The Mythical Version of the Three Kingdoms: The Evil God Arrives

Chapter 323 Gongsun Zan finally came to second civil officials!
The Qingzhou fleet waited in Chaohu for a few days. Only after the Lu family moved all the craftsmen and various things from the Chaohu Shipyard on board did Gan Ning order the fleet to weigh anchor and set off on the return journey.

"So, a shipyard needs so many things?" Fa Zheng looked at the Lu family fleet following the Qingzhou fleet with some heartache. The fleet was even larger than the Qingzhou fleet. No one knew how the Lu family managed to get so many ships together.

The Qingzhou fleet itself cannot be used as a cargo ship, so if the Lu family wants to move the Chaohu Shipyard to Donglai, they can only gather enough cargo ships to load various equipment and personnel.

Fortunately, the Lu family was a shipyard owner, and they had enough ships and materials in stock, so they were able to produce enough cargo ships within a few days.

Anyway, the cargo ship does not need to ensure its structural rationality, it only needs to ensure that the cargo hold is large enough to last until Donglai Port.

"Otherwise, why do you think there are only three shipyards in the entire Han Dynasty that can build warships?" Chen Xi shook his head and said.

This is the bad thing about this era. Many industries are controlled by one family, and outsiders cannot get in without connections.

"Are there only three shipyards?" Fa Zheng said with some disbelief. However, when he thought of the focus of the Han army, Fa Zheng could imagine why no more aristocratic families invested in the shipbuilding industry.

"Well, in the entire Han Dynasty, only the Lu family in Jiangdong, the Cai family in Jingzhou, and the Gongsun family in Liaodong have mastered the complete shipbuilding technology.

These three are the most complete in the Han Dynasty, including complete shipbuilding technology, drawings, equipment, workers, material selection and other things related to shipbuilding.

The other shipyards below these three only build small and medium-sized vessels such as fishing boats.

As for large civilian ships and warships, these three are the only ones that can build them." Chen Xi introduced the current status of the shipbuilding industry in the Han Dynasty to Fa Zheng.

After all, Fa Zheng's family was from the Guanzhong region, and the most common means of transportation were either two legs, or horses and carriages, or ox carts.

The combat troops were either infantry or cavalry. I had seen passenger boats on the river, but I had never seen surface combat troops.

Therefore, before meeting the Qingzhou fleet, Fa Zheng had basically no knowledge of water battles and naval battles, let alone the shipbuilding industry of the Han Dynasty.

"Jiangdong Lu Family, Liaodong Gongsun Family, Jingzhou Cai Family?" Fa Zheng frowned and pondered for a while before saying, "Then why don't we ask Liaodong Gongsun Family to customize warships?"

Due to his own reasons, Fa Zheng didn't know much about the shipbuilding industry of the Han Dynasty.

But based on Fa Zheng's understanding of Chen Xi, in addition to the Cai family in Jingzhou, he should have also considered the Gongsun family in Liaodong. How come there is only one shipyard left, the Lu family in Jiangdong?

Moreover, given their relationship with Gongsun Zan of Youzhou, Chen Xi should definitely give priority to the Gongsun family of Liaodong, right?

Although it is not certain whether there is a blood relationship between Gongsun of Liaoxi and Gongsun of Liaodong, after Liu Yu left Youzhou, Gongsun Zan became the only overlord of Youzhou.

If Chen Xi really wanted to find Gongsun of Liaodong to order warships, would Gongsun Du still be able to save face for Gongsun Zan?
It's not that they can't ask the Jiangdong Lu family to order warships, but with Gongsun Zan as a connection, it's obvious that the Liaodong Gongsun family has a closer relationship with them.

Apart from its relationship with Gan Ning, the Jiangdong Lu family should have no other relationship with Liu Bei, Chen Xi or anyone else, right?

"Liaodong Gongsun Family?" Chen Xi shook his head. "Compared to this family, I am more optimistic about Jiangdong Lu Family."

"Gongsun Du is not a simple person." Chen Xi narrowed his eyes and thought of the fourth separatist force outside the Three Kingdoms.

"What's more, the Gongsun family of Liaodong has an unclear connection with Yuan Shao of Jizhou. I don't want to be stabbed in the back by them."

Chen Xi sneered. After the Battle of Jie Bridge ended, both You and Ji states entered a brief period of peace for recuperation.

Even though Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were both dispatching troops to the border, the two sides were indeed preparing for another war this year.

However, before the autumn harvest, the two sides could not fight, as both Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were busy dealing with internal affairs that could affect the balance of the war.

Otherwise, if during the fighting, the internal structure suddenly explodes, the enemy will be given a great victory for nothing.

After Liu Yu left Youzhou, all political affairs of Youzhou fell on Gongsun Zan. However, everyone also knew how good Gongsun Zan was at handling domestic affairs.

In terms of political sensitivity, Gongsun Zan did have some, but that was all. What Youzhou needed at that time were civil officials who were well versed in political strategies to help Gongsun Zan deal with those government affairs that were already a headache for him.

Although Tian Yu under Gongsun Zan's command was capable of helping him govern Youzhou, Gongsun Zan did not like Tian Yu very much.

The other civil officials under Gongsun Zan were not competent enough in internal affairs and could not help Gongsun Zan much in governing Youzhou.

After all, after Liu Yu left Youzhou and before Gongsun Zan urgently summoned Tian Yu back to Ji County, the government affairs of Youzhou were still functioning barely under the management of several other civil officials under Gongsun Zan.

However, compared to when Liu Yu was still there, this can be called a suspension. Ji County's decrees can only be implemented in several counties around Ji County, and although they are implemented, there is no guarantee that they can be enforced.

As for the Liaodong and Xuantu counties east of Liaoxi County and the Liaodong vassal state in between, they were not within the rule of Gongsun Zan. After all, the strength of Liaodong prefect Gongsun Du was quite good.

Of course, they were still not strong enough to fight Gongsun Zan, but Gongsun Zan could not even govern the seven western counties of Youzhou.

If Liaodong County controlled by Gongsun Du was added, Gongsun Zan felt that he would no longer have to lead troops to fight in the future and could just doze off on official documents and government affairs.

In desperation, Gongsun Zan had to recall Tian Yu from Leyang in Liaoxi to serve as the governor of Youzhou and help handle the government affairs of Youzhou.

Under the leadership of the new Youzhou governor Tian Yu, Youzhou's government affairs were quickly restored.

However, just as Gongsun Zan solved the political problems in Youzhou, Yuan Shao of Jizhou caused trouble again.

Yuan Shao actually deployed 100,000 troops on the border between Youzhou and Jizhou, as if he was ready to attack Youzhou at any time.

Facing Yuan Shao's provocation, could Gongsun Zan endure it? No, he couldn't. Even Tian Yu reminded him that this was Yuan Shao's strategy to tire out the enemy, and the purpose was to induce Gongsun Zan to abandon the development of Youzhou's people's livelihood and turn to an arms race.

In this way, even if he could not defeat Gongsun Zan head-on, Yuan Shao of Jizhou could still ignite internal conflicts in Youzhou and make Gongsun Zan busy dealing with the wars everywhere in Youzhou.

Gongsun Zan did not want to stagnate the development of the people's livelihood in Youzhou, but also wanted to give Yuan Shao a slap in the face. So under Tian Yu's suggestion, Gongsun Zan found his junior brother Liu Bei and wanted to borrow a civil official who could handle the political affairs of a state from Liu Bei.

After all, all of Liu Bei's civil officials were very capable, and there were quite a few who were capable of handling the government affairs of a state.

However, Gongsun Zan wanted to borrow a civil official who could handle the affairs of a state from Liu Bei just by lip service. Was he sure he was not joking?
Liu Bei did have many civil officials under his command who were capable of handling the political affairs of a state or even a country, but why did Liu Bei want to loan out his civil officials?
Because Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei were brothers in the same school? Even most of Liu Bei's troops when he started out were funded by Gongsun Zan?
However, this is not the logical reason. After all, Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan are two different princes. It is impossible for Liu Bei to transfer his important officials to work under Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan was a sensible man when he was not in a state of rage. He certainly knew that his letter would put Liu Bei in an awkward position.

Therefore, Gongsun Zan wrote very clearly in his letter to Liu Bei that his ultimate goal was to eliminate the harm posed by the nomadic peoples in the northern border to Youzhou and allow the people of Youzhou to live and work in peace and contentment.

Gongsun Zan said that he could only lead troops to fight, but could not make the people of Youzhou live and work in peace, but Liu Bei could do it.

At this point, the real purpose of Gongsun Zan asking Liu Bei to recommend a civil official to serve as the deputy governor of Youzhou became clear.

Therefore, after discussion among Liu Bei, Chen Xi and others, Chen Xi nominated Chen Chi, who was not well-known among the major princes, to be seconded to Gongsun Zan.

Although Chen Chi's political strategy was not the best in the world at that time, it was also considered to be above average. Otherwise, Liu Bei would not have transferred him to Liu Ye after evaluating him.

Moreover, in the official history, Chen Chi was recommended by Quan Cong as the general of Wu. Although he died shortly after taking office as the general of Wu, it was also a recognition of Chen Chi's ability.

Although Chen Chi was very puzzled as to why Liu Bei seconded him to Youzhou, after all, there was no such thing as mutual exchange of resources between Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan.

However, Chen Chi did not refuse the secondment. He had been in the Fenggao Government Affairs Office for so long that he could still see some things.

At this moment, there was indeed no exchange of resources between the two princes, Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan, but the fact that there was no exchange of resources now did not mean that there would be no exchange of resources in the future.

After working for a long time under the group of top civil officials in the Fenggao Government Affairs Office, Chen Chi felt that his administrative skills had improved a lot.

He had heard many jokes about Gongsun Zan's governance of Youzhou in the government hall. Yes, the jokes that Gongsun Zan made after he personally governed Youzhou.

After making a fool of himself, Gongsun Zan recalled Tian Yu from Yangle in Liaoxi to help deal with the affairs of Youzhou, and then asked Liu Bei to borrow civil officials.

Gongsun Zan made it clear that the senior civil officials seconded from the Fenggao Government Affairs Office would directly serve as Youzhou Beijia after arriving in Youzhou, and follow him to carry out military farming work in Zhuo County.

Yuan Shao stationed his troops in Gaoyang and Zhangwu. In addition to wanting to engage in an arms race with Gongsun Zan, he also intended to clear out the Black Mountain Army entrenched in the Taihang Mountains around Zhongshan and Changshan.

Gongsun Zan didn't care what Yuan Shao's plan was, he only knew that Yuan Shao stationed troops on the border and wanted to attack Youzhou.

Since Yuan Shao wants to start a war, then let’s fight. When has Gongsun Zan ever been afraid?

However, what Tian Yu said was right. We must not fall into Yuan Shao's strategy of tiring the enemy. Otherwise, Yuan Shao would not be killed, and we would be hung on the pillar of shame by the people of Youzhou.

Gongsun Zan wanted to develop the people's livelihood in Youzhou, but he didn't want to lose the arms race. It can be said that Gongsun Zan figured out the trick.

Therefore, if the Youzhou army wants to avoid affecting the development of people's livelihood, it must be self-reliant, and at least most of its food and grass must come from the military farms in Zhuo County.

At this time, Chen Chi's role was revealed. After all, under the leadership of Zhao Yun, most of the civil officials in the Fenggao Government Affairs Office were able to issue military farming orders.

In this way, Tian Yu stayed in Ji County to handle the political affairs of Youzhou and worked hard to develop people's livelihood.

Gongsun Zan took Chen Chi to Zhuo County, stationed troops and cultivated land there. He wanted to see what Yuan Shao could do to him.

Then, when Chen Chi arrived in Youzhou, he discovered traces of communication between Jizhou and Liaodong. It was obvious that Yuan Shao not only wanted to start an arms race, but also wanted to blast Gongsun Zan from within.

"So that's how it is..." Fa Zheng looked at Chen Xi thoughtfully. Although he knew that Jizhou and Youzhou had connections, he really didn't know who wanted to betray Gongsun Zan.

"But, this thing hasn't happened yet before you chose the shipyard, right?" Fa Zheng looked at Chen Xi. He was quite curious about how Chen Xi knew something that had not happened yet.

"I got this information from Zi Yu. You know that Zi Yu has the ability to observe the future. It depends on whether you can get the information you want from him."

After hearing Fa Zheng's question, Chen Xi was silent for a while, and then pulled Yang Ji over to take the blame. After all, he couldn't say that he had seen the Liaodong separatist regime in history books.

"You are really amazing. You managed to pry this information out of Zi Yu so early." Fa Zheng shook his head, marveling at Chen Xi's sharp methods. He was able to pry open Yang Ji's mouth two years ago and plan the naval warship shipyard in advance.

"What's the big deal? It's been a while, you should be used to it." Chen Xi praised himself jokingly.

Fa Zheng couldn't help but complain about Chen Xi's boasting: "You are really shameless. It's obvious that half of the credit belongs to Zi Yu."

Facing Fa Zheng's complaints, Chen Xi just smiled and did not refute. This was one of the reasons why he wanted to pull Yang Ji into his camp.

If there is anything that is not good to say directly, just throw it directly to Yang Ji, because he really has the ability to observe the future.

"Oh, by the way, do you know where the shipbuilding technology of the three families of Jiangdong Lu, Jingzhou Cai and Liaodong Gongsun came from?" Fa Zheng asked Chen Xi curiously.

The inheritance of family learning in the Qin and Han dynasties could not have appeared out of thin air, there must be a source. Either the ancestor was one of the philosophers, or he was a disciple of a certain family and founded a family after returning from his studies.

"Why are you interested in this?" Chen Xi looked at Fa Zheng with interest. He didn't expect that Fa Zheng would be curious about the things in this pile of old papers.

"Nothing, I just want to see how far back the family traditions of these aristocratic families can be traced." Fa Zheng chuckled. Aristocratic families that have lasted for thousands of years are truly an existence that makes people yearn for them in a confusing and yet disgusting way.

Chen Xi glanced at Fa Zheng, and then said: "The Lu and Cai families should have absorbed the branch of the Mohist school that drifted to the Qi and Lu regions after the division of the Mohist school, and the Liaodong Gongsun family should have absorbed the technology of the Gongshu family."

(End of this chapter)