Mythical Three Kingdoms

Aside from Zhao Yun needing to sprint to the junction of Bingzhou and Sili within ten days, another fast runner, Xiahou Yuan, was assigned to clear out the encampments of the Southern Huns.

After assembling the troops and preparing the necessary supplies for the raid, they were just about to set out when they were stopped by Fa Zheng, wearing a wool robe.

”Xiaoo Zhi, what are you doing here?” Zhao Yun asked, looking at Fa Zheng, who seemed to be waiting for them at the camp gate on horseback.

”Ha, I didn’t feel at ease leaving you to face an ambush from the Southern Huns alone, so I went to see the Lord and decided to accompany you on your journey,” Fa Zheng replied with a smile.

”With Xiaoo Zhi’s help, this battle will be three parts easier,” Zhao Yun said with a smile, and Xiahou Yuan nodded in agreement.

Although Fa Zheng’s style was somewhat frivolous, being among the most renowned and formidable of their time, Xiahou Yuan didn’t underestimate him. He was a very reliable strategist, despite his carefree demeanor, his abilities were exceptionally trustworthy.

”Ha, then I shall follow General Zhao all the way south,” Fa Zheng said with a smug look that wouldn’t fade. Finally, he escaped from the pit of the grueling five-year plan; if he had continued working overtime, he would have wished for death.

Fa Zheng’s original administrative skills were not outstanding, but since he had run to Mount Tai at sixteen and received intensive training for so many years, coupled with a decent intellect, during a time when Liu Bei’s side was short on people, Chen Xi utilized Fa Zheng as a civil official for governance.

Although Fa Zheng was quite young at the time, he did have some opinions, but such opinions were considered inconsequential by Chen Xi and others. Chen Xi, with no other options, made full use of Fa Zheng, directing him in various tasks.

As for resistance, neither Guo Jia nor Jia Xu dared to slack off as much before Liu Bei’s faction was on the right track. Fa Zheng, without any privilege to speak of, naturally did whatever Chen Xi instructed.

Over time and before the campaign in Yuzhou, Fa Zheng engaged in many governance tasks and did quite well, considering his high intellect. Even if he was primarily a strategist and hadn’t done governance work before, he wouldn’t mess it up managing a province or county.

Thus, Liu Bei regarded Fa Zheng as a generally competent person with a slight specialization. Normally, it wouldn’t matter, but during this five-year plan, Fa Zheng was placed in Zhuge Liang’s group.

As for Zhuge Liang, being their group leader was something Fa Zheng had no grievances about. In his words, since his skills didn’t lie in that field, it didn’t matter who was the leader. However, once Zhuge Liang realized Fa Zheng’s extraordinary abilities, he allotted many tasks needing completion on the first day itself.

To know that others, such as Zhou Yu and Liu Ba, unfamiliar with the task load, had their schedules adjusted after a night of overtime work until the fourth watch after assessing progress. Only Fa Zheng and Pang Tong, due to Zhuge Liang’s familiarity, had full schedules from the start.

Working overtime until the third or fourth watch every day, Fa Zheng couldn’t even remember the last time he had it so tough, but since the whole group was working overtime, and he didn’t have the audacity of Guo Jia or Jia Xu, he had no choice but to follow along. Today, he finally seized an opportunity.

”Huh, where is Xiaoo Zhi?” Zhuge Liang asked in confusion at the start of work in the afternoon, noticing Fa Zheng was absent.

”Oh, Xiaoo Zhi was taken by Zilong. If I remember correctly, Lord Xuande had him go south with Zilong first; we need to wait a bit more before heading south ourselves. As for Wen Ruo’s assignments from Xun Wenruo’s group, hand them over to me, I’ll handle them.” Chen Xi responded upon Zhuge Liang’s query.

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu organized the documents on Xun Yu’s desk, pulling a few from his own as he went. Guo Jia looked on with envy, but opportunities like this were rare, so after Jia Xu turned away, he discreetly slipped a few more to Jia Xu from his own pile.

Jia Xu placed a stack of documents on the desk in front of Chen Xi and left, while Chen Xi leisurely enjoyed some snacks and tea. After finishing them and cleaning his hands, he finally began the work.

”On the issue of landlords loaning at high interest to the common folk…” Chen Xi read Xun Yu’s document silently, completely unconcerned with Jia Xu glaring at Guo Jia below.

At this point, even if Jia Xu were foolish, he’d realize that those documents were definitely Guo Jia’s. However, Jia Xu had already handed a significant number of documents to Chen Xi, and with Guo Jia giving Jia Xu some, there was no way to argue with Guo Jia.

”Haha, in these matters, why should landlords reap the benefits? The state will offer loans! While landlords impose exorbitant interest rates of nine-tenths, we’ll offer clear rates of one to two tenths.” Without further thought, Chen Xi began drafting his proposals, his thought process differing significantly from those around him.

Thus, Chen Xi’s suggestions turned into policies where, every March to April, during the agriculture off-season, those willing to borrow would be provided loans and grains, curbing the landlords’ exploitation of peasants and simultaneously generating some profit for the government.

No matter how you look at it, one or two tenths is still money, right? Moreover, this happens frequently; not just this, but small merchants and workshops could also benefit, granting them the same terms. Since these small entities, with enough diligence, would likely not face losses, tapping into this would garner a tidy sum.