Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

The moment this thought emerged, Li Ji felt a surge of inspiration.

Due to the efficiency of information transmission, and because governing a place also requires considering the benefits.

Therefore, in places similar to grasslands, the ancestors had not failed to conquer foreign tribes, but they did not incorporate large swathes of grassland into the territory.

The reason was simply that, for the imperial court, the benefits that grasslands could generate were far less than the cost of governing and defending them.

But going overseas was different, and granting fiefdoms to princes overseas was even more different.

Recalling the past, when King Wu destroyed Zhou, he was also unable to govern the lands of the Nine Provinces, and instead chose to grant fiefdoms to various princes.

For example, Qi Zi, an important minister at the end of the Shang Dynasty, was even enfeoffed in the peninsula to establish a dynasty. The Qi Zi dynasty lasted for thousands of years and was even recorded in the later "History of Goryeo," which documented Chinese etiquette and rituals, starting from Qi Zi, and requested the establishment of a shrine to worship him.

Compared to the rugged and difficult land routes, sea routes undoubtedly provided a more convenient way to connect various countries and the princes enfeoffed overseas.

Even if the Great Han was unable to directly govern the distant overseas kingdoms, it could undoubtedly use this method to siphon resources from the world and truly establish its position as the center of the world.

Moreover, this system would not only give the martial Han people a space to endlessly expand and rise outwards.

It could also continuously promote the development of seagoing ships through the demand for maritime transport, allowing Han culture to continuously bring advanced glory to many backward and ignorant regions.

With a Han sword in the left hand and Confucian texts in the right, wouldn't it be wonderful to completely realize the saying, 'All land under the sky belongs to the emperor'?

At this thought, Li Ji couldn't help but tremble slightly as he picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and tried to calm himself down.

This idea... was too radical, even more radical than guiding the aristocratic clans to expand outwards like hyenas.

The Han people valued martial prowess and had no resistance to titles of nobility.

It was for this reason that the Gaozu Emperor sealed off the path for princes with different surnames through the "White Horse Alliance."

And once Liu Bei chose to open this door overseas, the first to go completely crazy would definitely be the aristocratic clans, especially the top clans led by the Yuan family.

Now, in Yizhou, the aristocratic clans had essentially been given the freedom to carve out their own kingdoms, which had already led many clans to flock there to develop Yizhou.

If Liu Bei, after ascending the throne as emperor, truly listed how much merit one could obtain in overseas conquests to be granted a title of nobility, Li Ji couldn't imagine how many great men would choose to set sail and establish their careers.

At least, Yuan Shu, who was now staying at home every day with nothing to do and had already started studying Buddhism with Liu Qi, would definitely not be able to stay put and would definitely clamor to go overseas.

After calming down for a while, Li Ji resumed his serious expression and said.

"What the Lord said is of great importance and needs to be carefully considered in the future. For now, the matter of claiming kingship should be the priority."

Liu Bei nodded, not in a hurry.

In any case, unifying the world was the main task. Overseas affairs were decisions to be made after the revival of the Great Han, and it was indeed not appropriate to expend too much energy on them at present.

Immediately, Liu Bei looked at the stack of documents in front of him and said.

"Zikun is handling all matters related to claiming kingship, with the assistance of Duke Cai, Duke Zheng, and Master Lu. I have no worries, except for one thing that needs to be changed."

"Please speak, Lord."

Liu Bei said solemnly, "I hope that Zikun will also be by my side during the ceremony of offering sacrifices to Heaven and the crowning ceremony."

"Lord, this is not in accordance with etiquette," Li Ji frowned and replied.

"If it weren't for Yun Chang needing to be stationed in Jingzhou and Yide also needing to command troops in Yuzhou, I would have wanted you all to be by my side. Now that Yun Chang and Yide cannot return, Zikun cannot refuse..."

After a pause, Liu Bei continued, "Moreover, when Emperor Wu performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, he even brought along Huo Shan, the son of Marquis Guan Jun. For me, Zikun is even more important than Marquis Guan Jun was to Emperor Wu."

"Since there is an ancestral precedent, if anyone says it is not in accordance with etiquette, they can come and discuss it with me in detail."

What an ancestral precedent...

This reason was really too versatile, leaving Li Ji unsure of how to refute it, so he could only temporarily agree.

However, after Li Ji further finalized a series of matters related to the ceremony of offering sacrifices to Heaven and claiming kingship with Liu Bei, and returned to his residence after work to dine with his wife and daughter, he paced back and forth in the courtyard alone, lost in thought.

Opening the door to granting fiefdoms to princes with different surnames overseas and establishing principalities in fertile lands was not to mention whether this idea was radical or not, but the advantages and disadvantages were quite obvious.

Thinking back to the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor, as well as the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, how could their territories compare to the Great Han of today?

Especially after the Western Zhou dynasty granted fiefdoms to the princes, the princes frantically expanded their territories outwards, which was a major period of drastic change in the area of Chinese territory.

The Qin and Han dynasties were merely empires established on the territories that had been expanded by the Zhou dynasty.

Unification naturally had the advantages of unification.

However, the enthusiasm for foreign expansion under the enfeoffment system undoubtedly far exceeded that of a unified dynasty.

For the sake of their own interests, the princes would also follow their inherent pursuit of land and continuously expand their territories.

Therefore, opening this door, as long as the initial stage, which requires the full support of the Great Han, is passed, the princes who successfully establish themselves overseas will undoubtedly bring some small shocks of a strong Han to their friendly neighbors.

At that time, the Maritime Silk Road originally envisioned by Li Ji would inevitably succeed as well. It was just that it was not easy to say whether the entities on this road would be friendly neighbors or princes of the Great Han.

Those friendly neighbors on the other side of the continent would only choose to colonize and plunder due to their different cultural thinking.

However, the princes under the Han cultural system would not do such crude things, nor would they think of making a quick buck and leaving.

This would undoubtedly bring about drastic changes to the era and would also bring extremely far-reaching and unknown impacts to the Great Han.

In a good way, it would mean that Han culture would be invincible in this era and would begin to take root in every corner.

In a bad way, it meant that one day a prince under the Han cultural system might imitate the former Great Qin, choose to unify the five oceans and seven continents, and counterattack the Central Plains.

Should he try to push open this door?

Li Ji's thumb unconsciously caressed the fan bone, hesitating for a long time.

After all, Li Ji was very clear that this decision would not only affect the fate of tens of millions of people in the entire Great Han but would also have a far-reaching impact on the friendly neighbors of the world.

"Pa!"

The fan slammed heavily into the palm of his hand, and Li Ji had made a decision in his heart.

"Someone, go and call Liu Bao."

With Li Ji's order, the command was quickly passed down.

Liu Bao, who had already been resting at home, quickly tidied up his clothes and hurried to the Marquis of Guoshi's residence.

In the conference hall, which was brightly lit by oil lamps, Liu Bao respectfully saluted Li Ji.

"Greetings, Marquis."

"Liu Bao, come over and talk," Li Ji said, pointing to the position in front of him. (End of this chapter)