Unfortunately, Chen Xi was unaware of these matters. Seldom venturing outside of Fenggao City, Chen Xi mostly sent others to understand the situation under his rule. As for small matters like offering sacrifices to the Great Commander, everyone turned a blind eye, so naturally, no one informed Chen Xi.
After all, in this era of filial piety and righteousness, even for those like Huangfu Song and Li Jun, who were incredibly brutal towards the Yellow Turbans, they would confer an intact body and a lavish burial to someone like the Great Commander, who had generously sacrificed himself, despite disagreeing with his terms.
Heroes should receive the treatment befitting a hero. Such was the way of this era, and the Great Commander’s conduct perfectly matched the era’s ideals. That’s why he was able to gain the Yellow Turbans’ loyalty and why a million Yellow Turbans wept together for him.
Pei Yuanshao and Zhou Cang made every effort to stand up straight, showing respect before a hero regardless of their hunger. After the Great Sage Teacher was defeated and they witnessed a wasteland awash with blood, they forsook their original beliefs. It was only because their brothers needed a way out that they led their men to Qingzhou to become bandits.
However, with the appearance of the Great Commander, they once again picked up their former beliefs. Life and death were such; some people sang in grief and generosity, while others cursed their fate and lamented. All their previous doubts had completely vanished!
Slowly inserting a stick of incense in front of the stele, Pei Yuanshao and Zhou Cang, along with everyone else, knelt down. Despite their gaunt appearances, they all solemnly gazed at the blank tombstone, symbolizing a hero who had passed away.
After the incense burned out, everyone rose to their feet. Pei Yuanshao and Zhou Cang seemed to have lifted all their burdens. "Let’s go, brothers. We’re heading to Mount Tai to join Liu Xuande!" they declared.
"Alright!" Everyone paused for a moment, then shouted loudly in agreement.
Every Yellow Turban in Qingzhou knew about the treatment ordinary Yellow Turbans received at Mount Tai. Because of this, many Yellow Turbans from Qingzhou were renouncing their rebellion and sneaking off to places near Mount Tai in Qingzhou. There, after registering, they could receive land and seeds, then change their jobs and become commoners.
As a result, many leaders of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were seeing reductions in their ranks. But aside from a few truly cruel leaders, others turned a blind eye, including those like Guann Hai who despised the official army, who pretended not to see when their ordinary men joined Liu Bei at Mount Tai.
Some chose to leave and others to stay; with united hearts, the troops were easier to lead. So the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans did not react to this situation.
As time passed, the numbers of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans gradually decreased. Of course, this was also because the Yellow Turbans in the central and western parts of Qingzhou had been captured after their defeat, while those in Eastern Qingzhou were too far from Mount Tai. Even so, Yellow Turbans from Eastern Qingzhou continued to leave.
Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao, leading over a thousand of their followers, headed towards Mount Tai. Though just a small force of Yellow Turbans, this signified that the original followers of the Great Sage Teacher Zhang Jiao were starting to defect to Liu Bei of their own accord.
A new round of construction had begun in Fenggao, with both Mount Tai and certain areas of Qingzhou initiating building projects. While construction in Fenggao mainly focused on architecture, other areas concentrated more on infrastructural developments such as roads, wells, river embankments, and bridges.
Chen Xi was still, as before, sitting in the Political Office drinking tea. The latest news from Mi Zhu was that he was rushing back from the Yangtze River. Although he had the misfortune of encountering Sunx Ce and Wen Pin in a naval battle, considering Mi Zhu’s now significant reputation, Zhou Yu only charged a ten percent toll before letting Mi Zhu pass. As for now, Mi Zhu was probably either within Yuzhou territory or Xuzhou, and it would take about a ten-day period to return.
As for the previous attempt to pull the Wu Family into the Commerce Alliance, that had failed, naturally. Wu Yi stubbornly insisted he would join only if granted the position of Alliance Hierarch, otherwise there was no deal.
Mi Zhu certainly didn’t believe that. If the Wu Family were really that obstinate, they wouldn’t have become one of the Five Great Merchants, and they wouldn’t be negotiating with Mi Zhu in the first place. Since Wu Yi insisted on negotiating daily with Mi Zhu, it indicated there was still much room for compromise, nothing more than asking for the moon at first to settle for less later.
Mi Zhu was confident he could pull the Wu Family into the Commerce Alliance with a position of vice Alliance Hierarch and a few other offerings, thereby strengthening the Alliance. Although the cost was significant, the Five Great Merchants had the status and network to justify it, so Mi Zhu continued the endless negotiations with Wu Yi.
According to their progress at that time, Mi Zhu estimated it would take another month to bring the Wu Family into the fold of the Commerce Alliance. Unfortunately, just then, messages from Lub Su, Liu Ye, Jia Xu, Li Youu, Fa Zheng, Jian Yong, Liu Yan, and Sunx Qian all arrived in Mi Zhu’s hands, all saying the same thing: return to Mount Tai quickly, as Chen Xi had a new plan, and the Zhen Family was already there. If you don’t return to Mount Tai, the Zhen Family will take your opportunity.
Mi Zhu took the time of one incense stick’s burning to think, then went straight to the Wu Family, offering what he thought were the most favorable terms. He then told them he had urgent matters and must leave today, hoping they could come to an agreement. If not, it would be difficult for him to have another chance to personally come to Yizhou and negotiate with the Wu Family.
Regrettably, Wu Yi thought Mi Zhu was employing a psychological tactic, so he just laughed it off and ignored it, resulting in Mi Zhu leaving that very night.
When Chen Xi said there was money to be made, it was quite a statement. Mi Zhu, who had experience working with Chen Xi, knew all too well—when Chen Xi talked about a little money, it was sometimes calculated by hundreds of millions. Moreover, this time he had openly said there was a lot of money to be made, which made Mi Zhu think that in Chen Xi’s mind, the value of adding Wu Yi to the Commerce Alliance was probably just "small money."