Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 1 Scheme Simulator

Youzhou, Zhuo Commandery, Zhuo County, outskirts.

"Hachoo ~ ~ ~"

Li Ji lazily crawled up from the grass mat, scratching his disheveled hair, casually adjusting the "Hanfu" he was wearing, in every sense of the word.

It's just a pity that in this real late Eastern Han Dynasty, there were not as many bright colors as in later generations. What Li Ji was wearing was just a scholar's robe that had been washed almost to the point of losing its starch.

This was still something Li Ji managed to scavenge from the corpse of a dead scholar.

[The nine hundred and thirteenth day of transmigrating to the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Weather: Sunny.

Food at home is enough for five more days.

Will starve to death.

Seeking patronage, men and women are welcome, no preferences for height, weight, or build…

The Yellow Turban Rebellion has already broken out. When will the gears of fate start turning for me?]

Li Ji took a piece of charcoal and scribbled on the wall next to the grass mat to pass the boring time, writing and erasing as he went.

When he first transmigrated to the Eastern Han Dynasty, Li Ji was full of grand ambitions;

Until he experienced his first bout of hunger, Li Ji was forced into silence;

Then, because of his strange clothes and unclear identity, he was almost arrested and thrown into prison to eat thatch root and chrysanthemum tea, Li Ji almost started talking nonsense.

These nine hundred and thirteen days of hard survival have allowed Li Ji to fully integrate into this era, and at the same time, he has truly realized that for the common people at the bottom of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, let alone any channels for promotion, even digging in the ground for something to eat was extremely difficult.

Even someone as formidable as Zhu Yuanzhang, without opportunities in his youth, still had to hold a bowl and beg, and still had to ask the top benefactor for rewards.

Therefore, Li Ji, who deeply understood that opportunity was more important than anything else, was not in a hurry to do anything extra. While ensuring basic food and clothing as much as possible, he waited for opportunities in this place he had chosen.

Suddenly, Li Ji's eyes, which were constantly looking outside the house, paused. His lazy gaze instantly changed as he stared at the three figures appearing in the distance.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei!

"They're here!"

Li Ji's heart pounded fiercely, knowing that this was the best opportunity he could seize at this stage.

Among the many warlords in the late Han Dynasty, apart from the three promising families of Cao, Liu, and Sun, the rest of the warlords not only had more or less serious problems, but more importantly, they had extremely serious prejudices against those outside their circle.

For children from poor families, rising up was difficult, difficult, difficult!

Even a genius like Guo Jia was not valued by Yuan Shao, who came from a family that had held high office for four generations.

Among the three families, Cao Cao might only value talent and not care about humble origins, but the true core of the Cao Cao group was undoubtedly always the Cao clan.

Even Xun Yu, who assisted Cao Cao in his rise, did not end well. In addition, Cao Cao's paranoia in his later years made Li Ji very worried that his "retirement pension" that he had worked hard for half his life would be spent by the Cao clan.

Relatively speaking, Liu Bei might have been extremely difficult in the early and mid-term, but Liu Bei could entrust all the affairs of a country to Zhuge Liang, an outsider, which shows his broad-mindedness and benevolence.

As for the Sun family of Eastern Wu… well, apart from the Eldest Miss, the less said the better.

Just as the world's top 500 companies say they only look at ability and not education, they will definitely not recruit from non-famous universities.

So, more importantly, with Li Ji's current status as an unregistered person, not even considered to be from a poor family, naturally the only potential stock he could contact was Liu Bei.

In the next moment, Li Ji, as if he had rehearsed countless times in advance, tidied up his originally unkempt image in just a few breaths, looking very much like a reclusive sage.

Immediately afterward, Li Ji, seemingly casually but actually full of scheming, turned his back to the door, supporting his head with his arm as if he was sleeping.

Soon after, there were faint voices of conversation coming into Li Ji's ears from outside the house.

"Second Brother, Third Brother, the great sage doesn't seem to be awake yet. Let us wait outside and not disturb the great sage."

"Big Brother, the sun is already high in the sky. How could anyone still be asleep? Let me go wake him up."

"No, Third Brother, the righteous army we are forming is in dire need of someone to devise strategies…"

Gradually, the voices became lower and lower, and Li Ji could no longer hear the specific conversations clearly.

And Li Ji's mind was more focused on his consciousness, using the ability he named [Scheme Simulator] to start performing deductions.

Of course, the "Scheme Simulator" does not show the future, but rather enters a special state of absolute rationality based on Li Ji's known conditions to deduce his choices.

In the past, when Li Ji was almost caught by the yamen officers and thrown into prison to eat thatch root and chrysanthemum tea, it was the result of a failed escape scheme deduced by the [Scheme Simulator].

[This is the nine hundred and thirteenth day of your transmigration to the Eastern Han Dynasty. Through a series of packaging schemes designed in the early stage, your reputation has finally reached the ears of Liu Bei, who has both great ambitions and constant hesitation.

Therefore, you have finally waited for Liu, Guan, and Zhang, who came to visit a great sage after the Peach Garden Oath. You believe this is the best opportunity you can seize in this era.

In order to become a strategist recognized by Liu, Guan, and Zhang, you choose…]

[1. Feigning indifference; 2. Verbal battle with the three heroes; 3. Bluffing]

Li Ji's tightly closed eyelids moved slightly as he pondered these three options, understanding that these were the three most likely successful schemes given by the [Scheme Simulator] based on his own abilities.

And with Li Ji's current abilities, he can only barely support two deductions of options in the short term.

After hesitating slightly, Li Ji's heart sank, and he chose [Feigning Indifference].

[While Liu, Guan, and Zhang are waiting outside the house, you comprehensively consider Liu Bei's many deeds and decide to deal with the visit of the three Liu, Guan, and Zhang in a way of feigning indifference.

Like the difference between Zhuge Liang's three visits to the thatched cottage and Pang Tong's voluntary delivery to the door, it undoubtedly determines the difference in status in Liu Bei's heart between the equally famous Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick.

In terms of human nature, what is easily obtained will not be cherished or valued.

So you pretend to be asleep in the thatched hut, allowing the three Liu, Guan, and Zhang to wait quietly outside.

During this period, you choose…]

[1. Continue to feign sleep; 2. Get up]

The time deduced in the "Scheme Simulator" passed quickly. Just when you felt it was about time and were about to choose [Get Up], the information deduced in the "Scheme Simulator" changed.

[Time continues to pass. An hour has passed, and the scorching sun is like fire. The three Liu, Guan, and Zhang are already drenched in sweat. The most irritable Zhang Fei's impatience has reached its limit, and he forcibly breaks into the thatched hut, scolding you for being frivolous and teasing them, while tying you to a tree next to the thatched hut.

You quickly explain and ask Liu Bei for help.

It's just that the young Liu Bei already has hidden anger in his heart, thinking that your attitude is implicitly rejecting him in this frivolous way.

Until the furious Zhang Fei draws his whip and whips you a few times fiercely, Liu Bei reluctantly stops Zhang Fei out of compassion.

It's just that the three Liu, Guan, and Zhang have only just sworn brotherhood, and Liu Bei's prestige is far from enough to forcefully stop Zhang Fei. It wasn't until Zhang Fei whipped you until your skin was torn and your flesh was split that he stopped and left under the persuasion of Liu Bei and Guan Yu.]

[However, what no one expected was that your wound was accidentally infected. Five days later, after eating the remaining food in the thatched hut, not only did the wound not heal, but it became more and more serious. When you were in a state of high fever and near death…

You live in the uninhabited suburbs, and no one notices that your condition is getting worse and worse, and you even feel like you are about to starve to death.

A group of Yellow Turban rebels who want to plunder break in. However, the Yellow Turban rebels look at your bare walls and dying state and shake their heads helplessly and sympathetically. A little girl secretly leaves you a small bite to eat out of compassion.

In the end, knowing that you will die, you do not eat that bite of food to continue prolonging your painful life, but let the dying candle in the wind slowly extinguish.

You are dead.]

[Scheme Evaluation: In order to give yourself and Liu Bei a bright future, you chose to face Liu Bei in a way of feigning indifference, but you ignored the differences in Liu Bei's existence in different periods and lost the only opportunity, miserably dying in a leaky and dilapidated thatched hut, and even gained the sympathy of a hungry Yellow Turban girl.

You have the potential to stir up the situation of the times, but your extremely low risk resistance and a momentary wrong choice have made you die silently in a corner before you even left the mountain, and your posthumous name only passed through the mouths of two or three Yellow Turban rebels for a few days before completely dissipating into the times.]

As the final evaluation appeared, Li Ji's face turned noticeably paler.

It was not due to the piercing evaluation, but because the scenes deduced by the "Scheme Simulator" almost clearly appeared in his mind.

Although Li Ji could not see the faces of the Yellow Turban rebels he had never met, he clearly watched the entire process of his death.

This kind of complete death experience is not a good feeling.

'Failed!'

Li Ji took a deep breath and quickly suppressed the frustration in his heart, and then reflected on his mistakes.

Although based on historical information, Li Ji has a great advantage, but this deduction of the scheme also made Li Ji realize that the characters in history with their own faces… are living people!

Even the same person may make different choices in different periods, different states, and different moods.

During the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage, Liu Bei could stop Zhang Fei from burning Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage, but he could not stop Zhang Fei from whipping himself at this time.

Therefore, for Liu Bei, who is only in his early twenties now, it is not meaningful to strive for status by "feigning indifference."

Immediately, Li Ji rubbed his slightly swollen temples and refocused his gaze on the three options.

[1. Feigning indifference; 2. Verbal battle with the three heroes; 3. Bluffing]

"Feigning indifference" can be re-deduced, and then Li Ji can choose to get up faster to avoid the impatient Zhang Fei reaching his limit.

However, realizing that Liu Bei at this time wouldn't fall for such a thing, Li Ji naturally wouldn't engage in another pointless deduction. This time, Li Ji's gaze wandered between "Debating the Three Heroes" and "Feigning Mysticism."

The "Strategy Simulator" is based on Li Ji's own abilities to make deductions.

For example, if Li Ji doesn't understand what "Ambush from Ten Sides" specifically entails, the "Strategy Simulator" will never offer the option of "Ambush from Ten Sides," no matter what.

Furthermore, Li Ji discovered that the success rate of a certain strategy during the deduction process is closely related to his own understanding and mastery of that strategy.

Therefore, even before truly starting the deduction, Li Ji clearly understood what "Debating the Three Heroes" and "Feigning Mysticism" would generally require.

In "Debating the Three Heroes," the so-called "debating" naturally involves arguing with Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, directly attempting to gain trust and status by overwhelming them with his talent and knowledge.

As for "Feigning Mysticism," it undoubtedly means deliberately mystifying things, generally relying on his knowledge of the future to show off predictions, thereby astonishing Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei.

Both involve communicating with Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, but the methods of communication are precisely the opposite.

Although Li Ji is very proud of his nine years of compulsory education, he is also very clear that his shortcoming is that he has not had the opportunity to slowly delve into various military books in this era.

However, one is a sandal seller, one is a fugitive, and one is a pig butcher.

Therefore, if he were to debate three people head-on... he would still have the advantage!

However, after hesitating for a moment, Li Ji still chose [Feigning Mysticism].

Since ancient times, sincerity cannot win hearts; only schemes can.

With only one chance left, Li Ji couldn't afford to take risks. Compared to a direct debate, "Feigning Mysticism" undoubtedly carries less risk.

[While Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei waited outside, you combined the lessons from the previous deduction and decided to respond to their visit by feigning mysticism.

You don't want to spend the first half of your life following Liu Bei in constant wandering, defeat after defeat, fleeing after fleeing.

You hope that your life will always be characterized by success.

Deep down, you still harbor unextinguished ambitions. You hope that you can become someone who changes the era. You yearn to shine with a light that cannot be obscured by anyone in this era of brilliant heroes. You want your name to be passed down for thousands of years. You want to be listed on the first page of the millennium family tree…

The first step to achieving all of this is to gain Liu Bei's absolute trust, so that you can guide Liu Bei in a direction different from his original trajectory of wandering.]

[You completely made up your mind. While Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were still curiously observing you through the window of the thatched hut, you leisurely woke up and recited:

Who first awakens from the grand dream?

I alone know myself in this life.

I've slept enough in my thatched hut in spring,

The sun outside the window is late.

Immediately, you pretended to only then notice Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei outside, and hurriedly invited the three of them, who had been intimidated by your preemptive strike, into the house.

Afterward, during the conversation with Liu Bei, you always firmly maintained the initiative, guiding the topic to aspects such as the general trend of the world, which you were good at.

The ability you displayed made Liu Bei admire you, Zhang Fei exclaim in amazement, and Guan Yu also slightly open his eyes to look at you squarely.

As Liu Bei was amazed by your abilities and was about to bow to you, earnestly requesting you to come out of the mountains to devise strategies for the righteous army to pacify the world, Guan Yu took the first step to respectfully ask you a few questions about the "Spring and Autumn Annals."]

[However, you, who had never read the "Spring and Autumn Annals," couldn't answer at all, and could only stammer and evade.

This abnormality couldn't be concealed from Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei at all. Guan Yu was even furious and scolded:

If you haven't even read the Spring and Autumn Annals, how can you be qualified to associate with Guan?

The gazes of Liu Bei and Zhang Fei were once again filled with suspicion. Although you tried to explain, this situation was like someone who doesn't understand quadratic functions talking eloquently about calculus, causing Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei to believe that you were just a con man with ulterior motives, and they all angrily rebuked you.

If Liu Bei hadn't stopped Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in time, you, who were considered a con man, would probably have been beaten to death on the spot by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

However, even so, you, who had completely lost the trust of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, could only part ways with them.

After that, you wandered around and tried to join other lords to realize your ambitions, but as a commoner without the opportunity to access a large number of military books, you were not accepted by any lords. Instead, in middle age, you accidentally contracted the plague, drank a cup of turbid wine, and died in poverty and regret.]