Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

Chapter 84: The Real Top Supporter

Liu… Liu Xuande?!

Mizhu looked at the man before him, whose hands reached past his knees, face like jade, and lips like painted rouge, and was so excited that his blood rushed to his head, and he was momentarily stunned.

"This young gentleman?"

It wasn't until Liu Bei asked again that Mizhu slowly came back to his senses, excitedly and nervously asking.

"Who does the Prefect Liu wish to visit?"

Regarding the repeated question, Liu Bei didn't show the slightest impatience and politely cupped his fist again.

"The person I wish to visit is Mizhu, the head of the Mi family. Please introduce me, young gentleman."

Upon hearing this, an unspeakable ecstasy unconsciously sprouted in Mizhu's heart.

The person he respected so much actually took the initiative to visit. What an honor!

"I, I am Mizhu, Mizizhong of the Mi family, temporarily serving as the head of the Mi family."

A hint of joy and apology appeared on Liu Bei's face as he said.

"I didn't expect the young gentleman to be Mizizhong. I was impolite for visiting without presenting a formal invitation beforehand. Please forgive me."

"No, no, Prefect Liu's arrival is truly an honor to the Mi family…"

After a pause, Mizhu ordered the servant behind him. "Quick, quick, open the main gate wide to welcome Prefect Liu."

Immediately, without waiting for Liu Bei to decline, the Mi family welcomed Liu Bei in with the highest courtesy, even making Liu Bei feel a little flattered.

After all, the Mi family was one of the wealthiest families in Xuzhou, with a great reputation and businesses spanning several states around Xuzhou.

From Liu Bei's previous perspective, that was undoubtedly a behemoth, and now they were treating Liu Bei's arrival with such courtesy.

"Zikun, could this be the effect of fame?"

Liu Bei muttered with a sigh.

Li Ji, who had been following Liu Bei, silently observed the Mi family's reaction, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes as he replied.

"I'm afraid it's not just because of the Lord's great fame, but also because of the Mi family's current situation."

The "Four Classes of People" were mentioned in the book 《Guanzi》: Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants are the cornerstone of the country.

However, during the Han Dynasty, merchants were not considered a lowly class. Merchants were completely reduced to a lowly class only after the imperial examination system arose.

During the pre-Qin period of the Warring States, the merchant Lü Buwei was appointed Prime Minister for his "rare commodity worth hoarding."

Until the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the Mi family and the Zhen family were both famous wealthy merchants of the time. Mizhu, the head of the Mi family, held a position even above Zhuge Liang when Shu Han was founded. Zhen Mi of the Zhen family was even the empress of the Wei Kingdom and was praised by Cao Zhi in his famous poem 《Ode to the Luo River Goddess》.

From this, it can be seen that although the status of merchants in the late Eastern Han Dynasty was low, they were far from being despised as a lowly class. Moreover, the Mi family and the Zhen family were originally aristocratic families, and the aristocratic families had not yet completely separated from the merchants.

However, the information that Liu Bei and Li Ji specifically gathered while inquiring about the Mi family along the way to Donghai Commandery, as well as Mizhu's current reaction, indirectly indicated that the Mi family's current situation might not be very good.

Moreover, Mizhu's gaze towards Liu Bei was purely the expression of a little fan seeing his idol.

This undoubtedly gave Li Ji more confidence in Liu Bei's attempt to win over Mizhu on this trip.

As Liu Bei and Li Ji were led into the main hall, Mizhu hosted a grand banquet and set up a group of singers and dancers to entertain Liu Bei and Li Ji.

In terms of the scale of the singing and dancing and the exquisiteness of the dishes, this banquet could be called the best. There were all kinds of delicacies from land and sea, as if afraid of neglecting Liu Bei, fully demonstrating the Mi family's extravagance.

If it were based on later generations' standards, then taking a bite would result in a sentence of five or ten years.

As Li Ji tasted it, he silently counted "five years", "ten years", "five years" in his heart. It was simply heinous, a life sentence, the more he ate, the more enjoyable it became.

Liu Bei also found it quite novel at first taste and kept moving his chopsticks.

However, before long, a look of sorrow unconsciously appeared on Liu Bei's face, causing Mizhu, who noticed it, to ask anxiously.

"Lord Xuande, is there anything about the dishes that doesn't suit your taste?"

"No."

"Then is it that the singing and dancing don't please Lord Xuande?" Mizhu asked again.

"No."

Liu Bei shook his head again and said. "The banquet that Zizhong has prepared, whether it is the dishes or the singing and dancing, is something I have never seen in my life."

"If that is the case, then why do I see a look of sorrow on Lord Xuande's face?" Mizhu asked.

"Alas…"

Liu Bei sighed and said.

"In truth, as I look upon such dishes, I can't help but think of the large number of displaced people and famine victims who cannot fill their stomachs, and I feel pity and pain in my heart."

Upon hearing this, Mizhu couldn't help but feel ashamed and said.

"Lord Xuande is truly a benevolent ruler. I have also heard about the large number of displaced people in Xuzhou. None of the local aristocratic families show them any pity, and the Mi family has been suffering from the suppression of other aristocratic families recently and is unable to take care of itself, so it has not had the heart to help them."

"Unexpectedly, only Lord Xuande, who is merely passing through the land of Xuzhou, has a benevolent heart and places those destitute displaced people in your heart."

After a pause, Mizhu continued. "I am willing to take Lord Xuande as an example and do my best to provide porridge at various locations to help the displaced people with 30,000 shi of grain."

As soon as these words came out, both Liu Bei and Li Ji subconsciously had two words appear in their minds—"extravagant!"

With a small mouth, he opened his mouth and offered 30,000 shi of grain and grass.

Now, the grain and grass consumed by each soldier in Liu Bei's army each month is only three shi. These 30,000 shi of grain and grass are completely enough for 10,000 soldiers for a month. This is definitely not a small number anywhere.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei almost immediately stood up and bowed to the top supporter, saying.

"I thank Zizhong on behalf of those many displaced people for the grace of saving their lives."

Li Ji then spoke in a timely manner.

"However, although Zizhong's actions can save the lives of thousands of displaced people in the short term, even if Zizhong exhausts the wealth of the Mi family, it is impossible to keep feeding countless displaced people forever. If you want to save the displaced people, it is better to teach them how to fish than to give them fish."

However, Mizhu didn't know how to answer this.

It was true that the Mi family was a wealthy family in Xuzhou. Now that Mizhu was temporarily the head of the Mi family, he was even the number one wealthy brother in the Han Dynasty. However, the Mi family already supported nearly 10,000 servants and retainers and had no vacant farmland to recruit displaced people.

However, just as Mizhu hardened his heart and was about to give up his land to repay Liu Bei's favor and open his mouth…

"I intend to widely recruit displaced people in Wujun and settle them there. If Zizhong can widely distribute thin porridge in Xuzhou to save the displaced people, it would already be of great help."

After a pause, Liu Bei cupped his fist towards Mizhu and said.

"I have come to Donghai Commandery specifically to find Zizhong because I have heard that Zizhong has a generous and magnanimous, benevolent, and righteous temperament, so I want to ask Zizhong to help me."

"Please speak, Lord Xuande, I will definitely do my best," Mizhu said solemnly.

"I have already planned to build wooden camps along the official road in Xuzhou as I march, so that the displaced people can temporarily settle down. If Zizhong intends to provide porridge to help the displaced people, could I trouble Zizhong to send people to provide porridge in the wooden camps and then guide the displaced people towards Wujun?" Liu Bei asked.

Hearing this small request, Mizhu readily agreed.

Moreover, Mizhu recalled the rumors that Liu Bei wanted to rule the world with one commandery. Now he even wanted to widely recruit displaced people to develop the land of Wujun. After hesitating slightly in his heart, he took the initiative to say.

"Lord Xuande wants to develop the land of Wujun and needs to settle a large number of displaced people, so the money and grain consumed must be immeasurable. My family can be considered to have some wealth, which is useless to keep…"

After a pause, Mizhu slowly said. "Therefore, I want to donate ten million coins, one hundred thousand shi of grain, and two thousand slaves to help Lord Xuande's ambition."

At this moment, Liu Bei couldn't help but suddenly stand up, a look of joy on his face, and asked.

"Is what Zizhong said true? Not a joke?"

Not to mention Liu Bei, even Li Ji's gaze towards Mizhu had a few more hints of shock.

It should be known that this was not yet the chaotic era of warlords vying for power. The Han Emperor was still nominally in power, and the court's authority was still there.

Therefore, although Liu Bei had been appointed as the Prefect of Wujun, he still couldn't be considered a high-ranking or powerful figure in the entire Han Dynasty.

At first, Li Ji only wanted Liu Bei to win over Mizhu and then let Mizhu fully support and drive Wujun's commerce.

Unexpectedly, Mizhu actually had such courage and immediately donated so much money and grain to Liu Bei.

Even if the Mi family was a wealthy family in Xuzhou, excluding those real estates, this was probably already half of the Mi family's liquid assets.

"Of course it's not a joke," Mizhu replied.

"However, I am only a small prefect. I am grateful for Zizhong's great love. How can I repay it?" Liu Bei said with great emotion.

"Money is just an external thing. What use is it to hoard more? It is better to give it to Lord Xuande to save the people of the world. If Lord Xuande truly rules the world with one commandery and goes down in history, I can also share in the glory," Mizhu said frankly.

"I will definitely not let Zizhong down. I will never take a single penny of the money and grain that Zizhong has given me for my own enjoyment. I will definitely use it all to develop Wujun and save the people," Liu Bei said solemnly.

With Mizhu's promise, the haze in Liu Bei's heart could be said to have dissipated for the most part.

At the banquet that followed, the two sides could be said to have become more and more pleasing to each other and talked more and more enthusiastically, with a feeling of dry wood meeting a raging fire, Xu Xian meeting the White Snake.

The enthusiasm of both parties made Li Ji feel that his presence seemed a bit redundant, so he simply found an excuse to go outside for some fresh air.

However, as soon as Li Ji walked out of the corner of the main hall, he found a loli hiding most of her body in the corner, with only a small head exposed, looking at Li Ji cleverly, her eyes blinking, as if emitting a clear and ignorant light.

Upon seeing this, Li Ji walked over and squatted in front of the loli, who seemed to be only four or five years old, and asked with a smile.

"What are you looking at here?"

Upon seeing this, the little loli shrank further into the corner and said softly, “I… I heard that Liu Xuande and Li Sanqian were being entertained by my elder brother, so I secretly came to take a look.”

Elder brother?

Li Ji was surprised to hear this and asked, “Could it be that your elder brothers are Mi Zizhong and Mi Zifang?”

The little loli nodded, unaware of the impact these words had on Li Ji.