It’s good that you admit your mistakes. Chen Xi had long been dissatisfied that this fellow was even more idle than himself. What a mistake it was! While fighting for Peii State, Jia Xu and Zhang Fei were holding the front line, Liu Bei sneaked off to Peii County to see the place where his Liu Family rose to prominence, and then Li Youu went off to have fun too, completely disregarding Zhang Xun as if he weren’t even a person!
When Chen Xi learned of this, he was dumbfounded. He had placed Li Youu and Jia Xu with Liu Bei to ensure Liu Bei’s safety during the split. With those two, along with Zhang Fei and Xuu Chu around, they should have been able to withstand even Dragon and Phoenix Rank opponents. But you went off to have fun! You actually went to Peii County to play, and didn’t even take me with you!
What’s most important is not that you went to have fun, but after that, Liu Bei got into this mess. I brought you in as Secretary Official to check and fill gaps for Liu Bei, not to send you to play with him. That’s what entertainers are for. Don’t you feel ashamed doing such a thing with your IQ of 180?
Chen Xi glared at Li Youu, who remained unfazed. Having held a position of power and been through a lot, Li Youu’s thick skin and temperament were not just for show; at least he wasn’t swayed by Chen Xi’s words.
"I give up on you. You help Zijing with the household registration then. Wen Ru, you have experience with this and you seem very adept at overseeing it from top to bottom. I’ll go deal with the new laws," Chen Xi resigned himself to the reality of dealing with someone like Li Youu.
"Alright," Li Youu nodded, somewhat compensating for his earlier actions.
"Wen Ru, please take on a bit more responsibility in time," Lub Su, the perennial nice guy, didn’t mind Li Youu encroaching on his authority.
"Ziyang, next month at this time, if you still haven’t delegated the administrative templates, don’t blame me for giving you trouble," Chen Xi turned his head, his eyes sparkling with a cold light as he spoke to Liu Ye, who needed some pressure to remember his duties, "You’re allowed to seek help. There are about thirty thousand literate students at Mount Tai. You have the talent to draft these people. I give you the authority to do so."
"Yes, I definitely will," Liu Ye realized the gravity of Chen Xi’s stern gaze and felt a significant increase in enlightenment.
"Fengxiao, Xiaoo Zhi, I want the two of you to keep an eye on Sunx Bofu, Zhou Yu, Yuan Gonglu, Cao Mengde, and Lyu Fengxian. Watch the southern battlefields closely, and if the situation turns to our disadvantage, you’re permitted to intervene," Chen Xi said while looking at Guo Jia, who was drunkenly indulging, and Fa Zheng, sneaking some food, lamenting that indeed ’like master like man’. Previously Fa Zheng was too proud to do such things, but now he had picked up some of Guo Jia’s roguish habits.
"Yes, I will," Fa Zheng said excitedly.
"I’m counting on you, Xiaoo Zhi. I believe in you, and here, take this plate as well," Chen Xi handed over a plate of fruit from beside him to Fa Zheng. Usually, when Guo Jia was drunk and had Fa Zheng with him, Fa Zheng could make decisions on Guo Jia’s behalf. Fa Zheng had already succumbed to Guo Jia’s nefarious influence, forcibly turned into a junior brother. Well then, as for who the master was, that remained unknown—but it was indeed a fortunate thing that Fa Zheng was not a mere disciple!
"Keep the north steady, and while you’re at it, give those people in Chang’an a hard time. Help make sure that Cao Mengde doesn’t have it too easy. If Yuan Gonglu could defeat Cao Mengde, now strong with his recently trained troops and fortified in the city, that would be a surprise. I suspect Cao Mengde’s aim may be to hold off Yuan Gonglu to train his troops properly..." Chen Xi turned his head and spoke to Jia Xu, the words not fully clear, but Chen Xi could trust Jia Xu knew what to do.
"Hehehehe~" The laughter, akin to that of a night owl, sent shivers down everyone’s spine, after which everyone except Li Youu glared angrily at Jia Xu.
"Drink your tea," Liu Ye pushed the teacup towards Jia Xu, effectively silencing him; he reckoned he couldn’t resist rushing him if Jia Xu laughed again.
"Weishuo, continue treating people to meals; when you have time, find some metaphysics experts to come look at Fenggao City, then write something about it. If we’ve spent a billion on it, we need to make that back somehow! Even hyping it up as the Land of Dragon Rising would do," Chen Xi had invested heavily and spoke those words as a means to inform the group.
True to form, Liu Yan’s eyes lit up as he heard this. Lately, touting the title of "Hegemon of the Central Plains" had become somewhat lackluster for him, especially since just two months ago, the so-called number one feudal lord, Yuan Shu, had been embarrassingly easy to overpower. His strength was beyond the need for such claims...
The others, upon hearing this, also showed varying degrees of inexplicable expressions, while Fa Zheng was already excitedly dancing with joy. Indeed, he still needed much tempering of his temperament.
"But don’t overdo it. There’s a bit of truth to the rhetoric, and I think you can handle that, Weishuo," Chen Xi said thoughtfully after a moment’s consideration, deciding it was best to be cautious. Liu Yan’s propaganda skills were too strong; if mishandled, they could cause trouble.
"Leave it to me!" Liu Yan asserted, nearly thumping his chest in assurance, "In a couple of days, I’ll invite Xuu Zijiang, Zhou Konghe, Xu Lingxiu, and the others to Mount Tai."
Chen Xi felt like banging his head on the table. Before coming to this world, he might have only known of Xuu Zijiang, but after spending so much time here, he was very clear on how formidable the other two were.
With Liu Yan inviting the three biggest players over, Xuu Zijiang’s assertions, Zhou Konghe’s dream interpretations, and Xu Liang’s physiognomy readings meant whatever they said would be taken as gospel.
"Find someone weaker, these three coming over would make it hard to explain," Chen Xi hurriedly advised, fearing that these three could blow Liu Bei’s reputation sky-high, making it difficult to manage later.
"Ah?" Liu Yan was puzzled. These three were easy to find; he had bragged with Xuu Zijiang at Mount Tai before, they had connections, and there were emotions involved. For matters of metaphysics, it was valuable to seek the experts—others could hardly refute their words.
"You go ahead and find someone," Chen Xi said with resignation.
However, from Liu Yan’s earlier words, everyone smart enough to understand knew the caliber of the people Liu Yan associated with. Perhaps they lacked military strategy and tactics, but in other fields, they could crucify you with a single sentence, leaving you unable to turn the situation around for a decade!
Chen Xi waved his hand, signaling Liu Yan to go ahead with the plan, and then turned to arrange tasks for Jian Yong, "Xianhe, take over the matters of settling the new population that Zijing was handling. Try to separate those literate folks."
"Yes!" Jian Yong responded with a smile, "Does this mean, then, that Zijing will also be dealing with Qingzhou’s affairs with you later?"
"Yes, Zijing has been training at Mount Tai for quite some time, so taking charge of Qingzhou will save me some trouble. We can’t afford any mishaps this year; anything that can be resolved quickly must be addressed promptly!" Chen Xi nodded, his expression not overly solemn, but everyone felt his resolve.
"Gong Youu, you’re in charge of all the constructions underway in Fenggao City, along with the planning of the city’s fortifications. Hire some female officials to help with the adjustments. Women see things from a different angle than we do. Many issues we overlook, they might spot at a glance. I’m entrusting all these matters to you, but when the materials are in your hands, you better be prepared to use them!" Chen Xi said with a smile, knowing Sunx Qian’s tasks seemed light, but once the materials arrived, Sunx Qian would definitely not have an easy time.
"Yes," Sunx Qian replied with a bowed salute. (To be continued. If you work, please visit to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket, and your support will be my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)