Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1267: Chapter 1221: Words of Advice

The price of a single book is still under discussion; while each aristocratic family has a mental estimate, it hasn’t dropped below ten thousand coins.

After all, even though Chen Xi builds schools, he doesn’t give away books for free, so the aristocratic families calculated the price of the petition. According to Chen Xi’s investment method, the estimated cost is eight thousand coins. Of course, purchasing it at two or three tens of thousands is indeed somewhat exploitative, but the aristocratic families don’t find it too expensive...

Knowledge is wealth, and this is a shared belief among the aristocratic families in the Late Han. Spending tens of thousands of coins on books is still quite acceptable to them.

Of course, on the premise that they don’t find out the real cost is just over a hundred coins, and with continued efforts, it could actually press below a hundred coins.

”I can’t let you spend so much, but after all, the Qu Family isn’t considered a wealthy aristocratic family. Our family is paying twenty million coins on its own.” Qu Qi sighed, thinking it necessary to pay. Though not exceedingly wealthy, the Qu Family still has tens of millions of coins.

Chen Xi looked wordlessly at Qu Qi; the thing he disliked most about the aristocratic families was their claim of being cash-strapped, yet they still have billions for purchasing the Three Dukes.

”Forget it, considering your earnest efforts, I’ll spare you the expense.” Chen Xi rolled his eyes and said; indeed, the Qu Family is small, with only about a hundred people, including direct lineage, branch families, and branch lineage.

After a recent handover of affairs, everyone slowly left except Zhuge Liang.

”Kongming, don’t burden yourself too heavily with the Western Regions task. If nothing unexpected happens, Gao Shun and Zhang Liao will accompany you there, as for Li Jue and his people...” Chen Xi pondered as he looked at Zhuge Liang.

”What do you think of Li Jue and his people?” Chen Xi was somewhat worried, wondering if Zhuge Liang, who truly put the Han Dynasty first, could accept working with Li Jue and his team.

Though Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou would definitely be willing to cooperate with Zhuge Liang due to Li Youu’s letter, it doesn’t mean they are willing to endure Zhuge Liang’s demeanor; everyone has some fire in them, and if Zhuge Liang is unwilling to cooperate, Li Jue and others can’t do anything despite Li Youu’s letter.

”Brutes.” Zhuge Liang said after a moment of silence.

”Then how would you deal with them?” Chen Xi remained indifferent to Zhuge Liang’s assessment, although Li Jue and others undoubtedly had a reckless side.

”If not for reopening the Zhengguo Canal, repairing the Six Auxiliary Canals, and interconnecting the Yongliang waterways, their crimes were all worthy of death!” Zhuge Liang stated with great seriousness; excavating the imperial mausoleums in this era definitely warranted exterminating three clans.

”What about now?” Chen Xi felt relieved; Zhuge Liang was indeed excellent at discerning priorities.

”With millions alive in Yongliang, the Hundred Qiang broken, and a region of Han Dynasty preserved; amidst the chaotic national situation, many things cannot be shallowly judged right or wrong, and Li Jue and others’ mistakes, since the Emperor hasn’t punished them, how can Liang deal with them?” Zhuge Liang replied calmly.

Regarding the Emperor, Zhuge Liang had become much more indifferent, contrary to Chen Xi’s predictions. Though a staunch supporter of the Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang wasn’t really concerned with who the Emperor was as long as it was Han Dynasty; the Emperor can love whomever, as long as it’s someone personal!

”That’s good, the main reliance in Yongliang will be on you then; when you’re there, try practicing, and you don’t need to handle affairs personally much. Instead, strive to select talents and let them handle things.” Seeing Zhuge Liang’s calm demeanor, Chen Xi began advising him not to do anything reckless.

Actually, Zhuge Liang’s biggest problem was not his capability but rather his excessive dedication, often working overnight and then taking a quick nap the next day before continuing work after a cup of tea, making him the most hardworking overtime maniac in the entire Political Office.

Chen Xi and Guo Jia were typical escape-artists, while others mostly departed promptly and punctually. Only Zhuge Liang worked overtime to the point of being unbearable to watch, and even to prevent Zhuge Liang from working overtime, Xun Yue and Liu Ye would deal with their work sufficiently before leaving.

”Zichuan is preparing to be a rabbit with three burrows,” Zhuge Liang suddenly remarked with a smile.

”That’s to prevent you from overworking yourself to death,” Chen Xi retorted with irritation, ”Remember, you possess the capabilities of a Prime Minister, and as such, you should harmonize Yin and Yang, oversee the officials, and assist the Emperor without having to personally handle everything. What you should do is supervise the officials.”

”Think about this sentence well; a Prime Minister isn’t supposed to do everything.” Chen Xi looked at Zhuge Liang with grave seriousness.

”But a Prime Minister doesn’t do nothing either.” Zhuge Liang confronted Chen Xi without yielding. Both belonged to two very extreme situations; Chen Xi usually did hardly anything, whereas Zhuge Liang did nearly everything.

”I don’t do nothing; rather, I do less. Being a Prime Minister isn’t about how much you do but how well you can allow your subordinates to exhibit their abilities.” Chen Xi placed great seriousness on this point.

”If a Prime Minister finishes all the necessary tasks, then how can the subordinate officials develop? We want talents, not pests.” Chen Xi looked at Zhuge Liang with utmost seriousness.

When Zhuge Liang was about to head to the Western Regions to solely manage military affairs, Chen Xi knew he had to correct Zhuge Liang. As they aspired for unity among all, the first Prime Minister would undoubtedly be himself, then Lubu Su would take over, and after Lubu Su, the Prime Minister could only be Zhuge Liang!

If Zhuge Liang remained mistrustful of everyone, handling even small matters himself, the Prime Ministership could never be granted to him.

As Zhuge Liang regarded Chen Xi, a conflict arose with what he had learned before; as a prudent man, everything he was responsible for should be resolved perfectly.

”Kongming, remember, the country is not just about one generation; after you, there must be a batch of successors. Before stepping into the Prime Ministership, focus on boosting your own abilities. But after assuming the Prime Ministership, you should enhance the capabilities of all officials!” Chen Xi, having served as an official for a long while, saw things very clearly.

”If, due to your own substantial capability, you distrust those under you and insist on perfecting everything by yourself, how can your subordinates make mistakes and grow? Without errors, how can they develop?” Chen Xi took a sip of water and began explaining the entire environment to Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang sat upright, attentively listening to Chen Xi and began reflecting. Some things others say to Zhuge Liang held no meaning because Zhuge Liang was too intelligent; persuading someone as smart as him is very challenging unless you are even more astute.

Chen Xi now played that role, as Zhuge Liang always regarded Chen Xi as smarter than himself.

”Even if you can solve every matter during your lifetime, when you die, your subordinates, due to your controlling nature, essentially don’t grow, wasting a vast amount of time. Ultimately, once you die, the country’s entire leadership becomes like pigs...” Chen Xi stared at Zhuge Liang with utter coldness.