NOVPUBThe author has an exam today and is not sure if they will be able to return, so they are posting an update in advance. If they can make it back, there will be another update; if not, it will depend on the end time of tomorrow’s exam...
Of course, this scheme is not absolutely smooth sailing. If Liu Xie had astonishing determination and acted on his own, it would be very likely for him to come to Mount Tai, but sadly, while Liu Xie is clever, he lacks courage. If he had the courage and unmatched strategic wisdom, Chen Xi wouldn’t mind Liu Xie making a move to restore the Han Dynasty.
If Liu Xie, who has both courage and intelligence, came to Mount Tai, subduing Liu Bei, who isn’t very ambitious just yet, would be almost effortless. Of course, if they waited until Liu Bei had conquered several provinces before they tried to make him submit, it would become highly improbable. For now, apart from the Yuan Clan and Dong Zhuo, not many members of the great aristocratic clans truly oppose the Han.
Currently, the desire to oppose the Han isn’t too strong within the Cao, Liu Sunx families. Of course, Sun Ce can be excused for the boastful words of a fervent youth, and generally speaking, as each of these families expands their territories, their ambitions gradually awaken. It can’t be helped; as imperial loyalty fades, so too does fidelity. After all, to still be loyal means the rewards are not yet substantial enough; when the benefits grow large enough, loyalty will spoil.
For Chen Xi, whether Liu Bei ascends to the throne makes little difference. What he seeks is the kind of dominion of the Han Dynasty, the spirit that yearns to be unrivaled, the spirit that, even if the world is divided into three, still commands obedience from all directions with its overwhelming Han presence!
So, it really doesn’t matter who becomes the Emperor. Even if Cao Mengde takes the throne, it wouldn’t significantly impact Chen Xi, as long as he could subdue the Four Directions, enable the Han to walk beyond their borders with heads held high and the Four Barbarians looking up in admiration, as long as he could execute another King in the presence of foreign ministers, who would then have no choice but to send the body back to their country, Chen Xi would not mind him ascending to the divine seat, because his goal is precisely that!
Rivers and beautiful women occupy little space in Chen Xi’s mind, for his ambitions are far greater. In his previous life, he could only look back on the past, perhaps over five thousand years of history, with more than four thousand years at the pinnacle, but now, he gazes upward at others.
While people claim that modern individuals far surpass the ancients, they don’t consider that the ancient stood at the peak of the world. Modern people can only reminisce halfway up the mountain. What exactly have they surpassed? Every time he thinks about this, Chen Xi can only laugh bitterly.
Having the opportunity to return to this era, Chen Xi resolved to change history, a chance he never had before. This time, he was determined to twist the entire course of history in a new direction.
Nomadic civilization equates to a civilization of bandits, which is fundamentally the same as scum.
Chen Xi is already considering ways to eradicate the nomadic civilization from its roots. As for the problems inherent within the agrarian civilization, Chen Xi can only draw inspiration from the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. After all, only an era like that could sustain a civilization for thousands of years and create a profoundly rich cultural heritage.
However, considering the dangers of such an era, Chen Xi immediately wanted to abandon the idea. Yet, after reviewing various situations, he concluded that with his intellect, it would be impossible to resolve these issues.
When there is no choice, any available path is the best path, regardless of the danger. If the Huaxia history could witness two occurrences of the Hundred Schools of Thought, who knows how many years it would take for other civilizations to catch up. If it all crashes and burns, then it is the misfortune of future generations, but if it succeeds, it will earn eternal glory.
With the mindset that if things go wrong, it is the misfortune of those to come, and if things go right, one’s legacy could thrive as that of a Prime Minister, Chen Xi feels it’s better to just do it. In his view, things could hardly turn out worse than they would in later history. Just try it; in striving for a grand dream, the thought of possibly creating a flourishing civilization makes Chen Xi’s spirit tremble with excitement, his thinking speeds up dramatically. When you have an ideal, you naturally have the drive!
Chen Xi had already made up his mind; rather than being disadvantaged again later, it was better to attempt to extinguish those fellows himself. After all, he did have some research on those things. At most, he would miss the opportunity to be stimulated by other civilizations, something which Chen Xi wasn’t worried about.
These thoughts had always been buried deep in Chen Xi’s heart. What’s the unification of the world, the beauty of territories and women? For Chen Xi, the allure wasn’t that great. Perhaps there indeed were beauties that could move his heart, but those who could truly stir his heart might never appear again.
When he had calmly accepted the marriage to Fan Jian, Chen Xi had discovered that it seemed he had lost too much. When he had placidly accepted Chen Lan’s affection, Chen Xi realized his own disposition had become quite indifferent, or rather it wasn’t about being indifferent but about having seen through it all. He simply wanted to spend his life with someone; who that was had become unimportant.
Sometimes, Chen Xi would wonder if all the chaotic thoughts he entertained each day were just to avoid thinking about those things he truly wanted to contemplate?
"Zichuan!" Chen Xi had a sudden jolt, and the helplessness on his face again turned into a brief, faint smile. He raised his glass to everyone from afar, a toast to the company, and also a way to hide his own expression.
"What’s on your mind, Zichuan? You seemed to be lost in thought," Liu Bei said after draining his cup, then casually added, "Maybe you’re thinking about your wife at home. I’ve heard that Zichuan is very indulgent with his wife." He finished with a hearty laugh.
"Just recalling some past matters, related to wives and concubines indeed," Chen Xi smiled and did not argue, simply acknowledging it. After all, no one would make a joke out of it. He had never visited the pleasure quarters before, but now wasn’t he often going there with Guo Jia?
"Zichuan and the Fan Family girl haven’t formally married yet, have you?" Liu Bei seemed to remember something, "Would you like me to act as a matchmaker for you?"
Chen Xi thought for a moment and said, "Let’s wait another year. We’ll officially get married when Jian’er turns sixteen. There’s no rush for now."
The year passed, and Fan Jian had reached sixteen. Liu Bei thought Chen Xi simply didn’t want to get married during winter. Since Chen Xi was unwilling, Liu Bei didn’t insist, but he said with a smile, "When the Fan Family girl turns sixteen, I’ll act as a matchmaker for Zichuan then. But with your current position, you could take a concubine first. What do you think? I see that Chen Lan has shared your trials and tribulations, and she’s also quite beautiful. If you made her a concubine, it wouldn’t be bad. Do you have any thoughts on this?"
Chen Xi was speechless. Liu Bei seemed a bit too excited, starting to play matchmaker for him. Liu Bei himself didn’t seem to have a wife, as far as Chen Xi knew. He had heard that Guan Yu had a wife but had never seen her. As for Zhang Fei, if Chen Xi wasn’t mistaken, Zhang Fei’s wife from the Xiahou clan was only four or five years old at the moment. Thinking further, it seemed Zhang Fei’s mother-in-law was younger than Zhang Fei. Frightening...
Just as he was about to refuse the suggestion of taking a concubine, an image of Chen Lan flashed through Chen Xi’s mind. Then, thinking that Liu Bei meant well, he nodded and said, "Alright, the new year is coming anyway. Marrying Chen Lan will save her from always staying in the back courtyard. If she lives with me in the inner courtyard, I can have some peace of mind." 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
Upon hearing this, everyone was first startled, and then a wave of congratulations followed. Chen Xi glanced over the crowd and felt as if he was taking advantage of the rich. It seemed like getting married once could bring in quite a few gifts, especially since he was a Prefectural Governor with a two-thousand-bushel salary. He could probably get a decent haul from quite a number of people.
