Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

"Captain!"

Immediately, all the captains and others in the tent stood up and saluted Li Ji.

Zhang Fei's expression froze for a moment, then he stood up and said, "Zi... Commander, why didn't you send someone to inform me of your arrival so that I could go and greet you."

"If we had informed them in advance, how would we have known that Yide was so powerful?"

Li Ji walked in front of Zhang Fei with a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"How dare I show off? Is there anyone slandering me?"

Zhang Fei said this with a smile on his dark face, and quickly made way for him.

"Come, come, please take a seat, Governor. Please don't misunderstand me."

Li Ji snorted and spoke to the captains and others in the tent.

"Excuse me."

Immediately, after Li Ji sat down, the others stood up and sat down, then ordered someone to bring a few stools from outside the tent into the tent.

(PS: Ma Zha can be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty when it was introduced into the Central Plains. There are related records in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty and the Records of the Three Kingdoms. However, it was called Hu Chuang at that time. Here, we will just use Ma Zha for easier understanding.)
After Wei Yan, Xu Chu and Gu Wei sat down, when Zhang Fei wanted to sit down as well, Li Ji glanced at Zhang Fei and said.

"Yide, please stand for now."

Zhang Fei's dark face froze, he stopped sitting down, stood up awkwardly, and said with some dissatisfaction.

"The governor, don't make it difficult for me like this. Even if I haven't conquered Ruyang yet, the rest of us haven't conquered it either."

Li Ji slammed the table and said sternly, "Is this a question of merit? There is a huge problem with your attitude."

Suddenly, Zhang Fei was so shocked that he stood at attention and quickly admitted his mistake.

"Don't be upset, Governor. If you get angry and make yourself sick, you will definitely tear me down. I have done nothing wrong. Just punish me."

Li Ji felt a headache after hearing this.

Zhang Fei admitted his mistake quickly, but the problem was that he didn't even know what he did wrong. He just admitted his mistake for the sake of Liu Bei and Li Ji's face.

But what’s the point of this?
Instead, Li Ji felt even more infuriated, as if he had punched cotton without any force.

Li Ji couldn't help but sigh and asked.

"Just now I heard Yide speak disdainfully of the surrendered general outside the tent. Why is that?"

This time, Zhang Fei was silent.

After Li Ji had stared at them for more than ten breaths, Zhang Fei finally spoke up. "I just think those people are not loyal and righteous, how can they be with me..."

Zhang Fei did not continue speaking because he did not dare to look Li Ji in the eye.

In this way, Li Ji finally understood that Zhang Fei had always respected gentlemen and despised villains.

Even under the influence of Li Ji, Zhang Fei, who was punished to do hard labor for a period of time, changed his bad habit of whipping his soldiers at will, but deep down he still only respected gentlemen.

However, surrendered generals such as Wen Pin, Zang Ba, and Wei Yan have never been in Zhang Fei's eyes.

However, once this word gets out, the impact will undoubtedly be bad.

Especially since Zhang Fei was Liu Bei's sworn brother and trusted general, if such remarks were spread by someone with ulterior motives, the consequences would be serious.

The most obvious thing was that after Zhang Fei said this, Wei Yan in the tent looked at Zhang Fei with a hint of hostility.

"boom!"

Li Ji grabbed the inkstone and smashed it at Zhang Fei's feet, shouting, "Yide, kneel down. Today I will teach you a lesson on behalf of my lord."

Zhang Fei's face turned red, then he knelt down on the spot and said with his neck stiff.

"The governor does not need to use the name of elder brother. I also regard Zikun as my brother. Since it is my brother who has given the order, I will just accept the scolding and punishment without any resentment."

Zhang Fei's change of address clearly revealed his dissatisfaction, and he almost said bluntly that he was admitting his mistake only for Li Zikun's sake.

If it was any other boss, even if he brought up my big brother, if he dared to talk to me like that, I would chop him to pieces.

This almost made Li Ji laugh out of anger, and he couldn't help but stand up and say.

"Is Yide a spy sent by the enemy?"

"Why do you say that?" Zhang Fei asked in confusion.

Li Ji asked. "If not, why do you keep disturbing the morale of the army and ruining the reputation of the lord?"

"How have I disturbed Zikun's military morale? And how have I damaged your reputation?" Zhang Fei asked back unconvinced.

"Let me ask you, can my lord, Yun Chang and you, Zhang Yide, support the Han Dynasty and revive the Han Dynasty? Or can I, Li Ji, succeed alone?"

Li Ji shouted.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei almost subconsciously wanted to answer: As long as Zikun is here, it will definitely succeed.

However, seeing that Li Ji was almost so angry that his face was about to burst, no matter how slow-witted Zhang Fei was, he knew that he could not make Li Ji angry anymore.

Moreover, Zhang Fei thought about it carefully and realized that nothing could be accomplished with only four people, as his eldest brother and Zikun both lacked people they could use.

At this moment, Li Ji was not staring at Zhang Fei, but was secretly observing the expressions of other people in the tent, including Wei Yan, and then continued.

"The big man is a Han Chinese."

"My lord wants to revive the Han Dynasty not to achieve personal hegemony, but to make the Han Dynasty prosperous and great again, so that all Han people can live a peaceful and happy life."

"Therefore, my lord has always wanted to unite as many Han people as possible. Those surrendered generals you mentioned are all loyal to the Han Dynasty and are convinced by my lord's ambition to revive the Han Dynasty."

"Such a person can definitely be called a fellow..."

Li Ji almost blurted out the word "comrade", but the sound rose to his throat and he quickly changed his words.

"A fellow traveler is one who shares the same mind and purpose as the lord. How can you call him a general in a contemptuous way?"

Li Ji's rage seemed to contain some sincere words.

It is unknown whether Zhang Fei was deeply touched, but everyone in the tent, including Wei Yan, was moved beyond words.

The reputation of surrendered generals has never been very good.

Especially in this era where loyalty and righteousness are extremely important, there are many people who think like Zhang Fei, who are born inferior to others.

But in Li Ji's words, how could he be a surrendered general? He was clearly a fellow traitor who had abandoned darkness and joined the light, and was committed to working together with his lord to support the Han Dynasty and revive the Han Dynasty.

At this moment, when Wei Yan looked at Li Ji, there was not only a desire for progress in his eyes, but also an indescribable light.

Wei Yan was not sure whether Liu Bei was so great.

But my lord, he really treated me equally, and he sincerely hoped to unite the Han people as much as possible to realize the ambition of reviving the Han Dynasty.

"If this is the Marquis's ambition, I will achieve it even if it means my death."

Wei Yan's sight towards Li Ji seemed a little blurry, and he swore secretly. (End of this chapter)