Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Wei Yan might have this or that fault, but his strength lies in his quick recognition of mistakes, his sufficiently correct attitude, his emphasis on loyalty, and his desire for improvement.

Too much desire for improvement leads to being eager for quick success and instant benefits.

However, too little desire for improvement also gives Li Ji a headache. That would be like Zhou Yu, who clearly has the ability but just wants to slack off.

Unless he's paired with a Sun Ce, Zhou Yu has no intention of actively offering advice.

Therefore, after reprimanding and warning Wei Yan in this way, Li Ji picked up a stack of paper that wasn't very thick from his desk and pushed it towards Wei Yan, saying,

"These are some notes on military tactics that I've summarized from time to time over the past decade. They're written in a disorganized manner. Take them back and help me organize them and write some annotations."

Wei Yan suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with surprise and disbelief as he looked at Li Ji.

After being reprimanded by Li Ji like this, Wei Yan thought that he would probably find it difficult to gain Li Ji's reuse and trust in the future.

Without Li Ji's support, Wei Yan would have very little foothold in Liu Bei's group, and wanting to continue to improve would be wishful thinking.

However, to Wei Yan's surprise, the Marquis actually treated him so kindly.

Notes on military tactics!

This was truly a secret that was not to be passed on.

Although the Marquis was doing it under the guise of Wei Yan assisting in organizing them, how could Wei Yan not understand that the Marquis was cultivating him?

Immediately, Wei Yan's eyes turned red, especially since Wei Yan had been wandering for many years, exhausting his efforts to seek improvement and experiencing the coldness of human relationships, which made Li Ji's concern and attention at this moment even more precious.

This made Wei Yan look at the paper pushed in front of him, and he said, choked with emotion,

"My parents gave me life, but the Marquis has shown me grace. What virtue or ability do I, Yan, possess to receive such great kindness from the Marquis again and again?"

Li Ji frowned and scolded, "A fine man, why are you crying for no reason? Where is the ambition to swallow Cao that you showed just now?"

However, Li Ji's reprimand now only made Wei Yan feel even more moved, feeling that it was all the Marquis's sincere concern.

Immediately, Wei Yan knelt down on both knees towards Li Ji and performed a great salute, saying,

"Yan has drifted for half his life, only regretting that he has not met a noble person. If the Marquis does not abandon me, Yan is willing to become…"

Li Ji was first startled, then furious, and directly interrupted Wei Yan's incantation preparation, slamming a palm on the desk and shouting,

"Wei Yan!"

Wei Yan's waist, which was originally bent while kneeling, subconsciously straightened, and he blurted out in response,

"This subordinate is present!"

Li Ji solemnly said in a deep voice,

"I only have one wish, and that is to support the Han Dynasty, revive the Great Han, teach the barbarians to submit, and civilize all directions."

"If you feel my kindness and also understand some of the insights, then put more effort into this matter in the future, and that will be considered repaying my kindness."

"Yan will never dare to forget!"

Wei Yan carefully listened to this teaching, responded solemnly, and then used both hands to hold up the stack of paper before bowing and retreating.

Watching Wei Yan's departure, Li Ji only felt a burst of mental exhaustion.

Ultimately, the problem is that there are too few truly capable generals under Liu Bei who can stand alone.

This group of seedlings like Zhuge Liang naturally has unlimited potential, but growth takes time.

As Liu Bei's territory expands little by little, reliable and capable generals are needed to guard the various states.

Wei Yan can be considered a promising talent, but his mind is not stable, and eagerness for quick success and instant benefits is Wei Yan's biggest shortcoming.

‘It still needs polishing…’

Li Ji sighed secretly, then turned over and seized the time to close his eyes and rest.

The preparation time for the army to set off to援援 Pengcheng was only about an hour, and Li Ji could only take advantage of these few gaps to squint for a while to relieve his tired spirit.

However, even though Li Ji strongly advocated that Liu Bei should prioritize the overall situation and return to Pengcheng, Cao Cao's figure couldn't help but appear in his short rest, and he subconsciously continued to think about what Cao Cao was intending to do.

Liu Bei did not understand Cao Cao's actions, and Li Ji also had no conclusion.

However, in matters of national importance, it is impossible to be indecisive and hesitant because of some misgivings. Instead, one should make the most favorable judgment with the decisiveness of cutting a Gordian knot.

… …

At the same time.

Cao Cao, who had reached the border between Donghai Commandery and Langya State, looked back at the direction of Tan County and then at the direction where Liu Bei's army was located.

In those slender eyes, there was a deepness like an abyss, making it difficult to fathom.

"Liu Da'er, Li Zikun…"

Cao Cao repeated these two names in a low voice, then chuckled self-deprecatingly, saying,

"I underestimated you. I've forced Cao to avoid your edge now."

At this moment, Cao Cao's demeanor was completely unlike someone who had just experienced a disastrous defeat or was even forced to abandon Donghai Commandery.

When Cao Cao mentioned Liu Bei and Li Ji's names, he revealed a kind of confidence.

After offering his strategy, Xun You's position in Cao Cao's camp undoubtedly ushered in a huge improvement, no longer being a transparent person with the label of Xun Yu's nephew.

On the contrary, to show his importance and favor to Xun You, Cao Cao even let Xun You sit with him on the chariot.

Therefore, Xun You also took over the conversation at this time, saying,

"Lord, leveraging strengths and avoiding weaknesses is the key to reversing victory and defeat."

"Gongda is right. A temporary victory or defeat is nothing. And Gongda must have expected that Cao would suffer this defeat, so that's when the time to offer that ingenious plan arose." Cao Cao said with a smile.

Xun You's expression fell into that idiotic state again, his eyes were empty, as if he didn't hear Cao Cao's words, directly ignoring the traps and probes in Cao Cao's words.

Regarding Xun You's reaction, Cao Cao's expression seemed to have no trace of displeasure or impatience. Instead, he continued to talk and laugh about the arrangement of troops.

Xun You would answer a few sentences from time to time, but more often than not, he remained in a dazed and idiotic state.

Not long after Cao Cao entered Langya State, the few remaining Cao army scouts also brought back a message to Cao Cao, that Liu Bei had indeed divided two thousand elite troops to pursue him closely.

"The flags are marked with 'Sun' and 'Zhou'?"

Cao Cao thought for a moment, and quickly realized that the people leading the troops were Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, and couldn't help but say with a smile.

"Li Zikun still doesn't trust Cao as always, and personally sent his disciples to see Cao off from Xuzhou. He values Cao quite a bit."

When mentioning this sentence, Cao Cao actually felt a bit of joy in his heart.

Regardless, being so valued and careful by Li Ji, isn't that a kind of recognition for Cao Cao?

However, when a large number of Yangzhou cavalry acted as scouts and constantly hovered around the Cao army to monitor them, Cao Cao immediately felt very uncomfortable, feeling like he was being watched all the time.

At this moment, Cao Cao's desire for cavalry became even stronger.

(End of this chapter)