Mythic version of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 7233 Unleashed
Although Chen Xi had prepared two test plans, the second test plan did not encounter such an abstract situation. However, the second test was very straightforward and had a clear target. If the road bully dared to cut off this kind of goods, he would most likely die of acute iron poisoning.

The problem is the first test plan, which involves Liu Tong checking off items from all over the country on a list. That's the real situation faced by ordinary people, or even ordinary people with some power. What Chen Xi wants to test is how long it would take for these things to arrive under normal circumstances.

As for the latter, that's a clear and explicit demand. Theoretically speaking, if the logistics system is used in this way when war breaks out and the goods are not delivered on time, then it would be considered a case of being late and subject to a military court.

Chen Xi wasn't that strict; he was just conducting a test. So, those who delivered on time in the second round received a reward, while those who didn't were not punished. However, the fact that the second round didn't meet the requirements wasn't primarily a problem with the bureaucrats at the time, but rather a problem with the local logistics planning.

Therefore, to be honest, the first round was a test of logistics efficiency under normal circumstances. Chen Xi did not deliberately increase the intensity, but there was definitely a problem if the goods did not arrive on time. This is because Chen Xi had already left time for adjusting the unreasonable logistics layout in the first round. If the goods still could not be delivered under these circumstances, then there must be some problem on the local side.

The second round, however, is an extreme test. It's not about testing whether there are problems with road bullies in the area, but rather whether there are issues with the local logistics planning.

It can be said that the first round tested the management ability of local officials, while the second round actually tested the infrastructure construction and planning abilities of Sun Qian and Jian Yong.

Well, once the intensity really increased, the second round of deliveries arrived on time in more places than in the first round. If Chen Xi doesn't step in and give them a talking-to, things will get really messed up!
Those damn local bureaucrats, half of them are using the infrastructure projects that Sun Qian and Jian Yong are working on as a way to make money for themselves. Of course, Chen Xi isn't saying they shouldn't make money, but there should be limits!

Therefore, this time, Chen Xi brought up this matter directly and discussed it thoroughly at the Executive Yuan.

"Let me say it again, the infrastructure projects in Gongyou and Xianhe can indeed boost local people's livelihoods and income, but this is not something for local officials to make money from. Everyone in the Executive Yuan should at least be aware of this limit!" Chen Xi said to Jia Xu in an annoyed tone.

When Jia Xu heard Chen Xi's words, his lips twitched. How to put it? Where is the most serious problem with road bullies? In Yongliang in the Northwest, the locals really do carry out such inspections. What's worse is that the locals really don't make any special exceptions. They even detained the logistics package that Chen Xi used for verification for eight days. It's simply outrageous.

What's even more impressive is that during the second round of verification, the items that Chen Xi had explicitly instructed to be delivered to Chang'an from Yongliang arrived before the first batch of logistics shipments. What does this mean? It means that Sun Qian and Jian Yong's infrastructure construction was flawless and their planning was reasonable, but the local officials were truly out of their depth!

Jia Xu simply didn't believe the local gentry or elders they were talking about. What a joke! Even if they were real people, without the tacit approval of the bureaucratic system, it would never have come to this.

"Well, I'll handle things in Liangzhou." Jia Xu couldn't directly respond, so he could only speak to himself because the situation was too serious. It was so serious that even during the New Year's court assembly, Jia Xu couldn't understand where those people got the audacity to do such a thing. After sending people to confirm, he found that it had nothing to do with audacity; it was simply a matter of detaining whatever they encountered and demanding money.

Jia Xu was speechless. Where did this idiot come from to pull off such an outrageous move? It wasn't just bad, it was downright stupid!

They were truly capable of seizing the possessions of marquises and waiting for others to pay for them. They even seized their own belongings, no matter what they were. They would seize them first and ask questions later. Even items from different departments within the same organization would have to go through this process.

Abstract to the point of being out of this world, Jia Xu decides to strike hard!
"Alright, resolve things in Yongliang as soon as possible. I understand taking some money, but there must be detailed rules and regulations regarding how much to take. We can't let them do whatever they want," Chen Xi said to Jia Xu with a dark face.

It's impossible to completely ban them from collecting money or conducting inspections. If the locals can't skim money off the system during this process, they'll completely ignore its existence, which will only cause more trouble in the end. So what Chen Xi wants is standardization, not to completely cut off these people from getting any money.

"Of course, Wenhe was referring to Yongliang, but we shouldn't overlook other places either. This kind of behavior exists in various places. After all, with the development of the official logistics industry, although an item may not cost much, if you sell in large quantities, it can generate a steady stream of income, which is not a joke." Chen Xi said with a hint of helplessness at the relentless march of time.

"If I encounter this during my patrols, I will send someone to notify the Court of Justice for handling." Liu Tong nodded to indicate that he understood.

"Well, the important thing isn't actually dealing with people, but rather determining how to finalize these rules and regulations during the inspection process," Chen Xi added after hearing Liu Tong's words.

There's no point in doing these roadblocks; we need to clarify the system. Chen Xi knows how this system was implemented in later generations, but the differences in eras and environments make it impossible to copy. So, he can only provide direction and let these people conduct on-site investigations to gradually form a reasonable system.

Otherwise, even if it is forcibly suppressed, it will only end in the death of the leader and the collapse of the regime. And, to be honest, the logistics industry is still very important.

"Another issue is the roads. Gongyou has already increased manpower to build roads heading south. The road in Sichuan has been completed, and the one in Central and Southern China will be completed soon. The road through Jingzhou and Xiangyang also needs to be built. There might be some activity in Yunmengze at that time, so you all need to keep an eye on it and send manpower if necessary," Chen Xi said with a heavy expression.

Regardless of how others reacted upon hearing this, Liu Tong's expression changed immediately.

Liu Tong had forgotten about the ritual of offering sacrifices to the dead several times, but Bai Qi and Han Xin, those two geniuses, would occasionally complain about it. Over time, Liu Tong became too lazy to delete his records about the ritual of offering sacrifices to the dead. Therefore, Liu Tong knew exactly what kind of weird things were happening in Yunmengze.

"We've already sent a bunch of elites to investigate. Although we trust my ancestor a bit, I can't figure out what these Four Saints-level deities are thinking, so we have to go and find out." Chen Xi said with some caution. Sun Wu and Wu Qi ran away without warning, and now there's no one to suppress them in Yunmengze. Who knows when a demon god might show up.

Of course, Sun Wu also said when he left that even if he ran away, the Demon God could not come out whenever he wanted, so Chen Xi could rest assured. But it would be a miracle if Chen Xi could rest assured about such a thing. So, as soon as the New Year came, he arranged for a professional team led by Jiang Guang and Zhao Ying to go to Yunmengze.

Okay, it's not that I don't trust Sun Tzu and Wu Qi, but rather that humanity as a whole is currently cursed by the world's consciousness, and we do have some incredible luck.

Therefore, some low-probability events can actually happen very easily at this stage.

When Sun Wu and Wu Qi left after watching the Grand Martial Arts Competition, Chen Xi hadn't realized this yet. But once they were really gone, Chen Xi suddenly realized that given the current environment and the extent to which humanity is disliked in the world, if Sun Wu and Wu Qi ran away and left behind troubles that no one would suppress, there would definitely be some who would break free from their cages!

Realizing this, Chen Xi decisively arranged for a group of elites to go to Yunmengze first, and then had Sun Qian mobilize the elite road-building corps to also go to Yunmengze. In this way, even if an accidental incident occurred, frankly speaking, Chen Xi's arrangement could still stabilize the situation.

Putting everything else aside, those demon gods in Yunmengze, even if a few or a dozen occasionally escape, the previous wave of manpower was still able to handle them.

"Zichuan, have you mobilized troops?" Guan Yu asked with a hint of caution.

"I've mobilized the 800 Imperial Guards from Shanglin Garden to go there first. The plan is to wipe out the demons left behind by Wu Zi on the outer perimeter, and then try a small-scale extermination of a wave of demons left behind by Sun Zi. We'll test the strength first to avoid being caught off guard by the world's consciousness. Everyone knows our current situation; otherwise, we would truly be cursed by the world," Chen Xi explained simply.

No matter how dissatisfied Chen Xi was, those two extraordinary people from Sun Wu had ultimately entrusted this thing to him. So after getting a general understanding of it and confirming that there was a risk of omissions, he quickly took precautions.

Let's not even talk about fighting the main force of the Demon God. Let's first wipe out those scattered guys around the Yunmeng Marsh that Sun and Wu mentioned. We did a pretty good job suppressing these things before, but now, who knows!

"Is that so? Are you confident?" Liu Tong asked with some worry. The more he learned about demon gods, the more he realized how difficult they were to deal with.

"No problem. Unless all those ghosts from Yunmeng come ashore, if it's just a small team, the team I sent is enough to handle it." Chen Xi said confidently. So what if they are demon gods? These days, there are more than one or two people stronger than demon gods. The strength of demon gods lies in their lack of barriers to entry and their universality. As long as their numbers don't increase and they don't become widespread, they can't be considered invincible!

Fa Zheng, Guo Jia, and Jia Xu were somewhat confused at this time. They had known about the sacrificial ceremony for the deceased for a period of time, but later realized that it was too dangerous and that knowing it would subject them to certain restrictions. So they each used their own methods to erase this part of their memories.

As for Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu was an avid reader of the Spring and Autumn Annals and had long ago noticed the problems within it. Whether or not it was deleted was meaningless. The same principle applies to Zhuge Liang. When military strategists reach a certain level, even the fog of history cannot obscure their true nature.

So when the two of them heard Chen Xi's words, they were both speechless.

"Those two don't seem like unreliable guys," Guan Yu said with a hint of helplessness.

"They actually all have special solutions, but once they're sure we can solve it now, they pass the buck to me and let me handle it, so they don't use that so-called solution," Chen Xi said with a hint of depression. It's just our ancestors ordering their descendants around; you really can't say anything about it.

"Was the original plan to rely on the Yangtze River tide and the mud of Yunmeng to seal those things down tens of meters, or even nearly a hundred meters?" Zhuge Liang asked with some curiosity.

"That's roughly the idea; both of them came up with the same approach," Chen Xi recalled. "To be honest, this plan is very reliable."

Because Yunmengze still existed at that time, meaning that the Wuhan area in later generations was still submerged in water, tens of thousands of corpse demons were buried directly in the silt of Yunmengze. Relying on the power of the changing times, after Yunmengze dried up, the demons were basically buried hundreds of meters underwater. In this way, they could basically be considered to have fallen into eternal slumber.

After that, with the power of time, the demon god was doomed. There's not much to say about it. After all, no matter how much you boast about super-fast regeneration, it still depends on energy and self-reliance. Given enough time, even a demon god can be worn down and killed.

After Sun Tzu and Wu Qi watched the grand military exercise, they felt that the Han dynasty could handle the situation, so they passed the buck to Chen Xi, giving him time to resolve it.

At the time, Chen Xi didn't think it was a problem. After all, no matter how ridiculous the Demon God was, without weapons and equipment, apart from a few points of willpower breaking limits, the rest could be assumed to be physical attacks. This didn't completely fit the Han Dynasty's material-stacking approach, so it was perfect for testing the Super Shield Guard.

So Chen Xi took the job without having a choice, but when he calmed down, he realized it was a trap.

It wasn't Sun Wu and Wu Qi who tricked Chen Xi, but rather the curse of the world's consciousness that would kill Chen Xi!
Without the suppression of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi, the Demon God will definitely be able to climb out of Yunmeng. It's that simple. So this matter has become something that cannot be delayed! This is critical.

"Is it a minor problem?" Guan Yu asked tentatively.

“It shouldn’t be a big problem.” Chen Xi said with some caution. “I first arranged for an elite team to go there as investigators. Even if something unexpected happens, they can still pass on the information. Then I arranged for the Shield Guards from Shanglin Garden to go there as well. If something really happens later, there’s also Gongyou.”

To reiterate, if we really need to use force to suppress this region, and Liu Bei isn't around, we'll have to rely on Sun Qian. Putting everything else aside, his strength is truly reliable.

“Gongyou just happened to be repairing roads in Yunmeng. If something happens, we’ll suppress them together. If nothing happens, we’ll give those guys a concrete shell.” Chen Xi said with a hint of coldness. It’s best to prevent the spread of the Binshi Demon God if possible.

However, just as Chen Xi was saying this, the Jingxiang Huarong region had already reported the matter to higher authorities. Because the governor of Jingzhou, Liao Li, was in Chang'an, and the magistrate of Huarong County, Du Huo, determined that reporting to higher authorities would not solve the problem, he directly used special channels to forcibly send the secret report to Guan Yu's residence.

"Magistrate, when will the reinforcements arrive?" In a village under the jurisdiction of Huarong County, Du Huo, accompanied by several yamen runners, looked at the half-dead people he had rescued with grim faces, while the village chief, a veteran, looked anxiously at the magistrate who had come to the rescue.

"Damn it, you should have notified me when the first able-bodied man died, but you actually dared to lead a team to ambush him. Now this kind of thing is beyond our ability to handle." Du Huo's face was also ashen. He had already fought with that strangely abstract beast, which he couldn't tell what it was, but which looked somewhat like a mandrill. He hadn't won and had even been injured.

Du Huo knew his own limitations very well. He was considered half a sixth-level cultivator. He used to be Guan Yu's bodyguard. If he hadn't been injured and retired, he would still be Guan Yu's bodyguard now. A few years ago, he was the county magistrate of Linchen County in Jiaozhou. The year before last, he was promoted to the position of county magistrate of Huarong County in Jingzhou after being rated as excellent.

He was a standard official with a salary of 1,000 shi (a unit of grain), and because he was a military officer and had undergone five levels of refinement, his strength was diminished due to organ damage during the Battle of Ganges. He was unable to fully utilize his abilities, so when he became the magistrate of Huarong, he was not assigned the position of county lieutenant. He was essentially a one-man show.

This is a sign of trust in Du Hu's strength and ability.

Last year, the Han court obtained a top-tier secret technique from the Kushan Empire: limb reattachment. This technique can not only reattach severed limbs but also heal previously damaged internal organs. Du Huo was summoned to Chang'an at the end of last year for treatment due to his merits and abilities.

After recovering from his old injuries, Du Huo quickly regained his top-level combat power. The belief that he had never given up for years was rekindled, and his strength not only recovered but also reached a new level. At the very least, his willpower became even more brilliant. As for the swordsmen under Guan Yu, they mainly depend on their willpower attribute. Du Huo is definitely a top-notch fighter who can use a single person to sever the willpower of a single person.

However, this county magistrate, who had recovered to his peak condition, was almost killed by a mandrill yesterday.

If it weren't for the fact that all the able-bodied men around him had served in the military and were armed with spears and clubs, and that Du Huo himself was indeed strong enough, he would have been carried away yesterday.

"What do we do now?" Village Chief Hengming's face also turned green. After all, he had witnessed the power of that thing yesterday. If that thing really charged over, it could almost wipe out the village.

"There's no hope of finding a skilled individual. There are people in Jingzhou stronger than me, but only a handful can deal with my elite troops like that thing did to me. None of them are in Jingzhou right now, and Governor Liao isn't here either. I can only risk searching for my general." Du Huo's face was extremely grim, but he still had the thought of being responsible for the people while he was in charge of the area.

"What exactly is that thing? Is it the legendary mountain demon or mountain spirit?" Hengming's heart sank upon hearing this. He knew Du Huo's strength, which made him understand even more how outrageous that thing was!
　The holiday is over, and I'm in despair.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)