Chapter 1020: The Request to Step Out of the Central Plains

Naturally, Lu Su could not escape this deeply ingrained instinct. Previously, he had been shaken to the point of dizziness, filled with passion. When he turned back to calm down, his instincts emerged.

Those are two empires; how could the land that nurtured empires be barren? Although Chen Xi had previously said many disparaging things about the Central Plains, no one was blind.

Everyone knew how fertile the Central Plains were, how many mineral resources it had. While it was often compared to the world and seen as weak, the reality was clear to all.

If one could project themselves onto others, how could the other empires be impoverished? If the soil that nurtured empires were absorbed by the Central Plains, the benefits for the Central Plains would be unimaginable. With such thoughts in mind, how could others not harbor ideas of devouring the world?

Although the Central Plains are vast and rich, there is a saying that one always thinks their own children are good, and others' things are good too. Thus, Lu Su's mindset was that while they were poor, their people were outstanding; the lands they occupied would eventually belong to them. They needed to plan ahead.

On the other side, Liu Bei received all the information regarding today’s alliance meeting. He laughed heartily at the situation of Zhen Mi and Chen Xi, but frowned at the idea of the aristocratic land exchange plan, though he quickly set it aside.

Liu Bei's trust in Chen Xi had reached an unusual level, which was also why Liu Bei had a knack for reading people. The abilities Chen Xi displayed showed that if he had been willing from the beginning, he could have achieved this regardless of Liu Bei. This was crucial, and it laid the foundation for trust.

Thus, when Liu Bei heard this information, he instinctively guessed that Chen Xi was planning something against the aristocrats again. From a certain perspective, Liu Bei truly understood Chen Xi's intentions.

There was no need to inquire or to comfort; he simply had to watch Chen Xi’s actions quietly. Naturally, satisfying results would emerge. As long as he was open-minded and trusting, he would get everything he wanted. From this perspective, Liu Bei, as a ruler, was actually quite relaxed.

Under the vast sky, the world revealed its mysterious face beneath its veil, causing all the wise men under Liu Bei’s command who witnessed this enchanting figure to be enamored, unable to calm the turmoil in their hearts.

Regardless of the circumstances, after witnessing the vastness of the world, the shackles that had been destroyed allowed everyone's horizons to further expand, and their mindsets became steadier. Their perspectives on things underwent significant changes.

As for why Chen Xi only showed the strategic plans to Liu Bei’s top advisers and not to the military generals, it was largely because these top civil officials thought too much. Even if the military generals were meticulous, they were on a completely different level than the likes of Zhao Yun and Gan Ning, compared to Liu Ye and Jia Xu, who were known for their strategic calculations.

Thus, civil officials needed to be restrained by ideals, while military generals only needed to execute without distractions. Giving them a world map would not only be useless but could also have counterproductive effects.

However, on Liu Bei's side, Chen Xi still hadn’t decided when to show Liu Bei the rolled-up map. He feared that if he showed it now, Liu Bei might not be able to contain his impulses.

Unlike Jia Xu and Li You, these wise men understood the current objectives better and appreciated the importance of steady progress. Liu Bei, more so than anyone else, gained recognition through his broad-mindedness and charisma. In truth, apart from his expansive heart and exceptional ability to recognize talent, Liu Bei lagged far behind others.

Chen Xi was more concerned that if he showed Liu Bei the map now, Liu Bei might think time was running out.

The world was so vast; unifying the Central Plains and building it up would take at least ten years. Would he see other places before he passed? This was the mindset of many ancient rulers, especially the wise ones, and unfortunately, Liu Bei was indeed one of those wise rulers.

Once Liu Bei entertained such thoughts, his subjective judgment would inevitably accelerate the unification process. After all, the person who saw the map, apart from Chen Xi, was likely every Central Plains person who would also have the same urgent thoughts. At most, some could hold back, but many would not be able to restrain themselves.

In that situation, if Liu Bei took the lead in wanting to hasten unification, then Lu Su and Jia Xu would surely go along with it. However, achieving unification quickly was not the same as ensuring that people's livelihoods were well-managed during the process, which would be very challenging.

Chen Xi did not wish to conquer surrounding countries without having a solid foundation within his own country. In Chen Xi's view, even if victory was achieved through overwhelming military might, it would not compensate for the loss of the foundation.

One must be strong oneself to forge iron; this had always been Chen Xi's viewpoint. An empire with a complete system and comprehensive infrastructure would maintain its expansion for centuries without problems as long as there was no population explosion, under the guarantee of the system.

Therefore, completely unifying the Central Plains, enhancing its prosperity, establishing large agricultural zones in the plains that belonged to the nation, and ensuring that the country’s food was self-sufficient while still having strategic reserves—while guaranteeing that other necessities could last three years even in the event of natural disasters—were the internal standards Chen Xi set for stepping out of the Central Plains.

Only by reaching this standard would Chen Xi dare to truly step out of the Central Plains, for it was only when the nation's resources reached this level that drawing away young and strong labor would be considered surplus labor transfer; otherwise, it would only disrupt the social structure.

Currently, Chen Xi had not yet formally begun constructing large-scale agricultural zones. The current cultivation was merely a simplified version of large-scale agriculture. Without reclaiming large swathes of land from the aristocrats, large agricultural zones could not be established.

For Chen Xi, scientific farming had been researched for so long, and under his guidance, chemical fertilizers and agricultural fertilizers had been developed. However, due to technical limitations, unless it was mass-produced, costs could not be kept low, and preservation was also an issue.

After Chen Xi carefully calculated the costs, he ultimately found that if the scale was expanded to hundreds or even thousands of acres, by investing in good seeds and chemical fertilizers, and employing workers for planting along with large-scale breeding, it seemed that yields could increase while also providing a large amount of meat, poultry, and eggs.

Chen Xi had no plans to continue distributing chickens and ducks to the common people. Compared to the fast growth of concentrated farming, those given to the common people seemed to be still being raised to this day, which was far too slow.

If they were to raise larger livestock, it would be even more difficult. Therefore, Chen Xi had given up on allowing the common people to raise animals freely, opting instead for concentrated farming. As for diseases, after several waves of large-scale deaths, concentrated farming had gained experience.

Regarding large-scale breeding, when mass deaths occurred, before a disease fully erupted, those raising livestock would eliminate the entire batch, and it would end up on the table. Chen Xi only learned about this later...

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