Chapter 924: Family and Residence

"Sigh, finding a system... I've thought about it too, but all systems are ultimately carried out by people, and we can't guarantee that we will remain the same years from now," Li You sighed deeply. Even they couldn’t guarantee that they wouldn’t change!

"In fact, the corruption of an entire system poses a greater and longer-lasting danger than the corruption of a single individual," Li You said, clearly having given this matter considerable thought, and his words carried a lot of weight.

"That’s true. It’s much harder to solve the corruption of a system than that of an individual," Chen Xi nodded slowly. Li You’s words reminded him of the Ming Dynasty’s system, and then the infamous Donglin Party came to mind. Few things in history were as repulsive as that group.

"Forget it, let’s talk about this later. History is always repeating itself; all history is just what is happening now," Chen Xi said with a bitter smile. "When I have the chance, I’ll write down the 'Cyclic Nature of Dynasties.' You can take a look and see if there’s any way to break free from this cycle."

"The Cyclic Nature of Dynasties?" Li You tilted his head, puzzled, and asked Chen Xi.

"A theory that explains why all dynasties are inevitably headed towards their demise," Chen Xi said with a bitter smile, his eyes glazing over as if he could see the end of all dynasties.

"Is there really such a thing?" Li You raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Yes, there is," Chen Xi waved his hand dismissively. "I’ll look up some data later and write a report for you. You’ll understand once you see it."

"I’m genuinely interested. Besides, if there’s a problem, there’s always a solution, even if my wisdom can’t reach a conclusion. At least we've identified the problem. Even if one day we fall, at least we’ll die knowing why," Li You’s lips curved into a slight smile. Though many of Chen Xi’s ideas seemed outlandish at first, after careful thought, even Li You had to admire him.

"Honestly, being aware of it won’t change a thing," Chen Xi shrugged. "I’ll have Zilong head to Taishan to bring our families here. As for the personnel to be relocated, draft a list for me, and I’ll compile it."

"I already prepared the list before I came. I’ll send it to you later; I don’t have it with me now. By the way, who do you plan to entrust with Fenggao?" Li You asked, his inquiry now carrying a different meaning. At this stage, as long as they didn’t make any critical mistakes, unifying the land was only a matter of time. When that happened, Fenggao, where they had risen, would likely become the secondary capital.

The official position of governor in the secondary capital would naturally rank higher than that in other regions. As the governor, one would hold the title of a true liangqianshi (2000-bushel official), perhaps even rising to the rank of one of the Nine Ministers.

"You recommend someone," Chen Xi said nonchalantly. After all, they couldn’t remain in Fenggao forever, and it was time to delegate responsibilities to others.

"Jiang Gongyan, Wang Shuzhi, and Chen Gongxi. All three have both competence and merit. Wang Shuzhi, in particular, has the achievement of guarding Linyi, while Chen Gongxi made significant contributions in the conquest of Yanzhou. They’re all solid choices," Li You casually named three candidates.

"These three?" Chen Xi raised an eyebrow. "What notable achievements does Jiang Gongyan have?"

"No mistakes," Li You answered with a smile. Compared to the other two, Jiang Wan’s performance was more average. To be precise, he didn’t stand out, but the fact that Li You mentioned him indicated that Jiang Wan’s steady nature had caught his eye. Sometimes, the job didn’t require brilliance but stability.

"Send him to Bohai, let him serve as the assistant governor there," Chen Xi said casually.

"An external assignment, huh? That works too. Let’s see if he improves further," Li You didn’t mind. It seemed like a demotion, but in Bohai, there would be more opportunities to prove himself.

"As for Wang Shuzhi and Chen Gongxi, let Xuande decide. Also, ask Zijing and Fengxiao if they have any opinions," Chen Xi added after some thought. Chen Zhi had been working in logistics under Guan Yu and Guo Jia for a long time, while Wang Xiu had served as Lu Su’s assistant for an extended period.

"I personally lean towards Shuzhi," Li You said after considering for a moment. "As for Gongxi, he’s better suited to military roles. Let’s remove his administrative duties and leave him to Yunchang and Fengxiao to handle."

"Then just report Shuzhi," Chen Xi said nonchalantly.

"I’ll report all three. Xuande is good at evaluating people," Li You shook his head, knowing he’d leave room for consideration.

"If you report all three, Xuande might choose Gongyan," Chen Xi rolled his eyes. Liu Bei had recently met with Jiang Wan and had a favorable impression of him after some casual conversation.

"Then I’ll report all three," Li You said indifferently, and he really did just that.

Afterward, the two chatted about other topics and eventually went their separate ways. Lu Su, on the other hand, had been absent from the government office all day, which was unusual.

"Finally done talking!" Xin Xianying pouted in displeasure at Chen Xi, while Zhen Mi looked resigned.

"I’ll arrange someone to take you back," Chen Xi said casually, but two voices replied simultaneously, "No need. Don’t bother!"

Chen Xi glanced at Zhen Mi, who blushed slightly, while Xin Xianying remained defiant. "I told you I’m going to repay you."

"Fine, do as you wish," Chen Xi said, shrugging. He was curious to see what the little troublemaker would do.

At this point, Zhen Mi felt awkward about leaving directly, and Chen Xi noticed her discomfort. "Let’s go. Come with me to check out my new house. There might be things that need furnishing. I’m not good at this sort of thing, but as someone from the Zhen family, I’m sure you can help."

"If Lord Chen doesn’t mind, I can assist with the furnishings," Zhen Mi quickly replied after Chen Xi’s invitation.

"I can help too!" Xin Xianying tugged on Chen Xi’s sleeve.

"Alright, just make sure it looks good. And don’t forget to make that egg custard you promised. Once I’ve had it, you should hurry back home," Chen Xi said, patting Xin Xianying on the head.

Chen Xi then glanced at Zhen Mi’s hair bun, remembering that he had once patted her on the head like this. Back then, she was only so tall, and now she was almost of marriageable age.

"What are you looking at?" Zhen Mi asked shyly.

"Nothing, just thinking about how quickly time flies," Chen Xi replied casually, tousling Xin Xianying’s hair, his mind restless.

After Xin Xianying slapped away his right hand, Chen Xi chuckled awkwardly. He led the two of them to his new residence in Ye City, which, unsurprisingly, would probably be a more permanent home than the one he had built himself in Taishan.

"Greetings, Master!" A chorus of voices echoed in the empty courtyard. Chen Xi sighed. Truly, family and a residence are two entirely different concepts.

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