Chapter 7157: Time and fate

Chapter 7157: Time and fate
"Why do I feel that you're so calm about this kind of thing?" Liu Bei said to Chen Xi with a hint of exasperation. "You don't seem to have any emotional fluctuations at all. You speak with such an air of complete indifference. What? You found out about this?"

Liu Bei spoke with a hint of sarcasm, but as the saying goes, he was actually very angry about this behavior. Si Liang's words were rather vague, but the absence of those two words really stung Liu Bei. What do you mean by "absent"? Tell me what you mean by "absent"!

"It's alright. At least the Yanmen Coal Mine is still supplying anthracite to the locals in Yanmen and is still fulfilling its former responsibilities. At most, it's secretly selling some coal briquettes to other places and taking a little government subsidy. It's just a little money-grabbing, so the problem isn't too serious," Chen Xi said calmly, not taking the matter to heart at all.

"That's the Yanmen Coal Mine. Although it's not the largest coal mine, it's at least one of the top ten large open-pit coal mines. Now it's been divided up by the Yanmen government, and this is your attitude?" Liu Bei said with a hint of anger. He was dumbfounded when he heard that this thing was gone. If they could divide up something like this, the people in the Yanmen government must be crazy!
"It's alright. At most, the nature of the mine has changed. It was probably during the handover a couple of years ago that Yanmen played a trick. But even if they played a trick and changed the nature of the mine to make it easier for them to make money from Yanmen Coal Mine, at least they didn't change the positioning of Yanmen Coal Mine." Chen Xi said with a bit of calmness. "In other words, the threat from the local authorities is still useful."

The biggest disaster in Bingzhou is actually snow disaster. It's the Ice Age, and the Romans have also caused some trouble. The snow disaster in Bingzhou is very serious. According to the statistics of the tenth year of Yuanfeng, the snow in Bingzhou this year is seven feet deep. That is, if Cao Cao were thrown in, he wouldn't even be able to see a head.

Yanmen is located in the northern part of Bingzhou, where the snow is even thicker. According to the local assimilated Xianbei people, this kind of weather would have been the most feared climate by the northern nomads twenty years ago. Of course, that was for the Xianbei people of the past. For the Xianbei people who have houses now, they can burn smokeless coal at home and then hibernate. When they wake up, they can brew some jujube tea and other such things. Their lives are even better than those of the chieftains back then.

Look, the snow in Bingzhou is so heavy, yet no one has reported any deaths from freezing or starvation. Everyone is just staying indoors for the winter. In other words, although the officials in Yanmen have privatized the Yanmen Coal Mine, they still bear the most important responsibility of the Yanmen Coal Mine—providing cheap winter supplies to the people of the Yanmen area.

For Chen Xi, this was the most important function of the Yanmen Coal Mine. As for the other functions, to be honest, Chen Xi didn't care. Although it was necessary to clean up the officialdom in Yanmen, it didn't warrant Liu Bei's anger.

Of course, Chen Xi also believed that the reason why the Yanmen officials did not do anything outrageous in this regard was not because they had a conscience, but because it was more realistic. Yanmen was a place full of martial spirit, and the retired Bingzhou wolf cavalry were often tempered three or four times. If these people ran out of coal in the winter, they would really dare to turn into bandits and rush into the homes of these officials.

In a winter when the snow was seven feet deep, the tree bark was frozen and cracked, and the roads were frozen and fissured, after enjoying the warmth of our old home with coal burning, when the coal was shut off, what else was there to say? Even if it wasn't for ourselves, we had to take up a knife and kill those people for the sake of our children.

Therefore, it's understandable that the Yanmen officials didn't make a fatal mistake in this regard, since there really are righteous people in Yanmen.

"Send an investigation team to Yanmen and find out exactly what's going on!" Liu Bei said to Chen Xi with a hint of annoyance.

"Let's wait until after the grand court assembly. As for the situation at Yanmen, let's leave it at that for now and deal with it after winter." Chen Xi rejected Liu Bei's suggestion to send an investigation team in immediately.

"Wait until after winter? Zichuan, have you never been to Yanmen?" Liu Bei couldn't hold back any longer after hearing Chen Xi's telepathic message. They had to wait until the end of winter? Yanmen could even see snow in the third month of spring!

“I haven’t been there, but I know that if we send an investigation team there now, the functions of the Yanmen government will almost collapse. And it’s winter now, if those people’s functions collapse, the people of Yanmen will suffer from the cold.” Chen Xi said calmly. “On the contrary, if we leave it there and don’t do anything, even if there are problems in the Yanmen government, they will try their best to remain still. There is no need to doubt the efforts that bureaucrats will make for their official positions.”

Liu Bei was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, and then realized what Chen Xi was talking about.

"The officials in Yanmen are just making money. We can deal with this later. Let's get through the winter first. At least these Yanmen bureaucrats have done something in the past few years. Looking at the reports from Yanmen over the years, some people have died from poisoning while burning charcoal in winter, but apart from those who fell while drinking outside, no one has frozen to death at home." Chen Xi said casually, "The most basic functions are still normal. There's no rush."

Upon hearing Chen Xi's words, Liu Bei lowered his head and thought about it. It seemed to be true. But then he thought that even if he quickly arranged for new officials to take over the work after arresting these people, they might not be able to do it well. After all, the officials in Yanmen were more familiar with the situation in Yanmen.

“Indeed, then we’ll arrange an investigation team when spring arrives,” Liu Bei said after a moment’s thought.

“When spring comes, since you’ve already gone to the Ganges, I’ll be conducting troop deployment verification in the five northern provinces. I’ll be sending an investigation team myself.” Chen Xi glanced at Zhuge Liang, who was still explaining, and replied with a somewhat indifferent tone.

“That’s true, you can handle it all at once then.” Liu Bei agreed, nodding and indicating that Chen Xi would make the arrangements.

At this moment, Zang Hong was asking Bi Gui, the governor of Yanmen, "Zhaoxian, tell me, what exactly is going on in Yanmen?"

At this moment, Bi Gui's expression was uncertain, unsure of how to explain the matter. However, given Si Liang's previous words, Bi Gui did not believe he could deceive Zang Hong.

"Just tell the truth. Si Liang has already told most of it. If you don't speak now, the people from the Court of Justice won't be questioning you like this later." Zang Hong said calmly. He never expected his subordinates to be good people, let alone good officials. All he wanted were bureaucrats who could carry out his orders and allow the people under his jurisdiction to live with dignity.

“Si Liang’s statement is somewhat inaccurate,” Bi Gui replied after a long silence.

"Oh, then that's mostly fine. Alright, considering you didn't cause any trouble in Yanmen and only wanted to make some money, this matter won't endanger your life." After hearing this, Zang Hong had already made his own judgment about the rest.

Bi Gui remained silent. As a young official in his early thirties who had already become a prefect, he also wanted to climb higher. In fact, Zang Hong had previously thought highly of him, but...

"Speaking of which, after you split up Yanmen Coal Mine, Yanmen Coal Mine continued to perform its previous functions. What's the point of you doing this?" Zang Hong said with a hint of helplessness. He actually thought highly of Bi Gui. He was a capable young man with a humble background and a strong drive to succeed. He was a very useful tool, but he ended up failing here.

Bi Gui remained completely silent. Could he say that he had made a lot of money from the Yanmen Coal Mine?
Yanmen County and Changshan County are adjacent. Changshan has excellent infrastructure due to Gu Xi's influence, but it lacks open-pit coal mines, while Yanmen has no shortage of them. Especially after Gu Xi completes the road to Bingzhou, Yanmen County will produce a lot of anthracite coal towards Changshan.

As I said before, with logistics, this stuff can be incredibly profitable if sold in large quantities. Even in later generations, it's considered a necessity. Plus, burning high-quality smokeless coal from Bingzhou is much easier than burning firewood. With Zhao Family Village, which Gu Xi has turned into a logistics hub in the north, there are naturally people buying up the coal mines from Yanmen County that are exporting like crazy to Changshan. The only difference is how much profit they make.

So over the years, Bi Gui, a bureaucrat from a poor family, has earned more money than he could ever have in several lifetimes.

To be honest, a key reason why Bi Gui chose to divide up the Yanmen Coal Mine and drag the entire Yanmen officialdom down with him was that the wealthy merchants who came to Bingzhou back then really provoked Bi Gui.

The clothes, the things they used, the food, the drinks, and the entertainment made Bi Gui feel like he was really just a poor mountain villager. Why could a commoner like him enjoy such luxury with just a glove? He, a county-level official and a promising young bureaucrat, had never enjoyed such things.

Once a person develops a competitive mentality, especially if they are comparing themselves to the wrong things, then alienation is only a matter of time. Bi Gui was a smart man. After making a mistake, he began to use his power to make money and quickly found a way out, a broad and prosperous road.

"However, since you didn't cut off the supply of coal briquettes to the surrounding people, at least you won't die. At most, you'll be sentenced to hard labor, or even just have your illegal gains confiscated and be sent for re-education. There might be a chance for you to make a comeback in the future, but don't count on your future. Just do your job properly in the future and don't go astray." Zang Hong glanced at Bi Gui and said with some regret. He was very comfortable using this man, but unfortunately, he would basically never be able to use him again.

Zang Hong knew very well that things were completely different now than they were ten years ago. Ten years ago, he could use his bow and arrow to force the people of Bingzhou to relocate. Ten years ago, if some officials did things like Bi Gui, as long as it did not affect or harm the people, they could be reinstated after their illegal gains were confiscated and they were educated and re-educated. But now, Zang Hong did not dare to lead his troops to shoot arrows at the people like he did ten years ago. Similarly, there was no hope for such lenient treatment in the past.

Of course, this is the truth, but that doesn't mean Zang Hong wants to say it out loud. He's just giving Bi Gui bait to use, so as to prevent the other party from resorting to desperate measures.

"I have a question!" After disconnecting the telepathic message, Zang Hong stood up and asked Zhuge Liang, "I understand and think it's the right direction to build a metallurgical bureau, coal mine, and machinery processing plant in Bingzhou. But how should these things be classified? If they belong to the state, then there's no difference from before. If they belong to the prefectures and counties, how should that be defined?"

This question is actually an extension of the previous one. Zang Hong raised this issue after seeing Yi Ji's operation surrounding the agricultural and grain resources in Yanzhou. Although that operation failed, it served as a reminder to Zang Hong about who should own these things. If they were all assigned to the central government, Zang Hong could accept it, but he would definitely not invest too much time and energy in this area, nor would he send more personnel.

But if the entire territory were allocated to the prefectures and counties, Zang Hong would naturally invest without limit, giving away whatever he had.

Essentially, this is a question of the division of financial power between the central and local governments. However, compared to Yi Ji's question at the time, Zang Hong made it clear this time before implementation.

"The boundaries should be defined based on the local government's own investment." Chen Xi had previously given Zhuge Liang the answer to this question. Although Zhuge Liang thought it was rather strange, he accepted Chen Xi's suggestion considering that Chen Xi had a longer-term vision in this regard.

"So, is the management right in the hands of the prefecture or the State Assets Management Committee under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Department? And if it's divided like this, what extent of power does the State Assets Management Committee under the Imperial Household Department have over this industry?" Zang Hong continued to ask after listening.

"The State-owned Assets Management Committee will be separated later and renamed the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which will be headed by Dr. Liu and Dr. Mi," Chen Xi said, standing up. He was the one who had to explain this, as he roughly knew where the questions Zang Hong had been asking came from.

"So, the state only exercises supervisory power over factories and mines invested in by prefectures and counties, right?" Zang Hong asked very seriously. As he said this, he glanced at Bi Gui out of the corner of his eye and thought that Bi Gui was really an idiot. When Zang Hong's gaze fell on him, Bi Gui suddenly realized this as well. The moment of annoyance almost made him depressed.

Because if it were a little later, after the 35 plan was released, Bi Gui wouldn't need to do the previous operations at all. He could borrow money from Zang Hong to cut off the Yanmen Coal Mine, then reorganize it, and then carry out all the current operations. That would be completely legal, and he might even be promoted as a model.

Unfortunately, one wrong step and it's basically all over. Even with new rules and regulations, Bi Gui's actions won't be completely shut down, but the outcome won't be good either.

“No, it does have some management power, but it generally doesn’t exercise it. In fact, most local factories and mines, except for the early stages of construction when the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission provides some guidance and operation, are mostly left to develop on their own and demonstrate their value in the market.” Chen Xi shook his head and said, “To be honest, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which was separated out, basically does not exercise the latter’s power except on a few occasions.”

The rest was left unsaid, but everyone present understood. Supervision is relatively easy to enforce, requires less effort, and doesn't incur high human resource costs. However, management involves very real and unavoidable aspects.

The predecessor of the State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, namely the State Assets Management Commission under the Shaofu, had such a large number of state-owned assets that it was already difficult for them to manage themselves. Chen Xi could only provide guidance to most large factories, mines, agriculture, animal husbandry, handicrafts, etc. in the early stages, and it was impossible for him to pay attention to them all the time.

For most families, any such thing would be something worth paying attention to constantly, but for Chen Xi, he simply didn't have time to pay attention to it. He only needed to maintain a calm facade, ensuring that the people received what they were entitled to, and he generally didn't care about other matters.

Take the Yanmen Coal Mine as an example. If it were in the hands of the Han family, it would probably have been taken down when Bi Gui started the vote. But for Chen Xi, it had been several years. If Si Liang hadn't exposed it today, Chen Xi probably wouldn't have known until the people of Yanmen discovered that the price of what should have been extremely cheap anthracite coal had skyrocketed and then reported it to higher authorities.

This is the problem. Chen Xi doesn't have that much energy to focus on this aspect. This is also why Chen Xi is constantly cutting back on his own tasks and taking on more responsibilities for others. Because Chen Xi is well aware that his energy is limited and he cannot keep an eye on these things all the time.

Similarly, since Chen Xi can't even keep an eye on those under his own name, how could he possibly keep an eye on the enterprises built by the state and county? It's already a good sign that the system is functioning well enough to be able to exercise supervisory power. If he wants to exercise management power, then this new thing will probably have to develop for many years before it's possible.

"Okay, then I have no more questions." After receiving a clear answer from Chen Xi, Zang Hong nodded and sat down. He got the answer he wanted. As for knowing the answer, he knew it would be difficult for him to be as excellent as Chen Xi, but that wasn't a problem. Regardless of whether it was good or bad, at least this was a child he had raised himself, not someone else's child. That was the difference.

"Are there any other questions?" Chen Xi asked again, looking at the assembled officials in the court. To be honest, this was the most frustrating thing for Chen Xi. Whenever he asked a question, it seemed like no one else had any questions. Even when Chen Xi occasionally doubted whether he had done something wrong, these people would say that if he messed it up, it was definitely not Chen Hou's fault, but their own.

Given the situation, what could Chen Xi say? He could only say, "Okay, you guys do it first."

"I have a question." Seeing that no one was asking questions, Chen Xi was about to shake her head and sit down when Liu Tong suddenly spoke up.

"Please go ahead." Chen Xi nodded.

“If bureaucrats in prefectures and counties can do this kind of thing, then ordinary people will be ruined by them! You taught me that the most profitable business in the world must be collusion between officials and businessmen. But now this is not collusion between officials and businessmen, it’s the fate of officials.” Liu Tong said with a hint of coldness.

I need a rest, I'm so sleepy.