Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chen Xi and the others were now interfering, disrupting the alliance between the Zhang Clan and Liu Bei, and pushing Liu Bei, who had a chance to find a wife of equal status, back to the state of courting maids.

Chen Xi, with his head lowered, was sipping tea from a bowl. He finally understood why the beef today was so delicious. Liu Bei’s hospitality was not intended for his group of fellows. When Jia Xu and his entourage burst in, Liu Bei was flirting with the ladies from the Zhang Clan. It seemed that Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang were already forgotten. There are advantages to being a female family head, to use one’s charm to get ahead might be slightly improper, but it also depends on who it’s with. Obviously, Liu Bei was a good candidate.

Leading the intrusion, upon seeing the scene, Jia Xu, who wanted to withdraw but couldn’t, coughed lightly and casually walked in. Everyone had thick skins and didn’t mind, so after a brief moment of awkwardness, each took their seats, calmly dining and drinking with Liu Bei. As for the Zhang Clan, after Jia Xu’s group arrived, she stood up to return the salute, and then followed the maid to the inner court, where Lady Gan, the sole concubine to have received official recognition, would entertain the Zhang Clan.

Such an approach was not in keeping with proper etiquette, but, with Liu Bei having no wife, Lady Gan had to step up. After all, it was just a reception, and at Liu Bei’s level, there were many considerations for the position of legal wife.

In fact, were it not for the complications surrounding Cai Yong’s actions, Cai Yan, now a widow, was actually the best candidate for legal wife. Regardless of reputation, birth, or lineage, she fit the bill perfectly, but the incident with Cai Yong left Liu Bei without a good option. Cai Yan’s status had already determined that she couldn’t be a concubine, so Liu Bei could only look to the heavens in silence.

Turning back to the Zhang Clan, she actually very much fit the identity of a legal wife. If the two really hit it off, there’s not much Chen Xi could do about it—just like historically, when Liu Bei married Wu Yuan, who had been married once before but still became the Empress. The same goes for Zhen Mi marrying Cao Pi. During the Han Dynasty, these things weren’t stressed. As long as your status, position, and prestige matched up, remarriage was not a problem.

After all, Empress Dowager Wang Zhii, the mother of Emperor Wu of Han, was married and had a daughter before she divorced the Golden Prince and then married Emperor Jing to give birth to Emperor Wu of Han. If emperors behaved like this, these things naturally weren’t an issue. As long as both parties were willing and matched well, someone would act as a matchmaker.

That is, Zhang Clan fully met all of Liu Bei’s requirements. If the two really got together, there wasn’t much to say. It might severely upset the established dynamics that Cao Wei were good guys, Eastern Wu loved young girls, and Shu Han was occupied by homosexual love, but in the pursuit of supremacy, nothing was truly off-limits...

Turning back to talk about Cai Yan, Zhang Clan, Mi Zhen, and Zhen Mi—honestly, among this group of people, aside from Mi Zhen being suitable for a lesser role, the others should either not be married at all or must be taken as a legal wife; it’s as simple as that.

Mi Zhen could indeed take a subordinate role, but looking at how hard Mi Zhu worked to earn money and save for his sister’s dowry, you can dream on about making his sister a concubine. Even when Liu Bei became Governor of Xuzhou in his former life, when he married Mi Zhen, she was taken as the legal wife. Therefore, unless you are on the level of beings like XX Sovereign King, you should just dream on about it.

However, on the flip side, if one were to reach the level of Feudal Lord King, apparently all the women mentioned above could be made concubines...

In any case, in this era, if you set your sights on these women, it’s really tough unless you’re single and of high enough status. As for Chen Xi, if he were a single nobleman, then any of those women mentioned would have a fair chance of being promised in marriage if they sought it. But now, with Fan Jian in the picture, don’t even think about it—the other noble families couldn’t afford the loss of face!

Thus, Chen Xi’s gaze upon Cai Yan and Mi Zhen was purely one of admiration, devoid of any other thoughts, which is why Mi Zhu felt so at ease with him. When Mi Zhen occasionally visited Chen Xi’s family, Mi Zhu was never worried that Chen Xi would give in to his beastly instincts and devour Mi Zhen.

As usual, after eating and drinking their fill, Chen Xi finally stood up and said, ”Lord Xuande, I have a matter to ask of you.”

After Chen Xi began to speak, everyone else at the table, as if on cue, stopped eating, and Liu Bei also quietly laid his chopsticks flat on the plate, sat up straight, and it was clear the effects of etiquette training were evident.

”If Zichuan has anything to say, please do not hesitate. If I have made any mistakes, I hope everyone here can help me identify and fix them,” Liu Bei said, not knowing what the matter was, but without any displeasure, he maintained his grace and nodded.

”Xi often finds it strange when reading history books about emperors who covet luxury, leading to an empty national treasury and displaced people,” Chen Xi said with a pained expression.

”The fault is mine this time,” Liu Bei admitted, not understanding the other implications, but since he had his own concerns, he naturally knew what Chen Xi was referring to.

”Well, I think that coveting luxury leading to an empty national treasury is not at all the emperor’s fault. Not having money for disaster relief is also not the emperor’s fault, after all, the state spends money on a whole group of officials who fail to govern the world well, how much can an emperor really spend?” Chen Xi turned his head and surveyed everyone present as he asked.

”May I ask Lord Xuande, as a sovereign king, how much of the world’s taxes can you spend?” Chen Xi’s question was odd, as it did not at all blame Liu Bei for the issue at hand.

”About one percent of the national tax revenue, I suppose, more is spent elsewhere,” Liu Bei hesitated a bit, imagining a life of extreme luxury and even fantasizing about building luxurious mansions, but in reality, the spending wasn’t too excessive, one percent was already more than sufficient.

”Where does the remaining ninety-nine percent go? That’s the original sin that plunges a nation into chaos. Emperors can’t spend that much, the so-called luxury is but a joke, how luxurious can it really get?” Chen Xi said with a cold laugh, ”To speak frankly, if Lord Xuande wanted to build the world’s most splendid estate, not only could I build it without spending money, but I could also make a profit. So, luxury isn’t the mistake, spending money isn’t the big problem, the true root of all issues is the incompetence of officials.”

”The higher-ups always wish for everyone to live better, and this is what the emperor, the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers have been trying to do, whether for the stability of their reign or the prosperity of their families, but they always strive to stabilize the world,” Chen Xi said, looking at Liu Bei, needing him to understand certain things, even though the world wasn’t just about right or wrong.

”An ambitious person’s ambition isn’t born with them, but is squeezed out little by little by the situation of the world. The blame is on everyone when the world falls into chaos, just like in a massacre; both the killer and the killed surely have their faults. We shouldn’t focus on the mistakes of our predecessors. There are things we clearly don’t want to do, but when it comes to that point, we have no choice but to do them. Do you understand what I’m saying, Lord Xuande?” Chen Xi asked, smiling at the puzzled look on Liu Bei’s face.

He nodded and then shook his head. Chen Xi turned back to look at the others, knowing that Jia Xu and Li You certainly understood, Guo Jia too, Liu Ye looked like he was overthinking, Lu Su might have had some objections, and Mann Chong seemed somewhat dissatisfied. Everyone was different in their own way.

”Lord Xuande, you need not fully understand; you only need an impression. Over time, you will naturally come to understand. But, you just mentioned how much of the national tax revenue would be enough for the emperor’s expenditures,” Chen Xi said casually, then scratched his ear to show he hadn’t heard clearly before.

”One percent should be enough for the emperor to spend,” Liu Bei repeated, prompting Jia Xu and Li You to exchange glances involuntarily.

”Since Lord Xuande himself says that one percent of the national tax revenue is sufficient for the emperor’s expenditures, I ask Lord Xuande to also take this as a reference. We will grant Lord Xuande a stipend based on the tax revenue of the territory we govern. Please forgive us for this arrangement, and at the same time, I urge Lord Xuande to seek more capable and wise scholars. The wider your jurisdiction and the wealthier your people, the more your stipend will be,” Chen Xi respectfully requested.(To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote for it at Qidian ), and to give us your monthly vote. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)