Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 60: A Prime Minister Must Rise from the Provinces

Of course, it's not like Liu Bei can simply become the governor of any state or commandery he desires.

Li Ji merely provided Liu Bei with a general scope and direction, allowing Liu Bei to petition the court through Lu Zhi.

This also secures one of the greatest benefits Lu Zhi could foresee in the short term, preventing his military achievements from being entirely swallowed by the likes of Dong Zhuo, and ensuring someone would earnestly strive for the commandery Liu Bei sought from the court.

Otherwise, even in the hypothetical scenario where Li Ji assisted Dong Zhuo in defeating the Yellow Turbans, and Liu Bei became a commandery governor through Liu Yan's recommendation, Liu Yan would never specifically advocate for Liu Bei to govern a particular state or commandery, leaving the court to assign him at will.

In such a case, if he were assigned to Jiaozhou or the northern part of Youzhou, wouldn't that be akin to exile to Lingnan or banishment to Ningguta in Li Ji's eyes?

Even if Liu Bei became a commandery governor, in those harsh and sparsely populated regions of Jiaozhou and northern Youzhou, it would be like a skilled housewife trying to cook without rice.

Therefore, after Li Ji further explained to Liu Bei why he chose the three commanderies in the northern part of Yangzhou, near Xuzhou, as his target, and supplemented it with various ideas of "governing the world through one commandery."

The decisive Liu Bei immediately went to visit Lu Zhi, seeking his guidance and requesting him to submit a memorial to the court regarding the governorship.

Currently, the military reports of Liu Bei's defeat of Zhang Jiao and his assistance in capturing Julu City have already been sent to Luoyang. Lu Zhi had no intention of embezzling Liu Bei's military merits in the slightest, truthfully describing Liu Bei's contributions.

Therefore, if Lu Zhi hadn't promptly submitted a memorial to the court recommending Liu Bei, it would have been too late once the court's rewards were confirmed.

Since the Julu City government office was burned down by Zhang Liang, Lu Zhi could only choose another residence as a temporary government office after entering Julu City.

Moreover, Lu Zhi not only halted the advance of troops to defend Julu City as his primary objective, preventing the Yellow Turbans around Julu Commandery from retaking Julu City, but also gradually cleared the surrounding Yellow Turban bandits, centered on Julu City.

It can be said that with the capture of Julu City, the battle situation in Jizhou was largely settled, and the remaining Yellow Turban bandits were merely minor ailments, unable to pose a significant threat.

Lu Zhi only needed to steadily advance, slowly eliminate the remaining Yellow Turban bandits, and defend Julu City, which was of great significance to the Yellow Turban bandits, to achieve a great accomplishment.

Therefore, when Liu Bei visited Lu Zhi, Lu Zhi was processing official documents in the temporary government office and quickly personally received his disciple, who had impressed him.

Looking at Liu Bei's steady expression, which couldn't conceal his joy, Lu Zhi, still wearing a washed-out robe, didn't appear to possess the prestige that terrified the Yellow Turban bandits. Instead, he resembled an old scholar.

After Liu Bei respectfully greeted him and indicated for Liu Bei to sit down, Lu Zhi asked.

"Xuande, seeing your face beaming with happiness, could it be that you have some good news to share with this old man?"

"Master Lu is perceptive. This disciple indeed has a joyful matter and thus cannot conceal the joy in my heart," Liu Bei replied.

"Oh?" Lu Zhi asked.

"Zi Kun, who was unconscious for five days, has awakened and acknowledged this disciple as his lord."

When speaking of this matter, even though Liu Bei deliberately controlled his expression, the corners of his mouth still unconsciously turned upward.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhi inquired further.

"Could it be that Li Ji, Li Zi Kun, whom you have mentioned to this old man many times before, is the same Li Zi Kun who devised the plan for Daxing Mountain, trapped Julu with illusion and reality, and defeated Zhang Jiao on three fronts?"

"Precisely," Liu Bei replied.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhi's expression immediately became somewhat silent, and his gaze towards Liu Bei carried a hint of strangeness and… disdain.

Seeing this, Liu Bei asked somewhat nervously. "Master Lu, is there something wrong with this?"

Lu Zhi sighed slightly and said.

"This old man originally intended to wait for Li Zi Kun to awaken, converse with him, and then recommend him to the Emperor. With Li Zi Kun's talent, he is truly not meant for a mere state or commandery."

Hearing this, Liu Bei immediately understood Lu Zhi's meaning.

For Li Ji to follow Liu Bei would undoubtedly be a waste, akin to casting pearls before swine, a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung.

This made Liu Bei feel a bit guilty towards Li Ji and also deeply fortunate.

Fortunately, he acted quickly. Otherwise, after Master Lu met Li Ji and decided to recommend Li Ji to the court, even if Liu Bei desired Li Ji, he couldn't possibly compete with Master Lu for talent, or compete with the court for talent.

Now that he had established the relationship of lord and subject with Li Ji, unless Li Ji had a strong desire otherwise, even Lu Zhi wouldn't interfere and arrange things for Li Ji over Liu Bei's head.

However, Lu Zhi's implied meaning of casting pearls before swine made Liu Bei inexplicably feel that his teacher's love had completely disappeared.

Back when he was studying, Lu Zhi also valued Liu Bei quite a bit. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gifted him several volumes of handwritten notes, and after reuniting at Boluo Ford, Lu Zhi often praised Liu Bei.

Unexpectedly…

Liu Bei said somewhat aggrievedly. "Master Lu, this disciple will certainly not let Zi Kun down and will strive to allow Zi Kun to display his talents and benefit the world."

Lu Zhi stroked his beard and said. "Since things have come to this, can this old man still force it?"

This sensible disciple had already proactively worried for the teacher and offered Li Ji.

However, Liu Bei pretended to be deaf and dumb at this moment, seemingly completely unaware of the other hidden implication in Lu Zhi's words, and said.

"Previously, Zi Kun proposed 'governing the world through one commandery.' Bei feels deeply enlightened and has come to seek advice from Master Lu."

"Governing the world through one commandery?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhi pondered the meaning of this sentence.

Moreover, the surface meaning of this sentence is not difficult to understand. It reveals the breadth of mind, bearing, and extraordinary confidence of the person who uttered this sentence by influencing and governing the world through a state or commandery.

However, how to govern the world through one commandery is a perplexing question.

Having his interest piqued, Lu Zhi said. "Xuande, please explain in detail."

"Master Lu, why can the demonic Zhang Jiao easily bewilder a large number of commoners? It is because natural disasters occur frequently, and the people have difficulty obtaining enough farmland to sustain themselves."

In front of Lu Zhi, Liu Bei naturally couldn't use overly radical and sharp statements, but instead proposed his ideas in a more gentle manner.

To this, Lu Zhi pondered slightly and nodded in agreement.

This point is indeed undeniable.

"Therefore, Zi Kun proposed focusing on the area south of the Yangtze River!"

Speaking of this, Liu Bei's tone became somewhat excited, and he said.

"Compared to the Central Plains, although the climate south of the Yangtze River is hot and humid, with many poisonous insects and fierce beasts, there is still a large amount of arable land available for reclamation, a dense network of waterways, and no risk of drought."

"Therefore, this disciple wishes to go south of the Yangtze River to govern a commandery, settle refugees, dredge waterways, and reclaim fertile land."

"At that time, if this disciple's governance is very effective, it will surely allow the officials of the court to understand the potential of the land south of the Yangtze River. Perhaps it can change the格局 of the world, allowing the court to fully develop the area south of the Yangtze River, gradually making it the granary of the world."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhi didn't answer immediately but stroked his beard and fell into thought.

Unlike Liu Bei, a northerner who had never been south of the Yangtze River, Lu Zhi had served as the governor of Jiujiang and Lujiang commanderies respectively and was quite familiar with the situation south of the Yangtze River.

After a full moment, Lu Zhi sighed and said.

"This old man has often heard 《Han Feizi ·顯學》 say: 'A prime minister must rise from the provinces, and a fierce general must emerge from the ranks.' I didn't think so, feeling it was just a personal opinion. But seeing it today, I know it is true."

These words caused Liu Bei's heart to be filled with excitement.

He understood that Lu Zhi was praising the brilliance of this strategy and also believed that Li Ji possessed the talent of a prime minister.

"This child's vision is admirable."

Lu Zhi sighed and said.

"This old man has also governed states and commanderies south of the Yangtze River, but I never thought that perhaps developing Jiangnan could alleviate the problem of insufficient arable land in the world. I am truly ashamed."

"So, Master Lu thinks this strategy is feasible?" Liu Bei asked.

However, Lu Zhi shook his head and replied. "This old man does not know."

"Ah?" Liu Bei replied.

"Before things are accomplished, who knows the outcome?"

Lu Zhi asked rhetorically and then replied.

"But in this old man's opinion, this is a viable direction. It's just that when this old man governed Jiujiang and Lujiang, there were barbarian rebellions in Jiujiang Commandery. I was ordered to quell the rebellions. Later, this old man was not suitable for the climate of Jiangnan and had to resign after hastily quelling the rebellions."

"After that, there were barbarian rebellions in Lujiang again, and the court appointed this old man as the governor of Lujiang Commandery to quell the rebellions. However, after serving for only a little over a year, I was summoned back to the court to serve as a consultant, proofreading Confucian classics in the Eastern Pavilion and continuing to write 《Han Ji》."

After a pause, Lu Zhi continued.

"In addition, based on what this old man saw in Jiujiang and Lujiang, the land of Yangzhou not only has frequent barbarian and Shanyue rebellions, but also bandits and outlaws are everywhere."

"Moreover, due to the dense network of waterways, there are so many water bandits that they are comparable to carps crossing the river, and they are extremely difficult to eliminate. With the slightest disturbance, those water bandits will dive into the rivers, lakes, and reed marshes, relying on their knowledge of the waterways, making it difficult to find them."

"Therefore, when this old man served as the governor of Jiujiang and Lujiang, I was almost always busy with suppressing bandits every day. If Xuande intends to reclaim fertile land south of the Yangtze River, the harm of bandits and thieves should be the first priority."

Hearing these words, Liu Bei's heart immediately cooled by half.

Liu Bei had previously heard Li Ji mention that there were many bandits south of the Yangtze River, but he never expected that even with Master Lu's abilities, he would find suppressing bandits extremely difficult.

However, since things have come to this, Liu Bei has no reason to retreat.

Regardless of Liu Bei's trust in Li Ji, more importantly, if he can properly develop the area south of the Yangtze River, it would be of great benefit to the people of the world. This is enough to make Liu Bei rise to the challenge.

“Thank you for your guidance, Master Lu,” Liu Bei replied resolutely, “but this disciple's mind is made up. How can I shrink back because of some bandits? If this matter greatly benefits the world, even if I spend my whole life on it, I will do so with tireless joy.”

“Good!”

Seeing this, Lu Zhi was quite pleased with Liu Bei's determination and then asked,

“Now that Xuande wishes to govern the world starting with a single commandery, do you have a place where you wish to serve as governor? This old man can recommend you to the court, which would be my way of helping you, Xuande.”