Chapter 7054 Pattern

Chapter 7054 Pattern
After sending Yi Ji away, Chen Xi shook his head and walked out. The other governors also left in twos and threes. However, the Nine Ministers and the high-ranking officials under Liu Bei, after making several detours, actually followed Chen Xi.

"Hey, hey, hey, what do you mean? You're not going to make me feed you, are you?" Chen Xi turned to look at the group led by Liu Bei, and even glanced at Liu Ye, who was trailing behind, and coughed twice before asking, "Aren't there plenty of places to eat?"

“Eating is a small matter, but now we are all interested in knowing some things, such as the collusion between the state-owned factories and mines and the lower and middle levels of the local government that you mentioned before…” Fa Zheng said with a cold glint in his eyes, but before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Sun Qian.

“What do you mean by collusion? It’s just normal transportation. If you define it like that, then we’re in trouble.” Sun Qian said to Fa Zheng very seriously. After all, this wasn’t just something that Yanzhou Agriculture and Grain was doing; it was mostly done by Sun Qian’s men!

It should be noted that since Chen Xi began building state-owned enterprises, the first and second state-owned enterprises were a money exchange and a construction group, respectively. In other words, Chen Xi and Sun Qian were the earliest heads of state-owned enterprises, but they were relatively low-key, so no one thought of it that way.

What's worse is that, just as Liu Bei didn't realize there was a problem with Song Lin and Er Xiong's statement that they were sending their children to the agricultural and grain preschool, Sun Qian hadn't realized before today that building accommodations and supporting facilities for his construction team was actually a breach of regulations.

Although Sun Qian was of a high rank and could handle the situation, he genuinely hadn't realized before today that his efforts to integrate human resources by drawing young men from various regions to build the special towns for the army were far more significant than what Yi Ji had accomplished.

No one had mentioned it before, and it was a case of "if the people don't complain, the officials won't investigate." Sun Qian just felt that he was doing this to benefit his subordinates. After all, it would save them from running around randomly, make going to and from get off work more convenient, and reduce the cost of transporting the whole truckload. All things considered, it was the best solution.

As a result of Yi Ji's rambling today, Sun Qian realized that Yi Ji was nothing compared to Sun Qian's side, which was the real pitfall. He was now essentially raising an army, and a private one at that.

The only advantage was that Sun Qian had pay slips, which proved that every penny he paid to these young men in the construction corps came from state appropriations, not from his own money.

Even so, Sun Qian felt a chill run down his spine. It was as if he had been sitting on a volcano all these years. No, he had to find someone to share this responsibility with.

"Okay, okay, it's not collusion, it's resource integration, is that alright?" Jia Xu smiled and reassured Sun Qian. Jian Yong, on the other hand, looked thoughtful. His logistics business was developing relatively slowly. Although he had crossed the line, at his level, even if he hadn't noticed and deliberately tried to test the waters, he wouldn't have been drowned.

Just thinking about it made Jian Yong's gaze toward Sun Qian extremely strange. After all, Jian Yong was implementing and optimizing within Sun Qian's framework, so he naturally saw those places that were almost like military towns, which were formed by local young men. He hadn't thought there was anything wrong with them before, since conscription was being carried out everywhere. He just thought that the level of conscription in this place was really high and the organization was super strong, comparable to a legion.

So this means that this is the Legion!

Jian Yong also felt a headache coming on; he felt like he was holding a bomb, which was terrifying.

“Yes, it’s resource integration. Wenhe is absolutely right. This is an operation to optimize resource allocation, but due to a lack of foresight, it has led to some loopholes.” Sun Qian quickly added. Could he say that he had set up dozens of such military towns?
I didn't realize it before, but now? Now people are dying!
"Alright, rest assured, Gongyou, your full title is the Han Dynasty Army Road, Logistics and Transportation Planning Department, and the subordinate is the Road, Logistics and Transportation Construction Corps." Liu Bei said to Sun Qian with a smile, "You are not a civil official, but a military officer. Although the number and scale of the standing army are indeed large, and there are independent recruitment channels, this is indeed reasonable."

“Yes, so you don’t need to worry at all,” Chen Xi nodded to Sun Qian.

“The problem isn’t what you’re talking about. The problem is that what you and Yijibo discussed last time actually happened under my command.” Sun Qian laid it all out. “Besides building roads in various places, I also build some houses. After all, as you know, it takes a lot of time to build large highways, and we can’t live in the open. Even tents might not be able to withstand the elements. So, after considering all factors, the simplest way is to build roads and houses at the same time.”

Building residential buildings is actually quite fast, especially if high-rise buildings are not constructed. The construction speed is extremely fast, and so far Sun Qian only pursues sturdiness and practicality. The entire construction is basically modular, and the construction speed is terrifying.

On the contrary, elevated bridges are extremely difficult to build, so every large elevated bridge is near a residential area built by Sun Qian. These residential areas will eventually be connected by roads, some of which will become settlements for villages in the southwestern mountainous areas, while others will be taken back by the local government.

Sun Qian did not have the habit of accepting money, and the current governor of Yizhou was Chen Deng. The two had known each other for decades and trusted each other. Therefore, Sun Qian directly handed over these residential areas, which were theoretically to be abandoned afterward, to Chen Deng for disposal.

These residential areas are all close to the Southwest Corridor and were important assets in the later stages. Chen Denglu successively developed many relatively prosperous towns based on these residential areas.

“These are not problems,” Chen Xi shook his head and said. “You are qualified to transfer these things, so there’s no issue.”

Chen Xi didn't delve into how much Sun Qian had helped Chen Deng build when he was in the southwest, because it was pointless; the matter was already settled, and there was no need to pursue it further.

Furthermore, Sun Qian's identity and Liu Zhang's backing were extraordinary, so this matter could be covered up. Moreover, Sun Qian's road construction took a very long time, and considering the lack of prefabricated houses, which were unsuitable for military camps, building a military town on the spot was a reasonable option.

Whether it's a temporary measure or just a passing whim, it doesn't really matter.

As for handing it over to Chen Deng for redevelopment, since it couldn't be abandoned directly, Sun Qian's actions were not really to blame. At most, Chen Deng didn't pay him, but that's not the problem.

A complex look flashed across Sun Qian's eyes, but he ultimately didn't say anything. He knew very well that Chen Xi was actually covering for him, because before he realized there was a problem with this matter, he had actually used the supplies allocated by the state, that is, by Chen Xi, to do many other things.

"Alright, stop thinking about those things. The task I gave you is to complete the roads and bridges planned by the state. The supplies and funds allocated are also for this task. As long as you complete the tasks with high quality and quantity, where the other supplies and funds go is not important to me." Chen Xi said to Sun Qian, who seemed to want to speak but hesitated several times.

"Huh?" Sun Qian was taken aback. "Isn't this...?"

"Yes and no." Chen Xi argued with Fa Zheng while transmitting his voice to Sun Qian, "I am not allowed to embezzle, but I have indeed left a legitimate channel for profit. When it comes to repairing something, I have a professional assess how much money and materials are needed. I will give more than I need. If the extra part is lost, it is lost. As long as what I need is repaired, that's fine."

"Let alone being called a bureaucrat, even if you keep a dog to guard the house, you still have to feed it. So the supplies I distributed were actually slightly more than needed," Chen Xi said calmly. "On the other hand, since I distributed more supplies than needed, and then messed it up in the end!"

Of course, they should be severely punished. In this situation, Chen Xi didn't even bother to review it; he just went straight to the maximum penalty. After all, Chen Xi knew best the scale of the penalty he had issued.

Moreover, if this situation were to occur, Chen Xi would not only be dealing with the person involved, but with everyone on this line.

"The slightly excessive amount of supplies, besides implying that it can be floated away, also means that with technological innovation, you accomplished this with fewer resources, and I won't hold you accountable for what you took," Chen Xi said calmly.

"Then?" Sun Qian was stunned for a moment, then instantly remembered Yanzhou Agriculture and Grain.

“If the technician hadn’t died, he wouldn’t have been punished, and the others wouldn’t have been given the maximum sentence.” Chen Xi sighed and said, “My attitude towards bureaucrats has always been: whether they are still useful, whether they are no longer useful but not causing trouble, and whether they are causing trouble.”

Chen Xi is purely pragmatic about the bureaucratic system; he believes that if something is useful, he'll observe it first. As long as its usefulness outweighs its drawbacks, it can survive even if it causes trouble.

If it's useless, as long as you don't cause trouble for Chen Xi, he won't bother to remove you. After all, the Han Dynasty can accept people who can get away with things by accumulating merits. As long as you don't cause trouble, Chen Xi will definitely not let you down!
Even if your current incompetence is due to your past usefulness, Chen Xi wouldn't mind supporting you until you die, after all, the country still has some degree of human kindness to offer.

Chen Xi despises those who are already useless but still cause him trouble.

Those guys are the ones Chen Xi has been trying to eliminate.

"So don't overthink it, just get down to business." Chen Xi gave Sun Qian a few instructions. "Your position is very important. It's rare to find someone with a strong sense of public duty in this position. So unless it's absolutely necessary, or unless the transportation and logistics industry has developed to the point of being too big to fail, I won't take any action in this area."

Combining transportation, logistics, and other related sectors will create an extremely powerful department that can operate in a closed loop. From a national political perspective, such a department will exert pressure on other forces, hinder administrative efficiency, and continuously erode local authority while strengthening its own power.

Standing in the third century, only such a behemoth could withstand the erosion of all sorts of crooked and evil ways, and only such a behemoth could ignore other obstacles and forge ahead when it wanted to promote something.

To put it bluntly, while the major clans could support Lu Su to fight Chen Xi, they absolutely could not support Sun Qian to fight Chen Xi; that's the difference in scale.

Compared to Sun Qian, the livelihoods of millions of grain transport workers were but a tiny fraction of what they were capable of. Yet, Ming Dynasty officials could use such a statement to refute the emperor. Conversely, Sun Qian could also use his own construction army to refute the face of all officials.

It can be said that as long as Liu Bei and Chen Xi do not take action against Sun Qian, no one else can deal with someone of Sun Qian's stature. Even if the other elders unite, it will be a problem just to deal with those dozens of military towns. If they are not careful, they will become the sinners of the world.

“But I feel like I’m already burdened with too many things. Could I separate myself into two more Qing-level individuals? I’m worried that I might fall into someone else’s trap, just like when my senior brother led me astray,” Sun Qian said somewhat gravely.

"Haven't you realized the problem yet? They can't force you, they can only guide you. You're completely different now. Coercion and pressure mean they're stronger than you, competition and scrambling mean you're on the same side, but they can only guide you, which means their combined strength is less than yours. Gongyou, in your current situation, you don't need to be cautious in your actions, you just need to be careful with your words," Chen Xi said to Sun Qian very seriously.

Do those people not want Sun Qian to stand with them and fight Chen Xi? No, they can't!
Sun Qian has no leverage over Sun Min, who is already married and rarely leaves the house. Sun Qian has also settled all past grievances, so no one can do anything to him now.

Even if Sun Qian did something outrageous, as long as he didn't say anything, everyone could turn a blind eye. After all, there are some things that can be done but not said. At Sun Qian's level, if he secretly does something, as long as he doesn't say anything, it can be treated as if it never happened!
"As for splitting it into two ministerial-level positions? Which one do you want to split?" Chen Xi asked telepathically.

“Separate residential construction and non-road public construction.” Sun Qian had clearly thought this through. He still had a lot of responsibilities, and each one was actually quite significant.

"Who will we give it to?" Chen Xi asked very seriously.

“The residential buildings can be separated and given to Lu Yu or Jia Mu,” Sun Qian gave a direct answer. “The non-road public works, namely the water conservancy network and post stations, should belong to Wang Xiu. It’s not good for you to keep suppressing Wang Xiu. Alternatively, you can bring Sima Bo back to take over this and send Wang Xiu to Xinzhou.”

“It’s impossible for Wang Xiu to become the governor of Xinzhou. Due to its special status, Xinzhou has a certain amount of military power,” Chen Xi said to Sun Qian very seriously.

"Didn't it exist during Sima Boda's time?" Sun Qian asked, puzzled.

"It wasn't me who suppressed Wang Xiu and prevented him from becoming the governor of Xinzhou; it was Ziyang. Of course, I admit that I sided with Ziyang in this matter," Chen Xi said to Sun Qian through telepathy after glancing at Liu Ye, who was hanging at the back.

"Is that so?" Sun Qian was still a little confused. In his opinion, Wang Xiu was a key figure who had followed them since the Qingzhou era. Even if he was affected by Lu Su's problem, he should have been given a chance. So what was going on now?
“Although the concept of ‘who’s who’s who’s who’s there doesn’t really exist at the level of governors and prefects of secondary capitals, there are still some hidden networks of relationships. Wang Xiu was promoted by Wen Ru.” Chen Xi rarely revealed certain secrets that he was unwilling to talk about to Sun Qian.

"What's wrong?" Sun Qian hadn't caused any trouble in the central government for several years, and there had been much less political infighting, so even after all this, he still didn't understand.

“Ziyang’s logic in supporting the Marquis of Chiyang is that Central Asia is full of Han aristocratic families, so there must be a barrier. If Xinzhou is still part of the Liangzhou lineage, new troubles will arise.” Chen Xi laid out certain things to Sun Qian.

Liu Ye would never allow the Liangzhou faction to interfere in Xinzhou. If such a situation were to occur, Liu Ye would rather directly negotiate with Li You and eliminate him.

This is why Wang Xiu, despite being perfectly suited for the position, is still stuck in the process and unable to become the governor of Xinzhou.

To put it bluntly, Liangzhou is Li You's old stronghold, and the gateway to the Congling Mountains has been handed over to the Liangzhou faction. If Xinzhou is still under the Liangzhou faction, then Li You might as well just change his name to the King of the Northwest.

It should be noted that Li You himself has a very absurd historical problem, namely that Li You can use his private seal to mobilize the troops in the Congling Mountains. Although each time this private seal is used, it must be approved by the government office, made public, and then destroyed.

After all, the Three Idiots aren't human, and every time they're used, no trace should be left. So, each time, Li You writes it down, shows it to everyone, then copies it and destroys it, allowing the Three Idiots to do their dirty work.

This kind of thing has happened many times. So, given that Xinzhou is also part of the Liangzhou faction, Li You has a basis for going crazy, because his private seal can really mobilize a large army. If he catches the enemy off guard, the Three Fools might be able to go directly to Chang'an.

Therefore, Liu Ye would never allow Li You to take over Xinzhou, not even if it meant appointing Wang Xiu, who seemed insignificant, as governor.

There's no way I'll pass the political background check!

Incidentally, this is also why Liu Ye helped San Sha clear his name. Once the incriminating evidence is cleared, San Sha's every move will need to be reported, and he will no longer be a black mark on the political landscape.

Moreover, after a makeshift wash, it would be unlikely that Li You would be able to use his private seal to mobilize the regular army in Congling again. As long as things follow the proper procedures, Liu Ye could easily sabotage them without causing a scene.

Despite all that had been done, Liu Ye continued to set up roadblocks in Xinzhou. Chen Xi sometimes suspected that Sima Lang might actually have Liu Ye's support behind the scenes, since a three-thousand-mile journey was the best way to restrain Li You's madness.

It's almost the end of the month, hurry up and vote! The author is having such a hard time.