Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Li Ji hesitated for a moment, and when he saw that Zhang Liao was about to be dragged out of the tent, he spoke.

"Since Yunchang has spoken for this person, then give him a chance to explain and let him go."

Immediately, Zhang Liao, who was released again by the Baima Yicong, took a few steps forward with an indignant look on his face and asked loudly.

"I have always respected the Prime Minister, but why did the Prime Minister call me a disloyal and unjust person?"

"Okay, then I will tell you..."

Li Ji said in a deep voice.

"Let's not talk about the fact that you have been paid by the Han government and have never been loyal to the emperor or helped the Han Dynasty. Even if you were just a minor official at Yanmen, you were able to rise to a higher position because of Ding Yuan's appreciation, right?"

Zhang Liao hesitated for a moment, but had no way to refute, so he answered.

"Yes!"

"Then I will ask you again, who killed Ding Yuan?"

After hearing these words, Zhang Liao's face turned pale.

Who killed Ding Yuan?
There is no doubt that it is Lu Bu.

"You worship Lu Bu as your master. How is that different from recognizing a thief as your father? Is this disloyalty and injustice done to you?" Li Ji asked.

Zhang Liao's lips moved, and his psychological defenses were completely broken in an instant, and the idea of ​​dying for the sake of loyalty also disappeared.

"No...no..." Zhang Liao answered with a very bleak expression.

Although Zhang Liao could find thousands of excuses to talk about his relationship with Ding Yuan, the fact that Ding Yuan had recommended and appreciated him could not be false.

Moreover, Zhang Liao was suffering from exclusion and suppression under Dong Zhuo at that time, and he had to join Lu Bu's army to protect himself.

But worshipping Lu Bu as the master ultimately has moral flaws that are difficult to conceal.

"In that case..."

Just when Li Ji pretended to push Zhang Liao out to be executed again, Sima Yi, who had already secretly guessed Li Ji's thoughts, took the opportunity to step forward and speak.

"Prime Minister, I have something to say."

"explain."

“Who is without fault? To correct one’s fault is the greatest good.”

After a pause, Sima Yi spoke again.

"Even though Zhang Wenyuan was confused for a while, I saw that he dared to admit his mistakes and did not make excuses to beg for mercy. It can be seen that he is definitely not a coward who is greedy for life and death. He was actually bewitched by the Han thieves."

"Now that the king is determined to revive the Han Dynasty, he needs the help of people with lofty ideals. If Zhang Wenyuan can return to the right path, he can be a useful talent."

After hearing this, Li Ji secretly observed Zhang Liao's expression, which seemed to be hesitant...

Seeing this, Guan Yu also reacted secretly, and hurriedly walked in front of Zhang Liao and spoke.

"Wenyuan, why don't you express your feelings to the Prime Minister?"

Zhang Liao looked at the concern on Guan Yu's face and was deeply moved, and at the same time, he felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.

It’s still the same sentence: When I thought of returning to Han, I suddenly felt the world was wide.

In any case, this chaotic era lasted only ten years, and the Wei and Zhao states were established less than three years ago.

Han, after all, is the orthodox one.

Zhang Liao's subconscious mind could hardly deny this fact, and Li Ji's previous scolding, in a sense, was also intended to dispel Zhang Liao's psychological concerns about surrendering.

This time, Zhang Liao took the initiative to kneel on one knee in front of Li Ji, lowered his head, and spoke.

"Liao, beg for surrender."

Li Ji thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "I am afraid that you will still be disloyal in the future..." Guan Yu saw this and bowed and said.

"Guan is willing to guarantee Wenyuan. If Wenyuan does anything disloyal or unjust after surrendering, Guan is willing to commit suicide to apologize to the world."

Zhang Liao's eyes widened in shock, he turned his head to look at Guan Yu's tall figure, his heart was moved beyond words, and he blurted out.

"I am a criminal, why do you think so highly of me and want me to be your guarantor?"

"I am sure that Wenyuan is a loyal and righteous man. He will never betray me, let alone the Han people."

Guan Yu spoke in a serious tone, and Zhang Liao's eyes became moist.

"Liao will never let you down!"

After Zhang Liao answered like this, he knelt straight on his knees and kowtowed.

"I plead guilty and beg the Prime Minister to allow me to surrender."

Seeing that it was almost done, Li Ji spoke.

"Well, well, then I will allow you to surrender and serve as a lieutenant under my command for the time being. Are you satisfied?"

"Thank you, Prime Minister."

Zhang Liao quickly thanked him.

Immediately, Guan Yu's face showed a bit of joy, and he personally untied the rope for Zhang Liao.

However, seeing that Zhang Liao looked in such a miserable state and his wounds had not even been properly treated, Li Ji ordered someone to take Zhang Liao away to treat his injuries first.

However, when Zhang Liao was taken away from the tent and asked the doctor to treat him, he realized it a little late...

I, I actually surrendered like this?

Or did you surrender voluntarily?
Zhang Liao couldn't help but feel a bit hot on his face when he thought of this, but he didn't feel any regret in his heart. Instead, he felt relaxed and comfortable.

In fact, Zhang Liao did not quite agree with many of Lu Bu's actions.

But out of loyalty and righteousness, Zhang Liao failed to persuade him and could only serve silently.

However, as his injuries were treated, Zhang Liao changed into the standard armor of a Han general. When he was led back to the big tent to participate in the military meeting, Zhang Liao felt a little nervous.

Zhang Liao was not opposed to returning to Han, but he was afraid that Li Ji would ask about the many secrets of Lu Bu's army, which made Zhang Liao at a loss as to how to answer.

Answer: It is tantamount to stabbing the old master in the back;
If I don’t answer, I’m afraid I’ll be misunderstood as being concerned about my old master.

With such complicated emotions, Zhang Liao was led into the tent from the side door, and waited in the tent to listen to orders like a group of officers who had no right to speak.

Zhang Liao listened for a while and found that the prime minister in the tent seemed to be arranging a series of arrangements to encircle and hunt down Cao's army.

This made Zhang Liao quite confused, and he continued to listen carefully for a while, only to find that the Prime Minister seemed to be planning to divide the troops, and the Prime Minister was going to lead an army directly to Xingyang.

In such semi-public military meetings, many details and reasons will not be made clear, and the purpose is more to accurately convey military orders to generals at all levels in the army.

As Zhang Liao had only listened to half of it, he was inevitably a little confused.

As the military meeting was coming to an end, Li Ji, who had already made a series of arrangements, glanced at the generals under his command and began to summarize.

"When the news of Lü Bu's defeat reaches Cao Cao's ears, the morale of the Wei army will inevitably waver, and they will gradually begin to think of retreating."

"Especially when the Wei army confirms that I have left the Guandu camp, Cao Cao will surely be eager to prepare for a retreat. How much we can gain by then will depend entirely on your dedication."

All the generals bowed their heads and accepted the order, and many of them had red faces due to excitement.

Immediately, before Zhang Liao could get familiar with the military affairs of the Han army.

Under Li Ji's order, the troops were quickly divided. Li Ji led 150,000 elite troops directly to Xingyang, and Zhang Liao was also one of the captains who followed the army.

The mobilization of 150,000 elite troops naturally could not be hidden from Cao's army on the other side, but it left Cao Cao somewhat confused for a while. (End of this chapter)