Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Afterward, Liu Bei didn't even give Li Ji a chance to continue discussing the matter, and left straight away to find Zhang Fei.

“My lord, please take care.”

Li Ji saw Liu Bei off to the door, watching Liu Bei's departing figure, and couldn't help but feel a trace of worry.

Liu Bei's concerns were not without some reason.

Sometimes, the fear lies in being like Chancellor Zhuge in the original trajectory, “Dying before victory, leaving heroes with tear-filled sleeves.”

Just then, Zhuge Liang walked over from another direction, holding a tray piled high with documents in both hands, and ran head-on into Li Ji's somewhat strange gaze.

This made Zhuge Liang pause, subconsciously looking down at his attire, and asking. “Teacher, is there something amiss with Liang?”

“No.”

Li Ji led Zhuge Liang into the house, looking at the youthful version of Chancellor Zhuge diligently handling government affairs, and a fleeting moment of guilt flashed through his mind.

If Zhuge Liang were cultivated in this way, by the time he reached the age to officially come of age and enter officialdom, he would probably already have the ability of a chancellor.

With Zhuge Liang's potential, this couldn't be considered forcing growth, but Li Ji couldn't help but worry about Zhuge Liang being overworked at a young age.

In Li Ji's mind, the first choice to replace himself in the next generation was not Li Xiang, but Zhuge Liang.

“Liang'er.”

Li Ji said.

Zhuge Liang quickly put down the brush in his hand, respectfully stood up and saluted, listening to the teacher's instructions.

“Please speak, teacher.”

“Come with me.”

Li Ji led Zhuge Liang to an open space in the backyard, and ordered someone to fetch two Han swords, saying.

“A few official duties need not be rushed, let's practice swordsmanship together.”

Zhuge Liang's mouth moved slightly, his eyes involuntarily looking in the direction where the official documents were piled, but Zhuge Liang, who had always respected his teacher and valued the Way, was even more unwilling to disobey Li Ji's instructions.

“Yes.”

Zhuge Liang took the Han sword and began practicing swordsmanship with Li Ji.

Unlike the situation in the past, when he knew nothing about swordsmanship, Li Ji has often taken the time to practice over the years, even if he doesn't practice hard day and night.

Going into battle to kill enemies and charging into battle is still somewhat insufficient, but Li Ji's swordsmanship is far above the average level of the Han scholars.

At least, it is no problem to give some guidance to the young Zhuge Liang.

This practice lasted for more than half an hour.

Zhuge Liang was already covered in sweat, and Li Ji also felt a bit tired before letting Zhuge Liang leave.

At this moment, watching Zhuge Liang's departing figure, Li Ji inexplicably thought of the period shortly after the end of the Battle of Boluojin, when Liu Bei also personally supervised and accompanied him in sword practice every day. Wasn't this also a kind of love?

After Zhuge Liang's figure completely disappeared around the corner, Li Ji handed the Han sword in his hand to the Tiger Guard guarding on the side, and said.

“Yi'er, why did you come, and deliberately conceal your whereabouts without meeting Liang'er?”

As Li Ji's voice fell, Sima Yi walked out from another corner.

Li Ji had originally planned to let Sima Yi come today, and during the sword practice, a Tiger Guard stepped forward to report Sima Yi's arrival to Li Ji's side.

Li Ji immediately allowed Sima Yi to come over, but Sima Yi had been hiding in the corner without showing himself.

Sima Yi quickly walked over, picked up a clean towel from the tray prepared in advance by a Tiger Guard and handed it to Li Ji, saying.

“It's rare for the teacher to have the interest to give guidance on swordsmanship, how could I appear and spoil the teacher and Senior Brother Zhuge's interest.”

Li Ji took the towel and wiped his sweat, inexplicably reading a trace of seemingly appropriate envy from it.

After all, in the past, Li Ji didn't have many opportunities to actually teach in the academy, let alone give one-on-one guidance on swordsmanship like this.

Li Ji's own swordsmanship can't be considered top-notch, but this kind of favoritism made Sima Yi feel a little jealous.

Therefore, Sima Yi's words were not only to deliberately show that he was a sensible and wronged disciple, but also inevitably contained a hint of jealousy.

“Teaching students according to their aptitude is the way to make them towering trees.”

Li Ji replied, half comforting and half knocking, and then walked in the yard with Sima Yi, listening to Sima Yi's report.

The credit for everything in Yuzhou Yellow Turban seems to belong to Gan Ning, but in fact, Sima Yi, hidden behind the scenes, is the one who pushed everything forward.

Except for the civilians that Gan Ning brought to the city to induce the young and strong to defect every time he attacked the city, all of them were investigated and carefully selected by Sima Yi.

Even the fact that such a huge Yellow Turban army has been able to maintain its food and supplies in an orderly manner all along relies on Sima Yi's secret coordination.

In terms of merit, Sima Yi is probably even above Gan Ning.

And whether it is from the intelligence collected by the Brocade-Clothed Guard or the report personally narrated by Sima Yi, it can be clearly seen that Sima Yi has grown visibly throughout the process.

“Not bad, Yi'er's contribution this time is great and should be rewarded.”

Li Ji opened his mouth to acknowledge Sima Yi's ability.

Leaving aside his temperament for the time being, Sima Yi's ability is indeed beyond doubt.

I'm afraid that the world would never have imagined that the seemingly coincidental formation of the Yuzhou Yellow Turban was actually pushed behind the scenes by such a young man who had not yet come of age.

“It's just that Yi'er is still young, and a tree that stands out in the forest will be blown down by the wind. If Yi'er is allowed to come of age and enter officialdom now, it would be too early…”

Li Ji's leisurely words made Sima Yi's originally excited expression stiffen.

However, before Sima Yi's heart could well up with any emotions, Li Ji changed the subject and asked.

“Yi'er, what do you think of that Brocade-Clothed Guard?”

Sima Yi was stunned, suddenly realizing something, but still subconsciously hiding his emotions, and pondered for a moment before answering.

“It can be the ears and eyes of a person, comparable to a hundred thousand elite soldiers.”

Hearing Sima Yi's evaluation, a few more smiles appeared on Li Ji's face.

After all, as the children of the Peach Garden group grew up, coupled with the vast network of the Mi Clan Merchant Guild and the money and food in Liu Bei's hands, the Brocade-Clothed Guard's expansion speed in the chaotic world was quite fast.

In these ten years, the Brocade-Clothed Guard has truly reached the point where it has ears and eyes in every county in the Han Dynasty.

Perhaps it is not very realistic to know everything in detail, but the speed at which it knows the major events that occur in various places has far exceeded that of other feudal families.

And with the continuous development of the Brocade-Clothed Guard, the internal system has gradually become perfect.

Of course, since the main duty of the Brocade-Clothed Guard is still to collect intelligence, it is not expected that the Brocade-Clothed Guard can assassinate important officials who are heavily protected.

Therefore, Li Ji simplified the structure formed by referring to the Ming Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard a lot, setting only five levels: Commander, Deputy Commander, Prefectural Envoy, Centurion, and Decurion.

However, even so, Xiahou Bo, as the commander, still gradually felt strenuous, and was so busy in Shouchun every day that he couldn't leave even a step.

During the period when Sima Yi was promoting the formation of the Yuzhou Yellow Turban, Li Ji gave Sima Yi the power of the Prefectural Envoy in charge of the mobilization of the Brocade-Clothed Guard in one prefecture. (End of this chapter)