Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

At this moment, Qu Lian looked increasingly old and it seemed as if he was hanging on to his last breath and would pass away at any time.

Qu Lian held a Linyi rice in his hand, prostrated himself on the ground, raised his hands over his head in a gesture of submission, and spoke in a hoarse and somewhat distorted voice.

"The sinner Qu Lian...offers rice."

Li Ji had no intention of connecting the two. Instead, he was flipping through a scroll of bamboo slips he had brought back from the Champa Palace.

A moment later, just when Qu Lian was about to fall, Li Ji threw the bamboo slips directly in front of Qu Lian and said in a cold voice.

"You are so bold that you split off the Han territory and established your own regime, and you even forgot to tamper with history?"

This bamboo slip records the history of the founding of the Linyi Kingdom.

In it, not only was Qu Lian described as the destined king, but the massacre of Han people during his rebellion was also glorified as a victory over the Han army, in which he took the heads of Han people and passed them off as those of Han soldiers in order to establish his own prestige and then establish a country.

Not to mention that the Linyi Kingdom subsequently repeatedly invaded the land of Rinan County and killed and injured many Han people.

If Xu Sheng had not led his troops there, Rinan County might have been gradually eroded by the Linyi Kingdom in a few years and eventually become part of another country's territory.

This made Li Ji extremely unhappy.

Feeling the oppressive feeling emanating from the young man sitting in the main seat, Qu Lian, who had been a grandfather for many years, was almost frightened like a grandson on the spot.

The older you get, the more afraid you are of death.

Qu Lian might be over eighty years old, but he felt that he could live much longer and was unwilling to die now.

Qu Lian quickly defended himself.

"No, I dare not. This... this must be a traitor who secretly slipped this scroll into the palace to slander me. My heart is with the Han Dynasty, and I was forced to rebel back then."

Li Ji almost couldn't help laughing at this excuse, and said.

"Oh, then do you suspect any traitors or rebellious ministers? Which of your ministers brought the bamboo slips to the palace? It just so happens that your descendants, family members, and a group of noble ministers are waiting outside. I can let you confront them directly."

This wave of surprise attacks was even more exaggerated than the Jingkang Rebellion in later generations. The entire ruling class of the Linyi Kingdom was wiped out in one fell swoop.

Therefore, how could Qu Lian dare to shirk responsibility by name?
No matter who Qu Lian pointed at, Li Jike could really bring the corresponding noble minister to confront Qu Lian.

Facing Li Ji's gaze, Qu Lian knew that if he kept making excuses, it would probably only make Li Ji even more unhappy.

The next moment, Qu Lian suddenly kowtowed heavily and said.

"I was really forced to rebel against the county magistrate back then, and I have regretted my impulsive behavior over the years, so... so..."

A gleam of light flashed across Qu Lian's cloudy eyes, and he quickly continued speaking.

"So I've been conquering everywhere day and night, in order to conquer more land, and then return this land to the Holy Dynasty, so as to gain the Holy Dynasty's forgiveness and allow me to return to the Han Dynasty."

After Qu Lian finished speaking, Li Ji did not speak any more. This left no other sound in the room except for the heavy breathing of Xu Chu who was guarding him.

The violent heartbeat made Qu Lian even more nervous.

Finally, Li Ji, who was sitting in the upper seat, stood up and walked in front of Qu Lian.

It was not until he saw Li Ji's feet appear in front of him that Qu Lian subconsciously wanted to slowly raise his head.

The next moment, the folding fan in Li Ji's hand was placed against Qu Lian's head, causing him to pause in his movement to raise his head.

"Lower your head... " Li Ji's voice sounded.

"Yes."

Countless fearful thoughts flashed through Qu Lian's mind, but he did not dare to disobey and quickly lowered his head again.

"You want to live?" Li Ji asked.

“Yes,” Qu Lian replied quickly.

"You want to offer the land of Linyi in exchange for a chance to live?" Li Ji asked again. "Yes."

"You are afraid of death and you know the current situation. Logically speaking, people like you are worth using, but the question is, do you still have the land of Linyi?"

Li Ji said this softly, and Qu Lian's heart instantly sank to the bottom.

"I... I, I have a high prestige in Linyi Kingdom. I can help the Holy Dynasty stabilize the situation in Linyi Kingdom." Qu Lian pleaded with some stammering.

An old and frail man begged and showed weakness like this.

Unfortunately, Li Ji's eyes did not waver in the slightest. Instead, he spoke meaningfully.

"Oh, it turns out that you have a high reputation in Linyi Kingdom."

Qu Lian was subconsciously delighted at first, and then his whole body froze.

This statement is tantamount to seeking death.

"I will never dare to rebel again. I truly regret the past all the time. I am willing to atone my sins to the Holy Dynasty with the rest of my life. Please give me a chance." Qu Lian said pleadingly.

"After being defeated and captured, I finally felt regret. Isn't it too late?"

Li Ji shook his head and said.

"Of course, maybe you are still of some use..."

This shocked Qu Lian, but as Li Ji's next words rang out, Qu Lian's already extremely ugly face turned pale.

"It's just that I don't like what you do, so why should I keep you as an eyesore?"

After that, Li Ji picked up the Linyi rice that Qu Lian had been holding with both hands, turned around and walked back to the main seat, and said, "Zhongkang, take this man down and behead him."

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

Xu Chu immediately strode forward, stretched out his hand towards Qu Lian, and directly pulled Qu Lian up, but found that Qu Lian was as soft as a noodle, and his face was extremely pale.

Seeing this, Xu Chu frowned, shook him a few times and found that Qu Lian was still limp and motionless, so he reached out and pressed on Qu Lian's neck.

"My Lord, this old man seems to have been frightened to death."

"Scared to death?"

Li Ji was stunned. He didn't expect that Qu Lian, who was considered the founding emperor, could be frightened to death.

"The older you get, the more gutless you become. What an ugly end."

After a pause, Li Ji waved his hand and said, "Just chop off the head and send it back to Linyi. Let it be shown to all quarters. This will help Lord Yu of Rinan County to stabilize the people's hearts."

"Yes."

Xu Chu nodded.

"The royal family members and noble ministers of the Linyi Kingdom outside, the men were used as laborers, the women were sent to be camp prostitutes, and the children were changed to slave status."

Li Ji's light words completely determined the fate of the more than a thousand people that Xu Sheng brought back.

Forced labor may no longer be practiced in Yangzhou, but Li Ji was not averse to using foreign labor.

Li Ji often showed kindness to the Han people, but he would not have unnecessary kindness towards other ethnic minorities.

Especially the ruling class of the Linyi Kingdom, who have enjoyed the benefits of invading the Han Dynasty for many years, it is naturally time for them to pay back.

The premise for preventing misfortune from reaching the family is that the benefit will not reach the family.

The same is true for the ruling class of the Linyi Kingdom. (End of this chapter)