Liu Ye’s arrival was very formal, first presenting a visitation card, then requesting the Imperial Clan Court to bear witness, and only then did he join Liu Bei’s forces. Such a manner of joining meant he could hardly afford to betray later, for the sake of his own dignity. Historically, Liu Ye defected to Cao Cao only because he saw no hope left, but now with hope on the horizon, he was naturally willing to take a gamble.
Chen Xi was also quite familiar with both Liu Ye and Mann Chong. Their abilities were overshadowed by the "halo" of the Cao Clan’s five Strategists, but they were not to be underestimated. Moreover, these two were at opposite extremes: Liu Ye tailored his words to his audience, while Mann Chong was the stern-faced cruel official, a perfect complementary character.
Liu Bei was thrilled about the addition of this Han Imperial Kinsman, finally, a member of the old Liu Family recognized him and was willing to join his cause, and this person was none other than Liu Ziyang of South Huai River, acclaimed for his world-supporting talents.
In terms of arrangements for these two, guided by Chen Xi’s suggestions, Mann Chong was assigned to handle law enforcement and rectify the administration. After all, he was a feared official for life, daring to arrest even Cao Hong when he committed offenses under Cao Cao’s command. As for relatives of Aristocratic Clans who broke the law, he was utterly ruthless, taking down Yang Family Head Yang Biao, a Three Dukes of Five Generations without a second word!
But despite being strict in law enforcement, Mann Chong never abused private punishment; he followed the letter of the law to the tee. In fact, Chen Xi was quite curious to see how Mann Chong would handle it if Liu Ye broke the law…
Therefore, Chen Xi calmly suggested to Liu Bei that Mann Chong, being a man of integrity, was suited for legal affairs. Thus, Liu Bei sent Mann Chong off to take charge of law enforcement and administrative rectification. Speaking of which, Mount Tai had started to show some progress when the corrupt elements began exploiting for profit. If not for Mann Chong’s appearance, Chen Xi was ready to launch a campaign of his own to clean house.
As for Liu Ye, Chen Xi arranged for him to handle political affairs alongside Lub Su. Lub Su excelled in judging the current situation and could deduce future developments based on it. In chaotic circumstances, he had the decisiveness to make tough calls. On the other hand, Liu Ye was good at forecasting future situations and was adept at devising strategies, but most frustratingly, he would produce a pile of strategies he couldn’t even discern as good or bad, then find himself bewildered, unsure of what to do.
In any case, Liu Ye was rather remarkable; not lacking ingenious plans or strategies and having a keen vision—a top strategist needed to have all these abilities, but he never became one of the top Strategists.
The reason for this was that Liu Ye always ended up outsmarting himself. He could come up with strategies but didn’t know which one to choose, becoming entangled in his own schemes and ultimately only able to watch others perform, indicating that while his intelligence wasn’t lacking, his judgment was rather poor.
When Chen Xi handed Liu Ye over to Lub Su, he told him, don’t let Liu Ye’s seniority over you deceive you into treating him as anything but a junior. If one day Liu Ye started wondering whether to step with his left or right foot first, just tell him to hop along.
At first, Lub Su didn’t understand what Chen Xi meant by this, but after working with Liu Ye for a few days, he got the picture. Liu Ye’s Iql was sufficient, and his strategies and political acumen were above par. However, he would overthink, considering problems forward and backward and from all angles, only to be overwhelmed by a multitude of solutions and end up indecisive.
There’s no perfect solution in this world, especially when faced with a myriad of options, each with its pros and cons. Choosing the right one is not something Liu Ye could do. Hence, Lub Su came into play. He had good judgment and vision and wasn’t looking for the best solution—just a suitable one, resolving issues within thirty seconds…
That was precisely why Liu Ye and Lu Su worked well together. Liu Ye would be handed the troublesome political affairs, then he’d throw out a bunch of solutions, Lu Su would instantly pick out the ones he needed, and the cycle would repeat. After that, Chen Xi found himself liberated...
Historically speaking, Liu Ye was in the same situation in Cao Camp. However, back then Cao Cao himself had the ability to discern the strategies he needed. In this regard, Liu Bei was rather lacking. Faced with a slew of solutions from Liu Ye, Liu Bei would feel dizzy just looking at them.
The idle Chen Xi could only sit in the Political Office watching Lu Su and Liu Ye’s performance. Of course, Sun Qian, who had just been traded from Duke Zheng Kang’s hands to theirs in exchange for a Petition, was also there. Originally, Sun Qian was prepared by Duke Zheng Kang for a recommendation to Xuzhou, but he ended up with Liu Bei thanks to the Petition—and both parties were very pleased.
As for Fa Zheng, he was being "guided" (tortured) by Guo Jia. However, Guo Jia had already gone to scout the situation in Qingzhou. He had planned a strategy that, if well-executed, could possibly wipe out a million Yellow Turbans next year and annex a large expanse of Qingzhou. Thus, he was off on a carefree, government-funded trip.
"What about Boning?" Chen Xi had already finished arranging the political agenda for the winter and the plans for the coming spring. Looking at the several people in the Political Office, he casually brought up a topic.
"Boning has gone to arrest people," Liu Ye said without even lifting his head. "I heard he’s been interrogating quite a few corrupt officials recently. He discovered some loopholes in the law and is preparing to compile a new code. However, it’s uncertain whether it will be approved..." Liu Ye’s voice trailed off, somewhat forlorn. Even as a Han Imperial Kinsman with his assistance, he couldn’t guarantee that the Emperor would approve the laws compiled by Mann Chong, since the change in legal codes touched on too many interests.
"Oh, compiling laws, huh? Great, let Boning finish and then we’ll carve them onto stone tablets. We’ll just try them out at Mount Tai," Chen Xi said casually.
"Ah?" Lu Su, Liu Ye, Sun Qian, and Jian Yong all looked up at Chen Xi, their faces filled with shock.
"It’s just a trial, not implementation. The National Chancellor has the right to try out any method beneficial to the governance of his jurisdiction," Chen Xi said nonchalantly, "and according to the law, the position of National Chancellor is equivalent to that of a Prefectural Governor, so..."
Lu Su and Liu Ye were instantly dumbfounded. Could it really work like that? Then they thought about the Han legal code, and yes, it did specify that the National Chancellor had the right to try out any strategy beneficial to the administration of his jurisdiction. And since the National Chancellor’s position was equivalent to a Prefectural Governor’s, didn’t that mean the Prefectural Governor also had the right to try out any strategy beneficial to the administration of his prefecture? With this comparison, as long as Chen Xi approved, Mann Chong could try out the laws he compiled at Mount Tai...
"This isn’t a good idea..." Sun Qian said somewhat awkwardly. Always immersed in the Confucian School’s principles of heaven, ruler, kin, and teacher, Sun Qian naturally felt this was a bit like exploiting a loophole.
"I’m merely following the stipulations of the national legal code," Chen Xi said with a shrug. "Truly boring. You all continue with the political affairs; I’m going to check out the Talent Recruitment Platform. So far, it’s been mostly clerks that have been recruited. When will we get a talent on the level of Zijing, or even Fengxiao would be nice."
Chen Xi sighed as he slipped away. He had had his fill of the Political Office. The damned Han legal code was so demanding. Before the time was up, you couldn’t leave, even if you were sick, you had to lie there.