Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

The intelligence gathering capabilities of the Embroidered Uniform Guard within Yangzhou are undoubtedly the most powerful.

It can be said that the government offices and aristocratic families in the various counties of Yangzhou have been infiltrated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard as thoroughly as sieves.

While the prefects and aristocratic families of the various counties of Yangzhou were seemingly secretly gathering their forces, a steady stream of intelligence was constantly converging within Wu Commandery.

This so-called "Anti-Wu Allied Army" had not yet convened, and the prefects and aristocratic families of the various counties who were to attend the meeting did not yet know the specific strength of their forces after the alliance. Jia Xu, on the other hand, had already estimated a relatively accurate number through the intelligence gathered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

A force of 130,000 troops, with a deviation of no more than two thousand or so.

This was undoubtedly a considerable number. Divided among the counties of Lujiang, Jiujiang, Danyang, and Yuzhang, each county had drawn out more than 30,000 troops.

It should be known that even with the influence of Liu Bei and Li Ji, the population of these four counties had increased somewhat in recent years due to the migration of refugees from other directions of the Yangtze River into the interior of Yangzhou.

However, due to the abilities of the county prefects, local governance, resettlement policies, and other factors, the actual population growth was naturally far less than that of Wu and Kuaiji Commanderies. Therefore, the registered population of these four counties fluctuated around 800,000.

Given the population base of these four counties, coupled with the fact that the logistics of the allied forces also required the mobilization of a large amount of labor to maintain, being able to concentrate more than 130,000 troops necessarily meant that the newly appointed prefects of these four counties all realized that figures like Liu Bei could no longer be allowed to exist in Jiangdong.

Otherwise, these newly appointed prefects, who had been installed by Dong Zhuo, would have no place to stand. Therefore, they had concentrated all the county troops that could be mobilized in a short period of time.

In addition, the large numbers of slaves and able-bodied men concentrated by the aristocratic families of these four counties also provided a large source of soldiers and logistical labor.

Jia Xu flipped through the intelligence brought by Xiahou Bo, which detailed the extent of the efforts made by the aristocratic families of each county.

Not to mention the concentrated slaves and local able-bodied men, each family also provided a large amount of money and food…

Such concerted efforts between the aristocratic families and the government were only the second time Jia Xu had seen such a situation since the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The last time such a grand occasion occurred was when Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, raised his army to conquer the world.

Countless aristocratic families were forced to support the various rebel armies due to Wang Mang's measures to change royal lands into private lands, and to change aristocratic family slaves into private property, which almost dug up the roots of the aristocratic families.

"Interesting."

The more Jia Xu read, the more interesting he found the situation.

No matter how times changed, it seemed that one could always see similar shadows from history.

With Wu and Kuaiji Commanderies being empty, some aristocratic families colluding with the enemy from within, and the Liu Bei group's disregard for the Jiangdong aristocratic families, the appearance of improved paper and printing techniques, were the Jiangdong aristocratic families planning to imitate their ancestors at the end of the Western Han Dynasty?

Unfortunately, the Jiangdong aristocratic families were not the aristocratic families of the late Western Han Dynasty, and Liu Bei and Li Ji were not Wang Mang. The righteousness was instead in the hands of Liu Bei and Li Ji!

A smile appeared on Jia Xu's face. After careful consideration, he had an idea in his mind and muttered to himself.

"It's harmful to heavenly harmony…"

However, Jia Xu would not have the slightest bit of softheartedness.

If something really went wrong, Jia Xu suspected that Li Ji, that little brat, would directly exile him to Yingzhou for three to five years, which would be harmful to Wenhe.

At this moment, Jia Xu was in the side hall of the Wu Commandery government office, where Liu Bei and Li Ji usually handled official business. Xiahou Bo and Jia Mu were also waiting in the room.

Xiahou Bo and Jia Mu didn't quite hear what Jia Xu muttered in a low voice.

Therefore, Xiahou Bo subconsciously asked.

"What friendly merchant?"

"It's nothing."

Jia Xu casually brushed off the topic, then looked at Xiahou Bo with a smile and asked.

"More than 100,000 troops are coming to attack. Ji Chang, what are your thoughts?"

Xiahou Bo pondered slightly upon hearing this…

Jia Mu secretly observed Xiahou Bo out of the corner of his eye. As a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Jia Mu had very little direct contact with this immediate superior, so he was quite eager to know if Xiahou Bo had any brilliant ideas.

After a long while, Xiahou Bo opened his mouth with a calm and determined expression.

"Mr. Zikun instructed that in matters of war, one should listen more to Chief Clerk Jia's words. Although the enemy is numerous, I believe that Chief Clerk Jia has the trust of Mr. Zikun and must have a grasp of the situation. Chief Clerk Jia, please speak freely, and Bo will fully carry out your orders."

As soon as these words came out, Jia Mu was stunned, while a smile appeared on Jia Xu's face.

It seemed that Xiahou Bo didn't say anything, but in fact, he said everything.

Unlike Jia Mu, who felt that this immediate superior of his was somewhat unworthy of his reputation, Jia Xu felt that Xiahou Bo was not necessarily not a smart person.

Xiahou Bo was not good at military affairs, so even though Xiahou Bo held the military talisman left by Liu Bei, he directly stated that he would not directly interfere with the decisions made by Jia Xu.

However, this did not mean that Xiahou Bo unconditionally supported Jia Xu. Instead, he directly stated that Xiahou Bo was following Li Ji's orders, so he also meant to supervise Jia Xu.

'Seemingly foolish, but actually clever!'

This was Jia Xu's evaluation of Xiahou Bo at this moment.

Of course, this cleverness did not refer to Xiahou Bo's cleverness in using schemes and strategies, but rather a cleverness in not interfering in unfamiliar fields, being very self-aware, and adhering to his loyalty and duty.

However, in addition to serving as Liu Bei's personal guard, Xiahou Bo also controlled an intelligence agency. If he were not such a smart person, he probably would not have lived long.

Now that the tiger tally was in Xiahou Bo's hands, Jia Xu also needed to confirm whether he could get Xiahou Bo's full support.

Immediately, Jia Xu pondered slightly, and then his seemingly gentle and harmless face slowly opened his mouth.

"Now that foreign enemies are imminent, and there are aristocratic families in Wu and Kuaiji Commanderies colluding with them from within, the situation is critical and cannot be delayed. We must quickly summon the military households of the two Commanderies to immediately assemble and reorganize their troops, so as to resist the enemy outside at any time, and not allow the foreign enemies to set foot in Wu and Kuaiji Commanderies."

"In addition, Ji Chang also needs to strictly control the spread of rumors under his rule, and must not allow any unrest to occur under his rule. Especially those aristocratic families must be closely monitored, and if there is any substantial change… kill."

Jia Xu's tone was quite calm, and he didn't even raise his eyelids.

Xiahou Bo frowned slightly and confirmed again. "Chief Clerk Jia, this… what level does 'kill' refer to? Is it killing the part that is acting suspiciously, or…"

"The nine generations involve too many people. Within the three generations… let's kill them all," Jia Xu replied without thinking.

Three generations?

That was almost completely uprooting an aristocratic family and slaughtering them cleanly.

Slaughtering aristocratic families!

This was quite a shocking idea, so much so that Xiahou Bo hesitated a little.

Jia Mu was also greatly surprised and quickly reminded him. "Father, if we slaughter an aristocratic family for no reason, this news will inevitably be difficult to cover up, and may cause a great uproar."

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu's gentle and harmless expression did not change in the slightest. He merely turned slightly to look at Jia Mu and asked.

"Then, Mu'er, how do you think it would be reasonable to remove an aristocratic family?"

Faced with Jia Xu's examination, Jia Mu thought for a long time before cautiously answering.

"At least there must be conclusive evidence, such as monitoring the aristocratic families in the county with external looseness and internal tightness, and even appropriately giving them some opportunities to collude with foreign enemies from within and without, so that…"

Before Jia Mu could finish speaking, the gentleness on Jia Xu's face disappeared completely, and his raised eyelids revealed a chilling calmness, interrupting him.

"Stupid!"

Perhaps because Jia Xu's physique had become increasingly round and harmless, even Jia Mu had gradually lost too much of his guard and awe towards Jia Xu, his father.

So much so that when Jia Xu's expression changed so much, Jia Mu subconsciously recalled Jia Xu's past terror. His heart was filled with fear, and he almost instinctively knelt down to Jia Xu to admit his mistake.

And Jia Xu looked deeply at Jia Mu, who had a look of fear, and slowly opened his mouth.

"Mu'er."

"Yes, Father," Jia Mu replied.

Jia Xu said in a deep voice. "Remember, if you can be reused by the lord in the future, you can govern, you can assist and cooperate with others, but you must not be a strategist, nor can you be a main general."

This evaluation was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for Jia Mu, almost directly stating that Jia Mu was not capable of great things.

This made Jia Mu, who had lived in Jia Xu's shadow since he was a child, even forget his awe of Jia Xu for a moment, and subconsciously asked.

"Why?!"

"An incompetent general will exhaust the three armies; a unwise strategist will ruin the chances of survival."

Jia Xu sneered and said, before explaining.

"Wu Commandery, what place is this? This is where the lord's foundation lies, how can we allow the slightest loss!"

"Why did Li Zikun lead his troops to resist the Shanyue and Kuaiji Guo Yi outside of Wu Commandery, and not allow them to set foot in the territory for even half a step? What is the reason?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Mu opened his mouth. Naturally, dozens of benefits could be thought of in an instant, but he also thought of many reasons to refute.

The most important point was that Jia Mu felt that his father, Jia Xu, was not Mr. Zikun.

Mr. Zikun could use weak forces to firmly resist foreign enemies for several months, repeatedly anticipating the enemy's moves. In the end, he borrowed the wedding to lure Guo Yi into a trap, assisted by the Qiantang River and large ships, before defeating the enemy in one fell swoop and laying the foundation for victory.

In Jia Mu's opinion, his old father's schemes might be ruthless and experienced, but compared to Mr. Zikun, he was far inferior.

In a situation where he might not be able to quell the external chaos with thunderous momentum, if he slaughtered an aristocratic family for no reason, not to mention how far-reaching the impact would be, it would inevitably cause the remaining aristocratic families in Wu and Kuaiji Commanderies to feel insecure.

At that time, it was very likely that many of the aristocratic families who had originally joined Liu Bei would be completely forced to rebel, which would be a great disaster.

It's just that Jia Mu perhaps didn't dare to speak those words aloud, but the expression revealed between his brows undoubtedly overflowed with dissatisfaction.

However, how could Jia Mu's unusual expression escape the eyes of Jia Xu, who was carefully observing him?

Jia Xu suddenly felt that this eldest son, whom he had always perceived as respecting Confucianism and being filial, seemed to deviate somewhat from what he had imagined.

‘At least… a bit rebellious and unfilial…’

While Jia Xu was secretly thinking this, he spoke.

“Mu'er, remember this well: in your actions, never be indecisive. In chaotic times, severe measures should be used. Why risk internal strife to deal with the influential families?”

“Finding an excuse to slaughter the influential families is actually very simple. In fact, your father believes that three words are enough: ‘groundless accusation.’”

As soon as these three words were uttered, not to mention Jia Mu, even Xiahou Bo's heart skipped a beat.

It wasn't that this excuse was particularly brilliant, but rather that these three words were enough to illustrate that Jia Xu's moral bottom line was so low that it simply defied imagination, and he didn't care at all about so-called rules. (End of Chapter)