Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei was overjoyed.

This was the main reason for Liu Bei's visit to Lu Zhi, and now that Lu Zhi had taken the initiative to bring it up, how could Liu Bei not be delighted?

"Zikun suggested that Wu Commandery would be the best choice, followed by Danyang and Jiujiang. This would connect to the land of Xu Province, allowing us to assist the Central Plains in resettling refugees on one hand, and alleviate the population shortage and increase labor to cultivate farmland and manage water conservancy on the other," Liu Bei replied.

Lu Zhi pondered for a moment and replied.

"If I remember correctly, the household registration records show that Jiujiang has a population of over 400,000, Danyang has a population of over 600,000, and Wu Commandery has a population of over 700,000."

"If we consider the need for a large amount of labor to cultivate farmland and manage water conservancy, we do need to consider the population factor. Furthermore, Wu Commandery is connected to Guangling in Xu Province, making it the most convenient route for introducing refugees."

After a pause, Lu Zhi said earnestly.

"Very well, then I will recommend Xuande to the imperial court. I hope Xuande will not forget the heart of benevolence and righteousness, and when governing a region, you must make it your duty to ensure the local people live and work in peace and contentment."

Liu Bei quickly bowed and replied, "Your disciple will remember Master Lu's words."

......

At the same time, Li Ji was handling the clerical work of Liu Bei's unit.

Personnel arrangements, material consumption, grain and grass allocation, and so on...

Previously, Li Ji had not formally sworn allegiance to Liu Bei, so he was not comfortable getting involved in these matters. But now that Li Ji had no reason to refuse, he naturally took over.

Therefore, Li Ji discovered that the Battle of Boluojin was truly a narrow victory.

Before this battle, Liu Bei's unit had about 5,500 soldiers, including 1,000 cavalry and about 4,500 infantry.

In the Battle of Boluojin, a full 2,200 soldiers died on the spot, and about 500 were severely wounded with amputations. Now, Liu Bei's forces have less than 800 cavalry and only a little over 2,000 infantry, which can be described as a tragic loss.

Among them, those who were severely wounded with amputations were undoubtedly no longer suitable to remain in the army.

According to the common practice of the Han Dynasty, wounded and disabled soldiers would be rewarded with a certain amount of meat, money, and grain to allow them to return to their hometowns on their own.

When Li Ji was processing the documents, he discovered a document drafted by Liu Bei, preparing to suggest that Lu Zhi show compassion to the 500 soldiers who were wounded and disabled, making it difficult for them to return to their hometowns on their own, and allow the 500 soldiers to be resettled around Julu City and allocated farmland.

It can be said that compared to others, Liu Bei's approach was quite benevolent, and considering that most of the soldiers who followed Liu Bei had no ties in Zhuo Commandery, settling down around Julu City and farming would not be a bad idea.

However, Li Ji thought about it, and was just about to suppress this document when Liu Bei returned with a face full of joy, and couldn't wait to say as soon as he stepped in the door.

"Zikun, Master Lu has agreed to recommend me to the imperial court as the Administrator of Wu Commandery."

Li Ji was also delighted to hear this.

Wu Commandery was undoubtedly the area that best fit Li Ji's vision.

With Liu Bei's military merits and Lu Zhi's prestige in pacifying the Yellow Turbans in Ji Province, as long as Lu Zhi submitted a memorial to the imperial court, then this matter could almost be considered a certainty.

Moreover, with Liu Bei's proposed strategy of "governing the world with one commandery," as long as Lu Zhi did not fall, then Liu Bei could serve as the Administrator of Wu Commandery without worrying about being dismissed midway.

As long as the current Emperor collapsed, the crumbling Han Dynasty would usher in its final moment.

At that time, compared to the other lords who had established their foundations five years earlier, Liu Bei, with Li Ji's help, would probably be able to build Wu Commandery into an impregnable fortress and a large granary.

Compared to the original trajectory, Sun Ce did not occupy Wu Commandery until 195 AD, and now Liu Bei was almost ten years earlier, the advantage he possessed was simply unimaginable.

"Good!"

Li Ji happily responded, then handed the document in his hand to Liu Bei and said.

"My lord, now that the Northern General has helped to submit the memorial for the position of Administrator of Wu Commandery, it is almost certain, then this document may need to be reconsidered by the lord."

Liu Bei took the document, glanced at the contents, and asked in confusion.

"Zikun, isn't this the document I drafted to resettle the severely wounded soldiers around Julu City to ensure their remaining years are fed and clothed?"

"I have also visited those soldiers one by one. Although they were fortunate enough to save their lives, their bodies are incomplete, with missing legs, arms, or fingers, and they are no longer suitable to remain in the army. Is there anything missing?"

Li Ji replied.

"My lord is benevolent, and this document is also mostly for the sake of the soldiers, but in my opinion, even if these severely wounded soldiers are resettled around Julu City and allocated farmland, how can they ensure their own food and clothing with their incomplete bodies?"

Liu Bei's face showed sorrow upon hearing this, but this was already the most Liu Bei could think of to do his best for these severely wounded soldiers, and said.

"This is my fault, and I can only reward them with more meat, money, and grain. It's just that my ability is limited now, otherwise I would definitely support these soldiers who risked their lives for me for the rest of their lives."

Unlike the previous temporary nurturing of the two thousand children in Zhuo County, Liu Bei had seized a large amount of money and grain from the Yellow Turbans at that time, enough to easily raise those children to the point where they could support themselves.

And even if Liu Bei led his troops south, it was impossible to bring all the money and grain with him, so he naturally did not hesitate to spend it.

However, the spoils that Liu Bei gained from capturing Boluojin were also very few. Perhaps there was countless money and grain in Julu City, but it had already been sealed up by the upright and unyielding Lu Zhi and returned to the imperial court.

Therefore, now that Liu Bei was maintaining the food and expenses of more than two thousand subordinates, he still needed to be allocated and supplied by Lu Zhi, and he simply did not have the confidence to talk about supporting those five hundred or so disabled soldiers for the rest of their lives.

Now, Li Ji, who was in charge of all the documents, was naturally very clear about how much wealth Liu Bei had.

However, Li Ji considered his words and said.

"My lord, what is the most lacking thing if you want to govern Wu Commandery?"

"Zikun, please speak," Liu Bei asked.

"That is people who are loyal to the lord," Li Ji replied.

The so-called: Imperial power does not extend to the countryside.

If you want to govern a place, you must win people's hearts and have enough people to oversee the overall situation, otherwise, what is the use of being a commandery administrator, you will still be completely controlled by the people below.

"My lord is a northerner, and even if you go to Wu Commandery to serve as the commandery administrator, I expect there will be no shortage of people in the government office who outwardly obey but inwardly oppose, let alone every township in the government office."

"Therefore, instead of resettling these disabled soldiers around Julu City, it is better to bring them to Wu Commandery and disperse them in different townships to be the lord's eyes and ears, and then promote the lord's benevolent governance, so as to avoid the townships being deceived by the local officials."

Liu Bei suddenly realized upon hearing this and praised.

"Zikun is right, and instead of leaving these soldiers around Julu City, it is better to bring them to Wu Commandery to resettle them, so that I can take better care of them."

In the following period, the situation of the Yellow Turban Rebellion did indeed gradually move towards peace as Li Ji had expected.

Zhang Jiao's death and the fall of Julu undoubtedly completely disintegrated the foundation of the Taiping Dao.

Perhaps the Yellow Turbans still existed, but the Taiping Dao almost declared its disintegration.

As this news spread from Julu throughout the world, it was accompanied by the disintegration of the fighting spirit of countless Taiping Dao leaders, who were filled with grief.

Many Taiping Dao leaders only knew that the general trend was over, and even disbanded their followers on the spot and hid in the mountains and forests.

Even if there were still some leaders who were stubborn, they were also in great confusion and were gradually eliminated by the Han army led by Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun.

It's just that Li Ji knew that although the Han Dynasty had extinguished the flame called the "Yellow Turban Rebellion," the sparks that splashed out would spread for more than ten or twenty years.

Although the Taiping Dao had dispersed, the remaining Yellow Turbans were still as numerous as hairs hidden in various places to cause trouble, so that the Han army sent by the imperial court, even if they cleaned up some of them, were exhausted and overwhelmed, and could only let the commandery administrators of various places eliminate them on their own.

This further strengthened the real power possessed by the commandery administrators of various places, and even became the foundation of Liu Yan's "Province Governor Policy."

'At this moment, if Liu Yan is good at seizing the opportunity, he should take the opportunity to submit the 'Province Governor Policy' for the second time...'

Li Ji was wielding his sword with a serious expression on his face, while his mind had already wandered to some unknown place.

This scene made Zhao Yun, who was teaching Li Ji, look slightly anxious, but he couldn't say anything harsh to Li Ji.

Previously, under Liu Bei's repeated requests, worried about Li Ji's physical condition, he asked Li Ji to follow Zhao Yun to learn spearmanship to strengthen his body.

At first, Li Ji inevitably had a bit of the ideal of fighting on the battlefield and dyeing his battle robe with blood, so he followed Zhao Yun every day to learn spearmanship with great anticipation.

However, reality and ideals are always full of contrasts.

After practicing for a full month, the spear in Li Ji's hand still often aimed at the scarecrow's neck, but would inexplicably stab towards the scarecrow's lower three paths.

This made Zhao Yun, who was humble and gentle in nature, anxious, and he completely didn't understand why the grand and imposing introductory spearmanship of the master's school, in Li Ji's hands, insisted on specializing in the lower three paths.

Therefore, Li Ji, who knew that he had no talent for spearmanship, could only follow Zhao Yun to switch to swordsmanship.

Compared to the difficult-to-control spear, the entry difficulty of swordsmanship was obviously much lower, so Li Ji's swordsmanship now looked decent.

It's just that Li Ji, who already understood that his talent for martial arts was unsatisfactory, had little interest in practicing swordsmanship.

After all, if the battlefield has already forced the strategist to draw his sword to fight, then Li Ji might as well draw his sword and commit suicide, so as to avoid being captured and suffering various tortures of the body and various temptations of beauty to torment the spirit.

Therefore, even if Zhao Yun personally taught swordsmanship, Li Ji still inevitably wandered off.

Seven days ago, the imperial court also sent a minor eunuch to Julu to announce the decree, officially appointing Liu Bei as the Administrator of Wu Commandery, bestowing seals of office and official robes, and ordering Liu Bei to take office in Wu Commandery within this year.

The reason Liu Bei was still stationed in Julu was following Li Ji's advice. He had dispatched Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to lead troops back to Zhuo County to bring the large amount of money and supplies stored there, along with the two thousand-plus Peach Garden followers, to Julu, before heading to Wu Commandery together.

Therefore, Li Ji found himself somewhat idle for the time being, spending his days reading or being supervised by Zhao Yun in martial practice.

However, what puzzled Li Ji was that Liu Bei, who would almost always appear to practice swordsmanship together, was nowhere to be seen today.

"Zilong, where is our lord today?" Li Ji asked.

Zhao Yun thought for a moment and replied, "I saw our lord being summoned by the General of the North Middle Camp early this morning, apparently to prepare for the arrival of the Generals of the Left and Right Middle Camps."

"Hmm?"

Li Ji paused his sword dance.

General of the Left Middle Camp, Huangfu Song, and General of the Right Middle Camp, Zhu Jun!

Of course, these two were not only worthy of attention as capable and battle-hardened generals, but more importantly, Cao Cao was currently under Huangfu Song's command, and Sun Jian was also under Zhu Jun's command.

In this way, the founders of the Three Kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu in the original timeline were all gathered in Julu.

Immediately, Li Ji felt that the sword in his hand was no longer appealing and said,

"Let's go and take a look."