Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

"Thank you, Lord."

Li Ji responded and sat down in front of Liu Bei.

Liu Bei secretly kicked Adou, causing the somewhat dazed Adou to subconsciously look at Liu Bei.

Looking at Adou's not-so-bright appearance, Liu Bei couldn't help but angrily shout.

"What are you looking at me for? Why don't you quickly greet your adoptive father?"

Ah???

Adou.

But didn't Father just say to skip the formalities?

As Liu Bei's gaze seemed to become sharper, Adou finally reacted and hurriedly stood up, intending to pay his respects to Li Ji.

"Young Master, there's no need to be so polite."

Li Ji quickly helped Adou up and said to Liu Bei, "Lord, you just said to skip the formalities, why are you making things difficult for the Young Master?"

"Zi Kun and I are brothers, and Adou and Zi Kun are father and son. This is a great matter of filial piety, how can it be easily abandoned? If it is abandoned today, wouldn't he disregard Zi Kun even more in the future?"

Liu Bei was unusually insistent this time and turned to Adou and said.

"Have you paid your respects yet?"

Li Ji was slightly stunned, but in an instant, he understood the deeper meaning in Liu Bei's words.

What is 'today'?

And what is 'the future'?

Today, Adou's status is actually just that of an ordinary second-generation official, but after Liu Bei becomes king, Adou will be a second-generation royalty. Furthermore, it is not impossible that Adou will one day ascend the throne and become emperor.

Therefore, Liu Bei was both subtly expressing his attitude to Li Ji and also warning Adou.

Adou naturally did not understand the deeper meaning, but in reality, Adou felt much closer to Li Ji than to Liu Bei.

Before Li Ji could let go, Adou took the initiative to break free, and then respectfully bowed to Li Ji, even knocking his head hard enough to make a "thump, thump, thump" sound.

"Adoptive Father, Adou greets you."

"Young Master, please get up quickly, get up quickly."

Li Ji quickly helped Adou up and discovered that the honest child had even visibly reddened his forehead from the kowtow.

"What is Adou's character like? I watched him grow up. Why must the Lord be like this?"

Li Ji's words were not without a hint of blaming Liu Bei, and he quickly arranged for someone to take Adou to find a physician to apply medicine to reduce the redness.

Liu Bei did not pay any attention to Adou being taken away. Instead, he urged Li Ji to quickly taste the venison, lest it get cold and not taste good.

After Li Ji, who was indeed hungry, devoured the venison in the food box, Liu Bei took the initiative to fill Li Ji's teacup before speaking.

"Zi Kun, I've been pondering something these past few days and would like to hear your opinion."

"Please speak, Lord."

Li Ji replied, sipping tea to relieve the greasiness.

"It's laughable, I never anticipated that there would be a day when I would claim the title of king, and that the title of king would be the 'King of Han' used by Emperor Gaozu…"

Liu Bei first sighed with emotion, then said.

"Now that I have claimed the title of king, Adou will naturally become the heir apparent, and it is no longer appropriate to use the nickname Adou. He should be given a proper name."

Li Ji nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

This matter may seem insignificant, but in reality, it is a matter that cannot be ignored in this era.

If Adou only has a nickname, it will undoubtedly make outsiders doubt Adou's status, which would instead add a lot of turbulence.

"After thinking it over, I have decided to name Adou 'Chan'. What do you think?" Liu Bei asked.

Liu Chan?

This name was very familiar to Li Ji, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly that many things have inertia.

Perhaps it was for political needs, to show the world that he had no desire for the imperial throne, so he named Adou "Chan."

But in the dark, isn't this also a kind of coincidence?

"This name is very good."

Li Ji replied.

Having received Li Ji's affirmation, a smile appeared on Liu Bei's face, and he continued.

"Besides this, there is the dispute among the officials about whether to establish another capital and reorganize the imperial court. I wonder if you have heard of it?"

"Of course, I have heard of it."

Li Ji responded and replied. "Even if the Lord did not ask, I was planning to visit the Lord tomorrow to discuss this matter."

Liu Bei's spirit was slightly shaken. As he expected, this matter was indeed within Zi Kun's expectations, and he quickly asked.

"Zi Kun, you don't know, those who have come to visit me for this matter are probably going to wear out the threshold. Both sides have their own reasons and justifications, and I am also hesitant."

"The Lord must be tired of hearing the reasons stated by both sides. Then I will discuss it from a different direction, and I believe the Lord will be able to make a decision."

Li Ji replied, then called Gu Wei, who was guarding outside the door, to bring the map of the Han Dynasty and stood it in front of himself and Liu Bei, then pointed to Chang'an and Luoyang, and said.

"When Emperor Shizu restored the Han Dynasty, he abandoned the original Chang'an and instead established the capital in Luoyang. Does the Lord understand the reason?"

After Liu Bei pondered for a moment, he gave his answer, the main point of which was that Chang'an was dilapidated.

After all, after the Wang Mang Rebellion, the Red Eyebrow Army and the Gengshi regime's melee, Guanzhong and the Sanfu area were severely damaged.

In addition, Luoyang is more advantageous than Chang'an in controlling the Central Plains and other geographical advantages.

Li Ji did not directly give the answer, but instead asked again.

"On the eve of Emperor Gaozu's founding of the country, he originally planned to establish the capital in Luoyang, but suddenly changed his mind and set the capital in Chang'an. Does the Lord know the reason?"

This also did not stump Liu Bei, and this matter is clearly recorded in the "Records of the Grand Historian". Liu Bei repeated what Lou Jing had said to persuade Emperor Gaozu.

But after Liu Bei finished speaking, he frowned.

Because the two seem to be in conflict.

Li Ji also took the opportunity to speak.

"In the final analysis, the reason why Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Shizu chose different capitals, in addition to the various public reasons, is closely related to the place where they rose to prominence."

"Emperor Gaozu rose to prominence by relying on the land of Guanzhong and defeated Xiang Yu. His foundation was in Guanzhong, and even if he initially favored Luoyang, he had to compromise."

"Emperor Shizu rose to prominence by relying on the support of the Nanyang aristocratic family. His foundation was in Nanyang and the Guandong aristocratic families, so he had to choose to establish the capital in Luoyang to benefit Guandong."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei suddenly realized after some thought and thoroughly understood.

Vaguely, this seems to correspond to the groups that respectively support and oppose the establishment of another capital today.

The imperial relatives and old ministers, headed by Liu Yu, are almost all opposed;

The Yangzhou-born ministers who followed Liu Bei's rise to prominence are almost all in favor of establishing another capital.

This seemingly capital dispute is actually a dispute of interests between different groups.

Just as Liu Bei was pondering, Li Ji changed the subject and said.

"Of course, this is the reason why the voices of support and opposition are so distinct, but when the Lord considers the matter of the capital, he should not only consider this aspect, but also consider where the capital is located is more beneficial to the Han Dynasty."

"After all, the Lord started from scratch and is different from Emperor Shizu. There is no need to be coerced by any group to make a decision."

(End of chapter)