The Later Three Kingdoms: Slaying Deng Ai, and Reviving the Han Dynasty

"It is I who should be grateful to you," Liu Chen said with a smile.

He couldn't continue speaking at this point. Zhang Fei bowed and invited Liu Chen to sit down in the main hall.

Zhang Sheng led his men to take over the manor, set up defenses, and sent his trusted men to guard the main hall gate.

Liu Chen's eunuchs also remained outside the door.

As Liu Chen sat down, he glanced at the layout of the main hall. The manor was nice, but the main hall was decorated very simply. Liu Chen's gaze then fell on Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei was dressed in coarse cloth clothes and had his hair tied up, but he did not wear a crown; he simply tied it with a coarse cloth belt.

This attire doesn't resemble that of a commoner, nor does it resemble that of a scholar.

It was the attire of a steward in an ordinary wealthy household.

Zhang Fei was a scholar who had thoroughly read the Book of Han.

Liu Chen asked, "Fei, do you still read the Book of Han?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I now rarely read the Book of Han, but rather study the Zuo Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals," Zhang Fei replied respectfully.

"It's difficult to learn the Spring and Autumn Annals without a teacher. Do you have a teacher?" Liu Chen nodded first, then asked with concern.

"Your Majesty, I dare not ask for your permission, teacher," Zhang Fei replied respectfully.

Liu Chen nodded. How could a mere steward of the estate of the King of the North dare to invite a teacher to read the Spring and Autumn Annals? That was a privilege reserved for the sons of scholar-officials. Moreover, Zhang Fei also had to manage miscellaneous affairs of the estate, making it impossible for him to concentrate on his studies.

However, Liu Chen wanted Zhang Fei to succeed, because there's a difference between being educated and uneducated... After thinking for a moment, he said, "Jade must be carved to become a useful object. I allow you to hire a tutor to study the Spring and Autumn Annals. But when it comes to reading, don't get bogged down in the literal meaning. Zhuge Liang grasped the general outline. As for nitpicking, that's what scholars and Confucianists do."

After a pause, he added, "I would like to recommend another book to you, Shu Ke."

"Hoo!!!" Zhang Fei took a deep breath, then stood up, knelt down facing Liu Chen, and said, "This humble servant thanks Your Majesty." After a pause, he added, "Your Majesty's teachings will never be forgotten. I will begin studying the Shu examinations tomorrow."

Previously, he had only read incomplete copies of the Book of Han, but Liu Chen gave him the complete set, along with many other books. He was a lowly man, currently without even a registered household. Liu Chen allowed him to hire a tutor to study the Spring and Autumn Annals, and his gratitude was beyond words. He did whatever Liu Chen asked him to do.

Liu Chen nodded and then spoke with Zhang Fei about his studies. He then got to the point, saying, "As I mentioned earlier, you manage the estate quite well. I plan to divide the various princely estates in Shu into two, calling them the North and South Shu Estates. I intend to appoint you as the head of the South Shu Estate. Hmm... let me calculate. The South Shu Estate currently has about 20,000 to 30,000 mu of land and 3,000 to 4,000 people."

"A little less. Try to double it."

It is now the spring of the third year of Jingyao.

By the spring of the sixth year of Jingyao, there were still three years left. Liu Chen hoped that in three years, the five large villages would have an average population of 10,000, and each village could send out an average of 1,000 soldiers.

They hoarded grain, salt, gold, silver, and copper coins.

In the sixth year of Jingyao, it was able to send both troops and supplies.

The Northern Kingdom governs five large villages and administers various smaller villages.

There are soldiers, generals, and supplies.

There were officials.

He will definitely be able to kill Deng Ai.

"Hiss!!!!" Zhang Fei gasped, quickly raising his head to look at Liu Chen in shock.

He knew, of course, that the King of the North was greedy and fond of goods, and he was also an accomplice, helping Liu Chen accept many fields and properties donated by the people, and also buying up many fields and people at market prices. But he did not expect Liu Chen's appetite to be so great.

Liu Chen divided the villages in various counties of Shu into two large villages, north and south. According to Liu Chen, the two villages now have a population of 10,000 and 50,000 to 60,000 mu of land.

Double again?

Many large clans in Yizhou had estates connected to estates, fertile fields connected to fertile fields, and their populations were incalculable.

However, its scale cannot compare with that of Liu Chen.

This is terrifying, this is outrageous.

While Zhang Fei was shocked, he also understood why Liu Chen wanted him to study for the Shu imperial examination.

Shu Ke is the law.

According to Liu Chen's design, the villages under the jurisdiction of Nan Shu Zhuang were scattered across various counties. Managing such a large area involved managing so many stewards and people.

The traditional management methods used for manors are no longer effective; legal constraints are necessary.

Zhang Fei put aside his distracting thoughts, bowed solemnly, and said, "Thank you for your high regard, Your Majesty, but I am afraid I am not capable of shouldering such a heavy responsibility."

"Do your best, Fei. Have you forgotten? You started by managing the fields left by a nobleman, and later you were promoted to Guangdu. You did a good job. I believe in you, and you should believe in yourself too," Liu Chen said encouragingly.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei thought it made sense and felt more confident, but after hesitating for a moment, he bowed and said, "Yes."

Liu Chen smiled and nodded, then let his eunuch in and bring out the current records of Nan Shu Manor.

Currently, it is divided into sixteen large and small villages.

There's a piece of land over there, and a piece over here.

The registers contain information on what each village produces, its population size, and whether their industries complement each other.

Liu Chen discussed with Zhang Fei how to develop and manage the business in the future, according to the forms.

The two were talking animatedly.

A eunuch entered from outside, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, a steward from the estate has important business to discuss with you."

Zhang Fei's expression immediately turned serious, and he said to Liu Chen, "Your Majesty, everyone in the village knows that Your Majesty has arrived. They also know that Your Majesty was speaking with me. If it weren't something important, he wouldn't dare to do this."

"Yes. Let him in." Liu Chen nodded and looked up at the eunuch.

"Yes." The eunuch bowed and left.

A moment later, two soldiers carrying long halberds led a steward in from outside.

The steward, trembling slightly, glanced around at the tall, strong soldiers and swallowed hard. Before Liu Chen could say anything, he quickly knelt down and stammered, "Your...Your Majesty, Yang...Yang."

By the time he finished speaking, he was sweating profusely. Liu Chen waved him away.

He felt as if he had been granted a pardon and immediately left.

Liu Chen rubbed his chin; the situation was very much in line with the current circumstances.

Near Wangzhuang, there lived a family surnamed Yang. Excluding young children, there were eight people and fifty mu of land.

Next to them lived a powerful family named Zhao Jiang. He was a local tyrant who dominated the area. He owned over a thousand acres of land and employed more than ten thugs.

Zhao Jiang took a fancy to the Yang family's fifty acres of land and their youngest daughter, and wanted to take her as a concubine.

The Yang family disagreed, yet feared the power of Zhao Jiang. So they planned to surrender their land to Wang Zhuang in exchange for the protection of the King of the North.

The Yang family had already come once; this was their second time.

Zhang Fei didn't accept him last time. Because Zhao Jiang was just a henchman; he had someone above him.

This man was named He Sui, a renowned scholar from Sichuan. His teacher was even more famous, Qiao Zhou, a great Confucian scholar from Yizhou.

Zhang Fei felt this might be a big problem. Although he sympathized with the Yang family's plight, he didn't dare to take them in.

Liu Chen said, "What a smug scholar from Shu! He lets his henchmen do the dirty work while he himself remains pure and innocent." After making this sarcastic remark, he turned to Zhang Fei and said, "Take in the Yang family. 'Great Confucian scholar of Yizhou, famous scholar of Shu' indeed has a great reputation, but I am the King of Beidi. They can't do anything to me. Besides, it's just fifty acres of land. He Sui won't oppose me because of these fifty acres of land."

He had three years left and didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble. But he naturally wanted to protect these desperate people.