Chapter 51

In the city of Wuyang, the Crown Prince visited the Li residence early in the morning with great enthusiasm; however, no matter how long he waited, Li Xian did not return.

After waiting for a while, the Second Prince also arrived, saying he wanted to collaborate with Li Xian in business.

However, half an hour later, a servant sent by Li Xian finally brought back new news—after leaving the imperial palace, Li Xian had directly left Wuyang City.

"How outrageous!" The Crown Prince, or rather, the Heir Apparent, was instantly furious.

But the Second Prince was unhurried, "It seems I'll have to make another trip and visit him in Anyang. This kid is really something."

After respectfully seeing off the two princes with different intentions, Li Yulong had a satisfied smile on his face.

Yang Zhong, standing beside him, also smiled with relief, "Young Master has grown up."

Li Yulong snorted, "Running away with his wife so early in the morning, how outrageous."

But when Li Yulong said this, there was a hint of a smile on his face.

In the imperial palace:

When His Majesty the Emperor heard that Li Xian had left the imperial palace and directly departed from Wuyang City, he laughed heartily, "This kid ran fast enough. I should have kept him a bit longer. However, I can't let him off so easily. Fu Minghui, convey my imperial edict to Li Xian, telling him to prepare the engines for 100,000 textile machines for me as soon as possible.

Before my 100,000 textile machines are completed, he must not sell a single machine to anyone else."

——

Speaking of Li Xian, as soon as his group left the capital area, they saw three carriages lined up on the road ahead. The carriages were very simple, with no luxury at all, but they were practical, well-equipped, and very neat.

What's going on? Li Xian was puzzled. The situation didn't seem like a robbery, but why were they blocking the road?

Naturally, Li Xian's group stopped. Before Li Xian could ask, Xu Ren spoke up, "Young Master, before the New Year, I found a few friends, and three of them agreed to come and take a look. I think they've arrived."

"Ah..." Li Xian was momentarily delighted. After witnessing Xu Ren's strength and excellence as a strategist, Li Xian had been thinking about finding more strategists or similar people. On one hand, Li Xian didn't have many ways to find capable strategists—there were few truly capable ones; on the other hand, Li Xian was extremely busy.

Previously, Li Xian had also asked Xu Ren for help but didn't have high hopes—after all, strategists often envy each other. He didn't expect such a pleasant surprise.

Li Xian quickly tidied his clothes and got off the carriage to greet them.

Three people with distinct personalities also got off the opposite carriage. The leader was a young man in his twenties, with a long sword at his waist, exuding a heroic aura.

Is such a person a strategist? Li Xian was puzzled but still approached to greet them, "Li Xian greets the three gentlemen. Thank you for your regard. May I ask for your names?"

The young man in the lead was quite proud, "I am Beichen Yuqing, skilled in military strategy."

The next one, who was gentle, slowly spoke, "I am Fang Shijing, a scholar, skilled in internal affairs."

The last one, with a graceful demeanor and wearing traditional Daoist robes, said, "I am Ling Zhifeng, a Daoist, skilled in geomancy, fortune-telling, and divination. Don't bother me with other things."

They are all quite proud.

Li Xian looked at the three carriages parked on the road and was still curious, "Why didn't the three gentlemen go to the Li residence?"

Fang Shijing smiled slightly, "Xu Ren didn't tell us where to find Young Master, so we had to find you ourselves. After some thought, it seemed that waiting here was the best chance to meet you."

Are they that good at strategy? Li Xian still had doubts and curiosity, as well as some considerations, "What if we missed each other?"

"We won't miss!" Beichen Yuqing said, "Given your current situation, leaving the capital as soon as possible is the best choice. So, we've been waiting here for three hours.

Our plan was to wait here for an hour. If you didn't pass by within an hour, we would have sought other opportunities."

"Why?"

"If you didn't leave the capital within an hour, you wouldn't be able to leave for the next half month. This would indicate that you are indecisive and unable to make timely decisions, and thus not worth our service."

Li Xian was taken aback, "Are all strategists this proud?"

"Of course!" Beichen Yuqing said proudly, "We are free birds in the world. Birds can choose their trees, but can trees choose their birds?"

"Um, no." Li Xian had to admit that this was true. He had been looking for capable people like strategists for several days and found very few. After their wait on the road, Li Xian truly recognized their abilities.

However, were they too proud?

Seemingly sensing or thinking about Li Xian's hesitation, Xu Ren spoke up at the right moment, "Young Master, I used to be very proud too."

As the saying goes, one can understand the meaning behind the words. Li Xian immediately understood—Xu Ren meant that he used to be very proud but was now humbled by Li Xian. If so, why didn't Li Xian have confidence in humbling these three as well?

Yes, capable people should be proud, but if you can't win them over, it's not a problem with the people but with you, Li Xian.

Moreover, as the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. The people Xu Ren knew were likely not bad or should be very excellent.

With these thoughts in mind, Li Xian formally accepted the three, and the group continued on their journey. As usual, those who wanted to join Li Xian's side had to take some oaths.

This time, Li Xian didn't sit in the carriage but rode a horse alongside Xu Ren, Beichen Yuqing, Fang Shijing, and Ling Zhifeng. During this time, the five naturally discussed various matters. Through these discussions, Li Xian could roughly understand the abilities of the three, build a closer relationship, and also showcase his own charm.

When discussing military tactics, Li Xian proposed a three-pronged approach of aerial, ground, and ultra-long-range strikes, which earned high praise from Beichen Yuqing.

Then, Li Xian expressed the idea that "business is like war," and Beichen Yuqing immediately offered to take charge of business planning.

Next, Li Xian and Fang Shijing discussed the ideas of ruling by law, transparency, balancing law and morality, encouraging social virtue, and improving rewards and punishments, especially providing a "path to advancement" to guide and limit public unrest—focusing on guidance. Li Xian also proposed the idea that "poverty leads to chaos, while wealth brings peace," and combined it with the concept of governing through commerce and industry.

Fang Shijing was greatly impressed and praised Li Xian, saying, "Truly worthy of the Northern Dipper's destiny."

Finally, it was Ling Zhifeng's turn. Li Xian knew nothing about fortune-telling or divination, so he could only listen to Ling Zhifeng's explanations.

Seeing Li Xian's "self-awareness," the three truly accepted him, and their pride diminished.

Not long after, the Emperor's chief guard, Fu Minghui, caught up.

"Li Xian, wait, the Emperor has an edict!"