Mythical Three Kingdoms

Liu Bei was stunned. He had never successfully recruited any great sage; the noble families had never looked favorably upon him, and all his attempts at recruitment had failed thus far. Naturally, he was momentarily taken aback upon hearing the news.

”Lord Xuande,” called Chen Xi again. Since he was unable to sleep anyway, why should he let someone else be distracted in his presence?

”Very well, very well.” Liu Bei came to his senses, immediately overjoyed. It didn’t matter who was coming; as long as anyone was willing to join him at this time, Liu Bei planned to welcome them with open arms, and he certainly wouldn’t forget to add an extra pair of chopsticks for them to enjoy the best foods.

”Lord Xuande, let’s go. Both Mi Zizhong and Lub Zijing are extremely important to us at the moment. Lub Zijing is a man with a far-reaching vision and has his own insights on state governance and strategy, truly a talent capable of advising a nation. The Mi Family is immensely wealthy, one can tell by comparing it to the Zhen Family—they are the head of a family among the Five Great Merchants,” Chen Xi specifically pointed out the backgrounds of these two, preparing Liu Bei.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei calmed down. His initial excitement slowly faded as he regained his composure, turned to Chen Xi, and said with a smile, ”I thought I, Liu Xuande, was not esteemed by the talents of the world, but it seems I was just being too humble. The Zhen Family left, but isn’t the Mi Family coming? Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong aren’t coming, but hasn’t Lub Zijing entered my door?”

In that moment, Liu Bei was spirited and confident. The frustration he had felt due to his series of failed attempts to recruit noted scholars, as well as the gloom from the Zhen Family’s departure as they doubted his potential, vanished entirely, replaced with a new sense of self-assurance.

”Those guys aren’t even a match for me,” Chen Xi yawned and said, ”Whenever Lord Xuande feels disappointed about not recruiting someone, just compare them to me. If it’s a military general, compare them to General Zhao. If anyone is a better civil official than me, or a better general than Zilong, remember to let me know.”

At Chen Xi’s words, Zhao Yun first smiled confidently, then modestly added, ”Such praise I do not deserve, strategist. But you are indeed a rare talent in this world; it would be difficult to find your equal.”

Chen Xi rolled his eyes, ”You make it sound like there are several Lyu Bus in this world. Fine, as long as everyone is on the same page, that’s good enough. Lord Xuande, please remember at all times, that by the end of this year, anyone who doesn’t see your potential will not count among the top strategists of the era, for they lack at least the vision that a top strategist must have.”

”Thank you for the reminder, Zichuan,” Liu Bei said with a solemn bow, ”Let’s go out and wait. If you feel tired, Zichuan, you may go home to rest. It’s not good to be tired all the time. I’ll find some tonic for you to recuperate. There’s not much official business right now; you should take a break.”

”No need. Lub Zijing, having traveled a long way, will surely want to discuss some matters with me. I’ll stay a little while longer,” Chen Xi shook his head, following the habit of those top civil officials of this era—who would offer their strategies once they pledged allegiance—his presence could help cover for Liu Bei. After all, many of the affairs were handled by him, and Liu Bei was not very clear on these details.

Seated in the carriage, Mi Zhu looked out at the bustling scene with profound astonishment in his heart. Along the way here, everywhere was a picture of fervent labor. Perhaps it couldn’t compare to the affluent Xuzhou City, but Fenggao of Mount Tai now far exceeded his imagination. He remembered that when he came here a year ago, this place had just been ravaged by the Bandits of Mount Tai. It was so dilapidated that it wasn’t even on par with an ordinary county town, yet now it has surpassed the majority of prefecture cities.

Looking at the moat three zhang wide and the city wall towering ten zhang high and more than eight zhang thick, Mi Zhu clearly understood the amount of effort required. Just this wall alone would be enough to extinguish any bandits’ desires. And now, it was built up in just a short three months. With around a hundred thousand people working on it, Mi Zhu could calculate the effort involved.

Passing through the city gate, the broad bluestone roads made Mi Zhu feel as if he had arrived in Xuzhou City. No, it was cleaner and more orderly than Xuzhou City. Mi Zhu felt overwhelmed. From the scenes he laid eyes upon during his journey and the conclusions drawn from reports obtained from other places—waterworks, land reclamation, wall construction, disaster relief, collecting and organizing the displaced—it amounted to over a hundred million spent.

If Chen Xi knew what Mi Zhu was thinking, he’d probably just sneer. A hundred million wouldn’t even be enough to distribute. For half a million refugees, two hundred coins each would barely suffice for a scant three months of food. Therefore, if they were to give out money, it would hurt the Five Great Merchants’ vital energy. They would create their own profits with work-for-relief programs...

At this thought, Mi Zhu’s face twitched. He heard that the Zhen Family had fled. Thinking about such expenditures, his own Mi Family probably couldn’t sustain it either. The Prefect of Mount Tai was truly adept at spending money; while the results were exceptional, if every commandery did the same, they simply could not support it.

Lub Su, on his way here, also came to understand many things. Unlike Mi Zhu, Lub Su had a far-sighted perspective. Naturally, he didn’t count the Zhen Family, which had returned to Jizhou, under Liu Bei’s name. Thus, in his view, the entire Mount Tai Commandery was very much worth studying. Whether it was the adobe houses still under construction, the canals being continuously dug, or the bustling worksites, all were of great value for research. Busy yet orderly—that was Lub Su’s immediate impression.

From his observations along the way, Lub Su came to a strange conclusion. It seemed that the reconstruction of Mount Tai hadn’t used any money. Though the grain was real, almost no money was actually dispersed. Moreover, comparing the scattered grain to the shocking effectiveness of the recovery efforts, what was most important was that within these short three months, all the residents in the jurisdiction of Mount Tai fully acknowledged Liu Bei’s rule, a true winning of people’s hearts.

This couldn’t help but astonish Lub Su. ”He who wins the people, wins the world.” Although Lub Su didn’t wholly endorse this saying, having the people’s hearts made many things very convenient. To be able to shatter the original doubts of the residents towards the government in such a short time, and to rebuild their recognition and confidence in the government—and even spontaneously support Liu Bei’s rule—Lub Su could only acknowledge Chen Xi, who managed domestic affairs under Liu Bei, as a true genius.

Naturally, with such a genius assisting him, Lub Su’s confidence in Liu Bei grew. Originally, he wasn’t optimistic about Liu Bei. However, when the messenger sent to recruit him was seen by his grandmother, Lub Su’s grandmother stopped the messenger that Lub Su had turned away and said to him, ”Go out and see the world. A hero does not only stay at home by an old woman like me, reading books and farming. Since the Han Imperial Kinsman, Duke Liu, has called for you, why not meet him and consider it afterward?”

Unable to withstand his grandmother’s insistence, Lub Su had no choice but to take his servants and follow Liu Bei’s messenger on the road. He felt some sadness when he left, but soon after leaving East City, Lub Su quickly cast aside his sorrow. This was the first time he had left his grandmother and acted independently. The patterns of the great world order unfolded before him for the first time, and in that year, Lub Su was eighteen years old.

Originally, Lub Su had not entertained the idea of joining Liu Bei. His trip to Mount Tai was just to give an account to his grandmother. However, the sights he’d seen on the way had piqued his interest. With his insight, he could see what a bountiful harvest Mount Tai would have this time, and what these savings would mean in a place close to Qingzhou.

[Let’s see what kind of man Liu Xuande is. If he is like Yuan Shu, ambitious yet lacking talent, then I will just linger for a few days. But if he truly is a magnanimous person, I, Lub Zijing, would not mind sharing his concerns.] Lub Su looked out of the carriage window at the busy scene and slowly made up his mind. Yet his inner restlessness did not affect his demeanor, which remained refined and calm.