Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

These events undoubtedly did not give Cao Cao a moment's respite.

“Hahahaha…”

Suddenly, Cao Cao burst into a series of loud laughs, which, while bewildering Xiahou Yuan, couldn't help but make him worry about Cao Cao's mental state.

“Big brother, are you alright?” Xiahou Yuan asked with some concern.

“I am happy!”

Cao Cao continued to laugh and said.

“I have known Junior Sister Zhaoji for many years. I used to lament her unfortunate fate, as she was betrothed to the Wei family of Hebei, but Wei Zhongdao passed away before she even arrived, leading to her being unfairly labeled as ominous.”

“Now, Junior Sister Zhaoji can marry Li Zikun. With Li Zikun's talent, virtue, and character, Junior Sister Zhaoji will have no worries for the rest of her life.”

“This is a joyous occasion, why shouldn't I laugh?”

Cao Cao spoke freely and happily, but Xiahou Yuan, who knew Cao Cao well, always felt that there was an inexplicable complexity hidden in those words.

“Then… then it's good that big brother is happy. How about eating first?” Xiahou Yuan tried hard to change the subject, suggesting.

“Very well! I have been dealing with government affairs for a long time, and I didn't realize it was already this late. My stomach is quite hungry, quickly have the cook prepare the meal.” Cao Cao said.

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Yuan immediately ordered the servants in the mansion to serve the prepared meal.

However, Cao Cao had his own prestige among the Cao and Xiahou clans. Xiahou Yuan was as close as brothers with him, but he did not dare to be disrespectful in the slightest, so naturally, he would not eat at the same table as Cao Cao.

Therefore, when the servants served Cao Cao and Xiahou Yuan their meals separately, at different tables.

Even though Cao Cao seemed to have a rare good appetite, eating heartily, Xiahou Yuan still faintly felt that the atmosphere was a bit off, and he buried his head in his meal, not daring to say a word.

However, before Xiahou Yuan could even pick up a piece of dried meat to put in his mouth.

“Bang!!”

Cao Cao, who had seemed to be eating heartily just now, suddenly slammed the rice bowl in his hand upside down on the table.

The sudden movement startled Xiahou Yuan so much that he dropped the piece of dried meat he was about to eat onto the ground.

“I am so angry! Liu Daer! Liu Daer!!!”

Cao Cao shouted, pounding his chest and stamping his feet.

Regarding the matter of his junior sister Cai Zhaoji marrying Li Ji, Cao Cao not only felt complicated but also strongly supported it, acknowledging that Li Ji was absolutely worthy of Cai Zhaoji.

However, the thought of Cai Zhaoji marrying Li Ji, and those two being under Liu Bei's command from now on.

Cao Cao had a feeling that he hadn't even gone to snatch what Liu Bei cherished, but instead, he felt like something important of his had been taken away.

Coupled with the continuous pressure on Cao Cao since the great disaster in the Central Plains, the two combined undoubtedly became the last straw that broke Cao Cao's mental balance.

However, under Xiahou Yuan's silent expression, Cao Cao's失态(失态 means losing composure) only lasted for a few breaths. Cao Cao's expression completely returned to calm, and he even picked up the overturned bowl and slowly scraped the rice back into the bowl from the table.

“Grain is precious, it should not be wasted.”

Cao Cao said this, which made Xiahou Yuan look at the piece of dried meat on the ground in front of him with some embarrassment.

Whether to pick it up or not was a difficult question!

However, Xiahou Yuan had indeed experienced famine, and even his young son had starved to death because of it.

Therefore, Xiahou Yuan calmly picked up the piece of dried meat that had fallen on the ground and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing it heartily.

The sand rubbed against his teeth, making an uncomfortable sound, but Xiahou Yuan still slowly savored the deliciousness of the piece of dried meat.

After all, there were countless starving refugees in the current Jinan State, and this piece of dried meat would be enough to cause a riot if thrown outside.

It wasn't until Cao Cao had completely eaten all the rice he had scraped back into the bowl that he continued to speak.

“Miaocai, when you go back to Qiao County, prepare more gifts and attend Junior Sister Zhaoji's wedding on my behalf, and also make a copy of 'Four Crossings of the Red Water' to bring back.”

“Yes, big brother.”

Xiahou Yuan responded in a muffled voice.

As for why Cao Cao didn't let Xiahou Yuan prepare the gifts directly in Jinan State, it was naturally because the treasury of Jinan State was already overrun with mice. Even Cao Cao's private treasury, which he had brought to Jinan State, had been depleted by seventy or eighty percent. Where would there be extra money to prepare gifts?

Xiahou Yuan watched Cao Cao sitting there silently, no longer speaking, and ordered the servants to come up and clean up the tableware, and then they all retreated.

Xiahou Yuan knew very well that Cao Cao had been under tremendous pressure during this period. He clearly wanted to make a big splash in Jinan State, but the officials from top to bottom were all corrupt officials colluding with the local aristocratic families.

It can be said that the first half of Cao Cao's term was entirely a process of competing with the local aristocratic families in Jinan State and eliminating corrupt officials, which allowed Cao Cao to see the great influence of the local aristocratic families and how much trouble they could cause.

After that, Cao Cao finally exhausted all his means to barely suppress the local aristocratic families and eliminate a large number of corrupt officials, and then he encountered a natural disaster, and the imperial court had no intention of providing disaster relief, allowing the people to fend for themselves.

As he left, Xiahou Yuan couldn't help but look back at Cao Cao, who was sitting there seemingly in a daze, and thought to himself.

‘Big brother… seems a little disheartened and confused…’

‘The matter of Miss Zhaoji is just a trigger. In fact, during this period, big brother has probably been forcing himself to be busy stabilizing the internal affairs of Jinan State and not thinking too much about it, but now it is…’

However, Xiahou Yuan also felt deeply helpless and disappointed with the current situation. He had finally quelled the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but unexpectedly, what followed was still not great peace.

The rebellion that spread across the seven prefectures still failed to inspire the Emperor?

Thinking of this, Xiahou Yuan couldn't help but sigh deeply, and then closed the door for Cao Cao, so that Cao Cao could also have a space to think for himself.

“However, big brother wants me to go to Wujun to celebrate on his behalf?”

Xiahou Yuan couldn't help but scratch his head, feeling a little headache, hesitating whether it would be more appropriate to bring his wife and children with him when he returned to Qiao County, so as not to feel out of place attending Li Ji's wedding alone.

… …

Meanwhile, in Luo County, the administrative seat of Yizhou.

Liu Zhang rushed back all the way and finally returned to Luo County in a hurry. The journey back and forth to Wujun had made Liu Zhang look much darker and thinner.

Originally, when Liu Zhang returned to Luo County, he subconsciously wanted to take a bath and change his clothes before going to see Liu Yan, but after thinking about it, he took the initiative to tear his brocade robe a little messy, and then went directly to see Liu Yan.

Compared to a son who went to Wujun to listen to Meng Ji's performances every day and almost forgot to return, Liu Zhang believed that Liu Yan should be more willing to see his embarrassed appearance.

When Liu Yan saw Liu Zhang's dusty appearance, his eyes were indeed a little touched.

However, Liu Yan couldn't care about Liu Zhang's physical condition. He directly pulled Liu Zhang into a secret room in the mansion, and then asked.

“Zhang'er, how is it?”

Liu Zhang naturally knew what Liu Yan wanted to ask, and immediately said in a deep voice. “Your son has not failed your father's expectations. I have asked Mr. Zikun for a brilliant plan, and I also know what Mr. Zikun's intention is in helping your father so much.”

“Really?”

Liu Zhang nodded and immediately said. “However, in order to satisfy Mr. Zikun, your son took the liberty of promising to send 600,000 dan of grain to Wujun.”

“Grain, a small matter!”

Liu Zhang, who possessed the Land of Abundance, did not care about grain at all.

It can be said that since the Qin State built the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, Yizhou has been the granary of the Qin and Han Dynasties. There is a surplus every year. Over the years, the multiple granaries in Yizhou have been almost full.

However, there are only two routes for transporting grain out of Shu. One is to go down the Yangtze River along the Ba Commandery; the other is to rely on manpower to go out of Hanzhong and enter the Sili region.

These two routes are quite troublesome for the imperial court. The former has to go around a large circle to reach Sili, while the latter requires a lot of manpower and material resources.

Therefore, although Yizhou has abundant grain every year, the imperial court rarely directly mobilizes the Yizhou granary.

Therefore, 600,000 dan of grain is enough for Liu Yan to value, but it is not enough to be unable to take it out.

Seeing that Liu Yan, who had always been good at concealing his emotions, seemed a little impatient, Liu Zhang did not dare to play tricks and quickly said.

“Mr. Zikun's suggestion is actually nine words: ‘Accumulate grain, build high walls, and delay declaring kingship’!”

These nine words immediately stunned Liu Yan. They completely summarized the key points of splitting the land and becoming a king, and immediately made Liu Yan's thinking clear.

“These nine words alone are worth 600,000 dan of grain!”

In addition to being excited, Liu Yan quickly asked. “Did Mr. Zikun elaborate on how to implement it?”

“Of course, otherwise, how dare I return to Yizhou to see my father.”

Liu Zhang first flattered himself, and while secretly rejoicing in his heart, he then said with a steady expression.

“Because this plan is so extensive, Mr. Zikun gave me face-to-face instructions and did not put it in writing, so I still need to ask my father to listen to my detailed explanation.”

“Very good, it is best to be cautious in major matters. The failure of the sorcerer Zhang Jiao is still yesterday. It is good that Zhang'er understands this principle so well.”

Liu Yan praised Liu Zhang, and then poured a cup of tea for Liu Zhang, signaling Liu Zhang to speak slowly.

This made Liu Zhang feel a little flattered. In his long life, this was the first time Liu Yan had personally poured tea for him.

Of course, Liu Zhang was even clearer that Liu Yan's personal pouring of tea was not because of his hard work, but because the things Liu Yan wanted to know were all in his belly.

Immediately, Liu Zhang quickly put on a filial son's posture and said.

"Mr. Zikun mentioned that in Shu, 'accumulating grain and building high walls' is not difficult, the key lies in 'delaying the declaration of kingship'!"

"The people of today harbor much dissatisfaction and rebellious thoughts towards the imperial court, but the Emperor has been on the throne for many years, and has achieved many victories in foreign wars. Domestically, he has suppressed eunuchs, empress's relatives, and scholars with one hand, and also suppressed the Yellow Turban rebels before. His prestige can be described as being at its zenith."