Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

Before Li Ji could reach the center of the refugee camp, Jian Yong and Jia Xu, having heard the news of his arrival, hurried to greet him.

Jian Yong, who used to be mindful of his appearance and carried himself with a touch of carefree elegance, now looked as if he could blend seamlessly into the crowd of refugees.

One could imagine how busy and hard Jian Yong had been during this time; even the bloodshot veins in his eyes were clearly visible when Li Ji met his gaze.

Seeing this, Li Ji, without waiting for Jian Yong to bow in greeting, directly supported him, not minding the mud and grime on Jian Yong's body, and spoke first.

"Xianhe, you've worked hard during this time; let's dispense with the formalities."

If it were Gu Yong, he would adhere to etiquette even when exhausted.

Li Ji's concern was appreciated, but the etiquette of a subordinate official could not be neglected, lest it become grounds for future accusations or animosity.

However, Jian Yong, whose nature was both carefree and honest, did not decline; instead, he began to pour out his grievances to Li Ji.

"Master Zikun, you must settle and deal with these two hundred thousand refugees as soon as possible! Moreover, refugees are still being transported from the north bank of the Yangtze River; it won't be long before the number of refugees gathered here reaches three hundred thousand!"

"Rest assured, Xianhe, I have already made a decision on this matter; this visit is to resolve the issue of where the refugees will go," Li Ji replied in a tone that reassured Jian Yong.

"That's good, that's good."

Although Jian Yong didn't know how Li Ji would arrange for such a large number of refugees, hearing Li Ji's words made him feel that the pressure had suddenly lessened a lot.

Immediately afterward, Li Ji looked in the direction of Jia Xu.

Jia Xu, who usually resembled a gentle scholar, also looked quite disheveled at the moment, with mud on his body.

However, Li Ji observed Jia Xu's fingernails, behind his ears, his hair roots, and his eyes, and discovered that unlike Jian Yong's genuine disarray, Jia Xu's was purely to avoid appearing too clean and conspicuous; he had probably deliberately made himself look like this.

"Wenhe, you've also worked hard," Li Ji said.

"For the sake of our lord's great ambition, Xu will spare no effort, even to the point of death."

Jia Xu shouted the slogan with considerable vigor, coupled with his seemingly disheveled appearance that was almost indistinguishable from Jian Yong's, making one truly believe that Jia Xu had put in a lot of effort.

However, Li Ji followed up as if deeply moved.

"Wenhe, soon you won't have to stay in the refugee camp anymore; I'll give you a slightly easier task, so you can take care of your health."

Jia Xu's expression subtly froze for a moment, and he almost instantly sensed something was amiss.

Would Li Zikun be so considerate?

Gu Yong, who was clearly working as a recording clerk, had already accumulated a lot of experience as a prime minister.

Even a dog passing by Li Ji would be tied to the gate of the military camp to serve as a guard and make use of its remaining value; Li Ji was not the kind of person who would deliberately let people rest.

"No need, Zikun," Jia Xu said seriously.

"How can a gentleman abandon his task halfway? Since I am already responsible for supervising the grain, I should be responsible to the end, and there must be no mistakes."

"It's alright, I'll personally supervise the grain," Li Ji said with a smile. "As for where Wenhe will go to recuperate afterward, I'll discuss it with you in detail later."

Immediately afterward, without waiting for Jia Xu to decline further, Li Ji directly turned around and, while asking Jian Yong about the various details of the refugee camp, headed towards the central area of the refugee camp, surrounded by the crowd.

Although Li Ji paid considerable attention to the refugee camp, many details were difficult to put in writing; undoubtedly, directly asking Jian Yong was the clearest and most direct approach.

As they continued to delve deeper into the refugee camp, it became evident that the closer they got to the central area, the more orderly it became, and even the places where the refugees could shelter from the wind and rain were much better.

And it just so happened that it was time to distribute hot porridge to the refugees; watching the refugees line up to receive porridge, carefully holding the thin porridge, where the grains of rice could be counted at a glance, and then savoring it as if they were eating some kind of delicacy.

"Crack!"

"Crack!!"

From time to time, the sound of biting into sand and gravel would come from the mouths of the refugees, but many refugees seemed to have become accustomed to it.

Some refugees would open their mouths to spit out the sand and gravel they had eaten, but more refugees were accustomed to simply crushing and swallowing the sand and gravel along with the porridge.

Finally, among the scholars that Li Ji had brought here from Wu County, one scholar who looked not much older than Li Ji couldn't help but loudly question Li Ji and Jian Yong.

"Prefect Li, Clerk Jian, may I ask why you treat these people like this? Can this thin porridge… sustain life? And why is there so much sand and gravel mixed in it? Could it be that corrupt officials have embezzled the disaster relief funds and grain?"

As the first scholar spoke, the rest of the scholars also followed suit, shouting in a surge of emotions.

"Zili is right! This… is this something that people should eat?"

"They should be killed, the grain officials should be killed!"

"And this refugee camp is so crude, this… how is this disaster relief?"

"I heard that Lord Liu governs with benevolence, and Li Zikun is a rare talent for governing the world, and he selflessly teaches scholars from all over the world at the Rende Academy, which is why I came to Wu County, but who knew that there would be such shocking things under the rule of Wu County!"

"May I ask Prefect Li to explain whether this is disaster relief and saving the people?!? If this is the case, please forgive me for taking my leave; I dare not claim to be a gentleman, but I would never mistreat the people like this."

Listening to the surging voices of questioning and condemnation, Li Ji's expression remained unchanged; instead, Jia Xu cast a rather puzzled look at Li Ji, as if asking Li Ji where he had plucked these handful of clear and foolish scallions.

As for the grain official, Li Can, who was at the very end of the welcoming party, was even more frightened and trembling.

He was afraid that Prefect Li Ji would really do as those scholars were protesting, and directly drag him, the grain official, down and behead him to quell the surging emotions of the crowd.

On the contrary, Jian Yong, the honest man, frowned upon seeing this and wanted to explain to those scholars.

However, without Li Ji's permission, Jian Yong simply couldn't suppress these excited scholars, and his weak voice barely stirred any waves.

Helpless, Jian Yong had to quickly pull Li Ji and said.

"Master Zikun, what are you still standing there for? Quickly explain clearly, we can't ruin our lord's reputation, otherwise, if this matter is spread by these scholars, our lord will inevitably be misunderstood and scorned by the world."

"No rush, someone else will help me explain," Li Ji waved his hand and said.

Hearing this, Jian Yong looked in the direction of Li Ji's gaze and suddenly discovered that amidst the scholars' voices of questioning and condemnation, the surrounding refugees had gradually gathered around.

Some scholars, upon seeing this, thought that the refugees were attracted by their momentum.

Looking at those pairs of seemingly listless eyes, the scholars also felt a pang in their hearts.

The mainstream of thought advocated in this era was the Five Constant Virtues of "Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, and Faith," which were expanded from the classics of the sage Dong Zhongshu.

Perhaps there were countless corrupt officials in this era, but there were also countless people who were willing to die for "Benevolence" without regret.

And witnessing the misery of these refugees along the way undoubtedly deeply touched the hearts of these scholars.

Immediately, a scholar shouted loudly.

"Elders and fellow villagers, do not worry, I will seek justice for you."

"That thin porridge, it has truly caused you suffering…"

"If Li Zikun does not resolve this matter today, I will not hesitate to seek an audience with Lord Liu!"

"To die for benevolence is to die a worthy death!"

However, before these scholars could finish speaking, suddenly, among the refugees who had gathered around, an old man used the wooden stick in his hand as a crutch and fiercely smashed it at the scholar who was scolding the loudest.

"Bang!"

A crisp sound…

'Good hit!' Li Ji couldn't help but secretly praise.

And this sudden change caused the scolding scholars to suddenly pause, looking at the angry old man in confusion.

The scholar who was hit squarely on the head was stunned for a moment, and then asked the old man.

"Old man, you must have hit the wrong person, why did you hit me?"

However, unlike these scholars who spoke in a rather literary style, the common people, who didn't know a single word, spoke much more directly.

The old man even looked as if he was flushed with anger, pointing at the scholar and scolding loudly.

"You son of a bitch, who told you youngsters to scold Lord Prefect?!"

In an instant, it was as if a fuse had been lit.

The numerous refugees surrounding nearly a hundred scholars, their listless eyes, at this moment, all radiated a bit of light, but all carried a bit of angry light.

Whether they were strong young men, or old and weak women and children, they all scolded the scholars.

"That's right, Lord Prefect drinks the same porridge as us, even if you youngsters despise it, why don't you let us drink it?"

"Without this porridge, we would have starved to death long ago…"

"I fled all the way south from my hometown, and only Lord Liu gave us a mouthful of hot porridge to eat."

"I, I also ate a bowl of porridge provided along the way by Lord Prefect when I fled to Xu Province, and I had the strength to escape here after eating a small bowl of thin porridge."

"Lord Prefect is my savior, how can I allow you scholars who only know how to talk to scold Lord Prefect."

"Boy, if you dare to disrespect Lord Prefect again, don't blame this old man for being impolite."

…

For a time, the scholars, who were almost drowned in accusations, all had a bewildered and overwhelmed reaction.

These scholars were all selected by Li Ji from the scholars who wanted to join the "Rende Academy" but couldn't win the "Four Crossings of the Red Water" simulation and could only choose to be "temporary workers" in Wu County.

Moreover, the scholars who managed to arrive here so quickly after the news of the "Rende Academy" emerged were mostly from families of considerable means and possessed well-informed connections. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to set off immediately for W郡 (W郡, Wu Commandery) upon hearing the news of the "Rende Academy."

These types of scholars generally shared a common characteristic: their views were still quite idealistic, somewhat detached from reality, and unaware of the true hardships of the common people. (End of Chapter)