Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

After a long while, even after Li Ji had briefly finished reading the bamboo scroll in his hand, Gu Yong belatedly opened his mouth.

“I, Yong, once had such a wild idea, but my ability is limited, and I am foolish and dull, knowing that I do not have such ability.”

“Some things, after all, must be tried to be known.”

As Li Ji spoke, he raised his hand towards the higher part of the bookshelf, wanting to take a bamboo scroll.

However, Li Ji was sitting in a four-wheeled vehicle, and obviously the height was not enough, making it difficult for Li Ji to reach.

But before Li Ji could get up, Gu Yong quickly pulled out the bamboo scroll and handed it to Li Ji.

‘He's quite sensible after all…’

Li Ji took the bamboo scroll, and a few decisions formed in his heart.

Gu Yong's abnormal reaction made Li Ji understand that Gu Yong was likely to see through the truth of the destruction of 70% of the Wu County aristocratic families.

However, before this, there had not been any rumors related to this in Wu County, and all the Wu County aristocratic families had not shown any unusual movements.

However, even if Gu Yong really said his guess, there would be no evidence or effect.

On the contrary, a large number of bandits are now all prisoners, repairing bridges and paving roads every day, and there is as much evidence as you want to prove that the Gu family is the aristocratic family secretly colluding with bandits.

In this world, smart people are always in the minority.

Public opinion guidance, evidence fabrication, official authority…

With these three hammers striking down, the truth is naturally revealed.

Li Ji turned his head and stared into Gu Yong's eyes, which were deep and bright, giving Gu Yong a feeling of being completely seen through. Apart from fear, he couldn't raise a single thought of resistance.

Gu Yong gritted his teeth. Even though he used to pride himself on being a genius praised by the surrounding villages, he understood that compared to Li Zikun, who was famous throughout the country, the gap seemed to be even bigger than expected.

The thoughts he wanted to hide and the pretense he wanted to disguise seemed to be seen through in an instant.

In the end, Gu Yong could only say in an almost pleading tone, “I don't know anything, and I won't say anything.”

The survival of the Gu family rested on Li Ji's single thought.

Gu Yong also knew very well that with Li Ji's methods and abilities, it was easy to destroy a local aristocratic family. More importantly, he had already destroyed nearly 70% of the aristocratic families in Wu County, and Gu Yong never doubted that Li Ji would have any psychological obstacles.

“The government office is still short of a recording clerk. I want to recommend you to the lord. I wonder what you think?” Li Ji asked.

A hostage?

The thought flashed through Gu Yong's mind, but he felt a sense of relief.

What Gu Yong feared most was that Li Ji would once again target the Gu family and take them away as well.

Now, regardless of whether this was as a hostage, it was enough to prove that Li Ji had no intention of destroying the Gu family for the time being.

Gu Yong breathed a sigh of relief and said.

“It is my wish, I dare not ask for more. It's just that Yong's ability is limited. If there are any mistakes in his actions, please forgive me, Zikun.”

“Ability is secondary, the important thing is character. I have high hopes for you…”

Li Ji said with a meaningful tone, and then opened his mouth.

“Although the position of recording clerk is small, in order to facilitate your actions in the government office, you must be capped in advance.”

Gu Yong replied with an honest and simple look. “Yes! Yong will return home today and tell his father about this matter. After completing the capping ceremony, he will report to the government office.”

“Good!”

Li Ji said, and then let Gu Yong push him to find various needed books on water conservancy, and also considered a question in his heart.

Aristocratic families are often the groups that exploit the lower-level common people the most, and they are also the most pragmatic groups towards the upper levels.

Li Ji never thought of completely destroying all the aristocratic families in Wu County. Not to mention the impact on his reputation, more importantly, the aristocratic families are also related to the stability of all aspects of Wu County.

After experiencing the disaster of bandits in Wu County and relocating all the aristocratic families in Wu County to Wu County, the current Wu County has initially stabilized.

Under this circumstance, what Li Ji wants to see more is that Wu County can maintain a situation of great stability.

Among the aristocratic families in Wu County, Gu Yong is not necessarily the only smart person, but even if some people have guesses, they dare not say it.

On the contrary, Li Ji may need to consider how to further appease the aristocratic families in Wu County and tie them to Liu Bei's group's chariot.

Perhaps they cannot become the drivers or engines of this chariot, but as "wheels", they are adequate and important.

‘In that case, let Ji Chang collect a list of members of the aristocratic families in Wu County to see how many historical figures are hidden among them and have survived. Gather them all to become a brick for building a new Wu County. Move them wherever they are needed, and also use this to slightly win over the aristocratic families in Wu County.’

Li Ji thought silently, a smile involuntarily appearing on his face, and he couldn't help but look forward to it.

After all, training historical figures is itself an elegant thing.

It's just that I don't know what kind of talents Wu County can still find from the aristocratic families. It just so happens that they can compete with the foreign scholars in the future.

With Gu Yong's help, Li Ji quickly found more than a dozen volumes of the required classics, and then had Gu Yong push him away from this side courtyard, and by the way, introduced Gu Yong to Liu Bei.

Although Gu Yong is only sixteen years old this year, he is also a tender seedling, far from the famous minister who will be famous in history in the future, but just based on his ability to pretend to be confused, he is already very suitable for working in the government office.

What's more, Li Ji also needs someone to usually handle those large, cumbersome, and unimportant government affairs for himself.

It is possible to trick Jia Xu into helping him deal with it for ten or eight days, but after a long time, Jia Xu will definitely be unwilling.

Relatively speaking, cultivating Gu Yong into the shape that is handy for him and letting Gu Yong assist in handling government affairs is a long-term plan.

Moreover, as long as the Gu family is still under the control of the lord, there is no need to worry that Gu Yong will develop any disloyal intentions because of this.

Unfettered and alone, this kind of person is often the most difficult to control, and it is also the one that the government is most headache about.

On the contrary, it is much easier to use those who have a large family behind them, like the Gu family, as tool people, and there is no need to worry about rebellion at all.

However, just as Li Ji was pondering how to train Gu Yong, Li Ji, who had just been pushed out of the leftmost room of the side courtyard by Gu Yong, suddenly noticed that a graceful figure was also slowly walking out of the rightmost room.

Her face was like solidified fat, and although she didn't apply any makeup, she still had an elegant and scholarly refinement, like a flower growing among countless books.

A woman completely different from those Li Ji usually saw!

Even though there was not much expression on her face, there was a hint of pity-inducing sorrow lingering between her eyebrows, and it was different from most unmarried women.

Her exquisite figure exuded what Li Ji considered to be the true charm of a woman, and the few bamboo scrolls held tightly in her arms seemed to be no more prominent than her own natural bulge.

That graceful figure also noticed Li Ji and Gu Yong walking out of the other room at the same time. Her bright eyes swept over them separately, and paused on Li Ji for a moment, as if a hint of doubt appeared.

“Senior Sister.” Gu Yong quickly saluted.

“Yes.”

Cai (Yan) Zhaoji nodded slightly, then looked at Li Ji and asked. “Is this a new disciple taken in by Father?”

Li Ji saluted. “I am Li Ji from Longxi, styled Zikun. I am grateful for Cai Shi's kindness in allowing me to borrow books here.”

“Cai Yan, styled Zhaoji.”

Cai Zhaoji also introduced herself with some indifference, and then drifted away, walking towards the backyard.

“Is that Cai Shi's daughter?” Li Ji asked Gu Yong.

“Yes.”

Gu Yong replied, and then said.

“Zikun, if you want to find any classics and they are not in the house, you can ask Senior Sister for advice.”

“Why?” Li Ji asked.

Gu Yong continued to answer.

“As Cai Shi gets older, most of these classics are actually maintained by Senior Sister on weekdays, and due to reasons such as refuge or war, a considerable part of the precious classics have actually been lost.”

“And Senior Sister was a famous talented woman in Luoyang before, and she has memorized most of Cai Shi's classics, so in recent years, Senior Sister has been supplementing the lost classics, but many have not yet been supplemented.”

“So if Zikun urgently needs any classics and cannot find them in the side courtyard, you can also find them by asking Senior Sister for advice.”

Li Ji nodded and said. “I see, Miss Zhaoji is really a wonderful woman.”

A human-shaped walking library!

And what surprised Li Ji a little was that "Nong"'s depiction of Cai Zhaoji's image was not entirely useless. At least, it was quite accurate in terms of breast size.

This was a dimension that was completely impossible for girls who generally got married at the age of twelve to sixteen in this era, which made Li Ji moved for a moment just now.

Of course, this was not pure love at first sight, but purely lust at first sight.

Wait…

Am I actually Cao Cao myself?!

Li Ji suddenly reacted. He had only been in contact with Cao Cao a few times, but had he already been infected?

When Liu Bei was about to leave Cai's residence with Li Ji, Liu Bei noticed Li Ji's absent-minded state of being lost in thought from time to time, and couldn't help but make some guesses.

This appearance was not like Li Ji's usual posture of considering military and political affairs, but rather like he had a woman he admired.

‘Could it be…’

Liu Bei's heart moved, but he didn't say anything, but after sending Li Ji back to the mansion, he opened his mouth.

“Zikun, from now on, I will not restrict you from leaving the mansion to relax, but you must bring guards with you when you go out and pay attention to safety…”

After a pause, Liu Bei did not forget to add.

"Furthermore, Zikun should also avoid overexerting his mind with administrative duties for the time being. It would be good for him to recuperate at the residence, or even go out for some relaxation; but he is not allowed to go to the government office during this period."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji naturally and happily agreed.

"Yes, my lord."

Afterward, Liu Bei, under Li Ji's gaze, left in a strange hurry, as if he had some urgent matter to attend to.