Mythical Three Kingdoms

After blocking Chen Xi, a smile spread across Lub Su’s face as he continued to wait at the doorway. A short while later, a black horse-drawn carriage approached, and Jia Xu slowly alighted.

”Wen He, it has been a long time.” Before Chen Xi could greet him, Lub Su had already reached out and patted Jia Xu on the shoulder.

Jia Xu couldn’t help but feel a weight on his upper body and for the first time realized how strong Lub Su’s hands were. Nonetheless, his expression remained calm as he raised his hand to greet Lub Su, ”Zijing, there’s no need for such courtesy. What do you mean it has been a long time? We met just last month. Oh, isn’t that Zichuan?”

As he spoke, Jia Xu reached out to Chen Xi, intending to slip into Liu Bei’s residence, but he was forcefully held back by Lub Su’s hand on his shoulder, preventing him from moving forward.

”Wen He, it seems we need to have a serious talk.” Lub Su now had quite the stern judge’s demeanor. Holding onto Jia Xu, a mild smile emerged on his face, his gaunt cheeks and the pallor from not leaving the Political Office for years combined to form a rather sinister appearance at that moment.

”Cough cough cough, just kidding, just kidding.” Jia Xu quickly stepped back. The best thing about him was his ability to read the room, and he could tell that Lub Su today had no intention of letting anyone who didn’t want to work leave.

”Hehehe.” Lub Su laughed, ”Wen He, can you handle administrative tasks?”

”I can, though I’m not particularly skilled at it,” Jia Xu still wanted to cut corners. After all, in his opinion, with Chen Xi returning, there were already enough people working; they didn’t need one more.

”Shuzhi!” Lub Su called out to his deputy, Wang Xiu, who was a bit older than himself. Upon hearing Lub Su’s voice, Wang Xiu hurriedly moved a stack of documents nearly half a person tall from inside the carriage.

”Since you’re not adept at administrative work, then you should at least be able to do this. Review the reports of personnel in Mount Tai, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and other counties for this year. Then, go through the cases reported from different regions and the work plans for next year. Once you finish, just submit them to Lord Xuande,” Lub Su calmly explained the tasks to Jia Xu, immediately causing him to break out into a cold sweat.

All these tasks didn’t require much brainpower but were overwhelming in quantity. End-of-year summaries and planning reviews for the next year were never-ending. Jia Xu felt that if he took on these tasks, he probably wouldn’t be able to finish them before the year’s end. Moreover, he couldn’t shirk the assignment—sooner or later, he’d have to return to the Political Office regardless.

Wiping off a nonexistent cold sweat with his sleeve, Jia Xu decided he would rather do something more challenging, ”I was a bit muddled just now. Actually, I can handle the administrative tasks. Zijing, there’s no need to be so modest, cough cough cough.”

”Shuzhi.” Lub Su turned and called out again to Wang Xiu, who, with an understanding of unspoken agreement, tossed the tall stack of documents back into the carriage, then pulled out a single sheet of paper and handed it to Lub Su.

”Can you manage this?” Lub Su handed the paper to Jia Xu and calmly asked. Although it was getting dark, Jia Xu could still make out what was written on the paper he held.

”I can, but I will need to establish a new management team. Give me the authority to reallocate officials and students, as well as urban management staff. Also, grant me the power to requisition supplies from the Government Treasury,” Jia Xu frowned, ultimately deciding to accept the task. Lub Su had estimated well—the task was right on the edge of what Jia Xu was willing and unwilling to do. However, considering Lub Su’s current expression, Jia Xu held back any objections.

”No problem,” Lub Su said indifferently. ”Shuzhi!”

Lub Su gave a signal and didn’t say anything else. Wang Xiu hurriedly took out a military order that had already been written from inside the carriage. The document bore not only Lub Su’s seal but also those of Mann Chong and Mi Zhu.

”...” Jia Xu looked at the military order placed in his hand, slightly surprised, ”Zijing, you really came prepared!”

”I’m here to intercept anyone useful. I won’t let a single one who came today get away,” Lub Su said fiercely, clearly showing the irritation from being overwhelmed by a plethora of political affairs. He was now determined to share the blessings and the burdens with others.

Jia Xu shrugged his shoulders and walked over to Chen Xi, standing by to see if anyone else would be caught in the dragnet.

”Wen He, you got captured too, huh?” Chen Xi patted Jia Xu as he spoke.

”You’re not much better off. At least I have a term; you’re directly indefinitely detained.” Jia Xu compared himself with Chen Xi and immediately felt better. Indeed, everything is relative.

Chen Xi felt that his decision back then to abolish most death sentences due to a lack of labor and to transition to indefinite hard labor was a terrible mistake. It hadn’t been long, yet Jia Xu already understood the difference between having a term and being indefinitely detained.

”Forget it, forget it, what did he give you?” Chen Xi asked curiously.

”Horse policy, military dogs, and the official breeding of chickens, ducks, and geese,” Jia Xu sighed. This task was not an easy one to handle.

”Set the chickens, ducks, and geese aside, the horse policy and military dogs are the main issues, aren’t they? At most, you’re just taking over the responsibility for the poultry from Mi Zizhong.” Chen Xi thought for a moment and continued, ”What are your plans?”

”The military dogs are easy to handle, there are dogs everywhere. Give one to each of you to start with, leading by example. Later on, when we have too many, we’ll take them back. That can also be considered benevolent governance. As for the horses, our area isn’t suitable for building horse farms, but I plan to build one anyway. For the rest, we will have to rely on the people. We’ll need to assess their value and how to subsidize them,” said Jia Xu, who although claimed to not be adept at handling political affairs, was not intimidated by them when the need arose, thanks to his intelligence.

”Alright, alright, leading by example makes sense. Horse policy is indeed troublesome. This year we have fully ended the disasters and have surplus grain for raising horses, but there is a lot to consider. Take your time,” Chen Xi knew that this was not an easy task, requiring consideration of many things.

”Hmm, Zijing probably didn’t expect me to finish this within a few months. I suspect his goal is for me to come up with a complete and feasible plan within one to two years. He has big ambitions.” A smile appeared on Jia Xu’s face, indicating that the horse policy Lub Su assigned him was more than a matter of just one prefecture or state.

”Yeah, he probably wants to turn the entire grassland into the Han Court’s horse farm, achieving what Emperors Zhao and Xuan couldn’t. A bit of ambition is good,” Chen Xi nodded. He too had noticed Lub Su’s vast ambitions; born into a family of local tyrants, he truly desired to usher in an era of unparalleled prosperity.

”It’s very difficult. You’ve never lived on the Northern Frontier, so you don’t know the harsh conditions there. I am from Xiliang, and let me tell you, even if we conquered it, it would be very difficult for us to hold onto.” Jia Xu said helplessly, ”It’s too desolate. The land under our feet is too fertile. Unless there’s no other choice, no one would want to move to a place like that.”

”Yeah, I know. I’ll tell you a secret, but don’t disclose it to anyone else,” Chen Xi said with a mocking smile on his face. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian ) with your recommendations or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)