Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chen Xi, hailing from another time and space, was well aware of which industries in this era could quickly earn money. Of course, ample martial force was essential to back these sectors, or else one would only invite trouble by possessing valuables without strength.

Papermaking technique, in this era where books are treasured like life itself, was akin to printing money, as was the printing technique, and the same applied to glassmaking, and lime. Such fundamental things, at this time, were all surefire ways to amass wealth. Do not assume that just because the common folk of the Late Eastern Han Dynasty were poor that the era was devoid of wealth.

The Great Aristocratic Clan’s accumulation over hundreds of years meant that if you could extract just one of these, it was enough to support the rise of a Feudal Lord. Think of Cao Song, whose single generation of wealth was enough for Cao Cao to raise an army. The thousand-year accumulation of the Great Aristocratic Clan was by no means a simple matter of money.

Add to this the scarcity of goods in this era, and Chen Xi had numerous ways to extract money from the hands of these Great Aristocratic Clans. In truth, Chen Xi was quite satisfied with these Aristocratic Clans, who valued benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith. Although they had their share of degenerates, it was undeniable that many among them held virtues that commanded respect, especially their adherence to faith and righteousness, which Chen Xi couldn’t help but admire.

This was also why Chen Xi dared to write down the salt-making technique, which was virtually akin to printing money, and hand it over to the soldiers to give directly to Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping. Though certainly there were some errors, the concept of faith and righteousness at the time was almost etched into their very bones, vastly different from later ages where people would scorn poverty rather than prostitution.

Chen Xi was certain that Su Shuang and Zhang Shiping, having completely investigated the method of producing salt on this visit and having sold their properties to come eagerly with the hope of serving under Liu Bei, would preserve Chen Xi’s technology as an investment. They would absolutely not take any undue advantage, and would even surprise Chen Xi with their generous nature.

Chen Xi felt that besides the poor quality of food, this era was in many ways far superior to the previous era, which was rife with material excess. Saying that the elaborate cooking of the ”Five Ding” wasn’t even as good as a simple stir-fry, Chen Xi found spices to be a headache.

All in all, there were numerous technologies in this era ripe for making money. Even if he didn’t develop them himself, as long as he knew the general direction, there would be craftsmen who could do the research and definitely come up with something. The upside of this era was that craftsmen were readily at the beck and call of scholars like him, easily summoned and dismissed. Plus, the moment they sensed the slightest sign of official appointment, hordes of craftsmen could be recruited, particularly at a time when the importance of craftsmen had yet to be realized.

What might seem like a quagmire for Liu Bei in Mount Tai Commandery, appeared to Chen Xi as a massive piece of pie. Even if it were truly a quagmire, Chen Xi felt confident that with his existing schemes for amassing wealth, he could level it with money.

As for the waste of money, Chen Xi wasn’t even remotely conscious. With half a million people at hand, any money spent could be recouped. It was just a pity that Mount Tai Commandery wasn’t by the sea, which would have made earning money even easier.

As for Mount Tai Commandery belonging to Yanu, Chen Xi didn’t take it to heart. As for backing up to Cao Cao, there was nothing to be wary about. Cao Cao would definitely consolidate Yanu first. Without sufficient strength, he wouldn’t touch Liu Bei, especially considering the current situation, where Liu Bei seemed slightly stronger than Cao Cao.

That is to say, Liu Bei not coming to deal with Cao Cao was already showing Cao Cao some respect, and if Cao Cao still harbored ideas of attacking Liu Bei, that would be courting death.

Furthermore, if Chen Xi’s estimations were correct, after acquiring Xi Zhicai, Cao Cao’s strategy was probably to consolidate most of Yanzhou quietly, silently engulf Sili, and then carefully create opportunities for Yuan Shu to counter and swallow Yuzhou. As for the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou, Cao Cao definitely looked on covetously but could not touch, for to do so would mean certain death.

Truth be told, the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou were a huge trap. Although there was an undeniable ”great tonic” in that pit, for all the feudal lords of this period, almost none had the right to consume it. It would definitely be a case of ”too much of a good thing is poisonous,” and they would be poisoned to death by indulgence. There were at least two to three million Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, and no single lord could withstand such a number.

Even Chen Xi had put the consideration of dealing with the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou on hold for two years, and that was with the assumption that he could amass sufficient funds and grain within those two years. Otherwise, the issue would remain deferred indefinitely, and as for how many would starve to death in those two years, Chen Xi had no good solution and could only let it be.

Although two years seemed like a long time, Chen Xi had no choice but to begin preparing in advance for subjugating Qingzhou. This strategy was almost set in stone, and for whatever reason, Qingzhou must be pacified.

To be honest, Chen Xi was clearer than anyone else that as long as he could absorb those two million young and strong people from Qingzhou, and then bring in women, as long as he could survive the first year, the subsequent years would involve following standard procedures and advancing steadily. Without committing any fatal errors, one could say that unifying the realm was well on its way.

Of course, this scenario assumes that Yuan Shu continues to behave erratically as he did historically. If he were to work as diligently as Cao Cao, given the conditions laid out by the Yuan family for Yuan Shu, he might well be unstoppable by that time.

There was no helping it; the foundation of the Yuan family was too solid. The territories granted to Yuan Shu, Nanyang County and Runan Commandery, were almost equivalent to entire provinces in terms of size, and together they had a population close to five million. This did not even include the rest of Yuzhou. If not for Yuan Shu’s foolishness in squandering such a solid foundation, even if he proclaimed himself king, it would be troublesome for the other lords to deal with.

Thus, Chen Xi had included Yuzhou within his scope of conquest. Of course, this was just wishful thinking, and because he needed an intact Yuzhou rather than a ruined one, any action taken had to be early enough, meaning that at the same time as absorbing Qingzhou, he would need to strip the defenses in the southern part of Mount Tai bare, enticing Yuan Shu to take the bait.

Of course, all of these were merely Chen Xi’s musings, but he was very aware that once Liu Bei began to conquer Qingzhou and Yuan Shu set his sights on Mount Tai, Cao Cao would certainly not miss such an opportunity, and that would be Chen Xi’s greatest chance.

Chen Xi was well aware of Cao Cao’s daring nature, as well as Xi Zhicai’s unparalleled vision. They would not let go of such an opportunity, so even though it was so far in advance, Chen Xi would be prepared, with the chance to check for oversights and strengthen weaknesses later on. In three to five years, when the plan came to fruition, even a strategist of Jia Xu’s caliber would be left disoriented by Chen Xi’s moves. A fool may have a thousand worries, but there is bound to be one that succeeds, especially since Chen Xi knew he wasn’t that foolish.

As Chen Xi sat on his horse, contemplating the grand strategy for the coming years, he was unaware of how much shock his future actions would cause amongst the lords of the realm. Forget checking your arrangements or pondering your schemes, they would always just focus on your nature, using your disposition to design traps for you. Investigations might miss something, contemplation might overlook something, but plotting against your disposition, who could see through it? And even if someone did, who would doubt it?