Mythical Three Kingdoms

After Jia Xu left, the various family heads who had come together in a group began to hesitate as well. Some of them were Li Youu’s pieces on the board, some had already guessed certain things, and some were still utterly in the dark.

When Jia Xu, as if just going through the motions, finished explaining everything and then simply walked away, the few people present suddenly no longer knew how to speak up. These people were not necessarily on the same path.

Or rather, from the moment they chose to follow Li Youu, the meaning of their existence had already become vastly different from that of the other aristocratic families.

”He’s gone. Should we also go back, get things in order, and then start handling these matters according to the regulations?” Ye Wang said slowly.

Speaking of which, the Yanmen Ye Family had had ties with Dong Zhuo ten years ago, so naturally they could not have avoided Li Youu, to the extent that although they were not currently under Li Youu’s control, they clearly understood that, at this point, choosing that particular road was more suitable.

The more you experience, the more you understand. With the same level of ability, the chances of the ignorant dying are far higher than for others.

”Fine as well,” everyone responded, each with their own thoughts, but what their true intentions were was not something others could know.

”The National Ranch, huh?” Ye Wang muttered to himself. [I’m afraid this is only one aspect. Another, aside from soothing people’s hearts, is probably also to come and see our situation. This place is indeed good, but I can’t shake the feeling that the other side has some intention of making us huddle together.]

Precisely because of this faint, indistinct hint, all the aristocratic families that had migrated to the Northeast began to hesitate. In the past two hundred years, whoever came to power was committed to weakening the influence of the aristocratic families; even those born into aristocratic families had to do some token work for appearances. Though they all failed in the end, at least in form they were doing the same thing.

Yet this move of Liu Bei’s seems instead to be hinting that the aristocratic families should hurry up and band together. This left the various families perplexed. Their unity, could it possibly be a good thing for Liu Bei? Granted, Liu Bei is very strong, but if they stand together as one, they will definitely have an impact on Liu Bei.

It was precisely this suspicion that made the families, who would naturally have banded together, become extremely hesitant. At such a golden opportunity, all the major families would normally, and quite naturally, unite; now, although there is still an intention to unite, it is clearly stuck halfway. Every aristocratic family holds its own misgivings.

After suffering so many losses and taking so many advantages, the aristocratic families have gradually come to see the situation clearly: moving in step with Chen Xi’s rhythm is sure to bring benefits, but if you keep following his rhythm downward, sooner or later it will be your turn to take a loss.

Thus this round of subtle hints forced those families who wanted contact and alliance to suppress their inner impulses, quietly mind their own business, and form a loose coalition centered on the Aristocratic Family Migration Committee.

This is completely different from what Xun Shuang once said—that if there were such a place where all aristocratic families could gather together and survive together, they would inevitably huddle together to resist all external forces and eventually form a mighty, peerless group.

Now the Northeast has almost already accommodated all the aristocratic families of the Central Plains, yet they have not, as Xun Shuang imagined, naturally integrated into a strong alliance. On the contrary, they cannot even establish a tightly connected, holistic covenant.

All they can be said to have is a loose alliance centered on the Aristocratic Family Migration Committee headed by Yuan Shu, appointed by Chen Xi. In reality, this alliance has very little binding force on the aristocratic families.

You could say that the previous slogan shouted by the Central Plains Aristocratic Family, ”The Central Plains Aristocratic Family will forever be one family, while the common folk of the realm are but a loose scattering of sand,” has already become completely different. Now the aristocratic families themselves have inexplicably, because of certain apprehensions, turned into a loose scattering of sand.

In the past, as long as the major families huddled together, the more aristocratic families there were, the greater the chance of banding together. Though there might be some dirty dealings between them, in terms of the larger situation they would absolutely strive to huddle together, to become as if one person. Even if they could not quite achieve that, they would at least strive to issue a single voice.

This is also why, although the number of commoners in the world far exceeds that of the bourgeoisie, they are still nowhere near a match for the bourgeoisie.

The reason lies in the fact that these people can rely on blood ties, on connections, on financial power to communicate with one another, and depend on the heritage behind them. In the end, they always have room to maneuver. As for the common people, if they want to unite, apart from morality they have only their own interests.

The former is far too difficult: a league formed solely on the basis of moral standards being met could basically build an internal Datong Society without issue. As for the latter, once you speak of personal interests, you cannot avoid collisions between private gain and the public good, and being countered by others is an almost unavoidable outcome.

After all, compared to the upper strata, the common folk at the bottom have too little capital—so little that they cannot afford failure. So-called strong men are not forbidden to fail; they simply have the capacity to rise again.

But that saying has a fatal flaw: for many common folk at the bottom, they simply do not have the capital to make a comeback. Their first struggle may already mean their last.

”Zijia, there is not much more I can teach you.” Jia Xu looked at Lu Yu and said calmly. To be fair, Lu Yu is indeed a prodigy of heaven, and inheriting Jia Xu’s mantle suits him very well, but if he only walks forward along the path laid by his predecessor, the one who comes later will in the end find it hard to surpass the one who came before—and this is something Lu Yu still has not understood.

”Master, you’re still in your prime. This kid is still counting on you to shield him from the wind and rain,” Lu Yu answered in a lively tone.

At Jia Xu’s words, the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but curl up, but he hid it away in an instant, reached out as if to smack Lu Yu. Lu Yu hurriedly dodged, Jia Xu didn’t really care, then straightened his face and said, ”You slippery little brat, you really think you can change the subject like that and I’ll let you off?”

Lu Yu lowered his head awkwardly. Jia Xu’s temperament tended toward the gloomy, but that was toward outsiders; with a disciple he valued, he was still very concerned.

”Work hard. Your Spiritual Talent is very suited to this sort of situation, but you need to remember where you stand.” Jia Xu withdrew his gaze and looked ahead. He was better at giving guidance through words and example.

”Mm, I know. Master, what is your position?” Lu Yu asked in a low voice.

”It’s no harm telling you. My position is Huaxia. Fixating on gains and losses of the moment is meaningless. At our level, personal gain and loss is already unimportant; whatever we ought to have, whatever enjoyment we desire, we can obtain.” Jia Xu spoke with a faint, aloof pride.

”What about within the country?” Lu Yu slowly opened his mouth, his tone carrying an unquestionable firmness. ”I am, after all, the heir of the Fanyang Lu Family. I bear the burden of my clan’s inheritance. Standing from the perspective of the state, suppressing us is actually the most correct choice.”

”Unlike before. In the past it was pulling one batch in to beat another batch, and to avoid hurting one’s own kind, there was sorrow in the heart; unless there was a blood feud, no one would strike to the death. In the span of our long history, it was nothing more than temporary rise and fall. But now, measured by the state, should I be the one to lay hands on myself?” Within Lu Yu’s calm expression there was a trace of bewilderment.

”You actually dare ask such a question in front of me.” Jia Xu said, his face betraying neither joy nor anger.

”Your disciple does not understand, and asks Master to dispel my confusion.” Lu Yu said respectfully.

Chen Xi had sent Jia Xu off to settle the North’s National Ranch issue, and he was taking Lu Yu north with him. This time counted as the deepest discussion Lu Yu and Jia Xu had ever had.

Different from a few years ago when Lu Yu had just arrived, possessing only cleverness and book learning; different from the previous period when he was working hard to handle the affairs in his hands, striving to find solutions—this time Lu Yu had the time to check for gaps and fill in omissions, the time to reflect on all the things he had done.

This was a time for wisdom to settle, and also a time for confusion to be born.

”What do you think aristocratic families are to the state?” Jia Xu did not grow angry because of Lu Yu’s words; he remained as calm as ever.

”Aristocratic families are a part of the state.” Lu Yu’s answer was somewhat slippery. Jia Xu merely nodded, not feeling that Lu Yu was trying to cheat or dodge.

”Zichuan once told some rather amusing stories. There was a garden that depended on butterflies carrying pollen for each generation to survive. But as caterpillars, those butterflies would eat the flowers and plants in the garden. What should be done in that situation?” Jia Xu continued, unhurried and unruffled.

”Aristocratic families are the butterflies?” Lu Yu was silent for a while, then spoke.

”Yes, the butterflies. Very important. When there are no bees, even if you must endure the caterpillars eating a part of the garden, you still have to let the butterflies appear. But this world, in the end, does have bees.” Jia Xu said, utterly composed.

”For a certain period in the past, you were extremely important—so important that even if it meant harming part of the interests of the state, you still had to be supported, because only by doing so could major chaos be avoided. But as the bees appear, the choices left to you become few. After all, we are not raising butterflies; we are raising flowers.” Jia Xu looked at Lu Yu’s expression and slowly spoke.

”But caterpillars can’t grow unless they gnaw on green leaves.” After a moment, Lu Yu said, his expression somewhat despondent.

”Then if you don’t want to be eradicated, your only options are to turn into bees, or go ruin someone else’s garden.” Jia Xu lowered his head to look at Lu Yu as he spoke.

”I cannot accept that way.” Lu Yu looked steadily at Jia Xu, his expression firm, without the slightest fear. At that, the corner of Jia Xu’s mouth lifted.

”Bees live by flowers, and flowers live by bees. You shouldn’t be thinking about becoming a caterpillar; you should be thinking about how to obtain more honey. The two can exist in mutual benefit.” Jia Xu patted Lu Yu’s shoulder. ”Besides, if you are dissatisfied with this situation and want to change it, at the very least you must stand at the height I do now to be able to pull it off.”

”All right!” Lu Yu answered crisply.

”You will soon understand what it brings you to stand from the state’s position instead of the aristocratic families’ position; compared to the petty narrowness of one surname, one household, once you stand where I am you will realize—we are not betraying our own class. It’s that we clearly have a better way, yet they are too stupid, stupid enough to cling to rotting remnants.” Jia Xu spoke with a tone tinged with mockery.

[’Why do you have to suppress us?’ ’Because you are too stupid—so stupid you block our class’s path of advancement. For the sake of everyone, I’ll get rid of you parasites!’] Jia Xu couldn’t help but recall Chen Xi’s arrogance, and reality had also proven Chen Xi to be correct.