My game can make money starting from the Three Kingdoms period.

In the days that followed.

Liu Ba remained indifferent as always.

She secretly took good care of Lu Congtian.

Because Lu Congtian had difficulty moving around, Liu Ba arranged a room for him alone and assigned a mute clerk to run errands for him, fetching official documents and bamboo slips.

This allowed Lu Congtian to quickly adapt to the role of the clerk.

When Liu Ba sought out Wu Yi again in the middle of the night, he appeared extremely flustered.

He shared his deductions, which he had made after several days of investigation, with Wu Yi.

"Zichu suspects that it was Minister Yang Yi who instigated Fei Guan, the Prefect of Ba Commandery, to defect?"

Liu Ba nodded, "Yang Wei was originally the chief clerk of Fu Qun, the governor of Jingzhou, appointed by Cao Cao. Our lord appreciated his talent and summoned him to be the military aide of the Left General. Now he is a court official of the same rank as me."

"Furthermore, it was discovered that Yang Weigong had been away in Ba Commandery for a long time and had not returned to report. Ba Commandery is located at the foot of Hanzhong, borders Jingzhou to the right, and Guanghan to the left. It is a vital area for Jing and Yi provinces. Moreover, Fei Guan, Fei Binbo, was originally Liu Zhang's son-in-law and had a reason to rebel."

"What I'm most worried about is that Fei Binbo is good at networking and has close ties with Li Yan and Li Zhengfang. If Li Zhengfang gets involved, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Factional struggles exist within any warlord camp.

Liu Bei's group was no exception.

They can be roughly divided into the Jingzhou School, the Yizhou School, and the Dongzhou School.

The Dongzhou faction was a local force from Yizhou that followed Liu Yan and his son into Shu in their early years. Their core interests differed from those of the local factions whose families and businesses were based in Yizhou.

People like Wu Yi and Li Yan belonged to the Dongzhou faction and mostly submitted passively.

The desire to change bosses isn't that strong.

The local faction in Yizhou is represented by Huang Quan and Fa Zheng. Fa Zheng is unlikely to rebel now, but Huang Quan's situation is uncertain.

For the Yizhou faction, it didn't matter who the boss was; they even hoped to change bosses so they could get promoted and make money.

The most vivid examples are Fa Zheng and Zhang Song. They secretly plotted to welcome Liu Bei, and look at how Fa Zheng is being treated now?

Partner level!

Who wouldn't want to be the next Fazheng? So responding to Cao Cao, or even actively welcoming Cao Cao, would be perfectly reasonable.

So, it's allowed to welcome Liu Bei, but not allowed for others to welcome Cao Cao? Where's the logic in that?

Besides, Cao Cao already had the power to rule as emperor. At this time, wouldn't it be right for him to obey the will of Heaven, avoid being beheaded, and seek a better future?

As for the Jingzhou faction, it included figures such as Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Huang Zhong, and Ma Liang. Theoretically speaking, Lu Congtian was also a member of the Jingzhou faction.

This is Liu Bei's core group, and it is almost impossible for them to betray him.

Now, Liu Ba suspects that Yang Yi has become a traitor, and has thus turned the relatively neutral Dongzhou faction against him. Once the Dongzhou faction and the Yizhou faction reach a consensus, they will be able to achieve their goal.

This would be a devastating disaster for the rear areas.

Historically, Liu Bei only had one province, Yizhou, which was mostly managed by the Jingzhou faction. During Liu Bei's lifetime, he was able to suppress internal struggles.

Now that the territory has expanded to include both Jing and Yi provinces, if the two states are allowed to develop and consolidate steadily for two years, and the ruling classes are exchanged, this factional struggle will not be so obvious.

The timing is awkward and unusual.

In addition, Liu Bei was supervising the battle in Jingzhou and could not return to guard the rear.

Thus, this factional conflict was prematurely triggered by the machinations of certain individuals.

This situation is very similar to the Battle of Red Cliffs, where Zhang Zhao led the surrender while Zhou Yu insisted on fighting.

There will always be some people who will make choices that benefit themselves, so that they are not the ones who end up getting hurt.

Wu Yi asked, "Does Lord Lu Cao know about this?"

Liu Ba shook his head, curious. "This man is crippled. Although he has military achievements, he will likely never advance again. Why does Ziyuan value him so much?"

Liu Ba was telling the truth; Lu Congtian's limited mobility alone was enough to determine his maximum potential.

The current war machine has no suitable high-ranking personnel for incompetent individuals!

When a machine is operating at high intensity, it may not only become disabled, but it may also become ill and have to give up its role, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

Wu Yi waved his hand, "Zichu doesn't know, but Lu Caojun is an upright man and is very close to the Military Advisor General. We can fully trust Lu Caojun, and we can use him to tell Military Advisor Zhuge about the troubles in Yizhou."

They were all smart people, so Liu Ba didn't say anything.

Why didn't they just tell Liu Bei that there were hidden dangers in Yizhou?

Because if they were to speak out, they would inevitably be suspected of participating in factional struggles!

After all, this rebellion is only a suspicion. Even if Li Yan and Yang Yi really participated in the rebellion, what if they later accused them of being forced to rebel to survive because of their gossip?

In this way, you not only fail to gain any advantage, but also end up causing trouble.

Wu Yi wanted to protect Yizhou for Liu Bei, but at the same time, he did not want to get involved in the turmoil.

Then Lu Congtian would be a very good chess piece.

A chess piece that possesses considerable influence and the convenience of fulfilling its responsibilities.

More importantly, Lu Congtian's background is too clean; he has almost no intricate network of connections. There's nothing else to implicate him in.

As long as Lu Congtian tells Zhuge Liang about this hidden danger, Zhuge Liang will naturally explain the situation to Liu Bei.

At that time, Liu Bei will definitely try to stabilize the various factions.

Wouldn't that achieve the goal of preserving everything we have?

Liu Ba, serving under Liu Bei, always maintained a cautious and self-preserving attitude. He naturally wholeheartedly supported using Lu Congtian as a pawn.

Was Liu Ba genuinely helping Liu Bei? It's hard to say. But the only certainty is that he could no longer rely on Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was suspicious by nature. From his time lobbying the commanderies and kingdoms of Jingzhou for Cao Cao, to now serving Liu Bei.

If Liu Ba were to directly accept Cao Cao's offer of defection, Cao Cao would inevitably suspect that Liu Ba was a double agent like Lu Congtian.

Cao Cao didn't necessarily need to recruit Liu Ba; he didn't lack Liu Ba as a talent.

If Liu Ba were to surrender to Cao Cao, he would inevitably be attacked for no apparent reason.

Therefore, those who seemed to be the easiest to be turned by Cao Cao resolutely refused.

Liu Ba refused Cao Cao's offer to defect, which would inevitably cause Cao Cao to hold a grudge. If Yizhou were to surrender to Cao Cao, Liu Ba would still face the same fate.

Whether he sticks his neck out or not, he'll still get hurt. Liu Ba had no choice but to team up with Wu Yi to protect Liu Bei's foundation and save his own life.

"Let's follow General Ziyuan's suggestion and borrow Lu Congtian's methods!"

next day

When Lu Congtian took his deductions to Wu Yi, he found out.

He expressed his suspicion that Yang Yi, Li Yan, and others might rebel.

Wu Yi looked shocked. "How is that possible?"

It was obvious that the answer Lu Congtian wanted was one that Liu Ba had deliberately given him.

They steered Lu Congtian toward the direction they suspected.

"I must deploy troops to defend Chengdu and prevent a rebellion!"

Lu Congtian stopped Wu Yi, saying, "General Ziyuan, do not alert the enemy. Besides, this is just my speculation, and there is no actual evidence."

"What should we do then? Should we just wait until it's all over? By then, there will be widespread suffering and the situation will be beyond saving!" Wu Yi was filled with grief and pounded his chest in despair.

"Should we just inform the lord directly?"

"No! Our lord is at the front lines fighting; how can we allow these uncertain matters from the rear to disturb him?"

Lu Congtian nodded, knowing that this was completely unfounded.

"Tell General Xiaozhi?"

"That's even worse! Unresolved matters could become the trigger for factional purges!"

Lu Congtian agreed that the power struggle in Yizhou was truly a war without gunpowder.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Perhaps I can write a letter to my mentor. I believe that after receiving the letter, he will provide a solution. This way, we won't alert the enemy, and we can protect our lord's family business."

"Excellent! This is truly a win-win solution! Lord Lu, if it weren't for you, Yizhou would be in grave danger, and I would be held responsible!"