NOVPUB...
"Zichuan heard that a military general outside defeated Zijian in ten moves, and I’m planning to go welcome him. Do you want to come along?" Upon hearing the urgent report from his subordinate, Liu Bei was overjoyed, stood up to prepare for greeting the brave warrior, and happened to see Chen Xi propping up his head, carelessly reviewing governmental decrees and sipping tea. So, he decided to take Chen Xi with him. After all, Chen Zichuan’s political affairs were always in order, so there was no need to worry about wasting time. Moreover, Liu Bei felt that Chen Xi didn’t seem to like sitting in the Political Office, as he was always late and left early.
"What?" Chen Xi nearly choked on his tea. He had just sent Hua Xiong away on an errand, after which he had Zang Ba use Hua Xiong’s name to recruit military generals at the Talent Recruitment Platform. And now, just after Hua Xiong had left, a valiant general had appeared.
"A valiant general, huh? Zijian was defeated in just ten moves," Liu Bei exclaimed loudly.
"Oh, I sent Zijian away, so the one on the Talent Recruitment Platform now is Xuangao," Chen Xi said, turning his head with an unnatural expression.
"I see, I was wondering how someone could defeat Zijian in ten moves. You know, even Zilong, when sparring with Zijian, can’t manage that. By the way, Zichuan, what did you send Zijian to do?" Liu Bei nodded, no longer surprised, but instead inquired about the errand Chen Xi had sent Hua Xiong to do.
"After settling the tax revenue, I informed Lord Xuande to offer ten million stones of grain to His Majesty. Zijian has gone to escort the grain. Given the unrest on the roads these days, I feel relieved with Zijian on the task," Chen Xi said, his expression calm. He had indeed mentioned this to Liu Bei before.
"Oh, I remember now. Indeed, with the harvest at Mount Tai, it’s appropriate to offer the grain to His Majesty. Is Zijian leading his elite infantry?" Liu Bei briefly pondered before recalling Chen Xi’s previous notice. He had agreed to it, "But isn’t it a bit wasteful to send Zijian on such a task?"
"Oh, offering the grain is only one part; on another note, I have two damned friends there. I suspect my letter won’t do much good, so I’m thinking of having Zijian tie them up and bring them back if they don’t listen," Chen Xi confessed, grinding his teeth.
"Such resentment... Zichuan, are you sure you’re talking about friends?" Liu Bei curiously asked as he led Chen Xi out.
"Friends," Chen Xi said resentfully, "Friends I’ve been spiritually connected with for a long time—I bet they feel the same about me."
"Did they do something to wrong you?" Liu Bei got curious, as the usually aloof Chen Xi was now visibly upset.
"They’re too dangerous. Lord Xuande should know, the so-called friends—all of us are cut from the same cloth. Lord Xuande, what do you think of me?" said Chen Xi, side glancing with a hopeful look at Liu Bei, practically saying, go ahead and praise me~
Liu Bei chuckled internally, always finding Chen Xi to be like a child at times but also steady and mature, with far-reaching vision. On the whole, he truly considered him a rare talent—except when he was being capricious. At those moments, in Chen Xi’s own words of disdain for others, that would be when his IQ dropped to rock bottom.
Liu Bei pondered for a long while before speaking, "If Cao Cao compares Xun Wenruo to Marquis Liu, then you, Chen Zichuan, are the Xiao He who was sent from heaven to assist me, Liu Bei."
Chen Xi’s stride halted, and he turned to look at Liu Bei, only to see Liu Bei’s face showing no signs of perfunctory, but rather full solemnity.
"Lord Xuande, what do you think would be the uproar if I were to set out to cause destruction?" Chen Xi said with a wry smile.
"It would probably not be an exaggeration to call it earth-shattering," Liu Bei said with a forced smile. "You’re surely not going to say that your friend thinks the same way, are you?"
"Yes, their way of thinking is a bit abnormal, so I plan to capture them and re-educate them profoundly; otherwise, allowing him to continue making trouble would be quite bothersome," Chen Xi said seriously. If those two in Chang’an were not ’retrieved’, there would be significant joy to be had.
"Them?" Liu Bei asked curiously, "I’d like to hear more about it."
"Yes, them. If it’s a matter of my good judgment, then one of the two is extremely adept at finding and exploiting opportunities. Just give him a little chance and he would create a complete mess, causing the situation to veer in an unpredictable way. The other one is far less dangerous but excels in versatility and has great skill in both political strategy and plotting. So, for our own sake, I think it’s better to capture them. After all, in terms of abilities, they are second to none in this world," Chen Xi said with a wry smile. 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝑝𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
"Thus, I’ve given orders to Zijian to snatch those two fellows no matter what they say, stuff them in a sack, and send them over here. Then I’ll just go and persuade them, which is better than letting them possibly become a huge nuisance elsewhere," Chen Xi said fiercely. If Li Ru and Jia Xu were to flee, well, it wouldn’t matter much for Li Ru who had chosen seclusion, but if Jia Xu ran off to Cao Cao, even if Dian Wei were dead, dealing with Cao Cao later on would definitely become more troublesome.
For safety, Chen Xi directly commanded Hua Xiong to bring those two back to him. Anyways, by next spring, Dong Zhuo would be ’lit up like a sky lantern’. Although it wasn’t certain exactly when, but since winter was here, spring wasn’t far behind. Besides, Hua Xiong was the only one under Chen Xi’s command who knew Li Ru and Jia Xu; if anyone else went, they might capture imposters, which would be a joke!
The plan for Hua Xiong was to suppress bandits along the way while promoting their cause. They would settle down for the winter and just needed to reach Chang’an before spring was in full swing.
Once in Chang’an, after delivering the grain, they would lay low, ascertain the whereabouts of Li Ru and Jia Xu, and then, on the evening before the day when word spread that the Han Emperor would abdicate in favor of Dong Zhuo, they would personally capture the two men. Regardless of Meiwu, suppressing bandits, or supporting the king, they were to stuff these two into a carriage and ensure they were well-kept with beauties, wine, and meat. Of course, to ensure they wouldn’t be overburdened, Chen Xi also specially arranged for a team of ten doctors...
Naturally, Chen Xi didn’t forget to tell Hua Xiong to keep instilling into Li Ru that he should call himself Li Youu, styled Wen Ru. Liu Bei just needed a way out. Since ancient times, founding emperors have always been tolerant of capable people, and Liu Bei was open-minded. As long as Li Ru made significant contributions, even if his identity were later exposed, with that semblance of a fig leaf, Liu Bei could pretend not to see it. Once the nation was founded, Li Ru could still become a distinguished founding minister.
Considering Li Ru’s capabilities, even if he just muddled through, he would be able to handle political strategy, plotting, governance, jurisprudence, diplomacy, and the overall situation. Such a top-level jack-of-all-trades was a must-have. If there was a vacancy one day, he could step in on an interim basis. Apart from fighting, it seemed there wasn’t much Li Ru couldn’t do, which made him the most suitable civil official. Liu Bei would probably feel indispensable after using him for a while, the best choice for a secretary, and a secretary who, besides fighting, could do just about anything...
