Mythical Three Kingdoms

This approach of employing labor in exchange for relief completely alleviated the refugees’ fears, and the Mount Tai standard salary was settled daily without any arrears, and no matter how many people came, they could be fed. After all, Chen Xi had mastered this system and as long as the money kept circulating in Mount Tai, he could keep it going indefinitely.

Fortuitously, Chen Xi wasn’t short of money and grain during this period. The property obtained from bandit suppression and military drilling was sold to Xuzhou, then exchanged for grain transportation. With Xuzhou having an abundance of grain and Tao Qian willing to support Liu Bei, naturally, he was willing to lend grain to Chen Xi. Coupled with the suppression of bandits and the purchase of grain, Chen Xi had more than a million dan of grain circulating in his hands.

It cannot be denied that, under the strong support from the renowned Kong Rong and the wealthy Tao Qian, Liu Bei was living a much better life than Cao Cao at the moment, at least from the perspective of Mont Tai Commandery, which was buzzing with activity everywhere, even exhibiting a kind of false prosperity. Everywhere you looked, there was a hustle and bustle, a picture of prosperity, while Cao Cao was still wandering about...

The reason for calling it false prosperity was simply because, at this time, if Chen Xi withdrew his investment in grain, the entire area of Mount Tai would enter a recession, or even collapse rapidly. However, if he could hold on for a few more months until September, when the millet ripens, even if Chen Xi withdrew his own investment in grain, there would be no problems whatsoever.

What Chen Xi was waiting for was these three months. He had essentially farmed all the land that could be cultivated on Mount Tai with his own supply of seeds and a small number of oxen, and considering that the summer millet was just a hundred days’ affair, once that hurdle was overcome, future plans would have a solid foundation. Thus, during this time, Chen Xi was ready; anyone looking for trouble was in for their demise!

In this July of 191, Yuan Shao had just taken his seat in Jizhou, Cao Cao was about to establish a foothold in the Eastern Commandery, Gongsun Zan hadn’t yet completely taken Youzhou, and Liu Yan had only just blockaded Yizhou, preparing to declare himself king and dominate. At this time point, everyone was solidifying their foundations and no one would pop out to provoke anyone; it was the last opportunity for development.

The years 192 and 193 could be considered the last chances for development. Starting from 194, natural disasters would strike incessantly, with severe droughts, locust plagues, epidemics—all sorts of natural calamities would ravage the land, whereas the only one unlucky during 192 and 193 was Emperor Xian of Han in Chang’an, who experienced earthquakes every year, leading to annual changes among the Three Dukes...

Taking advantage of this last opportunity, Chen Xi was preparing to buy grain everywhere, knowing that such a chance would probably not come again—a one-time stockpiling of grain sufficient for several years. He had no intention of ending up like the historical Mount Tai Prefect Ying Shao, who, despite defeating the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou, missed out on any benefits in the end because of the issue with grain. In this era, grain was truly the way of the king!

Taking advantage of the last two bountiful harvest years to gather money and grain was prudent. When the locust and drought disasters hit, the plan was to capitalize on the natural calamities to completely subsume the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou. It was the most realistic and viable plan. In short, during the next two years, the goal was to build high walls and stockpile a vast amount of grain.

Zang Ba had already surrendered. Zhang Fei, seeing that he didn’t have many good generals on his side and considering that Zang Ba was decent enough, didn’t say much. As for Hua Xiong, he casually recruited Zang Ba as his deputy. Although he had previously defeated Zang Ba with a tactical formation battle, his own people knew the real situation — he wasn’t really a match for Zang Ba when it came to leading troops.

Zang Ba was very pleased to be taken on as a deputy by Hua Xiong. Despite being seriously injured, he still gritted his teeth, mounted his horse, and thumped his chest, saying that he still had some influence on Mount Tai and was willing to go and persuade Sun Guan, Wu Dun, and Yi Li to surrender.

Although Hua Xiong’s brain wasn’t very sharp, he felt it was worth a try. Consequently, moved by Zang Ba’s gratitude, he sent a few men to escort him to Sun Guan’s stronghold as Zang Ba had mentioned.

Sure enough, Zang Ba was a man of his word and did not take this opportunity to rally his troops for another battle against Hua Xiong. Instead, he went to great lengths to persuade the three biggest bandit leaders in Mount Tai to surrender, moved by Hua Xiong’s righteousness and trust in him, and Sun Guan soon after bound himself in front of Chen Xi.

The incident of the food heist was thus put behind them, and as for the deceased members of the Zhen family, Chen Xi couldn’t be bothered to care. In any case, there was no longer any chance of working together with the Zhen family.

By September, peace was restored in Mount Tai, and Chen Xi finally had plenty of time to spend, as well as some usable people. Of course, the strategists he had in mind had basically not been recruited; these individuals had little faith in Liu Bei. Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, Gu Yong and other scholars of aristocratic birth scoffed at Liu Bei’s men trying to recruit them.

In the end, Chen Xi gave up the idea of continuing to seek civil officials. After all, he was capable of managing the accumulation of grain on his own. At most, it meant he could enjoy a few more cups of tea each day; without their help, it simply meant he would have a few fewer, which wasn’t too significant an impact.

As for the Zhen family, who originally planned to invest in Liu Bei, they silently reduced their investment in Mount Tai after Yuan Shao took control of Jizhou. It was clear that they saw Yuan Shao, who was a Han Imperial Kinsman proven by the Imperial Clan Court and boasted the legacy of ”Four Generations Three Dukes,” as having more potential than Liu Xuande.

Chen Xi had long predicted this and was not bothered in the least. Boldness and the ability to change course with the winds are always essential for a good merchant. He never expected that, just because of his arrival and a few casual arrangements, the Zhen family would come to his aid. Such expectations were simply unrealistic.

The Zhen family, situated in their native Jizhou, inevitably had intricate connections with Yuan Shao, who occupied Jizhou and had the potential to dominate the world. Plus, with family-based management, they would naturally not risk their entire family for a single person’s private grudges. Though the Zhen family appeared to be merely a wealthy merchant, Chen Xi knew something very interesting: could a family with a hereditary stipend of two thousand dan of grain simply be a merchant?

Could the Yuan family, renowned as ”Four Generations Three Dukes,” really allow their most beloved son to marry Zhen Mi just because she was said to have the beauty ”befitting the phoenix spirit of the world”? What a joke! Even if a family were exceedingly wealthy, what would that amount to? All of Hebei belonged to the Yuan family, who already aspired to rule the world. What did a mere rich merchant count for? How laughable!

Chen Xi had nothing to say about the Zhen family’s decision; now was not the time to calculate such things. Moreover, even if Yuan Shao were eventually taken down, it would not be possible to completely wipe out the Zhen family. At most, they would change the head of the family, as antagonizing the clan relatives without absolute power was an unwise move. Of course, if Liu Bei ever truly became irate, there would be nothing to be done.

The withdrawal of the Zhen family thoroughly infuriated Liu Bei, who was already on edge. After all, his recruitment of noted scholars had been unsuccessful, and he’d been mocked. Now, even a powerful merchant dared insult him, and it was only natural for Liu Bei to be angry.

Luckily, after Chen Xi clarified the pros and cons, Liu Bei did not completely turn against the Zhen family. However, judging by his struggle to suppress his rage, the Zhen family was unlikely to escape unscathed if it fell into Liu Bei’s hands. It was conceivable that if his anger escalated, all aristocratic families of Hebei might suffer.

Left with no choice, Chen Xi was forced to give Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping a heads up, entrusting them with business in Jizhou and signaling them to quickly crush the Zhen family’s salt trade and the market for horses from beyond the Great Wall. He suggested they urge the Zhen family to apologize to Liu Bei quickly, otherwise, when his anger had simmered for three to five years, and once Chen Xi had taken Qingzhou and flattened Yuan Shao, the aristocratic families of Hebei might well be dragged down by the Zhen family.