Chapter 25: You Have Nothing At All

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"The eighteen lords of the coalition, heh heh heh... As long as the Chancellor's ambition remains, I will make them understand the gap between us in three months at most." Various schemes flashed through Li Ru's mind. Seeing hope once again, Li Ru had more than enough energy to play the eighteen lords of the coalition at Hulao Pass to death. However, there was one condition: Li Ru must not discover that Dong Zhuo was merely having a momentary lapse in judgment, and that at all other times, he remained that greedy, lustful, and tyrannical fat man from Luoyang...

While Chen Xi was contemplating how to expand Liu Bei's prestige and influence while simultaneously dealing with Dong Zhuo, Li Ru was also thinking about how to wipe out the eighteen lords of the coalition in one or two months. In his view, the difficulty of this task was truly not that great.

"Lord Xuande..." Chen Xi, in a daze, raised his wine bowl toward the entering Liu Bei in a distant toast.

"Zichuan, wake up! Wake up!" Liu Bei shook Chen Xi from both sides.

"What is it, Lord Xuande?" Chen Xi's reactions were somewhat sluggish.

"Wake up first, Zichuan. Wake up quickly, I have something to ask you." Liu Bei's face was flushed with joy and urgency.

"What is it?" His bleary eyes instantly regained clarity. He didn't possess the ability of Guan or Zhang to force the alcohol out of his system, but he could rely on his mental strength to clear his mind.

Liu Bei quickly recounted the day's events to Chen Xi. Chen Xi froze for a moment, scratched his head, and said, "This is a good thing. What's not to like?"

After Liu Bei had mobilized his troops, he had charged straight into the nearby camps of Tao Qian and Kong Rong. These two were the ones currently on good terms with Liu Bei. It was evident that Tao Qian's subordinates possessed some skill; although the entire camp was in chaos due to the raid, the elite troops of Danyang always protected the center, and once Liu Bei arrived, the morale was quickly stabilized through internal and external coordination.

As for Kong Rong's side, it was much more unsightly. While it was easy for a descendant of a sage to preach morality, it was a different matter entirely to engage in slaughter. Kong Rong's entire camp was in unbelievable chaos; had it not been for a general holding off two of the enemy's great commanders, Kong Rong might have fallen amidst the乱 troops.

Because of this, Liu Bei's rescue was like sending charcoal in the snow for Kong Rong. His existing favorability toward Liu Bei, a member of the imperial clan, had practically exploded. Thus, after repelling the night raid, Kong Rong invited Tao Qian and Liu Bei to drink tea in his camp.

As the three chatted, the conversation drifted to their respective territories. Upon learning that Liu Bei was currently residing in the Pingyuan Commandery of You Province, Kong Rong waved his hand and expressed his willingness to recommend Liu Bei as the Governor of the neighboring Taishan Commandery. After a moment's thought, Tao Qian also expressed his willingness to jointly recommend Liu Bei for the position.

With both of them in agreement, as long as Liu Bei did not refuse, the position was essentially secured. One should not underestimate Kong Rong just because he was a scholar; his status gave his words significant weight. It could be said that if the higher authorities rejected Kong Rong's proposal, Kong Rong could turn around and build momentum for Liu Bei, making his fame spread throughout the world until the appointment became a reality.

Coupled with the support of a Provincial Governor like Tao Qian, even if the central authorities were unwilling, in such an era, a little maneuvering would allow Liu Bei to take that position.

"Zichuan, you do not know the situation in Taishan Commandery. Since ancient times, the people of Qing Province have been fierce. Following the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Qing Province area has become rife with bandits. Some powerful mountain bandits even occupy entire cities. In all of Qing Province, only a few commandery cities can be considered peaceful," Liu Bei said with a bitter smile. To him, it seemed Chen Xi hadn't woken up at all.

"Isn't it just some Yellow Turbans and some mountain bandits?" Chen Xi curled his lip. "What is there to fear from such fellows? With Taishan Commandery, you'll have your own territory and your own people, and only then can you develop. No matter how troublesome Taishan is, it's much better than being confined to one place."

"Zichuan, have you sobered up yet?" Liu Bei said with a bitter smile. "You probably have no idea how severe the bandit problem in Qing Province is."

"Fine, I'm not sober yet. Tell me, just how severe is it?" Chen Xi said nonchalantly.

"Extremely severe. There are over a million bandit soldiers in the entirety of Qing Province. Including the commoners they have coerced, the total number of bandit forces in Qing Province can exceed two million. And Taishan Commandery alone has about three hundred thousand Taishan bandits!" Liu Bei told Chen Xi the information he had gathered, his face dark.

"Two million?" Chen Xi scratched his head. He remembered that when Cao Cao dealt with Qing Province, there were only about a million. Cao Cao had selected three hundred thousand with good physical constitutions to form the Qingzhou Army; how were there two million now?

"Two million is still an understatement. If you include the commoners who act as informants for the Yellow Turbans, you could say that bandits are everywhere in Qing Province," Liu Bei explained to Chen Xi, feeling a headache coming on. He was indeed envious of the territory of Taishan Commandery, but the problem was that the territory was unmanageable! With bandits everywhere, his five thousand men would be swallowed up without even making a splash!

"Alright, bandits everywhere. Let's calculate it as three million. That's a lot of people. They are all people, and at least one-tenth of them have seen blood. With just a little training, they could become soldiers," Chen Xi said playfully, though unfortunately, Liu Bei did not understand his meaning.

"Zichuan, this isn't about the issue of soldiers. Taishan Commandery was indeed a good place in the past, but now the banditry has become a disaster. Without an army of a hundred thousand, it cannot be pacified! Furthermore, it faces constant counterattacks from the Yellow Turbans across all of Qing Province. There is simply no way to hold it!" Liu Bei said helplessly.

"Lord Xuande, what is your ideal?" Chen Xi looked casually in one direction. "Is it still the same as before?"

"To support the Han Dynasty! My ideal is to support the Han Dynasty!" Although Liu Bei did not understand why Chen Xi had changed the subject, he did not hesitate for a second.

"Does Lord Xuande possess the foundation behind Alliance Leader Yuan?" Chen Xi turned to look Liu Bei directly in the eye and asked.

"Naturally not. Yuan Chuzhou is a descendant of the Yuan family, who held high office for four generations. His foundation is beyond my comparison," Liu Bei shook his head.

"Then does Lord Xuande possess the prestige of Kong Beihai?" Chen Xi continued to ask with a smile.

"Naturally, they cannot be compared. Kong Beihai is a descendant of a sage and a great Confucian of his generation. How could I compare myself to him?" Liu Bei shook his head again.

"Then does Lord Xuande possess the strength of Tao Gongzu?" Chen Xi looked at the still-confused Liu Bei with a calm smile.

"Of course not. Tao Gongzu possesses the wealth of Xu Province and the elite troops of Danyang. How could an ordinary person compare?" Liu Bei said, shaking his head.

"Then how will Lord Xuande support the Han Dynasty?" Chen Xi asked with a smile.

"Naturally, naturally..." Liu Bei opened his mouth, but he could no longer utter his usual phrase of "recruiting the worthy."

"Lord Xuande, you have nothing at all," Chen Xi said in a low voice.

"Nothing at all..." Liu Bei repeated the words to himself. Only then did he realize that in all these years since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he, Liu Bei, had still achieved nothing. Although he could now sit among the lords, possess the finest troops in the world, and hold the command of the most magnificent generals, upon careful thought, he indeed had nothing.

(End of Chapter)