Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

Chapter 3: Li Ji, courtesy name Zikun

If Chen Gong had enough influence and say in front of Lü Bu to get him to adopt his suggestions, then even if Lü Bu couldn't seize the Central Plains and become a regional overlord, he certainly wouldn't have fallen to such a miserable defeat at Xiapi.

And did Liu Bei's life trajectory in the early stages lack strategists?

No, he did have them.

Sun Qian and Jian Yong could also be considered good officials, but Jian Yong and Sun Qian lacked both top-tier abilities and the power to influence Liu Bei's decisions.

This made Li Ji very worried that he would become like Sun Qian and Jian Yong. Even if he joined Liu Bei, he could only drift along, living a miserable life, and perhaps even die in the chaos of battle.

"Big Brother!!"

Just as Li Ji was caught in a dilemma, a thunderous roar like that of a tiger or leopard rang out outside the house, startling Li Ji, who was pretending to be unconscious, to the point where he unconsciously made a noise.

Originally, Liu Bei was about to reprimand Zhang Fei for his rash actions, which would inevitably disturb Li Ji's rest, but seeing that Li Ji seemed to be awake, he quickly stepped forward to help Li Ji up and said:

"Mr. Li Ji."

Li Ji, now awake, looked at Liu Bei with a dazed expression and asked, "Who are you?"

"Bang!"

Just then, the door was pushed open, and Zhang Fei, with a leopard's head and ringed eyes, a swallow's jaw and tiger's whiskers, strode in. Looking at Li Ji, who was being helped up by Liu Bei, he said loudly:

"So, you're finally awake, you so-called great scholar! It was my big brother who saved you. He is a descendant of the Han imperial family, the Prince Jing of Zhongshan, Liu Bei, Liu Xuande. Quickly tell us what abilities you have, so you can repay my big brother."

Liu Bei looked at Zhang Fei's behavior, which seemed to be forcing Li Ji to repay his kindness, and said quickly:

"Third Brother, be quiet!"

For Liu Bei, bestowing favor upon Li Ji was in the hope of making Li Ji feel his sincerity, so that he would willingly assist him, not with the idea of forcing him to repay his kindness.

Li Ji, feeling the aura of a fierce warrior like a tiger or leopard at close range, was slightly shocked and couldn't help but secretly admire him. As expected of the fierce Zhang Fei, who would be remembered in history. The aura emanating from his words and actions alone was enough to make the timid tremble with fear.

Immediately, Li Ji quickly bowed to Liu Bei and said, "So you are a member of the Han imperial family. My name is Li Ji, courtesy name Zikun."

"Li Ji, Li Zikun?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei couldn't help rubbing his hands together and praised, "Mr. Li Ji, a good name, and even better courtesy name. Ji means foundation; Kun, the upper trigram Qian and lower trigram Kun, means great virtue carries all things, and is the foundation of the nation and its people."

"You flatter me, Mr. Liu Bei is my benefactor, you can call me by my courtesy name 'Zikun'." Li Ji cupped his fist.

Liu Bei couldn't help but feel a burst of joy in his heart. This hermit scholar was easier to get along with than Liu Bei had imagined, and he immediately followed up, "Zikun, you can also call me by my courtesy name 'Xuande'."

Li Ji hesitated for a moment, then, under Liu Bei's somewhat uneasy gaze, seemed to carefully size up Liu Bei, pondered for a few breaths, and said:

"I, Ji, observe that Brother Xuande is no ordinary man. Since Brother Xuande doesn't mind my humble status, then I shall respectfully accept your offer."

Instantly, Liu Bei felt a surge of joy in his heart!

This was the first time in more than twenty years that Liu Bei had received praise and affirmation from others, and it was from the hermit scholar he valued, which almost made Liu Bei ecstatic.

However, these twenty years of tempering had also allowed Liu Bei to develop the basic ability to keep his emotions in check.

Even though he couldn't wait for Li Zikun in front of him to come into his bowl quickly, Liu Bei still said calmly and gently on the surface:

"I originally wanted to visit Zikun, but when I arrived outside the house, I thought Zikun was resting. Unexpectedly, after waiting for about an hour, I heard a burst of painful cries from Zikun, so I had no choice but to break in and bring Zikun here for treatment and recuperation. Please don't blame Bei for acting presumptuously."

"So that's how it is."

Li Ji rubbed his temples, which were still throbbing with a dull pain, and said gratefully, "I, Ji, was so engrossed in the art of deduction that I almost suffered from mental exhaustion. Thanks to Xuande's rescue, otherwise it would have been dangerous."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei's originally half-lowered gentle eyes clearly lit up, and his attention was completely attracted by the words "deduction."

Deduction?!

These two words were not something that ordinary people could handle.

And the fact that Mr. Li Ji in front of him could be so engrossed in some kind of deduction that he fainted showed that his attainments must be amazing.

For a moment, Liu Bei's hands, hidden in his sleeves, trembled slightly with excitement, realizing that Mr. Li Ji in front of him must have abilities that ordinary people did not possess.

However, while Liu Bei's heart was surging, he showed a sincere look of concern on the surface and said:

"The art of deduction is truly amazing. But Zikun also needs to prioritize his health. Moreover, Zikun usually lives alone, which is really dangerous."

Dangerous, ah, dangerous!

Zikun, you are really too dangerous living alone.

Zikun, can you understand? Living alone is too dangerous, come to my side quickly.

Li Ji looked up at Liu Bei's sincere and gentle expression of concern, and for a moment, he couldn't quite tell whether Liu Bei was simply concerned about him, or whether there was something implied in this flawless concern.

"Thank you for your concern, Xuande. I, Ji, will definitely pay more attention in the future," Li Ji said gratefully.

This made Liu Bei feel a little lonely in his heart, but he quickly cheered up again, realizing that since he was a hermit scholar, it was impossible for him to easily acknowledge himself.

"Big Brother, why do you believe everything people say? I think this so-called Ji is only just coming of age. Maybe he's not even as old as me. How many books could he have read, let alone any deduction? In my opinion, he's just spouting nonsense."

Zhang Fei's loud voice shouted like thunder, making Liu Bei's face faintly darken.

For this third brother, whom he had only recently sworn brotherhood with, his martial prowess far surpassed ordinary people, but his personality was really reckless, which made Liu Bei feel helpless and even worried that Zhang Fei's behavior would offend Li Ji.

"Who is this?" Li Ji asked.

"I am Zhang Fei, courtesy name Yide!"

Zhang Fei cupped his fist and introduced himself, then said:

"I'll just say it straight. My big brother is a benevolent gentleman, but I, Zhang Fei, am not so easily fooled. I have lived in Zhuo County for twenty years and have never heard of you."

"Moreover, not only is my big brother respectful to you, but he also personally carried you back home, invited a physician, and personally served you medicine, all because of the rumors in the market that you have the ability to help the world and save the people, and to plan strategies in a tent."

"Now, my big brother, out of benevolence and with the ambition to save the people from fire and water, does not hesitate to lower himself, a member of the Han imperial family, to treat scholars with courtesy. If you are making fun of my big brother, then don't blame me for being impolite."

After saying this series of words, Li Ji's impression of the reckless Zhang Fei greatly changed.

A pure brute could not have said such a rough but detailed and reasonable speech.

If a fraud were to tease Liu Bei in this way, then with these words in advance, even if he were beaten to death by Zhang Fei, it would not be unjust.

In addition, Liu Bei's actions of treating scholars with courtesy also made Li Ji, who had already adapted to this era, feel both emotional and moved.

In this era of clear class distinctions, only Cao Cao and Liu Bei were known for their courtesy to subordinates.

Among them, Cao Cao's was mostly just a pretense. Xu You, who was welcomed with his shoes on backward, was still killed when he lost his value.

Only Liu Bei treated his meritorious officials well, both in public and in private.

However, upon hearing this, Liu Bei frowned, stood in front of Zhang Fei, and scolded:

"Third Brother, how can you be so rude? Bei saved Zikun out of benevolence and righteousness, how can I use this to coerce him? This is not what a gentleman does!"

"Yes, Big Brother."

Zhang Fei lowered his head and replied, but he still stood at the door, staring at Li Ji with scrutiny and suspicion.

A smile appeared on Li Ji's face as he looked around.

Good, the one who is obsessed with the Spring and Autumn Annals is not here.

Li Ji felt certain in his heart and said:

"I, Ji, will never forget Brother Xuande's kindness. Then I, Ji, will tell you a piece of news to repay your kindness."

"What news?" Liu Bei asked.

"Within ten days, the Yellow Turban bandits will definitely arrive!"

Li Ji slowly uttered these words, causing the room to instantly quiet down. Liu Bei's brows unconsciously furrowed, while Zhang Fei looked at Li Ji with both surprise and suspicion.

"How can Zikun be so sure?" Liu Bei pressed.

"I, Ji, have no great talent, only the art of deduction is my forte…"

Li Ji's tone was quite worried about the country and the people as he said:

"Although I, Ji, live in seclusion, the Yellow Turban Rebellion has swept across the world, causing countless people to be displaced. Naturally, it is difficult to ignore it."

"Therefore, during this time, I, Ji, have constantly collected news related to the Yellow Turbans, and used this as a basis for deduction, finally concluding that in about ten days, the Yellow Turban bandits will arrive in Zhuo County."

Liu Bei frowned tightly, this news was nothing short of shocking!

Ten days in advance, deducing the enemy's arrival time?!

This era was not like later generations with advanced communications, satellite positioning, and computer analysis. This news was like a fantasy to Liu Bei and Zhang Fei.

"You kid, you wouldn't be in league with the Yellow Turban bandits, would you? Deliberately spreading news to disturb the people's hearts?"

Zhang Fei raised his voice and questioned immediately.

At this moment, even Liu Bei, who had always had great expectations for Li Ji, was somewhat silent.

After all, this news was almost as terrifying as confirming who the champion would be before the World Cup even kicked off, even more so.

Either he knew the inside story in advance, or he could foresee the future.

The World Cup would at least make public the player information of each team, allowing everyone to analyze and judge for themselves, but in this era, let alone Liu Bei, even the current Governor of Zhuo County, Liu Yan, probably didn't have much information about the Yellow Turban bandits.

Judging the enemy's arrival time in a situation where he was completely in the dark, was he a god?

Zhang Fei's questioning and Liu Bei's hesitation were all within Li Ji's expectations.

However, this was undoubtedly deliberately orchestrated by Li Ji.

Without sufficient weight, how could he garner the respect and attention of Liu, Guan, and Zhang?

Moreover, Li Ji had ample confidence in his own judgment.

In fact, Li Ji had been secretly observing and collecting various pieces of information related to the Yellow Turbans during this time.

Under normal circumstances, Li Ji would naturally not be able to deduce a large amount of Yellow Turban intelligence based on those scant pieces of information, but the "Strategy Simulator" was essentially like a built-in program in Li Ji's mind during his research.

Li Ji's brain was undoubtedly the CPU running this program, and the various pieces of information and knowledge that Li Ji possessed were the variables provided to this program for simulation and deduction.

Perhaps, it could be described in another way.

That is, during the "Strategy Simulator's" deduction phase, Li Ji's brain would enter a mysterious and absolute state of rationality, thereby incredibly deducing the future of different choices.

And in the deduction before contacting Liu Bei, Li Ji deduced the result of being whipped and injured by Zhang Fei, and finally dying after encountering Yellow Turban bandits, which was undoubtedly related to Li Ji's deliberate collection of Yellow Turban bandit information.

So, having confirmed the future of that route.

Even though Li Ji still felt his head was as heavy as if it had been filled with a large amount of mercury, he could still easily judge, based on his own food reserves and injured state, that he would not be able to survive more than ten days on that route.

Therefore, since he could encounter Yellow Turban bandits before his death, it was enough to prove that the Yellow Turbans' arrival in Zhuo County would not exceed ten days.

However, facing Zhang Fei's questioning, Li Ji acted as if he was overheating, angrily rebuking.

"As a true man, I also harbor the ambition of 'establishing a heart for the world, and establishing a life for the people.' How could I collude with the Yellow Turban bandits to wreak havoc on the world?"

After a pause, Li Ji looked directly at Zhang Fei and shouted.

"You can doubt my ability, but how dare you question my intentions? Furthermore, Brother Xuande has shown me great kindness, how could I do such an ungrateful thing? If I have even a trace of disloyalty, you may take my head."

As the saying goes: A gentleman can be deceived with righteousness.

Whether it was Liu Bei or Zhang Fei, they were undoubtedly most susceptible to this.

Among them, Zhang Fei's black face was questioned, and it was faintly flushed red and black.

"I was rude."

Zhang Fei cupped his hands, taking the initiative to admit his mistake.

Zhang Fei admitted that there was nothing wrong with questioning Li Ji's ability, but after rashly suspecting that a benevolent person was secretly colluding with the Yellow Turban bandits to wreak havoc on the people, Zhang Fei also realized that he had been extremely rude after Li Ji pointed it out.

Especially in this era where benevolence and righteousness come first, and loyalty and filial piety are paramount.

In the eyes of many people, they would rather die for the righteousness in their hearts, but they could never tolerate the insult of violating the righteousness in their hearts.

As for Liu Bei, he felt a strong resonance in Li Ji's words, which completely expressed the thoughts in Liu Bei's heart, almost saying "Me too."

For a time, with Liu Bei's composure, he couldn't help but look at Li Ji with a bit more fervor.

"Establishing a heart for the world, and establishing a life for the people."

What a great line!

Liu Bei almost wanted to splash ink on the spot to write this sentence down, so that he could carry it with him at all times to encourage himself.

In addition, Li Ji's character, which revealed extreme gratitude and righteousness in those few short sentences, meant that if he had met Li Ji at the right time, Liu Bei would have wanted to pull Li Ji into a sworn brotherhood.

'A kindred spirit!'

Liu Bei couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

It was just a pity that Li Ji did not fully know Liu Bei's thoughts, otherwise he would only say that he was indeed a kindred spirit with Liu Bei in spirit, and they were both extremely concerned about the people.

However, physically, Li Ji really didn't like the style of Shu Han, but he didn't mind becoming a kindred spirit with Boss Cao.

Your wives and daughters, I will raise them, how wonderful.