Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

"Xun Wenruo, you want to reverse the general trend of the world? Then let you personally experience what it means to be an螳臂当车 (idiom: like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, meaning to overrate oneself and attempt something impossible)."

Li Ji slowly敛敛 (liǎn liǎn - restrained) the anger in his heart, and instead refocused his attention on吞 (tūn - swallowing) Yuzhou.

Just as the news of the Yellow River breach came, Li Ji completely掌握 (zhǎngwò - controlled) the area south of the Xiang County section of the Ying River. With no worries about the grain supply line, he successfully joined forces with Xu Sheng and directly marched west to surround Ruyang City.

Moreover, during Li Ji's駐兵 (zhùbīng - stationing troops) in Xiang County and approaching Ruyang City, the defection of the Yuan clan of Runan and a group of Yuzhou aristocratic families also不断 (bùduàn - constantly) undermined the will to resist throughout Yuzhou.

Wen聘 (Wén Pìn), attacking from the Jingzhou direction, also greatly increased the speed of攻城掠地 (gōngchénglüèdì - capturing cities and seizing territory).

On the second day after Li Ji surrounded Ruyang City, Wen聘 (Wén Pìn), leading more than 17,000偏师 (piānshī - a detached force), also顺利 (shùnlì - smoothly) arrived and joined forces with Li Ji.

At this moment, the army attacking Yuzhou from three sides had already gathered under Ruyang City, and nearly 200,000 troops团团 (tuántuán - completely) surrounded Ruyang City, sealing off the four gates.

Ruyang City was originally not considered a giant or strong city, but after Yuan Shu designated it as his治所 (zhìsuǒ - administrative seat), it underwent large-scale repairs, and it could be considered a strong city.

Moreover, although Yuan Shu experienced large-scale众叛亲离 (zhòngpànqīnlí - betrayal and desertion), he has always had some义疏财 (yìshūcái - generous with money in the cause of justice) and still has no shortage of loyal men willing to fight to the death for him.

In contrast, during Li Ji's驻扎 (zhùzhā - stationing) in Xiang County.

The people in Ruyang City were恐慌 (kǒnghuāng - panicking), and many aristocratic families and military generals secretly fled, which was a另类 (lìnglèi - another kind) of purification process, leaving only those who were死忠 (sǐzhōng - absolutely loyal) to Yuan Shu in Ruyang City today.

Yuan Shu's attitude of主动 (zhǔdòng - actively) sealing off the four gates also表明 (biǎomíng - indicated) his determination to coexist with Ruyang City and never flee in embarrassment.

Therefore, Li Ji naturally would not play that meaningless围三阙一 (wéisānquēyī - surround on three sides and leave one side open) trick, and directly布置 (bùzhì - arranged) generals to sit in command on all four sides of Ruyang City.

Zhang Fei at the North Gate, Wen聘 (Wén Pìn) at the West Gate, Xu Sheng at the East Gate, and Li Ji's Central Army at the South Gate.

"Summon the generals to discuss matters."

Li Ji's order quickly传达 (chuándá - conveyed) in the army, and the generals who were originally sitting in command of各方 (gèfāng - various locations) also hurriedly gathered in Li Ji's Central Army tent.

"Before the meeting, there is unfortunate news to tell you all."

Li Ji sighed and公开 (gōngkāi - publicly) announced the news of the Yellow River breach with some悲痛 (bēitòng - grief), and推测 (tuīcè - speculated) that it was not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster caused by the曹贼 (Cáo zéi - traitor Cáo).

Suddenly, the generals present were一片 (yīpiàn - a scene of)嘩然 (huárán - uproar)震怒 (zhènnù - furious).

Even Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, who had heard the推测 (tuīcè - speculation) from Li Ji in advance, were still greatly震驚 (zhènjīng - shocked), only Jia Xu looked as usual, feeling that this was常理 (chánglǐ - common sense).

Cao Cao wanted to reverse the general trend of the world, how could he do it with empty words?

On the contrary, Jia Xu also developed some欣赏 (xīnshǎng - admiration) for Cao Cao in his heart, and produced a judgment similar to Li Ji, thinking that the current struggle between Yuan and Cao might ultimately be won by Cao Cao.

The main公 (gōng - lord)'s腹心大患 (fùxīndàhuàn - major hidden trouble) must be Cao Cao.

Unlike the仁主 (rénzhǔ - benevolent ruler) path taken by Liu Bei, Cao Cao undoubtedly has the姿 (zī - posture) of a枭雄 (xiāoxióng - a ruthless and ambitious person) who will do whatever it takes.

It was under Li Ji's辅助 (fǔzhù - assistance) that Liu Bei吞 (tūn - swallowed) Jing and Yang too quickly, and the accumulated底蕴 (dǐyùn - foundation) was equally深厚 (shēnhòu - profound) and可怕 (kěpà - terrifying), and he opened the road to the Northern Expedition at an amazing speed.

Otherwise, Jia Xu felt that among the群雄 (qúnxióng - heroes) in the Central Plains who could dominate the Central Plains, it might be Cao Mengde, who occupied the barren Qingzhou.

"Unfortunately, unfortunately, Cao Mengde was生不逢时 (shēngbùféngshí - born at the wrong time), otherwise, with such a心性 (xīnxìng - temperament) and手段 (shǒuduàn - means), even if he was a宦官 (huànguān - eunuch)'s后 (hòu - descendant), it was not impossible to advance into the world..."

Jia Xu,沉浸 (chénjìn - immersed) in thought,嘀咕 (dígū - muttered) unconsciously.

After Jia Xu reacted to what he had said, he suddenly发现 (fāxiàn - discovered) that a lot of somewhat凌厉 (línglì - sharp) glances were投 (tóu - cast) towards him.

Among them, the generals led by Zang Ba and other Taishan bandits were the most凶狠 (xiōnghěn - fierce).

Most of the Taishan bandits are from Xuzhou, even though Zang Ba himself was born in Taishan郡 (jùn - prefecture), he also lived in Xuzhou for many years.

Now, hearing that the Yellow River breach and the flood will淹 (yān - flood) the territory of Xuzhou, everyone is悲愤 (bēifèn - grief and indignation)忧心 (yōuxīn - worried).

And Jia Xu's seemingly惋惜 (wǎnxī - regret) words for Cao Cao were indeed quiet, but in a quiet tent, many people heard them.

"What does Jia Changshi mean? Could it be that he is惋惜 (wǎnxī - regretting) for the Cao贼 (zéi - thief)?"

"Could it be that Jia Changshi's heart is向 (xiàng - turned towards) Cao贼 (zéi - thief)?"

"These words, his heart can be诛 (zhū - condemned)!"

......

The generals of the Xuzhou faction, led by Zang Ba,纷纷 (fēnfēn - one after another) spoke out to呵斥 (hēchì - reprimand) Jia Xu.

However, with Li Ji sitting in the main seat, even if the generals of the Xuzhou faction, such as Zang Ba, were angry, they did not dare to拔剑 (bájiàn - draw their swords). Jia Xu was唾面自干 (tuòmiànzìgān - swallow insults), and was not angered by these呵斥 (hēchì - reprimands) at all.

On the contrary, Jia Xu's face流露 (liúlù - revealed) a look of愧色 (kuìsè - shame), saying.

"What you said is very true. I was一時 (yīshí - for a moment)光顾 (guānggù - preoccupied) with thinking about the threat of Cao賊 (zéi - thief), but I did not think that the Yellow River water might cause serious damage to Xuzhou..."

Jia Xu's attitude of such惭愧 (cánkuì - ashamed)真挚 (zhēnzhì - sincere) also quickly缓和 (huǎnhé - eased) the expressions of the generals.

Immediately afterwards, before anyone else could speak, Jia Xu said in a deep voice.

"I have been an清廉 (qīnglián - honest) official for many years, and I can be considered to have a薄 (báo - meager)家资 (jiāzī - family fortune). Today, the people of Xuzhou are suffering from disaster, how can I be indifferent?"

"I am willing to捐 (juān - donate) 2,500 gold, 1,000匹 (pǐ - bolts) of silk cloth, and 10,000担 (dàn - piculs) of grain to help the灾民 (zāimín - disaster victims), to express my feelings."

As soon as these words came out, many straightforward generals could not help but be moved, and praised Jia Xu as a truly仁德 (réndé - benevolent)君子 (jūnzǐ - gentleman).

Only the corners of Li Ji's mouth twitched uncontrollably as he listened...

Jia Xu is not greedy for money, but he is definitely not a清廉 (qīnglián - honest) official.

With Jia Xu's ability and地位 (dìwèi - position), there are ways to reasonably and legally obtain a massive家资 (jiāzī - family fortune).

Not to mention anything else, just the close relationship between Jia Xu and Li Ji in the eyes of outsiders is enough for Jia Xu to receive countless courteous treatments from the aristocratic families.

Many aristocratic families have asked Jia Xu where to圈定 (quāndìng - demarcate) a location on Yizhou for development.

It is true that Yizhou is divided into autonomous regions for the aristocratic families to develop, but Yizhou has never脱离 (tuōlí - broken away) Liu Bei's control, and naturally there will be preferential areas that are侧重 (cèzhòng - emphasized) for development.

Just this one piece of news is undoubtedly worth a thousand gold.

The aristocratic families who come to ask for advice, how can they not understand人情世故 (rénqíngshìgù - human relationships), how can various gifts and礼金 (lǐjīn - money gifts) be less?

If Jia Xu does not take it, they will not feel at ease, and they will not dare to believe what Jia Xu said.

But if they don't believe it, how can Jia Xu complete the task that Li Ji交代 (jiāodài - instructed) to persuade the aristocratic families?

As for the gifts and礼金 (lǐjīn - money gifts) that Jia Xu received, Liu Bei naturally would not计较 (jìjiào - fuss) and pursue them, and they all belonged to Jia Xu.

Therefore, what the generals thought would definitely be a大出血 (dàchūxiě - heavy bleeding), and even耗尽家资 (hàojìnjiāzī - exhaust his family fortune), Jia Xu is actually just paying a drop in the bucket.

Seeing that those generals of the Xuzhou faction who had just joined not long ago were admiring Jia Xu's benevolent gentlemanly demeanor, and even began to主动 (zhǔdòng - proactively)致歉 (zhìqiàn - apologize) to Jia Xu.

"咚咚咚 (dōngdōngdōng - sound of knocking)!"

Li Ji轻敲 (qīngqiāo - lightly tapped) the table, restoring the solemnity to the tent, saying.

"Everyone does not need to worry too much about the Yellow River breach. Gu Yuan嘆 (tàn - sighed) has already rushed to the Yellow River to治理 (zhìlǐ - manage) the flood, and the main公 (gōng - lord) has made corresponding arrangements in Xuzhou in advance."

"If all goes well, it will not be long before good news will come from Xuzhou. The generals must安抚 (ānfǔ - appease) the soldiers in the army."

(End of this chapter)