Chen Xi was indeed helpless. The first time he went against popular opinion to establish the merchants' association, some people objected. But in the end, reality harshly proved them wrong. Yet, it hadn't been long since then, and now, with Liu Bei's power growing once again, certain people had secretly begun to stir things up.
The saying "as long as there is life, there will be factional struggles" finally made sense to Chen Xi. There were always some petty fools who believed that Chen Xi was just a lucky upstart, spoiled by favor. Internally, it seemed like it was time to consolidate power again. For some reason, every time power increased, it had to be tested.
Yang Xiu watched the people in his circle, nodding expressionlessly in agreement with their proposal. In truth, Yang Xiu felt immense frustration. He had no interest whatsoever in the former Qingzhou gentry and the officials transferred from Xuzhou. To him, these people seemed to have a collective brain malfunction!
Yang Xiu was quite satisfied with his current position as the Chief of the Lesser Treasury of Taishan and the County Magistrate of Bo County. Although he had once been the Prefect of Shangdang, it couldn't compare to his current role!
Taishan was far wealthier than Shangdang, with plenty of books to read and ample free time. It was a vast improvement over that miserable place. No one oppressed him, and his life was going great. Why would he want to oppose the competent officials under Liu Bei? Was he tired of living?
Of course, Yang Xiu wasn't foolish. He understood why the former Qingzhou gentry were dissatisfied with Liu Bei. After all, Liu Bei had distributed the entire Qingzhou to the Yellow Turbans, reclaimed excess land for the state, and began military farming. These former gentry families returned to find they had nothing left, so naturally, they were unhappy.
As for Xuzhou, after being harshly dealt with by Li You, Liu Bei didn't interfere, and instead relocated Xuzhou's gentry officials under his direct supervision, sending their core members to Xuzhou. This significantly weakened the influence of Xuzhou's gentry.
For these aristocratic families, it was practically a blood feud. However, despite their grievances, some of the more forward-thinking families understood that Liu Bei and Chen Xi weren't out to destroy them completely. Their policies mostly aimed to limit the power of the gentry, leaving them with some options for survival.
But there would always be self-important individuals in this world. The people surrounding Yang Xiu were exactly that. They were driven by a desire to overthrow Chen Xi, Li You, and their allies, aiming to render Liu Bei powerless. Such an unrealistic plan held no appeal for Yang Xiu. Why ruin a good life by getting involved in such suicidal schemes?
"Brother Yang, you seem a bit tired. Could it be...?" one of the Qingzhou gentry, the head of the Li family, asked with a smile.
"It's not that. I just find this all quite dull," Yang Xiu replied in a loud voice, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
"What insight do you have, Brother Mingtong?" asked Wen Ying, the head of the Wen family, who sat at the head of the table.
Wen Ying had been a staunch opponent of Liu Bei. Ever since the Yellow Turban Rebellion forced him to flee Qingzhou, he had been too afraid to return. When Liu Bei brought order to Qingzhou, Wen Ying showed up with deeds and contracts, demanding that Chen Xi return hundreds of qing of fertile land to him and compensate his family for years of losses.
The first time Wen Ying went to confront them, Chen Xi was present. Out of goodwill, Chen Xi offered other compensation, but the land that had been distributed was non-negotiable. Chen Xi promised not to shortchange him, but Wen Ying found the compensation too meager for the renowned Wen family of Qingzhou and refused to accept the same treatment as others.
Chen Xi promptly ignored him. After being rebuffed, Wen Ying gathered a crowd to cause trouble on his second attempt. This time, Chen Xi wasn't around, so the matter was handed over to Li You.
The outcome was straightforward, with all the troublemakers thrown in prison. When Li You handled the case, as the sole legislator, judge, and arbiter, it was impossible for the opposition to win. Naturally, they all suffered for it.
Li You left no loose ends. He thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of those who dared to cause trouble. After all, what aristocratic family didn't have some skeletons in their closet? Even the Xun and Chen families had their dark secrets. In this case, these troublemakers stood no chance and were directly marked for ironclad prosecution. Had there been a public trial, they would have all met their end.
Unfortunately for them, a new law had just been enacted, stipulating that unless the crime was treason, the most severe punishment would be lifelong forced labor. Because of this, the group narrowly escaped death, and Li You had no interest in dealing with these small fry any further. Once the matter was handed over, Wen Ying quickly fled.
In short, under Wen Ying's leadership, a group of individuals dissatisfied with Liu Bei's policies due to issues of profit distribution quickly gathered together. Through their efforts, this group had steadily grown.
Now, this group included various families and individuals from Qingzhou, Taishan, and Xuzhou, all of whom were unhappy with Liu Bei's policies.
This group, which boasted many members and a wide reach, appeared quite powerful. However, this was purely their own perception. To someone as clear-headed as Yang Xiu, this was nothing but a joke!
As a force with no military power, no top-tier leaders, and limited financial resources, opposing Liu Bei was a farce. If they somehow succeeded, Yang Xiu believed it would be akin to Emperor Xian unifying the world.
Ignoring all the chaotic nonsense, Yang Xiu simply found the whole affair incredibly boring. Why had they invited a successful man like him to this gathering of failures?
Yang Xiu had experienced various extraordinary events in his life. For instance, after his wife passed away, he attended a grand court meeting in Luoyang, where he caught the eye of a twelve-year-old girl and eloped with her.
When her father found out, Yang Xiu had already taken full advantage of the situation. Her father, Cai Yong, was furious but said nothing. Instead, he added a dowry and gave Yang Xiu five cartloads of books, sending his daughter, Cai Zhenji, to live with him.
In cultural circles, the Yang family was considered small and insignificant, unlikely to last more than a few generations. The Cai family, on the other hand, was aristocracy. But those five cartloads of books had given the Yang family a solid foundation.
As if that weren't enough, after a few years, Yang Xiu returned to his hometown in Taishan, where he met his sister-in-law. Unlike his rather unreliable wife, his sister-in-law was highly educated. His son had already surpassed other children of his age, which, for an aristocratic family, was the key to future success.
With everything going so well, why waste time chatting with this group of failures? Yang Xiu only felt one thing: boredom. He would rather spend his time managing Bo County, as he was quite satisfied with Liu Bei. Attending this gathering had been something he was dragged into against his will.