Mythical Three Kingdoms

At first, Chen Xi felt it wouldn’t be suitable for Zhuge Liang to go and oversee, but later realized that apart from Zhuge Liang, nobody else would be suitable.

Li Jue and Guo Si’s group are all hotheads, half inclined to fight, but their commander abilities are strong. Not many are convinced by them, but Li Youu is definitely one, and no matter what, Zhuge Liang can be considered Li Youu’s disciple, plus his abilities are sure to win over that group when the time comes.

The state documents from Parthia are submitted by the Marquis of Chiyang, namely Li Jue, so it’s destined that Li Jue absolutely takes the lead, especially when Li Youu hands over the prepared forces, the strength of Li Jue, Guo Si, and others will surely increase significantly.

In such circumstances, regardless of whether it’s Yuan Tan’s faction or the remnants of Lyu Bu’s faction coming over, there will inevitably be a hierarchy. Although the forces Li Youu brought over, combined with the current strength of Li Jue and others might not be the strongest, on one hand Li Jue has righteousness on his side, on the other hand he’s a pioneer, and more importantly, they will surely ally with Liu Bei’s faction.

Among the three factions, only the forces sent by Liu Bei possess a complete political system, and Chen Gong there naturally doesn’t care, while Yuan Tan, even if unwilling, in these circumstances must respect Liu Bei’s faction.

Even though initially Li Jue may not be pleased with Zhuge Liang, considering the identity of Li Youu’s disciple, there would absolutely not be any cases of acting against orders, at most there’d be some foul language, but these three rough fellows would soon be genuinely subdued by Zhuge Liang’s capabilities.

Thus, with Zhuge Liang laying the foundation, he could gradually integrate all forces. Though this process would take a year or two, during this time, no matter what methods are used, gradually subduing these unruly sages and formidable generals, in the end Zhuge Liang could be transferred to Chang’an as Imperial Secretary, honing his skills for three to five years to become Prime Minister!

This path is extremely difficult, but once Zhuge Liang traverses it, he will have the experience, achievements, abilities, and backing necessary, and when it comes time to be promoted to Prime Minister, he’ll have support not just from the older generation on the imperial court but also a strong faction belonging to him supporting him.

With people in the court, his own abilities, sufficient experience and achievements, and a considerable force supporting him, by then Zhuge Liang, at twenty-four or five years old, sitting in the Prime Minister’s seat, would merely be a repeat of how he united most or even all factions in the Western Regions.

Thus, after Chen Xi gathered information on the situation of the various figures, he understood the Western Regions was no longer merely a test base as a bridgehead stepping out of the Central Plains, but also Zhuge Liang’s grindstone, and a trial ground for generations of civil officials and generals to come.

Unfortunately during this period, Chen Xi couldn’t find a suitable character. If Sima Yi hadn’t run away back then, Chen Xi would have put him in there, believing that even with Sima Yi’s level, he would have learned all he ought to learn from Li Youu.

Though this approach of Zhuge Liang going to the Western Regions, honing his skills for a few years and returning to a near certain position as Prime Minister, was something Chen Xi extremely disliked. He enjoyed the unexpected twists and turns, finding destined fate exceedingly mundane; having only one candidate was far too dull—life should have surprises.

Thus, Chen Xi sought to find an opponent for Zhuge Liang, covertly sending a letter to the Chen Family, with the rest unfolding predictably.

Chen Xi’s idea was, knowing Zhuge Liang is formidable, he inserted a Sima Yi into his team to make things interesting for him.

Xun Shen, Sheni Pei, Xuu You, and Chen Gong might still consider their status and age, but wouldn’t cause chaos; whereas the delivery of a Sima Yi, Zhuge Liang, you should hurry and sign for it.

With Chen Xi’s status, sending a second-in-command in would not ruffle Li Youu’s feathers; Li Youu wouldn’t mind either, for he believed in Zhuge Liang’s ability.

In Li Youu’s perception, his not-a-disciple disciple was undoubtedly the most excellent and perfect of their time, unmatched by peers!

So when Li Youu glanced around, all of Zhuge Liang’s peers were seen by him as grindstones, though he still graded them in tiers. Li Youu didn’t mind Chen Xi inserting people in.

Certainly, Chen Xi also recognized Zhuge Liang’s absolutely unbeatable status among peers, and this seemingly outrageous proposal was conjured by Chen Xi himself.

Initially, Li Youu thought the reputation was too great, but later due to Zhuge Liang’s exceptionally monstrous performance, Li Youu didn’t refute, though silent; he likely accepted it in mind.

Hence, not just wanting to insert a second-in-command, even if Chen Xi determined to insert a group of people, Li Youu wouldn’t object at all, considering Chen Xi respected the importance; previously, Li Youu assumed Chen Xi wanted to appoint Jiangh Wan as second-in-command, but this matter never materialized from Chen Xi.

With dissatisfaction towards the predetermined fate, Chen Xi prepared to package Sima Yi and send him over, stirring the Prime Minister and Grand Commandant roles together, beginning the showdown between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi.

According to Chen Xi’s estimate, after those years in the Western Regions, both could be brushed with all forms of experience and achievements, adjusting back as Imperial Censor and Chief of Staff, the second confrontation between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi could commence.

After a few more years of sharpening, once Chen Xi stepped down as Prime Minister, he’d surely witness a grand performance—the third clash of Zhuge Liang against Sima Yi.

Behind Zhuge Liang were Li Youu, Jia Xu, Liu Ye, and numerous civil officials and generals, whereas Sima Yi had Xun Yu, Chen Qun, Zhong Yao, and the vaguely visible cousin Chen Xi supporting him.

Was it balancing factions with Sima taking the position to show fairness or pushing forward the aristocratic rich families with Zhuge taking dominance? That concerned national strategy; both sides were bound to clash, with countless pushing the waves behind them!

The annual drama would directly be staged, and after watching it, naturally it would be Prime Minister Zhuge Liang and Grand Commandant Sima Yi; Chen Xi wasn’t foolish. Though Sima Yi was closer to him, choosing who to support as Prime Minister didn’t need much thought.

Now Chen Xi even thought of reasons, like Zhuge Liang being handsome and sunny while Sima Yi appeared too somber, lacking brightness; the capacities of both were similar, but the Prime Minister was the empire’s face, so he needed to be good-looking!

Chen Xi estimated with such a stance, the world would value appearance more, while Pang Tong, lacking even the qualification to compete, received a heavy blow.

Of course, these discussions were mere talk; certainly, Chen Xi thought about it, but more considered mutual competition.

Zhuge Liang indeed possessed extraordinary talent, but Chen Xi didn’t believe that walking through without much turbulence enabled him to maximize his wisdom. Sometimes, humans, as living beings, need challenges, because without pushing oneself, you’ll never know your potential.

Similarly, Sima Yi seemed well-raised and according to Sima Lang had grown well, yet fostering like this wasn’t the way. Putting these guys together, competing properly, young folks should strive to show strength, letting the other see who is truly the strongest.

Chen Xi didn’t believe having Sima Yi nearby constantly plotting to overthrow him, Zhuge Liang wouldn’t aim for further excellence; likewise, he didn’t believe with such a perennial oppressor beside him, Sima Yi wouldn’t wish to overturn him.

Striving and contending make it interesting; predetermined fate is too clichéd, plus Chen Xi was already prepared, ready to advise any side if they fell behind, making this a drama Chen Xi painstakingly staged.

Though Chen Xi didn’t realize after arduously scripting the plot, setting the stage, borrowing people, his prepared protagonist still ran away.

If Chen Xi knew Sima Yi rejected the proposal due to the letter stating he’d be a second-in-command to Zhuge Liang, he’d probably be infuriated to the point of imploding.