Mythical Three Kingdoms

When Chen Xi returned to Ye City, Li Youu and Lub Su had already proactively handled many matters. Some of the aristocratic families, who were quick and had long-term vision, had already packed up and moved to the Northeast.

These aristocratic families weren’t too numerous, but there were some. After all, Liu Bei indeed had some staunch supporters. The Cui of Qinghe, the Cui Family of Boling, the Zhen Family, the Zhang Family, and the Zheng Family had all packed up, leaving only the main branch in Jizhou.

Although it was agreed from the start that everyone had to move, these families did it so efficiently that Chen Xi couldn’t say much further. They kept only their main branch on their land, along with a few hundred escorts for protection.

Having reached this point, Chen Xi could only let it be. After all, these people were among the first to step up and actively support their policies, and they hadn’t gone overboard. Chen Xi considered it a benefit for these families.

"Your family relocated seventy thousand people?" Chen Xi said with a twitching mouth as he looked at Zhen Mi, who came to welcome him. Although he knew early on that the Zhen Family was quite formidable in Zhongshan Wuji, migrating their family along with seventy thousand people was truly the act of a wealthy clan.

"Yes, indeed, we relocated seventy thousand people. My brother announced the move, and many people were willing to move with us. My brother did indeed encourage this," Zhen Mi nodded her head and said. She hadn’t expected so many people either.

"How come there are so many? Your tenant farmers, escorts, house servants, and private slaves only add up to ten thousand, right? Are the remaining sixty thousand just common people?" Chen Xi frowned and said, the sheer number exceeded his expectations.

"Our family’s reputation is very good in Zhongshan Wuji," Zhen Mi said to the sky with a somewhat self-muttering tone, "During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, my family distributed grain in Jizhou, and half the people of Zhongshan Wuji ate our relief grain."

"I see." Chen Xi nodded. If the Zhen Family could casually relocate seventy to eighty thousand people, were the Central Plains Aristocratic Families planning to move millions? Wouldn’t the Central Plains collapse? "They are indeed both shrewd and simple people."

"When will you marry me? In the Zhen Family, it’s not easy for my brother to exercise the family head’s power smoothly," Zhen Mi said, looking at Chen Xi. On the side, Fan Jian held her forehead, not even wanting to speak, after all this time, she still asked directly.

"There is still one document missing, unregistered," Chen Xi sighed and said. With the officials gone, Zhao Qi as the Old Grand Minister, Chen Xi didn’t know how to register it.

"Alright, I can still wait," Zhen Mi said with an evident dissatisfaction in her tone, stretching out the pronunciation, but then quickly recovered.

"Speaking of which, it’s strange, why didn’t anyone from the Fan Family and Chen Family come to welcome me?" Chen Xi said with a bit of puzzlement. In the past, the Fan Family and Chen Family would always send someone to greet him, no matter what. After all, face is something you give to me, I give to you.

"They relocated. My father is organizing the Fan Family’s move, and the Chen Family collectively moved earlier. The people in charge all ran away," Fan Jian said helplessly; these two families left cleanly and decisively, relocating the entire household.

"Alright, alright, so be it. Let’s go back. I haven’t seen you all for a long time. Haha, I wonder if Qian’er still recognizes me," Chen Xi laughed, grabbing Fan Jian and Chen Lan, leading his group home first, "Home is still the best!"

Fan Jian and Chen Lan both chuckled softly and did not respond.

However, Chen Xi had only spent three days at home before being forcibly taken by Li Youu to work. Looking at the resentment on Chen Xi’s face, Li Youu completely ignored him and directly smashed a stack of already prepared items on the table in front of Chen Xi.

"Are you trying to kill me? How come there is so much in just a few days?" Chen Xi looked resentfully at Li Youu, as he didn’t want to work and just wanted to lie at home.

"This is the accumulated work from the past few months," Li Youu said with irritation, "Hurry up and get to work. The aristocratic families have begun relocating. If you delay any longer, be careful of causing trouble!"

Although the relocation of the aristocratic families to the north is indeed a good thing for the government, such a good thing also comes with a certain chaos. The relocation of the aristocratic families practically signifies the collapse of long-standing rules in various places, leaving a regional vacuum.

This lack of order won’t pose significant problems in the short term, but if it drags on too long, a series of issues will arise. Even though there was early estimation and preparation, there are still other matters to handle when this time comes.

We can’t let the aristocratic families leave, only for the powerful landlords there to grow stronger and begin to encroach on government power while the government has yet to establish itself.

"I think you should relocate them one batch at a time. With such a massive migration at once, it’s challenging for our current power to effectively penetrate the entire state," Lub Su said, tapping on the table to draw Chen Xi and Li Youu’s attention.

"Nonsense, relocating one batch at a time is a waste of time and effort, besides the wrangling in between will consume a lot of time, and we might have to start other matters before finishing this," Chen Xi replied irritatedly, "We must move them all at once."

"I didn’t say you were wrong to move them all at once. I meant that with this kind of move, our current government’s power is not enough to perfectly manage the power vacuum left by these major aristocratic families in various regions," Lub Su said, quite exasperatedly.

"Your goal is to bring government directives back to the state. The current approach isn’t wrong, but we can’t possibly reclaim everything. How do we manage so many remote areas?" Li Youu aided Lub Su, clearly understanding that Chen Xi was still in a grumpy phase from waking up.

"So you mean, after the aristocratic families run off, we can only intervene in the main areas, and the places we can’t manage will end up benefitting the Powerful Landlords?" Chen Xi could understand Li Youu’s words, so he asked directly.

"That’s exactly it. The aristocratic families have left, but the power has only partly returned to the government. Leaving the rest to the Powerful Landlords is terrible," Lub Su explained, "Though even with that power, these landlords might not have the means to challenge the state, it’s power we extracted from the aristocratic families!"

"Why should we share it with them!" Chen Xi completely denied, "I spent so much effort extracting this, and now these Landlords and Gentry, who did nothing, want to share the spoils? Are they tired of living?"

"It’s beyond our control," Li Youu said helplessly, simply admitting it was unmanageable.