Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

"Weier, do you still remember the ambitions you once told me?" Li Ji asked.

Hearing this question, Gu Wei's nervousness instantly dissipated and he spoke loudly.

"I dare not forget for a moment. Gu Wei has only one wish, which is to follow the example of my father and serve as an envoy of the Han Dynasty, so that all the barbarians in the world will know the name of the Han Dynasty!"

Li Ji believed in Gu Wei, but what he believed was not just a few words, but the hard work and unswerving persistence that Gu Wei had put in behind the scenes over the past seven years.

Whenever Li Ji mentioned what one needs to master to become a Han envoy, Gu Wei would always try his best to learn and master it.

"In that case, I wonder if Wei'er is ready for the mission?" Li Ji asked again softly.

Gu Wei immediately stood up, knelt on one knee with an expression unable to hide his excitement, and said.

"I am willing to die for the great man."

Li Ji stared at Gu Wei for a few breaths without speaking again to confirm Gu Wei's mind. Then he picked up the letter he had just written and handed it to Gu Wei, saying.

"The person Wei'er needs to go on this mission is... Ma Teng of Liangzhou. Convince Ma Teng of Liangzhou to send troops to Sili to cut off Lü Bu's retreat."

As Li Ji's personal servant, Gu Wei knew countless intelligence information, and the relevant information about Ma Teng was also remembered by Gu Wei.

Ma Teng claimed that he was a descendant of General Ma Yuan, who was the Fu Bo General. He had responded to the campaign against Dong Zhuo and clearly expressed his support for Liu Bei's advancement to the King of Han. His external image was undoubtedly that of a loyal minister who supported the Han Dynasty.

However, Li Ji, who had seen many of Ma Teng's actions, knew that what Ma Teng valued more was the banner of "descendant of General Fu Bo" rather than the Han Dynasty, and he was using this to seek the interests of the Xiliang Ma family.

In the original storyline, Liu Bei insisted from beginning to end that the Han and the thieves could not coexist, and no matter how many battles and defeats he was defeated, his idea was to fight against Cao to the end.

But Ma Teng claimed to be a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, and after Fu Bo, he basically just shouted slogans about supporting the Han Dynasty.

What Ma Teng actually did was to send troops to help Cao defeat Yuan, and then willingly stayed in Xuchang with some of his family members. He was undoubtedly following the process of being "recruited" by Cao Cao.

In this case, how can he be called a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty?
Not to mention that in the original historical trajectory, Ma Chao started the rebellion against Cao first, and Ma Teng was purged and killed later. It had nothing to do with Ma Teng's loyalty and integrity. He was simply killed in Xuchang by his eldest son Ma Chao.

Before Li Ji led the army to the north, he sent people to deliver letters to Ma Teng in Xiliang several times, intending to attract Ma Teng to reinforce the Han army in the north.

But Ma Teng declined politely on the grounds that he did not have the energy to fight Han Sui. In fact, he was waiting for a good price.

However, in Li Ji's view, this is nothing, and it is also the way for some small princes to survive in troubled times.

As long as Ma Teng wants a price, Li Ji can naturally offer a reasonable price on behalf of the Han Dynasty.

The Battle of Guandu broke out up to this point, and it cannot be said that either side won or lost, but the Han army in the Northern Expedition was constantly expanding its advantage, and it was also a good opportunity to win over Ma Teng again.

At this moment, although Ma Teng and Han Sui were almost both defeated and it was unknown whether they could squeeze out 20,000 cavalry, the remnants of Dong Zhuo who were entrenched in the Sanfu area were also extremely weak.

In this situation, if Ma Teng wanted to, he was fully capable of sending an elite cavalry to cross the Sanfu area and attack the undefended Luoyang from the rear, forcing Lu Bu to lose sight of the big picture.

However, since Sili had been tightly blocked by Lu Bu, Gu Wei naturally could not go directly to Xiliang from Sili.

If Gu Wei wanted to go to Xiliang at this moment, he would have to take a relatively long and much more difficult journey.

First go south to Nanyang County in Jingzhou, then pass through Nanyang County and enter Hanzhong County in Yizhou, and then go north from Hanzhong County to enter Xiliang.

Judging from the map, this is almost a big circle around the southern part of Sili, and because Liu Zhang, who supported Liu Bei, was at odds with Zhang Lu, it made entering and exiting Hanzhong County even more difficult and dangerous.

Furthermore, if one wants Ma Teng to feel his sincerity, it is not possible to win the trust of a fence-sitter like Ma Teng by simply sending a few ordinary messengers.

Ma Chao, who had come to see Liu Bei as Ma Teng's representative several times, had seen Li Ji and recognized Gu Wei. Therefore, sending Gu Wei across several states and counties to Xiliang was undoubtedly a relatively appropriate method at the moment, and it was also a training for Gu Wei.

After all, the territory that Gu Wei needs to travel through does not involve the two countries of Wei and Zhao. Even if his identity is unfortunately discovered by Zhang Lu in Hanzhong County, or after arriving in Xiliang, Ma Teng still plans to wait and see.

Neither Zhang Lu nor Ma Teng would nor dare to kill Gu Wei, thus incurring the wrath of Liu Bei and Li Ji.

This journey must be difficult to take, but if Gu Wei can't even travel smoothly within the Thirteen States of the Han Dynasty, how can he talk about going abroad as an envoy and visiting the barbarians?

The road outside the Han Dynasty will only be more difficult.

Gu Wei took the letter without hesitation, and then asked Li Ji for advice on how to control Ma Teng and persuade him...

This conversation lasted nearly an hour.

Until Gu Wei had a clearer understanding of Ma Teng's current situation and had the confidence to persuade Ma Teng, he prepared to leave.

"and many more……"

Li Ji raised his hand to signal Gu Wei to wait a moment, then returned to the desk and quickly wrote something, stamped it with the seal, then picked up the paper and handed it to Gu Wei, saying.

"I have asked Zhong Kang to select twenty tiger guards to protect Wei'er."

After a pause, Li Ji continued.

"The letter just now was for Ma Teng, and this document is for Wei'er. If you encounter any danger on the way to Xiliang, I hope this document can keep Wei'er safe."

Gu Wei carefully took the seemingly light paper, his eyes fell on it, and a sentence caught his eye.

【Gu Wei was ordered by Prime Minister Li Ji to serve as a Han envoy and travel around the country. Anyone who dared to stop him in the prefectures and counties would be punished with extermination.】

Finally, it is stamped with the seal of the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty.

This was the most direct and harsh document that Gu Wei had ever seen in the seven years that he had been with Li Ji. It was as if the author was afraid that some illiterate bandits would not be able to understand it.

When placed in front of Zhang Lu and Ma Teng, it was an even more blatant threat.

To harm Gu Wei would be to become an enemy of the Han Dynasty.

Gu Wei's eyes turned red unconsciously. He did not reject the document hypocritically, but became more determined to persuade Ma Teng to send troops no matter what.

Then, Gu Wei carefully put the document away and said.

"Weiding has lived up to the Prime Minister and the Han Dynasty."

Li Ji turned his back to Gu Wei, seemingly continuing to study the sand table. He waved his hand casually, indicating that Gu Wei could leave.

During the seven years of being inseparable, Li Ji saw Gu Wei grow up little by little. In Li Ji's heart, Gu Wei's status was actually closer to that of an adopted son, which made Li Ji inevitably feel reluctant to let him go.

Gu Wei knelt on his knees and kowtowed three times to Li Ji to show that he would not forget his years of nurturing and teaching. Then he turned around and left the tent with firm steps.

Outside the big tent, the twenty tiger guards carefully selected by Xu Chu were also waiting for Gu Wei. Some of them had skills in hunting wild beasts, surviving in the mountains, and treating some illnesses.

After having a brief understanding with these twenty tiger guards, Gu Wei, who did not want to delay even a moment, rested and prepared himself that night.

The next morning, Gu Wei led his guards and left the camp. (End of this chapter)