Chapter 78

12,000 votes for an update, I'm on my knees, if you guys vote 3,000, I can still eat, but 12,000 is definitely feeding me to the point of no return...

Speaking of which, when King Zhao of Yan recruited talents, he built a high platform, which Li Bai later mentioned in his poem as "serving with a golden platform, passing the cup on a green jade tray." The original platform thus became known as the Golden Platform, and from then on, the concept of the Golden Platform for recruiting talents and the guests on the Golden Platform came into being.

Because of this precedent, when Liu Bei recruited talents, he also needed to build something, following ancient customs. Even if someone wanted to cause trouble, there was the long-dead King Zhao of Yan to back him up, and they were just following ancient customs.

When Liu Bei issued the talent recruitment order, he planned to build a platform 59 feet high, following King Zhao's policy. Of course, it was impossible to build a platform as luxurious as King Zhao's, which was 20 acres in size. Liu Bei's plan was to build a mound about 200 meters in diameter. After all, he was just an An Dong General, not a hegemon of the Spring and Autumn period.

Of course, as soon as Liu Bei proposed this, Chen Xi directly rejected it before Lu Su and others could agree. If a group of people agreed and then he rejected it, it would go against the trend. A smart person should always be on the side of the majority. Even if he was in the minority, he needed the ability to overwhelm the majority. Now, Chen Xi hoped that Liu Bei would stand on his side.

"Let's build a library," Chen Xi said with a smile. "Since we can print 300 to 500 books a day, we can give each person a book, just like King Zhao of Yan's 'passing the cup on a green jade tray.'"

Chen Xi's proposal was immediately rejected. The first part of the proposal was good, but Lu Su was the first to disagree with the second part. A book worth a thousand gold pieces, giving it away, was too generous.

After his proposal was rejected, Chen Xi thought for a moment and realized what was wrong. Unlike his time, a book of ten thousand words was definitely a family heirloom, and distributing it was indeed too much.

"Oh, then let's put the more than ten thousand books we have printed into the library. Those we select can take the books home to read, of course, for a period of one to three months. How about that?" Chen Xi changed his proposal. "As for the library, we can build it in a north-south orientation, with the northern side for military strategy and the southern side for other books. The military strategy section can be a bit smaller. We can build a small altar in the middle for the selection of military officers."

"That sounds good!" Lu Su nodded, approving of Chen Xi's idea. The others also nodded, and Liu Bei decided to build it this way. To show respect, the library would be built like a city wall or a palace, with walls over two meters thick and a pure stone structure. The wooden structures would be the standard mortise and tenon joints of ancient times.

Of course, such a construction project would need to be reported, but in this chaotic era, Liu Bei, a member of the imperial family, building such a structure for the purpose of recruiting talents would have a 99% chance of being approved by Emperor Xian.

All this is to explain that the library has not yet been built, so the place for recruiting talents is just a square...

When Liu Bei and Chen Xi arrived, they saw a man standing next to Zang Ba. He was over six feet tall, with a dignified appearance, carrying two short halberds on his back, holding a long bow in his hand, and a sword at his waist, leading a fine horse.

"Lord, this is the righteous man of Qingzhou, Taishi Ziyi. He heard that you are widely recruiting talents without regard for their background, so he has come to join you," Zang Ba said, bowing as Liu Bei approached.

"Very good, very good, I need heroes like Taishi Ziyi. May I ask if you are willing to join me?" Liu Bei laughed and asked Taishi Ziyi.

"Meeting Lord Xuande." Taishi Ziyi bowed. "I traveled from Donglai in Qingzhou to Tai Shan County. Qingzhou is in decline, while Tai Shan is prosperous. I once sought refuge in Youzhou and saw the people of Tai Shan County suffer. However, in less than a year since Lord Xuande took control of Tai Shan, it has already returned to its former prosperity. I have heard much about your kindness and benevolence. I am willing to follow Lord Xuande, ready to serve you in any capacity!" As he spoke, Taishi Ziyi knelt on one knee.

Liu Bei helped Taishi Ziyi up, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. "You are too kind, Ziyi, please rise. The revival of the Han dynasty has gained another brave general!"

"Ziyi, this is the governor of Tai Shan County and my military advisor, Chen Xi, Chen Zichuan. Everything you have seen is due to his strategies. In half a year, he has gathered the displaced people and revived agriculture and commerce," Liu Bei introduced Taishi Ziyi to Chen Xi, who also bowed respectfully. "Chen Zichuan of Tai Shan greets Taishi Ziyi."

"I dare not, I dare not. I have heard that the governor of Tai Shan County is not yet twenty, but I did not expect him to be so young," Taishi Ziyi said with a touch of emotion. "When I sought refuge in Liaodong in Youzhou, I saw the great scholars Hua Ziyu (Hua Xin), Bing Genju (Bing Yuan), Guan Youan (Guan Ning), and Wang Yanfang (Wang Lie) govern Liaodong. In half a year, they transformed the once-decayed Liaodong into a paradise. I did not expect to see a similar figure in Central China."

"I am not worthy of such praise..." Chen Xi smiled bitterly. Those four people were incomparable. Wang Lie's virtue was enough to make one feel ashamed, Hua Xin's eloquence was intimidating, Guan Ning's integrity was unmatched, and Bing Yuan's moral steadfastness was unmatched.

In short, these four people were benchmarks, and no one dared to compare themselves to them. Chen Xi naturally would not deliberately put himself in such a position. However, Taishi Ziyi revealed an important piece of information: these four hermits were still in Liaodong.

Following Chen Xi's arrangement, as soon as Taishi Ziyi arrived, Liu Bei held a banquet to welcome him and then assigned him to assist Zhao Yun in training the garrison troops and handling agricultural matters.

After all, Taishi Ziyi was a native of Qingzhou, and now Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had secretly occupied Qingzhou territory. Zhao Yun, under the guise of humanitarian aid, was leading the displaced people of Qingzhou to reclaim the land in the Qi region of Qingzhou and prepare to plant winter wheat.

Chen Xi always felt that such a task needed a local guide. Taishi Ziyi, being a local, was very familiar with the area. Moreover, his reputation for righteousness was well-known throughout Qingzhou. With his reputation and familiarity with the terrain, he was the perfect guide.

This arrangement pleased Taishi Ziyi. First, he had over 5,000 garrison troops and more than 1,000 infantry, and he was tasked with clearing out the Yellow Turban bandits in the Qingzhou area and rescuing his fellow countrymen!

This was exactly what Taishi Ziyi wanted! Naturally, he promised with a thump on his chest that he would subdue all the Yellow Turbans who dared to approach Tai Shan County and turn them into laborers...

Chen Xi was very confident in entrusting the troops to Taishi Ziyi and sending him to support the mission. However, the person standing in front of him now made him very uneasy. "We never said anything about recruiting child labor!"

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