Chapter 6: Join My Eldest Brother, Chen Xi

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These three options each have their own merits and flaws. The Sun family has the greatest drawbacks, plagued by internal conflicts; however, the advantage is that if one simply wants to coast through life, the Sun family is indeed an excellent choice. After all, their strategic direction seems somewhat chaotic, making them the ultimate lords for idling away one's time, and they offer high security.

Cao Cao can be considered a great ruler, but unfortunately, he is far too suspicious. The upside, however, is that as long as you possess ability, you can follow him before he reaches his peak, and he will tolerate even the most arrogant behavior. If you could strip away his paranoia, he would absolutely be the best choice.

Importantly, aside from those who died of illness or committed suicide, I haven't heard of any of Cao Cao's strategists being captured or killed. Although it seems dangerous, in reality, Cao Cao is quite effective at protecting his subordinates. Even after the tragedy at Red Cliffs, there were no reports of any of his strategists being captured.

However, Chen Xi was not at all confident that his own conduct wouldn't arouse Cao Cao's suspicion. After all, no matter how much he refined his speech and mannerisms, there would always be a slight difference from those of people in ancient times, and he might inadvertently offend someone.

Looking at the final outcomes: either you end up like Xun Yu, committing suicide for some inexplicable reason over an empty box, or you end up like Guo Jia, where Cao Cao turns a blind eye to whatever you do and grants you absolute trust. It's a choice between two extremes—is it worth the gamble?

Then there is Liu Bei. To this day, this man remains inscrutable. You could say he is acting, but if someone can act their entire life, there is no difference between the act and reality. According to a certain saying, when you first start pretending, you might feel awkward, but once you get used to pretending, you truly become the thing you are faking.

In short, whether Liu Bei is acting or being genuine, the practical difference is negligible; the result is essentially the same. The problem is that there is no guarantee of safety when following Liu Bei, and the first decade or so would be incredibly stifling.

Xuzhou is a good place, but it lacks natural defenses. Jingzhou is a good place, but it is suppressed by Liu Biao. By the time one has the ability to defend such a contested land, Jingzhou is lost, and then the "Land of Abundance" is instantly devastated by war. The whole thing is just a recipe for misfortune.

Thinking of this, Chen Xi felt speechless. Unless he possessed the combat prowess of Guan, Zhang, or Zhao, following Liu Bei would inevitably lead to trouble sooner or later. The problem was that he didn't have it. With Zhang Fei's ability to leap over ten meters and leave a crater in the ground with a single step, he could easily take down an entire platoon of Chen Xi's men.

"Sigh..." Chen Xi let out a sigh. None of these were particularly good options.

"What is the matter, Young Master?" Chen Lan, who had been sitting nearby reading, looked at her master with curiosity.

"I am just looking for someone to join," Chen Xi said with a smile. He had nothing to hide from his maid; in this era, that was the custom—maids were often more trustworthy than subordinates.

"Join my Big Brother then!" Before Chen Lan could speak, Chen Xi heard Zhang Fei's booming voice.

"...Can you stop appearing and disappearing like a ghost? What are you trying to do, walking that loudly for a grown man?" Chen Xi rolled his eyes. His closest acquaintance at the moment was indeed this Zhang Yide.

"For us martial artists, walking without making a sound once we reach this level is normal. On the contrary, if we deliberately made noise, wouldn't that just be looking for trouble?" Zhang Fei said with a laugh. "If you want to join someone, Zichuan, join my Big Brother. Big Brother is a member of the imperial clan of the Han."

Even a brute like Zhang Fei had his subtle moments; he gave Chen Xi no chance to change the subject and immediately pulled out Liu Bei's biggest selling point—the one he would continue to use throughout his life.

"Lord Xuande is also under consideration," Chen Xi said, unable to fully deflect the suggestion. He hesitated before speaking, but fortunately, Zhang Fei was not as arrogant as Guan Yu. If it had been Guan Yu, Chen Xi would never have said such a thing; he didn't want to leave a thorn in the Second Master's side.

"Consider what!" Zhang Fei's massive hand landed on Chen Xi's shoulder. "My Big Brother is a first-rate, great man, dedicated to restoring the Han Dynasty. Since you have such intentions, Zichuan, why not work together with us to achieve it?"

"You've taken all the credit," Chen Xi said, rolling his eyes. "Let me put it this way: right now, Lord Xuande has no people, no territory, and his goal of restoring the Han is nothing more than talk. First, you need people—and by people, I mean the subjects under your rule. Second, you must be able to turn those people into soldiers, select officers from among them, and then, once you have a large framework, you must create momentum to attract talented individuals. Only after doing all that will you have the qualification to compete with the heroes of the world."

After speaking, perhaps sensing that Zhang Fei wouldn't understand, Chen Xi used gestures. "Look, that is roughly the level at which a great aristocratic family stands. They have money, grain, and people. Once they get an opportunity, they can transition from local powerful clans to legitimate status. Lord Xuande is currently at a level where he has almost nothing, save for the title of imperial clan member, which hasn't even been recognized by the Imperial Clan Office. It is extremely difficult."

Zhang Fei's face darkened significantly, but he did not refute Chen Xi's words. He wasn't stupid; he was just hot-tempered.

"Then tell me about the others," Zhang Fei said, looking at Chen Xi with curiosity.

"Fine. Let's talk about Cao Mengde, who issued the manifesto this time. I have very high hopes for him. After failing to assassinate Dong Zhuo, he issued the manifesto to unite the righteous men of the world to campaign against him. Regardless of the outcome of this campaign, his name will be known throughout the land. If he seizes the momentum at the right time, the world will be shaken."

"The campaign against Dong Zhuo might fail?" Clearly, Zhang Fei's mind wasn't on Cao Mengde, but on the phrase "regardless of the outcome."

"What is the goal of the campaign against Dong Zhuo?" Instead of explaining, Chen Xi asked a question.

"To rescue the Emperor and bring peace back to the world," Zhang Fei said righteously.

"Then what if Dong Zhuo loses, but takes the Emperor and flees..."

"He wouldn't dare!" Zhang Fei barked.

"Go ask him if he dares. My ears are already ringing; your voice is too loud, it's killing me," Chen Xi said, feeling a headache coming on.

Zhang Fei gave a sheepish laugh, but a shadow had already fallen over his heart. His intuition told him that what Chen Xi said was very likely to happen.

"Let's talk about other things. A snake cannot function without a head. Among so many righteous volunteers, there must be someone to command. Who will lead? Who will mobilize the grain and horses? How will the orders from various factions be unified?" Chen Xi threw out several more questions. "Most importantly, if Luoyang is taken, but Dong Zhuo takes the Emperor to Chang'an, what then? Do you pursue or not? Can the supplies support a pursuit? If the Emperor meets with disaster because of a pursuit, who will be responsible? And most importantly, people are driven by self-interest."

Zhang Fei fell silent. He had never thought about these things, but as Chen Xi laid them out, Zhang Fei understood that they were all fatal flaws.

"According to what you're saying, the Emperor cannot be rescued," Zhang Fei said, his expression dejected.

"It is absolutely impossible. To rescue the Emperor, first, there must be a unit of the Emperor's own troops within Luoyang capable of protecting him from harm. Second, the rescue force must be able to completely suppress Dong Zhuo's forces to prevent them from acting out of desperation. These two points are the bare minimum, and we can achieve neither," Chen Xi said with a shrug. At this stage, trying to rescue the Emperor was nothing but a pipe dream.

(End of Chapter)