Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chen Xi said with a dark face that he had never made such a promise, "When did I ever make such an unreliable wish!"

"Like you said, people are forced to their potential. I feel you still have a lot of potential to be tapped." Li Youu stroked his beard and said with a smile.

"Although people are indeed forced to their limits, it doesn't mean forcing someone will lead to good results!" Chen Xi said discontentedly. He had misspoke once and this group of bastards patched it up with a bunch of additional promises. He thought they had forgotten, but apparently not.

"But if you don't try, who will know the outcome? That's what you said yourself." Lub Su, the affable person, chose to add fuel to the fire.

"I hate how you guys never forget anything you see or hear." Chen Xi said irritably, "Have you all finished your governmental affairs!"

"..." Everyone fell silent. Government affairs, there's no such thing as having them all settled. They constantly change and adapt. And with such short time, not even the framework is complete.

"Then get going and handle it!" Chen Xi raged, "You still have time to eat and drink? Get to overtime work now!"

"The Lantern Festival isn't even over yet, what's the rush?" Only Guo Jia could say something so leisurely. His attitude towards life was just that carefree.

"Everyone, go work overtime. I'll treat you to Lantern festival dumplings tonight." Chen Xi rolled his eyes. The most powerful thing about the Gourmet Empire is that every festival has its own unique snacks and meals, and for generally less memorable festivals, they just eat dumplings.

"Lantern festival dumplings, what are those?" Fa Zheng looked up at the ceiling beam and said. Although there was the Lantern Festival in this era, such a thing didn't exist. Lantern festival dumplings were something from a thousand years later, so not knowing was normal.

"It's a kind of food." Chen Xi said speechlessly, "My family already made them, haven't you?"

"My household has prepared the sacrificial items." Fa Zheng said with bright eyes.

"Only Zichuan would make some unheard-of food." Li Youu said speechlessly, "While in other nobleman's habits you don't show excess, in terms of eating, you've surpassed everyone else."

"The problem is that food is the only constant throughout the ages. Solve the food issue, and everything else isn't a problem." Chen Xi struck a glorious pose at a forty-five-degree angle.

"That's quite reasonable." Liu Ye nodded, saying that in this late Han era, nothing stabilized the world more than food.

"Add two more sets of tableware for tonight." Guo Jia said casually. He never had any pressure eating Chen Xi's food, "I'll bring my son along."

Chen Xi reluctantly agreed, but it didn't matter since he made plenty. The flavor was alright when he tasted it, though it couldn't compare to the various flavorings of later generations.

Others were not as relaxed, but Chen Xi would later send some to every household. Sharing joy is better than enjoying it alone, and having this group try it first is key to spreading it.

That night, after receiving the lantern festival dumplings, Jia Xu stewed them, pressed them with a spoon, and promptly labeled them as spherical dumplings. Actually, the favorite food of Jia Xu and others were dumplings because you can stuff anything into them.

Jia Xu liked simple things that could satisfy all tastes. As a meal that looked similar outside but could have any flavor inside, Jia Xu genuinely hoped for a solution as effective as dumplings that could solve any problem.

After sending everyone off to handle the governmental affairs, Chen Xi, holding a world map, felt a bit of a headache once he stepped out. While he talked big before, if Liu Bei truly faltered, there wasn't much he could do.

This was shattering Liu Bei's understanding. Unlike sages like Jia Xu, Liu Bei's mind and thinking weren't on par with theirs. Wisdom can solve most problems, but was lack of wisdom everyone's problem? Liu Bei's intelligence, oh...

People with mild distrust don't usually have high intelligence. Liu Bei's distrust seemed very mild, which suggests that in terms of intelligence, Cao Cao was still slightly superior to Liu Bei.

"Zijian, you can go back. You don't need to keep an eye on me." Chen Xi waved his hand, signaling Hua Xiong to continue training the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, not to appear behind him.

Even though Hua Xiong was not only a general but also had a role as Chen Xi's escort, much like how Guan and Zhang were Liu Bei's top generals but also served as his bodyguards, Hua Xiong joined Liu Bei from the beginning as Chen Xi's escort.

However, Hua Xiong almost never fulfilled his duty as an escort, especially after Li Youu appeared. Hua Xiong guarded Li Youu more often than Chen Xi, showing just how irresponsible he was in escort duties. But it's okay because Chen Xi generally doesn't need protection.

"Marquis Chen, are there other empires outside of the Central Plains?" Hua Xiong's ears were very sharp. Even though Li Youu hung many velvet curtains to block light and absorb sound, the hearing of someone with Inner Qi Manifestation was so inhuman that unless you used voice transmission, there's no way to prevent eavesdropping.

"Yes, there are many countries, though empires are fewer." Chen Xi said with a smile. He wasn't worried about someone as straightforward as Hua Xiong. His thought process was straightforward: whatever Li Youu said was the truth. There wouldn't be any mishaps.

"Will the other countries have figures like Lyu Fengxian or Marquis Chen?" Hua Xiong looked hesitant but eventually decided firmly.

"They probably won't." Chen Xi chuckled bitterly, "I don't know how Marquis Wenn trained to that level, but I do know that level isn't something an ordinary person can reach. Even King Xiang didn't ascend to the Heavenly Realm by shattering the void, and that was a whole four centuries ago!"

"Then we should have a great advantage." Hua Xiong suddenly said with a grin.

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

"If they can call themselves empires, they should be similar in other respects, and the differences shouldn't be too vast. At least they should be on the same level, so the real competition comes down to people." Hua Xiong said simply and clearly.

"We can produce the uniquely strongest, so we have the advantage in truly influential people." Hua Xiong scratched his head, a bit uncertain.

Chen Xi was silent, turning to look at Hua Xiong. He suddenly realized Hua Xiong wasn't that foolish, as Hua Xiong was quite clear about what mattered most in this world.

"Hmm, you're quite right. The truth is, it all comes down to us." Chen Xi nodded, "Zijian, sometimes you're even smarter than Jia Wenhe and the others."

Hua Xiong laughed foolishly, completely unaware of why Chen Xi was praising him so.

[Sometimes, there's no need to overthink; like now, I'm hesitating when I should just tell Lord Xuande one thing!] Chen Xi thought silently.

Hua Xiong's words reminded Chen Xi that many troubles are self-inflicted. Smart people overthink and overanalyze, which results in many problems. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)