Mythical Three Kingdoms

For Yuan Shao, who in this lifetime treated him fairly and indeed proved to be wise and heroic, Xin Pi held no thoughts of surrender. At most, he felt some regret that fate had not smiled upon him, preventing him from following Yuan Shao to conquer rivers and mountains and establish the Yuan Clan’s foundation.

”So there’s no need to persuade him; he won’t surrender,” Xu Shu shrugged and said indifferently. He and Xin Pi hailed from the same hometown and had interacted more, but the lack of any progress thus far spoke volumes.

”Who’s to say there won’t be progress someday?” Chen Xi smiled and said, ”Since Zuozhi disagrees, I won’t press further. We won’t mistreat you, but don’t think of leaving—this is the bottom line.”

”I’ll wait for my lord to rescue me,” Xin Pi said resolutely, his eyes gleaming brightly with an unyielding spirit, showing no trace of despair.

Chen Xi casually spread his hands, knowing that Xin Pi’s wish was destined to remain unfulfilled. At the same time, he had no intention of shattering the illusion in the short term. If Xin Pi were to learn the truth now, considering Yuan Shao’s displayed charisma, it wouldn’t be impossible for a captive Xin Pi to follow Yuan Shao even to the afterlife.

”You’ve seen your father now, so you can rest assured, can’t you?” After Xin Pi returned to the inner room, a dejected Xin Xianying soon walked out with her head hung low. Chen Xi looked at her melancholic expression and smiled as he spoke.

”Can I come again?” Xin Xianying asked cautiously.

”You can come anytime, but don’t wander around recklessly,” Chen Xi responded with a smile as he watched her careful demeanor.

”Whew…” Xin Xianying let out a long sigh of relief. ”Marquis Chen, you’re a good man,” she said while nibbling her finger, tilting her head in thought. ”As a token of thanks, I’ll make you my favorite egg custard to eat.”

”I’ll take her away first,” Chen Xi said, turning to Xu Shu. He wasn’t particularly moved by the sweet, naive response from Xin Xianying.

”We’ll talk more when we have time,” Xu Shu waved his hand. He needed to organize the insights he gained on the battlefield. After all, his debut in combat had yielded brilliant results, though there were many mistakes along the way. A genius doesn’t mean one never errs; it just means not repeating the same mistakes.

As Chen Xi led Xin Xianying away, the moment she stepped out of the gate, Xu Shu seemed to catch a faint glimmer of violet light. He paused in bewilderment, and when he tried to take another look, Xin Xianying had already left.

[Maybe I was seeing things. How could such pure violet qi emanate from a young girl?] Xu Shu pulled a wry smile and dismissed the thought, before realizing that his own learning appeared quite shallow across the board—military strategy, dispatching troops, strategic planning, and intellectual insights all reflected his jack-of-all-trades proficiency. As a side note, even his swordsmanship was half-baked.

Afterward, Xin Xianying ended up tailing Chen Xi like a shadow. Chen Xi initially intended to send her back to the Xin Family, but Xin Xianying insisted on repaying him. Faced with her determination, Chen Xi couldn’t say much—egg custard it is then.

He instructed someone to deliver a message to the Xin Family. After all, Xin Xianying was their legitimate daughter. Although, in the current dire straits faced by the Xin Family, being a legitimate daughter held little value; on the contrary, if the Xin Family fell into ruin, such a title could become more of a burden.

From then on, Chen Xi wandered around with Xin Xianying in tow. He didn’t worry too much; while a photographic memory was indeed a rare talent, for certain geniuses of a certain caliber, it was almost a standard feature. Of course, Chen Xi himself didn’t possess such skill.

On that note, it seemed that Xun Yu, standing equally at the pinnacle among Sage figures of this era, also lacked the ability for a photographic memory. It appeared that such traits, like Zhao Yun’s innate aptitude, occupied a peculiar territory of importance. It wasn’t crucial but held undeniable value.

Chen Xi roamed aimlessly before finally ending up at the Government Office in Ye City—not out of any specific purpose but because there wasn’t anywhere else to go. Though Liu Bei had arranged accommodations for him in Ye City, it didn’t feel like home.

”Greetings to Marquis Chen,” Zhen Mi, who had been helping tally the Government Treasury and balance the accounts, was the first to salute upon seeing Chen Xi walk in.

”Where’s Ziyang? This should be his responsibility—why are you taking care of it?” Chen Xi frowned slightly and asked.

”Ziyang is still recovering from excessive drinking,” Li Youu replied on Zhen Mi’s behalf. These ledger and account verification tasks were originally handled by Liu Ye. In previous instances when Liu Ye wasn’t available, Chen Xi and Li Youu had taken up the slack. Now that Liu Ye was back, it naturally fell to him as his responsibility.

”What methodology are you using this time?” Chen Xi tilted his head and asked. The same set of accounts could yield different outcomes based on varying methodological standards—a common skill in handling finances. Sometimes Chen Xi needed the figures to appear optimistic to instill greater confidence in the upcoming year, even if the substance remained unchanged.

”The usual,” Li Youu casually glanced at a scroll and replied. He also had the ability of instant recall. ”But what’s with the tail following you? Is she your illegitimate daughter?”

Li Youu initially only glanced casually, but even a brief look revealed issues. Among those studying the broadest range of subjects, Li Youu certainly ranked near the top—in skills like physiognomy and qi interpretation, he had reasonable expertise.

”Shut up and mind your own business. Handle your core responsibilities and quickly relocate the Mount Tai Bank and our families here. By the way, how much longer until we can fully take over Jizhou? Places like this are different from Qingzhou in the past; military administration can’t drag on for too long,” Chen Xi replied irritably, glaring at Li Youu.

”I should be able to officially start managing Jizhou properly by tomorrow. As for Gongsun Bogui’s underlying tricks, we should postpone addressing them. Consolidating Jizhou would stabilize our foundation before advancing northward. For now, my greatest headache is how to overcome the frigid northern climate—not with respect to people, but with respect to food supplies.” Li Youu responded seriously to Chen Xi’s formal inquiry rather than joking about it.

In truth, when Li Youu departed from Fenggao with Huang Zhong, he had already made arrangements. A large number of students from the first graduating class of the Academy of Mount Tai had been recruited by him. Once Li Youu made his move, it was inevitable that Yuan Shao would perish in this battle. Therefore, the next critical focus would shift from combat to absorbing Jizhou.

”You don’t need to worry about this; it falls under Hanmou’s domain. I’ve already entrusted him with the development of hardy crops. Whether he can yield results depends on his abilities,” Chen Xi said casually, understanding that moving northward meant cold resistance in agriculture was paramount.

”The problem is time. When I last spoke to Hanmou, he mentioned that the selection process for quality seeds had just shown initial promise. At best, it requires 11 generations to see results, and each year can yield no more than three generations of seeds, meaning roughly four years are necessary.” Li Youu sighed, lamenting that while the Northeastern Plain he surveyed was indeed richly fertile black earth, the challenge lay entirely in cultivating crops successfully.

”Don’t rush. Hanmou won’t take that long. If pressed, he’ll find a way to produce results faster. Moreover, development in that region will also take time, so it should align,” Chen Xi shook his head and said. While the correct approach involved gradual genetic selection and keeping up the process’ pace, there wasn’t much that could be done beyond letting it unfold steadily. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to visit the Qidian website (qidian.com) to vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)