NOVPUBChen Xi, since the day he issued the order, would appear on the city gate tower of Fenggao in the afternoon, accompanied by his legendary personal guard—Hua Xiong.
"Let’s go, Zijian." Chen Xi sighed as he glanced at the caravans passing through the city gate and then turned to Hua Xiong, saying, "I am in need of a guard now, and being nameless has its benefits too."
"My Lord, please." Hua Xiong looked at Chen Xi, puzzled, but without asking anything, he just gestured for Chen Xi to proceed and then followed him down from the city wall.
"Zijian, give me a hundred strings of five zhu coins, and I’ll set up an enterprise for you. It’s time for you to start a business and establish a family," Chen Xi mused as he walked down the steps, turning to speak to Hua Xiong.
"Oh." Hua Xiong nodded. He had never really thought about owning property; after all, up until now, he had lived a good life simply by relying on his plunder.
Chen Xi boarded the carriage, and Hua Xiong mounted his horse, leading a detachment of soldiers to take Chen Xi to North 234th Street. The place, once empty, had become much more bustling, but the tax revenue had not increased much compared to before.
Of course, Chen Xi had already seen the tremendous potential. After all, Liu Ye couldn’t produce a line graph, but Chen Xi could clearly draw one that showed an almost exponential growth rate—a surge potent enough to drive anyone with a knowledge of mathematics insane! Unfortunately, this was the Late Han era, where no one understood just how terrifying exponential growth was. Even Liu Ye, who claimed to be a master mathematician, failed to see that astonishing growth rate, noticing only the difference from before.
"Zijian, is this place good?" Chen Xi asked casually. He had advised every acquaintance to buy shopfronts on these streets in advance. Whether they did or not was of no concern to Chen Xi; he knew that the land price here would soon skyrocket, and once it became the world’s marketplace, even the rental value alone would be shockingly high.
Hua Xiong didn’t understand these matters. Besides, they had just won a great battle, and he was still flush with money and grain. A hundred strings of coins were nothing to him, so he carelessly nodded and agreed to Chen Xi’s suggestion.
As for North First Street, other than three properties for himself, Chen Xi had the entirety of another street registered under Liu Bei’s name. Although Liu Bei probably didn’t remember what Chen Xi had said before Fenggao City was built, the whole street with its storefronts were Chen Xi’s plaything. The value of such a street in a world-class marketplace was something Chen Xi preferred not to calculate.
"Tomorrow’s tax revenue will probably catch up to the usual," Chen Xi said as he watched the throngs of traders and slowly closed the carriage window. "It’s boring, indeed. I’ve underestimated the Han Dynasty’s suppression of merchants. After all, the noble families also need money!"
In just a short fifteen days, from the time Chen Xi first spoke, merchants in Fenggao City had multiplied in number, and trading had greatly increased, even though many were there simply en route and hadn’t brought much merchandise with them.
Should this be attributed to the Han Dynasty’s excessive oppression of merchants, or should it be said that Chen Xi’s reputation was indeed commendable, or perhaps that the networks of the Zhen and Mi Families were extensive? Regardless, the merchants came, and that was what mattered.
Chen Xi’s commercial strategies were enough to make all merchants want to stay once they arrived. When there were enough merchants, Fenggao would have an ample supply of all sorts of goods, including contraband. Chen Xi wouldn’t mind; after all, these contraband items were being traded in Fenggao. He never bothered to purchase things like ironware and arrows.
"Zijian, am I boring?" The carriage stopped in front of the Chen Residence, and Chen Xi casually hopped out, "Haha, quite boring, indeed. I haven’t felt like going to the Political Office lately. Just financial power, that’s all."
"My Lord, I don’t understand what you’re talking about," Hua Xiong scratched his head in his simple and honest way, a look of innocence on his face.
Chen Xi glanced at Hua Xiong, waved his hand to signal that the other could leave now. Hua Xiong’s home was only a wall away from Chen Xi’s outer courtyard after all, considering that he also had another identity, that of Chen Xi’s protector.
Watching the slowly closing gates of the Chen Residence, Hua Xiong sighed. Could he not understand? Even if he didn’t, could Li Youu and the others be oblivious? Tax revenues from Qingzhou and Mount Tai had recently dropped by a third, a massive gap that was entirely of Chen Xi’s making. Because of this, gossip and rumors circulated within the Political Office. It should be noted that the Political Office was not solely occupied by Lub Su and others conducting their work; too many officials crowded the rear courtyard rooms, handling political affairs together. Otherwise, based solely on the efforts of Chen Xi and his people, they would be too exhausted to manage so many state affairs.
Chen Xi, not yet even in his twenties, had reached this point in his career. It would be surprising if there were no one envious of him. Lub Su and the others were undeniably talented and not petty by nature. Moreover, Chen Xi had made no missteps; those wishing to find fault with him could find none, and naturally, even if the officials in the back courtyard harbored any jealousy, they were forced to suppress it and not voice their feelings.
Now, Chen Xi’s actions appeared to have clear mistakes in their eyes, rude and willful, or in harsher words, arrogant and spoiled. Looking at the drastic decline in tax revenue across Qingzhou and Mount Tai, these longstanding officials finally vented their frustrations. After all, Chen Xi was young enough to leave those beneath him without hope, so young that even after their sons had died, Chen Xi would still be alive!
Coupled with Chen Xi’s prior actions in Runan, Yuzhou, under the influence of some leading individuals, the scholars throughout his jurisdiction had already begun to denounce him.
Five days earlier, during Chen Xi’s visit to the Political Office, a lower-ranking official had righteously condemned Chen Xi’s obstinacy, lashing out at him for his youthful ignorance, spoiled arrogance, and refusal to listen to advice. Then, Chen Xi had, in front of everyone, beaten him out with a flurry of random strikes. Chen Xi understood very well what was going on with these issues.
Thereafter, Liu Bei personally stepped in to suppress the whole affair, thus preventing those restless officials from seizing the opportunity to stir up trouble! However, afterward, even without making any particular effort to observe, Chen Xi could sense the undercurrents swirling.
Chen Xi was well aware that these issues were related to Liu Ye and Lub Su’s tolerance as well. They harbored their own grievances, but the mere fact that they didn’t add fuel to the flames spoke volumes about their character.
After such an outbreak, Chen Xi had nothing to say. Whether others added fuel to the flames or let things take their course, in the end, it was all just a joke. Perhaps Liu Ye and Lub Su had acted with the intention of persuading him to reconsider, but once some matters got going, they became hard to control. Liu Ye and Lub Su may also have had their headaches regarding this.
Since then, Chen Xi had not returned to the Political Office. As for the rumors spreading farther and wider outside and the mounting denunciations, Chen Xi could only ignore them. The facts were about to come to light; there was no hurry at this moment. Let it be!
As for his somber expression and his solitary demeanor, Chen Xi had always been like this; a change of a year or two was unlikely to make him completely lose his past habits.
"Lord Xuande?" Chen Xi pushed the door open and entered, only to see Liu Bei sitting alone at a stone table under a tree with two cups of wine and several dishes of snacks, clearly waiting for Chen Xi’s return. "You’ve waited long, Lord Xuande."
"Zichuan, take a seat," Liu Bei gestured nonchalantly to the stone bench made for Chen Xi and asked, "Can you still bear it?"
"No problem, Lord Xuande need not worry. In three more days at most, the current situation will be reversed, and the tax revenue from Fenggao will gradually increase to four to five times the present amount," Chen Xi said calmly. "Lord Xuande doesn’t need to make a move before I fall; don’t worry about me." 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝔲𝔟.𝔠𝖔𝖒
"Let’s drink to this cup," Liu Bei lifted his cup and drained it in one go. "Zichuan, take a good rest. If you can’t bear it, take out my sword, and if that’s still not enough," Liu Bei patted Chen Xi’s shoulder, "You still have me!" (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
