Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

The continuous development and expansion of "Rende Academy" over the years has led to a growing proportion of commoner students being admitted.

Liu Bei's reputation, along with the support of "Rende Academy," has gradually freed him from the predicament of having to rely on aristocratic families to govern the region.

Previously, the re-measurement of land in Wu and Kuaiji commanderies resulted in the recovery of a significant amount of land that aristocratic families had not registered with the government...

These events, happening gradually and unnoticed, were undoubtedly weakening the influence of the aristocratic families.

While everyone was still weighing the situation, an old man sitting below slowly spoke.

"Zibu, Zigang, the allied forces' offensive at Hulao Pass has stalled, which is undoubtedly good news. Otherwise, if those outsiders continue to achieve great merits, I fear that in three to five years, there will be no place for us Jiangdong aristocratic families in Wu commandery."

As soon as these words were spoken, quite a few people nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps these words are harsh, but if Liu Xuande is not defeated at Hulao Pass, I fear there will be no day when he will heavily rely on us."

"The fear is that if Liu Xuande succeeds in defeating Dong Zhuo, he will only rely more on those outsiders."

"It's useless to say more. The key now is how to make Liu Xuande understand that if he wants to control Wu commandery, he cannot do without us..."

"In my opinion, we should cut off Liu Xuande's supplies and then blame it on Mi Zhu."

"Are you crazy? If we really cut off Liu Xuande's supplies directly, even if Liu Xuande is benevolent, he will definitely start a massacre when he returns. How many heads will be enough to chop off?"

What forced these aristocratic families to band together was undoubtedly the group of civil and military officials under Liu Bei, led by Li Ji, who were not from Yang province.

Generally speaking, in conflicts between local and foreign factions, the local faction usually has the advantage.

However, under Liu Bei's rule, the local faction was so suppressed that it could hardly breathe, and could only band together to survive.

Those discussions were also constantly reaching the ears of Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong.

"Everyone, please listen to me."

Zhang Zhao tapped on the table, and as the noise in the room gradually subsided, he spoke.

"Lord is deceived by Li Ji, and insists on leading troops thousands of miles away to attack Dong Zhuo, what a waste of manpower and resources! Of course, Li Ji is good at bewitching."

"But when we delve into the root cause, the key undoubtedly lies in the fact that Li Ji is someone who rose with the lord, and has close personal relationships with the generals Zhao Zilong, Guan Yunchang, Zhang Yide, etc., whom the lord relies on."

"Military power is of utmost importance!"

This was the conclusion that Zhang Zhao had reached after much painful consideration.

Normally speaking, the "art of checks and balances" is the way to control subordinates, but under Liu Bei, Li Ji simultaneously holds both military and political power. Is this reasonable?

It's very unreasonable!

In the end, Zhang Zhao gradually understood why his lord would allow Li Ji to hold such great power without checks and balances, and even why Liu Bei did not support him when Zhang Zhao took the initiative to openly oppose Li Ji.

The key lies in... military power!

Zhang Zhao only has achievements in government affairs, how can he check and balance Li Ji, who is regarded as a god by Liu Bei's generals?

When everyone present heard Zhang Zhao's words, their expressions were also shocked.

Zhang Hong frowned and asked.

"Zibu, before the lord left Wu commandery, he entrusted the tiger seal to Xiahou Bo. How could Xiahou Bo help our Jiangdong aristocratic families? Without the tiger seal, how can we seize military power?"

Zhang Zhao got up and slowly paced, walked to a candle, and said in a deep voice. "Normal methods will naturally not work, so a very abnormal situation is needed..."

"If foreign enemies invade Wu commandery, Xiahou Bo is just a reckless warrior. He can command a few hundred people at most, how can he understand the art of war?"

"Gu Yuan Tan is also not good at strategy, Mi Zhu, Jian Yong, and Sun Qian are all mediocre..."

Listening to Zhang Zhao speaking here, Zhang Hong did not forget to remind him. "Zibu, don't forget that there is also Jia Wenhe. This person can be entrusted by Li Ji to be the acting commandery administrator, so he should have some ability."

"Heh ~"

Zhang Zhao directly laughed and waved his hand, saying. "I have already investigated Jia Wenhe clearly. He is just a flatterer, not worth worrying about."

"Oh? But since he can be friends with Li Ji, he should not be an incompetent person," Zhang Hong cautiously reminded him.

"The reason why Li Ji values Jia Wenhe is only because Jia Wenhe saved him when he was young, and it is also for this reason that Jia Wenhe was recommended to the lord by Li Ji..."

After a pause, Zhang Zhao spoke as if he knew the situation like the back of his hand.

"The reason why Jia Wenhe can now hold a high position in the government office is that Li Ji has repeatedly used his position for personal gain and had Jia Wenhe take the credit."

"Before the lord arrived in Wu commandery to take office, Li Ji dispatched Jia Xu to come ahead to scout the way, but as a result, bandits rose up in the commandery, and Jia Wenhe shrank back in the city and did nothing;"

"In the second year of Zhongping, there was a major disaster in the Central Plains, and refugees poured south in large numbers. Li Ji sent Jia Wenhe to supervise the grain and grass, but as a result, he almost caused a refugee riot due to sand and gravel mixed in the thin porridge, fortunately, the lord went to appease them in time..."

"Even so, Li Ji still tried his best to protect Jia Wenhe, and under the pretext of borrowing grain and resettling refugees, he sent Jia Wenhe to various commanderies in Yang province as an envoy, which resulted in Guo Yi of Kuaiji commandery leading troops to invade Qiantang county."

"After that, in order to protect Jia Wenhe, Li Ji did not hesitate to let Jia Wenhe pretend to be sick for more than a year and not show up in front of others, until he led troops to Yingzhou, he hurriedly took Jia Wenhe with him to share the credit."

"Can the above not explain that Jia Wenhe is just an incompetent flatterer?"

When these events were told by Zhang Zhao, whether it was Zhang Hong or the other heads of aristocratic families, besides nodding in agreement, it was difficult to find even a trace of evidence to refute.

The main thing is that every matter that Jia Xu was responsible for seemed to have Li Ji's shadow in it.

Even for many of the problems that erupted, Jia Xu seemed to have an undeniable responsibility in them.

In addition, Jia Xu's gentle and harmless demeanor of a plump gentleman on weekdays did indeed make it difficult for people to raise even a trace of vigilance.

However, after Zhang Zhao's analysis, in addition to despising and belittling Jia Xu, many people present also felt a sense of envy, jealousy, and hatred towards Jia Xu.

Many Jiangdong aristocratic families hoped to occupy Jia Xu's position, and secretly spent countless resources and efforts for it.

However, for Jia Xu, he just ate, drank, and lay down comfortably every day, and mixed into this position.

Some heads of aristocratic families felt indignant and rebuked. "Li Zikun is a malignant tumor! If he uses his position for personal gain like this, he will harm Lord Liu sooner or later..."

"For the sake of Lord Liu's great cause, for the sake of the development of Wu commandery, we must not let Li Ji be so reckless and appoint people based on favoritism!"

"What a pity! If Li Ji was willing to take my daughter as a concubine, then Jia Xu's position might be mine..."

Suddenly, in a chorus of condemning Li Ji, someone uttered a rather discordant voice, causing the discussion in the room to pause.

This sentence undoubtedly opened up a new line of thought for the aristocratic families present, causing the original united mind to seem to begin to diverge.

As long as Li Ji becomes one of their own, then what was originally condemned by the Jiangdong aristocratic families as nepotism, holding power alone, and acting recklessly would undoubtedly be naked advantages!

Seeing that the gazes of some heads of aristocratic families began to wander, Zhang Hong's voice sank slightly and said.

"Don't mention words that affect unity anymore. If Li Ji intends to coexist harmoniously with us, do you think Li Ji would not think of the method of marriage?"

"That's right..."

Zhang Zhao also let out a contemptuous laugh and said. "Li Ji obviously has never taken you seriously. It is meaningless for you to take the initiative to approach him except to humiliate yourselves."

These two plain words also completely shattered the fantasies that some heads of aristocratic families had just raised in their hearts.

A head of an aristocratic family asked Zhang Zhao. "In that case, Zibu, do you already have a strategy in mind?"

"Naturally."

Zhang Zhao revealed a calm smile and said.

"When foreign enemies invade Wu commandery, Xiahou Bo, Jia Xu, and Gu Yong cannot resist. In times of crisis, our aristocratic families turn the tide, and military power will naturally be temporarily in our hands."

"At that time, we can not only take the opportunity to insert our cronies and support generals, but also let the lord know that Wu commandery is in danger and quickly withdraw his troops and return to Wu commandery."

"With this ebb and flow, Li Ji, who strongly supports the attack on Dong Zhuo, will have his prestige greatly reduced, while we will be the opposite. This is in line with the art of checks and balances, and the lord will also know that the support of the aristocratic families is indispensable."

(End of this chapter)