Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 94: Change

It was night.

Li Ji tossed and turned, his palm repeatedly caressing the hard object, unable to fall asleep.

Finally, Li Ji simply draped a single layer of clothing over himself, opened the door, and walked into the small courtyard.

"Prefect!"

The two soldiers acting as guards outside the small courtyard saw this and hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

Li Ji waved his hand, telling them to retreat, and stood in the courtyard gazing at the night sky, his palm still unconsciously caressing the hard object.

The Tiger Seal.

It represented a heavy trust.

Coupled with the words of Liu Bei echoing in Li Ji's mind under the setting sun, filled with sincerity, even Li Ji, who thought he was immune to so-called empty promises, felt a sense of "A scholar dies for his confidant."

'No wonder so many people are willing to die for the lord, the impetuous Zhang Fei, the wise Kong Ming, all willing to dedicate themselves to the lord until their last breath...'

Li Ji sighed inwardly.

Once, Li Ji thought the so-called "beauty trap" was simply Liu Yifei standing in front of you showing goodwill, but the real "beauty trap" was Zhao Ling'er sweetly calling you Brother Xiaoyao, Wang Yuyan shyly lowering her head at the bottom of the well promising a lifelong commitment, and Little Dragon Girl inviting you to the Ancient Tomb for a life of seclusion.

Once, Li Ji also thought that facing Liu Bei's "charm" head-on was nothing more than a superior drawing a pie for you and promising all kinds of benefits, but being in the situation, he realized that the feeling was almost like Ying Zheng sharing the military and political power to unify the six kingdoms and sweep across the eight wildernesses with you, and pursuing the grand ambition of unification together.

Not to mention Li Ji, even Sima Yi himself standing in front of Liu Bei would probably not be able to withstand such a test of charm, willing to serve Liu Bei and die for him.

'Ah!'

'I really deserve to die...'

'The lord entrusts me with his life and fortune, yet I am so lazy on weekdays...'

That night, Li Ji ultimately failed to fall asleep, his heart surging, feeling his thoughts like a tide, and he also dealt with many previously hesitant political decisions.

In the following days, while Li Ji secretly mobilized the county soldiers north of Wu County with the Tiger Seal, he also almost completely changed his usual unhurried attitude, diligently handling various political affairs.

Even the previously arranged appointment to visit a certain great sage was declined by Li Ji, who stayed in the government office all day dealing with various documents and political affairs.

Wu County, from top to bottom, could almost be described as waiting to be rebuilt.

Previously, Li Ji was somewhat slacking off, and matters that could be postponed until after the bandits were eliminated and people's hearts were won over were generally postponed first.

Now, Li Ji personally handled and arranged the current problems in Wu County one by one, and also began to carry out a large number of forward-looking plans, waiting for the immediate development of Wu County after the bandits were eliminated and money and food were seized.

...

Outside the main hall, Liu Bei, along with Xiahou Bo, who was in charge of city security and served as the captain of the guards, squatted in a corner, carefully peeking at the bamboo slips and documents that almost submerged Li Ji, his face revealing deep heartache and pity.

Liu Bei had been squatting here for an hour, his legs numb...

But what made Liu Bei even more distressed was that Li Ji, sitting in the main hall of the government office dealing with documents, had hardly raised his head.

"How long has Zikun been in this state?" Liu Bei asked softly.

"It seems... six or seven days," Xiahou Bo replied.

Liu Bei asked with some annoyance, "Why are you only reporting it now?"

This left Xiahou Bo completely unsure of how to respond.

Given the relationship between Liu Bei and Li Ji, Xiahou Bo couldn't possibly report just because Li Ji had been particularly diligent for a few days.

That... what would be the difference between that and frequently taking credit for Li Ji in front of Liu Bei?

Just then, Xiahou Lan, who was serving as Li Ji's page and assistant, walked out of the main hall with some difficulty, carrying a large pile of processed bamboo slips.

"Mingzheng!"

Suddenly, Xiahou Lan seemed to hear the lord's voice, and subconsciously stopped and looked around.

"Here, come over."

Only when the voice sounded again did Xiahou Lan realize that the lord and his brother were actually squatting in a corner, and he hurriedly walked over and asked.

"Lord..."

But before Xiahou Lan could speak, Liu Bei made a shushing gesture at Xiahou Lan.

After Xiahou Lan approached, Liu Bei pulled Xiahou Lan down to squat, and then asked softly.

"Mingzheng, what's wrong with Zikun these days?"

"Is there something wrong with Master?" Xiahou Lan asked in confusion.

"There is a problem!"

Liu Bei said with a tone of anxiety, "Zikun is not usually such a diligent person!"

Liu Bei's vision was naturally sharp.

In Liu Bei's view, Li Ji had talent and virtue, and had attainments in the way of deduction that others could not understand, and even often overdrawn his body to perform deductions in order to find a way to win.

However, Liu Bei was very clear that Li Ji's usual style was actually somewhat lazy, and he preferred to spend his leisure days tasting tea and reading books.

Even when dealing with various documents and political affairs, he was always unhurried.

As far as Liu Bei knew, Li Ji called this style "slacking off" and "combining work and rest."

"Mingzheng, you are Zikun's page, do you know the reason and time for Zikun's change?" Liu Bei pressed.

Xiahou Lan tried hard to recall, and answered somewhat nervously.

"Lord... Lord, I don't know the reason, but in terms of time, it seems to have started the day after Master went to the Sun residence to find the lord."

Liu Bei frowned unconsciously upon hearing this.

Xiahou Bo comforted him upon seeing this, "Lord, Master Zikun has become much more diligent, isn't this a good thing? Why be nervous?"

"Zikun's consumption for deduction is very large, and he occasionally faints. I already owe Zikun a lot. Now, if Zikun is still so diligent and tired on weekdays, I am afraid that Zikun's body will suffer..."

"Improper! Improper!"

Liu Bei repeatedly said a few times, and was about to get up, only to feel that his lower body was sore and weak, and he squatted down again halfway.

"Jichang, help me up."

Xiahou Bo hurriedly helped Liu Bei, who had squatted until his legs were numb, and Liu Bei patted his clothes, and was about to walk in, when he saw a servant walking towards the main hall with a tray holding food.

Liu Bei stopped the servant with somewhat unnatural steps, and then personally carried the food towards the main hall.

When Liu Bei walked to Li Ji's side, Li Ji was still buried in his work, completely unaware of the movement beside him.

Liu Bei looked around, put the tray on a corner of Li Ji's desk, and then personally filled a bowl of chicken soup and pushed it to Li Ji's side, and said softly.

"Zikun, chicken soup is here."

Li Ji was stunned when he heard this, thinking he was hallucinating, or that he had gotten up too fast today.

Immediately, Li Ji looked up and realized that it was actually Liu Bei beside him.

Li Ji subconsciously wanted to get up and salute Liu Bei, but Liu Bei seemed to have expected it, and pressed his hands on Li Ji's shoulders, stopping Li Ji's movement, and said.

"Zikun, there is no need to be polite, drink some chicken soup first."

"Thank you, Lord."

Li Ji responded, and looking at the chicken soup that Liu Bei had already filled and pushed in front of him, he could only drink it.

However, Li Ji had just finished a bowl when Liu Bei filled another bowl and pushed it over, asking.

"Is it enough? Zikun, is it enough? If it's not enough, I'll ask the kitchen to make more."

Looking at Liu Bei's sudden concern, which seemed strange today, a large number of inexplicable plots涌起 in his mind, and he couldn't help but feel a little flustered.

Isn't there poison in this chicken soup?

Or did they put something they shouldn't have in the chicken soup?

For example, make me faint, and then...

Immediately, Li Ji quickly replied.

"Enough, enough, Lord, how about... you drink some too?"

"I won't drink it, this is chicken soup prepared for Zikun, Zikun has worked hard these past few days, Zikun should drink more to nourish your body," Liu Bei said with concern.

Hard work?

"What hard work has Ji done?" Li Ji was a little unable to react.

Liu Bei carefully observed Li Ji's expression, and then said.

"These days, Zikun has been dealing with documents and political affairs almost non-stop, how is it not hard work?"

This counts as hard work?

The lord is probably unaware of what a "007"-style year-round rest is. Li Ji felt that these days he had only been guilty, so he had slightly added some work to solve the backlog of documents that would need to be processed sooner or later.

This made Li Ji, who was used to certain cattle and horse concepts, a little unaccustomed to being treated like a person by Liu Bei.

However, Li Ji, who had no idea how to explain it to Liu Bei, thought for a moment and could only say.

"Once the bandits of Wu County are eliminated, Ji will leave the government office, so I will advance some plans..."

However, before Li Ji could finish speaking, Liu Bei's hands holding the soup suddenly trembled, and the chicken soup spilled on the desk, even wetting a piece of Liu Bei's clothes, but Liu Bei was completely unaware, and subconsciously got up and asked anxiously.

"What? Zikun is leaving?"

Looking at Liu Bei's excessive reaction, Li Ji said with some amusement, "Lord, don't be agitated, what Ji is talking about is leaving the government office."

"Ah?"

"Does the lord not remember the matter of developing Wu County? Does Ji sitting high in the government office and talking empty words make Wu County's grain production increase and good fields double?"

Li Ji said helplessly.

"To develop Wu County, governing water conservancy, repairing ponds and building dikes, enclosing lakes and creating fields, etc., are all essential, and every step requires Ji to personally inspect the terrain of various places."

"Therefore, after Wu County's political affairs are on the right track, it will naturally be time for Ji to leave the government office and go to various places in Wu County for inspection."

Hearing this, Liu Bei finally felt completely relieved. However, his brow furrowed slightly as he followed up with a question.

"Zikun, how about you stay here in the government office and send someone else to draw the topographical map?"

"That won't do."

Li Ji shook his head, directly rejecting the suggestion, and said.

"If the topographical map used for developing and renovating the water conservancy contains even slight deviations, the consequences could be disastrous. Moreover, others might not be able to see what I need to see."

"Therefore, I must personally handle this matter!"