Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Jing Province, Xiangyang.

Within a month of Li Ji taking control of Xiangyang, the entire Jingbei region, with the exception of Nanyang Commandery held by Yuan Shu, was largely under Li Ji's control.

This smooth progress was only possible with the full cooperation of Liu Qi and the Jing Province aristocratic families.

However, even though Li Ji knew that Nanyang Commandery was weakly defended, he was unable to advance north for the time being.

Liu Biao had exhausted the military strength of Jing Province to open the gateway to Yi Province, which led to a severe depletion of troops in various cities of Jing Province, with some cities unable to muster even a few hundred soldiers to maintain order.

Especially after Liu Biao emptied the southern part of Jing Province of its troops, the Lingling Man, Wuling Man, Changsha Man, and other southern barbarians entrenched in the four commanderies of Jingnan had already sensed the weakness of the Han Chinese cities and frequently began to rebel and plunder.

In less than a month, Li Ji, who was stationed in Xiangyang, had already received more than a dozen requests for help from the four commanderies of Jingnan. The known number of dead and injured civilians had reached over ten thousand, and the number of missing was even more difficult to count.

"Bang!!"

Li Ji, who had been working in the Jing Province Governor's office for many days, couldn't help but throw a bamboo scroll from Wuling Commandery to the ground in anger.

"The Wuling Man have broken through Yuanling City, wantonly burning, killing, and plundering, with the fire burning for three days without ceasing!"

"How dare they! How dare they!!!"

At this moment, Li Ji could be described as laughing in extreme anger, and even the joy of knowing that Guan Yu had captured Ruyin City according to plan disappeared without a trace.

"Gu Wei, go and summon all the generals to come for a meeting."

Li Ji said in a cold voice.

Liu Biao may have been prepared to temporarily abandon Jingnan, but Li Ji could not tolerate the foreign tribes trampling on the Han people in such a way.

It had not even been half a year since Jingnan was emptied, and the barbarian tribes entrenched in various parts of Jingnan had swarmed out as if it were a New Year celebration, frantically plundering the Han people.

This was tolerable, but what was not tolerable?

If these barbarian tribes were not severely punished this time, they might think that the Great Han had already perished.

Soon, the generals hurried to the Governor's office for a meeting, including not only the Yang Province generals, but also the Jing Province generals such as Huang Zhong, Wen Pin, Liu Pan, Cai Zhong, and Cai He.

A month's time was enough for some earth-shattering changes to occur.

Liu Qi had already been sent back to Wu Commandery, and Liu Bei had officially taken over the Jing Province Governor's seal from Liu Qi.

Subsequently, Liu Bei not only submitted a memorial to the imperial court, but also used the name of the Jing Province Governor's seal to recommend the Grand Commandant Li Ji to temporarily serve as the Jing Province Governor, overseeing all affairs of Jing Province.

Thus, the power of Jing Province had undoubtedly achieved a preliminary and stable transition, and even the officials and generals of all levels in Jing Province were temporarily placed under the command of the Grand Commandant Li Ji.

Seeing Li Ji sitting in the main seat with a slightly cold expression, the generals did not dare to speak or laugh after arriving, and quickly sat down on both sides according to their positions.

After all the generals had arrived, Li Ji said in a deep voice.

"Various barbarians are rebelling. In the four commanderies of Jingnan – Changsha, Wuling, Lingling, and Guiyang – there are barbarian tribes plundering. The defenses of each commandery are insufficient. Yuanling City in Wuling Commandery has been confirmed to be lost, and the number of civilian deaths and missing is immeasurable."

As Li Ji's words fell, the officials and generals who had been under Liu Biao's command lowered their heads subconsciously, not daring to look Li Ji in the eye.

In the past years, although the rebellions of the various barbarians in the four commanderies of Jingnan had occurred frequently, they were almost always limited to a certain area, and it was rare for them to actually break through a city.

Now, the barbarian rebellions had broken out simultaneously in the four commanderies of Jingnan, and even Yuanling City had been captured. Such a large-scale barbarian rebellion was rare in the four hundred years of the Great Han Dynasty.

The situation had evolved to this point, and Liu Biao, who had emptied the military strength of Jingnan, could be said to have made a significant contribution.

Without enough troops to deter the various barbarians in Jingnan, it would be strange if the various barbarians in Jingnan did not rebel.

Li Ji did not intend to pursue the responsibility of these Jing Province officials and generals, but instead directly said.

"The southern barbarians are rebelling. It is appropriate to immediately send troops to quell the rebellion. Who is willing to go to Jingnan to quell the rebellion?"

Immediately, a group of generals was invigorated and stepped forward to volunteer for battle.

"I am willing to go!"

"Pacifying the barbarian rebellion is but a matter of turning one's hand."

"This old man can pacify the southern barbarians."

Seeing the generals vying to volunteer for battle, Li Ji raised his hand to suppress them and said.

"Now the military strength of Jing Province is insufficient, and the barbarians are rebelling in the four commanderies of Jingnan at the same time. My intention is to send four generals to quell the rebellion in the four commanderies of Jingnan respectively, and each will lead only five thousand troops."

Five thousand?

As soon as this number was mentioned, people like Cai Zhong and Cai He instantly retreated in their hearts.

The combat power of the various barbarians in Jingnan should not be underestimated. They can be described as brave, and the number of barbarians rebelling in each commandery is definitely no less than ten thousand.

With only five thousand soldiers, many generals really did not have the confidence to quell the rebellion.

However, it was not that Li Ji was unwilling to squeeze out more troops, but that there were really no troops available.

Jing Province had just been stabilized, and troops needed to be stationed in various cities to consolidate rule.

In addition, there were countless remnants of Yu Province troops entrenched throughout Jingbei, causing trouble everywhere, and Li Ji also needed to retain enough troops to deter Yuan Shu.

Therefore, Li Ji could not even draw a single available soldier from Jingbei to send to Jingnan.

The five thousand soldiers prepared for each of the four generals to quell the rebellion were still the 20,000 troops that Liu Bei had previously transferred to Chaisang for contingencies.

As Li Ji's scrutinizing gaze continued to sweep over them, one general after another began to sit down again.

After a while, only a few generals still dared to stand in front of Li Ji to volunteer for battle.

Zhang Fei, Gan Ning, Huang Zhong, Wen Pin, Wei Yan.

Li Ji's gaze swept back and forth over these five people, and then he pointed his finger at Gan Ning and said.

"Xingba."

"Here!"

Gan Ning took a step forward excitedly and replied loudly.

Meeting Gan Ning's excited gaze, Li Ji said with a smile.

"You, I have other important uses for you. Sit down first."

"Ah?"

Gan Ning was stunned, and he wanted to say something but stopped, not daring to question Li Ji, so he had to sit down again.

Immediately, Li Ji looked at Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Wen Pin, and Wei Yan, and said.

"Are you all willing to go to Jingnan to quell the rebellion?"

"Yes!"

The four generals answered in unison, among which Zhang Fei's voice was the loudest.

However, unlike Zhang Fei's frankness and excitement, Huang Zhong and Wen Pin, as surrendered generals, were actually more apprehensive than excited, and even prepared to be rejected by Li Ji.

However, after Li Ji pondered slightly for a while, he said.

"Among the rebellions of the various barbarians in the four commanderies of Jingnan, the situation in Wuling Commandery is the most serious, followed by Changsha and Lingling, and Guiyang Commandery is the least. Which commandery do you want to go to to quell the rebellion?"

"Wuling Commandery!"

Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, and Wei Yan almost volunteered to fight in Wuling at the same time, but only Wen Pin, who was calm, did not rashly speak.

Seeing this, Li Ji pretended to ponder again and changed his approach.

"Who is willing to go to Guiyang Commandery?"

Guiyang was the least serious, and the four generals naturally had some reluctance to be left behind, and none of them spoke, causing the situation to fall into a brief stalemate.

After a while, Wei Yan suddenly realized something from Li Ji's smile, and his heart moved. He quickly stepped forward to accept the order and said.

"Wei Yan is willing to go to Guiyang Commandery to quell the rebellion."

(End of this chapter)