Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

Of course, the majority of the aristocratic families present were completely panicked!

If it were merely a symbolic drawing of swords, one could say it was a bluff, an attempt to intimidate them and seize greater benefits from the Yangzhou aristocratic families.

But blood had already been drawn, and one person had even been chopped to death on the spot…

Nothing makes a person's eyes clearer than blood.

Some of the more timid members of the aristocratic families almost subconsciously shouted, "Run away!" and turned to flee to the rear.

However, the aristocratic families, already surrounded, had no chance to escape.

Faced with the Wu County elites who were surrounding them, maintaining their battle formation and closing in step by step, the aristocratic families instinctively shrank back, their faces pale with despair, the swords they clutched in their hands failing to bring them even a shred of security.

Li Ji's resolute order, the expressionless faces of the soldiers pressing closer step by step, and the corpses of several aristocratic sons who had retreated too slowly and been hacked to death on the spot, made them realize that Li Ji was not joking.

Surrounding and killing them was only the beginning; the next step would inevitably be their families!

At this moment, they truly felt what it meant to be powerless and desperate…

Li Ji could decide their life or death with a single word!

"He's gone mad!!"

"How dare Liu Xuande and Li Zikun…"

"Do they really want to kill us all?"

…

A cacophony of voices, a collection of pale faces.

The aristocratic families, who had intended to show goodwill to Liu Bei and incidentally try to glean some information from him, had never anticipated such a result.

Not only them, but even Liu Bei had not expected this at all.

Liu Bei's attitude towards the aristocratic families had always been somewhat unfavorable, but he also understood their importance…

Moreover, in Liu Bei's eyes, Li Ji had always been a kind, gentle, and refined gentleman, so he had not expected his bloodlust to be so great.

However, after a slight pause, Liu Bei did not express any intention to stop Li Ji.

In all matters, internal and external, where a decision is needed, consult Zikun.

This was Liu Bei's usual philosophy; as long as it did not involve principles or bottom lines, or Liu Bei himself had already made a final decision, he would respect Li Ji's attitude and opinions.

Perhaps Liu Bei practiced the way of benevolence and virtue, but he was by no means a foolish person.

However, just as Liu Bei was beginning to consider how to cooperate with Li Ji to handle the aftermath after thoroughly cleansing a portion of the aristocratic families on a large scale,

Li Ji, using the cover of his sleeve, gently tapped Liu Bei's waist a few times with his folding fan.

Almost instantly, without any verbal or eye contact between Liu Bei and Li Ji, Liu Bei instantly understood Li Ji's meaning.

And just then,

As the aristocratic families, crowded together and constantly retreating, were about to come into contact with the Wu County elites who were advancing step by step, and as the gleaming blades in the hands of the Wu County elites were about to truly fall upon the bodies of the Yangzhou aristocratic families in large numbers,

"Hold on!"

Under Liu Bei's command, who seemed to have suddenly reacted, the Wu County elites, who were trained to obey orders, stopped instantly.

Immediately, in front of a large number of Yangzhou aristocratic families, Liu Bei turned to Li Ji and said,

"Zikun, those who collude with the traitor Dong Zhuo should naturally be killed, but I also believe that there must be innocent people among them who have been coerced. How can innocent people be implicated?"

"Furthermore, some aristocratic families may have been forced by the governors appointed by Dong Zhuo to provide money and grain. Although their actions are hateful, they can also be considered excusable."

Li Ji heard this and cupped his fist, saying, "My lord, since ancient times, all those guilty of treason have been executed."

"Inappropriate, inappropriate…"

Liu Bei shook his head and said firmly, "If we execute everyone indiscriminately like this, it would violate the way of benevolence and virtue. We should carefully consider each case so that the people of the world are convinced."

Hearing this, the aristocratic families who were surrounded by heavy troops not far away, how could they not know how to seize the opportunity to kneel and beg for mercy?

Immediately, under the clear-headed rationality brought about by the gleaming blades, the aristocratic families almost chaotically spoke out to beg for mercy at the same time.

"What Imperial Uncle Liu said is absolutely right! The Chen family of Jiujiang was forced! This old man's heart is with Imperial Uncle Liu, with the great Han!"

"I swear to never coexist with the traitor Dong Zhuo, how could I collude with him? I'm wronged!"

"Imperial Uncle Liu, spare me…"

"Please give me some time, Imperial Uncle Liu, I can prove my innocence, I can prove my innocence…"

…

Listening to these humble pleas for mercy, Li Ji sneered inwardly.

Just now, those aristocratic families seemed to be humbly ingratiating themselves with Liu Bei, but in reality, they simply had not clearly understood their position as "fish meat."

Now, such an attitude could barely be considered acceptable, rather than the attitude of still seemingly relying on their strength, negotiating with Liu Bei, and unwillingly cutting off flesh to protect themselves.

However, the murderous look on Li Ji's face still did not dissipate in the slightest, and he mocked, "Forced? What a joke!"

Immediately, Li Ji gestured towards Guo Jia and said, "Fengxiao, bring the bamboo slips that I browsed on the chariot just now."

After Guo Jia brought the bamboo slips, Li Ji directly threw them fiercely in front of the old man who claimed to be from the Chen family of Jiujiang, and said coldly,

"You might as well take a look at the contents before speaking."

The bamboo slips hit the old man's forehead, causing blood to gush out, but the old man did not dare to show the slightest dissatisfaction at this moment. Instead, he hurriedly bent down and picked up the bamboo slips at a speed that was inconsistent with his age.

After the old man opened the bamboo slips, his face changed drastically, and his eyes were dazed.

Several members of the Jiujiang aristocratic family standing to the left and right of the old man also secretly glanced at the contents of the bamboo slips, and all of them experienced drastic changes in their expressions and violent tremors in their pupils.

What was mainly recorded on it was the record of the young men, money, and grain that the Chen family of Jiujiang had contributed to the anti-Wu coalition army, and the details were so detailed that it was staggering, as if everything had been carried out under the eyes of others.

This was also the reason why the old man of the Chen family of Jiujiang was dazed. With such ironclad detailed records, how could the Chen family of Jiujiang be able to quibble?

And since Li Ji had such clear detailed records of the Chen family of Jiujiang in his hands, how could he not have records of other aristocratic families?

At this moment, anyone who saw the detailed extent of the records no longer harbored the slightest bit of luck.

It even included the records of the Chen family of Jiujiang secretly meeting with whom to discuss the campaign against Wu. This could not have been collected on a whim, but rather indicated that the Yangzhou aristocratic families had been monitored in every move from beginning to end.

Just as the aristocratic families who saw the contents of the bamboo slips fell into a state of despair, Liu Bei spoke again.

"Zikun, the records we have obtained are one thing, but we cannot only believe one side of the story. We must not wrongly kill those who are loyal to the emperor and love the country. We should carefully distinguish each case and give them a chance to defend themselves."

Li Ji fell into contemplation, his cold gaze constantly sweeping over the group of aristocratic families in front of him.

Almost every person who was swept over by Li Ji's gaze felt so much pressure that their legs almost went weak, fearing that Li Ji would act arbitrarily.

After a moment, Li Ji turned to Liu Bei and cupped his fist in response, "I respectfully obey your lord's orders. I will definitely handle this carefully, so as not to tarnish your lord's reputation for benevolence and virtue."

"Very good."

Liu Bei replied with a smile, then looked at the aristocratic families and said gently,

"I do not know how I have offended you all in the past, so that you are so hostile to me that you even formed a rebellious alliance to attack Wu County…"

After a pause, Liu Bei continued, "If there is anything I have done that violates benevolence and virtue, you may all point it out to me in the future, and I will humbly listen."

"However, a country has its laws, and it is also true that you have participated in rebellious activities. I hope that you can cooperate with Zikun in investigating and verifying the facts. If there are extenuating circumstances, Zikun will definitely not violate my wishes and kill the innocent, but will only punish the leaders as a warning."

With such a sincere speech, no one could find any fault with Liu Bei.

In essence, the anti-Wu coalition army was an act by the Yangzhou aristocratic families who disregarded the overall situation and fought for power and profit for their own selfish desires;

From the perspective of the great Han, Liu Bei was the governor of Yangzhou, and the aristocratic families under his rule gathered to attack Liu Bei, which was an undeniable crime of rebellion, and it would not be an exaggeration to execute their entire families.

After Li Ji first set a tone of pursuing the matter to the end and exterminating everyone, Liu Bei dissuaded Li Ji, saying that he should try as much as possible to only punish the leaders and not harm the innocent. How could this not be called benevolence and virtue?

As for completely letting go of those who had rebelled, that was simply impossible.

If the end result for those who rebelled was that they were safe and sound, then this was no longer benevolence and virtue, but weakness and incompetence, setting an example for other ambitious people that rebellion was harmless.

After Liu Bei finished speaking, Li Ji's expression remained quite cold as he said,

"My lord is benevolent and wants to give you a chance to defend yourselves, then I will give you a chance. One month later, I will be waiting for you in Wu County to explain yourselves. I want to see how many extenuating circumstances there are."

"Of course, if anyone wants to take the opportunity to try to escape from Yangzhou, you might as well try…"

After saying this, Li Ji ignored these aristocratic families, whose faces were all ashen, and joined Liu Bei and Sun Ce and others who had come to greet him but could not squeeze in.

Immediately, under the leadership of Sun Ce, they headed towards the nearby Yangquan County for a short rest.

As for the group of aristocratic families left in place, it was not until the army had left for a while that some people gradually reacted.

Escape?

Not to mention that Yangzhou had already been initially controlled by Liu Bei, what was more important was that the aristocratic families of Yangzhou now clearly knew that their every move was being monitored.

Perhaps if they made any unusual moves today, swords and soldiers would arrive that night.

But how to preserve their families in Wu County a month later was a difficult problem!

Especially with Li Ji's detailed knowledge of how each aristocratic family participated in aiding the anti-Wu alliance, any attempt to conceal or argue would be utterly pointless.

However, the aristocratic families of Yang Province were certainly not lacking in intelligent individuals.

Whether it was Liu Bei or Li Ji, the underlying message they conveyed was: pardon those with extenuating circumstances and only punish the ringleaders.

The key undoubtedly lay in how to convince Liu Bei and Li Ji that there were extenuating circumstances.

"Reason? Fate?" (End of Chapter)