Chapter 7099, Chapter 2 (foreign)

Chapter 7099: Two Oceans
"Gongtai, I won't say much more. Just go with them to the Indochina Peninsula. You definitely won't be shortchanged," Chen Xi said with a faint smile.

Chen Xi is someone who doesn't owe anyone anything. He remembers all the kindness shown to him and will always repay them in ways that exceed their expectations when necessary. As for hatred, to be honest, Chen Xi is strong enough, has a good life, and has no hatred.

There's a saying that goes, "If you're strong enough, you'll find good people everywhere in this world." Similarly, if you're strong enough, you'll find good things everywhere in this world. Chen Xi's strength, from a certain perspective, is already at a conceptual level, so there's no need for him to consider any hatred at all.

The resentment of being expelled from the Chen family back then has long since faded away with time. Whether Chen Xi forgave the Chen family or the world made the Chen family realize the right choice is not important. Anyway, that's how things are, reality has been set, and saying anything more is meaningless.

Chen Gong remained silent for a moment after hearing this, then looked up at Chen Xi with a somewhat strange expression. He believed that Chen Xi understood his beliefs and mentality. As for Lü Bu, Chen Gong did his best to fulfill his duties as a strategist and friend, and as for Cao Cao, he could not abandon him either.

In other words, for the rest of his life, he still had to find a way to protect Cao Cao, so that he wouldn't be found by the people of Xuzhou. Now that things had come to this, without the protection of the nation's fortune, Cao Cao was someone who could be killed at will, and even if he were killed, there would be no way to hold him accountable.

Therefore, Chen Gong had to spend a lot of energy on this aspect. As for whether it was worth it or not, it was meaningless. Sometimes Chen Gong thought that he was just lucky to have been born in a good era. Otherwise, it seemed that the things he had done in his life were not worth it.

From finally becoming a county magistrate through the recommendation system, to meeting Cao Cao, then working together to kill someone and save a pig, and then when Cao Cao took control of Yanzhou, Chen Gong felt both lucky and conflicted. He felt that this was perhaps his destiny, and that he should follow Cao Cao. So when he saw his spirited friend, he decided to follow him one more time.

Soon after, Chen Gong glimpsed Cao Cao's possible future from some of his actions. Then, Cao Cao's ruthless and unscrupulous behavior soon came to fruition. This complete betrayal of morality and his own beliefs led Chen Gong to choose to leave.

After that encounter, there should have been no chance for them to meet again. But Liu Bei and Chen Xi unified the world with even more ingenious methods, allowing them all to survive. He met Cao Cao again, and with the guarantee of sharing the same stance, he was able to sit with Cao Cao.

Unlike the first time when he was willing to give his life to the other person, and the second time when he was willing to give his heart to the other person, the third time, Chen Gong felt that all he could give him was his wisdom and ability, and as for anything else, it seemed that he really couldn't do it.

Even so, after Cao Cao made so many mistakes, Chen Gong found himself unable to resist saving him when he had the chance. Perhaps that scene from back then left too many impressions on him, and he still hoped to return to that day.

For Chen Gong, Cao Cao, who was once willing to risk his life to uphold his beliefs, was also a light in the darkness.

Therefore, Chen Gong did his best to hope that the Cao Cao of the past would return. Unfortunately, he was the only one who remained in that moment. Even so, Chen Gong did not want Cao Cao to die. Even if Cao Cao died, without the burden, he could at least be ranked among the Nine Ministers in the Han Dynasty and obtain power from the central government through Chen Xi.

But that doesn't matter. For someone like Chen Gong, there must be some reasons and some obsessions in living a lifetime, and the Cao Cao of the past was his obsession.

"Are you so confident that Zhuge Liang can kill Cao Cao in my hands?" Chen Gong asked with some doubt. "Although I also believe that Zhuge Liang is a genius, and can be said to be the most outstanding strategist of the next era, he is not you. If my opponent were you, everything would have been destroyed long ago. But Kongming?"

"It's not that I think it's possible in the future," Chen Xi said with a smile. "The current Kongming can't use the methods you've already prepared, but the future Kongming will definitely have a way. Just like you started looking for the future path back then, you should also think about what will happen after Cao Mengde is gone."

Upon hearing this, Chen Gong closed his eyes slightly but did not respond. Chen Xi was also somewhat surprised by this scene, which meant that Chen Gong had already made plans long ago.

"It was my fault. I didn't expect you to have thought of that day so early." Chen Xi was silent for a while. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"No need for further words." Chen Gong shook his head and said. Unlike what Chen Xi thought, Chen Gong had plans for the future. It wasn't that he had foreseen Cao Cao's death, but rather that Chen Gong had other plans. In fact, from a certain perspective, all of Chen Gong's actions since the eighth year of Yuanfeng were actually centered around how Cao Cao should return.

The Cao Cao of today is still Cao Cao, but he is the Cao Cao of the Cao family, the Cao Cao of Xun Wenruo, Xun Gongda, and Cheng Zhongde, not the Cao Cao of Chen Gong. The Cao Cao of Chen Gong died long ago when the two of them killed someone to save a pig. What remains now is only the corpse of that Cao Cao.

However, for Chen Gong, having the corpse from back then might allow him to find a way to bring Cao Cao back. So far, all of Chen Gong's divisive actions can be based on this logic.

Others simply couldn't understand Chen Gong's thoughts and found his behavior very strange.

"Kongming will kill Cao Cao sooner or later, and that's something I can't stop. But once that hatred is gone, how do you think Kongming will view the world?" Chen Gong said with a hint of indifference. He didn't deny the fact that Kongming would kill Cao Cao; it was just a matter of time. Even he could only hold on because of Zhuge Liang's great power, and that was without Zhuge Liang using the power of the state. If the power of the state were used, Cao Cao would die even faster.

"What other perspectives can we use to view the world?" Chen Xi asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Without Cao Cao, Kongming basically has no stance. After all, he has no family and no vested interests. Now he has the group of fellow villagers from Xuzhou who follow him, support him, and identify with him, which makes him identify with their identity. But what happens after that? Don’t tell me you think Kongming will identify with the Liangzhou faction?” Chen Gong asked Chen Xi calmly.

"And then?" Chen Xi's smile faded slightly, and he looked at Chen Gong with a deep expression.

"How would a wise man who is invincible, has no worries, and has received the best education to run this country manage it?" Chen Gong said with a hint of silence. "I don't think the Liangzhou faction is a good thing, but when a person has no worries and has extraordinary wisdom, he will naturally look down on all living beings and treat them as chess pieces, making exquisite calculations!"

Chen Xi's smile vanished completely, and her gaze towards Chen Gong became much more serious.

"Lord Chen, what I admire about you is that you could have become a god, but you didn't choose to become a god. Instead, you acted as a human being, handling all matters of the world with human emotions. That's why you pay attention to the lives of ordinary people and try to understand the realities of people's lives," Chen Gong continued to say to himself.

“But Kongming might not be like that. After he finished this, it was basically equivalent to settling the cause and effect. After that, he could sit in that position completely neutrally and look down on everything in the world. So, I ask you, does he view the world as a number or as an independent individual?” Chen Gong’s eyes became extremely sharp at this moment.

“Use numbers.” Chen Xi was silent for a while before giving his final answer. Even though he hadn’t thought about the question carefully, when Chen Gong pointed it out, Chen Xi still gave the most accurate answer. After Zhuge Liang settled his karma, he would definitely view the masses and the people of the Han Dynasty from a numerical perspective.

“That’s not right,” Chen Gong said slowly. “A ruler should not use numbers to understand the world, should not use numbers to judge everything created by the people, and should not use numbers to manage the people, because people are not numbers, and people’s needs are not numbers.”

“But it’s better and more accurate than most eras.” Chen Xi thought for a moment, but still gave his judgment from a relatively neutral perspective.

“Yes, even so, it’s still better than most of the past eras, and more accurate. Living in Zhuge Liang’s era would definitely be better than most of the previous eras. But some things can’t be quantified. It’s not a good thing to pursue precise numbers too much.” Chen Gong shook his head and said, “At the very least, as the correct person, when you look at the numbers, you will also pay attention to the more detailed individuals. After all, the latter are the real people, while the former is just a statistical representation.”

"I didn't expect you to say these things." Chen Xi looked at Chen Gong with some surprise and said, "Kongming's future is still up to him to choose. He may not become what you think."

"But after eliminating Cao Cao and fulfilling his obligations to the people of Xuzhou, Kongming's connections were severed, and then it was Kongming's own path to follow," Chen Gong said calmly.

"Alright, give me a timeframe." Chen Xi thought for a moment. Although he felt that Chen Gong's words were a bit extreme, this was something that had to be guarded against. It would be a pity to completely turn Zhuge Liang into a perfect political machine. People still need to have some humanity. If you stand too high and look at everything with numbers, then in the end, there probably won't be much humanity left.

"Not this year," Chen Gong said very seriously.

"Alright." Chen Xi nodded, then clasped his hands together, invoked the will of the empire, and gave Cao Cao a little bit of protection. This little bit of protection from the nation's fortune and destiny was not much, but at least it could prevent many accidents from happening. With the backup plan left by Chen Gong and this little bit of protection from the nation's fortune, even Zhuge Liang would have a hard time capturing Cao Cao if there were no accidents.

"This is blatant cheating. Aren't you afraid Zhuge Liang will find out?" Chen Gong frowned repeatedly as he watched Chen Xi cheat so brazenly in front of him.

"Consider it your fault, Chen Gongtai," Chen Xi said nonchalantly. "Besides, Cao Sikong himself should have some remaining national fortune and destiny. I just chose to strip away that part and let the people of Xuzhou handle it. I won't take the initiative to do it, but that shouldn't prevent me from making things easier for others. And if someone commits a crime, they should be punished!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Gong remained silent, but he was even more determined to speed up his plans. Otherwise, if he continued to delay, Cao Cao might die before he could realize his ideals. This matter had become an obsession for him.

"Alright, that's all I've promised you. If you have any other desires, just say them now, and don't say anything like begging." Chen Xi looked at Chen Gong very seriously and said, "The Bingzhou faction is a completely different story with or without you."

This is not just empty talk, but a fact. With Chen Gong's integration and planning, the Bingzhou faction could be a force to be reckoned with in the Han Dynasty. However, without Chen Gong, the upper limit of what they could exert was limited.

"I need a map. My understanding of the true situation in the country is not very accurate right now. I need to see a map with my own eyes, one showing the current troop deployments, the terrain, and the quantity of military equipment." Chen Gong understood that Chen Xi was giving him a chance, so after thinking for a moment, he made a request that was not unreasonable.

"Come with me." Chen Xi gave Chen Gong a deep look. He had long noticed that unless it was an unexpected event, Chen Gong could always offer his suggestions at just the right time and come up with something that was hard to refuse.

Chen Xi led Chen Gong into his study. Unlike the small study on Mount Tai back then, this time Chen Xi's study was very large, even the largest one in the inner courtyard.

After entering the study, Chen Xi rummaged through the bookshelves and took out the magic mirror and projector at the same time. He then projected a very large and very clear map onto the canvas. This map showed the current territorial division of the Han Dynasty, the distribution of various forces, and even detailed information on the garrison size and armory size in the Ganges region.

It's fair to say that if the Kushans had stolen this thing, they could have launched a counterattack.

"This is the Indochina Peninsula." Chen Gong carefully looked at the Indochina Peninsula, as well as Southeast Asia and even Australia. Chen Gong had never been to these places, so he was not very familiar with the situation there. Therefore, he had to take a look and make a note of it so that he could recall it later.

“Yes, this place has simultaneous rain and heat, and vast plains, making it a good place for farming. It’s just that the population is sparse, making development difficult. In the past, before the problems of malaria and miasma were solved, the issue wasn’t development difficulties, but rather the risk of disease outbreaks. Of course, now that we have medicine, these problems are no longer problems.” Chen Xi said, pointing to the map while holding the bamboo pole he used to pack his son’s things.

"The main force of Jiangdong is all here, and this large island to the west is Sun Ce's territory. So, this is where we'll be in the future?" Chen Gong looked at the map, pointed to what was roughly the location of Thailand or Malaysia in later times, and asked with some speculation. Chen Xi nodded.

Chen Gong looked at the map, his gaze naturally drifting towards the Kra Isthmus Canal and Ceylon, currently marked with Gan Ning and Lu Xun in the Indian Ocean. He then looked down at Sumatra, also known as Tiannan County, and his brows furrowed.

"What's wrong? Is there something you want to ask?" Chen Xi asked tentatively, noticing Chen Gong's furrowed brows in thought.

"May I ask a rather unconventional strategic question?" Chen Gong pondered for a long time while looking at the map, then turned to Chen Xi and asked.

"What's the problem?" Chen Xi asked casually.

"I've heard that Gan Xingba is actually from the Chen family," Chen Gong asked tentatively.

Chen Xi didn't answer, but he didn't refute either. In such matters, not refuting is tantamount to acquiescence. With this understanding, Chen Gong looked at Ceylon, the Kra Canal, the future location of the Bingzhou faction, Sumatra, and even the so-called Strait of Malacca, his brows furrowed.

"Is there anything you want to say?" Chen Xi asked Chen Gong, arms crossed.

"I have another question for you, Lord Chen. Does your disciple, Lu Xun, possess sufficient talent in naval warfare and army command?" Chen Gong asked Chen Xi with a serious expression.

Although he had met Lu Xun and even worked with him, there is a big difference between an ordinary legion commander and a large legion commander. If Lu Xun is a large legion commander, then Chen Gong will need to think carefully about how to answer Chen Xi in the future.

"Boyan, given the opportunity, becoming the commander of a large amphibious army shouldn't be a problem," Chen Xi said with a smile.

Chen Gong remained silent for a while, then said, "Lord Chen, please give me the truth. How do you expect us in Bingzhou to cooperate? If Lu Boyan has such talent, then there are indeed some things he can do."

As they spoke, Chen Xi and Chen Gong's gazes naturally fell on Ceylon, Sumatra, and the Kra Isthmus Canal.

“You guessed my thoughts again. If it weren’t for the Bingzhou faction, Ziyi would have been assigned here in the future,” Chen Xi said with a smile.

Placing Taishi Ci in the position that Chen Xi assigned to the Bingzhou faction was not an insult to Taishi Ci, but a very realistic one. Taishi Ci, Gan Ning, and Lu Xun, along with the Kra Canal and Ceylon, which currently represent political geopolitics, could enable these three to join forces to control the two oceans.

If we control the Malacca region, we will have enough naval power to control the Indian and Pacific Oceans. What about controlling Ceylon and the Kra Canal?

寄啦