Mythical Three Kingdoms

["If only there were more aristocratic families, we wouldn't have to go through such troubles, and it would be much easier to manage all the ancestral lands of these families together."] Chen Xi had already begun calculating silently in his mind.

Chen Xi also understood that such matters could not be rushed, as appearing too eager might arouse suspicion. Just like now, even if Chen Shang had his doubts, he had no way to verify them and could only ponder carefully, waiting to confirm his suspicions later on.

When the time came to develop the Northeastern Plain, Chen Xi could assure that the aristocratic families would be both headaching and cheering because, after all, an Upper Field is indeed an Upper Field, smaller acres have indeed been exchanged for larger ones, and the land deeds were in their hands. Chen Xi was not joking; the most troublesome part would be the farming.

However, it must be said that aristocratic families themselves do not farm; those who work the land are long-term and short-term laborers, as well as their servants and slaves. In this sense, it's not really that exploitative, the worst is just the initial heartache when relocating people. After the first year, once the granaries are full, they won't feel the pain anymore.

In this way, Chen Xi wasn't really tricking the aristocratic families; on the contrary, the aristocratic families stood to gain greatly. But thinking about the vast uninhabited expanse of the Northeastern Great Plain, Chen Xi felt that it was appropriate to use the aristocratic families to fill the gap and give them some benefits in return.

"I've agreed on behalf of the aristocratic families, but Zichuan, be mindful of yourself, and don't get in over your head. Although I don't know how you're doing it, I hope you understand the dangers involved," said Chen Shang, looking at Chen Xi. After all, the other person was his grandchild.

"Don't worry, I'm not cut out for military strategy, but in political strategy, you can rest assured that I won't leave any room for error," Chen Xi nodded and replied.

Having been on the battlefield several times, Chen Xi could see that he truly was not suited for military affairs, but when it came to civil administration, he was quite at ease. However, up to now, no one had seen just how poorly Chen Xi handled military affairs; after all, no matter what, he had won every time.

"Then I'm relieved. These are name cards from the Yuzhou Aristocratic Family." Chen Shang took out a name card filled with family names from his bosom, "Most of these families are just the icing on the cake. As long as the Qing Xu chaos does not undermine the foundation, they will follow the Chen Family's lead."

Chen Xi took the paper and glanced over it, feeling a shock in his heart to find that so many aristocratic families had the idea of defecting to Liu Bei's side.

"Aristocratic families, after all, have to plan for themselves. Although the Qing Xu Families have mixed feelings about Lord Xuande, loving and hating him, any clear-eyed person can see that our families have indeed grown. Although we know in our hearts we are no match for the growth rate of Mount Tai, we have been growing continuously; it's just that we seem insignificant in the grand scheme," Chen Shang said helplessly.

That was the most perplexing aspect for all the Qing Xu Families. You say the family has grown, it certainly has. Those who obey orders have indeed grown a lot. But the problem is, despite clearly growing, why is there still a sense of powerlessness?

Later, some of the Aristocratic Family Women who learned some statistics from Cai Yan finally understood. It turned out that their family's growth rate was higher than the government's in the past, but now Mount Tai was growing too fast, dwarfing their own accelerated growth in comparison.

This is also why the aristocratic families liked to send students to Cai Yan; she really had talent. If it weren't for the fact that Cai Yan was the last of the Cai Family, the aristocratic families wouldn't mind sacrificing a descendant to marry her off — a wife of virtue who could help the family business was an ideal scenario. And it's not necessarily true that she would bring misfortune upon her husband.

With this in mind, the Hedong Wei Family was actually quite conflicted. They really wanted to bring Cai Yan back to their family, but since the Wei Family did not receive her when she left Chang'an, it would be embarrassing for them to do it now. So, the matter was dropped, and the Wei Family and Cai Yan barely had any familial ties left.

In short, no matter how disgruntled the Qing Xu Families were, to the clans of other provinces and counties, these families, who had chosen a good target a few years ago, were now making rapid progress, which inevitably caused envy among other families.

Aren't families supposed to grow and become more powerful? The vanguard who had scouted the path ahead were now considerably stronger. Although there would be occasional complaints and cursing directed at Liu Bei, or some verbal lashing at executors like Lub Su, other families from different provinces didn't care about that. They only cared about the results.

To the others, it almost seemed like the Qing Xu Families' endless complaining and cursing were just tactics to prevent others from sharing in their spoils. Especially since the families couldn't clearly articulate how Liu Bei was restricting them, it would have been strange if others didn't suspect them while watching the Qing Xu Families grow stronger.

As for the rebels within the Qing Xu local aristocracy, they probably never truly considered overthrowing Liu Bei because what they needed was his support, not opposition.

These families were expressing their demands in this manner, and if they failed, there wasn't much to say. They would simply have to obey orders obediently, as Liu Bei had never intended to dig a pit and bury all the aristocratic families.

Accurately speaking, the Qing Xu Families should be divided into two types and three categories: one type consisted of those who opposed Chen Xi from the beginning. During the initial stages of establishing a foundation, Chen Xi was ruthless, defeating them all. The second category consisted of those who, despite their dissatisfaction, still chose to align with Liu Bei and were growing stronger, gradually recognizing his rule.

The first type of family had only one outcome: being completely devastated by Chen Xi's maneuvers. Now, as they watched other families grow stronger, they harbored immense hatred towards Liu Bei. Those belonging to this category fell under Xuu You's pawns.

The second type had two categories: one consisted of those who preferred being the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix, meaning they were discontent no matter how well they lived because they couldn't obtain significant power, and this discontent could lead to more serious issues.

The other category was the pragmatists, those whose goal was the growth of their main family. Once they had grown, their goal was achieved, so why court disaster?

Leaving the first type aside, the second type was a common dilemma among the aristocratic families. All families had both types of people; it was just a matter of proportion, so it was inevitable that this issue would eventually erupt.

However, due to Xuu You's scheming, in order to stabilize themselves, the Qing Xu Families needed to vent their internal problems. But before doing so, they intended to have a frank discussion.

If Chen Xi's response satisfied them, they were willing to be pawns for once, taking advantage of the opportunity to integrate into Liu Bei's administration with a different status.

If Chen Xi's response did not satisfy them, well, even if they were to act as pawns, the families would not simply obey orders, nor would they hand over any advantages to Chen Xi that could benefit Liu Bei.

Mice have their own paths, snakes have their own tracks. When it comes to matters concerning the families, Jia Xu couldn't possibly have a clear understanding of every single aspect. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation vote, monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)