Chapter 26: The Road Ahead

“...Indeed. Aside from the glory left by my ancestors, not long ago I still had nothing. But now, I have five thousand elites, the prestige of being ranked among the feudal lords, and the foundation to restore the Han Dynasty!” Liu Bei’s expression was slightly somber at first, but as he spoke, he grew increasingly invigorated, his eyes shining as he looked at Chen Xi.

“Yes, you have much now, but it is not enough—far from enough. It is still a vast distance away. Not to mention comparing yourself to the Yuan family, who have held high status for four generations, even compared to certain local magnates, you fall far short in everything except prestige!” A lingering, cold sneer played on Chen Xi’s face. Too naive. The current Liu Bei was far too naive!

“I ask for your guidance, sir,” Liu Bei said, straightening his posture with solemnity. Since the time Liu Bei had been admitted into the ranks of the feudal lords, this was the first time he had spoken to Chen Xi with such gravity.

“There is no need for that,” Chen Xi said, waving a hand. “Prestige seems important; it appears to be a means to acquire many, many things. But prestige is hollow. Only strength is truly important!”

“During the time of Duke Xiao of Qin, the state of Qin was so weak that even when the feudal lords held alliances, they were not even offered a banquet. No talents in the world would enter Western Qin. Then Shang Yang entered Qin, defeated the Wei Wu Soldiers in Hexi, and laid the foundation for Western Qin’s powerful army. At that time, the world called them tyrants! Yet after that, the majority of the world's talents flocked to Xianyang! The lords of the Guandong region feared Qin like a tiger!” A flash of fanaticism appeared on Chen Xi’s face.

“The lords fight for the cauldrons, seeking reality rather than fame. For three hundred years of the Spring and Autumn period, there was no righteousness, only profit!” Chen Xi sneered repeatedly. In these chaotic times, what people fought for had already been written in the thousand years of history laid out before him.

Liu Bei remained silent, slowly closing his eyes. When he opened them again, there was not a hint of wavering. “Zichuan, truly, I never thought anyone would see all of this so clearly, so lucidly!”

“It is nothing. These things are quite simple. As a monarch, one might not master the art of imperial statecraft, but there is one thing one must master: how to make oneself powerful. When one's power reaches a certain level, all rules will change according to the words and actions of the monarch.” Chen Xi’s face wore a seductive expression. “A monarch who relies solely on imperial statecraft to control his subordinates can only be said to be unqualified. A true monarch does not even deign to play such games!”

“Zi... Zichuan.” Liu Bei looked at Chen Xi stiffly, as if startled. Imperial statecraft—to have such a thing brought out so bluntly, and with such a disdainful gaze.

“Lord Xuande, what are you afraid of?” Chen Xi asked calmly. “If it were truly as written on the Imperial Seal, ‘Mandated by Heaven, may he live long and prosper,’ then how could the chaos of Dong Zhuo have occurred? One can only say that the mandate was originally received from the people, but then he drifted away from the people, and finally, he was destroyed by the people. The people are like water, and the monarch is like a boat; the water can carry the boat, but it can also overturn it. It is an unchanging cycle since ancient times.”

Chen Xi’s words echoed in Liu Bei’s mind like a morning bell or an evening drum. Many questions that had previously puzzled him were now resolved. He had witnessed the people exchanging their children to eat during years of famine; he had seen the decadent, dream-like lives of the high families in Luoyang; he had seen soldiers fight bloody battles on the battlefield for a single full meal, and he had seen the wine and music in the camps of generals. All these things had happened right before his eyes.

“Zichuan, never speak such words again!” Having regained his composure, Liu Bei gave Chen Xi a deep look and spoke solemnly.

“Did I say something?” Chen Xi let out a drunken hiccup. “If Lord Xuande has questions, you may ask them now.”

“How to take Taishan Commandery, how to become stronger, how to...” Liu Bei gritted his teeth, “...how to sweep away this chaotic world!”

Chen Xi smiled faintly. “Sweeping away the chaos is not something that can be done right now. What must be done before that is to become stronger—strong enough. Taishan Commandery is a good place, and Qingzhou is a good place. Of the three million bandit troops, thirty to forty percent are able-bodied men. If you take these people and provide a little training, even if they do not reach the momentum of Western Qin, they could be like the State of Tian Qi, watching the world burn from the sidelines!”

“If that is the case, it is indeed a good place, though it will be very difficult to pacify them,” Liu Bei said with a sigh.

“On the contrary, pacifying them is not very difficult. As long as Lord Xuande can convince Tao Gongzu to lend grain and take Taishan Commandery, swallowing Qingzhou whole will not be too difficult. If those people had a way to survive, they wouldn't become bandits. The most important point is that, aside from Bingzhou and the parts of Qingzhou already shattered by the Yellow Turbans and bandits, the magnates and great families in other regions are not people Lord Xuande can contend with,” Chen Xi said with narrowed eyes. He knew the general direction for handling Qingzhou quite well; in fact, he could say he knew the general direction for handling all thirteen provinces of the Han!

“Since Zichuan has such confidence, I am willing to try!” Liu Bei made his decision almost without hesitation after hearing Chen Xi’s words. His thirty-odd years of experience had taught him one thing: in this era, the power of the great families and local magnates was immense—so immense that they could influence imperial power. It was not something a small, unformed lord like him could touch. To move one part was to move the whole; to inexplicably invite the hostility of the great families would make the road ahead very difficult.

“Fine, let’s try. One must try to know. If one does not attempt it, who knows if it can be done? Before Xiang Yu broke through Zhanghan, who knew that battle could be won? One must always give it a try.”

“Great families, magnates... sigh...” Liu Bei sighed, lost in thought.

“Those people are also the foundation. Although there is certainly some filth among them, it cannot be denied that ninety percent of the Han's elites come from this class. Before you have an absolute advantage, do not think about contending with this class,” Chen Xi said, shaking his head. To be honest, he did not hold much ill will toward the great families and magnates. After all, in this era, aside from land annexation, this class was beneficial to the entire nation.

The most basic level of administration relied on these magnates rooted in the land. It was undeniable that there were scoundrels among them, but it was clearly a mistake to throw the baby out with the bathwater. If he were to uproot these great families and establish a new system, the mere thought gave Chen Xi a headache.

Because of this, the only way Chen Xi could think of dealing with the great families was to limit them, or to co-opt some while suppressing others. If he truly wanted to eliminate them, Chen Xi felt he would have to eliminate his own family first; if treated with absolute impartiality, even the Chen family had things he looked down upon.

Since he could not lead by example, Chen Xi abandoned the idea of going to war with the great families. However, to prevent them from seizing Liu Bei's lifeline while he was weak and forcing him to eventually resort to lethal measures, Chen Xi had chosen Qingzhou from the very beginning—a place where the great families had essentially been cleared out!

This was also why Chen Xi could answer almost all of Liu Bei's questions without a second thought. Even if Kong Rong and Tao Qian did not recommend him, after the campaign to aid the Emperor, Chen Xi would have had Liu Bei submit a memorial to recommend himself as the Inspector of Qingzhou! Naturally, all the questions had been considered long ago!