Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Even though Qu Ba was chosen as the Assistant Regent Grandson, he was still generally not favored by the domestic nobles.

For no other reason than Qu Lian being too capable of living.

His advanced age of over eighty years had already caused most of Qu Lian's sons to die of old age and illness, and even some of his grandsons had already passed away due to illness.

In Qu Lian's more than fifty years of rule, the nominal heir had changed time and again, and now Qu Ba was also in his early forties.

In the eyes of many, Qu Ba might not necessarily outlive Qu Lian, and some of the adult great-grandsons would be the true heirs to the throne.

More importantly, Qu Ba, already in his early forties, had no children. In addition, Qu Ba usually seemed to not compete or fight for anything, which is why Qu Lian, fearing being usurped, could safely appoint Qu Ba as the Assistant Regent Grandson.

However, beneath Qu Ba's seemingly moderate and peaceful exterior, he was also waiting for this moment, secretly wooing the domestic nobles and biding his time.

Now, Qu Ba had quietly grasped more than 30% of the military power within Lin Yi.

He was only waiting for Qu Lian to die, then Qu Ba would be determined to launch a coup, sending all his uncles, brothers, nephews, and the like to accompany his grandfather.

However, Qu Ba did not reveal a trace of his thoughts on the surface. After seemingly impartially adjudicating the conflict, he consulted Qu Lian above with a somewhat apprehensive look.

"Your Majesty, I wonder if this is appropriate?"

The elderly Qu Lian was often unconsciously wandering in his mind, and did not pay attention to those commonplace small conflicts at all. Even his eyelids were always drooping, and he let out a turbid and weak nasal sound, which was considered an agreement.

Qu Ba, receiving the response, looked greatly pleased, and only then did he confidently pronounce the final result.

On Qu Lian's wrinkled and aged face, a trace of a smile appeared. He was very satisfied with Qu Ba's behavior of always asking for instructions and confirmation in everything, which made Qu Lian feel that power was still nourishing his aged body, as if he was still in control of everything.

However, Qu Lian's joy only lasted for a while. After another moment of absent-mindedness, he forgot what had just happened.

The topic of the court meeting had already moved on to other matters.

Being absent-minded was Qu Lian's daily state now.

As the court meeting was about to end, Qu Ba asked.

"Ministers, is there anything else to report to the King?"

At this moment, Fan Shang, who was in charge of Lin Yi's treasury, stood up and said.

"Reporting to the King, I have something to report."

Seeing this, Qu Ba waited specifically for three breaths, confirming that Qu Lian had no intention of objecting, showing respect to Qu Lian, before speaking.

"Treasurer, please report."

"Previously, a large amount of unripe rice in the royal fields was cleanly cut overnight. I was ordered to investigate this matter, and now I have found some clues," Fan Shang replied.

"Who is so bold and reckless?!" Qu Ba asked, pressing.

Qu Ba was naturally aware of this matter, and it was regarded as a strange tale at the time, which was considered an ominous sign, causing a small panic.

More importantly, the stolen rice was all from the royal fields, involving the interests of the Lin Yi royal family, so Qu Ba repeatedly urged the treasurer to conduct a thorough investigation.

"I personally investigated and questioned the nearby people one by one. They all said that before the rice was robbed, they saw a group of people with strange clothes wandering nearby, and their accent was different from the official language of our Lin Yi."

"Afterwards, I learned from an old man that the accent of that group of people should be Han Chinese. That group of people were Han Chinese, so the theft of the rice is likely to be the work of Han Chinese undoubtedly."

Fan Shang replied carefully.

Han Chinese?

Han accent?

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of everyone present changed slightly.

Lin Yi has been established for more than fifty years, and it has been independent from the Han Dynasty. The writing, system, customs, and so on can be said to be inherited from the same line, but after many years of independent development, the accent has gradually become significantly different from the orthodox Han Chinese.

Upon hearing the words "Han Chinese", Qu Lian, who was originally paralyzed on the throne, suddenly opened his eyes, and his old voice revealed a trace of urgency as he asked.

"Are you sure they are Han Chinese?"

"Reporting to the King, I am 70 to 80 percent sure," Fan Shang replied cautiously.

Qu Lian's personal opening also made the atmosphere of the court meeting suddenly become dignified, and no one dared to make any noise.

Although Qu Lian was old and frail, his prestige in Lin Yi was unimaginable, and no one dared to offend him.

At this moment, Qu Lian's originally turbid mind seemed to have regained clarity for a moment, and he sternly said.

"Find them, confirm their identity, and confirm their intention."

Fan Shang opened his mouth, complaining inwardly, but he did not dare to disobey Qu Lian's order.

When the rice was stolen, the rice was far from ripe. Now the rice throughout the country is about to end harvesting, which is more than two months apart. Where can Fan Shang find this group of people?

After Fan Shang reported, Qu Lian's state was obviously different from before. The other ministers and nobles did not dare to speak any more, so the court meeting ended with this.

When Qu Ba accompanied Qu Lian back to his bedroom, Qu Ba asked with some incomprehension.

"Your Majesty, why are some Han Chinese thieves worth paying attention to?"

Qu Lian, who was already unable to walk for a long time, was also being carried in the palace by his attendants. Sitting, Qu Lian raised his eyelids and said.

"Do not underestimate the Han Chinese, and be vigilant about the north at all times."

Hearing this, Qu Ba did not agree in his heart, and took the opportunity to flatter him.

"The territory of the Han Dynasty is indeed a little larger than our Lin Yi, but it is nothing more than a defeated general under Your Majesty's command. In those years, Your Majesty led troops to defeat them, and the Commander of Rinan Prefecture, Yu Guo, was not an opponent of our Lin Yi."

"It seems that those Han Chinese bandits are just people who cannot survive in Rinan Prefecture, so they fled to our Lin Yi to make a living."

Listening to Qu Ba's flattery, Qu Lian was quite complacent about it.

Although the Han Dynasty was large, it could not do anything to him. After the founding of the country, Qu Lian naturally did not forget to greatly beautify his deeds, or distort or cover up some of the truth.

Therefore, the general idea of the Han Dynasty in Lin Yi is that it is a large country in the Central Plains in the north, but how big it is.

Qu Lian only knew that it was much larger, but he was not clear about the specifics. The records in Lin Yi vaguely used the size of more than ten Rinan Prefectures to summarize the Han Dynasty.

As the southernmost prefecture of the current Han Dynasty and Jiaozhou, Rinan Prefecture has an area of less than one-third of Wu Prefecture, and the registered population is only about 200,000. The real usable soldiers in the prefecture are less than 2,000.

(PS: According to actual historical records, the registered population of Rinan Prefecture at the end of the Western Han Dynasty was less than 70,000. It should be an exaggeration to set up Rinan Prefecture with a population of 200,000 here.)

Therefore, Yu Guo, the Commander of Rinan Prefecture, is also considered a virtuous man, but facing the repeated encroachment on land by the Lin Yi Kingdom in the south, he can only勉力defend and is unable to fight back.

……

At this moment in Rinan Prefecture, Commander Yu Guo looked at the reports about the Lin Yi Kingdom secretly encroaching on land again, feeling annoyed and hateful, but helpless.

Yu Guo, from Yuyao, Kuaiji, was born in a poor family.

Because he was famous in his hometown for his filial piety in his youth, he was recommended as a filial and incorrupt official, but because he knew that he had no noble support, the way to be an official would be extremely bumpy.

With the idea of doing something practical for the people, Yu Guo sold all the family property after his parents died before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and bought the position of Commander of Rinan Prefecture, which the children of the aristocratic families avoided, as a filial and incorrupt official. It was like being exiled to Rinan Prefecture, the southernmost part of the Han Dynasty, to become an official.

(End of this chapter)