Chapter 155: Stirring the Pot from All Directions

Gongsun Zan would never have imagined that while he was fighting tooth and nail at the frontlines, his supposed subordinate’s subordinate was already betting his future on some trivial matter. One can only wonder what Gongsun Zan would think if he knew.

But even if Gongsun Zan did know, he might have just laughed it off. After all, during the Spring and Autumn period, people bet on the fate of the world over a cup of wine. What was this in comparison? Besides, he never considered the possibility of his own defeat, just as Yuan Shao never truly believed he would win!

“Very well,” Lu Su said after a moment of thought. He couldn’t pinpoint when Gongsun Zan would switch from offense to defense, so he decided to rope Chen Xi into helping with their administrative tasks. As for everything else, he could leave it to Chen Xi. After all, knowing Chen Xi’s usual tendencies, tasks that were time-consuming but not particularly difficult would eventually fall on his shoulders anyway.

It’s clear that none of these ministers were easy to deal with. Lu Su had his own cunning plans in mind.

Lu Su had done his homework on Gongsun Zan while gathering intelligence and had come to a rather grim conclusion. Gongsun Zan was a classic example of Zhao Wuling Wang—a fierce, aggressive warrior who, despite his early successes, was destined to face countless unforeseen challenges, especially against someone like Yuan Shao. Gongsun Zan’s military background made him ill-suited for political maneuvers, and his stubborn nature only added to his eventual downfall. Lu Su could already foresee Gongsun Zan’s failure.

“In that case, I bet that General Gongsun will be defeated at Jieqiao, and the White Horse Volunteers will be completely annihilated,” Chen Xi stated coldly.

“That’s impossible!” Liu Ye and Lu Su exchanged glances, both showing disbelief.

“There’s nothing impossible about it,” Chen Xi shook his head.

After spending so much time in this world, Chen Xi had noticed a pattern. The world’s events unfolded like a strategy game, with him as the player able to control the pace and direction of the story. He could prevent certain things from happening and could influence the overall course of events, but once a key historical event was triggered, unless he intervened decisively, history would tend to follow its known course. By “known,” he meant the outcome, even if the process differed slightly.

It was similar to playing a game like Romance of the Three Kingdoms. For example, in the infamous Battle of Wancheng, where Dian Wei was destined to die, if the player avoided triggering the event, Dian Wei could survive. However, if you merely delayed his fate by moving him elsewhere, the script would eventually catch up to him. The overarching trend was for Dian Wei to die, but as long as you kept him in the right place, you could avoid that outcome.

Chen Xi had roughly figured out some ways to strongly intervene in such events, but unfortunately, his influence on Youzhou and Jizhou was minimal. Although he had delayed things by a few months, events still culminated at Jieqiao. The moment he saw this name, Chen Xi knew Gongsun Zan was in trouble.

“Even if General Gongsun is defeated, he won’t be beaten so badly that he can’t retaliate,” Liu Ye quickly assessed the situation and voiced his doubts.

“Haha, General Gongsun’s biggest problem isn’t Yuan Benchu—it’s Liu Youzhou!” Chen Xi said ominously.

The two were silent. With their insight, they couldn’t overlook this point. Between Gongsun Bogui and Liu Yu, one had to fall. Given Gongsun Zan’s rigid nature, if Liu Yu lost, his only outcome was death. After that, it was inevitable that Gongsun Zan would be defeated by Yuan Benchu, who would capitalize on Liu Yu’s reputation.

“So, if General Gongsun loses the White Horse Volunteers, it would be a huge setback. But if he loses them and then has to deal with Liu Yu’s provocations, he’s doomed. My suggestion is to send Liu Yu to Chang’an. Do you have any better ideas? By the way, I’m also planning to send Taishi Ci to assist Gongsun Zan from a distance—at least to prevent the complete loss of the White Horse Volunteers,” Chen Xi said, tapping his fingers on the table.

“Even the emperor’s edict is useless in this case. The governor of Youzhou wouldn’t want to create trouble for himself. Even if an envoy is sent to Youzhou, Liu Yu would likely feign illness and not appear. Chang’an is just a quagmire,” Lu Su shook his head.

“We’re saving his life, after all,” Liu Ye said with a wicked grin, completely unconcerned that Liu Yu was of the same imperial lineage. “No one else can restrain Gongsun Bogui, but I’m sure our lord’s reputation will compel him. So, we’ll just forcibly send Liu Yu to Chang’an. As for the slander he might spread—hah, I doubt it would be worse than killing him outright.”

“Alright, it’s settled then. Ziyang, you’ll go to Youzhou and help settle this matter,” Chen Xi said, glancing at Liu Ye.

“Fine, now get started on our administrative tasks. The bet is on,” Liu Ye said, throwing his papers and pens towards Chen Xi with a laugh.

“Good, looks like I won’t have anything to do from now on. You there, Chief Clerk, come over here!” Chen Xi called out, finally noticing his chief clerk.

“Yes, my lord. What would you have me do?” The chief clerk responded respectfully.

“Send orders to all the county magistrates to gather and submit records of all past dispute resolutions to the Assistant Prefect Lu Zijing!” Chen Xi laughed heartily. “Farewell, my task is done. The rest is up to you.”

Lu Su and Liu Ye exchanged glances, instantly realizing they had been working in vain all this time. While Chen Xi’s method might start off slow, over time, they would have records of most disputes. The saying that circumstances change with time was true, but it didn’t negate the fact that every situation followed an underlying pattern.

Meanwhile, Fa Zheng’s young heart had been thoroughly shaken, and even Guo Jia had nearly been bested. To be fair, Guo Jia was half-drunk and not in the best condition to deal with Fa Zheng, who already had some psychological issues. But when it came to facing Jia Xu, who was clear-headed and sharp, Guo Jia was far outmatched.

“Wenhe, you’re truly a genius!” Guo Jia wiped the sweat from his brow, vowing never to drink before meeting newcomers again. He hadn’t faced such a dangerous situation in years—he had barely managed to hold his ground.

“Let’s focus on dealing with Cao Mengde. I’ve heard that Lu Fengxian has taken his troops to join Yuan Shu. Who do you think we should weaken?” Jia Xu asked calmly, though a cold sweat was also forming on the back of his neck. He had nearly been outmaneuvered by the drunken Guo Jia.

Jia Xu’s cold gaze swept over Fa Zheng, thinking this young man had potential and was worth cultivating.

Fa Zheng felt as if two cold beams had pierced through his chest, making him shiver involuntarily. He instinctively moved behind Guo Jia, sensing malice in Jia Xu’s eyes.

“We should weaken Liu Jingxian and elevate Yuan Gonglu!” Guo Jia straightened up, exuding an aura that rivaled Jia Xu’s. He resolved never to drink before facing this man again; the one in front of him was definitely no good.

Jia Xu glanced sideways at Guo Jia, who turned to look back at him. The two nodded at each other and grabbed Fa Zheng. “Xiaozhi, here’s your chance to put what we’ve discussed into practice. Do you understand what we were talking about earlier?”

Fa Zheng gulped and nodded. Guo Jia laughed heartily, “Good, my dear disciple, this task is yours.”

“Huh?” Fa Zheng looked at Guo Jia in confusion. Jia Xu glared at the smug Guo Jia, while Fa Zheng scratched his head and asked, “When did I become your disciple?”

This time, it was Guo Jia’s turn to look annoyed at Fa Zheng.