Three Kingdoms, Myth

Li Ru could guarantee that he had never encountered a household registration system similar to the one Chen Xi proposed. As he thought it through, he couldn't find a single flaw. Back in Luoyang, he had been someone who had a firm grasp on all the intrigues of the world, having seen and understood everything. Even he had to admit that the system Chen Xi introduced was far superior to the current one.

"Zichuan certainly came prepared!" Liu Bei remarked with a smile. "Wenru, did you note down the system that Zichuan described?"

"I've noted everything down. The overall system surpasses the current household registration system by far, especially in terms of controlling the populace and managing the flow of refugees. It also facilitates the control of foreign populations," Li Ru replied with a stoic expression.

"Good. Zichuan, draft a formal proposal of your household registration system and hand it over to Wenru. Then, let Zijing and others review it to catch any potential issues," Liu Bei said, now assured that Li Ru had captured all the details. He no longer felt the need to keep pressing Chen Xi.

In Liu Bei's view, although Li Ru wasn't one for many words, whenever he did speak, his points were always spot on. His broad perspective and calm demeanor, regardless of the situation, always carried insightful opinions. Most importantly, Li Ru was the kind of person who blended into the background unless directly addressed by Liu Bei, making him an incredibly convenient presence. Liu Bei had already grown accustomed to having him around.

"Alright," Chen Xi replied, feeling a bit worn out. After talking so much, his throat was dry, and he had lost any desire to continue walking in circles with Liu Bei.

After bowing to Liu Bei, Chen Xi took his leave. Sometimes, a young man just needs to rest, and right now, Chen Xi felt incredibly drowsy. The thought of organizing the entire household registration system from the Ming Dynasty and the three departments and six ministries system from the Tang Dynasty seemed exhausting to him. Although these systems were well-established and just needed to be written down, once fatigue sets in, it can be hard to find the energy for anything.

"Wenru, why does Zichuan seem so dazed every afternoon? Sometimes he even falls asleep in the administrative office. When I asked him before, he said he had insomnia at night, but I later found out that he sleeps soundly. Why does he always seem so tired during the day?" Liu Bei asked, frustrated with Chen Xi's lazy nature.

"Some people think too much and have to make decisions, which drains their mental energy, making them seem constantly tired," Li Ru replied expressionlessly. As he spoke, he continued to ponder the household registration system, comparing it to the flaws in the current system and considering the situations in Taishan and Qingzhou. Being able to focus on multiple things at once was a skill he had honed over many years under Dong Zhuo.

"That makes sense, I suppose. Zichuan is always thinking about the future, and most current affairs were prepared for long in advance. But it seems like Zichuan isn't very good at handling sudden crises," Liu Bei mused, looking up at the sky and sighing. Reflecting on the arrangements for Qingzhou and Taishan, it became clear that Chen Xi had started preparing for these on the road to Taishan—his focus was always on the future.

"No, Lord Xuande, it's quite the opposite. Zichuan is very adept at handling sudden crises, but because of certain reasons, he rarely needs to," Li Ru countered, shaking his head.

Li Ru had taken the time to understand Chen Xi and found himself even more intrigued by what he discovered. Chen Xi excelled at leveraging situations, taking advantage of trends. It seemed as though every major event worked in his favor. He seldom resorted to scheming, instead relying on the momentum of larger trends to push situations in his favor. By doing so, he ensured that the outcome was almost always preordained, making it impossible for any sudden event to alter the course of events. In Chen Xi's world, no matter what unexpected crisis arose or how it was handled, it was of little consequence.

Take, for instance, the time Chen Xi subdued the Zhen family in Jizhou. At that moment, no matter what Chen Xi did, the outcome wouldn't have changed. Even if Ju Shou had offered silver as a bribe, it wouldn't have altered the situation because the Zhen family had no other options left. Aligning with Yuan's family would have left them with nothing. Their only glimmer of hope lay with Chen Xi—Liu Xuande's influence hadn't yet reached Jizhou, so the Zhen family still had a chance to turn things around by siding with Chen Xi.

In Li Ru's view, it wasn't that Chen Zichuan lacked the ability to handle sudden crises; rather, he accounted for them in his plans, ensuring that no loose ends remained. Li Ru believed that either Chen Xi had previously suffered from having his schemes exposed, or he was simply too lazy to deal with things twice. Based on his understanding, Li Ru leaned toward the latter—Chen Xi preferred to handle things in one go to save time for more sleep…

Liu Bei fell silent for a long time after hearing Li Ru's explanation. Finally, he sighed deeply. "Wenru, you're right. Zichuan probably does try to handle everything in one go to save time for sleep. What a character..."

Although Liu Bei sighed, he felt reassured. He was confident in both Chen Xi's abilities and his temperament. With Chen Zichuan's personality, rebellion was out of the question. He was much better suited to being a marquis in a peaceful era, spending his days comfortably at home.

Chen Xi wandered back to his house, hesitated for a moment, then decided to do what Xia Yu had done—he didn't go inside and headed straight to the administrative office. Liu Bei might not have fully understood, but there were two people here who would. Although they had taken a heavy blow earlier, they had also been liberated from the tedious administrative work and were now happily enjoying tea and bean cakes.

"Time to get to work, fellas. There's more to be done," Chen Xi shouted as he entered the office, where the two men were treating the administrative hall like a teahouse.

"What is it this time, Zichuan? You're not going to dump more work on us, are you?" Lu Su choked on a bean cake when Chen Xi patted him on the shoulder, nearly choking. After gulping down a large cup of tea, he glared at Chen Xi and asked.

"Not exactly. Lord Xuande wants you two to refine the new household registration system and the administrative structure needed to establish the office. I've already sketched out the basics; you just need to check for any flaws," Chen Xi replied calmly.

Both men were aware that Liu Bei intended to establish his own office and knew that, as a marquis, General of the Eastern Command, and Governor of Qingzhou, coupled with his imperial lineage, Liu Xie had approved Liu Bei's request to set up his own administrative structure. Therefore, preparing a new governance system wasn't out of place.

"In that case, Zichuan, please proceed," Lu Su and Liu Ye sighed in unison. They knew Chen Xi had come to delegate part of his workload to them, but given Chen Xi's habits, they wouldn't be able to avoid it. Since they couldn't change the reality, they might as well grin and bear it.