Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

Chapter 75: The Gap Between People

The next day.

Lu Zhi once again hosted a banquet to entertain the military generals and scholars gathered in Julu City.

However, compared to the previous formal banquet, this one was undoubtedly more of a private affair, and was not even held within the temporary government office, but rather in the suburbs.

As the wine flowed and everyone became slightly tipsy, Lu Zhi, sitting at the head of the table, formally introduced his prized disciple, Liu Bei, to everyone present.

Those present assumed that Lu Zhi intended to support Liu Bei and was building momentum for him, so they naturally gave Liu Bei many compliments out of respect for Lu Zhi.

Even the two Lieutenant Generals, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, offered words of encouragement to Liu Bei.

Only Cao Cao, sitting among the crowd, looked at Liu Bei's virtuous and gentlemanly demeanor with disdain and annoyance in his heart, and said.

'A hypocritical fool!'

Just when everyone thought this was just a small interlude arranged by Lu Zhi, Lu Zhi seemed to remember something and asked Liu Bei.

"Xuande, I heard before that matters in your army are mostly decided by a man named Li Zikun. Is this person present?"

"He is present," Liu Bei replied.

Lu Zhi stroked his short beard and said with some anticipation.

"Since that's the case, then I'll have to trouble Xuande to invite Mr. Zikun to come forward. I've admired him for a long time."

As soon as these words came out, many of those present were shocked and surprised.

You must know that information transmission in this era was extremely troublesome and complex. Often, even major events such as the death of the emperor or the change of reign titles would take at least half a year, or even several years, to reach the countryside.

People like Xing Daorong, a general from Lingling, who only knew that he was rarely matched in Lingling County and thought that people like Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun were nothing more than that, were entirely due to the problem of information transmission.

Therefore, apart from Cao Cao and Sun Jian, the rest of the people present only knew that Liu Bei had led his army to defeat Zhang Jiao, forcing Zhang Jiao to self-immolate, but they had no idea who Li Zikun was or what abilities he possessed that would make Lu Zhi claim to have admired him for so long.

Just as everyone was looking around, trying to see who among them was Li Zikun.

Liu Bei said loudly.

"Where is Zikun?"

"My lord."

Li Ji, who was seated at the end, rose to his feet. His appearance was very beautiful, his bearing quite majestic, with a broad and elegant demeanor, and a refined and detached temperament. First, he bowed respectfully to Lu Zhi and Liu Bei at the head of the table, and then cupped his hands in salute to the people on all sides.

This graceful and elegant manner immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.

Human society, from ancient times to the present, has never lacked those who judge by appearance!

Judging people by their looks is not a derogatory term, but a statement of fact.

Not to mention the Han Dynasty now, even the imperial examination system specifically set up a "Tanhua" (third place), choosing him based on appearance.

Therefore, under Li Ji's deliberately groomed demeanor, he almost instantly captivated everyone present.

"This man certainly has a good appearance."

"What a famous scholar's bearing. Why haven't I heard of this name before?"

"Zikun, Cao Cao loves him very much."

… …

Under everyone's gaze, Li Ji got up and walked to Lu Zhi, then bowed again and said.

"Li Ji from Longxi, Li Zikun, greets General Lu of the North."

"You are Li Zikun?"

Lu Zhi carefully looked at Li Ji in front of him, his eyes revealing admiration and satisfaction.

Lu Zhi often heard the name Li Ji from Liu Bei, but this was also Lu Zhi's first formal meeting with Li Ji.

Although this time he specifically called Li Ji to meet at the banquet at Liu Bei's request, Lu Zhi himself was very curious about Li Ji.

"Before, was it you who communicated with me through secret letters, agreeing to hunt at Boluojin Ferry on the fifth day of the fifth month?" Lu Zhi asked.

"It is indeed I who dared to speculate on Lord Lu's intentions, please forgive me, Lord Lu," Li Ji replied humbly and respectfully.

Lu Zhi stroked his beard and laughed loudly, praising.

"Haha, you are not bold, but talented."

This conversation undoubtedly aroused the curiosity of everyone present. Huangfu Song, sitting to Lu Zhi's left, asked.

"Zigan, what is this matter of hunting at Boluojin on the fifth day of the fifth month that you mentioned?"

"I was just about to tell you all in detail…"

Lu Zhi said, and then described the matter from his own perspective, and finally added.

"At that time, I still thought that the hidden danger of this plan was that Xuande's forces might not be able to reach Boluojin as planned, so that Zhang Jiao might lead his troops back to Julu, resulting in failure."

"Unexpectedly, I led the army to drive away the Yellow Turbans and made a mistake, so that Zhang Jiao actually led five thousand Yellow Turban warriors to break away from the main force and escape to Boluojin first."

"When I learned of Zhang Jiao's whereabouts, I regretted it too late and was helpless. I also thought that it might harm the surprise soldiers led by Xuande's forces. Unexpectedly, Xuande's forces not only arrived at Boluojin like heavenly soldiers, but also led the weak forces to defeat five thousand Yellow Turban warriors in Boluojin, forcing Zhang Jiao to self-immolate and die."

"It was this battle that completely established the victory of our Han army against the Yellow Turban rebels, not only forcing Julu City to surrender, but also making the Yellow Turban rebels in the world terrified and defeated."

As Lu Zhi described the various details in detail, almost everyone present had a few exclamations on their faces, and the way they looked at Liu Bei and Li Ji obviously changed a bit.

At first, everyone heard that Liu Bei had led a partial army to defeat the Yellow Turbans and forced Zhang Jiao to self-immolate, and thought it was just pure luck. They didn't expect that the specific situation was so complicated.

Liu Bei cupped his hands and said humbly and gently.

"Master Lu has praised me too much, this is not my merit. In addition to the soldiers' dedication, more importantly, all of this was planned by Zikun. Whether it is using deception to deceive Julu, or using weakness to defeat the Yellow Turbans in the frontal battle formation, Zikun can be said to have made great contributions."

"Oh?"

Lu Zhi heard this and asked curiously. "I am very curious about how Xuande crossed Julu County and deceived Julu City to reach Boluojin. Can you tell me?"

"Of course."

Liu Bei responded and said.

"After agreeing with Master Lu on the hunting appointment at Boluojin on the fifth day of the fifth month, Zikun said that the difficulty lies in how to deceive Julu City so that our forces would not be attacked from both sides by the Julu Yellow Turbans at Boluojin."

"However, the march of more than five thousand people in the plains, even if they can hide for a while with the help of the night, cannot be concealed forever and will inevitably be detected by the Julu Yellow Turbans."

"Therefore, Zikun decided to do the opposite, first deceiving Julu with a combination of illusion and reality, and then heading to Boluojin."

Zhu Jun, who was sitting on the other side of Lu Zhi, listened with great interest and asked.

"How to carry out the plan of illusion and reality?"

Liu Bei did not keep them in suspense and began to speak with ups and downs.

"Send a hundred death warriors into Julu to burn food and grass, pretending to attack the city, causing panic among the Yellow Turbans in the city, and then set up camps on the north and south sides. The north side does not move, and the south side sends my third brother, the fierce warrior Zhang Yide, to scold and fight, killing four generals single-handedly, showing off his power, so that the Yellow Turbans dare not look south."

"After that, secretly transfer soldiers from the south camp to the north camp at night, while the soldiers in the north camp also set up ambushes in the camp. When the Yellow Turbans arrive for a night attack, lure them deep, and then surround them from the front and back, using the terrain of the camp in the plains to prevent them from escaping, so that the Julu Yellow Turbans cannot judge the reality of our army."

"Finally, our army quickly heads west to Boluojin before dawn, and the camp outside Julu City remains the same as yesterday, and my third brother continues to scold and fight, which is enough to prevent the Yellow Turbans in Julu from acting rashly."

As Liu Bei's voice fell, everyone present was still in deep thought.

You must know that everyone present can be said to be meritorious officials in quelling the Yellow Turban Rebellion, not just those who talk idly, so they have a lot of feelings about the various details that Liu Bei recounted.

"Wonderful!"

"Great!"

Cao Cao took the lead in clapping his hands and praising him, greatly admiring the wonder of this strategy of illusion and reality, and more importantly, Li Ji seized every key opportunity node in it.

If viewed from the perspective of the Julu Yellow Turbans, it would almost be as if a large number of Han troops suddenly appeared outside the city, and Julu City seemed to be in danger of being forcibly attacked at any time.

Immediately, following Cao Cao, the military generals and scholars present also praised the wonderfulness of this plan.

Even famous generals such as Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song, and Zhu Jun, who were sitting at the head of the table, nodded repeatedly.

Although if they were sitting in Julu as generals, this plan might not be able to deceive them, but there is never the most ingenious plan, only the most suitable plan.

This plan has a miraculous effect on the Julu Yellow Turbans, and perfectly allows Liu Bei's troops to deceive the Julu Yellow Turbans and arrive at Boluojin with almost no losses, which fully demonstrates Li Ji's ability.

"As Xuande said many times, Li Zikun is indeed skilled in using troops and resourceful," Lu Zhi praised generously.

Huangfu Song looked at Li Ji and suddenly developed a love for talent, saying. "Mr. Zikun, my army is still short of a staff officer, I wonder if Mr. Zikun is interested?"

Li Ji cupped his hands in return and said. "Thank you, Lieutenant General Zuo, for your promotion, but…"

Li Ji paused slightly, feeling ashamed in his heart, but he could only endure it, saying with a refined and humble expression. "What I am good at is not only using troops and devising strategies."

"Oh? What is Mr. Zikun good at?" Huangfu Song asked with some curiosity.

Li Ji said solemnly. "I have only studied classics for two and a half years, and I am good at using troops and devising strategies, governing a region, and deducing the situation."

As soon as these words came out, the scene was almost silent, and everyone stared at Li Ji.

"Arrogant!"

Niu Fu seemed to be stimulated by something and shouted angrily, saying.

"Regardless of whether you are really good at using troops and devising strategies, governing a region, and deducing the situation, these things alone cannot be learned in just two and a half years of studying classics."

"I once studied the classics for two and a half years, and even then, I only barely managed to recognize a thousand characters. And that was only learned under the daily supervision of my father-in-law," Li Ji replied calmly, facing Niu Fu's initial challenge and questioning.

"The difference in talent between people is like comparing earth and sky."

"You…"

Niu Fu was so angry that his face turned red, but he didn't know how to refute.

Seeing this, Liu Bei pretended to reprimand sternly, "Zikun, don't be arrogant and speak wildly just because you've just come of age."

Liu Bei's words reminded everyone that Li Ji's age seemed to be only that of someone who had just come of age…

In that case, two and a half years…

—

PS: Sorry, sorry, I woke up late today and the update is an hour late.