Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

In terms of civil officials, Li Ji's overall leadership of Wu Commandery's affairs, both large and small, goes without saying.

Although Jian Yong held the position of Merit Officer, his primary responsibility at the moment was to resettle and instruct the "Peach Garden Group" around Wu County.

As for Mi Fang, his official position was purely due to Liu Bei's consideration for Mi Zhu, his top supporter, so naturally, no achievements were expected from Mi Fang, who had not yet reached adulthood. Instead, Liu Bei kept Mi Fang by his side to show favor.

Therefore, besides Jia Xu, Li Ji was assisted only by some ordinary scholars and minor officials in the government office.

When Li Ji truly began to handle the documents that had accumulated in Wu Commandery for more than six years, he felt a sense of scalp-numbing pressure.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the entire Wu Commandery was either emptied or completely hollowed out by the local aristocratic clans in conjunction with the county officials and petty clerks.

So much so that when Li Ji saw only ten gold coins, a hundred bolts of silk, and about three thousand shi of grain left in the Wu Commandery treasury, he almost laughed out of anger.

Fortunately, before Liu Bei arrived in Wu Commandery to take office, there was still a portion of money and grain seized from the Yellow Turbans, as well as large amounts of financial support from his top supporter, the Mi family. Otherwise, Liu Bei's first task upon taking office would not have been to figure out how to suppress bandits, but how to raise salaries and provisions for his officials and soldiers.

Therefore, it came back to a certain vicious cycle.

Even though Liu Bei knew that the Wu Commandery treasury had been emptied by the local aristocratic families, he had no choice but to seek funds from them to solve the immediate crisis.

What is free is the most expensive.

The price to be paid for the money and grain seemingly donated by the local aristocratic families was definitely higher than that of something with a clear price tag.

In this way, the Wu Commandery Governor would once again have to rely entirely on the local aristocratic families to control Wu Commandery, which, in a sense, would be no different from being a puppet controlled by them.

And when Li Ji reviewed the roster of the Wu Commandery soldiers and personally verified it with the garrison stationed in Wu County...

Despite having some anticipation, the severity of the "ghost soldiers" problem in the Wu Commandery army still exceeded Li Ji's expectations.

Among the Wu Commandery soldiers listed on the roster who were supposed to receive military pay, seven or eight out of ten were just names; they simply didn't exist.

Even so, the Wu Commandery soldiers' salaries were still in arrears for half a year.

It was truly a case of the mountains being high and the emperor being far away.

Located in the Jiangdong region, far from the Central Plains, and with the position of Governor vacant for six years, the Wu Commandery government had almost reached the point of being a mere formality.

In this case, it was not difficult to understand why the aristocratic clans did not rely on the Wu Commandery soldiers to suppress bandits when Yellow Turban remnants appeared in Wu Commandery, but instead gathered their own servants and young men.

What kind of virtue the local Wu Commandery soldiers possessed, how could those aristocratic families not be clear?

"These seventy percent, it's really not a wrongful killing..."

Li Ji sneered, throwing the bamboo slip he had just finished compiling with the actual amount of unpaid salaries for the Wu County soldiers onto the table in front of him, then looked at Jia Xu, who seemed to be diligently handling official documents but was actually daydreaming.

"What do you think? Wenhe."

Upon hearing this, although Jia Xu didn't quite hear what Li Ji was asking, his years of muddling through life made him instinctively nod and say.

"What Zikun said is absolutely right."

"Stop pretending to be stupid here."

Li Ji said unhappily, then threw the bamboo slip he had just compiled in front of Jia Xu and said.

"The top priority is to make up for the Wu County soldiers' salaries and bring them under the lord's command. This matter is very important, so I'll trouble you, Wenhe, to handle it personally."

"Hmm?"

Only then did Jia Xu completely react, opening the bamboo slip and scanning it roughly before asking.

"Why didn't Zikun investigate to the end and replace all the mid-level officers in the Wu Commandery army?"

"Pulling out the radish brings out the mud. For six whole years, who in the entire Wu Commandery, from top to bottom, wasn't involved? How to investigate? Could it be that we should replace all the officials and Wu Commandery soldiers in the entire Wu Commandery?"

Li Ji retorted, then said.

"Moreover, the influence of the local aristocratic families is unavoidable behind these matters. As long as the problem of the aristocratic families is resolved, whether to settle accounts later or wipe the slate clean is just a matter of turning one's hand. Maintaining stability and winning over people's hearts is the priority at the moment."

"Furthermore, our lord is known for his benevolence. Governing should not be portrayed as too harsh, otherwise, it will easily affect the lord's current reputation among the common people through word of mouth."

Li Ji deliberately explained it again and again in order to prevent Jia Xu from having some misunderstandings and performing another group disappearance technique on the already small Wu Commandery army.

Li Ji would really fall apart.

They couldn't completely rely on three thousand soldiers to control Wu Commandery, right?

Therefore, no matter how rotten the Wu Commandery army was, it had to be brought under control as soon as possible.

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.

This famous saying is correct no matter what era it is placed in.

As long as Liu Bei completely controls the military power of Wu Commandery from top to bottom, he won't have to fear that the aristocratic clans, who are too busy to take care of themselves, will rebel.

If possible, Li Ji really didn't want to hand this matter over to Jia Xu to handle.

It's just that this matter involves a wide range, and a slight mistake in handling it may trigger a chain reaction. At the moment, besides Li Ji, only Jia Xu's abilities can ensure that this matter can be perfectly resolved.

Therefore, Li Ji could only explain it a bit more to prevent Jia Xu from getting rid of the Wu Commandery army as well.

"Zikun is really boring. This kind of thing that can be done by following a map can be entrusted to Zilong."

Jia Xu said, then put the bamboo slip into his sleeve and took a sip of tea with relish.

Xiahou Lan, who was standing beside Li Ji assisting with various small matters, quickly stepped forward to add tea for Jia Xu.

Li Ji also took a sip of tea, slightly moisturizing his throat, and explained.

"Zilong was ordered by the lord to lead five hundred soldiers to protect the aristocratic families who moved to Wu County. We can't wait for Zilong to come back to deal with this matter."

"Oh? Does this mean that Xuande Gong has persuaded those aristocratic families?" Jia Xu asked.

"They have no other choice."

Li Ji replied calmly, but Jia Xu understood that it was definitely not that simple.

Perhaps, this kind-faced, black-hearted person, Zikun, secretly guided the bandits to destroy some aristocratic families, causing the remaining aristocratic families to be frightened and forced to make this choice?

Thinking of this, Jia Xu couldn't help but feel a little itchy.

It's just that now, all the big and small matters in the government office are handled by Li Ji himself. Without Li Ji's permission, Jia Xu simply has no way of knowing what Li Ji has done specifically.

And Li Ji glanced at Jia Xu, knowing that this black-hearted old thief must have some doubts, but he deliberately kept Jia Xu in suspense.

Now that Jia Xu hasn't truly recognized Liu Bei as his lord, how can there be such a good thing in this world where one doesn't want to put a mark on the other party but also wants to deeply understand the other party?

Even if Jia Xu has a layer of favor with Li Ji, that won't work either.

"Never mind."

Jia Xu flicked his sleeves and left.

After Jia Xu left, Li Ji took out a bamboo slip from the bottom of a pile of bamboo slips stacked on a table and spread it out. What was recorded on it was the latest situation of the bandits in Wu Commandery.

【Reporting to Mr. Zikun:

I have, as agreed, led spies from several bandit gangs to investigate our military camp, and let them see only wounded and disabled soldiers.

Now, many bandits in Wu Commandery believe that the soldiers under the command of the Wu Commandery Governor are all wounded, disabled, old, and weak.】

The words were few, but the amount of information was great.

A smile couldn't help but appear on the corner of Li Ji's mouth.

Using tigers to devour wolves?

No, the tiger skin must be peeled off, and the wolves must also have their claws pulled out and be raised as guard dogs.

If it was just a simple rumor, it would naturally not be enough to make those Wu Commandery bandits believe that Liu Bei, who was famous throughout the world, was just a person with an undeserved reputation.

However, what if they were allowed to verify it themselves and witness it with their own eyes?

Li Ji didn't expect beforehand that the three hundred wounded and disabled soldiers he had persuaded Liu Bei to bring to Wu Commandery could actually play an unexpected role at this moment.

The scene of those three hundred wounded and disabled soldiers training in the camp was enough to mislead the Wu Commandery bandits about the strength of Liu Bei's soldiers.

Furthermore, after luring the bandits to attack an aristocratic family before, the newly appointed Wu Commandery Governor, Liu Bei, still didn't take any counterattack actions, but instead allowed all the aristocratic families to move to Wu County for refuge.

This kind of repeated show of weakness was enough to make the bandits swell with pride.

Moreover, those aristocratic families moved towards Wu County, bringing their families and carrying countless money and grain convoys.

As long as those bandits weren't blind, they would definitely investigate and pay attention to those fat sheep.

People's greed is endless, let alone bandits?

'The bait has been set, it just depends on when the fish will bite the hook...'

Li Ji smiled slightly, then rolled up the bamboo slip in his hand and threw it into the brazier placed aside, allowing the flames to devour the bamboo slip bit by bit, eventually turning it into ashes.

This scene made Xiahou Lan, who was standing beside Li Ji, a little confused, but he seemed to feel the joy emanating from Li Ji.

"Sir, you seem very happy?" Xiahou Lan asked.

"Yes, when I think that the land around Wu County should be more fertile next year, I can't help but feel better," Li Ji replied with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Xiahou Lan was still a little confused, not understanding why Li Ji would suddenly say that the land around Wu County would be more fertile next year.

However, when he was recommended to Li Ji and became a pageboy, Xiahou Lan was almost constantly reminded by Zhao Yun and Xiahou Bo for three to five days: When you are by Mr. Zikun's side, speak less and think more.

Therefore, even though Xiahou Lan was originally a lively character, he still didn't dare to ask any further questions.

And Li Ji, after watching the bamboo slip turn into ashes in the brazier, asked Xiahou Lan.

"What has the lord been busy with these past two days?"

Xiahou Lan quickly replied. "Resettling refugees, inspecting military affairs, and appeasing the aristocratic families who have arrived in Wu County."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji nodded inwardly, feeling that Liu Bei was adapting to his roles as a ruler and a prefect very quickly.

The hearts of the people, the army, and the influential families…

These three were the things that Liu Bei truly needed to win over and keep in his grasp.

Li Ji thought for a moment, considering the situation, and said, "Go and find out where the Lord is now. I need to see him."

"Yes."

Xiahou Lan responded and hurriedly walked out.

Soon, after Li Ji had finished dealing with the documents at hand, Xiahou Lan ran back and reported:

"Sir, the Lord is currently visiting the Sun family of Fuchun, who have just moved to Wu County."

"Ah? The Sun family?"

Li Ji.