NOVPUBCao Cao didn’t care whether Yuan Shu was destined by the Mandate of Heaven or not. Since Xun Yu’s established strategy had already locked on Wancheng, Cao Cao would definitely attack Wancheng!
It was precisely because of this that Yuan Shu, who was currently in Xiangyang, hadn’t yet attacked Cao Cao. Cao Cao had already captured Wancheng before Yuan Shu could react. People like Xun Yu were not the kind who would attack a city only as a last resort, especially since Wancheng of Nanyang happened to belong to the World Association at that time, with merchants from both the Xun Family and the Chen Family present there.
Before Yuan Shu’s defeat at Jiangling, how Chen Xi attacked Pingyu had already been scrutinized by Xun Yu and others through their recruitment of tomb robbers. Therefore, at that time, Xun Yu arranged for people to start digging wells in Wancheng.
However, Wancheng was not sealed off at that time and remained the center of commerce in the world. Loads of goods were exported, and as long as one bribed the right people, nobody would inspect closely. In this fashion, Xun Yu and Chen Qun, with the cover of their own merchant convoys, managed to dig a tunnel leading to the outside of the city before Yuan Shu could return.
With this tunnel, Xiahou Yuan rushed all the way and, moving stealthily by day and night without being discovered, reached the outskirts of Wancheng. Then, taking advantage of the tunnel, captured Wancheng overnight. The richest place in the world thus changed hands, and even by the next morning, those who slept through the night were unaware of what had happened.
After that, Cao Cao’s army swept through the territories north of Wancheng, capturing half of Nanyang with the speed of a thunderclap, bringing more than a million people under control.
When Chen Xi received this news, he was already approaching Mount Tai. It so happened that Chen Xi had plundered so much that Pingyu, which could be said to be the most prosperous place in Runan, with Runan the essence of Yuzhou, took away everything that could be moved from Pingyu, from the Government Treasury to the population, all that Chen Xi deemed necessary.
The first were the grain and money from the Government Treasury. The yet-to-decline Yuzhou, worthy of its status as one of the world’s granaries, had over two million stones of grain in the treasury even before the summer grain taxes were collected. Chen Xi didn’t hesitate to requisition all the carts in Pingyu, as storing grain in his own Government Treasury was the King’s Way.
After moving the grain and money, Chen Xi began selecting literate scholars in Runan. As long as they were not from local tyrants or powerful families, once he found one, regardless of their willingness, he took the entire family with him, offering generous benefits. He clearly stated that upon arrival, they would receive one hundred mu of land, a house, and provisions for living, without demanding they do anything but relocate.
With these benefits, half of Runan’s Humble Scholars were unwilling to go. In the end, Chen Xi had no choice but to forcibly relocate them all, packing up any old and broken belongings, cats, dogs and all, and sending them off to Qingzhou.
After all, Chen Xi was well aware that once the Book Pavilion of Mount Tai was renovated and opened, these Humble Scholars who were forcibly brought to Qingzhou would definitely correct their own beliefs. Besides, Yuzhou would sooner or later suffer calamities; it was better to follow Liu Bei early on and contribute to the lacking culture of Qingzhou—that was the King’s Way.
After relocating the scholars, he began to move the craftsmen, whether they were blacksmiths, miners, or carpenters, healers, or even those skilled in threading needles or making candied haws—they were all taken away by the cartload. These people were much easier to deal with than scholars. Once Hua Xiong’s soldiers placed their swords at the doorsteps, the craftsmen immediately agreed to follow the Qingzhou Soldiers to Qingzhou.
After packing up these entire families, Chen Xi realized he had taken away nearly three hundred thousand people. Fortunately, Lub Su had good organizational skills, and together with the disciplined Qingzhou Soldiers, not many people died on the way to Qingzhou.
Chen Xi’s actions were completely beyond Hua Xiong’s understanding, and both Lub Su and Liu Ye felt they were unnecessary, even opposing Chen Xi when he forcibly relocated the Humble Scholars.
As for Li Youu and Jia Xu, they did not offer any comment on the matter at its initial stage, merely going about their business in silence.
These two fellows were just too experienced. As soon as Chen Xi began his work, Jia Xu turned back and followed suit by relocating the artisans of Qiaoo County, and his method even made Chen Xi feel inferior. Chen Xi maliciously pondered that this guy had wanted to do this for a long time but didn’t act due to lack of a scapegoat.
Liu Ye didn’t think it was necessary, and Chen Xi felt it inappropriate to persuade him. He and Jia Xu had relocated craftspeople and Humble Scholars from these two places, which was almost enough to prosper the whole Qingzhou. But when Chen Xi learned how Li Youu and Jia Xu conned the Humble Scholars, he realized how naïve he himself had been.
Li Youu lost many books, all of them in paper format, and each of these books easily found its way into the hands of a particular Humble Scholar. Afterwards, when Li Youu got the book back, he informed the Humble Scholar that the Library of Mount Tai allowed borrowing such books, but required household registration from Mount Tai or Qingzhou.
Li Youu even demonstrated a Household Register to the other party, which made Chen Xi feel helpless with his experience and foresight. No wonder he was a person of great influence once, experience was not a joke. With one move, he secured relocation and future household registration promotion, and none of it was compulsory—instead, people were crying and begging to get involved…
While Chen Xi was still dabbling in compulsory promotion, forced relocations, and compulsory XX, others had already begun to harness people’s subjectivity.
According to Jia Xu’s message, the Humble Scholars who found the books kept clutching the Household Registers they received from Li Youu, not wanting to return them. Eventually, most of them managed to hold on to their state of mind. As for the few who stubbornly denied finding the books, Li Youu could only express his intention to make them understand the situation.
The scholars were not foolish. Knowing that simply by registering in Mount Tai, they could obtain a Household Register and thereby borrow books, and thinking of Li Youu’s benevolent expression, the Humble Scholars that found the books silently told themselves, with ten thousand volumes readily available for borrowing, and considering their own family circumstances, what else was there to think about? It was time to move.
Then, the news spread further and further, not only reaching Humble Scholars but even the unsatisfied concubine’s children from the families of Local Tyrants got wind of it and packed their bags for Mount Tai. For scholars of the Late Han, a place to read for free was very important, especially since they could travel everywhere, as long as their shoes could bear it.
As a result, Humble Scholars from all over the Peii State began heading toward Mount Tai and Qingzhou in groups. Among them were some insightful ones who knew this was a message from Mount Tai, but the immense temptation led them to act as if they knew nothing. As for what to do if the Myriad Books Library didn’t exist? No worries! Didn’t Qingzhou have descendants of Confucius?
Upon hearing this news, Chen Xi began instructing his people to fill the scholars in on the benefits of registering as they traveled. Whether they believed it or not, by the time they actually arrived, they would no longer harbor any resentment like they did at present, and he could also salvage his reputation a bit!
After all, once he declared it now, and once the Library Pavilion was completed, those who reaped the advantages would still curse Chen Xi, but it would not have any negative impact. Or rather, once the Library Pavilion was built, Chen Xi’s reputation would be impervious to slander. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)
