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

"Lu Congtian, the military commander of Jiangzhou's agricultural settlements, was found to have poor harvests and insufficient tax revenue. He concealed the truth in his reports and exaggerated his achievements. After investigation by the Ministry of Personnel, Lu Congtian was demoted to the position of military commander of Dianjiang, pending further evaluation."

Lu Congtian's first reaction was that he had been framed.

He tried to stop the messenger, but his eyes fell upon his family members standing nearby, filled with panic and unease.

"Shangguan! There must be some misunderstanding here!" Lu Qian immediately questioned.

"I don't care what misunderstandings you have; I'm only responsible for relaying orders. Lu Congtian, take over."

Reluctantly, he took over.

The inspector was seen off.

Lu Congtian closed the door.

If Lu Congtian were alone, he would not be afraid.

But he has family.

The time is not to find out who is framing him, but to find an opportunity to let his mentor know about this.

Only Zhuge Liang had the ability and connections to help Lu Congtian investigate everything behind this.

"Father! This is clearly someone trying to harm you!"

Lu Qian was indignant.

"Previously, Fei Wenwei assisted in managing the military farms under the command of the colonel. Now it is said that the farms under his jurisdiction have poor harvests and insufficient tax grain. Could it be that Fei Wenwei is harming my father?"

Lu Qian made a guess.

Lu Congtian shook his head. "Wenwei is not such a despicable person. Don't overthink it."

Lu Congtian was confident that he would not misjudge people.

"Can……"

Lu Congtian interrupted Lu Qian, "The Inspector said that I concealed the truth in my summary and exaggerated my achievements, but I calculated it several times and confirmed that it was correct before reporting it to Governor Fei. Now that the Ministry of Personnel has issued a demotion order, it means that the Ministry of Personnel has my summary report."

Lu Congtian had worked in the Ministry of Personnel and knew its operating logic.

Then he called Lu Qian to his side and said solemnly, "Gonghe, I need your help. Whether we can find out the truth of this matter depends entirely on you."

"Father, please give your orders!"

"Take your mother and sister, along with the tax books from the house, and go to Chengdu to seek the Prime Minister's help."

"No way!" Anu was the first to object.

The two daughters also wept uncontrollably, saying that they would never abandon Lu Congtian.

Lu Congtian did not yield to the woman; his gaze was sharp as he stared directly at Lu Qian.

"Can you prove my father's innocence and protect my blood relatives?"

His father's gaze made Lu Qian feel the heavy responsibility placed upon him by his father's high expectations.

He nodded firmly, "I will certainly not fail my father's trust!"

Turning to look at Lu Congtian's concubine, she said, word by word, "You must take good care of my father. If anything happens to him, you will not be able to bear the consequences!"

"Yes, young master."

……

July

Liu Bei began his military campaign against Cao Wei.

The emperor personally led an expedition, appointing Zhang Fei and Ma Chao as generals and Pang Tong as strategist, with an army of 20,000. They marched out of Hanzhong and captured Xincheng.

Then Huang Quan was ordered to send 10,000 troops from Nanjun in Jingzhou to attack Xiangfan from the Han River, in order to cooperate with him in attacking Meng Da.

Cao Pi would certainly not hand over such a strategic location to others.

With generals such as Xu Huang, Yue Jin, Cao Xiu, Guo Huai, and Zhang He, they were stationed in Jingzhou and Xiangyang, guarding Xincheng and Guanzhong, and fighting Liu Bei to the death.

Then came another sudden and devastating piece of bad news.

Zhang Fei, grieving the loss of his brother, spent years numbing himself with alcohol.

He looked down on ordinary people but valued scholars, and often beat his subordinates without cause when drunk.

Unable to endure Zhang Fei's beatings any longer, Zhang Da and Fan Qiang attacked and killed Zhang Fei when his troops joined Liu Bei, and then took Zhang Fei's head to surrender to Cao Wei.

Having lost his brothers one after another, Liu Bei was overcome with grief and staggered.

He grew increasingly hateful towards Cao Wei and vowed to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.

Pang Tong advised Liu Bei to take advantage of the fact that Cao Wei's generals had drawn all their attention to Xincheng and send Ma Chao to Guanzhong. Even if they could not conquer Chang'an, they could at least cut off Cao Wei's connection with Xiliang.

At that time, we can use Ma Chao's prestige in Xiliang to subdue Xiliang.

However, Liu Bei seemed to be blinded by anger and rejected Pang Tong's advice.

He simply dispatched Ma Chao from the west into the Qiang region, using Ma Chao's influence among the Qiang and Di people to persuade them to send troops to Xincheng to assist him.

Was Liu Bei truly confused? Not at all.

The Ma family wielded immense influence in Western Liang. After Ma Chao joined Liu Bei, for a long period until Liu Bei became king, Ma Chao consistently addressed Liu Bei as Xuande.

Just like Lü Bu, who used to call Liu Bei his brother.

Liu Bei dared not gamble.

The story of Lü Bu is still fresh in my mind.

Therefore, after Ma Chao and Huang Zhong conquered the three counties of Shangyong, Liu Bei recalled Ma Chao and sent Liu Feng to take up the post.

As for Liu Feng, he was executed a month before Liu Bei ascended the throne.

Whether it was to make way for Liu Shan, or whether Liu Bei truly blamed Liu Feng for Guan Yu's death, remains unknown.

Things are different now; he has established a nation and declared himself emperor.

With his brothers growing old and nearing death, and Liu Bei himself being sixty-one years old and knowing his time was drawing near, Liu Bei had to think things through more carefully.

Liu Bei was determined to acquire Xincheng and Nanyang.

Only by conquering these two commanderies can we seize the initiative in attacking Cao Wei.

the other side

Lu Qian led his family and successfully arrived in Chengdu.

Fortunately, my father had served in the army for many years and had accumulated a considerable fortune.

There is enough money to support the family's living expenses.

Now that Zhuge Liang is the prime minister, not just anyone can enter the prime minister's office.

Lu Qian took advantage of his status as a study companion to go to Zhuge Liang's residence and wait.

After waiting for several days, Zhuge Liang finally returned to bathe and change clothes.

The servants informed Zhuge Liang that his pageboy, Lu Qian, was at the residence.

"Wasn't someone supposed to recall Congtian? Why is it Gonghe who has come?" Zhuge Liang had a bad feeling. "Quickly bring him here to meet us."

Before long, Lu Qian was led to Zhuge Liang.

Lu Qian immediately knelt down and begged, tears streaming down his face, "Please, sir, prove my father's innocence!"

"What happened?" Zhuge Liang helped Lu Qian up.

Lu Qian told Lu Congtian about being falsely accused and demoted.

He then said, "Sir, you only need to retrieve your father's summary book from the Ministry of Personnel and compare it with these bamboo slip records to prove your father's innocence."

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang frowned and fell into deep thought.

"This shouldn't be too difficult for you, sir..."

Zhuge Liang looked regretful. "Gonghe, I was unaware that a fire broke out at the Imperial Secretariat a few days ago. If nothing unexpected happened, your father's documents should be legitimately lost."

"What?!"

Lu Qian was incredulous; for a child to be able to clearly perceive this was definitely not a coincidence.

"Who is targeting my father like this?"

Zhuge Liang shook his head, "It's not just targeting your father, it's more like..."

Zhuge Liang hesitated to speak, and behind this puzzling remark was undoubtedly a tangled web of interests.

The Ministry of Personnel was first governed by Fa Zheng, and later by Liu Ba. They both managed it well without any mistakes.

When Li Yan took office, more problems arose.

"Don't worry, I will investigate this matter thoroughly." Zhuge Liang knew that Lu Congtian was not the only one who had been wronged.

Zhuge Liang alone knew of at least ten people.

At first, I thought it was a normal personnel evaluation and transfer, but now it seems that it is not.

Just then, a soldier from the government came to report that Yang Yi was requesting an audience.

Previously, Yang Yi and Liu Ba were at odds, so Yang Yi was transferred away from the Ministry of Personnel.

The current Minister of the Imperial Secretariat is Li Yan, and Yang Yi has been transferred back.

"Please go first."

"promise."

Since Yang Yi came to my home, it certainly wasn't for official business.

Lu Qian sensibly avoided the meeting, and Zhuge Liang received Yang Yi.

"Prime Minister, I have something to report!"