Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

Who is the督邮(Dū Yóu, an official title)?

Isn't that Zhang Fei?

So, the historical event in the original timeline, where Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei beat the督邮(Dū Yóu), still happened?

Except, Liu Bei is doing the beating, and Zhang Fei is taking the beating?

"Go!"

Despite being unable to imagine what kind of scene this was, it didn't affect Li Ji's actions in the slightest. He quickly rode his horse into the city towards the direction of the government office.

Before Li Ji could even step into the entrance of the government office, he heard Zhang Fei's miserable screams and the sound of a whip cracking through the air.

"Snap!"

"Ah ~ ~ ~"

"Snap Snap!!"

"Ah Ah Ah ~ ~ ~"

In addition to that, there was also a series of somewhat chaotic and anxious voices of persuasion.

"Stop hitting him, Lord, stop hitting him!"

"General Zhang has already taken more than twenty lashes. If you keep hitting him, General Zhang will really break down..."

"Don't stop me, let go, let go of me..."

As Li Ji strode into the government office, he saw Zhang Fei, naked from the waist up, tied to the trunk of a large tree not far from the entrance of the government office. Zhang Fei's upper body was covered in a dense, bloody mess of whip marks, making him look miserable and wretched.

Liu Bei, on the other hand, was holding a whip in his hand and was being held back from behind by Gu Yong and Mi Zhu, who were desperately trying to restrain him.

However, Gu Yong and Mi Zhu were only civil officials; how could they stop Liu Bei, whose martial prowess was actually not low at all? The raised whip once again lashed down towards Zhang Fei's chest.

"Snap!"

Another muffled sound!

Even to the naked eye, as the shadow of the whip fell and struck Zhang Fei's body, a mist of sweat and blood mixed together splashed up.

This scene made the corners of Li Ji's mouth twitch uncontrollably.

It was only because Zhang Fei's physique was astonishing that he could still scream in pain after taking so many lashes.

If Li Ji were to take this kind of whipping, he might be able to shout once after one lash, probably wouldn't make a sound after two lashes, and could directly hold a funeral after three lashes.

At this moment, even Li Ji was a little frightened, really afraid that Liu Bei would whip Zhang Fei to death alive, and hurriedly rushed over and shouted loudly.

"Lord, please slow down! Lord, please slow down!!!"

Seeing Li Ji standing in front of Zhang Fei, Liu Bei, who had originally raised the whip again, stopped abruptly and said.

"Zikun, you're back? Please step aside, lest you get hurt."

Li Ji naturally wouldn't step aside. Instead, he quickly stepped forward and snatched the whip from Liu Bei's hand, asking.

"What mistakes has Yide committed, that the Lord is whipping him like this?"

"Is there no mistake?"

Liu Bei angrily opened his mouth and said.

"The orders issued by Zikun must be followed at all times, even by Bei. Since the alcohol prohibition order, I haven't dared to touch a single drop of alcohol, for fear of delaying anything!"

"Yide is good, what an important task it is to have him stationed in Wu County? He actually dared to get drunk in the government office, it's simply...simply lawless, it infuriates me!"

After saying that, Liu Bei actually quickly snatched the whip back again, stepped over Li Ji, and lashed Zhang Fei fiercely again.

"Snap!"

"Ah ~ ~ ~"

Zhang Fei couldn't help but cry out in pain again, saying. "Brother, I was wrong, I was wrong. You hit me, hit me, and I'll feel much better."

"Good, good, good!"

Liu Bei said "Good" three times in a row, then said. "The eldest brother is like a father. Today, you have made a mistake. As the eldest brother, I am whipping you to teach you a lesson. Are you convinced or not?"

"Convinced! Even if I am beaten to death by my elder brother today, I will not blame my elder brother. It is my fault for drinking and violating Mr. Zikun's alcohol prohibition order."

Seeing that Liu Bei was about to raise the whip again, and the dialogue between the two was like a well-rehearsed performance, even more exciting than listening to crosstalk.

Seeing this, Li Ji hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed the whip with both hands, saying.

"Lord, don't beat Inspector Zhang anymore. If you keep beating him, Inspector Zhang might really be beaten to death alive. Even if Inspector Zhang is at fault, he hasn't caused any major disasters because of it, nor has he delayed anything. You shouldn't whip him to death like this. Just drag him down and behead him."

Hearing the first half of the sentence, Zhang Fei, whose chin was full of tiger whiskers, couldn't help but reveal a hint of secret joy. When he heard the second half of the sentence, he was a little dumbfounded.

Is Mr. Zikun pitying me, or is he afraid that I won't die thoroughly?

While Liu Bei and Zhang Fei were both stunned, Li Ji said to Gu Yong, who was equally bewildered behind him.

"Yuantan, what are you still stunned for? Quickly push Inspector Zhang down and behead him, don't let the Lord whip him anymore."

"Ah...this..."

Gu Yong's face was already visibly bitter. He only felt that he shouldn't have appeared here, and even Gu Yong would rather be tied to the tree and take two lashes than be in such a dilemma now.

Just as Gu Yong was moving his feet slowly and hesitantly, Liu Bei said.

"Wait!"

This gave Gu Yong a sense of relief and he stopped instantly.

Liu Bei sighed deeply and said.

"Yide's mistake deserves beheading, and Bei also agrees with it. However, Bei once said that Yide is sworn brother in the Peach Garden, and their righteousness is as one in life and death. They do not seek to be born on the same day of the same month of the same year, but only seek to die on the same day of the same month of the same year."

"And the eldest brother is like a father. Yide violated the alcohol prohibition order and openly drank alcohol. Is Bei also without fault? Why not cut off my head to atone for Yide's fault."

These words were spoken by Liu Bei sincerely and sadly. Everyone, including Zhao Yun and Xiahou Bo, who had arrived a step late, were moved to tears. Zhang Fei, the iron tower-like man, even cried out.

"Brother, it's my fault, don't blame you, I don't blame you, I just blame myself for not being able to control my mouth..."

"Don't say anymore!"

Liu Bei suddenly drew out the sword from his waist and held it across his neck, saying. "Today, Bei will atone for Yide's fault and use Bei's blood to rectify the laws and prohibitions."

In an instant, everyone present looked at Liu Bei, who seemed about to commit suicide by slitting his throat, and shouted in shock.

"Lord, you must not!"

"Brother, don't do it, let Mr. Zikun cut off my head, don't do it!"

"The Lord's life is tied to the millions of people in Wu County, you must not harm yourself."

...\nUnder everyone's persuasion, Liu Bei slowly closed his eyes, looking resolute and unwilling to listen to persuasion.

Seeing that the time was right, Li Ji suddenly shouted loudly.

"Lord, please slow down! The alcohol prohibition order seems to be to regulate the actions of officials of all sizes in Wu County, but in reality, it is to provide disaster relief and save the people. If the Lord dies, wouldn't it leave hundreds of thousands of displaced people who have not yet been settled without support? The ongoing 'work-for-relief' will also be in vain."

"The Lord's life is not the life of one person, but has the weight of the lives of millions of people, how can it be easily harmed? If you commit suicide for the alcohol prohibition order, it would be to focus on one thing and lose sight of the other, to lose the big picture for the sake of small gains."

Hearing this, Liu Bei's expression changed slightly, and a few more hints of wavering and struggle appeared in his originally resolute eyes, and he slowly opened his mouth and said.

"Zikun, then what should we do? The laws and prohibitions cannot be violated, how can Bei disregard them?"

This question undoubtedly stumped the others present as well.

If they really raise it high and put it down gently, wouldn't it be no different from a joke?

Liu Bei gritted his teeth, as if thinking of something, and said.

"I have always regarded Yide as a brother. Since I am atoning for Yide, then I will go and cut off a finger to rectify the laws."

After saying that, Liu Bei raised the sword in his hand and was about to raise it towards his left hand finger!

This time, Li Ji was so frightened that he almost transformed on the spot, and hurriedly rushed to Liu Bei.

The previous time it was likely that Liu Bei was deliberately putting on a show, but this time Li Ji could see that Liu Bei really wanted to cut it off!

Fortunately, Li Ji was close enough to Liu Bei. Before Liu Bei could actually cut off a finger, Li Ji had already firmly stopped Liu Bei, saying.

"You must not! You must not! Lord..."

However, this time Liu Bei seemed to have made a decision, and while struggling repeatedly, he retorted.

"What's impossible about this? Compared to the laws and prohibitions, compared to Yide's life, what is a mere finger worth?"

"Today, Bei is unable to harm himself due to the lives of the people, then I will use a finger to preserve Yide's life without harming the laws and prohibitions, and also let the officials of all sizes in Wu County know that Zikun's laws and prohibitions cannot be violated!"

However, Li Ji would never let Liu Bei cut off his fingers. He couldn't let Liu Bei become a nine-fingered emperor in the future, could he?

Moreover, an emperor with a physical defect would surely become the target of countless people's attacks.

In short, Liu Bei was undoubtedly much more honest than Cao Cao. When Boss Cao violated his own prohibition, he put on a show of cutting off his hair to replace his head, while Liu Bei was truly planning to cut off his own limbs to protect his brothers.

"Lord, Lord, since you want to cut off a finger to rectify the laws, why not cut off your hair to replace your head?"

Li Ji said quickly. "The body, hair, and skin are received from parents. The Lord's hair is no different from his head, and cutting off his hair is also acceptable!"

It has to be said that hair was unusually valued in this period. Otherwise, Boss Cao's cutting off his hair to replace his head in the original timeline would not have convinced the three armies, and even formed a historical allusion that would be passed down through the ages.

Therefore, after Li Ji made this suggestion, a few traces of hesitation flashed across Liu Bei's expression, and he then agreed.

Immediately, Liu Bei cut off a strand of long hair with the sword in his hand and said to everyone present.

"Inspector Zhang Fei violated the prohibition order and should have been executed. Bei originally wanted to commit suicide in place of Inspector Zhang Fei, but I am burdened with an important task. To rectify the laws and prohibitions, I will now cut off my hair to replace my head, as a warning to others!"

"In the future, if Inspector Zhang Fei violates the laws and prohibitions again, Bei will definitely commit suicide to apologize to the world, please supervise me."

This scene caused everyone present to prostrate themselves in admiration. Zhang Fei, who was tied up, was even more teary-eyed, full of remorse and self-blame.

"Jichang."

"Here."

Liu Bei handed the strand of hair in his hand to Xiahou Bo, saying.

"Previously, the magistrate of Qiantang County was beheaded for violating the alcohol prohibition order, and his head was hung on the city gate for seven days. Now, Jichang will also hang Bei's hair at the city gate, and erect a monument below it, stating the course of events, to warn the officials of all sizes in Wu County."

"Yes."

Xiahou Bo carefully accepted the hair, his eyes filled with excitement.

Observing the expressions of everyone present, even Gu Yong, who usually loved to play dumb, had an expression of admiration and longing, which made Li Ji know that this matter was perfectly resolved.

Cutting hair in place of the head was enough to convince the world.

It's just that Liu Bei preemptively stole Cao Cao's copyright, which was a little embarrassing.

Moreover, the originator of this kind of thing is often convincing, while successors are clumsy imitators. If Boss Cao accidentally violates his own ban, what will he cut off this time to represent his head? (End of this chapter)