Mythical Three Kingdoms

Being gentle and harmonious can unite people’s hearts, but sometimes, you must also demonstrate decisiveness and forcefulness. You can let others underestimate you or ignore you, but when it’s necessary for you to step forward, you must exhibit the power you hold as a monarch. You don’t need to constantly assert your presence, but remember, the sharpest sword in the world is in your hand.

Keep a low profile and bide your time, but the sword must be in your hand. Only with the sword in hand does your voice carry weight. Ignore how others argue; anyone who wants to take the sword from you is an enemy. Whether they mean well or not, you must tightly grasp the sword!

With the sword in hand and virtue upon you, you are the monarch. Everything else is superficial, whether it’s benevolence or virtue. Just do what you need to do!

Only by holding the sword can your virtue be genuine virtue. Without the sword, without the power to uphold such virtue, your goodness can only be hypocrisy. Using virtue to control the sword is the sword of a king!

Liu Bei did not understand the imperial stratagem. To Cao Cao, Liu Bei’s act of delegating power seemed entirely foolish. However, Liu Bei, while gaining loyalty from his subordinates, fully comprehended the lessons of Chen Xi. This is also a kind of imperial stratagem, but it’s more straightforward and more suitable for someone like him.

Therefore, Liu Bei could confidently say that he is the true leader of the Five Prefectures of Qing, Xu, Ji, Yan, and Yu. Representing the army of swords and balance, he never let go of the rewards and punishments. As long as he held onto these two aspects, no one could shake his position!

This is why Liu Bei’s presence in political power was almost non-existent, often being handled by Chen Xi. It was unnecessary since Liu Bei knew that in matters of state governance, no one was more outstanding than Chen Xi. Similarly, Liu Bei understood that even if he handed over all livelihood management to Chen Xi, there would be no change between them.

This change does not refer to a change of heart. Liu Bei understood Chen Xi’s character and was more aware that, after Chen Xi imparted that unique imperial stratagem to him, no matter who sat in Chen Xi’s position, they could not shake him.

This is confidence; this is the King’s Way. Even if all non-military powers like economics, livelihood, culture, and diplomacy were given to others, as long as Liu Bei himself had no issues, the worst case would just be fighting another assured victory. The situation would not be worse than when constructing Mount Tai.

Moreover, could all those soft powers really rebel? It’s simply impossible. So Liu Bei knew he didn’t need to hold onto these things. He only needed to grasp military power and the authority of rewards and punishments.

Liu Bei once gave Chen Xi the power to appoint officials in the Five Provinces, but Chen Xi mostly only appointed lower-ranked officials below Six Hundred Stones. Additionally, Chen Xi rarely meddled in military promotions or dispatches, only occasionally offering some advice, though his advice was often as unchangeable as if carved in stone.

The result of this was that Liu Bei seemed very quiet, yet he firmly controlled all military power. Apart from Zhao Yun, military generals rarely appeared around Chen Xi. The principle of not simultaneously dabbling in military and political affairs was a boundary Chen Xi consistently maintained.

Of course, the result of this boundary was that Liu Bei followed suit. Up until now, Liu Bei rarely appeared in the Political Office, yet he practically recognized all military positions above the rank of Garrison Commander under his command. This was quite astonishing!

Chen Xi still hadn’t wholly familiarized himself with all county-level civil officials, yet Liu Bei had managed to recognize all military positions above the rank of Garrison Commander. Occasionally, even when appointing a Yamen General, Liu Bei could recount that person’s merits in full.

Achieving this level meant that if anyone managed to stage a coup and overthrow Liu Bei, Chen Xi would be at a loss. Neither Chai Rong nor Li Shimin would be of any use; when those humble middle-level officers learned that Liu Bei recognized every one of them, their tears would flow...

They were just shy of thumping their chests assuring that they’d charge ahead and retreat last on the battlefield, so indeed, the army truly belonged to Liu Bei. Chen Xi estimated that Liu Bei’s daily rounds in the barracks were just to recognize people...

These aspects composed Liu Bei’s confidence, marking the biggest difference between him and Liu Xie. He never needed to seize all power in his hands; he only needed to grip the forces that protected him and ensured governance ran according to his ideas.

As for other forces, they weren’t important to Liu Bei. His authority over rewards and punishments, ensured by this sword, allowed him to wield it without reservation. Although Liu Bei felt that as long as Chen Xi was alive, he didn’t need to watch over the civil officials.

Even though Liu Bei didn’t interfere with political affairs, he occasionally would brush up his presence. Though he never thought he could devise bettersolutions, he would pose challenges. Nothing showcases presence better than presenting challenges.

Most of Liu Bei’s challenges were either resolved instantly or studied and solved over some time. Still, Liu Bei enjoyed this thoroughly. After all, as Chen Xi had said, finding issues indicated room for improvement.

Thus, Liu Bei primarily focused on stabilizing military morale and observing livelihoods. His approach was straightforward: stabilizing military morale involved wandering through the barracks, while observing livelihoods meant wandering in and outside the city. In short, he wandered everywhere.

Regardless, Liu Bei possessed a common face, only with slightly long arms, having once been a miscellaneous soldier and a grass sandal vendor. Hence, he didn’t need to feign; he could naturally blend in with lower-class common folk and ordinary soldiers.

So for Liu Bei, uncovering the truth was relatively easy: just idly chatting, asking a fellow villager for a bowl of water, discussing harvests, recent life, and what might be lacking. Soon enough, he would know what he needed to know.

Liu Bei himself was skilled in Qi Refining to Gang, so he didn’t worry about getting beaten, and having once been among the hardworking populace, he wouldn’t slip up during casual chats, hence rarely being recognized.

However, due to his extensive rounds, it was difficult to hide the true situation under Liu Bei’s governance. Upon discovering problems, Liu Bei would seek out Li Youu, who could usually resolve them. If Li Youu couldn’t, then he’d approach Chen Xi. Over the years, apart from asking how to solve corruption once...

Thus, to Liu Bei, even if Chen Xi had a huge Nine-Tailed White Fox, or if there was a Golden Dragon around Chen Xi, Liu Bei would be relatively unfazed. He was confident!

But this indeed counted as one of Chen Xi’s significant successes in the Han Dynasty. Although he didn’t intentionally promote the separation of military and political affairs, due to Liu Bei’s self-awareness, military and political affairs began to gradually divide. Although not entirely divided, there was a start in division of labor.

This also resulted in a positive outcome, though all advantages have disadvantages. Naturally, Chen Xi understood the downsides within. Sometimes, decision-making power truly needed delegation. Therefore, Chen Xi tried to maintain a semi-separation of military and political affairs, without completely preventing ”being both-handed”.

As for the future, truthfully, reaching the current stage, Chen Xi was already quite clear. Neither experience nor history sufficed as evidence. Instead, the political environment determined what political system the future would use. As Chen Xi transformed the era, the era was also assimilating Chen Xi.

Where Liu Bei’s future path led was unclear to Chen Xi, but he was greatly satisfied with Liu Bei’s current situation. If this attitude could be maintained, Chen Xi was confident that he could let Liu Bei witness what surpassing the ancestors meant before he aged.

This was the confidence Chen Xi possessed. Just as Chen Xi didn’t worry about Liu Bei plotting against him, he did his duties, and Liu Bei did what he should, both aiming for a unified goal, entrenched in the same trench.

What truly constitutes people’s hearts, Liu Bei didn’t know, Chen Xi didn’t know, and neither did Liu Xie. But the complexity within, Liu Bei and Chen Xi comprehended, whereas Liu Xie did not. Hence, Chen Xi wouldn’t test Liu Bei, nor would the sword-wielding Liu Bei test Chen Xi.

Liu Bei was confident that Chen Xi’s sword wouldn’t point at him, though he didn’t know where Chen Xi’s sword was. Similarly, Chen Xi was confident that Liu Bei’s sword would not aim at him. He could see Liu Bei’s sword: it was the people’s heart, the morale of the army, and the heart of a king balancing grace and might. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)