Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

It has to be said that the lower limit of ability may depend on effort, but the upper limit is inevitably limited by talent.

Xiahou Bo was busy every day, barely maintaining the operation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, with few results that were surprisingly good.

But in Sima Yi's hands, he truly brought the Embroidered Uniform Guard set up in Yu Province to life, even allowing Gan Ning to easily turn the young and strong within the city against the enemy without losing a single soldier.

As for how to arrange and cultivate Sima Yi, Li Ji had repeatedly deliberated before making a decision, saying.

"Since this is the case, is Yi willing to temporarily serve as the Deputy Commander?"

After a pause, Li Ji continued.

"Of course, this is not considered an official position. The Embroidered Uniform Guard has never been recognized by the imperial court. This so-called Deputy Commander has no rank, but the salary is equivalent to that of a Prefect."

"And if Yi becomes the Deputy Commander, he will be directly under my command, not under Xiahou Jichang's jurisdiction."

Even though Sima Yi had already guessed some of this in advance, he still found it difficult to suppress the excitement in his heart.

Unlike others, Sima Yi could already see the enormous potential of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Not only could it serve as eyes and ears in troubled times, but it would inevitably not be abandoned by Liu Bei and Li Ji in prosperous times.

No rank?

In Sima Yi's eyes, this was nothing.

Now, the Three Dukes of the Sili court are not even as important as a minor official valued by his teacher.

As for being directly under Li Ji's command, this was even better in Sima Yi's opinion.

"This disciple is willing."

Sima Yi suppressed the joy in his heart and quickly bowed and accepted the order.

Li Ji stared at Sima Yi for a few breaths, nodded slightly, and then beckoned to the Tiger Guard who was waiting nearby with a tray.

Since it was not an official position of the imperial court, there would naturally be no corresponding seal. Liu Bei would also not privately cast official seals at this time, lest he be criticized.

Therefore, what was placed on the tray in the Tiger Guard's hand was a waist牌 (waist token) representing the Deputy Commander.

"Thank you, teacher."

Sima Yi accepted the waist token with both hands, his eyes unable to hide his excitement.

Sima Yi had genuinely been in charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard for a period of time, so he naturally understood the internal structure of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. This Deputy Commander was second only to the Commander.

In name, the Deputy Commander only assisted the Commander in handling documents, classifying intelligence, supervising inspections, and so on.

But Sima Yi's Deputy Commander was directly under Li Ji's command, so how could the amount of power he held be compared to that of an ordinary Deputy Commander?

Li Ji said calmly.

"Yi, since you are the Deputy Commander, remember one thing."

"Please speak, teacher."

Li Ji said earnestly. "I will always be watching you, do not slack off."

"Yes, teacher."

Sima Yi subconsciously replied with joy, and then the more he pondered, the more he felt something was wrong, and he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat on his back.

After Li Ji had Sima Yi serve as the Deputy Commander by his side, so that he could sort out and mobilize intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The task given to Sima Yi, in addition to keeping an eye on Yu and Xu provinces, so that Yu and Xu provinces could transition to stability as soon as possible, and turning those who intended to profit from the chaos into ashes early on.

In addition to this, Li Ji also asked Sima Yi to pay more attention to Hua Tuo's movements.

Li Ji had secretly searched for Hua Tuo through the Embroidered Uniform Guard for many years, but either there was no news at all, or there were only rumors, and he went to catch him but found nothing.

Now, stimulated by Liu Bei's seemingly overly cautious letter entrusting his son, Li Ji, who was not yet thirty years old, couldn't help but think about the way to maintain his health.

When it comes to nourishing the body and building health, Li Ji had long yearned for the Five Animal Frolics in Hua Tuo's hands.

If he could find Hua Tuo and promote the Five Animal Frolics, not only would Liu Bei and Li Ji benefit, but wouldn't it also be a blessing for the common people of the Han Dynasty?

After Sima Yi carefully remembered the tasks that Li Ji had assigned, Li Ji called him to meet Liu Bei.

Sima Yi's position as Deputy Commander was naturally not decided by Li Ji alone, but was nodded to by Liu Bei.

Liu Bei also knew that Sima Yi was a capable person. Even though Liu Bei didn't have a good feeling about him, Liu Bei still maintained his usual level of Han Dynasty charm.

After a round of encouragement and co-opting, the young man of the Sima clan left with a flushed face, as if he had been injected with two tubes of chicken blood.

With the assistance of Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi, one overt and one covert, the 100,000 captured Yellow Turban youths were quickly dispersed and sent back to their respective homes.

These Yellow Turban youths who were sent back to their homes also quickly spread everything that had happened on the banks of the Ying River.

More than 100,000 people witnessed together that the Yellow Heaven Saint was condemned by heaven and burned, and that Imperial Uncle Liu was the one to whom destiny belonged.

These kinds of remarks, under Sima Yi's control, began to constantly penetrate people's hearts and spread rapidly in all directions with Yu Province as the center.

After Yu Province was initially settled, Liu Bei first returned to Shouchun to take charge, and entrusted the newly settled Yu Province and Xu Province to Li Ji for stabilization and sorting out.

And Li Ji also managed to bring all the counties in Yu Province under his control before the first snow of the third year of Chuping fell.

At least, the chief officials of the counties had all sent official documents requesting instructions.

Those who did not send them were also taken their heads by Li Ji's men.

"A timely snow promises a good harvest."

Looking at the heavy snow falling outside the house, Li Ji, who had gradually gained a moment of leisure, brought Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, and Pang Tong to sit around the stove and boil wine. While enjoying the snowy scenery, he said with emotion.

Zhuge Liang also echoed.

"This winter, the people of Yu Province will probably have the most prosperous and leisurely winter."

To this, Pang Tong, who was not responsible for political affairs, was a little confused, while Sima Yi rarely exchanged a knowing smile with Zhuge Liang.

This year, due to Yuan Shu's policies, many of the cultivated lands in Yu Province were burned before they could be harvested, and it was originally thought that a desperate famine would break out.

But the appearance of the Yellow Turbans in Yu Province did not know how many Yu Province aristocratic families were slaughtered, and did not know how much cultivated land and money and grain were distributed.

The fatness of the Yu Province aristocratic families was obviously enough to feed the people of Yu Province until the harvest of the coming year.

The burning of cultivated land will make up for the fertility, and with the appearance of this heavy snow, if there are no accidents, Yu Province will inevitably be a scene of harvest next year.

Now that Yu Province has been initially settled, this winter can not only allow the people of Yu Province to slowly adapt to the image of Imperial Uncle Liu, but also serve as a transition for resting with the people.

However, Li Ji slowly sipped his tea and said.

"It's just that this heavy snow may also cause damage to the people. We still need to carefully supervise the counties. Any officials who are negligent in governing the people under their jurisdiction will be beheaded."

"Yes, teacher, I have noted it down," Zhuge Liang replied.

It was not that Li Ji was too cruel, but that Yuan Shu had promoted too many good-for-nothings during his rule of Yu Province, which forced Li Ji to carry out a heavy rectification.

And Li Ji, who originally intended to relax with his disciples by enjoying the snow and drinking tea, unconsciously discussed political affairs again and asked.

"In addition to this, what is the progress of the construction of the academies in Yu and Xu provinces? Under the influence of this winter, can they be completed by the beginning of spring next year?"

(End of chapter)