Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

Receiving such praise from Li Ji filled Lu Su with joy and excitement, and he quickly replied.

"I wouldn't dare. These are merely the names given by my parents. How could I abandon them because of power?"

"Very good."

Li Ji pondered slightly and then said, "I happen to be short of a scribe. I wonder if Zijing would be willing to take on the role?"

Immediately, both Lu Su and the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices almost thought they had misheard.

Lu Su had thought that being noticed by Li Ji and receiving a few words of praise was already a stroke of good fortune, never expecting to be valued by the Prime Minister.

It should be known that the current Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Gu Yong, was once just a scribe by the Prime Minister's side.

"If I can be by the Prime Minister's side at all times to listen to his teachings, it would truly be my good fortune."

Li Ji revealed a gentle smile, raised his hand, and patted the flattered Lu Su on the shoulder, saying.

"You can submit an application to Grand Minister Gu Yong yourself, and have Grand Minister Gu Yong stamp it…"

After a pause, Li Ji continued to ask.

"And with this identity, I believe General Cheqi will not dare to treat you rashly. When General Cheqi seeks you out in private, you can reason with him properly."

These words deeply moved Lu Su.

The Prime Minister is truly kind and virtuous to the extreme. Intentionally transferring me to serve by his side is not only appreciation and promotion but also protection for me.

Having received such great kindness from the Marquis, how can I repay it?

Watching Li Ji's departing figure, Lu Su could only bow deeply to see him off.

At this moment, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices looked at Lu Su's excited expression. He wanted to force a smile and offer congratulations, but his face stiffened.

If he had known that the Prime Minister would be so protective, he should have handled the documents himself. How did such a benefit fall to a junior official who had only joined recently?

Being transferred to serve by the Prime Minister's side in the future, why worry about not having the opportunity for a meteoric rise?

In the end, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, barely suppressing the bitterness and unwillingness in his heart, squeezed out an ugly smile and said.

"Zijing, if you become rich and powerful, don't forget me. If you have a meteoric rise in the future, don't forget me…"

"Of course, of course. I will never forget the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices' guidance and care."

Gu Yong, who seemed to be passing by but had actually been standing in a corner not far away for a while, chuckled softly. The look in his eyes towards Lu Su revealed a sense of shared sympathy, and then he let out a meaningful sigh.

"Still young…"

Once upon a time, Gu Yong was also played by that fellow Li Zikun, accumulating the rich political experience that only the older generation should have at a young age.

Having long anticipated Zhang Fei's reaction, Gu Yong not only extracted himself from the situation by feigning ignorance but also made sure not to completely ignore it, lest Zhang Fei cause too much trouble.

It was precisely because of this that Gu Yong, as an observer, knew very well that Lu Su had fallen into a pit and was about to jump into an even bigger one.

Seemingly, it is dangerous for military generals to charge into battle, but in reality, it is not easy for civil officials either.

However, military generals only need to wholeheartedly devote themselves to the battlefield and follow orders, but civil officials need to consider much more.

The labor of paperwork is both physically and mentally exhausting, and it is no joke.

In the past, Gu Yong also prided himself on being a refined gentleman of the chaotic world, a cultured guest of Jiangdong, proficient in all things from music and chess to calligraphy and painting, and even studied under the great Confucian scholar Cai Yong.

Now…

"Alas!"

Gu Yong, who was not yet thirty, touched his thinning hair and let out a long sigh. He turned and left with his hands behind his back, intending to take advantage of the rare holiday granted by Li Ji to seek Zhang Zhongjing to regulate his internal organs.

It must be said that Gu Yong understood certain aspects of Li Ji quite well.

Li Ji had been secretly paying attention to Lu Su before he recommended himself to join Liu Bei.

It's just that the current Liu Bei group is no longer the ragtag team it once was.

Especially after Liu Bei proclaimed himself king and nominally rebuilt the Han Dynasty, even Li Ji, as Prime Minister, could not simply bestow high positions and generous salaries to someone he favored and appreciated.

More importantly, as Liu Bei's power grew, whether Lu Su joined or not was essentially insignificant.

However, after Lu Su took the initiative to join, Li Ji was worrying about what reason to give Lu Su more burdens when Gu Yong, that old fox, subcontracted the matter to Lu Su layer by layer.

As a result, this undoubtedly gave Li Ji an excellent excuse.

Even if Li Ji promoted Lu Su exceptionally because of this, while the officials envied Lu Su's luck, they would only feel that Li Ji did not despise minor officials and was considerate to inconspicuous subordinates.

The matter of paperwork is indeed both physically and mentally exhausting.

With the stable development of the prefectures and counties, even with Gu Yong sharing the burden, the official duties that were aggregated to Li Ji's desk every day were still as numerous as the stars.

Without a qualified helper, it would not be easy for Li Ji to spare more energy with peace of mind.

Originally, Li Ji had been considering whether to transfer Zhuge Liang back from Yu Province so that Zhuge Liang could officially reach adulthood and serve as an official under the Prime Minister to continue handling government affairs.

The appearance of Lu Su was undoubtedly a better alternative.

Especially since Gu Yong was gradually "old and not saying much truth," Lu Su was truly an example of "honest and not talking much," a good official who worked diligently.

The next day, when Li Ji arrived at the official office on time, Lu Su had already arrived an hour earlier and was spontaneously familiarizing himself with various matters.

This made Li Ji very satisfied. Under Lu Su's grateful reaction, he continued to reuse Lu Su.

Lu Su's talent in governing is among the best in the world.

After Li Ji had cultivated him for half a month, he was already quite handy to use. Lu Su had already been able to handle a large number of official duties submitted to the Prime Minister quite properly.

This finally gave Li Ji, who had served as Prime Minister, more free time and no longer had to bury himself in paperwork all day long.

In his spare time, Li Ji, in addition to occasionally gathering with Liu, Guan, and Zhang to drink, could also occasionally take some time to teach his other disciples at the Rendé Academy, lest they be left unattended.

When another first snow of Shouchun fell and Li Ji arrived at the Rendé Academy, Zhou Yu, a "auditor," had consciously arrived again.

Li Ji had become accustomed to this and allowed it. Zhou Yu also gradually consciously performed the student-teacher etiquette to Li Ji.

However, after Li Ji finished teaching this time, Zhou Yu took the initiative to step forward to pay his respects and then said with a face full of shame.

"Prime Minister, one of Yu's old friends is known for his talent in debate, unmatched in Jianghuai. Not long ago, Yu was defeated in a debate with him and was asked to recommend talent to the Prime Minister, so I boldly came here shamelessly, please punish me, Prime Minister."

This kind of situation was quite normal in the Han Dynasty, which still used the recommendation system to select talent. Li Ji naturally would not fail to give Zhou Yu this face, so he asked Zhou Yu to invite the person over.

Soon, a scholar in plain clothes and a kerchief, but with a very outstanding appearance, was invited over and bowed with graceful demeanor.

"Jiang Gan of Jiujiang, greets the Prime Minister."

Jiang Gan?

Li Ji's expression remained unchanged, and his eyes flickered. (End of this chapter)