NOVPUBChen Xi glanced at Fa Zheng sitting next to Jia Xu and didn’t say anything. In terms of ability, Fa Zheng indeed had the qualifications to sit in that position. It was just that his thinking was a bit unconventional, but that could be refined over time. Since neither Jia Xu nor Mann Chong minded Fa Zheng being there, Chen Xi pretended not to notice. However, the status one enjoys comes with corresponding responsibilities.
On the side of the military generals, there was constant noise. After all, this was Liu Bei’s first official summoning of everyone, and where one sat was a clear indication of their status.
The first seat was left empty, which went without saying. Lord Guan was the eldest brother, and no one objected to Zhang Fei sitting in the second seat. There was nothing to say about Zhao Yun sitting in the third seat. Hua Xiong sat behind Zhao Yun, followed immediately by Sunx Guan. With the military generals, only the first seat was left empty. Gan Ning, Taishi Ci, Yu Jin, Zang Ba, and those who had not returned were not considered. Otherwise, Gan Ning’s outstanding combat record could have been enough to replace Hua Xiong.
When Liu Bei arrived, everyone had found their seats. He glanced over them for a moment, then paid no further attention to the matter.
"Gentlemen, I have called you here today to discuss important matters. Zichuan also has some resolutions ready to implement," Liu Bei said without any opening small talk, getting straight to the point.
After repeating everything that was said and seen that day, all the military generals were fervently watching Liu Bei. The idea of bringing relief to the world was too thrilling!
As for the civilian officials, they were mostly staring at Chen Xi. One could tell at a glance what was happening. Liu Bei had been swayed by Chen Xi again. No matter how impassioned the speech, it lacked credibility coming from Chen Xi’s mouth.
"Well, that is our goal: to spread glory across the land. First, we shall ensure that our people have sufficient food and clothing, then we move on to enrich the people and strengthen the country. My goal is that everyone under our rule shall have education from youth and care in old age!" Chen Xi coughed, brushing aside the previous embarrassment from the civilian officials’ focused criticism, and spoke with authority and righteousness.
"Exactly as Zichuan has said." If one were to say Chen Xi was pretending, then Liu Bei now seemed to be possessed by a sage, fully influenced, as if he was truly in that state of mind. "Zichuan, explain your plan thoroughly!"
Chen Xi, somewhat reluctantly, stood up again and began to explain the plans for universal education, household registration, and, of course, donations.
"That’s pretty much it. If we follow this sequence, by this month a good number of academies should start recruitment, and by next spring, education should be prevalent in most areas of Mount Tai of Qingzhou. Considering some areas are too remote to guarantee coverage, for scholars willing to work in these remote areas, we will add one level to their benefits and double their pay. Zijing, what other benefits are there?" Chen Xi was not great with details. He could handle the grand direction, but when it came to specifics, he was quite hapless.
"I’ve already adjusted the benefits for scholars, tiered accordingly. Salaries vary based on the prosperity of each region and the cost of living there, but it will ensure scholars have no worries about food and clothing in that area," Lub Su, always the good guy, didn’t mention exact figures but his guarantee was trustworthy.
"Zijing, can the Treasury of Mount Tai still support this?" Liu Bei asked.
"The Summer Grain was collected at the beginning of October, and we have the support of commercial taxes. As long as we maintain the current stable situation, Zichuan estimates that we will witness the first boom of prosperity in three years, and the tax revenue will rise further. The difficulty of supporting the education of the youth is not too great," Lub Su stated that Mount Tai could sustain itself as long as stability is maintained.
"What if we enter a state of war?" Liu Bei asked, furrowing his brows.
Chen Xi glanced at Lub Su, then stood up, "Even if we enter a state of war, this expenditure cannot be cut off, as it concerns our future."
As soon as these words were spoken, murmuring and restlessness began among the military generals; it was clear that Chen Xi’s approach subtly suppressed the military’s intentions.
"As for money and grain, gentlemen, you can rest assured. As long as I am here, the Government Treasury will not be empty," Chen Xi, seeing the military generals whispering amongst themselves, casually surveyed the room and said with finality. This time, no one challenged him.
Chen Xi would never tell others that his philosophy was "where there’s a will, there’s a way." Universal education had to be carried out, and as for war, there would be other methods to handle it when the time came. The first step was to get past this obstacle.
With Chen Xi’s assurance, the military generals had nothing to say. Everyone recognized that Chen Xi had a knack for making money. Since there was no issue with reducing troops, the generals were happy to lend their support to his cause.
Under this harmonious atmosphere, the household registration and education reforms passed smoothly, with the most anyone needed to do was to shell out some money to buy a place to establish an academy, or perhaps some local tycoons were willing to donate.
"Next on the agenda is to improve the welfare of the soldiers. Considering that some armies recruit anyone, whether they are thirteen or fourteen-year-old lads or white-haired old men in their forties, I am planning on forcibly discharging those who do not meet the standards," Chen Xi said with an icy look as he swept his gaze over the generals opposite him.
In an instant, all the military generals were on alert, including Zhao Yun, who acted like a civilian official every day but still valued his military authority greatly.
"First, anyone under eighteen will be dismissed—do those kids have any combat power?" Chen Xi glared at the others, "Those who haven’t reached team leader by thirty-two will be dismissed, those who haven’t become a centurion by thirty-five will be dismissed, and bottom-level leaders who are forty will be transferred to logistics."
"Zichuan, this won’t do. We have no small number of soldiers who are thirty years old, and many of them are veterans who have followed us for a long time. Once discharged without pay, how will they cope?" All the generals turned their eyes to Zhao Yun, who had a way with words and had made historical achievements equal to Chen Xi’s.
"Zijing, talk about welfare!" Chen Xi turned and gave Lub Su a signaling look.
Lub Su stood up, picked up the plan, and began reading with a smile. In contrast to the half-finished education plan, this welfare plan for the soldiers was something he had developed carefully. It provided ample honor and welfare to the discharged soldiers without spending too much money and grain, something of which Lub Su was quite proud.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun was stunned—the welfare was outstandingly good, with each aspect aimed at relieving the soldiers’ concerns about their future!
"Big brother, reducing our forces now will leave us without available soldiers!" Zhang Fei wasn’t foolish; he understood after hearing the plan that there was no point in hassling Chen Xi with the livelihood of discharged soldiers, as Chen Xi had already prepared for that. Therefore, he directly turned to ask Liu Bei.
"General Zhang, please be patient," Chen Xi said with a smile, "I am merely discharging those soldiers who do not meet the standards. I have not prohibited you from enlisting soldiers. You can recruit from among the troops that fit the criteria in the agricultural garrisons."
"But this way we can’t guarantee combat power!" Zhao Yun was obviously willing to compromise; it was clear that the other side had come prepared, making resistance futile.
Unfortunately for him, all the generals were looking at Zhao Yun. Left with no choice, Zhao Yun had to stand up and continue the struggle. He wasn’t dumb, though—he knew when to play it smart and handed Chen Xi a way out.
"Yes! If we discharge these men, our army’s combat power will drop significantly. The newly recruited troops won’t be as good as the veterans," Zhang Fei chimed in supportively, "I think it’s better for us to discharge the troops in batches."
Zhang Fei was holding onto the idea of delaying the matter, thinking that doing it in batches would eventually become unfeasible. By then, with Guan Yu back, as long as the military generals had a leader, there would be no problem.
At that moment, Zhao Yun felt like giving Zhang Fei a hug. He was the perfect sixth man. If it weren’t for the fact that he knew Zhang Fei definitely hadn’t colluded with Chen Xi, Zhao Yun might even suspect him of being the traitor among them…(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
