Chapter 1207: The More You Think, the More Troublesome It Gets

Chen Xi's face darkened as he denied the outrageous claim, "When did I ever make such an unreliable promise?"

"Just like you said, people are driven by pressure. I believe you still have a lot of untapped potential," Li You replied with a smile, stroking his beard.

"While it's true that people can be pushed to their limits, it doesn’t mean that forcing someone will always yield good results!" Chen Xi retorted, dissatisfied. Back then, a slip of the tongue had led to this group of scoundrels adding all sorts of embellishments to his words. He had thought they’d forgotten about it, but apparently, they hadn’t.

"But if you don’t try, how will you know what the result will be? You said that yourself," Lu Su, normally a good-natured man, decided to join in on the teasing.

"I hate how you guys never forget anything, you bunch of scoundrels," Chen Xi grumbled, displeased. "Have you finished your administrative work?"

Silence fell over the group. Administrative tasks were never truly finished; they were constantly evolving and being adjusted. Moreover, in such a short time, they hadn’t even completed the basic framework.

"Then get back to work! How do you have time to sit around eating and drinking? All of you, go work overtime!" Chen Xi shouted in frustration.

"Why the rush? The Lantern Festival hasn’t even passed yet," Guo Jia, the only one who dared to speak so casually, said with a relaxed attitude. His lifestyle was always carefree.

"Go work overtime, and tonight I’ll treat you all to yuanxiao," Chen Xi said, rolling his eyes. One of the most impressive aspects of their food-loving empire was that every festival had its own special snacks and meals. And if it was a lesser-known holiday, they’d just eat dumplings.

"Yuanxiao? What’s that?" Fazheng asked, tilting his head in confusion. Although the Lantern Festival existed in this era, yuanxiao didn’t. It was something from a thousand years in the future, so not knowing about it was natural.

"It’s a type of food," Chen Xi explained helplessly. "My family has already made it. Haven’t you?"

"We’ve prepared the offerings for the festival," Fazheng replied, eyes gleaming.

"Of course, only Zichuan would come up with unknown delicacies," Li You said with a sigh. "You never overindulge in luxury, but when it comes to food, you surpass us all."

"The problem is that food is the one eternal constant throughout history. Once the issue of food is solved, everything else falls into place," Chen Xi declared, striking a heroic pose as he gazed at the sky.

"That actually makes sense," Liu Ye nodded in agreement. In the chaotic world of the late Han dynasty, nothing was more important for stabilizing society than ensuring people had enough to eat.

"Save me an extra two sets of chopsticks tonight," Guo Jia casually remarked. He never felt guilty about eating Chen Xi’s food. "I’ll bring my son along."

Chen Xi reluctantly agreed, though he didn’t mind. After all, he had prepared plenty, and the taste was decent—though it couldn’t compare to the various modern flavorings.

The others weren’t as relaxed as Guo Jia, but Chen Xi planned to send a portion to every household later anyway. Sharing his creations with others was always more enjoyable, and having this group of people try it out would help spread the word.

That night, after Jia Xu received his portion of yuanxiao, he boiled it and, after pressing it with a spoon, immediately branded it as a "round dumpling." The truth was that Jia Xu and the others were happiest with dumplings because anything could be stuffed inside.

Jia Xu especially liked this simple dish that could cater to all tastes. As someone who appreciated solutions that could address multiple problems at once, he genuinely wished there was a policy as effective as dumplings—something that could resolve any issue.

After sending everyone back to their administrative work, Chen Xi left with a world map in hand, feeling a headache brewing. What he had said earlier sounded good, but if Liu Bei really backed down, there was nothing he could do about it.

After all, this would shatter Liu Bei’s understanding of the world. Unlike Jia Xu and other strategists, Liu Bei didn’t have the same intellectual capacity. Intelligence could solve most problems, but a lack of it was a problem for everyone. As for Liu Bei’s intelligence... well...

People with little suspicion tend not to be that intelligent, and Liu Bei’s lack of suspicion seemed to confirm this. Comparing their wits, it seemed that Cao Cao was still a bit sharper than Liu Bei.

"Zijian, you can head back now. No need to worry about me," Chen Xi waved to dismiss Hua Xiong, signaling him to return to training the Xiliang cavalry.

Though Hua Xiong served as a general, he also acted as Chen Xi’s bodyguard, much like how Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, as Liu Bei’s top generals, also served as his personal guards. From the very beginning, Hua Xiong had been assigned to protect Chen Xi.

However, Hua Xiong rarely fulfilled his bodyguard duties, especially after Li You appeared. Hua Xiong spent more time protecting Li You than Chen Xi, which showed just how irresponsible he was as a bodyguard. But Chen Xi didn’t mind; he usually didn’t need protection anyway.

"Lord Chen, are there other empires beyond the Central Plains?" Hua Xiong’s sharp hearing picked up their previous conversations, and even though Li You had hung thick drapes to block sound and light, it was impossible to prevent someone with Internal Qi Manifestation from eavesdropping.

"Yes, there are many other countries, but as for empires, there are fewer," Chen Xi replied with a smile. He didn’t mind Hua Xiong’s straightforward nature. This guy’s thinking was simple: whatever Li You said was the truth, and there would be no surprises with him.

"Are there other nations with people like Lü Fengxian and Lord Chen?" Hua Xiong asked, his face showing hesitation but ultimately gathering his resolve.

"Probably not," Chen Xi chuckled bitterly. "I don’t know how Wenhou reached his current level, but I do know one thing—reaching that level is beyond the capacity of ordinary people. Even Xiang Yu didn’t shatter the void and ascend, and it’s been 400 years since then!"

"Then we have an advantage," Hua Xiong grinned suddenly.

"Why do you say that? You should know that some of these other empires are terrifyingly powerful," Chen Xi asked, curious about how Hua Xiong had arrived at such a conclusion.

"If they can be called empires, they must be comparable to us in many respects. Even if there are differences, they shouldn’t be too great. At the very least, they should be in the same league. In the end, it comes down to people," Hua Xiong said simply.

"We can produce the strongest individuals, so when it comes to those who truly influence the situation, we have the advantage," Hua Xiong added, scratching his head with slight uncertainty.

Chen Xi fell silent as he turned to look at Hua Xiong. He suddenly realized that Hua Xiong wasn’t as foolish as he had once thought. At the very least, Hua Xiong understood what was most important in this world.

"Yes, you’re right. Ultimately, the ones who truly shape the course of events are us," Chen Xi nodded in agreement. "Zijian, in some ways, you’re even smarter than Jia Wenhe and the others."

Hua Xiong chuckled foolishly, not understanding why Chen Xi was praising him.

[Sometimes, you don’t need to overthink things. Just like now, there’s only one thing I really need to tell Xuande,] Chen Xi thought silently.

Hua Xiong’s words had reminded him that many problems were self-inflicted. The smarter a person is, the more they think, and the more they think, the more problems arise.

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