"May I ask where the gentleman hails from?" Chen Xi smiled as he greeted the drunkard with a bow. There was no helping it; one must be tolerant of a talented drunkard.
"Chen Zichuan?" The drunkard tilted his head and pondered for a moment before asking, "I come from the north."
Chen Xi was startled; he hadn’t revealed his identity, so how did this guy figure it out? Then he glanced back and understood what had happened. A fat man with a waist ten spans round was not far behind, hugging his sword and staring over here.
After hearing the drunkard say he was from the north, Chen Xi suddenly realized, "Guo Fengxiao?"
"How do you know?" the drunkard asked curiously, though without much surprise.
"Although Fa Xiaozhi is young, he’s not someone that just anyone can refute, and coming from the north, of an age and stature like the gentleman here, reeking of alcohol, a dissolute and unrestrained noted scholar, the only name that comes to my mind is Guo Fengxiao," Chen Xi said with a laugh. "Who would have thought that today, at Lord Xuande’s Talent Recruitment Platform, we would finally attract a great sage."
"So even the newly established Mount Tai does not lack for intelligence gathering. Chen Zichuan is indeed a rare talent of this age. However, back in the day, King Zhao of Yan had the Jade Wine Passing Tray at his feast; what sort of treatment can I, Guo Fengxiao, expect?" Guo Jia said with a playful grin.
It so happened that Guo Jia had arrived at Mount Tai half a month ago, and had wandered all over the place. Because of this, he was very satisfied with Liu Bei, who dared to delegate authority, valued talent above all else, and did not judge others by conventional wisdom. Compared with Liu Bei, Yuan Shao just seemed like a charlatan.
And today, as he was lying near a tavern overlooking the talent recruitment happening below, he saw Fa Zheng. This child gave Guo Jia a sense of familiarity; he himself was once just as clever and just as arrogant.
But Guo Jia thought back to when he was that age, and it seemed that this child fell a little short of him. Yes, he must not have seen the world yet, or rather, he hadn’t seen someone even smarter than him crush him in intellectual capacity,
Beating up smart kids was a kind of wicked pleasure for Guo Jia, and beating those with high intelligence brought him even more joy. He himself had been beaten continually by others when he was younger, and the person who had beaten him had told him that it was only through constant beating that a bright child could grow.
Guo Jia hurried down from the tavern because he could tell that the fellow, who was probably Chen Zichuan, also had ideas about beating up the kid. It seemed he wasn’t used to walking by such an irritable child without giving them a smack, and high-quality kids one were not abundant...
Indeed, it was unnecessary to provoke an irritable kid; they’d jump into the fight themselves, spouting histories and classics. Guo Jia almost couldn’t hold back, breaking into a cold sweat. To be beaten instead of beating would be embarrassing. But luckily, the kid switched the topic to the world’s great trends and strategic planning.
This was his area of expertise, and he was very knowledgeable in it. Even the person who used to beat him was not confident about beating him in this regard now. Without a doubt, after a series of combinations, the opponent was bewildered, thoroughly outmatched and unable to retaliate, his expression revealing a dawning understanding. Thus, Guo Jia sighed as he patted the kid’s shoulder, shook his head slightly, and walked away.
As he walked away, Guo Jia felt an immense sense of accomplishment. He finally understood why that jerk used to do this every time. High-quality kids were rare and such characters were indomitable. He reckoned that in a couple of days, he would be able to satisfy his craving to debate once more.
Beat the child nearly half to death and then allow them to glean some enlightenment from your words; such tenaciously intelligent children will surely cling to these insights and study hard. Confident in their grasp of the knowledge, they return to the battlefield, only to be beaten again and fall into a cycle of repeating this process.
Guo Jia thought back to how foolish he had been, starting from the age of fourteen when he first showed promise, he endured beatings. The worst part was that, given his intelligence, he was beaten by that scoundrel for five years, always going forward full of confidence and returning in utter disgrace, again and again going to their doom.
Turning his head to look at Fa Zheng, Guo Jia estimated that he might also beat up this guy for a few years. This poor kid, in Guo Jia’s estimation, might need another five or six years to be able to withstand his strategic planning, let alone surpass him – that would be a matter of luck.
"Henghengheng, King Zhao of Yan with his Golden Terrace and Jade Wine Passing Tray is nothing special!" Chen Xi shook his head; there was no need to be polite with a dissolute man like Guo Jia. However audacious, comfortable, or presumptuous one wished to be, that was the way to act.
"What then? The Jade Case is not bad; it’s worth quite a lot of gold," Guo Jia said, touching his money pouch to show his current financial embarrassment.
Chen Xi felt the veins on his forehead pulsating, "Where is the integrity of you scholars? Shouldn’t you feel ashamed to talk about money?"
"Even Confucius didn’t find it shameful," Guo Jia said, looking every bit the upright Confucian scholar, "does Zichuan find it shameful?"
"Oh, I find it shameful that you say such things, not that talking about money is shameful. The focus is on you. As for the thing I want you to see, hengheng, just wait; Lord Xuande will be here shortly." After Fa Zheng was refuted, Chen Xi had ordered Zang Ba, who was in charge of the Talent Recruitment Platform, to notify Liu Bei. With a little patience, Liu Bei should arrive soon.
Chen Xi’s way of thinking was quite different from most people in this world. In his view, a monarch did not need to deal with too much daily, as a monarch should balance his subordinates, place them in suitable positions, and be able to gather all forces. Moreover, he should serve as a spiritual symbol for his subjects.
Chen Xi had been carefully instilling these ideas into Liu Bei who, fortunately, was doing very well. Liu Bei only did what he was good at, presided over the central government, distributed state affairs, and served as a spiritual symbol for his people. Liu Bei achieved perfection in every aspect.
This was the kind of king Chen Xi needed. So long as this was maintained, as time passed and the domain of governance expanded, the final ascension to the throne would face no resistance. The one to be crowned would not be hindered by officials but by the common people!
For this reason, Liu Bei did not have much to do; he spent more time training the New Army with Yu Jin. Other times, he was arranging for every Scholar and Martial Artist coming to Mount Tai.
This was something Chen Xi specifically requested. No matter how strong or weak the Scholars or military generals were, they needed Liu Bei’s personal attention. At most, for those historical figures of note, Liu Bei would host a banquet individually. As for the rest, Chen Xi also specifically instructed Liu Bei to gather a group, arrange their positions, and then host a banquet to send them off from Fenggao City. In this way, everyone could feel Liu Bei’s sincerity.
This was something Liu Bei excelled at. Those Humble Scholars and Martial Artists who came to Mount Tai were impressed by Liu Bei’s courage, and after the banquet, everyone felt Liu Bei’s benevolence and sincerity, which made them even more grateful and willing to serve him unto death.
Naturally, Liu Bei was acutely aware of the power of that banquet and sending people off from the city gates. If originally there was eighty percent loyalty to him, after reaching this level of honoring the noble and valuing the virtuous, these people were almost ready to lay bare their hearts...
Of course, Liu Bei also found that this approach seemed to have the effect of ’buying loyalty with great kindness.’ Every time he sent a group out, some would be moved to tears of gratitude and bring their friends to Liu Bei, making him all the more enthusiastic about it.