ji felt that he couldn't tell who were the licking faction.

It is true that the diehards already have a clear numerical advantage. While they continue to squeeze out the surrenderers and the lickers, they also continue to express goodwill towards Li Ji.

Even Li Ji felt that the stubborn representatives of aristocratic families, who were older than him, would say something at any time: I have been wandering for half my life, and I only regret that I have never met a wise master. If you don't abandon me, I am willing to become your adoptive father.

The scene was becoming increasingly chaotic, with fistfights and kicks already beginning to appear, and the verbal battle was about to develop into a more intense physical fight...

"Cough cough!"

Li Ji coughed lightly, and said in a voice that seemed to reveal a hint of displeasure. "Everyone, please be quiet."

At this moment, the power that Li Ji had created through a series of means undoubtedly played a role, causing all the representatives of the aristocratic families to calm down instantly.

Li Ji sighed and said.

"Well, well, please take your seats again. However, this matter concerns the future generations, so please listen carefully and do not leak it."

(End of this chapter)