Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

‘Is Liu Jiyu… serious?’

The thought flashed through Li Ji's mind, and then he carefully observed Liu Zhang's expression, discovering that he really didn't seem to notice the hidden problem in the words he had casually uttered.

Liu Zhang actually thought he treated Gan Ning well.

This left Li Ji somewhat speechless.

Aside from the fact that, as far as Li Ji knew, Liu Zhang hadn't actually bestowed anything upon Gan Ning besides a personal guard, the actions at the banquet were already quite outrageous.

The 《Mencius》, which was quite popular in this era, said: When the ruler regards his ministers as dirt, the ministers regard the ruler as an enemy.

Moreover, Liu Zhang was far from being a king, so how could he so readily believe that his subordinates, after being disowned by him, must remain loyal to the end?

If it were Liu Bei's character, he would never have disowned Gan Ning at the banquet like Liu Zhang did, but would have tried his best to defend him.

Therefore, Li Ji was not only shocked by Gan Ning's assassination in anger last night, but also couldn't help but marvel at Liu Zhang's blind confidence.

No wonder Liu Zhang was sold out so thoroughly by Zhang Song in the original trajectory without even realizing it; in some respects, he was surprisingly naive.

‘However, isn't this a good thing for Wu Commandery?’

The thought flashed through Li Ji's mind, and he had no intention of shattering Liu Zhang's confidence. Instead, he echoed Liu Zhang with a few words and lightly brushed past the issue.

Seeing that Li Ji didn't seem to have any intention of speaking up for Gan Ning, the last trace of doubt in Liu Zhang's heart was completely dispelled.

Although Liu Zhang had tossed and turned last night, he also judged that this matter should have nothing to do with Li Ji.

Gan Ning was from Ba Commandery, and Li Ji had never been to Ba Commandery. His acceptance of Gan Ning as a personal guard was also a spur-of-the-moment decision, and Li Ji had no reason to harm him.

Furthermore, Gan Ning's return to the fleet last night to try to save people further showed that Wu Commandery was completely a bystander in the matter.

Otherwise, if Wu Commandery was determined to protect Jiang Zhi and Gan Ning, Gan Ning wouldn't have needed to risk sneaking back to the fleet alone.

However, as it concerned his own life and safety, Liu Zhang was naturally cautious, fearing that something might go wrong at this critical juncture.

After all, if Liu Zhang died, Liu Yan would also have sufficient reason to request the court to release a son to return to Yizhou, so that he could have a son by his side to fulfill his filial duties.

Whenever matters involving his three elder brothers were involved, Liu Zhang would always maintain absolute vigilance and caution.

As Liu Zhang dispelled the last trace of doubt, his expression also became slightly solemn, and he glanced towards the wide-open door.

Li Ji, understanding that Liu Zhang must have been the first to lose patience, nodded in agreement.

Immediately, Li Ji waved at Zhao Yun, who immediately bowed and retreated, closing the door and personally guarding it outside.

As the door closed, Liu Zhang didn't forget to carefully observe the surrounding environment again, confirming that there were no ears on the walls.

The next moment, Liu Zhang suddenly prostrated himself before Li Ji, and with a bit of a sob, he said.

“Please, Mr. Zikun, save my father!”

Li Ji pretended to be surprised and asked, “Huh? Is there a problem with Liu Yizhou?”

At this moment, Liu Zhang knew that Li Ji was pretending, and Li Ji also knew Liu Yan's wild ambitions, but the procedure still had to be followed.

Back then, the Great Ancestor Emperor of our Han Dynasty knew to start an uprising by slaying the white snake, emphasizing legitimacy. Not to mention whether he could convince others, at least he convinced himself.

Later generations naturally learned that set of skills thoroughly.

Illegitimate things cannot be done; there must be a fig leaf.

Liu Zhang couldn't directly say that my father, Liu Yan, wanted to divide the land and become a king, or even become the Son of Heaven. Liu Hong was originally just a small Marquis of Jiedu Pavilion. He was only supported to become the Son of Heaven of the Great Han because he looked like a controllable pretty boy. So why couldn't my father, Liu Yan, become the Son of Heaven?

And Li Ji couldn't directly teach Liu Zhang how to go back and rebel against the court at the first word. Wouldn't that make him a traitor to the country?

Therefore, even though both sides understood each other tacitly, the formalities and procedures still needed to be followed.

“My father has worked diligently and painstakingly to govern one side for the Great Han, only to make the Great Han prosperous again and reappear in a flourishing age. Unexpectedly, treacherous officials are in power in the court, and many people have repeatedly slandered my father's loyalty and patriotism.”

“Now, in order to make the territory of our Great Han forever solid and quell the rebellion, my father proposed the policy of provincial governors, and he personally went to Yizhou to serve as a provincial governor, crossing the difficulty of the Shu Road, away from his homeland and the court. Such dedication, loyal ministers and filial sons cannot help but shed tears when they hear of it.”

“However, this has also become a point of attack for countless treacherous officials against my father. Those treacherous officials cannot tolerate my father's loyal minister and filial son. If this continues, over time, even if the Son of Heaven is not deceived for a while, as time goes on, my father will surely become the fate of Shang Jun of Qin!”

It must be said that in terms of shamelessness, Li Ji admitted that he was probably not as good as Liu Zhang.

How thick-skinned does one have to be to dare to compare Liu Yan with Shang Yang?

Moreover, what was the situation with that “policy of provincial governors,” and how did Liu Yan become the governor of Yizhou? Could Li Ji not know?

However, in Liu Zhang's mouth, Liu Yan was completely a great loyal minister. Governing Yizhou was not only without a trace of selfishness, but also entirely for the sake of revitalizing the Great Han.

It seemed that at least “shamelessness” had become a tradition in the old Liu family.

However, Li Ji had no intention of exposing Liu Zhang's intentions. Instead, he frowned and said with emotion.

“Indeed, treacherous officials are rampant in the court today, and the Son of Heaven is also often deceived, which has led to a situation where not only is it difficult for loyal and patriotic officials to make a difference, but the people can also be said to be living in misery.”

“That's right.”

Liu Zhang's little fat face nodded repeatedly, agreeing and tentatively saying.

“My father thinks of this matter and often hates it endlessly, tossing and turning every night, worrying about the fate of the Great Han, wishing he could hold a three-foot sword and angrily face the treacherous officials, splashing blood on the court to clear the emperor's inner circle.”

Li Ji's pupils shrank slightly when he heard this.

You can't say that!

Are you clearing the emperor's inner circle? That's clearly aimed at the throne.

Li Ji originally thought that Liu Yan's ambition was limited to dividing the land and becoming a king, but he didn't expect that he actually wanted to become the Son of Heaven.

Before Li Ji could speak, Liu Zhang, who seemed to have been prepared for a long time, said urgently.

“Zhang knows that Mr. Zikun is a great sage of the world, but the situation is such that the Son of Heaven is deceived by treacherous officials and cannot be reused. What can be done?”

“Why doesn't Mr. Zikun follow Zhang into Shu and assist my father? If my father can clear the treacherous officials around the Son of Heaven one day…”

Speaking of this, Liu Zhang's voice became a bit more expectant and impassioned, saying.

“When the court is restored to clarity, with Mr. Zikun's talent, not to mention the Three Dukes, presumably the Son of Heaven will be moved by Mr. Zikun's merits and abilities, and it is reasonable to set up the position of Prime Minister for Mr. Zikun to hold.”

Li Ji seemed to fall into contemplation and be moved on the surface, but in reality, Li Ji was secretly sneering.

Li Ji didn't believe that this was what the still-immature Liu Zhang had come up with. It was most likely what Liu Yan had taught Liu Zhang to say.

If Liu Bei made such a promise, Li Ji would believe it!

But the promise was made by Liu Yan. Li Ji could only say that whether the court could be restored to clarity after clearing the emperor's inner circle was hard to say, but after Liu Yan became the Son of Heaven, Li Ji's memorial day would most likely be on the same day next year.

Li Ji quietly observed Liu Zhang's microexpressions and found that his impassioned and confident appearance was all an act. He didn't have that kind of real confidence and aura at all.

In this regard, Li Ji could only comment: You also want to be the crown prince? Do you have that acting skill?

In comparison, Li Ji was now much more of an old actor than when he first came out. His face clearly showed a struggling and moved look, and even seemed to be mixed with some anger at the current Son of Heaven and the court.

This was not really being moved, but emphasizing etiquette and worldly wisdom.

People are telling you about the great event of clearing the emperor's inner circle with all their heart and soul. If Li Ji didn't even offer a little expression, how could he be convincing, and how could he reassure people? Liu Zhang might think that Li Ji was simply fooling and tricking him.

Yes!

Li Ji admitted that he was just fooling Liu Zhang, but this also couldn't be revealed.

If Li Ji wants grain, would Liu Yan give it to him if he humbly begged Liu Yan?

Therefore, Li Ji wanted grain, but he couldn't clearly say that he wanted grain. Instead, he had to say other things, and while explaining the situation that Wu Commandery needed grain, he couldn't show that Wu Commandery was extremely short of grain, so that Yizhou would take the initiative to send grain to Li Ji as a gift.

The details and proportions in this required Li Ji to carefully grasp when facing Liu Zhang.

Especially the point that Wu Commandery couldn't show that it was extremely short of grain. Otherwise, Li Ji would be the one to be manipulated by Liu Yan and Liu Zhang.

In this era with a large information gap, the true financial and grain situation of Wu Commandery was only completely clear to Liu Bei, Li Ji, and Mi Zhu within the Liu Bei Group.

Therefore, even though Wu Commandery was gathering a large number of refugees, the current situation of Wu Commandery's grain shortage could still be concealed.

Especially since Liu Zhang had never personally seen the countless starving refugees and the thin porridge that could only be mixed with sand and gravel, even if some information reached their eyes, they wouldn't realize the seriousness of the situation without seeing it with their own eyes.

Like… “Why don't they eat meat porridge?”

In the quiet room, Li Ji pondered for a considerable amount of time before finally exhaling a long breath.

Then, under Liu Zhang's hopeful gaze, he whispered.

“Does Jiyu know how the tyrannical Qin was overthrown?”

“That is naturally…”

As a member of the Han imperial family, Liu Zhang was naturally very familiar with that period of history, but before Liu Zhang could open his mouth to answer, Li Ji continued.

“When the Overlord divided the kings, where was Gaozu's fiefdom? Where was the Overlord's fiefdom?”

“Emperor Gaozu enfeoffed the King of Han with the lands of Ba and Shu; the Overlord declared himself the Overlord of Western Chu, naturally taking the old Chu lands as his domain, which would be…”

Reaching this point, Liu Zhang finally understood.

Weren’t the former fiefdoms of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu mirroring the current positions of Liu Yan and Liu Bei? (End of Chapter)