Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 72 Three Thousand Gold

The next day.

Liu Bei got up early and supervised Li Jiyi's sword practice.

Looking at Li Ji, who was slightly clumsy in swordsmanship, Zhao Yun, who was instructing the swordsmanship meticulously, and Jia Xu, who was eating fruit snacks and watching the show, Liu Bei inexplicably had a feeling of a good day.

Compared with a few months ago, Liu Bei's intense changes in his life have left him feeling completely different and dreamy.

A few months ago, Liu Bei had to get up early every day to weave straw sandals, and then rush all the way from Lousang Village on the outskirts to Zhuo County to sell straw sandals to make ends meet.

Even if Liu Bei did not forget to practice swordsmanship every day, he could only practice it for a while before going to bed.

All these changes are as if the gears of fate began to turn one day. He became sworn friends with his second and third brothers in their peach garden, met Zikun in his thatched cottage, and then truly embarked on the road to realize his ambition.

'Now, I am no longer a person, and I need to work harder! '

Liu Bei's eyes narrowed, and he practiced swordsmanship more and more concentratedly, until an hour later he was already sweating profusely.

Liu Bei then let Li Ji go, who was already numb from exhaustion. Then he went down to bathe and change clothes, and then hurried out to pay his respects to Lu Zhi as usual.

As a disciple, it was rare to serve his mentor, so Liu Bei would naturally try his best to pay respects to Lu Zhi every day. Moreover, Lu Zhi was not only a famous scholar at home and abroad, but also had extremely high attainments in governing a country, marching and fighting, and planning strategies.

Therefore, Liu Bei naturally sought advice from Lu Zhi as much as possible before he went to Wu County to take office.

Lu Zhi also had great affection for this disciple who was almost completely reborn. During this period of time, he could be said to have been teaching him diligently, hoping that he could do something practical for the world.

It wasn't until Liu Bei stayed at his mentor Lu Zhi's place for lunch in the afternoon, and when the elderly Lu Zhi was about to take a nap, that Liu Bei resigned and returned to the mansion, and then went straight to the hall to deal with some matters at hand.

"Huh? A greeting from Prime Minister Cao?"

Liu Bei looked at the greeting card placed on the table by the concierge, and his already good mood became brighter.

At the banquet two days ago, Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Sun Jian had a very pleasant conversation. Although Cao Cao's eyes were a little strange at the time, after talking with each other, Liu Bei still deeply admired the various insights Cao Cao showed. .

At least, Liu Bei benefited a lot from Cao Cao's insights in terms of marching, fighting and governance. Moreover, Liu Bei knew about Cao Cao's "five-color stick" and admired Cao Cao very much. He was willing to have a close relationship with Cao Cao.

Therefore, Liu Bei was not unhappy to see Cao Cao actually taking the initiative to visit him.

However, when Liu Bei saw the invitation to visit at noon, he couldn't help but frowned and said.

"It's past noon. Could it be that you are neglecting Meng De?"

Immediately, Liu Bei hurriedly took the greeting card and headed towards the concierge, but unexpectedly he didn't see Cao Cao. He couldn't help but feel a little anxious, thinking that Cao Cao had left in anger.

"Bei, you are too lazy, but you forgot to deal with the invitation early."

Liu Bei said angrily and casually opened the greeting card in his hand. He was thinking about having someone prepare a greeting gift later and went to Cao Cao to apologize and pay a return visit.

Liu Bei suddenly noticed that a familiar word seemed to appear in the invitation - "Li Ji"...

Ok?
  Zikun? !
  Liu Bei's eyes widened, and he took a closer look, and suddenly realized that the person he was visiting in this invitation was not him at all, but Zikun.

"Snapped!"

Liu Bei suddenly threw the greeting card in his hand to the ground and said angrily. "Zhu Zi, you are so rude!"

It should be noted that as Liu Bei is the owner of the mansion here, even if Cao Cao intends to ask Li Ji, who is Liu Bei's staff, the etiquette should still be to hand in the invitation to visit Liu Bei, and then ask Liu Bei for the matter.

However, Cao Cao's invitation didn't mention Liu Bei at all, but said that he was here to visit Li Ji. This was not a sign of contempt for Liu Bei, who was the owner of the mansion.

More importantly, Liu Bei reacted suddenly.

When Cao Cao first met Li Ji, he commented: His appearance is very beautiful, his attitude is quite majestic, broad-minded and elegant... I look at him and love him very much in my heart...

Then, at the banquet, they were inquiring about Li Ji's various deeds...

At that time, Liu Bei was already drunk and he naturally didn't think much about it, but now Liu Bei suddenly felt something bad.

It should be noted that even though Li Ji has officially worshiped Liu Bei as his lord, it is not a strange thing in this era to recruit each other to snatch capable staff.

and many more……

The next moment, Liu Bei suddenly picked up the greeting card and looked at the words "at the beginning of noon" in it.

Liu Bei looked at the sky again. It was already the beginning of the day, and an hour had passed.

If Cao Cao was brave enough and fast enough, I'm afraid he would have...

Liu Bei's expression changed, and he turned to question the confused concierge behind him.

"Has Cao Mengde gone in?"

"Sir, at about noon, Cao Guoxiang came to visit with two entourages and gifts as per the invitation. He has already entered." The porter replied.

When Liu Bei heard this, he ignored his anger and walked straight towards the side hall where Li Ji usually handled matters, almost as if there was wind in his footsteps.

When Liu Bei hurried out of the side hall, he could clearly hear Cao Cao's hearty chatting and laughing in the side hall.

Immediately, Liu Bei strode towards the side hall and said loudly.

"Prime Minister Cao is visiting. Why not inform him in advance so that Bei Yi can show his friendship as a landlord?"

Seeing Liu Bei's appearance, Li Ji and Zhao Yun, who were sitting on either side of Cao Cao, quickly stood up and saluted.

"Lord." Cao Cao also stood up with Xiahou Dun and Xia Houyuan, cupped his hands and smiled.

"Xuande, I've been waiting for you for a long time, but with Zi Kunzuo by my side, I don't know how much time has passed."

Liu Bei glanced around the side hall, and it seemed normal for the time being. Then he walked straight to the main seat at the top, and then returned a bow and sat down with everyone.

Liu Bei ignored Cao Cao, but looked at Li Ji and said. "Zikun, could you please entertain Meng De for me for a while? You can go down first."

"Yes, my lord."

When Li Ji heard this, he breathed a long sigh of relief, then bowed slightly and prepared to leave directly.

Even though Li Ji can be regarded as resourceful, but someone like Cao Cao comes directly to the door with a hoe, Li Ji can only say... is he so wild?

"Wait a minute!"

Cao Cao suddenly said something, looking at Li Ji with unconcealable affection.

When Liu Bei had not returned just now, the conversation between Li Ji and Cao Cao could be described as evasive, and he even refused to accept the gifts from Cao Cao.

Previously, Cao Cao knew that before Li Ji met Liu Bei, he lived in a thatched cottage and lived in poverty. But now that he has assisted Liu Bei in making great achievements, not only is he not at all unruly and complacent, but he also treats money and property as if they are nothing, and he has a good nature. , Cao Cao couldn't help but admire it secretly.

At this moment, Liu Bei asked with a hint of sullenness in his tone. "Prime Minister Cao, what do you want?"

Cao Cao didn't take it seriously, but stood up and cupped his hands.

"Cao and Zikun hit it off immediately and had a great conversation..."

???

Li Ji.

The conscience of heaven and earth, Zilong testifies...

Where did we hit it off and talk happily?
  It was clear that Cao Cao was talking and asking questions for the entire hour, while Li Ji just responded with a "hmm" response, and there were very few positive responses.

Boss Cao, you are so shameless!

"Xuande also knew that Cao Cao was going to Jinan to serve as the Prime Minister. Jinan not only had the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but also had a lot of internal corruption. Cao Cao was afraid that he would not be able to stand alone, and he was unworthy of trusting the emperor, so he wanted to invite Xuan De. Virtuous general Li Ji temporarily lent Yu Cao to the Kingdom of Jinan to assist him."

After a pause, Cao Cao raised three fingers and said. "Fuck, I'd like to thank you with three thousand gold coins."

Suddenly, there was silence in the side hall.

What is the price of three thousand gold?
  Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the price of purchasing a strong slave was about three gold. However, with the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the number of slaves increased sharply, and a large number of people had to become slaves to survive.

Therefore, even a strong slave can now be purchased for only about one gold.

In other words, in Cao Cao's eyes, Li Ji alone could compare to a thousand troops, or even three thousand.

Regarding this price, Cao Cao was quite confident. He didn't believe that Liu Bei, a straw sandal seller who only wanted to have fun in the land south of the Yangtze River, would not be tempted.

It should be noted that even the price of the position of Jiuqing among the Ten Constant Attendants is only about three thousand gold.

That is to say, the Cao family behind Cao Cao is not short of money, so Cao Cao can say such a number so boldly.

"Oh!"

The next moment, Liu Bei suddenly kicked down the table and shouted.

"Thief Cao, you have bullied me too much!"

After saying that, Liu Bei immediately wanted to pull out the male and female swords from his waist, as if he wanted to chop Cao Cao to death on the spot.

When Li Ji saw this, he shouted quickly to Zhao Yun, who was standing beside him in shock.

"Zilong, why are you still standing there? Hurry and stop the master."

"Ah? Yes!"

Zhao Yun responded, rushed towards Liu Bei who had half unsheathed his sword, and quickly stopped Liu Bei.

"Zilong, I order you to let me go. I swear to kill this beast today!"

Liu Bei struggled continuously, stared at Cao Cao fiercely, and roared. "How can Zikun be compared to three thousand gold coins? Cao Cao has bullied me too much..."

Seeing Liu Bei's almost lunatic appearance, Cao Cao subconsciously took a step back, not understanding why Liu Bei was angry.

It should be noted that we are all ministers of the emperor, and we have great affection for our colleagues and staff, so we want to offer three thousand gold as a thank you for asking for help. Even if this was spread, it should be a good talk, but why did it develop to the point where the situation almost got out of control?
  When Li Ji saw this, he quickly cupped his hands.

"Prime Minister Cao, my lord is in a bad mood today. It is really difficult for him to continue entertaining Prime Minister Cao. Please forgive me."

If you continue to entertain me, you will be stabbed with a white knife.

Although Cao Cao was not afraid of a mere straw sandal seller, he did not want to become a nasty guest who saw blood in his host's house.

Immediately, Cao Cao bowed his hands to Liu Bei and then left.

However, when leaving the side hall, Cao Cao did not forget to stamp his feet and cupped his hands toward Li Ji alone and said.

"Zikun, please give more consideration to Cao's suggestion. Jinan can help him show his talent."

(End of this chapter)