Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

What appearance?

For a moment, Li Ji even suspected that he had heard it wrongly.

The last prime minister of the Han Dynasty dates back to the period of Emperor Ai of Han, and there has been no prime minister for nearly two hundred years.

Where did the prime minister come from?

Li Ji put down the tea bowl in his hand, looked at the envoys in front of him, and asked, "The Han Dynasty has not had a prime minister for nearly two hundred years. Who told you that I am the prime minister?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of these envoys changed, and many of them looked at the envoy standing in the front at the same time.

Li Ji's gaze also fell on him.

For a moment, the envoy's forehead was covered with sweat, but he didn't dare to wipe it, so he answered quickly.

"Three hundred years ago, when the Holy Dynasty pacified Nanyue, my ancestors went to the Holy Dynasty as envoys to pay homage to the Holy Emperor. There are records in my family that the most powerful person in the world under the Holy Emperor of the Holy Dynasty is the Prime Minister..."

"After arriving at the Holy Dynasty, I carefully inquired about Mr. Zikun and found out that he was the wise man who was second only to the emperor in this land. So I misunderstood. Please...please forgive me."

Although the envoy's accent was a little strange, Li Ji was still able to understand what he meant.

Immediately, Li Ji looked at the envoy deeply, and a little emotion arose in his heart.

This is the tragedy of a small country.

What they feared was not Li Ji, nor the holy dynasty recorded in ancient books. What they feared was the Han army that destroyed Linyi in three days.

Among the small countries south of Jiaozhou, Linyi Kingdom was undoubtedly a very powerful overlord.

However, such a hegemonic country was destroyed by the Han army in just three days.

This undoubtedly reawakened the fear hidden in their memories of the conquest of Nanyue during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the fear that a giant dragon could accidentally crush a large number of ants by simply turning slightly sideways.

"Since you were sent as an envoy to the late emperor three hundred years ago, why haven't you come in the past three hundred years?"

Li Ji asked calmly, causing the envoy to almost go limp and sweat all over.

This... is undoubtedly a fatal question.

However, even though he was an envoy from a small country, he at least had some quick wit.

After a few breaths, the envoy gathered his strength and answered carefully.

"The country is small and sparsely populated. Even if one wishes to bask in the glory of the Holy Emperor and pay tribute to the Holy Dynasty, the journey is too long. Even if one devotes all the power of the country, it is difficult to reach the Holy Dynasty."

"Fortunately, General Xu Sheng is kind and willing to bring us to the Holy Dynasty. Only then can we feel the grace of the Holy Dynasty again."

Li Ji couldn't help but chuckle when he heard this.

This sudden laughter frightened all the envoys present.

Perhaps, in Li Ji's view, the Han Dynasty has always been a superior country with virtues that bless all directions, and has never done such barbaric and cruel acts of bullying.

Unless some small countries were disrespectful to the Han Dynasty and even dared to kill Han envoys, the Han Dynasty rarely directly massacred foreign countries.

Isn't this kindness?
Compared with the scimitars of the foreign tribes on the grassland, the Han people can definitely be described as "benevolent".

However, from the perspective of the envoys from small countries who had put all their national efforts into trying to please the Han Dynasty overnight, it was a horror story.

When I woke up, the sky had fallen.

The once powerful neighbor was defeated by the Han army in less than three days. If the Linyi Kingdom couldn't even last three days, how many days could they last?

Therefore, even though the kings may have given different instructions to the envoys before they set out on their missions, the core of the instructions was almost the same, which was:
Use the whole country’s strength to please the holy dynasty.

However, Li Ji did not intend to overly embarrass these envoys from small countries, so he spoke.

"First of all, I am not the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, but the General of Annan, the Military Advisor and the Governor of Wujun, Li Ji, the Marquis of Guoshi, with the courtesy name Zikun;"

"Secondly, this is Yangzhou, one of the Thirteen Prefectures of the Han Dynasty. Because the Linyi Kingdom killed Han envoys without authorization, my lord, the governor of Yangzhou, sent troops to quell the rebellion and restore Han's prestige."

When these words were spoken, the amount of information revealed was enormous, and the envoys' eyes widened.

Was it just Yangzhou that destroyed the Linyi Kingdom?
And the Han Dynasty had thirteen states?
At this moment, the envoys, who were already unable to stand up straight, subconsciously bent down even further.

Yangzhou alone is enough to pacify the Linyi Kingdom in three days. If the entire Han Dynasty is angered, wouldn’t all the countries south of Jiaozhou, even dogs, be cut into four pieces horizontally and vertically?
Li Ji paused for a moment and then continued.

"Yangzhou is still a thousand miles away from the capital Luoyang. If you go to Luoyang to pay homage to the emperor, I will report to my master later and send a team of soldiers to escort you."

"Thank you, Lord Guoshi."

Immediately, all the envoys bowed to express their gratitude.

Li Ji nodded slightly and asked casually, "However, you haven't paid homage to the emperor for a long time. I wonder what state gifts you brought?"

Naturally, these envoys were not stupid and would quickly understand the meaning.

It is a fact that the Han Dynasty cannot be provoked, and the same is true for Yangzhou.

Therefore, each envoy not only took the initiative to submit gift cards, but also explained the specific contents of the state gifts they brought.

Li Ji was naturally not after the melons and dates, but wanted to see if there were any good things in it that were suitable for planting in the Han Dynasty and would benefit the people.

Unfortunately, it turns out that luck isn't always so good.

In the face of the might of the Han army, how could the envoys of various countries dare to be perfunctory in the state gifts they brought?
Therefore, most of the state gifts they brought were expensive items such as ivory and jewelry. Many envoys also brought some beautiful women from their own country to present to the emperor.

It's just that these things might make the emperor happy, and maybe he could hide some of them in his private storehouse under the pressure of the queen, or even feel the tenderness of those exotic beauties.

But for Li Ji and the people, it was useless and they were inevitably disappointed.

Therefore, Li Ji then comforted the envoys with a few words, saying that Liu Bei would meet with them later, and then send people to escort them to the capital Luoyang to pay homage to the emperor.

This was undoubtedly a great thing for Liu Bei, and Li Ji was even thinking about how to publicize it.

Liu Bei had previously vowed to serve the Han Dynasty wholeheartedly, but he suffered a lot of criticism because of Liu Zhang's attack. This incident just happened to prove Liu Bei's determination.

Qu Lian was a traitor, and the Linyi Kingdom killed Han envoys without authorization...

This almost violated all the taboos of the Han Dynasty. It was absolutely politically correct for Liu Bei to send troops from thousands of miles away to destroy the Linyi Kingdom.

Linyi was destroyed in three days, and all the countries paid tribute...

Once this matter becomes public, it will not only be of great benefit to Liu Bei's reputation, but will also give a shot in the arm to many people who are loyal to the Han Dynasty.

Only a handful of people truly knew Liu Bei's purpose of conquering the Linyi Kingdom.

It can be said that there are only benefits and no harm.

After Li Ji sent away all the envoys and arranged for them to stay at the post station, the next person to be sent to Li Ji was Qu Lian. (End of this chapter)