Mythical Three Kingdoms

Once committed to the Three Rivers, the collection remained just so...

Taking a wife was quite complicated, but taking a concubine was much simpler, all one had to do was flip through the almanac to find a good time, after all, wives and concubines were completely different concepts at that time.

The date chosen was quite suitable, the eighth day of the fifth month. There wasn’t much to say about the choice of this date, for after all, considering Chen Xi’s status, marrying quickly was out of the question unless you planned to disregard propriety, but clearly, that was impossible. Chen Xi would not violate universal principles unless absolutely necessary.

The handling of government affairs sped up, and at the same time, the soldiers at Mount Tai continued their training without pause. They would be tested next year, though the plan was initially set for the year after. But with Guo Fengxiao as a variable, Chen Xi really couldn’t say much. In addition, considering the series of chaotic battles next year, Chen Xi had no choice but to make extra preparations.

”Zilong, are you sure we now have a population of eight hundred sixty thousand?” Chen Xi was shocked by the population count thoroughly investigated by Zhao Yun. Unknowingly, Mount Tai had become one of the top ten populous areas of the Great Han, far behind Nanyang County, Runan Commandery, and Chen State, but it was still considered a large commandery. There better not be any mistakes.

”I’ve traveled through each township personally,” said Zhao Yun with a smile, using facts to convince Chen Xi.

”Hmm, in that case, sustaining fifty thousand soldiers won’t pose any problems for a while,” Chen Xi exhaled in relief, knowing that as long as they acted quickly, fifty thousand soldiers could handle the invading Yellow Turbans within a month without much difficulty.

Truthfully, Chen Xi envied the prodigal Yuan Shu greatly. If Liu Bei had the kind of power Yuan Shu had, there would be no need for all this penny-pinching and scheming. Nanyang County had a population of two million four hundred thousand, Runan Commandery two million one hundred thousand, Chen State one and a half million, and the rest of Yuzhou at least another million. With so many people, swallowing one or two million Yellow Turbans wouldn’t even require catching a breath. Therefore, Chen Xi truly envied, was jealous of, and resented Yuan Shu!

”Are we really going to make a move on Qingzhou next year?”

”Yes, according to the intelligence coming from the north, Gongsun Bogui and Yuan Benchu are both provisioning their horses and sharpening their troops for battle. I estimate that as soon as the weather warms up next spring, both sides will engage in conflict, and if Yuan Benchu frees up his hands in the north, his primary target will be Qingzhou,” said Chen Xi, his fingers interlocked and propping his head, with a stern expression. ”If we don’t want Yuan Benchu to set his sights on us, we must turn everything into a fait accompli as quickly as possible, leaving him no opportunity to interfere.”

”What about Dong Zhuo? I refuse to believe that after all the effort Dong Zhuo has put in, he would sit idly by, now that he is finally seeing results,” Zhao Yun voiced the concern that Lub Su wanted to bring up.

”Dong Zhuo’s days are numbered,” Chen Xi said with a smile, flipping through the intelligence from Chang’an and passing it to Zhao Yun and Lub Su. ”Take a look, I believe with your abilities, you’ll be able to figure it out.”

After briefly going through the information, Lub Su and Zhao Yun looked at each other and said in unison, ”The beauty trap!”

However, Zhao Yun added with a laugh, ”I think if the book ’The Thirty-Six Stratagems’ could be sold, it would be worth its weight in gold. At least I might not have noticed such details before, but now that it’s been distilled, it’s become too simple. A direct application will suffice, even though it’s not very flexible, but it should be more than enough to deal with ordinary generals.”

”Zilong, don’t delude yourself. Such books are family heirlooms in any clan. Zichuan’s willingness to lend it to us is already incredibly generous. Selling it is out of the question. Since ancient times, military books are not for sale,” Lub Su immediately extinguished Zhao Yun’s fantasy.

Lub Su was well aware of the subtleties of this book. Unlike The Art of War by Sun Tzu, which is aimed at training top commanders, this book was entirely about mass-producing the backbone of the army. It did not require one to think on their own, only to make comparisons and apply them to manage passing grades.

Resorting to the Thirty-Six Stratagems might not yield top-tier commanders, but it could mass-produce those nearly first-class generals who were not easily taken advantage of, even though they might not be exceptionally outstanding.

If one were to teach with The Art of War by Sun Tzu, ninety percent of the students would be mediocrities, and only the remaining ten percent would be elites. That’s the difference. Clearly, Chen Xi wished for his commanders to guard against common strategies. As for those completely undetectable strategies, naturally, there would be professionals to handle them.

”Hmm, I don’t plan to sell this book. It is intended primarily for phishing. I wonder how far the Lul Family has come in their study of this book. Although it can’t be used to cultivate top talents, in the hands of a sage, it can reveal much,” said Chen Xi with a smile, ”Let’s not talk about this book anymore. Let’s continue with the matter of Dong Zhuo. I estimate it won’t be long before he’s stealthily taken care of by Minister Wang.”

”Alas, what a pity for Li Wenyou’s careful planning, to end up in such a state,” Lub Su sighed, ”With his wisdom, he must have seen it coming. And now, he says nothing, probably disheartened already. Such a shame.”

As ever, there was both affinity and animosity among literati. And Lub Su was one who greatly appreciated a scholar like Li Ru.

”Hmph, treacherous officials and rebels, not worthy of sympathy upon death!” Zhao Yun said with disdain.

”The situation is more or less like this,” Chen Xi sorted through his documents, ”What we need to do now is to step up the acquisition of food supplies. With the bountiful summer and autumn harvests from Jiangnan, before April arrives, our objective is to purchase food with all our might!”

In Yanzhou Chenliu, Cao Mengde was struggling through a tough winter. Despite support from aristocratic families, the Cao Family, short on money and grain, was having a harder time than Liu Bei was now. Even with Xun Yu running around making efforts, there was no way to alleviate Cao Cao’s predicament. Without a stable Chenliu, the Cao family had no intention of investing more there.

Because of this, even though Cao Cao took Chenliu in 191 A.D., he missed the first opportunity for rapid progress. However, as long as he could survive this winter, the agricultural colonies of Zao Zhi would eventually bear fruit. It’s just that because he was late by two months, he missed the summer harvest, and the seeds of tragedy had already been sown.

Looking back at Yuzhou’s Yuan Shu, his life was quite comfortable. Residing over a state with fertile land, upon learning that Sunx Jian had been taken out by Liu Biao, Yuan Shu decisively took in Sunx Jian’s widows, orphans, and elderly. Coupled with the issue of Nanyang County, Yuan Shu felt it was necessary to wrap up affairs with Yuan Yi and give Liu Biao a lesson in humility. He tolerated Sunx Jian’s defiance because it was a matter of warfare between feudal lords, but Liu Biao’s interference meant he had to be cut down to size, and so Yuan Shu was determined to avenge Sunx Jian.

As for the Jade Seal, Yuan Shu knew it was truly in Sunx Ce’s possession, but he held back his desire without speaking out, as the pride of an aristocratic family member did not permit him to do such a shameful act. It was one thing to loot Sunx Jian in a war between feudal lords, but Yuan Shu could not afford the disgrace of robbing women and children.

This was why Yuan Shu had no choice but to employ a conciliatory approach, hoping to win the Sunx Family’s recognition before presenting the Jade Seal as a tribute. After all, in Yuan Shu’s eyes, the Sunx Family, currently lacking the power for revenge, would sooner or later have to rely on him.

Chen Xi asked people to pay close attention to Yuan Shu. Up to now, the most shocking intelligence received was just one piece, Zhou Yu had joined Yuan Shu’s power. To put it accurately, Zhou Yu went to find his brother. Given some time, Zhou Yu would likely ignite Sunx Ce’s ambition and drive.