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Li You could guarantee that he had never encountered a system of household registration similar to the one being proposed, because as he pondered his past, he found not a single flaw. It should be known that during his time in Luoyang, he was known as a master of political strategy, having seen it all, and he could only commend Chen Xi’s system as far surpassing the current one.
"Zichuan has come well-prepared!" Liu Bei said with a smile, "Wen Ru, make sure you note down the system that Zichuan has just described."
"I have noted it all down. The overall system far surpasses the current household registration system. In terms of controlling the labor force and the displaced population, it could be said to have reached perfection. It also facilitates the control of the influx of outsiders," Li Youu said expressionlessly.
"Good. Zichuan, go and put your suggested household registration system in writing and give it to Wen Ru. Then, have Zijing and the others study it thoroughly to check for any oversights," Liu Bei instructed, after confirming that Li Youu had taken down all the details, and he was no longer insisting on further thoughts from Chen Xi.
In Liu Bei’s view, Li Youu might not be good with words, but whenever he spoke, he hit the nail on the head. He was also broad-minded, composed in chaos, and had his own perspectives on everything. Most importantly, this person would be utterly unobtrusive unless Liu Bei addressed him directly, which was something Liu Bei had become accustomed to over the days of having Li Youu by his side. It was very convenient.
"Understood," Chen Xi replied listlessly. He was too worn out to entertain Liu Bei with circling discussions after the lengthy and parching talk he had just delivered.
Chen Xi bowed to Liu Bei and left. Sometimes, young people just feel inexplicably sleepy, just like Chen Xi felt extremely sleepy at that moment. Being tasked with organizing the entire household registration system of the Great Ming Dynasty as well as the Three Departments and Six Ministries system of the Tang Dynasty was simply too tiring for him, even though these systems were well-established and he just needed to write them down. But when one is overcome by sleepiness, there is no reasoning with it.
"Wen Ru, why do you think Zichuan always seems so groggy every afternoon? Sometimes he even falls asleep in the Political Office. I asked him before, and he said he suffers from insomnia at night. But later, I found out he actually sleeps soundly. Why is he sleepy all day long?" Liu Bei said helplessly, exasperated by Chen Xi’s languid temperament.
"Some people think too much and have to make decisions. The mental exertion is too much, so they always appear tired," Li Youu explained without expression, while contemplating the entire household registration system, comparing it to the current system’s loopholes, and considering the situation in various places like Qingzhou of Mount Tai, all while responding to Liu Bei’s question. Being able to multitask had long been a skill honed while serving under Dong Zhuo.
"Perhaps there is some truth in that. Zichuan is always thinking about the future. The preparation for current matters was mostly done a long time ago. However, Zichuan seems not to be so good at handling emergencies," Liu Bei said, looking up at the sky and sighing. Now, reflecting on the entire set-up in Qingzhou of Mount Tai, he realized that Chen Xi had been preparing for it since they were on their way there. His gaze was always fixed on the future.
"No, Lord Xuande, on the contrary, Zichuan is very adept at dealing with emergencies. However, due to certain reasons, he doesn’t actually need to face them," Li Youu said, shaking his head.
Li Youu had also taken time to understand Chen Xi and found his findings even more intriguing. Chen Xi was skilled at riding the tide and going with the flow. It seemed as if he always had the great momentum on his side, leveraging the overall situation of the world to make a good profit and strengthen himself. Rarely was Chen Xi seen resorting to trickery; mostly, he relied on the prevailing momentum to press the situation forward step by step.
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Chen Xi’s way of thinking seemed to Lub Su to be exceptionally well-suited for dealing with sudden events. After all, with the overarching trends pushing the situation in the realm inexorably forward, a reversal of the situation was fundamentally impossible. No sudden event could reverse the overall trend of the world, so for Chen Xi, it didn’t matter what the sudden event was or how it was dealt with—it was all irrelevant.
It was just like when Chen Xi had dominated the Zhen Family in Jizhou. At that time, regardless of what Chen Xi did, the outcome would not change. The silver coin prepared by Ju Shou, even if presented, could not alter the situation because that particular situation left the Zhen Family with no other choice!
Allying with the Yuan Family would result in nothing left, even not the dregs. Moving out of Jizhou would mean losing the family’s century-old foundation overnight. The only glimmer of hope lay with Chen Xi. Even with Liu Xuande causing trouble in Qingzhou, his reach had not extended to Jizhou. There was still a chance for the Zhen Family to turn things around, so naturally, having seen Chen Xi’s open-handed approach, the Zhen Family would choose the path that Chen Xi required.
Therefore, in Lub Su’s view, it was not that Chen Zichuan was bad at handling sudden events, but rather that Chen Zichuan would take sudden events into account in his calculations, ensuring that no loose ends remained. According to Lub Su’s thinking, Chen Xi either had suffered a loss from having a scheme exposed in the past, or he was simply too lazy to do things more than once, wanting to sort everything out in one go—and, of course, based on what Lub Su knew of Chen Xi, there was more than an eighty percent chance that Chen Xi just didn’t want to do things a second time, to get it over with in one go, to save time for sleeping...
After hearing Lub Su’s explanation, Liu Bei fell silent for a long while. Finally, he looked up to the sky and sighed heavily, "Wen Ru, you are quite right. There’s an eighty percent chance that Zichuan wants to handle things in one go, to not do them a second time, to save time for sleeping. This personality..."
Although Liu Bei seemed to be sighing, he actually felt quite at ease. He had great confidence both in Chen Xi’s abilities and in his character, for Chen Zichuan’s temperament was fundamentally unsuitable for rebellion. It suited only for him to be a home-dwelling Duke or Marquis in a time of peace, living a simple life of eating and sleeping—the perfect fit for such a person.
Chen Xi hesitated at his own doorstep but did the same thing as Xia Yu—instead of entering his home, he headed straight to the Political Office. Liu Bei didn’t understand, but there were two others present who did understand. Though they had been hit hard before, it had actually freed them from the tedium of governmental affairs, and now they sat comfortably, enjoying tea and bean cakes.
"Back to work, back to work. There’s work to be done again," Chen Xi shouted at the two brothers who were leisurely treating the Political Office as a teahouse.
"What’s going on with Zichuan now? You better not have something else for us to help with," roared Lub Su, startled by Chen Xi’s pat on the shoulder, causing a piece of bean cake to slide straight down his throat and nearly choke him. Only after gulping down a cup of tea did he manage to catch his breath and glare furiously at Chen Xi.
"That’s not it. Lord Xuande has asked you to organize a new household registration system and draft the necessary regulations for establishing offices in the future. I’ve already worked out a rough draft. Check to see if there are any errors," Chen Xi said, shaking his head without changing his expression.
The two men were well aware of Liu Bei’s intention to establish his own bureaucracy, as he was already the Pavilion Marquis and General of the East, serving as the Governor of Qingzhou, and born of the Han Imperial Kinsman lineage—so Emperor Liu Xie had approved Liu Bei’s idea to establish his governance. Therefore, preparing a new administrative system was certainly not a mistake.
"Since that’s the case, please go ahead, Zichuan," sighed Lub Su and Liu Ye. The two were very clear that Chen Xi had surely come to distribute his tasks to them. However, given Chen Xi’s habits, they could not escape this burden. Since reality could not be changed, there was no point in struggling. They might as well resign themselves to finding pleasure amidst the hardship. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
