Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

Zhou Yu knew that Li Ji was one of the foremost intellectuals of the time.

But precisely because of this, Zhou Yu was certain that, with Li Ji's wisdom, there was no reason for him to refuse.

Initially, Zhou Yu genuinely believed that Sun Ce had fully inherited Li Ji's true teachings, and that his intelligence was no less than his own.

Therefore, in Sun Ce's presence, he was not only cautious in everything he did, but also willingly regarded him as an elder brother.

However, this misunderstanding might only last for a while.

After Zhou Yu spent a few more days with Sun Ce, the vast chasm in intelligence between them quickly made Zhou Yu realize that he had perhaps overthought things.

Of course, although Zhou Yu had completely seen through Sun Ce, he was also deeply impressed by Sun Ce's heroic spirit, so Zhou Yu did not regret becoming sworn brothers with Sun Ce.

It was just that Sun Ce, as a disciple of a great scholar, excelled in military affairs and bravery, but uniquely lacked strategic acumen, which was quite strange.

This made Zhou Yu speculate a great deal, and after repeatedly inquiring about Sun Ce's interpersonal relationships and family background, he came to a single, reasonable conclusion.

The reason Li Ji initially took Sun Ce as a disciple was merely to appease the Wu Commandery aristocratic families, merely to win over Sun Jian for Liu Bei; everything he did was based on political interests.

Therefore, even though Sun Ce had studied under Li Ji for many years and had a normal IQ, he could not learn even a bit of strategic planning.

This gave Zhou Yu a sense of crisis, realizing that although Sun Ce was Li Ji's disciple, Sun Ce was probably just a pawn in Li Ji's eyes, and his position in Liu Bei's group was not secure at all.

With the defeat of the Allied Army against Wu and the death of Sun Jian, Zhou Yu felt that Sun Ce's value in Li Ji's eyes was probably dwindling.

Therefore, whether it was for the sake of his sworn brother's future or for the opportunity to display his talents, Zhou Yu offered Sun Ce the strategy of conquering the four commanderies of Jingnan to avenge Sun Jian.

And in Zhou Yu's view, this was undoubtedly the best time.

Taking advantage of the fact that Li Ji had not yet completely subdued and controlled the aristocratic families of Yang Province, taking advantage of the fact that Sun Jian's death was recent and he still needed to consider some face and affection, taking advantage of the fact that Li Ji currently needed a strategy to weaken Jing Province…

Considering all these factors, there was no reason for Li Ji to refuse Sun Ce's request for troops.

In terms of advantages and disadvantages, this plan was beneficial to Yang Province, to Liu Bei, and to Li Ji, with no harm whatsoever.

As for Sun Ce, as long as he could borrow troops to go to the four commanderies of Jingnan, it would be like a dragon returning to the sea, with great potential.

As for whether Li Ji would feel that Sun Ce's departure would create an uncontrollable situation, and then become wary and unwilling to lend troops, Zhou Yu believed that this possibility was minimal.

In Li Ji's eyes, Sun Ce excelled in military affairs and bravery but lacked strategic thinking, and he was quite aware of Sun Ce's emphasis on loyalty, so he would certainly not be overly vigilant.

Moreover, Zhou Yu's own reputation was not prominent.

Even if Zhou Yu considered himself to have the talent to plan strategies in the tent, he was unknown to outsiders, had never even revealed a bit of it, and was even less likely to be wary of by Li Ji.

The retainers gathered under Sun Ce, such as Huang Gai, Zu Mao, and Han Dang, might be pioneers, but they could not be truly valued by figures like Li Ji.

Therefore, Zhou Yu was confident that Li Ji would generally test him out, then say some hypocritical words of solicitation, and ultimately would happily place Sun Ce in the four commanderies of Jingnan like a pawn.

At least, if he were in Li Ji's position, judging by reason, Zhou Yu would not refuse Sun Ce's proposal either.

In these few breaths, perhaps there were only three people in the room, but it could be said that there were eight hundred schemes constantly flashing.

Li Ji had four hundred, Zhou Yu had three hundred and ninety-nine, and Sun Ce had only one…

Perhaps Zhou Yu considered many things, but Sun Ce really came to ask his elder for comfort and recognition.

And after a deliberate probing, Li Ji had already discerned Sun Ce and Zhou Yu's thoughts to a great extent.

After a few breaths, Li Ji, with a gentle and composed demeanor, spoke.

"What Zhou Lang said is very reasonable.

A mere three thousand soldiers, avenging my father is both filial piety and great righteousness.

If I tell the lord, the lord will not refuse."

"Moreover, Ce'er going to attack the four commanderies of Jingnan is beneficial to Yang Province in every way.

It can both cause internal strife in Jing Province, making it difficult to harass Yang Province, and allow the lord to control and develop Yang Province, gaining a lot of time."

The essence of Jing Province was in the three commanderies of Jingbei.

The four commanderies of Jingnan were far inferior to Jingbei in terms of population and economy, and the terrain was much harsher, and they were also heavily looted by many barbarian tribes.

Among them, Wuling Commandery in the four commanderies of Jingnan had a registered population of only about 250,000.

However, once Sun Ce really entered Changsha in the name of his father, and then quickly began to sweep the four commanderies of Jingnan, Liu Biao would definitely not be indifferent, and would definitely send troops to attack Sun Ce.

But the time difference between them, with the abilities of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, was likely to be enough to completely establish a foothold in the four commanderies of Jingnan, and enough to completely drag Jing Province into the quagmire of war.

In troubled times, it was naturally better for the neighbor to be weaker.

Therefore, Li Ji's straightforwardness surprised Zhou Yu.

'Is he not even pretending anymore?'

Zhou Yu secretly judged.

Still immersed in grief and indignation, Sun Ce looked up at Li Ji and asked.

"Teacher, so you also support me going to the four commanderies of Jingnan?"

However, to Sun Ce and Zhou Yu's surprise, Li Ji shook his head and said.

"What I want to tell Ce'er is that if we stand from the perspective of interests and official matters, not only should I not oppose it, but I should strongly support Ce'er going to the four commanderies of Jingnan."

"However, if we stand from a personal perspective, I don't want Ce'er to go to the four commanderies of Jingnan."

Sun Ce suppressed his tears and asked.

"Why?"

Li Ji said softly.

"Because once Ce'er leaves, the lord, based on the affection of the same clan, will have to completely sever ties with Ce'er, and I will no longer be able to shield Ce'er from the wind and rain."

Upon hearing this, Sun Ce was even more moved.

However, Sun Ce had never been a timid and fearful person, and immediately gritted his teeth and replied.

"I am not afraid!"

Li Ji stared at Sun Ce, suddenly reached out and touched the top of Sun Ce's head, and said.

"Ce'er has grown up, his temperament is commendable, I am very gratified…"

After a pause, Li Ji continued.

"Ce'er, after returning to Wu Commandery, you can already stand on your own.

Let me personally perform the coming-of-age ceremony for you."

Listening to Li Ji's words, Sun Ce's heart was filled with complex emotions, including gratitude.

A smile quietly appeared on the corner of Zhou Yu's mouth, feeling that everything in front of him was within expectations.

The coming-of-age ceremony was probably Li Ji's last attempt to win over Sun Ce.

After Sun Ce's coming-of-age ceremony, Li Ji would allow Sun Ce's request for troops, placing Sun Ce in the four commanderies of Jingnan like a pawn.

And Sun Ce, as a pawn, would have the opportunity to return to the sea.