Chapter 53 Striving Forward for the Goal!

Page (1/3)

Forget about the annoyances of the tenth watch; see, I have updated... Chen Xi was truly determined. The noble families looked down on them, did they? Then let those families look up to them properly. With his original plan already in place, Chen Xi began once again to find and fix its flaws.

A persistent person is formidable, especially one with a far-sighted vision, meticulous planning, phased goals, and a final objective, not to mention a host of helpers. This is no longer just formidable—it is a force that shocks and awes.

“Still no good!” Chen Xi scratched his head and tossed aside the cloth he was working on. So far, his skill in writing on bamboo slips was still quite poor.

“Zichuan, you’ve seemed troubled lately. What’s the matter?” Liu Bei looked at the despondent Chen Xi with curiosity.

“Lord Xuande, please take a look. Is there any problem? If not, let’s proceed as planned, though it is somewhat slow.” Chen Xi handed over his half-finished plan to Liu Bei. “Let them remain arrogant for two more years. When we’re ready, we’ll deal with those scoundrels.”

Liu Bei examined the hastily amended cloth Chen Xi held, growing more amazed with each glance. Finally, he sighed deeply, “Heaven has not treated me, Liu Bei, unkindly. According to this method, I might make the lords of the land tremble in three years. What objection could there be?”

“Too slow.” Chen Xi scratched his head. “It takes too much time, mainly to pacify the people and consolidate their hearts and minds—it needs at least a year. Otherwise, this plan is excellent, just slow.”

“Zichuan!” Liu Bei raised his voice unusually, calling him solemnly.

“What is it?” Chen Xi asked, puzzled.

“Three years is not long. By then, you will be in your early twenties, and I will be in my thirties. What is there to regret?” Liu Bei said earnestly. “Zichuan, why change your plan for the sake of a few noble families? Do they matter in the grand scheme of the world?”

Page (2/3)

“I just don’t like it. I believe I can handle these guys while suppressing the Yellow Turbans and annexing Qingzhou,” Chen Xi said angrily. “If we don’t show them some color, they won’t know who to mess with and who not to. Doesn’t Lord Xuande want to see them with dirt on their faces?”

“I want to, but you must remember, Zichuan, human energy is limited. To focus deeply on many fronts and maintain a high standard in all will affect your lifespan. I don’t want you to waste your life on such trivial matters. It’s not worth it,” Liu Bei said solemnly, not joking.

“These things probably won’t affect my lifespan. But since Lord Xuande wishes it otherwise, then we will hold off on dealing with them for now,” Chen Xi smiled.

Since Liu Bei was concerned about overwork, Chen Xi did not insist that he was immune. After all, he was now a superhuman with enhanced mental faculties—his thoughts were broad and his reactions swift. What once took one or two days to plan now took less than an hour. His speed had increased tenfold or more.

Because of this, Chen Xi was not worried about being exhausted from handling too many tasks. The things he was doing had been done in history before; they required little thought—just checking for gaps and fixing them. So, what seemed like a grand plan to Liu Bei was not particularly difficult for Chen Xi to execute.

If he weren’t afraid of frightening others, Chen Xi would even draft a comprehensive campaign plan for all the thirteen commanderies of Han, a talent cultivation and recruitment strategy, and plans for expansion and development in the north and south. See, how grandiose such plans would be! Just his execution alone would be awe-inspiring. But then again, even the plan to expand the campaign in Taishan Commandery, to enlarge Qingzhou, and to deal with the Yingchuan noble family had Liu Bei worried about Chen Xi’s exhaustion. If he really showed those other plans, it might scare Liu Bei to death—or be taken as Chen Xi’s last will...

Not wanting to be seen as a prodigy, Chen Xi decided to act more normal—one bite of food at a time, one step after another. Slow and steady. After all, Liu Bei was right: in three years, he would still be in his early twenties, and he himself was only in his twenties, so what was there to fear? Everyone was still young. Liu Bei intended to spend thirty years pacifying the realm; why rush, especially since he wasn’t already half-buried in the soil?

Calming his restless heart, Chen Xi began to proceed steadily. He still wanted to form a dream team, beginning with strengthening the “Dragon and Phoenix” pairing and the “Five Tigers” group—for example, Xu Shu and Lu Su were excellent additions to the Dragon and Phoenix duo. Cao Cao had his “Five Stratagems,” so Liu Bei would have six!

Xu Chu, Gan Ning, Taishi Ci, and Zhang Liao were also excellent choices for the Five Tigers. Cao Cao had his “Eight Tiger Riders”; Liu Bei simply must have nine! From strategy to martial prowess, from momentum to appearance, they had to be second to none—even in waist measurement!

As for Sun Quan, who was only fit to be a son, forget it. Let him stay in Yangzhou. After Sun Ce’s death, Sun Quan lost ambition and was controlled by the noble families in Sun Wu. That was how it was.

“Is that the village of the warrior Xu you mentioned, Zichuan?” Liu Bei pointed to a small mountain stronghold in the distance.

Page (3/3)

“It should be,” Chen Xi asked their guide, “Old sir, is that Xu’s village?”

“Not old sir, not old sir,” the small old man said nervously, then after being reassured by Liu Bei and Chen Xi, he relaxed and began to speak normally.

“In the hundred li around Yangdi, there is only one Xu’s village. The young gentleman you asked about, Xu Chu, the old man has heard of him. He has defeated mountain bandits and local thugs several times, preventing them from causing trouble nearby.” The old man’s hair and beard were white, and he looked almost buried in the earth, but he was only about forty years old—such were the times at the end of the Eastern Han.

“Yide, I’m counting on you!” Once Chen Xi was in full mode, he addressed his comrades formally by their style names rather than “brother” or the like.

“Leave it to Old Zhang,” Zhang Fei patted his chest and shouted, then spurred his horse and shot ahead of the group, shouting as he charged toward Xu’s village with his snake spear, “Xu Chu, come out and see me!”

Xu Chu was gnawing on a pig’s trotter when he suddenly felt the beams above him shake, and dust fell into his rice container. Then he heard a voice outside, “Xu Chu, come out and see me.” Furious, he thought, finally a good meal without reading disturbed by outside scoundrels.

Standing up, Xu Chu grabbed a large blade nearby, dashed out the front gate, cursing as he ran, “If you’ve got the guts, don’t run! Today, Old Xu will make you pay for angering me!” Then he grabbed a nearby rolling stone, his arm swelling quickly to the thickness of a thigh. Xu Chu flung the huge stone like a pebble toward the source of the voice.

The giant stone seemed to pause in front of Xu Chu, then there was a loud explosion. A white smoke ring appeared before Xu Chu’s hand, and the stone flew nearly parallel toward Zhang Fei like a missile.