NOVPUB"It wasn’t his doing," Jia Xu shook his head and said, "At most, he was just taking advantage of the situation. This person is calm and composed, with extraordinary intelligence. He wouldn’t act so hastily."
"So, you’re saying it’s a case of using a borrowed knife to kill someone," Guo Jia said with disdain. "Going with the flow, chaining circumstances to one’s advantage, it would be odd if Chen Yuanlong couldn’t see through that."
"Some aristocratic families are just like that," Chen Xi said casually, taking over the conversation. "Let’s not worry about them. In any case, this matter is definitely the work of someone within Xuzhou, whose goal at most is to sideline Governor Tao and use that to expand their family’s power."
Chen Xi actually held quite a disdainful view of these petty tricks. If the world’s aristocratic families and sages were each divided into three ranks, then no matter how you categorized them, Xun Yu, Xun Youi, Jia Xu, Tian Feng, Ju Shou and other sages from the north would all rank first, because they always had their sights set on the larger picture of the world!
The second rank included historical figures like Lub Su, Zhou Yu, Lul Xun, Liaoo Li, Liu Ba, who, despite having wisdom not inferior to the first rank, focused only on dividing and ruling territories, leading to vastly different outcomes despite their similar intelligence.
The last rank, with figures such as Chen Deng, Yang Xiu, Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong, though not less intelligent than the others, were fixated on the immediate gains and losses of their own families, unable to break out of that circle. With all their talents, they could only lead mediocre lives, unable to dazzle with their performance.
It was because of this that aristocratic families and geniuses of the first rank were always the strongest and most dominant. Even if they were weaker or less intelligent, they could still overpower their rivals because they were not focused on just one city or land; their vision wasn’t limited to one county or nation, but was based on the entire world. This is why, even when they lost, they lost in a way that inspired awe!
If one cannot break free from the shackles of their own mind, no matter how extraordinary their intelligence, their perspective remains limited, and their abilities significantly undermined. That’s why Chen Xi did not hold too much wariness towards someone like Chen Deng, a brilliant but unambitious strategist, because the Chen Family was in Xuzhou, which meant that Chen Deng was destined to spend his life confined there.
"Indeed, these are nothing more than small-time tricks that don’t hold up," Lub Su nodded and stopped dwelling on the matter.
Having become accustomed to Chen Xi’s world-centric approach, Lub Su felt no apprehension towards a family that merely lurked within the confines of a single county. They couldn’t create trouble on a grander scale, for their influence was nothing more than a minor annoyance in his eyes.
Liu Bei was taken aback; he had heard of Chen Deng, and had even interacted with him during Chen Xi’s wedding when Chen Deng came as an envoy for Tao Qian. Surely he couldn’t be that insignificant.
Possibly discerning Liu Bei’s confusion, Liu Ye stood up and said, "My lord might not be aware, but Chen Deng’s abilities could well match any of ours. However, he has one weakness—he’s bent on strengthening his family with no thought spared for anything else."
"But that’s normal, isn’t it? Everyone has their own goals, and there’s nothing wrong with prioritizing the prosperity of one’s family," Liu Bei said, puzzled.
"But Chen Yuanlong is too short-sighted. He only focuses on enhancing his family’s strength," Liu Ye said with a wry smile. "That’s why, despite his talents, he can only end up thus."
Liu Bei swept a glance at the assembled civil officials and noted that they all nodded slightly at Liu Ye’s words, indicating their agreement with this point.
"Lord Xuande, do you understand why, in the board game, a player who calculates each move is unable to defeat a grandmaster who oversees the whole game?" Chen Xi provided an example, as Liu Bei had yet to grasp the importance of vision even now.
"Why?" Liu Bei pondered and indeed found it to be true that, as long as two players were similarly skilled in chess, the one who generally laughed last was the strategist who oversaw the whole game.
"It’s because they can’t account for every detail, there are always minor aspects that get overlooked, which ultimately leads to problems with short-term objectives. But with global oversight, even if there are omissions, at worst it’s a matter of robbing Peter to pay Paul; after that, you compensate for losses within the walls with outside gains. In the end, after all the hassle, the overall strategy remains unhindered," Chen Xi said with a smile.
As he spoke, Lub Su too was smiling. He had seen Chen Xi rob Peter to pay Paul on numerous occasions and, imperceptibly, carry on with the whole strategy. Some of it was indeed thanks to Chen Xi’s foresight, but his ability to scrape things together was also indispensable, even if many times he acted preemptively.
"In that case, it’s a bit of a pity for Chen Yuanlong." Liu Bei nodded and said, realizing the greater importance of the overarching strategy versus the details, now that he had Chen Xi.
"It’s just a matter of perspective," Chen Xi sighed, "As long as a sovereign king has the vision to oversee the whole, he doesn’t need to know anything else to govern the world well. However, the pity is, over ninety percent of people in this world lack such vision; should we chalk it up to a matter of height?"
While saying this, Chen Xi couldn’t help but glance towards Li Ru and Guo Jia, two real examples of individuals from Humble Families who possessed terrifying vision.
The assembly of strategists all nodded. Perhaps they hadn’t felt this way before, but as Qingzhou of Mount Tai began to snowball at a frantic pace, they realized that sometimes the effectiveness of wit and cunning paled in comparison to vision. Problems insurmountable by intellect could often be easily solved with a long-term perspective, and this was precisely what Chen Xi excelled at.
"Since that’s the case, let’s put the Qingzhou matter aside for now. If Cao Cao furiously attacks Xuzhou, then let Zilong lead as the vanguard," Liu Bei slightly revised the military order. It was fortunate that he hadn’t specified when to mobilize the troops; otherwise, once an order was given, there would be no turning back.
"Understood," Zhao Yun didn’t care whether he was fighting Qingzhou or Cao Cao; he just wanted an opportunity to hone his skills on the battlefield.
"Hmm, should we inform Xi Zhicai about the matter of Cao Song?" Liu Ye said with a sly grin, "I’ve heard that the hardship of travel could very well confine Xi Zhicai to bed with illness. Perhaps we should test it out. Given his loyalty to Cao Mengde, he would surely rush to Yanzhou. The toils of the journey... tsk tsk tsk."
"There’s no need to expose our powerful intelligence system," Guo Jia said slowly, giving Liu Ye a glance.
"Indeed, there’s no need to expose our intelligence system," Chen Xi nodded, "We’ll see when the time comes; let’s drop it for now."
"Let’s wait ten days," Guo Jia calmly said, "By that time, even if Xi Zhicai learns of it, it’ll be too late for him to rush back."
Admittedly, Guo Jia had his own ulterior motives as well. If Xi Zhicai were to die from exhaustion on the way, it would be too anticlimactic. After suffering many losses in the past, Guo Jia was not satisfied without a direct confrontation. He would never be able to let go unless he defeated Xi Zhicai honorably on the battlefield.
"By the way, Zilong, I’ve always wanted to ask you about leading troops. After activating the Cloud Qi, I’ve always felt there’s something strange about the army," Chen Xi said, displaying little interest in Guo Jia’s personal grudge, as Guo Jia knew well to separate public from private matters.
"It seems that after activating Cloud Qi, the will and character of the chief general can influence the soldiers. After all, according to my master’s explanation, Cloud Qi itself connects everyone with the chief general at the center. However, the stronger the chief general or the will, the more pronounced the chief general’s traits appear in the soldiers," Zhao Yun said with some uncertainty.
(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to recommend votes, monthly votes on Qidian, and your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
