Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

When Li Ji asked this question, Liu Bei, who was about to ask Li Ji about the military plan, paused.

Liu Bei naturally didn't believe that with Li Ji's intelligence, he didn't know that Lu Bu had killed the king in the street, and it was even more impossible that he didn't know who the target of his troops was.

Asking questions even though you already know the answer is a sign of opposition.

Liu Bei asked with a slightly gloomy face.

"Could it be that Zikun is also against sending troops?"

When Liu Bei confirmed the information of regicide again and again in disbelief and was furious, he was ready to mobilize all his troops to fight the enemy. However, all the civil and military officials in Shouchun were against it.

Including close confidants such as Xu Shu and Xiahou Bo, they also repeatedly gave advice.

There was no other reason. Any discerning person could see that the Yangzhou soldiers were already quite tired after years of fighting, and their food reserves were already running low.

Moreover, Liu Bei had just swallowed up the three states of Yu, Xu and Jing, and it would take time to digest them.

Therefore, when Liu Bei insisted on sending troops to attack Lu, there was naturally unanimous opposition from everyone from top to bottom.

But no matter how many voices of opposition there were, it obviously could not shake Liu Bei's determination. He began to prepare for sending troops under pressure, and even Liu Bei himself moved directly into the military camp to show his determination to attack Lu.

Liu Bei urgently recalled Li Ji. Not only did he have doubts about the attack on Lü, but he also hoped to gain Li Ji's support and then convince the civil and military officials.

At this moment, Li Ji met Liu Bei's gaze and said seriously.

"If you are talking about the lord's determination to attack Lu, Zilong has already informed him on the way, but..."

Li Ji's voice gradually rose, and he asked with his hands clasped. "Ji still dares to ask, is the Lord's decision to attack Lü out of selfish desire or for justice?"

The same behavior, with different starting points, often leads to different results.

Li Ji secretly pushed Lu Bu to kill the king out of justice rather than personal desire, so even if he did it behind Liu Bei's back, he had no regrets.

Liu Xie would only be an obstacle to the revival of the Han Empire.

It is true that Li Ji has a relationship with Liu Bei as a subject, but what he pursues is for this land to regain its glory and never be trampled by foreigners again.

Therefore, Li Ji would not be shy about hiding something from Liu Bei and not take any action.

At this moment, facing Li Ji's question, Liu Bei answered almost without thinking.

"The traitor Lu killed the emperor in the street, treating the Han Dynasty as nothing. If we don't send troops to punish him, won't everyone follow his example? It should be for the greater good."

"My lord, have you not heard that relying on the masses to attack is called strength, raising an army out of anger is called toughness, and mobilizing the masses to attack when the country is in chaos and the people are tired is called rebellion? If my lord wants to raise an army to fight the enemy for the sake of justice, why would he raise strong troops, tough troops, and rebellious troops?"

"Once the situation turns against us, you will be defeated and become a criminal of the Han Dynasty!"

Unlike the other civil and military officials who could only carefully persuade Liu Bei, Li Ji spoke without any hesitation and refuted him in a deep voice.

These words made Liu Bei's face freeze. He felt a little embarrassed and retorted.

"Why do you say it's a crime?"

Li Ji said loudly.

"The Han Dynasty is now in decline. In front of us there was the traitor Dong, and in the back there was the traitor Lu, who committed heinous crimes, corrupted the government, and treated the Han Dynasty as if it were nothing. Now they are even committing the evil of murdering the king in the street."

"The four hundred years of the Han Dynasty are hanging by a thread. It is only thanks to the rise of the lord that the name of the Han Dynasty can be preserved."

"But if you, my lord, ignore the fatigue of the people and the instability of your rule and launch an attack out of anger, it will be futile. If something goes wrong, the four states that are barely holding on will fall apart in an instant. How can the Han Dynasty survive?" "If what you are doing is for the greater good, rather than for your own personal anger, for the sake of the Han Dynasty and the people, you should temporarily give up the idea of ​​launching an attack."

As Li Ji finished speaking, the rest of the people in the tent followed suit and bowed, repeating what he had said in unison.

"For the sake of the Han Dynasty and the people, please give up the idea of ​​raising an army for now."

After a moment, Liu Bei raised his still trembling hand, grabbed Li Ji's arm, and asked again unwillingly.

"Is it really impossible to attack Lu?"

Li Ji gave his own answer.

"If you don't attack Lü, within five years, you may be able to quell the chaos and restore the Han Dynasty;"

"Once we attack Lu, the best outcome would be a mutual defeat with Lu Bu. If we make a few more mistakes, this chaotic world may last for ten or even twenty years."

Prior to this, Lu Bu was frightened by Li Ji, who deliberately deployed troops on the border. Not only did he not dare to refute the "equalization of the land tax" in the name of the court, he even used a series of official positions and titles to appease Liu Bei.

But that was only because Lu Bu didn't want to lose Yanzhou.

Now, rebellions have sprung up everywhere under Lu Bu's rule, and the coalition forces from Liang Province are invading from the west. Once Liu Bei launches an attack again, Lu Bu will have no choice but to abandon Yanzhou and retreat to Hulao Pass and other important passes.

In this case, how much military force would Liu Bei, whose rear was also unstable, have to forcibly break through Hulao Pass? The best result would be that he and Lu Bu would both suffer losses, not to mention wasting a lot of time and energy on governing the local area.

Cao Cao, who is entrenched in the north of the Yellow River, might take the opportunity to interfere. It is not impossible that Liu Bei, who has led his troops away, will repeat the original trajectory of his defeat at Red Cliffs and Yiling.

By then, Liu Bei's group's morale would undoubtedly be greatly dampened, and it might even take them many years to recover.

Cao Cao was weakened for many years because of the defeat at Chibi, and it took Shu Han many years to recover from the defeat at Yiling. These were bloody lessons for Li Ji.

The more it seems like you are about to succeed, the easier it is to go astray.

Liu Bei was now on track to unify the world. If Li Ji were to experience something like this, he would probably be so angry that he would vomit blood on the spot.

Fortunately, Liu Bei might not listen to other people's advice, but he could listen to Li Ji's words.

More importantly, Liu Bei's desire to raise an army to attack Lu was indeed for the sake of justice, and he was angry about Lu Bu's bullying of the Han Dynasty, not because of his deep feelings for Liu Xie.

At this moment, Liu Bei had been completely persuaded by Li Ji and gave up the idea of ​​raising troops immediately, but he still asked with some reluctance in his heart.

"Then when do you think we can attack Lu?"

"Three years!"

Li Ji raised three fingers and answered firmly, "Three years. In three years, my lord will not only launch an attack on Lü, but will also unify the world."

Three years!

This time can be said to be long or short.

As long as Li Ji was given three years, with his iron-fisted methods that were rarely checked in times of chaos, he would not only be able to completely digest the three states of Yu, Xu and Jing, but he would also be able to truly implement a series of reforms in every corner of his rule, laying a solid foundation for the great order after the chaos.

More importantly, there is three years to slowly accumulate military strength. By then, what will be available will not only be the Yangzhou soldiers, but a truly large army that can sweep across the country in one go, annihilate all the heroes with lightning speed, and prevent the Han people from suffering from continuous wars.

This sentence not only made Liu Bei, who was originally a little unwilling, excited, but also made the civil and military officials in the tent excited. (End of this chapter)