Chapter 1010: Become the King
They could only attribute it to the fact that Chen Xi was too strong, so strong that he suppressed everyone.
"In the past thousand years, I have never seen such an invincible figure in history." Xun Shuang said with some emotion, "Even though I knew he was very strong a long time ago, to be this strong, he can be said to be invincible in the world."
"The moon is bright in the sky, the moon is bright in the sky!" Sima Jun sighed. Why couldn't such an outstanding young man be from his Sima family?
Although Sima Lang and Sima Yi were both great talents of the time and were among the highest-ranking officials, they were still somewhat unwilling to accept their fate.
The position of the next prime minister has now been reserved for Zhuge Liang. If nothing unexpected happens, Zhuge Liang will be the next prime minister.
This kind of monster is simply unreasonable.
"He should have done it on purpose. After we calculated this percentage, the heads of the major families will be more cautious." Chen Ji sighed and said, "If there is no such report, it should be passed very stably in the future. But with this report, I am afraid that the heads of the major families really need to think twice."
"What are you still thinking about? If we follow his path, at least we are getting stronger quickly. Even though the big money is in the hands of the other party, if you don't follow his path, do you have a future?" Sima Jun said with a sneer.
The heads of the noble families who heard this message were all silent. Indeed, this was the biggest problem and they seemed to have no choice.
In fact, they originally had another option, which was to bring Chen Xi under their control, so that Chen Xi would have no choice but to work for them no matter what.
But thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but turn their eyes to Guo Hao.
If Chen Xi is at the absolute pinnacle in economics and politics, then Guo Hao is the unmatched military pinnacle of the time, with the strongest troops, the strongest officers, the strongest army, the strongest public opinion, and the strongest righteousness.
If Guo Hao has a shortcoming, it is that everything is built on the basis of logistics, and Chen Xi makes up for this gap. The two complement each other.
One established the status and suppressed all unstable factors, while the other was to advance the entire Han Dynasty steadily.
They had no choice.
If you follow Chen Xi, at least you can eat meat, and a lot of meat, which you couldn't eat before.
Although Chen Xi got more, the problem is, if you don’t follow Chen Xi, who will you follow?
This is different from the late Western Han Dynasty. When Wang Mang was doing well, everyone followed Wang Mang. When Wang Mang began to harm the interests of the aristocratic families, everyone just followed Liu Xiu.
Anyway, it's not like they don't have a choice, but in the current situation, except for Chen Xi, the major families can't even find a buyer. It's not that there are no buyers, but the benefits offered by other buyers are not enough.
In the past, aristocratic families could make choices because the benefits offered by everyone were basically the same, so the choice was in their hands. Even the emperor needed to rely on them to support the development of the entire empire.
Even if Chen Xi killed them all now, the development would at most stagnate for a period of time.
Academies and education emerged to replace them. Everyone can see clearly that the era when they monopolized knowledge is over.
So they had no choice but to follow Chen Xi.
This is the biggest problem. No one else can offer such benefits. Only Chen Xi really does what he says.
After feeling the charm of military aristocracy, who would want to go back to their homeland to go to jail? Although no one will care if you keep a low profile and act like a local tyrant, you can revise the laws of your own country. If you get angry, they will directly drive a chariot to fight you. Would you dare to do this in your country?
Moreover, with the Han Dynasty behind them, they could be like ancestors of those small countries, and they could not give up this feeling of satisfaction.
In expanding territory, Chen Xi directly grasped their vital points.
They also knew that Chen Xi was using them as the vanguard to occupy these lands and then allow the entire Han nationality to expand its territory.
But what does it matter even if he knows? Chen Xi never hides his purpose.
But with strong economic support, such a purpose is an open conspiracy.
It's like you can choose not to breathe, but if you don't breathe you will definitely die. It seems like there is a choice, but in fact there is no choice at all.
"So why don't we study how to let the Chen family train another person who can fight against Chen Zichuan? No, don't even ask for a fight, just train a flag bearer who can stand on our side." Someone suggested in the group chat.
"Forget about it. If my family could train you and you were particularly obedient, I would have killed you all long ago. I would have killed you all during the Spring and Autumn Period." Chen Ji was not polite at all.
This is the problem with the Chen family. Although the boss is from the Chen family, he does not listen to the orders of the Chen family at all. They will give you some favors, but if you say you will listen to orders, don’t dream. From Tian Rangju, Sun Wu, to Sun Bin, no one obeyed orders.
Not only does he refuse to obey orders, but he also wants to control your entire Chen family.
A good main vein can become a branch vein over time.
Chen Ji was also angry. They had trained Chen Qun for a long time, but it was already amazing enough for them.
After adjusting his mindset, even Xun Yu could not completely suppress Chen Qun's brilliance.
However, it was useless. Compared with Chen Xi, he was just a foil.
"Don't talk about these useless things, the highlight is coming!" Just when a group of people were sighing, Zhou Yu and Sun Ce stood up.
"Your Highness, east of Japan, the sea is vast and the population is sparse. The descendants of my Sun family have been opening up China's territory amidst thorns and have been gaining a little territory while forging ahead. Only then have they realized the hardships our ancestors went through in expanding China's territory from scratch." Sun Ce's voice was filled with infinite respect and remembrance for his ancestors.
In fact, Sun Ce didn't even open his mouth. It was Zhou Yu who spoke on Sun Ce's behalf using a secret method.
Zhou Yu was really worried about letting Sun Ce mess around. This matter was very important. If it messed up, it would not be a good thing for them or the Han Dynasty.
Liu Ying was stuck for a moment, not knowing how to answer, mainly because she didn't expect Sun Ce to say such a thing. Seriously, she once thought that Tuanzi's cultural level was higher than Sun Ce's.
In fact, there is no need to answer. These words were actually spoken by Sun Ce and Zhou Yu on behalf of other aristocratic families. They advocate the eternal and unchanging attitude of strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches and putting China first.
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience fell silent. Sima Jun, Chen Ji, and Xun Shuang had almost guessed what would happen next, and they watched the next scene with great anticipation.
"We are about to leave the Central Plains and head to the East to guard the sea for China. However, no matter how far away we are, we are still one family. We have an unbreakable cultural heritage and an unbreakable etiquette culture. Even if we are far away from the Central Plains, we are still part of the Chinese nation."
Zhou Yu opened his mouth slowly, restrained his tone, and focused on the most important part. At this moment everyone knew what Zhou Yu wanted to say.
At this moment, Sun Ce's body stood straight. Although he was stupid, he understood his responsibilities. Sun Ce's demeanor, momentum, and spirit made everyone admire him.
We are not praising Sun Ce, but praising the civilization that gave birth to them, the China that gave birth to them, the great China, the majestic China, which is our common root.
This matter itself was a process of going through the motions, but it also represented the beginning of a new era for the Han Dynasty, an era of feudal fiefdoms both within the country and outside.
"Yes!" Liu Ying's majestic voice spread throughout the hall.
"Appoint Sun Ce as the King of Wu, and Zhou Yu as the King of the East. Together they are called the Two Kings of the Eastern Wu. Grant them two seals and station them in the eastern seas!"
After this heavenly sound reached everyone's ears, the last bit of worry in their hearts finally dissipated.
The tradition that only those with the surname Liu can be crowned king has been turned over, and the era of great development will begin from now on.
"Thank you, Your Highness!" Zhou Yu and Sun Ce took the seal bestowed by Liu Ying and handed over the golden book and jade book.
Liu Ying picked up the golden book and jade volume and looked through it. She understood how important this thing was. It was a proof of her violation of ancestral rules, and it could also be evidence of her future achievements.
But it doesn't mean much to her. Being able to achieve what she has achieved in this era, she has surpassed most of her ancestors. The right and wrong will be left for future generations to judge.
She rolled up the jade book and prepared to go back and etch it with a special pen. She thought there was nothing wrong with this.
Guo Hao had analyzed the pros and cons to her in advance, and only after her consent would this matter happen in the court.
"Your Highness, although this item is the best choice as a backup, if so, do all the families need to submit a report when they leave?" Xun Shuang said after officially completing the process.
Seeing Liu Ying finish reading the golden book and jade volume, nodded and put it away, he immediately stood up and asked.
"This thing is based on China, and is proposed to be used as a barrier for various families. It can be further used to restrain various families, rather than simply as a backup." Xun Shuang said in a sonorous and powerful voice, not showing any sign of old age. When Liu Ying heard this, his hand, which was about to close the jade book, stopped.
She understood the implication of Gou Shuang's words.
Zhou Yu frowned and cast his gaze towards Xun Shuang. This wise man who had dominated everyone in the last era finally stopped hiding his edge and stood up.
Chen Xi paused and looked at Guo Hao. Guo Hao shook his head, signaling Chen Xi not to move and leave it to Liu Ying to judge.
Xun Shuang’s words directly point to the core contradiction of the Han Dynasty: is it a family dynasty or a Han dynasty?
Just like what Xun Shuang said now, if Sun Ce and Zhou Yu did this, they could be crowned kings.
If the major families do this, they can also be crowned kings.
Of course they wanted to follow Chen Xi, but pinning their hopes entirely on Chen Xi's personal moral standards was undoubtedly an insult to them.
Therefore, after the Xun family decided to go out and establish a country, Xun Shuang tried his best to ensure the progress of this matter.
As the saying goes, happiness is shared with others rather than enjoyed alone. I think this suggestion from Sun Ce and Zhou Yu is very good. What do you think if we all join together?
What he wanted to do now was to tie everyone together and let Liu Ying nail the matter down to prevent Chen Xi from completely hanging them with a carrot.
To be frank, Chen Xi had thought about this: first rely on the aristocratic families to develop, and then kick the aristocratic families away and kill them directly and bury them in the soil as fertilizer.
"Yes!" Liu Ying nodded and put down the golden book and jade volume.
"In that case, why not erect a stone tablet in the center of Luoyang and engrave the oath of all the noble families on it?" Liu Ying thought for a moment, and then gave an answer that caught Xun Shuang off guard.
If his proposal was to ensure that everyone could get on board, then Liu Ying's proposal now was to ensure that no one could get off the boat.
This contradiction was instantly kicked from the imperial court to the inner circle of the aristocratic families.
In just a moment, the family was divided into those who wanted to leave and those who didn't want to leave.
Planning to go and having to go are two different things.
"Since this matter involves all the families in the Central Plains, why not gather them together to discuss it, with the country taking the lead in the negotiations." Xun Shuang's mind was clear at this time, as if he had once again seen through the fog of history. "One person's plan is short, but everyone's plan is long."
"Let's postpone this matter for now and wait until the Government Affairs Department makes a decision!" Guo Hao spoke up and postponed the matter directly.
The strategy of procrastination is extremely useful in any era.
Xun Shuang hesitated for a moment and did not continue speaking. His goal had been achieved, so he had no intention of continuing to pester.
In fact, what he wanted was a stable place to go out.
Now that both decisions are in his interest, there is no need for him to risk offending other families by moving forward.
Recently, due to obvious changes in the social environment, the previously distorted aesthetics of the major families have returned to their original state, and the six arts of a gentleman have become the best.
In short, the strange social customs, such as men putting on powder, applying facial masks, burning incense, and wearing women's clothing, were not completely eliminated, but at least returned to normal levels.
Or to put it in another more extreme direction, a strong and muscular man, a warrior wearing armor and holding a sharp weapon, driving a chariot with one hand, and being good at the five shooting and five defense skills is the true quality of a gentleman.
Even their Xun family did not want to offend too many people. Nowadays, any small family could become an armed group.
No matter how powerful the Xun family is, they are still a tiger that cannot defeat a pack of wolves.
It's just a token of their appreciation, as long as they get what they want. If they really fall out, they won't be able to withstand it once they go abroad.
We are all military gangsters, and we barbarians are also capable of doing such things.
After the court meeting, Chen Xi met Zhou Yu.
"What are your plans for the next step, Your Excellency King Dong!" Chen Xi said casually.
"I'm here to ask Lord Chen to show me a clear way forward!" Zhou Yu smiled brightly. As a king, a prince, a general, or a minister, he truly achieved an achievement that surpassed that of his ancestors.
"There's no need for me to say much about fisheries. As for other options, tropical fruits are a good option!" Chen Xi said casually.
Apart from natural gas, oil, and things like steel, the most famous thing on the ocean in later generations is food.
Tropical fruits have always been an area that cannot be ignored.
"Fruit?" Zhou Yu was a little puzzled, but he didn't rush to refute. After seeing Chen Xi's superb method of squeezing economic value out of grass, he understood.
In terms of economy, Chen Xi did not leave them much room for doubt.
"Thank you, Lord Chen!" After getting the answer, Zhou Yu did not ask too much. He picked out some difficult questions that he encountered when handling government affairs and asked .
It wasn't entirely because he wanted Chen Xi to give him an answer, but more because he wanted to see if there was any room for improvement between his approach and Chen Xi's.
Zhou Yu also has his own pride.
