Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

Liu Bei's face changed from annoyance to joy, and he said.

“In that case, I shall wait for Zikun to capture that fierce tiger.”

“Not difficult.”

Li Ji responded with a smile.

It wasn't that Li Ji underestimated Lu Bu's bravery, nor did he underestimate the Bing Province wolf cavalry, but in Li Ji's view, the difference in their fundamental strengths was like a dwarf in an octagon against a tiger… a Luo.

No matter how brave Lu Bu was, no matter how strong the Bing Province wolf cavalry was, they only had this one hand of cards to play. A single failure would plunge them into eternal damnation.

And would Lu Bu be someone who wouldn't reveal the slightest flaw?

Impossible!

So, he couldn't say anything else, but since Liu Bei wanted to capture the tiger, Li Ji really didn't think it was a difficult task, just a matter of time.

Immediately, Li Ji signaled Gu Yong to send the document he was holding to Liu Bei's desk and personally explained the arrangements for the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven and conferring the title of king in detail to Liu Bei.

Among them, there was no lack of assistance from Zheng Xuan, Lu Zhi, Cai Yong, Liu Yu, and other members of the imperial clan, veteran officials, and great scholars. Although this ceremony was a bit cumbersome, it was done as well as possible, so that the world could not find any fault in it.

This also concerned the legitimacy of Liu Bei's inheritance of the Han Dynasty, so it naturally needed to be as appropriate as possible.

Liu Bei bowed his head and flipped through it, while Li Ji explained it to Liu Bei in detail from the side. Liu Bei couldn't find any fault in it either.

Of course, Liu Bei, who had only woven mats and sold shoes in the market, was completely ignorant. After reading it once, he just felt an inexplicable sense of awe.

This cumbersome ceremony made Liu Bei's scalp tingle.

Liu Bei couldn't help but sigh and said to Li Ji.

“Becoming a king is so cumbersome, wouldn't becoming an emperor be even more troublesome?”

“My lord, this… this ceremony, no matter how cumbersome, is something others can't even ask for.” Li Ji said with a smile.

After Liu Bei pondered for a moment, he suddenly said.

“Zikun, do you want to be a king?”

Li Ji was stunned, his heart skipped a beat, and for a moment he couldn't even tell what Liu Bei meant by this.

A test?

Or sincerity?

However, before Li Ji could answer, Liu Bei waved his hand at those around him, including Gu Yong, signaling them to leave.

After only Liu Bei and Li Ji were left in the room, Liu Bei placed one hand on the document and then said.

“When I, Bei, formed a brotherhood with Yun Chang and Yide in the Peach Garden, I said that we would live and die together. Zikun may not have formed a brotherhood with me, but in my opinion, Zikun is no less important than Yun Chang and Yide.”

“Since we can share life and death, if I, Bei, were to rule the world, I would naturally share this glory and wealth with Zikun, Yun Chang, and Yide…”

After a pause, Liu Bei looked directly at Li Ji, his eyes full of sincerity, and said.

“Which state do you like, Zikun? Circle it. If I, Liu Xuande, unify the world and restore the Han Dynasty, Zikun's achievements will be more than enough to take a state as your kingdom.”

At this moment, Li Ji believed that Liu Bei was sincere.

If it was a test, it should have been after the birds were exhausted and the good bow was hidden away, not to make promises at this time.

However, Li Ji shook his head while smiling.

“I have no intention of testing you at all, I am sincere. As long as you want to be a king somewhere, Zikun, just say it, I will never refuse.”

Liu Bei said again with a serious expression, as if he was afraid that Li Ji would refuse.

Li Ji heard this and also expressed his true feelings, saying.

“My lord, which man doesn't have the ambition to be a king or marquis? However, the Han Dynasty is very big, but also very small.”

“If I, Ji, take a piece today, and Yun Chang and Yide take a piece tomorrow, how much will be left for the Han Dynasty and the people?”

“Moreover, once my lord opens this precedent and bestows titles of kings to those with different surnames, future rulers will follow suit, and it will be difficult to stop this precedent in the future.”

Liu Bei was not unaware of this reason, but he couldn't help but sigh several times and fell into silence.

How could Liu Bei not know that what Li Ji said was correct, but he was even more unwilling to betray the righteousness of Li Ji, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei who followed him in starting the uprising back then.

If it weren't for Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, he might still be selling shoes in the market.

If it weren't for Li Ji, he might have already died in the Yellow Turban Rebellion, or he might be displaced and struggling to survive in the chaotic world. How could he have today's days of being crowned a king and dominating?

Liu Bei had lofty ambitions, but he couldn't forget the support of Li Ji, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei when he was down and out.

“Is there no possibility of conferring the title of king to Zikun in the Han Dynasty?” Liu Bei even couldn't help but ask.

To this, Li Ji still gently shook his head.

But Liu Bei suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said.

“Zikun has no plan for this matter, but I have a wonderful plan that can both confer the title of king to Zikun and not leave hidden dangers for future generations.”

Li Ji was a little surprised by this.

Liu Bei also has a plan?

“I wonder what the wonderful plan is?” Li Ji asked, flattering him.

Liu Bei said with a rather proud expression.

“It is not appropriate for Zikun to divide the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty to become a king, then it should be okay to divide the land outside the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty to give to Zikun to become a king, right?”

This…

Li Ji's eyes widened slightly.

It seemed outrageous, but it seemed to make some sense.

The Han Dynasty has not yet unified, and Liu Bei is already eyeing the land of foreign countries?

It's just using the land of other countries to confer the title of king of the Han Dynasty. My lord, what a great Han prestige!

For a moment, Li Ji didn't know how to refute it, nor did he know whether he should support it, so he could only smile wryly and say.

“My lord, this matter is still very far away, let's talk about it later.”

“Not far, not far, this kind of major event still needs to be prepared early, it should be established when the world is unified and the foundation of the country is laid…”

At this moment, Liu Bei seemed to become very excited and said.

“Furthermore, Zikun didn't often say before that under the whole sky, there is no land that is not the king's; on the shore of the land, there is no subject who is not the king's?”

“The thirteen states of the Han Dynasty are the land of our ancestors and should not be divided, but just as Zikun said before, set the thirteen states as the Central State, and then take the land outside the Central State and give it to Zikun to be the king, which is very reasonable, and the world cannot find any fault in it.”

For a moment, Li Ji only felt a sense of impending doom…

Previously, Li Ji had always felt that Liu Bei was a conservative in dealing with foreign countries and foreign races, while he was a complete radical.

Therefore, Li Ji had been subtly instilling some radical ideas in Liu Bei, so as to avoid ideological differences between the two sides in foreign policy in the future.

But right now, how did Li Ji feel that Liu Bei, this conservative, was more radical in his bones than he, this radical?

Li Ji was just thinking about opening up the Maritime Silk Road in his lifetime, and then sending aristocratic families to overseas as nails to develop, so as to achieve lush foliage and strengthen the Central Plains.

Why does Liu Bei's tone seem like he wants to take the countries overseas as fiefdoms for meritorious officials?

Suddenly, an idea unconsciously popped into Li Ji's mind following Liu Bei's train of thought.

Why not go a step further?

Directly let the Han Dynasty reappear the prosperous age of the “Western Zhou”, set the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty as the “Central State”, and then take the territories of the overseas princes as vassal states to protect the Central State…

At that time, when the next unification is achieved, wouldn't it be the ball chief of the small planet? (End of this chapter)