Chapter 65

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Liu Bei was taken aback. He had never successfully recruited any great scholars; the aristocratic families had always looked down on him. Up to this point, all his attempts at recruitment had failed, so naturally, he was stunned by this news.

"Lord Xuande." Chen Xi called out again, since he couldn’t sleep anyway, he didn’t want to let others lose focus in front of him.

"Alright, alright." Liu Bei reacted, suddenly overjoyed. Regardless of who came, as long as they were willing to join him at this time, Liu Bei planned to welcome them with great ceremony and would never forget to add an extra pair of chopsticks for them in the future.

"Lord Xuande, let’s go. Whether it’s Mi Zizhong or Lu Zijing, they are both extremely important to us now. Lu Zijing has a far-sighted perspective and his own insights into politics and strategy, making him a talent for state planning. The Mi family is a wealthy household, comparable to the Zhen family in terms of wealth, and is one of the five major merchant families of the world." Chen Xi deliberately pointed out the backgrounds of these two, preparing Liu Bei for what was to come.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei calmed down. The excitement on his face gradually faded, and he returned to his usual calmness. He turned to Chen Xi with a smile, "I thought I, Liu Xuande, was not worthy of the attention of the world’s great talents, but it seems I was too humble. The Zhen family left, but the Mi family came. Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong didn’t come, but Lu Zijing has entered my domain."

At this moment, Liu Bei was full of spirit. The gloom that had been caused by the failure to recruit a series of scholars and the departure of the Zhen family from Hebei due to their lack of confidence in his potential was now completely gone. He looked more confident and assertive.

"Those guys are not even as good as me." Chen Xi yawned, "If Lord Xuande feels that someone he couldn’t recruit is better than me, or if a general is better than General Zhao, or if a minister is better than Zilong, remember to let me know."

Upon hearing Chen Xi’s words, Zhao Yun first smiled confidently, then with his characteristic modesty, he said, "I am not worthy of such praise, but the military advisor is indeed a great talent of the world, and it is hard to find a match for him."

Chen Xi rolled his eyes, "It’s as if there are several Lu Bus in this world. Fine, just keep it in mind. Lord Xuande, remember that after this year, anyone who doesn’t see your potential will not be a top-level strategist. At least they lack the foresight of a top-level strategist."

"Thank you for the reminder, Zichuan." Liu Bei bowed solemnly, "Let’s go out and wait. If you are tired, Zichuan, you can go home and rest. It’s not good to be so tired all the time. I will find some tonics for you to recover. There is no urgent political work now, so you can rest."

"No, Lu Zijing will surely discuss some matters with me when he arrives. I’ll stay for a while." Chen Xi shook his head. According to the habits of top-level ministers of this era, the first thing they do upon joining is to offer advice. Being present would also help cover for Liu Bei, as many things were done by Chen Xi, and Liu Bei was not very clear about them.

Sitting in the carriage, Mi Zhu looked out the window, deeply impressed. The entire journey was filled with scenes of bustling labor. Although it might not match the prosperity of Xu Prefecture, the current Fengao in Taishan had far exceeded his imagination. He remembered that a year ago, this place had just been ravaged by the Taishan bandits, and it was so dilapidated that it didn’t even compare to an ordinary county town. Now, it had surpassed most commandery cities.

Looking at the three-zhang-wide moat, the ten-zhang-high and eight-zhang-thick city walls, Mi Zhu knew how much effort this required. Just this one wall was enough to deter bandits, and it had been constructed in just three months with about ten thousand people. Mi Zhu did a quick calculation and understood.

Passing through the city gate, the wide, clean stone road gave Mi Zhu a feeling of being in Xu Prefecture, no, it was even cleaner and more orderly. Mi Zhu felt a bit overwhelmed. The scenes he had seen on the journey and the information he had gathered indicated that the water conservancy projects, land reclamation, city wall construction, disaster relief, and the resettlement of refugees had cost over ten million coins.

If Chen Xi knew what Mi Zhu was thinking, he would probably just shrug. Ten million coins were not enough. With fifty thousand refugees, two hundred coins per person would barely cover three months of food. So, if they just distributed money, the five major merchant families would be drained. Using work as a form of relief, they would create their own profits...

Thinking about this, Mi Zhu felt a bit twitchy. Hearing that the Zhen family had left, he wondered if the Mi family could also sustain such spending. The Taishan commandery governor was indeed a master of spending, though the results were excellent, if every commandery did this, it would be unsustainable.

Lu Su also learned a lot on his journey. Unlike Mi Zhu, Lu Su had a long-term perspective and did not count the Zhen family, who had already returned to Ji Province, as part of Liu Bei’s achievements. Therefore, he found the entire Taishan commandery very worthy of study. Whether it was the ongoing construction of adobe houses, the continuous excavation of canals, or the bustling work sites, everything was well-organized and orderly, which was Lu Su’s immediate impression.

After observing the entire journey, Lu Su’s conclusion was quite peculiar. It seemed that the entire Taishan had been restored without much spending. Although food was a real expense, the actual money spent was minimal. The contrast between the food distributed and the current state of restoration was astonishing. Most importantly, in just three months, all the people under the Taishan commandery had recognized Liu Bei’s rule, which was a significant achievement in terms of public support.

This could not help but shock Lu Su. He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. Although Lu Su did not fully agree with this saying, having the people’s support made many things much easier. To break the original skepticism of the people towards the government and re-establish their recognition and confidence, even to the point of spontaneously supporting Liu Bei’s rule, Lu Su could only call Chen Xi, who managed the internal affairs under Liu Bei, a true genius!

Naturally, with such a genius as an assistant, Lu Su had more confidence in Liu Bei. Originally, he did not have high hopes for Liu Bei, but after his grandmother saw the letter from Liu Bei’s messenger, she stopped the messenger whom Lu Su had declined and said to him, "Go out and see the world. Staying at home with me, an old woman, reading books and farming is not the way of a hero. Since the imperial relative Lord Liu has invited you, why not go and see for yourself before making a decision."

Unable to resist his grandmother, Lu Su had to take his servant and set out with Liu Bei’s messenger. He was a bit sad when he left, but after leaving the eastern city, he quickly shed his sadness. This was his first time leaving his grandmother and acting independently. The pulse of the world’s trends was revealed to him for the first time. Lu Su was eighteen years old that year.

Originally, Lu Su did not intend to join Liu Bei. He came to Taishan only to give his grandmother a satisfactory answer. However, the scenes he saw on the journey piqued his interest. With his keen eye, he could see how much surplus the Taishan harvest would bring and what it would mean in the area near Qing Prefecture.

"Let’s see what kind of person Liu Xuande is. If he is someone like Yuan Shu, who has great ambitions but lacks talent, I will stay for a few days and then leave. If he is truly a benevolent and virtuous person, I, Lu Zijing, would not mind helping him with his worries." Lu Su looked out the window at the busy scenes and slowly made up his mind. However, the excitement in his heart did not affect his demeanor, which remained refined and calm.

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