Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

In a sense, isn't this also a kind of mutual attraction?

At least, Jia Xu felt quite good about the Wu-attacking allied forces smoothly arriving beneath the walls of Yangxian City.

After all, with the harassment of the Shanyue people and Gan Ning's camp raids, the Wu-attacking allied forces were, in Jia Xu's eyes, no different from a rabble.

This really made Jia Xu worry that this group of rabble would be frightened out of their wits by Gan Ning and collapse halfway.

If the Wu-attacking allied forces were to disperse while marching, it would certainly make the four commandery administrators and the Jiangdong aristocratic families a laughingstock to the world, and only serve to enhance Gan Ning's reputation.

'What ten-odd myriads of troops, scared witless and routed by Gan Ning's hundred-rider raid on the camp...'

Once Jiangdong earned such a reputation, Jia Xu, who was now serving as an official in Jiangdong, would also feel humiliated.

Moreover, it had not been easy to get these unstable elements in Jiangdong to gather together on their own initiative; if they could not be completely eliminated in one fell swoop, it would be much more troublesome to clean them up little by little later.

After all, what Liu Bei was implementing was ultimately benevolent governance; he could not be too harsh on the aristocratic families who were attached to his rule, as this would damage his reputation and be detrimental to the stability of his domain.

On this point, Jia Xu and Li Ji held the same view; the only slight difference might be the difference between being a conservative and a radical.

Li Ji was a radical, while Jia Xu considered himself a conservative.

Li Ji's idea was to gather the unstable elements together and solve them all at once; he even seemed to have prepared a series of "waste utilization" measures, even arranging for a pile of dung to be fermented in the vegetable garden.

Jia Xu, however, believed that Li Ji was too conservative; this kind of thinking was still somewhat concerned about unnecessary influences and reputation.

The chaotic world had already arrived; the benevolent governance implemented by the lord only needed to be recognized by the vast majority; as long as the remaining unstable elements who did not recognize it were all killed cleanly, then wouldn't that mean that benevolent governance had been recognized by everyone?

However, the arm could not twist the thigh; Jia Xu might not feel that there was anything wrong with his thinking, but the strategic direction was ultimately decided by Li Ji.

Therefore, even though Li Ji had given Jia Xu enough autonomy this time, and even temporarily handed over the seal of office to Jia Xu,

Jia Xu still felt somewhat constrained, not as carefree as when he was in Yingzhou, where he didn't need to consider some unimportant trivialities.

While Jia Xu was standing on the city wall of Yangxian, somewhat lost in thought, the Wu-attacking allied forces in the distance had also selected an area to begin setting up camp.

Perhaps the elusive nature of the Shanyue people in the mountains and forests had left a strong shadow, or perhaps Zhou Xin was quite proficient in military strategy, deeply understanding the risk of being attacked with fire if camping near the jungle.

Therefore, even though the weather in Wujun was currently sweltering, and the Wu-attacking allied forces were already exhausted,

the Wu-attacking allied forces still deliberately traveled a further distance, choosing an area far from the jungle and with flat terrain to set up camp.

Obviously, the Wu-attacking allied forces were still guarding against the risk of being raided, appearing quite cautious.

As the camp was being rebuilt, and given the uneven abilities of the various lords and aristocratic families within the Wu-attacking allied forces, which had led to Gan Ning leading a hundred riders to break in as if into an unpopulated land the last time,

the camp of the Wu-attacking allied forces was now almost entirely being built under the painstaking personal command of Zhou Xin.

However, before the camp could be completely built, and before arrangements could be made for the soldiers of the Wu-attacking allied forces to rest well for two days before launching an attack on the city,

under the protection of a team of guards, a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar swaggered to the front of the Wu-attacking allied forces' camp.

This caused the already exhausted nerves of the Wu-attacking allied forces to tighten up on the spot.

Watching the allied soldiers, one by one, drawing their bows and aiming arrows at him as if facing a great enemy, Jia Xiao was unable to react for a moment, and even couldn't help but turn his head to confirm the dozen or so guards that the head of the Jia family, Jia Xu, had arranged for him.

At that moment, Jia Xiao thought that the reaction of the Wu-attacking allied forces was because he had led several thousand men to challenge them.

"They really are as timid as mice..."

Jia Xiao muttered with a somewhat wry smile, no longer approaching, lest some young man's hand slip and give him an arrow, which would be troublesome.

"Ahem..."

Jia Xiao cleared his throat and then said loudly, "I am under the command of the head of the Jia family, Jia Xu, the Chief Clerk of Wujun, and have come here specifically to pay respects to all of you, Masters of the Prefecture. Please announce my arrival."

Immediately, Jia Xiao began to wait patiently.

About a quarter of an hour later, the Wu-attacking allied forces finally invited Jia Xiao, as an envoy, inside.

On the way to the central military tent after entering the camp, Jia Xiao, who always had a flattering smile on his face, did not forget to carefully observe the state of the allied soldiers along the way. Low morale and exhaustion were almost blatantly written on the faces of the vast majority of soldiers.

This was also common sense. The roads of Wujun were rugged and difficult to travel, and mostly consisted of jungles and mountain paths. The Wu-attacking allied forces had been marching for many days, which was already arduous, and they had also experienced continuous harassment from the Shanyue people and Gan Ning's hundred-rider raid, so their morale naturally could not be very high.

However, to Jia Xiao's surprise, just as he was about to arrive at the central military tent, a team of burly men was deliberately arranged to stand in formation in front, clearly intending to give Jia Xiao a show of force.

When Jia Xiao entered the central military tent with a flattering smile that still contained a hint of awe, Xu Gong was quite satisfied in his heart.

He had been holding his breath ever since the march, and with the arrival of the enemy's envoy, there was a saying that one should seize the initiative and overwhelm them with power, so Xu Gong deliberately arranged a show of force for Jia Xiao, wanting to make Jia Xiao feel timid.

Now, looking at Jia Xiao's smile, which was mixed with a few obsequious and respectful expressions, Xu Gong only felt a lot more comfortable all over.

As someone from the Xu clan of Runan, Xu Gong might not be very good at other things, but when he put on a posture, he really seemed to have some of the demeanor and power of an alliance leader.

After Jia Xiao bowed somewhat timidly, Xu Gong, who was pretending to study a roll of bamboo slips, slightly turned his eyes and said,

"When two armies are at war, envoys are not killed, so I allow you to come to this tent for a meeting..."

After a pause, Xu Gong put down the bamboo slips and said sternly,

"However, we, the heroes of the commandery, have gathered here for the purpose of attacking the treacherous thief Liu Bei! If you are here to negotiate peace, then there is no need to say anything. If you have come to surrender, this alliance leader can still allow you to say a few words."

After these words, Xu Gong secretly gave himself a top grade.

This was a draft that Xu Gong had been constantly organizing and preparing after hearing that an envoy from Wujun was coming, in order to highlight his demeanor and power as an alliance leader.

Jia Xiao also seemed to be frightened, and his originally straightened back almost subconsciously bowed down again, and he anxiously and anxiously opened his mouth and said,

"Prefect Xu, please listen..."

Before Jia Xiao could finish speaking, Xu Gong interrupted in a deep voice, "This is the place where the heroes of the commandery have allied, so why use such a divisive trick."

Jia Xiao was stunned when he heard this.

He really hadn't thought about sowing discord. Even after pondering over the task arranged by the head of the Jia family, Jia Xiao couldn't wait for these commandery administrators and aristocratic families to unite.

Immediately, Xu Gong sternly corrected him, "Call me alliance leader."

Jia Xiao couldn't help but feel a little speechless in his heart, understanding that it wasn't that Xu Gong realized any divisive trick, but clearly wanted to use himself to praise him.

Not only Jia Xiao, but Zhou Xin, Zha Rong, and some of the aristocratic family representatives present were also keenly aware of this.

After Jia Xiao pondered for a moment, a flattering smile appeared on his face, but his tone was somewhat embarrassed as he said,

"This... this, isn't very appropriate, is it..."

After a pause, Jia Xiao lowered his voice slightly and said,

"To be honest, military reports have returned that the allied forces against Dong Zhuo have already broken through Hulao Pass. My lord will return to Wujun in the near future. If I call Prefect Xu in this way, I'm afraid it will bring some trouble to Prefect Xu."

Suddenly, there was almost dead silence in the central military tent, and the expressions of a large number of aristocratic family representatives changed!

It should be known that a major prerequisite for the establishment of the Wu-attacking allied forces was that Liu Bei led a large number of elite troops thousands of miles away to join the alliance against Dong Zhuo, and the internal military strength of Wujun was empty. (End of this chapter)