Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 57 The choice of the four states
  For Liu Bei, entering and exiting the court is at the center.

It is really possible to realize the ideal of honoring the ancestors, and in the blink of an eye, one can rise from the bottom to the stage of power in the center of the Han Dynasty.

It is also Liu Bei's wish to lead troops to fight against thieves.

Even if today's Han Dynasty quelled the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it would still be riddled with holes. There were countless bandits and bandits, and it would take a long time to conquer the remnants of the Yellow Turbans.

Stationed at the frontier, it is an irresistible temptation for burly men.

Ever since Huo Qiaoqi sealed Lang Juxu, every big man would instinctively enter a state of excitement when he conquered foreign races.

Shepherding and guarding one side is also one of Liu Bei's ideals.

Just like the oath made by the Taoyuan sworn brotherhood, we will protect the common people and keep the sea and rivers clear.

Li Ji also allowed Liu Bei's expression to change from time to time, and continued to drink porridge to fill his already hungry stomach.

After a long time, Liu Bei suddenly woke up and said with a wry smile.

"What happens to Bei in the future depends on the appointment by the court. It is not Bei's decision."

"No, you can."

Li Ji shook his head and said.

Nowadays, it is almost obvious that the imperial court sells officials and titles, although the emperor does not seem to have completely lost his mind and easily sells the official positions that really hold the real power in the imperial court.

But when Liu Bei's achievements are sufficient, it is really easy to choose a favorite position.

Liu Bei naturally understood this.

However, for Liu Bei's extremely high moral bottom line, he was somewhat unwilling to accept this kind of thing.

"Zikun, if you buy an official position, it is not the behavior of a gentleman, and you are at odds with the eunuchs." Liu Bei said in a deep voice.

"Brother Xuande has misunderstood. Now that Brother Xuande has the support of General Bei Zhonglang and Sheriff Liu Yan, if you have any thoughts in your heart, you should express them. Now the court can arrange Brother Xuande in a position where he can maximize his potential." In the position of ability.”

Li Ji persuaded with a smile.

In fact, Li Ji didn't like or dislike the eunuchs.

Perhaps most people in this era attributed all the emperor's faults to the eunuchs who bewitched the emperor, caused trouble in the government, and even sold their official positions and titles.

In fact, the eunuchs are, in the final analysis, nothing more than the emperor's spokesperson.

The money spent on selling officials and conferring titles was apparently taken away by the eunuchs, but in fact it did not contribute to the GDP of the emperor's private treasury.

However, since Liu Bei does not like the eunuchs, even if Li Ji does not contact the eunuchs, with Liu Bei's current achievements, he still has a lot of room for choice.

Liu Bei thought for a long time again, then looked at Li Ji eagerly and asked.

"Zikun, what do you think?"

Li Ji wiped his mouth and said bluntly.

"Access to the court is restricted by the eunuchs' relatives, so it is difficult to accomplish anything."

"This is what Bei is worried about." Liu Bei nodded and said in agreement.

Li Ji continued.

"As for leading troops to fight against thieves and stationed at the border, it is just a warrior. However, what the Han Dynasty lacks is not warriors, but people who can really make a difference to the people. They can guard one area, advance to make suggestions to the court, and retreat. Keep the sea and rivers clear."

This sentence made Liu Bei's heart go away and he said.

"What Zikun said is absolutely true, and he has been taught a lot, but I don't know if Zikun thinks that he should strive to be the governor of any county?"

At this moment, Liu Bei was no longer deliberately modest. He knew very well that he could serve as a county governor despite his achievements.

It's just that the Han Dynasty had 13 states and 105 counties. There were huge differences in economy, population, customs, etc. between different states and counties.

Similar to some states and counties where public security is chaotic and thieves are rampant, in recent years there have even been cases of thieves breaking into government offices and killing county guards.

In addition, due to the difficulties in governing the prefectures and counties, there were also cases of officials being stripped of their posts and demoted by the imperial court.

Therefore, when there is room for choice, choosing which state or county to serve as the county governor is undoubtedly a great knowledge.

Immediately, Liu Bei took the simplified state and county map of the entire thirteen states of the Han Dynasty, and studied it with Li Ji quite actively.

"If Brother Xuande is just trying to govern one area to keep the sea and rivers clear, then naturally there is no need to consider a place that borders a foreign tribe and is prone to border chaos."

Li Ji said something, then picked up the brush and crossed out Jiaozhou, Bingzhou, Liangzhou and Youzhou, and by the way, blackened the Sili who did not have a county guard.

"And Jizhou and Qingzhou are the main areas affected by the Yellow Turban Rebellion. I am afraid that in the next few years, they will have to be busy wiping out the remaining Yellow Turban thieves, and it will be difficult to achieve anything."

After that, Li Ji crossed out Jizhou and Qingzhou as well.

If the Han Dynasty had ceased to exist in name only and officially entered troubled times, then Ji and Qingzhou might be excellent choices. But now that the Han Dynasty is still there, many things will be restricted to a certain extent.

Under such circumstances, if you serve as the county governor of Jizhou and Qingzhou, you will probably not only suppress bandits, but also suppress bandits, and the treasury is almost empty, so it is extremely difficult to make a difference.

Liu Bei followed Li Ji's thoughts and kept thinking, and nodded in approval.

The above states and counties are indeed basically a mess.

"Yuzhou and Yanzhou are close to Sili. The aristocratic families are as numerous as stars and have deep roots. Even the county governors are subject to many restrictions. Who can say for sure whether the aristocratic families govern the prefectures or the county governors?"

Li Ji shook his head and crossed out these Yuzhou and Yanzhou.

In the final analysis, I think the water in Yuzhou and Yanzhou is too deep, and Liu Bei, whose background is almost a blank slate, cannot grasp it. At this moment, the simplified map of the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty placed in front of Liu Bei was completely black, with only the four states of Yizhou, Xuzhou, Yangzhou, and Jingzhou remaining.

"So, Zikun thinks that if Bei wants to make a difference, it would be better for him to serve as the governor of the four continents of Yi, Xu, Yang and Jing?" Liu Bei asked.

Li Ji nodded and said. "These four states each have their own advantages and disadvantages, and they need to be carefully considered."

Liu Bei put on a thoughtful expression, but actually looked at the map in front of him, his eyes gradually becoming distracted.

What are these?
  Liu Bei can tell the specifics of the Thirteen Prefectures of the Han Dynasty, but it is really difficult for Liu Bei to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the four prefectures of Yi, Xu, Yang, and Jing that he has never been to.

However, looking at Li Ji's gaze, Liu Bei pointed at the four states one by one and expressed his opinions.

"Yizhou, um, not bad, not bad..."

"Xuzhou is also very good."

"Yangzhou is a bit south, but it's pretty good."

"Jingzhou, the prediction is not bad."

……

Li Ji.

Very good analysis, don’t do it next time.

Li Ji, who was somewhat dumbfounded, followed suit without exposing Liu Bei. "Brother Xuande, thank you very much."

Liu Bei's old face turned red and he simply said truthfully.

"Actually... it's not very high. Ahem, Bei doesn't know much about these things, but Bei thinks that Zikun must have high opinions."

Being praised and trusted so openly by Liu Bei, Li Ji felt inexplicably happy in his heart.

Finished!

Did the "Big Han Succubus" also use its power on me?

Li Ji quickly calmed down and looked at the map in front of him intently again.

The four prefectures of Yang, Jing, Xu, and Yi each have their own advantages and disadvantages, and they are all worthy of consideration.

However, Li Ji took advantage of his foresight to rule out Xuzhou first.

Xuzhou has no natural dangers and is easy to attack but difficult to defend. Although it is a battleground for military strategists, with Xuzhou as the place of fortune, it is extremely easy to be continuously affected by the Central Plains battlefield.

If you want to create a stable rear area, Xuzhou is undoubtedly not a good choice.

After pondering for a moment, Li Ji decided to cross out Xuzhou.

In addition, if we talk about the most stable and suitable places for development in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, it is undoubtedly the two states of Jing and Yi. This is also the foundation of the establishment of the Shu Han in the original trajectory.

Yizhou has natural dangers and forms its own circle. As long as it guards the pass, even a million soldiers and horses will not be able to invade it. All it takes is to choose the opportunity to leave the pass and use Yizhou to provide a steady stream of support for the rear area. There will be a great success. The hope of the world;
  Jingzhou is surrounded by the Yangtze River and is far away from the center of the war in the Central Plains. Taking it as a place to make a fortune, it only needs to block the Yangtze River and wait for the opportunity to move north to swallow up the two states of Yu and Yan. It can look at the Central Plains without worrying about a fire in the backyard and getting into trouble. The dilemma of line combat.

Therefore, Yizhou and Jingzhou are undoubtedly the places that are most in line with Li Ji's concept of "accumulating grain widely, building walls high, and becoming king slowly". They can accumulate momentum, wait for opportunities, and sweep the world in one fell swoop.

The only problem...

Li Ji glanced at Liu Bei, which made Liu Bei a little confused.

"Zikun, what's wrong?"

"nothing."

Li Ji sighed and crossed out Yizhou first.

Because of the advantage of foresight, Yizhou has countless benefits, but Li Ji knows that there is a hidden danger that is difficult for Liu Bei to deal with.

After Liu Yan submitted the "Policy for Zhou Mu", he would probably focus on the position of Yizhou Mu.

By then, Liu Yan, relying on his status as uncle and superior, would have absolute control over Liu Bei, both in terms of friendship and justice.

Therefore, if he chooses Yizhou, no matter how hard Liu Bei works, he will still be able to get married.

"After considering various factors, after excluding Xuzhou and Yizhou, only Jingzhou and Yangzhou are left."

Li Ji murmured something, then turned to Liu Bei and asked.

"Brother Xuande, do you have any ideas?"

"What is the main difference between Jingzhou and Yangzhou?" Liu Bei asked.

Li Ji thought for a while and said.

"Jingzhou's various conditions are promising in the future, but the local aristocratic families are also deeply rooted. If you want to make a difference, I'm afraid you still need to spend a lot of energy on the local aristocratic families."

"As for Yangzhou, it is located farther south. There are often barbarian rebellions, and there are also many mountain and water thieves. However, although there are many local aristocratic families in Yangzhou, most of them are small tribes. This is an advantage over Jingzhou."

As Li Ji spoke, he also fell into deep thought.

Don't look at it. It seems that the original trajectory of Dongwu seems to be full of rats. On the whole, it is more defensive than offensive. Moreover, after the founding of Dongwu, the aristocratic families were extremely prominent and stuck in their own way.

However, at this stage, there really are no truly prominent families in Yangzhou.

It was not until troubled times came that the Central Plains fell into continuous war, and a large number of aristocratic families moved south. In order to quickly establish a foothold, the Sun family actively chose to cooperate with a large number of aristocratic families. This would create a large group of prominent aristocratic families after the founding of Soochow.

(End of this chapter)