NOVPUBAfterward, Chen Xi and Ju Shou chatted casually about matters unrelated to the military situation. Ju Shou always found Chen Xi’s certainty somewhat incomprehensible, but in the end, he habitually settled on the thought he had considered before—young and frivolous.
As the sun was about to set, Chen Xi looked at the clouds on the horizon and smiled. Their Soldiers of Mount Tai, after all, were protected by the city walls, while the external military camps, no matter how well set up, were bound to have oversights, such as right now.
"Rumble~" Thunder roared, and lightning wrapped around the dark clouds. Chen Xi used a dark cloud to push the rain clouds over here, but as he pushed, lightning began to strike, indicating it would likely pour before the clouds even arrived.
Fortunately, Chen Xi was quick to act. Before the downpour began, he had already dragged the cloud over, and then the classic scene of a half sun and half rain appeared. The huge military camp to the west of Nanpi City was directly hit by a torrential rain, while only a few raindrops drifted in the wind over the entirety of Nanpi City.
"Well, it would be quite troublesome for you to launch a surprise attack in this, wouldn’t it? If you can still siege the city on a rainy night, I would admire you!" Chen Xi said with a smug face, clapping his hands and looking mockingly at the group of Jizhou Soldiers in panic within the curtain of rain.
Afterward, just as Chen Xi had predicted, there was no Strategist in the military camp who could dispel the rain clouds. Chen Xi alone fixed the cloud in place, and it rained heavily all night. The west of Nanpi City had practically turned into a marshland. Chen Xi felt that it would be impossible for him to lay siege now, with the ground turned into soft mud…
Taishi Ci nearly arrived at the break of dawn the next day, after a night of forced march. Although a few dozen men had fallen behind, considering the size of the twenty-thousand strong force, Chen Xi was very satisfied. After all, this was the Three Kingdoms Period, not the Republic of China Period; these troops could already be regarded as seasoned veterans.
"It seems I’m quite lucky, indeed. I really didn’t encounter any unfortunate events along the way. Hahaha, Ju Gong is certainly cautious enough," Chen Xi said with a smile, standing at Nanpi’s southern gate with Ju Shou beside him.
Upon hearing Chen Xi’s words, Ju Shou’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. By this time, if he still didn’t realize that he had been played by Chen Xi, it would be quite surprising!
"Very well, very well, worthy indeed of being Chen Zichuan, unmatched in wisdom and strategy, planning everything based on my way of thinking!" Ju Shou suppressed the annoyance in his heart and glared at Chen Xi, full of resentment. He had not anticipated that his understanding of Chen Zichuan was not deep while Chen Zichuan had such an in-depth knowledge of his personality.
"Slip of the tongue," Chen Xi urged as the folding fan casually covered his mouth, his face revealing a look of helplessness. Then after mulling it over for a bit, Chen Xi said to the guards behind him, "Take good care of Ju Gong, and make sure nothing happens to him."
Having said this, Chen Xi walked towards the lower part of the city wall. He certainly did not possess the combat power of Lyu Bu to jump directly off the city wall.
"Well, Ziyi, you’ve arrived just in time. Let your troops rest a bit and have a good meal. Then we’ll proceed with the relocation. Jizhou has this one good thing going for it—they follow rules very strictly. The message pleading for instructions from Yuan Benchu has probably reached his hands by now. But by the time Yuan Benchu gives his orders and sends them to the Governor of Hejian, we would have almost crossed the border. It’s really miserable not to have the power for immediate decision-making!" Chen Xi said with contempt for Yuan Shao, while spreading his own thoughts. This event would definitely shock Liu Bei—decisiveness is essential! 𝓷ℴ𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝒸𝓸𝓶
The Soldiers of Mount Tai were of mediocre quality at best; several of them, though the Government Treasury was theirs for the taking, preferred to barge into other people’s homes instead. Sigh, it’s truly frustrating.
"Ziyi, Zilong, keep an eye on this bunch. If any of them dares to break into someone else’s home again, don’t be polite—give them ten lashes to teach them a lesson. Of course, if the woman is alone and widowed and the soldier wishes to marry her, then let it be," Chen Zichuan instructed Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci while signaling them to turn a blind eye, as long as it wasn’t too outrageous. After all, we’re here to plunder grain and money; could the victors refrain from doing some wrongdoings?
Chen Xi made himself comfortable atop the watchtower of the Southern City Gate of Nanpi City, setting up a small desk—to brew tea. Beside him, the morose and soot-faced Ju Shou was blowing on the cool breeze from the North, sipping cold tea to soothe his mind. For a noted scholar, it’s all about maintaining the poise of calmly sipping tea on the ramparts while thousands of soldiers march below.
"Chen Zichuan, haven’t you had enough already? Besides the aristocracy and ordinary citizens, you’ve emptied the entire Nanpi treasury. What more do you want?" Ju Shou said with anger, yet he couldn’t bear to put down the white porcelain cup in his hand.
"Well, if we had more time, I would definitely call upon the commoners to evenly distribute the land, and then exempt them from taxes for three years. See isn’t that wonderful?" Chen Xi nonchalantly remarked from atop the city wall, causing Ju Shou to break out in a cold sweat.
This tactic was a surefire way to wipe out a household. In ancient China, land was the most important asset to the commoners; once they obtained some, they would never let go of it. For a commoner scavenging in the soil, that piece of land was their lifeline. With Chen Xi’s actions, Nanpi would certainly not know peace!
"Alright, Ju Gong, come with me. We will naturally let you return once we reach our destination. Nanpi is yours, and I, on behalf of Lord Xuande, would like to express our sincerest apologies. Furthermore, we have no intention whatsoever of getting involved in Jizhou. Please afford Ju Gong a way out," Chen Xi said with a smile as gentle as a spring breeze, but his words lacked any semblance of sincerity.
The coachman drove the carriage carrying Chen Xi and Ju Shou, while Zhang He, having been knocked unconscious by Zhang Fei for attempting to flee, was tucked under his arm, ready to be released at the same time as Ju Shou. As for Gao Lan, he had been knocked out cold in the dungeon and was unlikely to wake up for half a day.
To be honest, Chen Xi really had the idea of persuading these three men. However, at this time, it was Yuan Shao’s ascendant phase, and these three definitely wouldn’t surrender. Yet they couldn’t be killed or captured either, or it would almost be tantamount to officially interfering with Yuan Shao’s and Gongsun Bogui’s battle. This was completely against Chen Xi’s strategy of stable development, stockpiling grain and troops, especially given that locust and drought disasters were not far off.
If they were to get involved in the war between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Bogui at this juncture, the haughty Yuan Benchu, sensing a turn for the worse, might also mobilize his allies to join the battle, turning the skirmish into a major war across the Central Plains!
This held no benefit whatsoever for Liu Bei, whose foundation was still weak. Even if victorious, they would be left weakened, and the advantages would be entirely swallowed by the leader. What would be the point of such a fight? Far better to keep the war within a manageable scope, beneficial to everyone. Yes, indeed beneficial to everyone, a war controlled for the good of all under heaven.
Watching the Mount Tai Army march at a steady pace, Chen Xi felt in high spirits. Indeed, waging war was not his cup of tea; he preferred a life of ease at home where clothes and meals were provided without effort. With so much grain and the Lu family trading books for grain everywhere, although it would be tough to feed the million-strong Yellow Turbans, they could hopefully last until the summer planting season; enduring for three months should be just about manageable.
Thinking about the bright future ahead, a smile crept onto Chen Xi’s face. Upon his return, it would be time to get married. Ah, Chen Lan, he would at last have a concubine. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com with your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)
