Mythical Three Kingdoms

When Chen Xi learned of Yuan Yao’s death, he also received news of Liu Zhang leading troops to Hanzhong, Liu Biao attacking Jingzhou, turmoil in Xiliang, Yuan Shu planning to adopt Sunx Ce’s son, Gan Ning having completed the task assigned by Chen Xi and returning to Mount Tai, along with some secret schemes from the Yuan Family’s internal spies, and the secret plots of the Yang Family in Guanzhong.

Besides these major events, there were reports like Zang Hong planning to join Chen Gong to fight against the Hu People in Bingzhou, Hu Zhao sending Chen Gong a detailed map of the Hetao Region, Wei Yan and Guan Ping first losing then winning a big fight in the south of the Bohai Sea, and finally Wei Yan clashing with Gao Lan at the frontlines of Leling, with both reaching the state of Inner Qi Manifestation.

Speaking of which, one can’t help but mention that Wei Yan’s accumulation was still too little, much like Sunx Ce back in the day.

Although Wei Yan had broken through to Inner Qi Manifestation, he was no match for someone like Gao Lan, who had spent a long time at the peak of Qi Refining to Gang. The strength of the two, originally not far apart, diverged significantly after the breakthrough, with Gao Lan nearly matching Zhang He, while Wei Yan had only just entered the state of Inner Qi Manifestation.

In the end, Zang Ba led his own regiment of troops out from Qingzhou to join forces with Wei Yan and Guan Ping. Together, they fought a major battle against Gao Lan, Jiangh Yiqu, and Hann Meng, keeping the flames of war pressed at the border between Jizhou and Qingzhou, barely avoiding a war for supremacy.

Plus, with Jia Xu’s confidential letters, investigations by spies from Mount Tai of Qingzhou, plans of rebellion by the Xuzhou aristocratic families, the scramble for control in Yanzhou, and the construction of the new city in Yanzhou and other matters piling up on Chen Xi’s desk in just a few short days, Chen Xi felt that the Great Han Dynasty was a ticking time bomb!

”What’s going on? Why does it feel like the sky is falling all of a sudden? So many issues have piled up on my hands. If I remember correctly, I had finished dealing with everything before I left!” Chen Xi frantically scrutinized the intelligence reports, feeling deeply shocked.

”It’s not too bad. Take the Yanzhou land-grabbing issue, for example; we’ve had plans for it early on, just need to slightly modify the original planning, and for this new city in Yanzhou, we’ve prepared for urban renovation in the Central Plains along the same lines, just need to transport the materials, Gong Youu, I’m relying on you…” Guo Jia turned his head and sighed towards Sunx Qian.

”Tasks like these, Zijing and Zichuan have already made plans, we just need to open the reserves when the time comes. I have finished planning the roads throughout the north, what’s left is just manpower,” said Sunx Qian, who had grown accustomed to these matters, waving his hand dismissively.

Sunx Qian was currently overseeing the construction of New Linyi City. Now, without the hindrance from Lyu Bu and Yuan Shao, Sunx Qian’s building speed had significantly increased, but the completion of the construction was still a long way off.

”Not bad? Some things, when I’m not at Mount Tai, Wen He and Wen Ru will create chaos. They’re trying to take this opportunity to cleanse our ranks all at once, but this is just too violent. Who knows how many will die?” Chen Xi said with a helpless expression, noticing that whenever he was away, Jia Xu and Li Youu would start to act recklessly.

Jia Xu and Li Youu’s approach was essentially to allow Xu State to be empty, letting the enemies take advantage of Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu’s rise to launch a mutiny. This was simply fishing law enforcement.

”A swift decision is the solution to chaos, which is good. While we’re at it, let’s clean out the impurities within us. Only if our core personnel remain free of impurities, can we assimilate the remaining forces of other powers without corruption in the future,” Guo Jia said as he leaned on the table and waved his hand.

Guo Jia didn’t care about Jia Xu and Li Youu’s methods; he felt that Chen Xi was sometimes too merciful. If kindness can’t solve a problem, then a different approach is required, he believed. Both thunder and rain are tools at one’s disposal, so why be rigid.

”I just feel it’s a pity that those people died. As long as they’re human, they can all create value, so to perish like this is too regrettable,” said Chen Xi with a sigh. Upon hearing these words, Guo Jia’s eyebrows twitched wildly, thinking how much Zichuan loved to reform those people.

”Let’s not talk about these impractical matters. Even if the clan elders of the Yuan Family from the north and south agreed, it would be useless, for Yuan Shu’s personality would surely make it impossible to negotiate. The issue is, what’s going on with Sunx Bofu?” Guo Jia said, pointing to another piece of intelligence.

Since Guo Jia left his position as the head of intelligence to become an advisor to Guan Yu, he had much less exposure to information from the south. Because of this, he knew very little about Sunx Ce, remembering him as an immature child.

But the current problem was, after Guo Jia reacquainted himself with the intelligence on Sunx Ce, he only had one impression: Although Sunx Ce still seemed somewhat immature in his actions, he already possessed quite a few dazzling qualities capable of granting land and defining borders. What was all this about?

”I don’t know either. I even specifically suppressed both Sunx Bofu and Zhou Yu to allow Yuan Shu to develop smoothly and gain strength, to let Yuan Shu have the power to carry out his own faith and righteousness, intending to cut off Sunx Bofu’s path with his own morality!” Chen Xi was also full of frustration, he was just as perplexed!

It must be noted that Yuan Shu’s current strength owes much to Chen Xi’s secret efforts — not to mention that Jia Xu and others have also assisted him to a degree. The goal was to fatten up Yuan Shu so that except for Liu Bei, no one else could take him down, making Liu Bei seem less conspicuous.

Compared to people like Jia Xu who were purely supporting Liu Bei to fortify his rear, Chen Xi had another purpose, which was to use Yuan Shu to limit Sunx Ce.

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Honestly, this strategy would seem incredible to anyone aware of the gap between the abilities of Yuan Shu and Sunx Ce, but Chen Xi chose the most unlikely method instead of other options because he was clear on one point: other than this method, it would be very difficult to deceive Zhou Yu.

Every strategy has its shelf life, and once Zhou Yu discovered a problem and carefully thought it through, honestly, there wouldn’t be any conspiracies that Zhou Yu couldn’t unravel over a year or two. That’s why Chen Xi didn’t want to embarrass himself.

Sunx Ce’s most lauded trait was his faith and loyalty. Therefore, Chen Xi began his approach from this angle. In his past life, Yuan Shu, lacking strength, tried to bind Sunx Ce, resulting in an increasingly strained relationship between them until their final break.

Having experienced Yuan Shu’s sense of righteousness, Chen Xi slowly built up Yuan Shu’s capability to uphold his own loyal principles. Debt of gratitude, after all, is something that can never fully be repaid, especially in Yuan Shu’s case. The more Sunx Ce respected him, the better he treated the Sunx Family.

The same was true for Sunx Ce: the better Yuan Shu treated him, the more grateful he felt. In his mind, he wouldn’t leave without repaying Yuan Shu’s kindness completely; that was his faith and righteousness!

One could say that what was admirable about Sunx Ce was his righteousness. If one day he went against his heart and failed to repay Yuan Shu’s kindness, thus betraying Yuan Shu, Sunx Ce would be finished. And if he tried to repay the continuous favors from Yuan Shu, the most likely result would be owing himself to Yuan Shu in return, which would also be his downfall.

Theoretically, in a three-legged balance of power, one leg being cut off by Chen Xi’s scheme should have been expected. But now things were not following the script at all, and somehow Sunx Ce had managed to ascend to power! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at , your monthly votes; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)