Chapter 737: Dealing with the Aftermath

Liu Bei’s matters were ultimately his to handle. When the time came, he would lead the army into battle as needed. Having personally fought in battles before and with a large group of civil and military officials by his side, Chen Xi truly wasn’t worried about Liu Bei.

"Greetings to Lord Xuande." "Greetings, my lord." Two different voices greeted in a disorganized manner.

Liu Bei gestured towards the table, and after the group sat down, he ordered the maids to serve tea and refreshments before dismissing them. "How are things? Did all the aristocratic families rebel?"

"About thirty percent of the aristocratic families did not participate in the rebellion. Some were caught off guard by the unexpected actions of the Wang family of Mount Tai and were forced to join the rebellion due to poor response. Others were simply opportunistic," Li You calmly recounted the events of the previous night.

"At least some of them retained a bit of conscience," Liu Bei said with a strained smile, looking somewhat relieved.

Though Liu Bei was often displeased with certain behaviors of the aristocratic families, he understood that they constituted the backbone of the middle management in this era. While it was feasible to harshly suppress them, completely eradicating these families would create significant short-term issues.

"It’s not so much about conscience as it is about interest. The benefits we offer them outweigh those they might gain by siding with Yuan Benchu. So, it’s about half and half," Chen Xi said as he took a sip of tea. He hadn’t slept all night, and now that the tension had eased, he was feeling drowsy, relying on tea to keep him awake.

"Morality can constrain an individual, but it’s far from enough to restrain a family. Even the Wang family of Mount Tai, which has been apprehended, didn’t have any major moral issues, did they?" Chen Xi placed his teacup down, shook off his drowsiness, and continued.

Chen Xi’s words led to a moment of silence among the group. Morality had long been a traditional value, but Chen Xi’s blunt dismissal of it as insufficient in the context of family dynamics made everyone uncomfortable.

"Zichuan makes a valid point. Moral character can indeed constrain an individual, but not everyone possesses such a high level of moral integrity. Within a family, those who can truly be restrained by their moral compass are few; most are just ordinary people," Liu Bei was the first to respond, surprisingly agreeing with Chen Xi.

Liu Bei had long grown accustomed to Chen Xi’s straightforward manner and didn’t mind if his own statements were occasionally contradicted. In fact, Liu Bei welcomed it, as it often meant there were better solutions to consider.

"That’s the situation. Ordinary people will always be the majority in this world. The sage's teachings aim to guide them, but there was never an expectation that everyone would become a sage. Just as Wenruo said, it’s about balancing kindness with authority. It would be a shame to wipe them all out. For the Wang family of Mount Tai and other such families, we’ll execute the ringleaders, confiscate most of their assets, and exile them," Chen Xi said with a sigh.

Improving moral standards is indeed crucial, but to achieve universal altruism, the level of moral development required is almost unattainable, even by Chen Xi’s standards.

"Then let’s proceed accordingly," Liu Bei said after some thought. "As for Fenggao, any citizens who suffered losses last night should be fully compensated. Those who were injured or killed in the battle should receive the same benefits and compensation as regular soldiers."

"There’s no issue with the finances," Li You nodded.

Although much of Tai Shan’s fiscal reserves had been converted into materials, the treasury still held substantial funds. Moreover, they would undoubtedly confiscate the wealth of several aristocratic families today. Additionally, those families who sought to take advantage of the situation would likely end up paying for their miscalculations. Thus, Tai Shan’s treasury was in good shape.

"The central street buildings and the city of Fenggao will soon need to move to the second phase you mentioned, Zichuan. When you initially proposed the fortification-level planning for the central street, I thought you were exaggerating. But it seems you were right after all," Liu Bei remarked with a sigh.

"We might as well make some profit out of it," Chen Xi smiled. When they built it initially, the walls were a full ten feet thick, with even the thinner sections being several feet deep. Now, by tearing it down and rebuilding, the internal space would naturally expand considerably.

"It’s also time to reclaim the land deeds and reassign them," Li You calculated, estimating the timing.

"I’m planning to open up paper-making technology," Chen Xi suddenly brought up the topic.

"It’s about time. We now have the strength to safeguard this knowledge," Liu Bei nodded. In the past, they had to be cautious of both the aristocratic families and other warlords. But now, their power had matured to the point where they no longer feared any challengers.

"When the time comes, let’s have Xianhe return and compile the 'Great Dictionary' and 'Character Source' first," Chen Xi said. "We should first establish our dominance in culture and morality."

"I’ve heard a bit about these from Xianhe over the years. He seems to have been working on them for quite some time. But what exactly are they?" Liu Bei nodded but then asked. He genuinely didn’t know much about Jian Yong’s work. Among the original group, Jian Yong had always been the least noticeable.

"You’ll understand once you see them, my lord," Xun Yue said with a smile. He was also aware of Jian Yong’s ambitions. If the work succeeded, Jian Yong’s name would be remembered throughout history.

"We’ll discuss it when the time comes. As for those aristocratic families who were opportunistic, give them two choices: either let us copy a set of their family’s academic knowledge before sentencing, or send eighty percent of their offspring to become teachers. We still have a significant shortage of teachers in Tai Shan. If eighty percent of their offspring become teachers and there are no major issues, we can let them go," Liu Bei said firmly. He was quite interested in the family teachings of the aristocracy.

"This method… is quite clever," Xun Yue weighed the idea.

Allowing the copying of family teachings would be a severe blow to the aristocratic families. Even if they carefully selected what to share, the process would likely expose much of their core knowledge, revealing their essential teachings.

On the other hand, sending eighty percent of their offspring to become teachers might seem like a good offer. But with most of their children teaching, how many would be left to take government positions? Without officials in the family, how could they maintain their status?

"Let’s proceed with that," Chen Xi nodded in agreement with Liu Bei’s proposal. There wasn’t much to criticize. Although the aristocracy would likely sacrifice some family teachings for copying and send many of their children into basic education, this was already sufficient for Chen Xi’s goals. They couldn’t push too hard.

Moreover, if they demanded the full surrender of all family teachings, it might cause further unrest. Similarly, if they forced all the aristocratic offspring into teaching positions, the families might resort to sneaking in their own agendas, potentially leading to subversive influences on young students.

"But what about Zizhong? Originally, he and I were supposed to go placate the aristocracy tomorrow. Now that Zichuan is taking over, I hope Zizhong isn’t too spooked," Jia Xu asked, glancing around and noticing that Mi Zhu was absent, which struck him as odd.

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