Liu Bei was very puzzled by Chen Xi’s gaze. In his view, everything was going smoothly, so why did Chen Xi suddenly exhibit such apparent resentment?
Fortunately, Chen Xi also knew this was not the place to speak. The establishment of the army was actually something Chen Xi had cooked up, and only Liu Bei knew about it. Nobody else had been told, so he couldn’t say much and could only explain privately to Liu Bei later. What a stroke of bad luck this was.
"Since everyone has already agreed to the veterans’ discharge system, please assign the discharged veterans to Fenggao before the sacrifice at Jingling Palace at the end of the first November." Chen Xi’s resentment was fleeting, and he stood before everyone again, facing Liu Bei. Naturally, no one else noticed the change in Chen Xi’s expression.
"Yes!" The generals stood up and answered. This was a good thing for them too. Although it meant a short-term loss of some elite veterans, in the long run, it was an expansion of their power.
"Boning, the old soldiers who retire will be under your reorganization, and you are also to select and establish the departments for city management and patrols," Liu Bei said to Mann Chong, his gaze serious. Chen Xi had already "given him the heads-up," otherwise, Liu Bei himself would certainly have had many omissions.
"Yes!" Mann Chong stood up and responded.
"Gong Youu, the handling of road affairs around Mount Tai of Qingzhou will be your responsibility. The roads must be restored to Fenggao by the middle of the second November, before Zichuan’s wedding, and the patrol troops in the city, mainly composed of retired veterans, must be operational by then," Liu Bei said gravely.
"Yes!" Sunx Qian stood up and bowed respectfully.
"Zijing, from today onward, start recruiting local scholars to lay out the education system. You must have the academies in the main county cities built before Zichuan’s wedding. As for the textbooks, Zichuan has already prepared them. Also, demolish the unreasonable parts of Fenggao." After Sunx Qian replied, Liu Bei turned his attention to Lub Su.
"I will not disappoint," Lub Su said calmly.
"Wen Ru, the matter of the household registry is entirely up to you. You are also tasked with figuring out the classification of the craftspeople as well as the household registry. I don’t expect this to be completed before Zichuan’s wedding, but at least by that time, you should be able to present me with a set of regulations," Liu Bei instructed with his back turned to Li Youu.
Chen Xi shook his head slightly. Liu Bei still didn’t quite understand the people under his rule. It could be said that before Liu Bei issued his commands, these people already had plans in mind, waiting only for an order to put them into action.
"Rest assured, Lord Xuande, I shall present a set of regulations before Zichuan’s wedding," Li Youu said, seemingly with great effort, but in reality, everyone who knew was scornful. A month and a half, nearly two months had passed since Li Youu began this task. By now, far from just a set of regulations, the job would have already been perfect if Li Youu had not been intent on making it flawless.
"Wen He, keep an eye on the wars in all directions. Ensure that no Feudal Lord takes advantage of us during our military reorganization," Liu Bei ordered Jia Xu, his gaze piercing. "With Fengxiao absent, you must remember to take on a bit more responsibility."
"Yes!" Jia Xu stood up and bowed. This time the entire intelligence organization of Mount Tai truly fell into Jia Xu’s hands. Without Guo Jia’s implicit pressure, nor Fa Zheng’s joking and teasing, the organization was entirely Jia Xu’s to command.
"Zizhong, the rules and regulations of the merchants’ guild must be submitted to me in the form of contracts before Zichuan’s wedding. Otherwise, I would not mind having Zichuan write one for you on that day," Liu Bei turned to Mi Zhu and asserted, "Remember your identity. You have the authority to regulate any merchant conducting business in Fenggao!"
"Certainly, I won’t let Lord down!" Mi Zhu replied with respectful devotion.
"Ziyang, you will handle all administrative templates, and also conduct a year-end review of the officials from Mount Tai of Qingzhou. When the time comes, submit the results to me. Zilong will for now be assigned under your command to assist you in the review of officials. As for the agricultural side of things, Zilong has no issues, correct?" Liu Bei initially planned to delegate the entire official assessment to Liu Ye, but he reconsidered upon remembering what Chen Xi said about keeping the powers of punishment and reward in his own hands.
"Yes!" Zhao Yun and Liu Ye said in unison. Throughout the past couple of years, Zhao Yun didn’t fight on the battlefield very often, yet he spent a great deal of effort dealing with agriculture and surveying the populace’s conditions. This year, Zhao Yun’s family even added a dozen large baskets of exotic dried fruits and a variety of seasonal vegetables—it was quite splendid!
"Yide, Zijian, you two will temporarily replace Zilong in selecting soldiers and conducting winter training—there must be no mistakes," Liu Bei glanced at the military generals seated below, considering that Zhao Yun had multiple responsibilities. Gathering intelligence on the populace, scrutinizing local officials in the province, handling military administration, recruiting soldiers, and training them—without knowing a clone technique, it really was problematic.
"Yes!" Hua Xiong and Zhang Fei glanced at each other and stood up to respond in unison.
"Zhongkang, you will assist Zilong in selecting soldiers when the time comes," Liu Bei was somewhat unsure about Zhang Fei and Hua Xiong, turning his head towards Xuu Chu, who stood behind him like a pillar, and said.
"Yes!" Xuu Chu, without an extra word, directly assented.
"Xianhe, Weishuo, formally extend invitations to the four directions. Since they are destined to come, let’s provide them with a step down and by the way, mediate among the four directions!" Liu Bei straightforwardly brought up Chen Xi’s marriage into the open, figuring that, after all, Chen Xi made a lot of sense. Those people were bound to come, so it was better to offer them a gesture of goodwill to save face for everyone—uninvited self-arrival was truly impolite.
"Yes." Jian Yong and Liu Yan rose and said. Jian Yong excelled in diplomacy, while Liu Yan was skilled in boasting, and their combination worked quite well together.
Liu Bei surveyed the crowd, his gaze resting on Fa Zheng before retracting it, not bestowing any official duties on Fa Zheng.
"May I ask, Lord, why am I the only one omitted from public duties? Could it be because I am seen as too young?" Fa Zheng felt clearly the moment Liu Bei’s gaze swept over him but did not delegate to him any public business. Puzzled by this, the young Fa Zheng stood up directly to question.
"There is a task that should be handled by Zichuan, but he is about to get married and will be preoccupied with many matters. I fear that your lack of experience may make it difficult for you to manage," Liu Bei hesitated before saying. He wasn’t too concerned about Fa Zheng’s direct inquiry, knowing that Fa Zheng was still in an excited phase and simply couldn’t contain his restless heart.
"I am willing to try. Since I’ve already taken my place independently at this council, it indicates that the others have recognized my capabilities. I hope Lord Xuande will give me a chance to demonstrate my abilities. Otherwise, sitting in this position feels like sitting on pins and needles," Fa Zheng said solemnly. He wasn’t foolish and naturally understood the phrase "what position, what responsibility." If he sat in this position, he should have corresponding responsibilities, and he believed that he could complete the tasks entrusted to him by Liu Bei.
Liu Bei turned his head to look at Chen Xi, feeling a bit uneasy about entrusting the task to Fa Zheng. One reason was because Fa Zheng could be vindictive and petty, and another was his lack of experience. To be honest, Liu Bei was somewhat skeptical about Chen Xi’s recommendation for Fa Zheng to take on this matter—it could very well end in discord!
Chen Xi nodded firmly. He still had other matters to attend to.
"Since Xiaozhi is so confident, then education welfare, veteran soldiers’ benefits, and soldiers’ allowances and pensions will be handled by you. If there’s anything you’re unsure of, remember to seek out Zichuan," Liu Bei sighed but still entrusted the task to Fa Zheng, not forgetting to remind him to seek help if needed. (To be continued. If you work, you are welcome to vote and offer your recommendations at . Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)