The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 703 Making Up for Defects
Sima Yi was not at all surprised by Liu Fan's choice.

Sima Yi even anticipated Li Yan and Zhang Song's resistance, as well as Huang Quan and Dong He's covert protection.

Therefore, after entering the Han Dynasty, Sima Yi smoothly integrated into the Han system and became the core of Liu Fan's civil officials in less than three months.

Given their personalities, Li Yan and Zhang Song would naturally not be willing to cooperate with Sima Yi and play a supporting role.

Unfortunately, all the changes brought about by Sima Yi were things they had never known before, and they would have been completely at a loss as to how to deal with them.

Moreover, Liu Fan has now grown into a powerful and charismatic ruler, and he has no aversion or suspicion towards Sima Yi.

All the policies proposed by Sima Yi were followed.

However, he had higher expectations of Li Yan and Zhang Song in private.

After all, Liu Fan couldn't control Sima Yi, but he couldn't just abandon him either. Besides letting him be, he could only rely on his civil officials to keep him in check.

However, Sima Yi is still in the process of growing up, and Li Yan and Zhang Song have not yet grown to their original level!
Zhang Song, in particular, had relatively limited abilities, and in many cases was even inferior to his elder brother Zhang Su.

For the first two months, when Sima Yi was not very familiar with the situation under Liu Fan's command, they were able to keep up with Sima Yi's pace.

However, as Sima Yi became more and more successful and accomplished more, they began to fall behind and gradually became students.

While feeling helpless, Liu Fan was also incredibly excited.

Sima Yi was a double-edged sword for him.

Although I can't control it, the sharper this sword is, the more advantageous it will be for the current situation.

The Han Dynasty under his control has always had a significant weakness in domestic affairs compared to the other six states.

Domestic policy differences are often overlooked in history books, but they do exist and are extremely important.

Among the three heroes of the early Han Dynasty, Xiao He was no less important than the other two. In fact, when the military merits were used to confer titles, Xiao He was ranked first.

Given the same resources, the presence of a top-tier domestic official can allow their power to grow at a much faster pace than that of other countries.

This means more elite troops, more supplies, and stronger mobilization and organizational capabilities...

These advantages are important in themselves, and when combined, they have a tremendous impact.

Therefore, the ministers who govern the country are the foundation of a great nation.

The Shu Kingdom in the later period of the Three Kingdoms was completely different with or without Zhuge Liang.

After Liu Bei nearly destroyed the Shu Kingdom with a single fire, Zhuge Liang stabilized the situation in a short period of time and enabled the Shu Kingdom to develop rapidly.

Liu Fan had quite a few strategists under his command, and they were also quite capable in domestic affairs, but ultimately he lacked a pillar-like figure.

Sima Yi's arrival precisely made up for this deficiency.

And its effects are extremely remarkable.

Sima Yi's reforms were sweeping yet subtle. On the surface, the Han Dynasty did not undergo any major changes, only minor adjustments were made to legislation, officialdom, agriculture, and people's livelihood.

But Li Yan, who was only somewhat adept at domestic affairs, was utterly amazed, feeling as if he were a mayfly seeing the blue sky.

He was even so badly affected that his Dao heart was shattered at one point.

Sima Yi was so young, yet the gap between them was so vast, it was simply despairing.

In the end, it was Sima Yi who comforted him.

Although Sima Yi was capable, he was not several levels above Li Yan and others.

The reason it is so terrifying is entirely due to the large amount of accumulated problems in the past.

The environment has a huge impact on people.

Besides talent and ability, experience is also extremely important.

In recent years, Sima Yi has spent his time either immersed in the twelve ministries of government, being trained by Chen Gong, Zhang Zhao and others, or seeking instruction from the elders of various schools of thought at the Jixia Academy. His spare time has been spent strategizing and bickering with Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun and others.

It can be said that he has a very deep theoretical foundation and many unique ideas.

Now that he finally had the opportunity to put his skills to use, Sima Yi naturally spared no effort.

After all, he only had this opportunity under Liu Fan's command. After returning to the Central Plains, he would be constantly hampered by Zhuge Liang.

Even with the checks and balances of powerful clans around Kushan, he could not act recklessly.

Seeing the Han Dynasty's rapid development, the other six kingdoms were also anxious.

Comparing oneself to others is a human instinct, and no one can escape it.

Even if you try your best to restrain yourself, you will inevitably fall into it.

Just like people in later generations.

Putting everything else aside, even if you're poor, you still have enough to eat and wear, and you won't have to worry about food and clothing.

And this, placed within the long history of humankind, is an immense blessing.

Looking back a century, the difference was still like that between heaven and hell.

But people make comparisons, and relative material wealth cannot fill the void in a person's heart.

The same applies to the other six countries today.

Being far ahead of a younger brother like Liu Fan is something no one would swallow.

I thought that with the gap narrowed during this period, and after further development, we would be able to catch up.

After all, Liu Fan's civil and military forces were indeed somewhat lacking. Even though Liu Fan took an unconventional approach, his development in most areas was inevitably relatively slow.

But just when hope seemed within reach, Sima Yi intervened and plugged the loophole for Liu Fan.

Tian Chengshou is truly a despicable son!
The six kings couldn't help but curse inwardly.

Even though it was Sima Yi's own petition, the Six Kings still firmly pinned the blame on Tian Ze.

After all, this was something that Tianze tacitly approved.

To be more precise, this matter was pushed forward by everyone in Daqi, and Tian Ze had no choice but to acquiesce.

Sima Yi's most outstanding quality was not his political or military strategy, but his political ability.

As if it were an innate instinct, Sima Yi was naturally adept at political maneuvering and understanding people's hearts.

Even though he was outside the Central Plains, Sima Yi was still very familiar with the situation in the court.

The imperial court of the Great Qi Dynasty is the stage he yearns for most, and all his current accumulation is a preparation for stepping onto that stage in the future.

What happened to the Great Qi was secondary to Sima Yi; what he truly cared about was what benefits he could gain from it.

Human nature dictates that even Tianze could not control this situation.

The ministers under Tian Ze also had their own principles and selfish motives.

Sima Yi astutely realized that by assisting Liu Fan, he would not only have room to maneuver, but also gain the support of many officials throughout the Qi state.

Tian Ze didn't care about the rise of the Seven Kings, but the entire Qi state was very concerned.

When there is a force around you that you do not control, regardless of its attitude towards you, a threat has already been created.

The people of Daqi would naturally and instinctively choose to suppress it.

Liu Fan was precisely the most suitable person to make his move.

(End of this chapter)