Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

However, just at that moment.

A gatekeeper rushed in and said.

"Master, a messenger has been sent by the Lord."

Instantly, the slight drunkenness on Gan Ning's face vanished, and his somewhat hazy eyes quickly regained clarity. He said loudly.

"Other matters can wait, let's hear what military orders the Lord has."

Immediately, Gan Ning strode off with the gatekeeper to meet the messenger, followed closely by Jiang Qin, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, and Jiang Zhi.

At such a time, an urgent order could only mean a major event was about to happen!

Thinking of this, everyone's expression became more serious.

The messenger sent by Liu Bei, upon seeing Gan Ning and Jiang Qin, swiftly conveyed Liu Bei's order, summoning them to his residence for an emergency meeting.

Summoning generals in the middle of the night likely meant war was imminent!

Although Gan Ning and Jiang Qin were both somewhat clueless, they dared not delay for a moment and headed straight for Liu Bei's residence.

After pondering for a while, Zhou Yu analyzed the known state of the world and still couldn't deduce why Gan Ning and Jiang Qin were being urgently summoned.

'Could it be... a powerful family in Yang Province has launched a rebellion? Hence, Gan Ning and Jiang Qin are being ordered to quickly lead troops to suppress it?'

However, in an instant, Zhou Yu dismissed this guess.

Not to mention that the powerful families in Yang Province had almost completely lost their ability to cause unrest, Liu Bei had also completely taken control of the military power of the various commanderies in Yang Province. The powerful families in Yang Province simply couldn't stir up any trouble.

Furthermore, Gan Ning and Jiang Qin were both naval commanders...

Suddenly, a bold guess emerged in Zhou Yu's mind.

'Could it be that Liu Biao of Jing Province had a moment of madness and actively sent a naval force down the Yangtze River to launch a surprise attack on Wu Commandery?'

In Zhou Yu's view, the probability of this guess was also very low, but it seemed to be the only plausible reason at the moment.

With this thought, Zhou Yu quickly informed Sun Ce of his guess.

Immediately, Sun Ce, who had been somewhat confused and preparing to return home, had a glint of red in his eyes.

If it were anything else, Sun Ce might not be interested, but at the thought of fighting Liu Biao, Sun Ce could hardly contain himself.

Immediately, almost before Zhou Yu could offer any advice, Sun Ce jumped on his horse and pulled Zhou Yu up with him, galloping towards Liu Bei's residence.

While Gan Ning and the others arrived at Liu Bei's residence first, Sun Ce arrived closely behind with Zhou Yu.

Without Liu Bei's permission, it was naturally impossible to allow Sun Ce and Zhou Yu to barge in rashly. Sun Ce could only ask Gan Ning on the spot to request Liu Bei's permission for them to participate in the emergency meeting.

However, when Liu Bei heard that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were also waiting outside the residence, hoping to participate in the emergency meeting, he subconsciously asked a question.

"Were you all gathering together when the messenger arrived?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qin immediately felt a cold sweat, fearing that Gan Ning's mouth would blurt out something he shouldn't.

Gan Ning, however, seemed to notice nothing and replied directly.

"That's right. Gongyi, Sun Ce, and I were just discussing the capping ceremony when we heard the Lord's summons and came to see you directly. Sun Ce probably thought something major had happened, so he followed along."

Liu Bei nodded, but was somewhat hesitant about whether to allow Sun Ce to participate.

At this moment, Li Ji, who was in the council hall with his back to everyone, studying the charts and routes on the sewn-together cloth, said.

"Lord, let Sun Ce and Zhou Yu in as well."

"Then let it be as Zikun says."

Liu Bei said, signaling to Xiahou Bo.

Soon, Xiahou Bo sent someone to bring Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, who were waiting outside the residence, in.

After a while, Xu Sheng, who was farther away, also arrived in a hurry.

However, unlike Gan Ning and the others, Xu Sheng was fully armored when he arrived, obviously prepared to go to war at any time. This made Liu Bei secretly praise him and said to Li Ji in a low voice.

"Wenxiang has the style of Rang Ju."

This evaluation was extremely high.

Mentioning Tian Rang Ju by name might not ring a bell for many people, but he was ranked alongside Zhuge Liang as one of the Ten Philosophers of the Military Temple.

However, based on Xu Sheng's style and ability, he certainly deserved this evaluation.

Gan Ning and Jiang Qin were both talented generals, but Li Ji saw Xu Sheng as a commander like Guan Yu, capable of leading an army independently.

Xu Sheng, wearing armor, walked into the council hall and bowed respectfully to Liu Bei, saying.

"Xu Sheng greets the Lord. I don't know if there is an urgent war, so I came in armor in a hurry. Please forgive me, Lord."

"What crime does Wenxiang have? Please rise quickly and take a seat," Liu Bei said with satisfaction.

"Yes."

Xu Sheng responded and went directly to his assigned seat.

Then, Liu Bei spoke.

"The reason for summoning everyone late at night is that there is a matter of utmost urgency."

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere in the council hall visibly tightened.

"A rebel named Qu Lian rebelled in the second year of Yonghe, splitting the land of the great Han and proclaiming himself 'King of Linyi'. I intend to send troops to conquer Linyi, comfort the people and punish the guilty, so that Linyi can return to the great Han and uphold the majesty of the great Han."

At first, everyone's first reaction was who was so bold as to directly declare himself king at this time? This was an achievement that even Dong Zhuo had not yet accomplished.

Then, after everyone came to their senses...

The second year of Yonghe?!

Huh???

It was already the second year of Chuping.

Zhou Yu, who knew the order of the reign years like the back of his hand, almost instantly calculated that it was fifty-four years ago.

If we calculate roughly with fifteen years as a generation, that was almost four generations ago.

Even if the others reacted a little slower, they generally knew that "Yonghe" was the reign title of Emperor Shun of Han, and there had been five emperors since Emperor Shun of Han.

This time... wasn't it a little too long ago?

Even the aggressive Gan Ning felt a little confused and couldn't understand how that Qu Lian, who was probably already in the ground, had offended his lord, causing his lord to settle accounts after so long.

King of Linyi?

Kingdom of Linyi?

'I've never even heard of these names. Where are they hiding?'

Gan Ning muttered to himself, then asked, "May I ask, Lord, where is that Kingdom of Linyi?"

Li Ji pointed to the now-hanging sea chart and tapped the location of Linyi with his folding fan, saying.

"Linyi is located here."

Everyone present could be considered naval commanders, so naturally, they could understand the sea chart.

Although the sea chart brought back by Liu Ji was quite simple, it was enough to indicate the location and distance of the Kingdom of Linyi.

With just a rough estimate, one could conclude that the distance from Wu Commandery to Linyi was almost the same as the distance to Yingzhou.

It wasn't that the shipbuilding technology of Wu Commandery was insufficient to reach the Kingdom of Linyi, but the impression of Jiaozhou in the eyes of the Han people didn't need to be said, let alone the Kingdom of Linyi south of Jiaozhou.

The generals, including Sun Ce, naturally didn't dare to directly question Liu Bei.

However, seeing all this, Zhou Yu couldn't help but feel a sense of militarism.

Although Wu Commandery was quite prosperous under Liu Bei's rule, it was because Li Ji had the ability to govern the world.

But what was the point of going thousands of miles to conquer such a small country, and in such a harsh environment, even if the conquest was successful, except for spending countless money and food?

Zhou Yu, who had not yet sworn allegiance to Liu Bei, hesitated slightly, stood up, and said. "Imperial Uncle Liu, Yu has something to say, but I don't know if I should."

Liu Bei nodded and said. "Speak freely."

Immediately, Zhou Yu said loudly.

"Linyi is a small country. Although it has offended the majesty of our great Han, it was split from Jiaozhou. In terms of both emotion and reason, Imperial Uncle Liu shouldn't take the initiative to conquer it."

"It would be better to report it to the imperial court, and then let the imperial court allow Jiaozhou to quell this chaos on its own, and bring Linyi back into Han territory. This is the best policy."

Of course, these were just nice-sounding words of advice.

If Jiaozhou had the ability to quell Qu Lian's rebellion, Qu Lian wouldn't have rebelled and declared himself "King of Linyi" in the second year of Yonghe, and they wouldn't have failed to retake the Kingdom of Linyi after five emperors.

On the one hand, the Han officials in Jiaozhou were undoubtedly seriously slacking off; on the other hand, the internal situation in Jiaozhou was complex, and they simply couldn't conquer Linyi.

Therefore, Zhou Yu's implication was almost equivalent to advising Liu Bei not to meddle in other people's affairs.

Moreover, the Kingdom of Linyi was so remote that even if troops were sent to conquer it, it would cost money and food. Jiaozhou simply had no ability to manage it, and Yang Province couldn't directly control such an enclave thousands of miles away.

The other generals present also agreed with Zhou Yu's words in their hearts.

The expedition to Yingzhou that year was not only based on righteousness but also because they knew that Yingzhou was full of gold and silver, so it won the support of everyone from top to bottom.

Linyi?

What did Linyi have that was worth the great Han using troops for such a long expedition?

"Lord, what Zhou Yu said is not entirely correct, but it also makes some sense."

The boldest Gan Ning also spoke.

"Conquering Linyi now is of no benefit. It's better to wait until the Lord unifies the world. With just an order, Linyi will be enough to surrender."

"At that time, if Linyi doesn't surrender, I am willing to lead elite soldiers to destroy its state, destroy its ancestral temples, and bind the descendants of the traitor Qu Lian to be slaves in the great Han for eternity."

Seeing this, Liu Bei raised his hand slightly and said.

"I naturally understand what you all mean, but the Kingdom of Linyi has been the territory of our great Han since ancient times. If I don't take it back to the great Han, I will have no face to face my ancestors under the Nine Springs."

"Moreover, the Kingdom of Linyi has a high-yielding rice. If we can retrieve a large number of rice seeds, the great Han may no longer have to worry about famine."