Chapter 40: Wisdom Accumulated Over a Thousand Years

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"Does Lord Xuande not feel that your soldiers are a bit few?" Chen Xi said with a playful smile. "I believe everyone here knows what the most elite soldiers in the world are today. Rather than borrowing the strength of others, it would be better to strengthen ourselves."

"We are, after all, like trees without roots. To have this many soldiers is already a blessing from heaven. When Zichuan speaks of the most elite soldiers in the world, could he be referring to the Xiliang Iron Cavalry?" A sharp glint flashed in Liu Bei's eyes.

"Mhm, this is the gift I have prepared. Since we are leaving this place, we might as well take them with us. If Zijian can demonstrate the dominance of the number one fierce general of Xiliang, I estimate there will be no problem in incorporating about ten thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry this time," Chen Xi said with a smile, then gestured to Hua Xiong. "It's up to you now. After all, you have spent a long time in Xiliang. If you have enough prestige, the road ahead will be much easier to walk."

"Before Lu Bu, I was the number one warrior of Xiliang. After Lu Bu arrived, I still am. He is the God of War, an undefeated God of War," Hua Xiong said with a bitter smile, indicating that if he were merely relying on his reputation among the Xiliang elite cavalry, there would be no problem. "However, is Zichuan truly so confident in capturing so many Xiliang elite cavalry? You must realize they are arguably the finest troops in the world."

"It is nothing; we just need to go and receive them. The one leading the Xiliang cavalry to cover the rear will inevitably be Lu Bu. Right now, Lu Bu is likely about to defeat Cao Cao, which is exactly when suspicion is at its peak. Upon seeing our arrival, he will immediately recall the words in my letter, turn around, and leave. The rest depends on you," Chen Xi said with a detached expression.

Seeing the confusion among the group, Chen Xi slowly explained the reasoning. "The letter I sent to Lu Bu was not an attempt to recruit him. I wrote to him as a man from Bingzhou who had received favors from him, providing him with some hints. I told him that Li Ru would make him excavate the imperial tombs, and how this would harm him; then, that Luoyang would be set ablaze, and finally, that he should cover the rear and ambush the coalition forces."

"Uh, Zichuan, aren't you just providing Lu Bu with a strategy?" Liu Bei asked, somewhat puzzled.

"No, it is merely to gain Lu Bu's trust while helping him better understand the situation. Originally, Li Ru would have instructed him to ambush the coalition. However, I specifically gave him hints, saying that Li Ru would only instruct him on the ambush but would not mention how many pursuits there would be. I suggested that the first pursuit might very well be a bait by the coalition, and that after pursuing too deeply, he might be ambushed himself, or even find himself trapped," Chen Xi said casually.

"Zichuan, if you do this, are you not afraid that Lu Bu will intentionally set a second ambush?" Zhao Yun asked, frowning.

"Lu Bu doesn't have the time, and furthermore, Lu Bu will not place himself in mortal danger. Everything I said before is true. Lu Bu will certainly take the final hint seriously. Especially when the three generals—Guan, Zhang, and Zhao—are present and capable of delivering a killing blow, he will turn and leave without hesitation. As for the Xiliang soldiers under his command, he won't care at all. As long as they aren't Bingzhou soldiers, he doesn't hold them in his heart. I have confirmed this with General Hua," Chen Xi explained with a smile to Zhao Yun; he was very practiced at these things.

"That part is true," Hua Xiong said with a bitter smile. "Aside from the sons of Bingzhou, Lu Bu has never cared about the lives of the Xiliang soldiers. This is also why the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry and the Xiliang Iron Cavalry have remained incompatible until now."

"Zichuan is truly a man of great talent!" Liu Bei said, his eyes shining as he looked at Chen Xi.

"I wouldn't say that," Chen Xi said, spreading his hands helplessly. "In the future, the relationship between Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo, and Li Ru will no longer be so good. He will constantly suspect that Li Ru and Dong Zhuo want to eliminate him. This thorn will remain buried in his heart until one of the parties falls. Of course, I don't have high hopes for Dong Zhuo; he has lost the ambition he once had, and Li Ru likely has no desire to help a Dong Zhuo who lacks ambition."

"How ruthless!" Guan Yu and Zhang Fei said in unison.

"It's not about being ruthless. I haven't killed anyone, nor have I asked anyone to kill anyone. Everything I said is true; there isn't a single lie," Chen Xi rolled his eyes and began to defend himself. "Besides, you see, I didn't even sow discord. As a fellow townsman, it is only right to consider the interests of my own people. If Lu Bu truly trusted Li Ru, this wouldn't have happened anyway."

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun were all speechless, but they could not deny that Chen Xi was absolutely right. There was no trace of malice in the words of the letter; it was pure goodwill. But for Lu Bu, seeing it was the greatest malice of all.

"Alright, enough talk. We should go and receive our troops. This will be our foundation in the future. Try not to kill them if you can avoid it," Chen Xi said, smiling to soothe them. To him, this was all too familiar. Sometimes, goodwill appearing where it shouldn't is precisely the greatest malice!

Guan, Zhang, and Zhao each returned to their camps to lead their troops, preparing for a great feat. From Chen Xi's words, they had already gathered that the ten thousand or so Xiliang Iron Cavalry were a certainty. Since Chen Xi did not intend to command the troops directly, they would most likely be divided among the four of them. Although the lion's share would go to Liu Bei, the rest would be divided among them; each of the four could receive at least a thousand!

"Lord Xuande, could you tell me your ambitions?" Chen Xi asked solemnly after shooing Hua Xiong aside, though a hint of a smile could not be hidden in his eyes. He did not mind what answer Liu Bei gave; what he needed was a ruler he could rely on, not necessarily a ruler with grand ambitions and ruthless methods.

What Chen Xi wanted was stability. This era was a time of chaos; any idea could only be realized if one managed to survive. Whether it was restoring the Han Dynasty, reviving China, or re-establishing a martial spirit, all of these required Chen Xi to be alive to achieve them.

Over eighteen hundred years, Chen Xi possessed far more knowledge and vision than anyone in this era. There might be a natural gap in raw intelligence, but wisdom is experience accumulated through time.

Chen Xi knew clearly that his raw intelligence might not be a match for these legendary ministers of history, but his vision, his reservoir of knowledge, and his wisdom would easily outstrip them by a long shot.

To put it simply, Chen Xi knew at least which policies would yield benefits at this time and what the long-term drawbacks would be. He wouldn't even need to troubleshoot; he knew the impact on centuries to come. If you were to argue about what policies would be implemented hundreds of years later, could even Zhuge Liang know how the Tang Dynasty or the Song Dynasty would turn out? Don't be ridiculous!

To put it bluntly, as long as Chen Xi mastered the general direction of politics and economics, had a few capable subordinates, and had a ruler who allowed him to act freely, then under the same conditions, even if the famous ministers of the Three Kingdoms were grouped together, Chen Xi was confident he could suppress them in a short time. This was no longer a matter of intelligence; it was purely a matter of knowledge and experience.

(End of Chapter)