Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

The news of the angel's arrival stirred up some worries in Liu Bei's heart, but he was also helpless.

With Lu Zhi leaving the imperial court, even though the Brocade-Clothed Guards had been developing towards the north and setting up an intelligence system in Luoyang, it was clear that the Brocade-Clothed Guards did not yet have the ability to directly inquire about the news of the imperial court.

Regarding the intention of this angel's visit, he only knew that it seemed to be related to Li Ji, but the specific information was undoubtedly unknown.

Several days later, the angel's carriage arrived in Wu County, and Liu Bei also led a group of officials from the government office to burn incense to welcome him according to etiquette, respectfully listening to his intentions.

This time, the Little Yellow Gate Zhao Liang, holding the scepter, walked out of the carriage, raised a hand to cover half of his face with his sleeve, and looked at the narrow and dilapidated environment of the Wu County government office, his eyes full of disgust and contempt.

Liu Bei was unmoved by Zhao Liang's undisguised gaze, and he was not angry because of it. Instead, he secretly evaluated that this eunuch Zhao Liang did not seem to be a person skilled in scheming.

As for the dilapidation of the government office, Wu County today is not without money to carry out large-scale repairs, and even building another government office is not a difficult task.

However, Liu Bei was not a person who liked extravagance and waste and indulged in pleasure. More importantly, the government office, which often symbolized the face of the governor, was so dilapidated, which was deliberately done by Li Ji to confuse the world.

It was just that the dilapidated government office made Zhao Liang refuse Liu Bei's invitation to enter the government office to sit down. He just blocked half of his face with one hand and secretly gestured to Liu Bei for money with the other.

When Liu Bei saw this, a look of anger arose on his face, wishing he could change this kind of corruption on the spot, but he also knew that a small impatience would spoil a big plan.

Now, Zhao Liang represents the Son of Heaven, and there must be no rudeness.

Xiahou Bo, who was standing in a corner, naturally knew the rules and habits of the eunuchs, and directly stepped forward, using his sleeves to cover his actions, and handed a bag of gold to Zhao Liang.

Zhao Liang secretly weighed the weight of the gold, and the originally displeased look on his face gradually eased, thinking to himself.

'The government office is so dilapidated that there is no money to repair it, but the gift is quite heavy. It seems that the governor of Wu County, Liu Bei, is not an ignorant person.'

Immediately, Zhao Liang took out the imperial edict and read it aloud to the officials led by Liu Bei.

"In the fourth year of Zhongping, We heard that the Wuhuan are making trouble in Youzhou, and We are very worried. We pity our people who will be plundered by the barbarians. Fortunately, Li Ji, a native of Longxi and the county magistrate of Wu County, led a large army to actively resist, guarding our Han land, protecting our Han people, and assisting the governor of Youzhou to defeat the Wuhuan. His great achievements are all in sight. We think that he has both virtue and ability, and is full of courage and wisdom, and has the demeanor of a national scholar..."

Hearing this, the expressions of many people present changed.

Previously, Li Ji's name of "National Scholar" came from Liu Yu's praise, and gradually became famous throughout the north and south of the Yangtze River, but even if Liu Yu's prestige was high, this was only from his personal words, and there were many people in the world who did not recognize Li Ji's name.

However, the Son of Heaven, Liu Hong, wrote this sentence in the edict, which is tantamount to recognition from the Son of Heaven and the imperial court.

From then on, in the Han Dynasty, the name "National Scholar" could refer to a kind of praise, and even more so to Li Ji himself.

Liu Bei, Mi Zhu, Jian Yong and others who had a close personal relationship with Li Ji all showed a bit of joy on their faces, but Guo Jia, who was at the bottom of the list, frowned unconsciously.

'Too much...'

'Even though the Han Dynasty is in turmoil and people's hearts are fluctuating, the great victory in Youzhou is a victory that the current Son of Heaven urgently needs, but the Han Dynasty has never lacked victories against foreign enemies. However, there are very few who are so blatantly praised in the edict.'

'Is it to praise him to death? Or is it...'

Guo Jia's thoughts turned rapidly, and he had a few guesses almost in an instant.

After Zhao Liang's voice paused slightly, he continued to say.

"Therefore, to commend his meritorious service, We promote Li Ji to be the governor of Liaodong County, grant him the title of Marquis of Zhaoting, give him a fief of two hundred households, and announce it to the world, so that all may know."

(PS: In the original trajectory, Gongsun Du was not recommended to be the governor of Liaodong County until the sixth year of Zhongping. Moreover, Gongsun Du, who was dismissed from office at that time, also went through Dong Zhuo's connections through his fellow villager Xu Rong, and directly became the governor.)

As soon as these words came out, Liu Bei's face, which had originally shown a bit of joy, changed immediately.

The expressions of the other officials were also different.

However, Zhao Liang did not pay attention to the change in Liu Bei's expression. Instead, he looked at the officials behind Liu Bei and said in a high voice, pinching his voice.

"Has Marquis Zhaoting returned to Wu County from Youzhou? Why don't you come forward to receive the edict quickly."

Even with Liu Bei's city government, there was a bit more of a forced smile on his face at this moment, and he stepped forward and replied.

"Marquis Zhaoting has not returned to Wu County and is not here."

"Not here?"

Zhao Liang hesitated for a moment when he heard the words, and then said. "Then let Lord Liu receive the edict on behalf of his subordinates for the time being."

This time, Liu Bei paused for a long time before accepting the edict with both hands.

Afterwards, Zhao Liang, who did not intend to stay in this humid and remote place of Wuhui for a long time, did not intend to attend the banquet set up by Liu Bei. When he was about to leave, he remembered something and turned around and said.

"Lord Liu, wait for Eunuch Zhang to specially ask me to tell Marquis Zhaoting a sentence, let Marquis Zhaoting go to Liaodong to take office as soon as possible, but do not delay and shirk the holy will, and commit the crime of deceiving the emperor."

When Liu Bei heard the words, he stared at Zhao Liang, then looked at the scepter in his hand, responded with a forced smile, and respectfully sent Zhao Liang away.

Afterwards, Liu Bei, with a gloomy face, waved his hand to let the officials disperse, while he quickly walked towards the side hall, and after entering the side hall, he directly asked Xiahou Bo to close the door.

The moment the door was closed, Liu Bei suddenly drew his sword and slashed at the table in front of him, directly cutting the entire table in two.

"Eunuch dog, how dare you deceive me like this?"

Immediately, Liu Bei, still not relieved of his hatred, kicked over the table that had been cut in two.

Looking at Liu Bei's anger that had never appeared before, Xiahou Bo was stunned on the spot, completely not understanding where Liu Bei's anger came from.

It was not until Liu Bei seemed to be treating the table as an eunuch dog and slashed dozens of swords in a row, and the whole person sat on the ground panting, and slammed the Han sword in his hand on the ground, that Xiahou Bo dared to ask carefully.

"Lord, is there a big problem with the emperor's edict to add officials and grant titles to Mr. Zikun?"

Liu Bei, who was extremely depressed, took a deep breath, and after a long while, he said.

"Jichang doesn't know, Liaodong is located on the east side of Youzhou and is a bitter and cold land, surrounded by Fuyu, Goguryeo, Wuhuan and others. It seems like a promotion, but in reality, how is it different from exile?"

"This must be because the eunuch dog has slandered the emperor, on the one hand, highly praising Zikun, and on the other hand, using his reputation to force Zikun to go to Liaodong County to take office, which can be said to be very vicious."

Hearing this, even Xiahou Bo gradually understood the sinister intentions behind it.

Because the Han Dynasty often had the custom of resigning from office to prove one's integrity, it was normal for famous scholars of the Han Dynasty to be recommended as officials and refuse to accept them.

However, now that Li Ji has just assisted Youzhou in defeating the Wuhuan, and has been recognized by the world, the imperial court, and the world as a "National Scholar", and has even been granted the title of "Marquis of Zhaoting" by the imperial court.

If, under such circumstances, Li Ji refused to go to Liaodong to take office because Liaodong was a bitter and remote place, it would undoubtedly make Li Ji fall into a person with only a false reputation.

Even in the case of praising Li Ji so highly, can Li Ji still continue to stay in Wu County as he is now?

Whether it is the official position or the title conferred by the imperial court, Li Ji is no less than Liu Bei.

"Pity Zikun is a talent for governing the country and saving the world. In order to protect the Han land, he personally led infantry to raid the Wuhuan camp in the rain, and only then did the Han Dynasty win a victory."

"The emperor does not think about reusing such virtuous talents in order to save the Han Dynasty from collapse, but instead listens to the words of the eunuchs and sends them to a bitter and remote place. What is the reason for this?"

"Your Majesty, you are confused! Your Majesty!!!"

Liu Bei burst into tears, and felt unparalleled grief in his heart.

Previously, Liu Bei had made a lot of preparations based on Li Ji's prediction of the future situation, and then had the idea of emulating Emperor Guangwu to rebuild the Han Dynasty when necessary.

But it does not mean that Liu Bei does not have a trace of hope for the current emperor and the imperial court, hoping that the current emperor will strive to become stronger, eliminate the treacherous inside, quell the Quartet outside, and teach the Han Dynasty to reappear in peace and prosperity.

To this end, Liu Bei secretly concealed Li Ji and submitted a large number of good words to the imperial court and the emperor, and even made a draft of how to persuade Li Ji to enter the court with him when the current emperor suddenly woke up and began to reuse virtuous talents.

However, at this moment, what Liu Bei felt was an unprecedented chill.

'The emperor is昏庸无道 (a fatuous and muddle-headed ruler)…'

'The current court is full of officials, and there is not a single loyal and virtuous minister who has the Han Dynasty in mind. No wonder Zikun will assert that the Han Dynasty will collapse soon and needs to prepare early.'

Tears soaked most of Liu Bei's clothes, and what he was grieving was not only the treatment that Li Ji had suffered, but also that the Han Dynasty, which was overwhelming the Quartet, was now harmed by昏君 (fatous ruler) and treacherous officials, and was already in a state of terminal illness.

Looking at Liu Bei's extremely sad appearance, Xiahou Bo, who did not know how to persuade him, could only silently accompany him, letting Liu Bei vent the grief in his heart.

However, in addition to the grief in his heart, Liu Bei was also thinking about how to prevent all this.

If Zikun goes to Liaodong, the Han Dynasty will almost lose a talent to save the world;

But if Zikun refuses to go to Liaodong, the blow to Zikun's reputation will be extremely serious, and even with the eunuch dog's degree of disgust for Zikun, it is very likely that he will make a big fuss about it and punish him.

"No, I will quickly present a letter to His Majesty, stating the pros and cons of this matter, and ask His Majesty to withdraw his order."

Liu Bei suddenly stood up and couldn't help but said in a deep voice.

Although Liu Bei knew that the possibility of letting the Son of Heaven withdraw or change his holy will was extremely low, Liu Bei would never let Zikun bear it alone.

And at this moment, the door of the side hall was knocked lightly three times.

"咚咚 咚!"

"Who?" Xiahou Bo immediately asked in a deep voice.

“颍川, Guo Fengxiao. Is my lord in the side hall?”

Guo Jia's voice, seemingly carrying a hint of levity and carelessness, drifted in.

Liu Bei frowned upon hearing this, then stood up and adjusted his attire, signaling Xiahou Bo to open the door and let Guo Jia in.

(End of Chapter)