Mythical Three Kingdoms

The decision to send Zhao Yun to Yanzhou was finally settled, and what remained was to consider the issue of Chen Xi taking up command.

If Chen Xi did not take up the command, according to standard orders, Zhao Yun, even if he went to Yanzhou, could only act in support and would not be commanded by anyone. He would have the power to conduct independent operations, and this easily allowed Chen Gong to seize opportunities to defeat them one by one.

”Forget it, let’s not discuss this issue anymore. It will take Zilong some time to come to Mount Tai. Let me think about it some more,” Chen Xi said with a sigh.

Chen Xi was aware that if there was to be a large troop operation, there must be a commander-in-chief to make decisions. It was true that decisions had been well-handled by Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, and others. Chen Xi’s presence was merely to show that there was a higher authority in command, not that Guan Yu was directing Zhao Yun, or Zhao Yun directing Guan Yu…

”Zichuan, you don’t have to do much when you go there. Your main focus will be on construction in the rear. There’s no danger, and the most important thing is that no one is more skilled at personnel planning and construction than you. Although the Black Mountain Army has been plundered, it still numbers in the hundreds of thousands. I’m not comfortable entrusting this number of people to anyone else for construction,” Lub Su said to Chen Xi with a wry smile.

Lub Su couldn’t understand why, previously, Chen Xi would come and go as he pleased, but now he was so hesitant about taking up the role of commander himself.

”Why don’t you go? Zijing, you can hold down the fort, and your status is sufficient for the role of commander-in-chief. If it’s about construction, you’re not lacking either, and you have plenty of experience. You’re more diligent than I am,” Chen Xi said helplessly. He didn’t want to leave; his wife had just become pregnant, and now they were sending him on a campaign. It was inhumane.

However, that kind of sentiment was impossible to voice in this era. Men who were homesick weren’t considered good men in this time; it seemed that making a name for oneself and establishing achievements were the true hallmarks of a good man.

”Me as commander-in-chief?” Lub Su was stunned, then a trace of interest arose as he stroked his beard, ”It’s not impossible.”

But before Chen Xi could push the matter onto Lub Su, Lub Su heaved a sigh, ”The problem is, I must be based at Mount Tai. You excel in big-picture planning, but you’re too lazy for details, especially now with all these plans for developing Jizhou, Youzhou, and Bingzhou, and the details to handle beyond the Great Wall later on.”

”…” Chen Xi sighed. He could handle those things based on Lub Su’s previous groundwork, but it was challenging to reach Lub Su’s level of meticulousness. In this world, perhaps only Zhuge Liang dared to compete with Lub Su in diligence. The two men were practically seeing who could sleep less.

”Let’s drop this discussion. I’ll talk about it when Zilong arrives,” Chen Xi said with a sigh, ”I’m going to leave now.”

After Chen Xi left, Jia Xu and the others were puzzled, completely unable to comprehend Chen Xi’s thinking. In the end, they could only attribute it to Chen Xi’s different way of thinking.

Turning left and right, they made their way to North Street. Hua Tuo’s medical research location, Zheng Hun’s civil engineering and water conservancy research location, and Qu Qi’s agricultural research location were all here. Of course, the research Qu Qi was conducting inside Fenggao City was all quite unconventional, and more experiments were done outside the city. Hua Tuo also had many hospitals in the city, but this place was secluded enough for research purposes.

”Physician Hua seems to be in good spirits lately,” Chen Xi remarked as he saw Hua Tuo followed by a group of students.

Although many noted scholars considered the profession of medicine to be lowly, in this period, no one thought of Hua Tuo as anything but respected, especially after he had subdued typhoid fever. No promotion from Liu Yan was needed; the scholars would praise him during idle chatter. After all, everyone fears death, and befriending a true god like Physician Hua guaranteed a measure of safety for one’s life.

”Marquis Chen has been in good health recently, his complexion much improved,” Physician Hua observed Chen Xi up and down. ”No illness brings you to this old man today?”

”Just checking to see if you’re in need of anything?” Chen Xi quipped, tugging at the corner of his mouth. True to his professional habit, Physician Hua would look over anyone he met, regardless of who it was, to see if they were ill. Today, however, bore good news—Chen Xi was not sick.

”I’m in need of nothing. Every ten-day period, officials come to inventory the storehouse and record everything, ensuring every kind of medicinal herb is amply supplied. And for the special herbs I need, if they’re not in stock, there’s sure to be a masterful painter who, following my instructions, can draw them out. They’re basically delivered into my hands the same day,” Physician Hua said, glancing at Chen Xi. The efficiency of the officials appointed by Mount Tai was very high.

”Oh, that’s good, very good,” Chen Xi nodded and replied.

”It seems Marquis Chen has other matters to attend to; I won’t disturb you further. Today, I must continue adjusting prescriptions,” Physician Hua indicated to Chen Xi.

Having reached this point, Physician Hua had accepted his fate. Initially, he was somewhat dissatisfied with the protective measures imposed by Mount Tai, but now convinced they did indeed save more lives, he voiced no further objections.

”After you,” Chen Xi gestured to Physician Hua.

Once Physician Hua had left, Qu Qi dared to poke his head out, ”Finally, that old man’s gone. Lately, I’ve nearly been driven to death by him. Every day he says I’m weak and need rest. He pulled up all the medicinal herbs I was experimenting with in my test field! My research on herb cultivation hadn’t even concluded before he harvested them all!”

As Qu Qi spoke, his whole being was filled with resentment. He stood no chance against Physician Hua and couldn’t even tell him that he was the one who had cultivated those herbs. There was no explaining it, as in that era, medicinal herbs were all wild-grown. Physician Hua had even asked Qu Qi why his yard was sprouting so many herbs...

”It’s just Physician Hua’s habit of collecting herbs—you’ll get used to it. But has your herb cultivation project been successful?” Chen Xi inquired curiously.

”No, it’s not working on a large scale yet; I haven’t fully mastered it. I can only say it’s possible to grow them, but there are problems with scaling up,” Qu Qi said helplessly, having been seriously bullied by Physician Hua. The important thing was he couldn’t argue with him; after all, Physician Hua was a doctor, and probably the strongest in the world at that time. He was not to be provoked.

”So why did you call me here?” Chen Xi asked, feeling annoyed. He hadn’t even been home to see Chen Lan and had rushed over to check on Qu Qi’s research project, only to find nothing!

”I’ve figured out cotton,” Qu Qi chuckled, revealing a broad smile. ”And it’s not just cotton cultivation—I’ve even processed it to remove the seeds and spin it into thread.”

Chen Xi was startled, then overjoyed. ”That’s it!”

”This is as reliable as you said before. I spent such a long time at Shanglin Park, and over several generations spanning hundreds of years, the stewards there treated this plant as nothing more than a decoration. I would have never thought it had such a fantastic use. As for the breeding of quality strains, my suggestion is to give up on that for now. Let’s focus on quantity,” Qu Qi said with a sigh, then proposed.

”Do you know what I’m planning to do?” Chen Xi asked, curious. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote on for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)