Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

“You…”

Yu Guo's lips trembled slightly as he opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to remind Gu Jun of the risks of going to the Kingdom of Linyi, urging him to reconsider.

But the words caught in his throat, as Yu Guo felt that saying such things would be an insult to Gu Jun's resolve.

Yu Guo slowly stood up, walked to Gu Jun, reached out to carefully adjust his clothes, and then said in a complex and gentle tone.

“Your safety comes first above all else.”

“Rest assured, Brother-in-law, I will certainly not disgrace your past teachings…”

After a pause, Gu Jun couldn't help but grin and said.

“In that case, can I be considered a true Han Chinese now?”

Nearly three hundred years ago, Emperor Wu conquered Nanyue and established the Jiaozhi Commandery.

In terms of lineage, Gu Jun was a descendant of Nanyue, and due to the generally poor governance of Jiaozhou over the past three hundred years, many people still identified as Nanyue people.

However, Gu Jun, deeply influenced by Yu Guo, identified more with the Han Chinese identity.

“Once you step out of this door, you are an envoy dispatched by the Rinan Commandery of the Great Han, you are a Han envoy,” Yu Guo said in a deep voice.

Gu Jun couldn't help but smile, and then his eyes slightly reddened as he whispered.

“Please, Brother-in-law, do not tell my sister about this matter, just tell her that I have been appreciated by a high-ranking official and taken to the Central Plains.”

“Alright.”

Yu Guo nodded.

Immediately, Gu Jun took two steps back, knelt down and kowtowed to Yu Guo, saying in a hoarse voice.

“Please take care of yourself as well, Brother-in-law. Forgive Gu Jun for being unable to repay your many years of care and guidance in the future.”

Yu Guo's eyes were red, but he couldn't say a word.

Although Yu Guo hoped that Gu Jun would return safely from this trip, given the Kingdom of Linyi's past attitude towards the Rinan Commandery and their wolfish ways, the hope of Gu Jun's return was slim.

Perhaps, Yu Guo could try to have someone else serve as an envoy to the Kingdom of Linyi.

But not to mention whether others were trustworthy, the act of begging for mercy out of fear when faced with the executioner's blade would be a great disgrace, and could even lead to the leakage of a large amount of information.

More importantly, if others could go, why couldn't Gu Jun, the wife's younger brother of the commandery administrator?

If Yu Guo, as the commandery administrator, couldn't afford to have anything happen to him, Yu Guo would have wanted to personally make a trip to the Kingdom of Linyi.

… …

Half a day later, Yu Guo had Gu Jun take almost all the ceremonial items he could find in the government office, as well as documents stamped with the commandery administrator's seal, to the Kingdom of Linyi.

After arriving at the border of the Kingdom of Linyi, Gu Jun, who had been somewhat dejected and reluctant, changed into luxurious clothes and had his entourage raise more flags, making as grand a display as possible.

The Kingdom of Linyi was not large, even if Gu Jun marched slowly and ostentatiously, proclaiming his identity all the way.

Two days later, Gu Jun arrived at the current capital of the Kingdom of Linyi, located in Champa.

Faced with the envoy from the Rinan Commandery, the attitude within the Kingdom of Linyi was divided, with more people curious about Gu Jun's intentions.

Moreover, compared to the Great Han, the Kingdom of Linyi did not have many formalities, and Gu Jun was invited to the royal palace almost on the night of his arrival in Champa.

Compared to the Rinan Commandery, the Kingdom of Linyi was undoubtedly much wealthier.

The royal palace of the Kingdom of Linyi was the most magnificent and splendid building Gu Jun had ever seen in his life, but when Gu Jun stepped into the royal palace, he maintained a head-high and chest-out posture, maintaining an air of disdain and arrogance.

Because Gu Jun was very clear that at this moment, he represented not the ignorant country boy he once was, but the more than two hundred thousand people of the Rinan Commandery, and even more so, the distant and brilliant Great Han in his heart.

Once, Gu Jun did not have a concrete impression of the Great Han, which Yu Guo always praised so highly, until he saw the overwhelming fleet and confirmed with Yu Guo that they were people from the Han family.

Everything seemed to have become concrete.

Was that the demeanor of the Han family?

Before his departure, Yu Guo's detailed instructions on the mission constantly appeared in Gu Jun's mind, racking his brains to devise many ways for Gu Jun to achieve his goals and protect his life as much as possible during the mission.

‘Heh, Brother-in-law always considers himself a great man, but in the end, he is still so nagging…’

As a resident of the Rinan Commandery, the Kingdom of Linyi's oppression of the Rinan Commandery was by no means a matter of recent years, but had been going on for nearly fifty years.

It could be said that the Rinan Commandery had accumulated countless grievances against the Kingdom of Linyi, and Gu Jun naturally harbored hatred for the Kingdom of Linyi for a long time.

After sorting out the various contents that Yu Guo had instructed, Gu Jun was very clear that his true purpose here was only one.

That is… to declare war!

Undeclared war is not what the Great Han does.

The Great Han must openly announce to the Kingdom of Linyi, listing the crimes, and preparing to conquer you.

At the thought of this, Gu Jun only felt the blood in his chest boiling. To die like this as a great man, how magnificent!

Even the magnificent palace, which Gu Jun initially thought was magnificent, seemed to have been stepped over in the blink of an eye under Gu Jun's unconsciously enlarged steps and slightly raised head of contempt.

When Gu Jun stepped into the main hall of the royal palace of the Kingdom of Linyi, the hall was already crowded with people, and a large number of ministers and nobles were waiting for Gu Jun's arrival.

After all, in the fifty-four years since the founding of the Kingdom of Linyi, it had continuously clashed with the Great Han and constantly encroached on the land of the Rinan Commandery. Moreover, the Great Han had never taken the so-called Kingdom of Linyi seriously.

Therefore, since the founding of the Kingdom of Linyi, let alone the Great Han, even the Rinan Commandery had never formally sent an envoy.

Gu Jun's arrival this time made many ministers and nobles of the Kingdom of Linyi feel that he was probably here to beg for mercy on behalf of the Rinan Commandery. Therefore, many nobles and ministers of the Kingdom of Linyi almost scrambled to participate, making the usually spacious main hall feel a bit crowded.

Faced with the scrutinizing gazes of the crowd, Gu Jun walked in with his head held high and his chest out, as if he were strolling in his own backyard.

When Gu Jun reached the center of the main hall, he stopped and, without bowing, said loudly.

“Gu Jun of the Great Han, is here under the order of Yu Fu-jun, the governor of the Rinan Commandery of the Great Han Jiaozhou.”

Fan Shang, who had been struggling to complete his task these days, immediately spoke up to please his superiors.

“Bold Han Chinese, the King is here, why don't you quickly pay your respects?”

Gu Jun not only did not fear, but instead let out a contemptuous laugh and said.

“How can mere barbarians receive the rites of a Han envoy?”

Barbarians?!

As soon as this word came out, many people in the hall were immediately enraged, and the voices condemning Gu Jun frantically and chaotically surged towards Gu Jun, and there were even voices wanting to chop Gu Jun into mincemeat on the spot.

Gu Jun, however, looked straight ahead without squinting, first glancing at Qu Lian, who looked old on the throne, and then looking at Qu Ba, who was standing on the lower steps.

Seeing that the scene seemed to be out of control, Qu Ba quickly raised his hand to stop the somewhat chaotic scene, and then looked at Gu Jun's young face, which was only in his early twenties, and mocked.

“Is there no one left in the Rinan Commandery? To actually send such a child as an envoy?”

(End of this chapter)