Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

"Firstly, Lord Yu's hands are chapped in many places, and there are traces of soil in the gaps of his fingernails, indicating that he must personally engage in farming year-round;"

"Secondly, official robes can be faked, but personal clothing is rarely counterfeited. Just now, I noticed that Lord Yu's undershirt is also mostly yellowed, which shows his usual frugality;"

"Thirdly, Lord Yu is cautious in his diet and behavior, and there is almost no food residue in the utensils he uses. This is also a kind of unconscious habit."

Finally, Zhou Yu, who had raised three fingers, concluded.

"Based on these three points, we can see what kind of character Lord Yu has. The possibility of such a person betraying his country for personal gain is extremely low. Moreover, if Lord Yu had obtained any benefits from the Kingdom of Linyi, he would not be so frugal."

After this series of analyses, even Gan Ning, who usually didn't see eye-to-eye with Zhou Yu, was greatly surprised and shocked.

Gan Ning couldn't help but ask, "I remember you, Gongjin, just toasted Lord Yu once, and the whole process took less than five breaths, right?"

Zhou Yu revealed a smile and nodded, admitting it.

Immediately, Gan Ning fell silent.

At least in terms of insight, Gan Ning admitted that he was far inferior to Zhou Yu.

"Impressive."

Gan Ning picked up a glass of wine, gestured towards Zhou Yu, and drank it all in one gulp, not without apologizing for his previous contempt for Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu also raised his glass in response and drank it all.

However, Gan Ning's next words made the smile on Zhou Yu's face freeze.

"You kid has some of the demeanor of Marquis Li back then. It's not in vain that the Marquis personally chose a courtesy name for you."

For Gan Ning, "similar to Li Ji" was an extremely high evaluation.

It was also because Gan Ning felt a bit embarrassed, coupled with Zhou Yu's young age, that Gan Ning praised him so much.

However, what Zhou Yu, who was extremely proud in his heart, couldn't bear to hear the most was undoubtedly this sentence.

Back then, after Zhou Yu returned to Lujiang from Luoyang, he went out to meet with the local aristocratic sons a few times, and then closed the door and no longer went out, instead focusing on studying.

Others might think that Zhou Yu simply felt that such gatherings were for pleasure and meaningless.

But what Zhou Yu was annoyed about was that others often praised Zhou Lang's appearance as comparable to Li Ji, but they didn't mention a word about Zhou Yu's musical skills and talent.

This made Zhou Yu feel like he was being praised on one hand, and being insulted on the other hand without being able to resist. So, he simply closed the door and focused on studying.

Now, this evaluation of "similar to Li Ji" made Zhou Yu equally unhappy.

If I, Zhou Gongjin, am only similar to Li Ji, then since there is already Li Ji in this world, why is there a need for me, Zhou Gongjin?

At this thought, Zhou Yu was so angry that his liver hurt a bit, but he couldn't vent it, and he had to continue to maintain his demeanor on his face.

Regarding Gan Ning's evaluation, Xu Sheng remained noncommittal and instead said, "Gongjin has such insight, I wonder how many spies and informants' nightmares he is."

"General Xu is too kind."

Zhou Yu heard this and quickly took the opportunity to change the subject, saying, "This is just my personal humble opinion, which can only be used for consideration. Whether we can trust Lord Yu still requires a real investigation."

"How to investigate?" Xu Sheng asked.

Zhou Yu, who had already prepared a draft in his mind, spoke eloquently.

"Since Lord Yu allows us to rest in Rinan Commandery, then we should take the opportunity of resting to send people to the administrative seat to inquire about Lord Yu's official reputation and conduct."

"On the one hand, we can take advantage of the night to secretly send a few fast ships south, directly to the border between Rinan Commandery and the Kingdom of Linyi to investigate and confirm whether there have been any conflicts or trade between the two sides in recent years."

"In this way, we can know whether Lord Yu is trustworthy, and we can also initially understand the situation of the Kingdom of Linyi and Rinan Commandery."

Xu Sheng pondered for a while and found that this method was indeed quite appropriate.

The wind and sea currents had been quite favorable along the way, and it had taken nearly a month to reach Rinan Commandery. With a great battle imminent, the soldiers under his command also needed a period of time to rest.

If the Yu Kingdom was trustworthy, it would also be a great help in conquering the Kingdom of Linyi.

As a general, Gan Ning naturally considered only attacking.

But as the commander-in-chief, Xu Sheng also needed to consider all aspects, minimize the casualties of his generals and soldiers as much as possible, and allow more soldiers to return to Yangzhou.

Xu Sheng made the final decision and decided, "Then we will do as Gongjin says, and I won't bother the two of you with the matter of dispatching spies. Gongjin will select soldiers to investigate."

Although Xu Sheng intended to have the soldiers complete their rest as soon as possible, because there was no natural port along the coast of Xijuan, the administrative seat of Rinan Commandery, and because he was leading troops abroad, Xu Sheng acted even more cautiously.

Therefore, Xu Sheng ordered the soldiers to be divided into two halves, one half to go ashore to rest, and the other half to always stay on the ships to be on guard.

After resting in shifts for two days, regardless of whether the Yu Kingdom was worth wooing, Xu Sheng was prepared to start sending troops to conquer the Kingdom of Linyi and retrieve the Linyi rice that belonged to the Han Dynasty as soon as possible, to benefit the people.

The Yu Kingdom, after leaving, also tossed and turned that night, unable to sleep, and found it difficult to make a decision.

After the initial contact, the Yu Kingdom had a good impression of Xu Sheng and others, but with Zhu Fu in the past, the Yu Kingdom also had some worries, fearing that it would harm the people under his rule instead.

However, the Yu Kingdom searched through the documents of secret encroachment on land with the Kingdom of Linyi over the years overnight.

Especially after directly comparing them, the Yu Kingdom discovered that in seven years, half of Lurong County had been swallowed up silently.

Today's Rinan Commandery has only four counties: Xijuan, Zhuwu, Bijing, and Lurong, arranged as a short stick, with Lurong in the south, Bijing in the north, and Xijuan and Zhuwu in the central hinterland.

Especially since the Yu Kingdom deeply understood the threat of the Kingdom of Linyi, it focused on developing Xijuan and Zhuwu, which are located in the hinterland of Rinan Commandery.

But once Lurong is slowly eroded like this, the next one will undoubtedly be Xijuan.

When the Yu Kingdom was in office, it was still unable to do anything about it, and the next governor dared not hope for it.

"If we ignore it like this, Rinan Commandery will be swallowed up by the Kingdom of Linyi sooner or later..."

The more the Yu Kingdom sorted things out, the more it understood that there seemed to be no room for hesitation in the current situation.

Although it was still unknown what the purpose of Xu Sheng's fleet appearing here was, they were ultimately of the same Han family, even if Xu Sheng was unwilling to rashly send troops against the Kingdom of Linyi.

But even if Xu Sheng only led the fleet to wander around the coast of the Kingdom of Linyi, it would be enough to deter the Kingdom of Linyi for a period of time and give Rinan Commandery a chance to breathe.

At this thought, the Yu Kingdom, having made a decision, lost all sleepiness and hurriedly sorted out the records of the Kingdom of Linyi's encroachment on the land of Rinan Commandery over the years.

After working hard all night until dawn, the Yu Kingdom prepared all the documents properly, gritted his teeth, and brought the household registration land register of Rinan Commandery with him.

As long as the conditions that Xu Sheng was willing to agree to help Rinan Commandery did not exceed the capabilities of Rinan Commandery, the Yu Kingdom was prepared to grit his teeth and agree.

If the conditions were really too excessive, the Yu Kingdom could only make it clear that the household registration land register proved the poverty of Rinan Commandery, completely put down his dignity and sell miserably, hoping to move Xu Sheng's compassion.

......

Xu Sheng was slightly surprised and puzzled by the Yu Kingdom's hasty visit early in the morning.

When Xu Sheng summoned Gan Ning, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, and others, preparing to formally meet with the Yu Kingdom together and see what their intentions were.

As soon as the Yu Kingdom met, he took the lead in kneeling on the ground and performing a great salute, which startled Xu Sheng and others while making their scalps tingle. They almost hurriedly stepped aside, completely daring not to accept the Yu Kingdom's salute.

"Please, generals, for the sake of being of the same Han family, save Rinan Commandery. The Kingdom of Linyi has been encroaching on our land in Rinan Commandery for years, harming the people under our rule. It is really too deceiving!!" (End of this chapter)